S04.E04: The Benefactor

[Atony]

Uninvited guests arrive at Lydia's lake house. Meanwhile, Derek tracks down a killer.

 

Didn't see a thread for the most recent episode.

Edited July 15, 2014 by CuriousParker
Fixed Title & Added Synopsis

[benteen]

Argent's first words to Scott should have been "God, you're ****ing pathetic!"  I know he didn't want to hurt Liam but Scott continues to be absolutely pathetic when it comes to fighting other creatures.

 

Liam's facial expressions were pretty funny.

I have to admit, I need to watch this again as I wasn't paying that much attention after the 24 finale.

[bettername2come]

I really liked Scott quoting the Derek lines from the pilot with Stiles just like "No!" I missed parts of it, so I'll have to comment more once I've seen it all. Also, Derek is so much better when he hangs out with the grown ups. 

[HunterHunted]

I've always liked Derek hanging with the grown ups, so I look forward to more of this. Here's hoping this season has him paired with Chris hunt psychotic bitch Kate down.

I can deal with 15 year old betas. I'm not down with 15 year old hunters and power players. I know the show is trying to set it up so that there will always be a teen wolf in Beacon Hills, but our original gang hasn't had a season where they've all had their shit together. I'd like a solid season where the older kids had their acts together before the new kids are put on the front burner.

[AudienceofOne]

Is it overly-dramatic to say this show died with Allison?

 

Ok, yes, that's overly-dramatic. But most of this episode was absolutely terrible. Was kidnapping Liam and tying him up supposed to be funny?

 

Scott is officially the worst Alpha on the planet, with the possible exception of Peter and he had the excuse of being burned, crazy and Peter.

 

He kidnaps Liam, doesn't tell him what's happening to him, gets frustrated because he runs, and then tries to physically subdue him without turning and without using the Alpha roar on him?

 

Argent's first words to Scott should have been "God, you're ****ing pathetic!"  I know he didn't want to hurt Liam but Scott continues to be absolutely pathetic when it comes to fighting other creatures.

 

 

 

He didn't need to fight him. He's his ALPHA. He just had to roar and he would have calmed down and changed back.

 

The 15 year old kids murdering that werewolf was disturbing. But then this episode had a kidnapping as humour so why should I be surprised.

[blugirlami21]

I thought this episode was exactly why I fell in love with teen wolf in the first place.  I thought it was one of its funnier episodes.  Teen wolf does dry and comedic humor so well imo.  Come on the stuff with Liam was comedy gold.  The way Scott was trying to explain things to Liam were just so Scott.  I too am glad that Stiles is the brains of that operation.  Kira with the vixen swag and then falling down the stair like that was too much for me, lls.

 

I honestly have given up on Scott being the best alpha ever and maybe that's the point.  He's not.  He's bumbling, soft hearted Scott Mccall and maybe that's all he will ever be.  His alpha status had nothing to do with physical strength anyway.  It was given to him based on his strength of character and that part of him hasn't changed.  Do I wish he was stronger?  Sure but that's never been his strong suit.

 

I wish he would talk to Derek more or even Peter.  All these new werewolf situations he finds himself in and he doesn't reach out to the older, alpha werewolves that are a phone call away?  I find that hard to understand.  Derek especially for help with Liam, maybe.  Derek doesn't exactly have the best track record with betas considering his are either dead or gone but I don't think it could have hurt them too much. 

 

I'll reserve judgement on Liam for now, I still feel like we have too many characters and I would really like to focus on the ones we have without worrying about five new ones stealing screen time.  The teenage hunter and her boyfriend can go diaf right now.  Do not need or want that kind of hunter drama along with everything else.

 

I was surprised that the Benefactor is dead already.  It seemed...anti-climatic?  I think all the couples inched forward in this ep.  Scott got some sweet time with Kira and I can't see them being anything but sweet ever.  And there were some nice moments with Stalia.  Glad Lydia's banshee powers are a lot more useful this season.  The deadpool is interesting but our gang doesn't seem to be worth much at all, I wonder if that will change?

[galax-arena]

The Scooby Gang wants to lure Liam to Lydia's house, so they decide that Kira - awkward, can't-flirt-her-way-out-of-a-paper-bag Kira - is the one for the job? Okay, whatever you say, show. 

 

I noticed that Mrs. Yukimura wasn't on the dead pool list. Does she no longer have any supernatural powers? I don't remember the resolution of her storyline last season. 

[onyxrose81]

I was surprised that the Benefactor is dead already.  It seemed...anti-climatic?  I think all the couples inched forward in this ep.  Scott got some sweet time with Kira and I can't see them being anything but sweet ever.  And there were some nice moments with Stalia.  Glad Lydia's banshee powers are a lot more useful this season.  The deadpool is interesting but our gang doesn't seem to be worth much at all, I wonder if that will change?

 

The mouthless dude is not The Benefactor; he's just an assassin.    You know that there is a benefactor because of the dead pool (someone's paying assassins to kill supernatural creatures).

 

I liked this episode.  I thought it was funny.

[Gwen-Stacys]

So... the numbers next to everyone's name on the DP list were the odds, right? The ones with the lowest numbers would earn you more money because they're harder to kill? Also something of note, neither Peter nor Malia's names were on that list (along with Mrs. Yukimura)...I'm going to take my thoughts on that to the specualtion thread.

 

All in all, I loved this episode! Any episode that has Stiles and Scott being wacky and ineffectual together is going to be an episode that I love.

 

I also liked that Stiles wasn't Malia's anchor, he just understood that her lack of control was tied into her grief. I know there are some that don't like those two together, but I do. This episode highlighted why they were drawn towards each other: they both have deep rooted guilt about things they did when they weren't in complete control of themselves. No one else in their group could understand that.

 

More Derek with the adults always! His characters works better when he's with Stillinski sr. and Chris.

 

Why didn't Lydia just shoo the freshmen away? Why even risk doing further damage to the lake house her family needs to sell? That didn't make any sense to me. But that scene where she broke down about her family's money problems was both heartbreaking and very real. Makes sense now why her mother is still subbing at the school.

 

The key to the DP list being Allison gave me season 1 feels:

 

Peter: His username is Allison and his password is also Allison?

Stiles: You still want him in your pack?

Edited July 15, 2014 by Gwen-Stacys

[Atony]

Was I the only one that got no dialog during the Lydia/black freshman scene?  There was background noise but the dialog was mute.  I couldn't figure out if that was an odd artistic choice or an error.

 

 

 

either Peter nor Malia's names were on that list (along with Mrs. Yukimura)

 

Yeah I noticed those three were missing as well.  Couldn't figure out a reason for that.

 

I assumed the numbers were a representation of how much they are worth to kill.  So the higher the number the more the Benefactor will pay for their death.  The wendigo family was worth a lot so I could see how they were a big early target.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about the huge influx of freshman characters.  I was okay with Liam as Scott had to start having a beta but blond freshman and his decaptitating betas with a shrug girlfriend do worry me.  It does seem like a big group of characters who are going to be pulling focus, also some freshman girl stone cold killer is a bit of a stretch even for Teen Wolf.

 

Scott's continued weakness does frustrate me, it has now just become a running joke to me while I watch.  Lets see how powerless Scott will be portrayed now, oh look, he is completely ineffectual in subduing some brand new beta.

 

As Jeff Davis had the coach say, "this is a rebuilding season",  I'm trying to feel out where Jeff Davis is trying to take this show and what it is going to look like from here on out.

 

(Also, Lydia's "I'm done with teenage guys".  I guess her and Deputy Handsome is a definite go.  I don't mind the age difference thing, but he is a cop, he knows he could literally get charged with rape because California is one of the few states with those very strict 18 age of consent laws)

Edited July 15, 2014 by Atony

[LeisureTime]

Man, if Muted was everything I wanted from  Scott being an alpha, The Benefactor is everything I didn't want. Because, while I really liked the callback to season one Derek (trying to parrot what he'd been told seems like a Scott thing to do), and I loved Argent coming back with good advice that Scott took, I too was literally yelling at my screen for Scott to start acting like an alpha and roar at this kid.

 

And I also wasn't terribly pleased with Stiles who, for being "the brains" of the operation, absolutely said the worst things possible (repeatedly) when they had Liam duct taped in Scott's room. And while refusing to leave when Malia told him too ended up working in their favor, it seemed like a poor choice to be, more or less, antagonizing her when there was a crowd of people upstairs.

 

As for the rest, I think it just needs more time before I can make a fair assessment. So far it's certainly lacking the urgency of the first two seasons. Which now I want to go watch again.

[bettername2come]

I assumed the numbers were a representation of how much they are worth to kill.  So the higher the number the more the Benefactor will pay for their death.  The wendigo family was worth a lot so I could see how they were a big early target.

 

This is what I assumed as well. Although, I was greatly amused by Scott (25) and Lydia (20) having higher numbers than Derek (15) if that's the case.  Those being the odds instead could make sense - Kira (6) is theoretically immortal and Derek's already been "killed" several times only to recover.

 

 

also some freshman girl stone cold killer is a bit of a stretch even for Teen Wolf.

 

I would agree with this except we had one of our heroes verge into sophomore stone cold killer territory in season 2. If they played it well, I think they can give a backstory that would make it more believable. The tag team teenage assassins is what's pushing the limit for me.

 

So Lydia's family needs money as well. That makes Hales, Martins, and Stilinskis who are suddenly struggling financially, in addition to the McCalls, who've been portrayed that way since the pilot. Hmm, I wonder how this could possibly relate to someone paying money to kill supernatural creatures.

 

I assume this is Kate's copy of the list that Lydia came up with. Or the password being Allison is psychological as Lydia grieves over her friend. But yes I did immediately think, "Her password is also 'Allison'?"

 

Suddenly, I want Derek on the police force. Dude's gonna need a job soon anyway. He and Sheriff Stilinski make a good team. Derek makes better decisions with the adult characters and solves fewer of his problems with violence.

[Gwen-Stacys]

This is what I assumed as well. Although, I was greatly amused by Scott (25) and Lydia (20) having higher numbers than Derek (15) if that's the case.  Those being the odds instead could make sense - Kira (6) is theoretically immortal and Derek's already been "killed" several times only to recover.

I think it makes more sense for them to be odds as opposed to dollar amounts for the reasons you stated above. Not to mention, why start at the top of the list (the harder to kill) as oppposed to the bottom (easier, and helps you get into a homicidal rythym.). The Windigo family got taken out without much of a fight from the sounds of it.

 

The Hales seem to be hard to kill (large house fires excluded) and Kira's pretty agile.

 

Lydia being lower than Scott makes sense also, being a Banshee she would probably be tipped off to a person coming to kill her, while Scott is naive and pretty easy to lull into a false sense of security (If freshman hunter played her cards right, she could probably take Scott out by herself).

Edited July 15, 2014 by Gwen-Stacys

[bluebonnet]

Was I the only one that got no dialog during the Lydia/black freshman scene?  There was background noise but the dialog was mute.  I couldn't figure out if that was an odd artistic choice or an error.

I had no dialogue for that scene either.  I've gone back to watch it on demand, still no dialogue.  I have TWC, so it might have been an error on their end.  It was really strange and I thought it was some banshee thing.  

[greenbean]

Fun episode! I figured the mouthless man was some kind of game hunter, the call back to Predator was obvious.

 

Scott is a pacifist. That's the only answer to why he doesn't use his full strength. I thought how he handled Liam was fun. The throw back to what Derek did to him is illustrative of the cycle of abuse. I'm not sure about Liam though, I do like his step-brother however. I like all the characters who aren't in the know. Lydia's mother and Agent McCall. I love the whole business of the teens having to be secretive, and the person misunderstanding the situation. Like Lydia's mother thinking it had been animals who scratched up the basement. So I'm glad there are more characters like that.

 

 

I had no dialogue for that scene either.  I've gone back to watch it on demand, still no dialogue.  I have TWC, so it might have been an error on their end.  It was really strange and I thought it was some banshee thing.  

 

The silence in that scene was deliberate. I guess it was to help highlight that Lydia was in the soundproof room. I think it'll probably tie into her banshee origins, maybe she learns that her grandmother was also one?

 

And while refusing to leave when Malia told him too ended up working in their favor, it seemed like a poor choice to be, more or less, antagonizing her when there was a crowd of people upstairs.

 

To me, it felt like he was deliberately flirting with the danger. Stiles has always been attracted to taking risks, it was he who pushed Scott to go into the woods to look for dead bodies. Maybe the nogitsune possession has brought that side out in him? His little speech where he said a part of him enjoyed what he did, was interesting. Plus at the end he says control is overrated. Is that an admission of being drawn to danger? Maybe he somewhat liked the possibility of Malia attacking him.

 

They were cute together though, as were Kira/Scott. I don't think the new couple will last. I'd be happy with Lydia/Deputy Parish.

 

I think Gerard is the Benefactor. It would explain Allison's name being used as the password.

[bluebonnet]

 

The silence in that scene was deliberate. I guess it was to help highlight that Lydia was in the soundproof room. I think it'll probably tie into her banshee origins, maybe she learns that her grandmother was also one?

 

I'm not talking about the silence with the closed door after the dude left.  I'm talking aobut when they were in the room together cleaning up the spilled wine, they were having a conversation.  Some people heard that conversation, others didn't.  We could hear the music and background noise, but not the actual dialogue. 

[greenbean]

I'm not talking about the silence with the closed door after the dude left.  I'm talking aobut when they were in the room together cleaning up the spilled wine, they were having a conversation.  Some people heard that conversation, others didn't.  We could hear the music and background noise, but not the actual dialogue. 

 

That's the scene I was talking about. I thought it was deliberate, but people heard dialogue? What was said?

[bluebonnet]

That's the scene I was talking about. I thought it was deliberate, but people heard dialogue? What was said?

From what others have said, this is where we learn that Lydia's family isn't doing so well financially.  I just checked it out on MTV and there is definitely dialogue about the house being on the market because they need every penny they can get.  I'm curious how this mistake happened and if it's limited to certain cable providers.  

[calliope1975]

Weird. I have Direct TV and had no dialogue either. I thought it was weird, then I thought it was a stylistic choice. Guess not.

[greenbean]

I was searching for info about the heist and the benefactor, and came across a transcript of the soundless scene. It was on the Teen Wolf wikia.

 

Mason (in the hallway): Liam? You up here? Dude, where the hell are you?

Lydia: What are you doing up here? The party is downstairs.

Mason: I was looking for Liam.

Lydia: Sorry, but missing freshmen are a little low on my priority list.

Mason: But not so low that you don’t know he’s a freshman?

Lydia: I might have seen your friend downstairs.

Drinks spill

Lydia: Oh my god the carpet! No, God, No!

Mason: Hey, it’s okay, it’ll come out. I promise. Okay. I’m sorry. Was it valuable?

Lydia: No. That’s the problem, nothing in here’s valuable. We just put the house on the market. It was supposed to be left without a scratch. It has to be in perfect condition. We need every penny we can get out of this place.

Mason: Okay, let me go get some club soda and salt. Lydia, it’ll come out. It will.

Lydia: Okay.

Lydia stays behind after Mason leaves, the door seems to close on it’s own shutting out all sound. Lydia rises and opens the door and can once again hear the party raging downstairs. She closes the door and the room is completely silent.

Lydia: Soundproof?

 

 

[Yitzhak]

 

I couldn't figure out if that was an odd artistic choice or an error.

 

Same! If it was an artistic choice it ran on much too long and only led to me thinking it was a technical error. And now I've heard the version with the dialogue it seems like essential information about Lydia's family's financial issues.

 

Other than that, great episode! My favorite of S4 so far. I'm loving that there are plenty of Scott & Stiles shenanigans this season. I liked seeing Stiles exhibiting his skills as an expert werewolf tamer. It took me back to the scenes in 'Lunatic' where Stiles had Scott cuffed to a radiator and had to listen to his best friend yelling that he was going to kill him. I'm glad they brought up Malia's grief and guilt over her family and tied it in with Stiles's guilt following his possession ordeal. The Nogitsune aside, Stiles's mother also died when he was about the same age as Malia and if Stiles's "You killed your mother" hallucination is anything to go by, Stiles might somehow blame himself for that too. While I like the humor in this relationship, I'd like to see more of this shared survivors guilt.  

 

Nice to finally get an Allison reference. Hopefully now Chris is back there'll be a little more acknowledgement of her loss. A few lines about Issac would be nice too.  

[In2You]

Weird. I have Direct TV and had no dialogue either. I thought it was weird, then I thought it was a stylistic choice. Guess not.

Did the show also cut out for you temporarily after Kira's fall? That happened to me and I have DTV. All of a sudden after the fall the screen went black for like 4 minutes.

[calliope1975]

Did the show also cut out for you temporarily after Kira's fall? That happened to me and I have DTV. All of a sudden after the fall the screen went black for like 4 minutes.

 

Hmmm...I can't remember. I was in the kitchen and caught the fall out of the corner of my eye, then rewound it to watch it again, but I don't remember much after that. I might have thought it went to a weird commercial break or something.

[ElleryAnne]

Some good, some bad this episode for me.

 

The good:   I loved that Derek had more than two lines, and I loved him working with the Sheriff, and that Deputy Parrish was there with them in the office.  I also liked the references to Derek being able to pick up the scent of another person on the roof, and realizing it was odd that he couldn't smell the blood sooner at the school.  Loved Peter, too.  

 

Do we know how they ended up with the mouthless guy's electronic talker?  I feel like I missed something there.

 

The neutral:  I'm not generally fond of people falling down stairs, but I liked Kira collecting her attitude right away to talk to Liam. Too bad nothing else there made sense.

 

The bad:  Everything else.  Sorry, but as much as I usually love Scott and Stiles' scenes together, they fell flat in this one.  I can buy the idea that Scott's an idiot sometimes.  I can buy the idea that he may have panicked and didn't know what to do about Liam.  I can - maybe - even buy the idea that in his panic he essentially kidnapped the poor kid and brought him to his house.  But tied up in the bathtub with duct tape?  And not explaining to him why?  And then Scott and Stiles telling him, as if it was some kind of funny thing, that Liam was about to either change or die?  WTF, who are these boys?  Even if common sense isn't their strong suit, I wouldn't expect them to be callous towards a kid who's been hurt by Scott.

 

Scott is the worst Alpha ever.  Much as I love Derek, I've always recognized that he wasn't a great Alpha, but he was the friggin' Churchill of Alphas compared to Scott right now.  Scott, talk to your beta.  If you're going to tie him up at least tell him why and what to expect.  And ROAR when necessary.  Oh, and here's a tip - when you're watching to see if the kid you bit is going to change or die, don't let your girlfriend distract you.  Point out that it's not the right time, because someone's freakin' life may be on the line.  Kira and Scott both lost points with me there.

 

Stiles and Malia still don't do it for me.  Malia's "struggle" to keep control seemed weak.  I don't want to blame the actress, but compared to all the others we've seen fight the full moon, Malia just didn't seem as real.  And Stiles' talking about control and remembering what he did in 3B also fell flat, and that makes me sad because DO is one of the stronger actors.  But I wasn't buying him in that scene at all.  The whole thing felt contrived.  Maybe if we'd seen more little signs over the past couple of episodes that Stiles was carrying anything beyond the plot-driven trickle of finance-related guilt, I could have bought that scene. But the rush to make S4 more like S1 seems to have resulted in pretending that S3 has no relevance except when JD chooses.  So far, the whole season has been jarring in that respect.

 

And why didn't Lydia just send those freshman home?  It was just stupid that they were all there. 

 

So now we've got Scott being an idiot Alpha, a bunch of new kids with insta-connections to werewolfdom, and no Danny.  Fuck this show sometimes.  At least the Benefactor storyline looks like it could be interesting.  And Derek spending time with the cops.  I hope that continues, at least.

 

Likeliest bet for the Benefactor seems to be Gerard.  The Allison key would makes sense if so, and he's old enough that recording something on an LP might be something he'd think of that someone younger wouldn't.  Part of me wants to hope for something more surprising, like having it turn out to be Victoria Argent, but the whole "doesn't anybody stay dead in this town" is already being played with Kate, so Victoria coming back as well would probably be overkill.  But I love Eaddy Mays and would love to see her come back.  

 

BTW - Those faces stretching from the wall when Lydia was in the soundproof room are reminiscent of something from another show or movie, but I can't place it.  Anyone know?

Edited July 15, 2014 by ElleryAnne

[benteen]

I'm surprised Scott's worth $25,000 to kill.  All you need to whip him in a fight is slightly-above average strength so it's not the toughest job in the world.  I guess it's higher because he has all his friends around him that can actually fight.

[AudienceofOne]

All you need to whip him in a fight is slightly-above average strength so it's not the toughest job in the world.

 

 

Remember when Scott was a Beta and he could take on, like, three other betas and only an Alpha could stop him? Remember when he took on Deucalion himself and Deucalion was impressed? No? The writers sure haven't.

 

The bad:  Everything else.  Sorry, but as much as I usually love Scott and Stiles' scenes together, they fell flat in this one.  I can buy the idea that Scott's an idiot sometimes.  I can buy the idea that he may have panicked and didn't know what to do about Liam.  I can - maybe - even buy the idea that in his panic he essentially kidnapped the poor kid and brought him to his house.  But tied up in the bathtub with duct tape?  And not explaining to him why?  And then Scott and Stiles telling him, as if it was some kind of funny thing, that Liam was about to either change or die?  WTF, who are these boys?  Even if common sense isn't their strong suit, I wouldn't expect them to be callous towards a kid who's been hurt by Scott.

 

Because just liking your post once wasn't enough. I was basically appalled at that scene from beginning to end. It wasn't funny, it wasn't in character. It was cruelty toward a newly-bitten 15 year old beta - one who didn't even know werewolves existed before - for absolutely no reason. It made me hope the Calaveros did come and neuter those assholes.

Edited July 15, 2014 by AudienceofOne

[ahisma]

There was some pretty contrived plotting to fill the hour, from Scott's inexplicable weakness and forgetting his Alpha roar, to Scott and Stiles not explaining things to Liam until the end of the ep, to Stiles deciding that Malia wasn't going to hurt him (which works because DO is a star of the show so of course he won't be killed, but doesn't make sense compared to the number of times Stiles has had to be saved from werewolves on a rampage).

As creaky as the writing was, I did like:

- the humor in general (Kira on the stairs was the best use of slo-mo in the entire series, terrorized Liam not so funny)

- Derek and the Sheriff (and Parrish)

- the return of Chris Argent

- Lydia finding a clue about her family background, as well as building on her experiences to solve the current puzzle

Put me in the camp that says the numbers on the deadpool list are odds, not dollars. The wendingos and the beer werewolf went down pretty easily—it makes sense that it's 250 to 1 odds that they'd survive. While our heroes? Have proven to be pretty hard to kill so far.

And Scott, Scott, Scott...

- Rampaging kanima!Jackson, knocked out and tied up. You're on watch but make out with Allison. Jackson breaks free and escapes.

- Rampaging werewolf!Liam, knocked out and tied up. You're on watch but make out with Kira. Liam breaks free and escapes.

He's really not the sharpest fang on the wolf. At this point I'm thinking the ash pills plot against Gerard was ALL Deaton.

Edited July 16, 2014 by ahisma

[wayne67]

I'm torn about this episode .

 

There were parts I loved for its sheer nonsensical humor value and others I loathed for highlighting the lack of character development, haphazard plot pacing.

 

The parts I loved

Scott revealing Liam in the bath tub duct taped. It was just so incredibly stupid and the reaction shot of Stiles face, expressing his patented disbelief over Scott's continuing ineptitude was joyously priceless.

Derek got to be helpful in an episode, helping the police pursue leads. It's nice when he gets to be a grown up dealing with things semi sensibly instead of being saddled with problematic love interest after problematic love interest or trying to rein in willful teenage werewolves.

Scott and Stiles tangling up with each other legs at the bottom of a stair case stupidly.

Kira falling down the stairs like an idiot (who doesn't have super reflexes any more?).

Sherrif Stilinski playing the straight man as he sees his son testing restraints on his girlfriend.

Peter being true to his roots and straight up killing the assassin because he wanted to.

 

The parts that I loathed

 

Mostly everything else really

Another 2 characters were sort of introduced as Liams friends ?

More confusing banshee related plot exposition (instead of from Deaton, Derek or Chris).

Danny, the coach, Melissa, Kira's parents were absent .

Kira's slow mo walk down the stairs to entice Liam felt a lot like emotional manipulation of a much younger teen.

 

Scott was the biggest problem I had with this episode, while his ineptitude was briefly funny in some parts, his continuing ineptitude as a True Alpha drives me bloody up the wall in frustration. He bites someone instead of taking the more obvious route of smacking the wendigo off the hospital roof then dragging the teenager up like a normal person. Then when he turns a 15 year old freshmen ? (seriously are freshmen 15 ? I don't understand the American high school grading system) he decides the best course of action is to  duct tape him in his bath tub when his dad seems to be shacking up there sometimes. Then he doesn't bother to explain the most basic detail of being a werewolf to the new werewolf. He goes on an overly complicated plan to lure him into a trap to tie him up again.

 

Also he forgot his Alpha Roar which is his most pacifist defense against were coyotes and Berserkers . Scott couldn't even take care of one Beta. Despite all Derek's flaws he managed to train 3 werewolf betas at once . Admittedly they all ended up dead or missing due to plot contrivance but I don't blame Derek for that. Scott was too busy dancing with his girlfriend to pay attention to the out of control werewolf teen that he had tied up a few minutes earlier.

 

Also Scott had to be saved from his own werewolf beta from a hunter. I'm actually disappointed by that, Liam could have had the fastest werewolf progression in history, turned into a werewolf and the next night steal Alphaness from his maker? That would have been a more entertaining story line than this never addressed True Alpha nonsense plot line we've had from season one.

 

I'm sorry Scott while I love you and Stiles and the whole brothers with other mothers bond, You're a terrible Alpha. I expect more from a True Alpha, namely being able to hold down one pubescent werewolf pup for 5 minutes for a semi coherent induction into your pack. YOU SUCK.

 

Rant over.

Edited July 16, 2014 by wayne67

[Minneapple]

seriously are freshmen 15 ? I don't understand the American high school grading system

Yes, freshmen can be 15. Generally they are 14 when they enter ninth grade.

 

But yes, Scott is challenging Derek for Worst Alpha Ever. It appears the writers forgot that they wrote that whole Special Snowflake Alpha storyline for him.

 

Love Derek working with the cops, though. So much better than him hanging about with a bunch of teenagers.

[jelaine]

He's really not the sharpest fang on the wolf. At this point I'm thinking the ash pills plot against Gerard was ALL Deaton.

 

I've always thought that was ALL Deaton.

[faceupandsing]

Remember when Scott was a Beta and he could take on, like, three other betas and only an Alpha could stop him? Remember when he took on Deucalion himself and Deucalion was impressed? No? The writers sure haven't.

At this point I have to hope that Scott's physical weakness as an alpha is deliberate. Maybe being  a "true alpha" sapped him on the usual alpha strength? Because a newly turned beta who has no idea what he's doing managed to get away from him multiple times this episode which is just ridiculous. I know the writers aren't the smoothest but the strength thing has become glaringly obvious so far this season. It could actually be interesting, story wise, if the coveted true alpha ends up being a handicap more than the ultimate advantage it's been made out to me so far. 

 

Overall I enjoyed the episode. Derek is at his best interacting with adults and even if his and the sheriff story seemed very separate from the teenager plot at least it was interesting. This show has a really well developed adult cast and even if we only see 1-2 of them a week it always brings more to the episodes. I cheered for papa Argent, I didn't expect him so soon in the season, and his interaction with Scott was nice. Those werewolf herding sonic sticks sure come in handy!

 

I'm curious if we're going to find out more about the mouthless assassin or if we're just jumping head first into the kill list and he'll be forgotten about by next week. Doesn't sound like we're getting much more info on windigos so it'd be nice to get some back story on at least one of the new supernatural beings that keeps popping up in town. 

[blueray]

 

I think Gerard is the Benefactor. It would explain Allison's name being used as the password.

This, he would have Alison as the password. and blame the supernatural for her death.

 

I like the episode. Though I agree tieing Liam up was kind of dumb, and should have been different. I was also yelling at the screen on why Scott didn't just howl to get Liam to stop. I also liked Chris's random cameo appearance and that he didn't shot Scott because he turned someone. 

 

As for a hit list of supernatural creatures I never would have guessed that. I imagine that they lower number's aren't worth as much as the higher numbers. And people might not know about Malia and I think Kira's mom lost her powers at the end of last season.

[FurryFury]

Like Lydia's mother thinking it had been animals who scratched up the basement.

 

She of all people should know, her son on another show was a werewolf.

 

I also didn't like this episode, the previous one was better. It felt like a lot of characterization was sacrificed for humor or style. I'm not impressed with Jeff Davies' writing lately, he seems to be way too fond of overindulging his passion for "cool" stuff and comic relief scenes.

 

That said, I'm glad Lydia's finally getting a more prominent role and a storyline of her own - it was a long time coming. Scott and Kira continue to be cute and fluffy, but I'm betting that somewhere around next season, Kira's going to get her own break the cutie storyline. 

 

I suspect Peter's connected to the Benefactor, because him killing the axe guy felt like a calculated move, not a revenge killing. But I could be wrong. 

 

I don't see how's Allison's name in the password could be anything else but a product of Lydia's psyche. I mean, she wrote the coded message herself - makes sense that she unconsciously used that name.

[Gwen-Stacys]

Because just liking your post once wasn't enough. I was basically appalled at that scene from beginning to end. It wasn't funny, it wasn't in character. It was cruelty toward a newly-bitten 15 year old beta - one who didn't even know werewolves existed before - for absolutely no reason. It made me hope the Calaveros did come and neuter those assholes.

Ehhh, I agree and disagree honestly. I'm completely this show's target audience, I guess, because I (and everyone I watched with) was laughing at that part. And I thought it was pretty in character for where both of these characters are/what teenage boy might really do in that situation. Especially Scott, who tends to have the best intentions, but is NOT the sharpest tool in the shed. I loved Stile's reaction when he opened the shower curtain and saw Liam tied up -it was a mixture of disgust, exasperation, disapointment and anger. Exactly what a person would do if they discovered their best friend had done something stupid and dragged them into it. "Fuck....we are going to get in so much trouble. You would call me...." Scott and Stiles (and Allison) are not above kidnapping, they did it to Jackson back in season 2 when they knew he was unknowingly killing people. I just see it as them jumping the gun this time to try and stop anyone else from getting hurt.

 

And if you remember, they had very callous conversations outside of the van they held Jackson in...within hearing distance. Stiles wanted to just kill Jackson then, him willing to give Liam the benefit of doubt screams character developement to me. Stiles has always been callous and abrassive with the things he says (it's why some people actually don't like Stile's character...he can be a douche sometimes.). For example, when he made that comment to Issaac about still not being over being an abused child in early 3B (the scene Kira comes up to their lunch table). He's sarcastic and he's (sometimes) brutally honest and forthright about what he thinks. It's why Scott has been his only friend for the longest time. Him making sarcastic (yet truthful) quips within hearing range of Liam is not OOC for Stiles. Same as kidnapping a fellow student is not OOC for Scott either.

[blueray]

Kind of random but am I the only wondering how Melissa and the sheriff are going to react to Scott turning someone. Hopefully we get a scene on this.

[galax-arena]

I liked the juxtaposition of Scott kidnapping Liam the first time, and then when they were discussing how to get Liam to Lydia’s house, indignantly exclaimed, “We’re not going to kidnap him!” Okay, Scott. At least he learned from his mistakes? 

 

 

Kira's slow mo walk down the stairs to entice Liam felt a lot like emotional manipulation of a much younger teen.

Well, I think she was definitely trying to manipulate a certain part of his anatomy… To be serious, though, I didn’t really see anything wrong with it. All she did was gliiiiide down the stairs – or try to, anyway, and I’m still not sure why the pack decided to send in its most awkward member to do something that generally requires more social finesse, but I digress – and then ask him to a party. High schoolers flirt, and while it's generally considered acceptable for upperclass boys to date down but not upperclass girls, I say that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Kira wasn’t pulling a Kate or anything.

Edited July 16, 2014 by galax-arena

[Whimsy]

Never mind.  Answered.

Edited July 16, 2014 by GenL

[blueray]

Lydia tells that kid (Mason) about how nothing in the house is valuable that's why they are selling it. It's actually a touching scene. I wonder why it seems like a lot of people didn't get dialog. I watched it on mtv.com so maybe they just fixed it for that.

[bluebonnet]

I don't see how's Allison's name in the password could be anything else but a product of Lydia's psyche. I mean, she wrote the coded message herself - makes sense that she unconsciously used that name.

I thought she was just picking up the code through the BansheeNet, sort of like she got the tree from the BansheeNet.  She wasn't actually writing it as the creator, simply copying what was coming through the magical radio waves.  If she were the creator of the code, then it seems unlikely weird that she would add her own name to the list.  

[FurryFury]

Lydia tells that kid (Mason) about how nothing in the house is valuable that's why they are selling it. It's actually a touching scene. I wonder why it seems like a lot of people didn't get dialog. I watched it on mtv.com so maybe they just fixed it for that.

 

I only got it via subtitles, otherwise it was impossible to hear anything said because of very very loud music. I watched an episode recorded from MTV. I didn't understand why they've made the music so loud, it was very distracting and made the whole scene look stupid.

[justcris]

They have since explained that there was an error on the 5.1 surround sound or something and that the main central channel which has the dialogue was cut off.

[mac123x]

I'm surprised Scott's worth $25,000 to kill.  All you need to whip him in a fight is slightly-above average strength so it's not the toughest job in the world.  I guess it's higher because he has all his friends around him that can actually fight.

At this point a squirrel wielding a sharpened popsicle stick would be a tough fight for Scott. 

 

It might be a deliberate choice on his part; wanting to be a kinder, gentler Alpha.  If it is, I wish they'd say that.  Have Stiles point out "you're a lot stronger than him" and "do the roar thing", and have Scott refuse because he doesn't want to be like Peter or Derek.  At least provide a rationale for how he can get beaten up by a toddler.

[lion10]

 

That said, I'm glad Lydia's finally getting a more prominent role and a storyline of her own - it was a long time coming. Scott and Kira continue to be cute and fluffy, but I'm betting that somewhere around next season, Kira's going to get her own break the cutie storyline.

 

Shoot, with "Orphaned" Kira may be getting traumatized this season.  I don't think Jeff Davis would kill off Kira's parents so soon but who knows.