by Hayley Charlesworth
Given the sterling work on last week’s episode, Riddled, it would have been difficult for Teen Wolf to follow up with something even better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Although Letharia Vulpina is still an enjoyable episode with lots of great elements, it suffers in comparison to the previous three efforts, at least until the final few minutes.
Given the sterling work on last week’s episode, Riddled, it would have been difficult for Teen Wolf to follow up with something even better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Although Letharia Vulpina is still an enjoyable episode with lots of great elements, it suffers in comparison to the previous three efforts, at least until the final few minutes.
The action begins where Riddled left off. A severed electrical cable is causing havoc at the hospital, while the nogitsune-possessed Stiles has disappeared in the middle of his MRI scan. As the cable hits a body of water, seriously injuring Isaac, the episode reverts to Teen Wolf’s formula of slow-motion backflips set to dubstep music, as Kira neutralises the threat and absorbs the electricity. The episode walks a strange tightrope of standard action scenes and the psychological threat of the nogitsune in recent episodes, and while not a bad thing, the action moments do feel out of place with the direction this season is taking.
Still, the heart of the story remains, in Scott’s development as an alpha and in his friendship with Stiles. We see Scott being truly selfless in this episode, first taking away some of Isaac’s pain in the hope it will help him heal, and later, when Stiles is found, preventing the twins from attacking him, and believing wholeheartedly in his best friend when Stiles assures him it’s not the nogitsune talking. Most of the A-plot revolves around the two trying to prevent the traps that the nogitsune has set, and failing miserably. First, Coach Finstock triggers a booby trap and is shot by an arrow, and later a false bomb threat on the school bus distracts from a very real bomb threat at the Sheriff’s office. Scott is again forced to take away pain, first from the Coach, and later from a Deputy who dies, with Scott experiencing the life leaving him. With so much attention rightly being put on Dylan O’Brien for his performance as Stiles this season, it’s easy to forget the excellent work of Tyler Posey as Scott. While in previous seasons, Scott was more preoccupied with Allison than with helping people, he has grown into a real hero in season 3B and it’s wonderful to watch.
Elsewhere in Beacon Hills, Derek Hale forms an unlikely alliance with Chris Argent when they are both arrested for the murder of ‘Silverfinger’ by Agent McCall. It is clear to everyone that Chris is innocent, while Derek was only arrested by virtue of being in the same room, which indicates that someone is trying to frame Chris, perhaps to keep him out of the way. This is a new dynamic to the show: Derek and Chris have had very little interaction outside of hating each other due to their families being enemies, but their chemistry here is wonderful, and clearly bolstered by the real life friendship between Tyler Hoechlin and JR Bourne. In just a few scenes, they grow from disliking and not trusting each other, to Derek saving Chris’ life in the bomb blast. Despite the relatively short screen time, it feels like a natural progression, and one that promises to continue into the next episode as they debate how to take down the nogitsune, and whether they would risk Stiles’ life to do so.
Still, the heart of the story remains, in Scott’s development as an alpha and in his friendship with Stiles. We see Scott being truly selfless in this episode, first taking away some of Isaac’s pain in the hope it will help him heal, and later, when Stiles is found, preventing the twins from attacking him, and believing wholeheartedly in his best friend when Stiles assures him it’s not the nogitsune talking. Most of the A-plot revolves around the two trying to prevent the traps that the nogitsune has set, and failing miserably. First, Coach Finstock triggers a booby trap and is shot by an arrow, and later a false bomb threat on the school bus distracts from a very real bomb threat at the Sheriff’s office. Scott is again forced to take away pain, first from the Coach, and later from a Deputy who dies, with Scott experiencing the life leaving him. With so much attention rightly being put on Dylan O’Brien for his performance as Stiles this season, it’s easy to forget the excellent work of Tyler Posey as Scott. While in previous seasons, Scott was more preoccupied with Allison than with helping people, he has grown into a real hero in season 3B and it’s wonderful to watch.
Elsewhere in Beacon Hills, Derek Hale forms an unlikely alliance with Chris Argent when they are both arrested for the murder of ‘Silverfinger’ by Agent McCall. It is clear to everyone that Chris is innocent, while Derek was only arrested by virtue of being in the same room, which indicates that someone is trying to frame Chris, perhaps to keep him out of the way. This is a new dynamic to the show: Derek and Chris have had very little interaction outside of hating each other due to their families being enemies, but their chemistry here is wonderful, and clearly bolstered by the real life friendship between Tyler Hoechlin and JR Bourne. In just a few scenes, they grow from disliking and not trusting each other, to Derek saving Chris’ life in the bomb blast. Despite the relatively short screen time, it feels like a natural progression, and one that promises to continue into the next episode as they debate how to take down the nogitsune, and whether they would risk Stiles’ life to do so.
Given less screen time, but equally intriguing, are the Yukimura family. We learned last week that Mrs Yukimura was, like Kira, a kitsune, and controlling the Oni. In this episode, it is revealed that she is sacrificing her nine tails to bring the Oni into existence, and with three taken down, she’s running low. Could she sacrifice her life in the fight against the nogitsune, and if so, what does that mean for Kira? Kira is sure to become more and more relevant to this fight, but we don’t yet know how.
The B-plot of the episode is very different, and a little out-of-place. Having found Peter Hale lurking ominously at the school, Allison and Lydia confront him, where Peter promises to help Lydia control her banshee powers if she gets a reading from Talia’s nails. Allison and Lydia are reasonably standoffish, with Peter having previously left Lydia bleeding to death, and later mind-raping her to return from his own death, but eventually Lydia relents (not without Allison threatening Peter with electrocution). Talia’s secret? Peter has a child that he knows nothing about. The girls assume the child is Malia, the were-coyote from the first two episodes of the season. There is speculation that Peter’s child may actually be Deputy Parrish, however, due to their similar appearances and personality, but that is something we’re sure to discover in later episodes, especially as Malia returns in the next one. Parrish, as it stands, would be an interesting choice, given his place in the police force, and has proven to be a popular side character so far. While it is wonderful to finally see scenes of Allison and Lydia together again, the problem with this storyline is that it appears to come out of nowhere, what with the focus being firmly on Stiles for the past few weeks, and with Peter and Malia not having been seen for quite a few episodes. It may have been easier to swallow had it been drip-fed throughout the season.
It is in the final ten minutes of the episode that everything kicks it up a notch. When the deputy dies in Scott’s arms, the Sheriff sends Scott and Stiles away, with Kira quickly warning them that the Oni are coming. The three flee to Dr Deaton’s vetinary surgery, which is lined with Mountain Ash to temporarily keep the Oni out. Another trademark dubstep-scored fight ensues, in which we discover just how powerful Kira is. But while they keep the Oni away, Scott is stabbed by one of them. When they get him inside, Stiles knocks Kira out, before twisting the knife in Scott’s gut and feeding off Scott’s pain. It’s revealed that Stiles has been the nogitsune all along, forcing Scott’s hand in taking pain from others to make the nogitsune stronger. Dylan O’Brien’s sudden shifts between Stiles and the nogitsune have been praised for a number of episodes now, but he is simply delicious here, filling the character with a sinister energy through just a slight change of facial expression. He is utterly fantastic in this role. As is Tyler Posey, who, despite the intense pain Scott is in, still continues to worry more for Stiles than himself. Posey sells this brilliantly, and again, Teen Wolf have made a great choice in making their friendship the central focus of this storyline. So what happens now? Is Stiles lost to the dark side? Apparently not, for in the episode’s final moments, Dr Deaton appears, injecting Stiles with a poison that is harmful to foxes that he acquired at the episode’s open. The nogitsune is weakened, for now, but what happens when it returns?
There are plenty of questions going into the next episode. Can Stiles be saved, and if not, will the characters be able to kill Stiles to kill the nogitsune? That seems to be the central question to Derek and Chris’ scenes, as Chris seems willing to kill Stiles while Derek doesn’t. And how does the revelation of Peter’s child fit into this? Will Isaac and the Coach survive their attacks? The biggest question though, and the one that has the whole internet talking, is whether Stiles is the only nogitsune. They are trickster spirits, after all, and the frequent absence of Allison from scenes, as well as the framing of her father, is suspicious. There are only five episodes of the season left, so answers are sure to start arriving soon. And it looks set to be one hell of a ride.
The B-plot of the episode is very different, and a little out-of-place. Having found Peter Hale lurking ominously at the school, Allison and Lydia confront him, where Peter promises to help Lydia control her banshee powers if she gets a reading from Talia’s nails. Allison and Lydia are reasonably standoffish, with Peter having previously left Lydia bleeding to death, and later mind-raping her to return from his own death, but eventually Lydia relents (not without Allison threatening Peter with electrocution). Talia’s secret? Peter has a child that he knows nothing about. The girls assume the child is Malia, the were-coyote from the first two episodes of the season. There is speculation that Peter’s child may actually be Deputy Parrish, however, due to their similar appearances and personality, but that is something we’re sure to discover in later episodes, especially as Malia returns in the next one. Parrish, as it stands, would be an interesting choice, given his place in the police force, and has proven to be a popular side character so far. While it is wonderful to finally see scenes of Allison and Lydia together again, the problem with this storyline is that it appears to come out of nowhere, what with the focus being firmly on Stiles for the past few weeks, and with Peter and Malia not having been seen for quite a few episodes. It may have been easier to swallow had it been drip-fed throughout the season.
It is in the final ten minutes of the episode that everything kicks it up a notch. When the deputy dies in Scott’s arms, the Sheriff sends Scott and Stiles away, with Kira quickly warning them that the Oni are coming. The three flee to Dr Deaton’s vetinary surgery, which is lined with Mountain Ash to temporarily keep the Oni out. Another trademark dubstep-scored fight ensues, in which we discover just how powerful Kira is. But while they keep the Oni away, Scott is stabbed by one of them. When they get him inside, Stiles knocks Kira out, before twisting the knife in Scott’s gut and feeding off Scott’s pain. It’s revealed that Stiles has been the nogitsune all along, forcing Scott’s hand in taking pain from others to make the nogitsune stronger. Dylan O’Brien’s sudden shifts between Stiles and the nogitsune have been praised for a number of episodes now, but he is simply delicious here, filling the character with a sinister energy through just a slight change of facial expression. He is utterly fantastic in this role. As is Tyler Posey, who, despite the intense pain Scott is in, still continues to worry more for Stiles than himself. Posey sells this brilliantly, and again, Teen Wolf have made a great choice in making their friendship the central focus of this storyline. So what happens now? Is Stiles lost to the dark side? Apparently not, for in the episode’s final moments, Dr Deaton appears, injecting Stiles with a poison that is harmful to foxes that he acquired at the episode’s open. The nogitsune is weakened, for now, but what happens when it returns?
There are plenty of questions going into the next episode. Can Stiles be saved, and if not, will the characters be able to kill Stiles to kill the nogitsune? That seems to be the central question to Derek and Chris’ scenes, as Chris seems willing to kill Stiles while Derek doesn’t. And how does the revelation of Peter’s child fit into this? Will Isaac and the Coach survive their attacks? The biggest question though, and the one that has the whole internet talking, is whether Stiles is the only nogitsune. They are trickster spirits, after all, and the frequent absence of Allison from scenes, as well as the framing of her father, is suspicious. There are only five episodes of the season left, so answers are sure to start arriving soon. And it looks set to be one hell of a ride.
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