S05.E08: Ouroboros

[Tara Ariano]

Scott and Malia set out to rescue their captured friends; and Deaton makes a horrific discovery about the Dread Doctors.

[Mars477]

So, Scott is going to get knocked on his ass and Malia will do all of the heavy lifting? Just being realistic, here.

[Sakura12]

At least he's smart enough to take Malia with him.

 

So Malia's mother was trying to kill her. She's a terrible assassin then, if she didn't check to make sure she was dead. Did she not check the car? Where she would only see two bodies. Did she not think she could turn into an actual Coyote? I guess that is a special talent among the Weres. 

 

Losing Kira is your fault Scott, everything else is not. But they still haven't figured out how to use their words and tell everyone else what is going on. That left room open for psychopath Theo claw his way into the pack, everyone thinks he's the hero. 

 

Let's see if Stiles and Lydia tell anyone else about Parrish being the body stealer. 

 

Also Sheriff, you know you are dealing with the Supernatural, what makes you think it's a good idea to get a bunch of your human deputies killed because you want to act like a cop. You can't bring only normal people to a Supernatural fight. 

Edited August 11, 2015 by Sakura12

[Lady Calypso]

Damn Desert Wolf. Apparently, you're not good at your job. If you can't make sure your daughter's dead (which....um ok evil), then you become significantly less interesting to me. Also, watch there be some big sob story that becomes eye-roll worthy, like....I don't even know.

 

Goddamnit, Theo. You roped your way into the gang now. Although....maybe hope that Scott's pensive look at Theo was a sign that Scott's up to something? I mean...remember him poisoning Gerard in season 2? Can that Scott be making a reappearance? No? Too hopeful? Damn.

 

FINALLY, Stiles at least talked to Lydia about Parrish.

 

I probably should have been paying more attention to Stiles' key card. I guess they, once again, made sure we don't know his first name. LOL. 

 

I still don't care about Hayden, but her and Liam's scenes were kind of cute when they weren't gruesome. 

 

Is chimera Zach gonna pop up sometime in the next episode, then? He can't be dead-dead. Also, either that kid was a REALLY bad actor, or the character was acting and is up to something. Either way, hope he dies soon.

 

I had some issues with various things. I guess I do feel a bit bad for Scott, though. He's a shitty leader but he does blame himself an awful lot for anything that goes wrong. Dude, you need to relax. Maybe go to a day spa with Stiles. Both of you have some anxiety and stuff to deal with.

 

Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa's scenes were ok, I guess.

[thefreeair]

Here's a tip, Dread "Doctors" (a title hacks who can't even cut folks open in a clean environment with passably sterile instruments have no business adopting): If you keep sawing these kids open with rusty tools and then leaving them with gaping wounds on wet, dirty floors, you're going to see a lot more Failures. Like, maybe the "treatments" won't take because your experiments are too busy battling sepsis to flourish into the healthy little monsters you intend them to be. 

 

(I get that the Dread Doctors are meant to be more menacing and atmospheric than credible or whatever, but clean, well lit, sterile labs can be horrifying too! Come on!)

[wayne67]

I had some issues with various things. I guess I do feel a bit bad for Scott, though. He's a shitty leader but he does blame himself an awful lot for anything that goes wrong. Dude, you need to relax. Maybe go to a day spa with Stiles. Both of you have some anxiety and stuff to deal with.

 

Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa's scenes were ok, I guess.

 

If he asked who that random guy was in the first episode maybe he'd have figured out he had a Big Bad to face this season. He also decided to use Hayden as bait in a trap without any way of actually springing the trap once the Dread Doctors showed up without any plan on what to do if the Dread Doctors succeeded in dragging away their prey. Yeah he's responsible for half assing the plan to trap these guys and getting Hayden and Liam kidnapped.

I always find it funny that Deaton waits till episode 8 or a dozen bodies before trying to find information on the latest Big Bad. They really need to tone down the melodrama sometimes. I just don't care any more, it's not like any of the main characters will die and it's only more redshirts dying. Hell Scott was going to confront the Dread Doctors in their lair without a plan or a weapon.

 

Melissa having a go at Sheriff for trying to do his job. I guess she doesn't care about the families of the dead teenagers if it might inconvenience her son.

[Mars477]

Somebody needs to give Malia a hug.  Poor girl.

 

Not you, Theo.  You can stop taking up screentime now, thanks.

[AudienceofOne]

It's official. The hashtag writer must die. I thought #slappedbymelissa was bad but then I got to #puppylove and that was the worst thing ever until #layden.

Is Scott suffering from asthma again because of something the Dread Doctors did or because Theo is siphoning off his powers?

[jelaine]

 

Melissa having a go at Sheriff for trying to do his job. I guess she doesn't care about the families of the dead teenagers if it might inconvenience her son.

What about the families of the deputies Parrish hurt or killed taking the body out of the morgue?  Setting ordinary human begins against the supernatural without any idea of what they are facing doesn't work, at least on this show.  Whoever that girl was would have been found at some point when a better story could constructed and wouldn't put any of the werewolves or kitsune or banshees or chimeras in waiting in any more danger than they already are.  Lots of actual, normal homicides never get solved if that's your concern and there's a better shot of getting the real murderer by letting Scott and Co. muddle their way through as usual.  (That Scott will probably send them off with a good scolding is another issue.)

 

He wants to treat it as a normal homicide, but it isn't.  Melissa tried treating it that way with telling the truth about werewolves and banshees and monster chimeras and he acted as though she were making a mockery of the proceeding when she was just following his lead of treating it like a regular crime.

 

Trying to treat it as a regular crime according to regulations without announcing the supernatural to the world at large is only going to cause more problems than it solves.  There are too many holes without the truth and any case he could make would never see a courtroom.  The DA would probably do everything he could to get the Sheriff sent to Eichen House.

[Gwen-Stacys]

It's official. The hashtag writer must die. I thought #slappedbymelissa was bad but then I got to #puppylove and that was the worst thing ever until #layden.

Is Scott suffering from asthma again because of something the Dread Doctors did or because Theo is siphoning off his powers?

Nope. Nothing beat #PeaceOutKira ...the wooooooorst.

[wayne67]

What about the families of the deputies Parrish hurt or killed taking the body out of the morgue?  Setting ordinary human begins against the supernatural without any idea of what they are facing doesn't work, at least on this show.  Whoever that girl was would have been found at some point when a better story could constructed and wouldn't put any of the werewolves or kitsune or banshees or chimeras in waiting in any more danger than they already are.  Lots of actual, normal homicides never get solved if that's your concern and there's a better shot of getting the real murderer by letting Scott and Co. muddle their way through as usual.  (That Scott will probably send them off with a good scolding is another issue.)

 

He wants to treat it as a normal homicide, but it isn't.  Melissa tried treating it that way with telling the truth about werewolves and banshees and monster chimeras and he acted as though she were making a mockery of the proceeding when she was just following his lead of treating it like a regular crime.

 

Trying to treat it as a regular crime according to regulations without announcing the supernatural to the world at large is only going to cause more problems than it solves.  There are too many holes without the truth and any case he could make would never see a courtroom.  The DA would probably do everything he could to get the Sheriff sent to Eichen House.

 

Having Scott and Co battle the supernatural forces doesn't work until the finale and lots of people die as they muddle their way through it. Scott lost 2 people in his poorly thought out plan and if the Villains didn't suffer from PIS then Malia and Lydia could have died in a failed trap.

 

What did Melissa expect him to do with a dead body in her kitchen? Ignore it ? Bury it in an unmarked grave?

 

Is there a reason that her family can't be notified that she was found dead in her kitchen?

 

We don't know that werewolves or banshees had anything to do with Redshirt's death. She had a sword through her chest.

 

I don't see how the body going missing would invalidate Kira's dad confession that he stabbed her in self defense.

 

I'm confused as to why a bunch of teenagers would be better investigating a homicide than a police department. At least they bring guns to the party. Scott brought Mason along to what he thought was the Dread Doctors Lair without a weapon or training. At least these Redshirt cops had some training to deal with violent situations.

 

Stiles and Theo were also hurt trying to bait a trap with a corpse so how is this situation any different? Because they were all human ?

 

People in Beacon Hills get hurt all the time doing their jobs or merely existing. Cops, doctors, teachers and students all die at alarming rates and Scott and Co cover up the reasons and most times don't even punish the guilty except possibly for Gerard, they all get away essentially without punishment.

[mac123x]

This episode surprised me.  Usually Sxx.E08 is when the expository flashback infodumps start, and when the plot flies off the rails.  This show does a fantastic job setting up a creepy atmospheric mystery, but generally when they start resolving stuff it becomes less coherent (Kanima season being an exception).  Maybe next week.

 

I guess the Desert Wolf got chased off after shooting Malia's mom's car and couldn't finish the job, otherwise why wouldn't she confirm that her daughter was dead?  Sloppy assassin.  Or, she was lying to Deaton and never intended to kill Malia, though that makes no sense either.

 

Tiny baby wolf Liam has magical kissing powers, because Hayden's wounds no longer hurt.  They needed Hewey Lewis playing in the background.

 

I sympathize with the sherrif wanting to treat the latest murder like a murder.  He went through a lot of crap a couple of seasons ago getting investigated and losing his job because of all the unsolved crimes in Beacon Hill.  What I don't get is how Scott's house wasn't barricaded off and treated as a crime scene.  No CSI types taking fingerprints, etc.  Instead, the pack was using it as their base of operations. 

 

I laughed out loud (and I'm sure it wasn't intentional) at the bad-ass pose each of the deputies struck when they assumed their positions in the hospital.

 

I thought the "fang" that Deaton held up in the opening scene looked remarkably like the talon that vulture-man had in episode 1.  Reused prop.

 

 

It's official. The hashtag writer must die. I thought #slappedbymelissa was bad but then I got to #puppylove and that was the worst thing ever until #layden.

Is Scott suffering from asthma again because of something the Dread Doctors did or because Theo is siphoning off his powers?

 

I'm hate-watching the hashtags now.  Whoever is writing them has no creativity; either they're bluntly obvious #slappedbymelissa or trite #layden.

 

As far as Scott's asthma, I'm betting it's psychological, a manifestation of his self-doubt.  His entirely valid self-doubt because his actions as the nominal leader of this pack have been pretty questionable.

 

I do admit to cheering when he jammed his claws into Corey's neck.  Finally, Scott's using some of his Alpha powers!  Except that it was dangerous and lacking in consent, and he didn't have any remorse. 

[Sakura12]

I'm confused as to why a bunch of teenagers would be better investigating a homicide than a police department. At least they bring guns to the party. Scott brought Mason along to what he thought was the Dread Doctors Lair without a weapon or training. At least these Redshirt cops had some training to deal with violent situations.

 

How well did that go? They got taken out in about 2 seconds without firing a single shot. Cop training doesn't prepare you to fight super strong, super powerful beings. Most of those bunch of teenagers are also super strong and super powerful, they are a better match against other supernatural creatures. Well at least Malia is. Scott not so much. But his super special True Alpha status tends to always help him in the end. Those human cops stood no chance against Parrish or any super creature. If they are not all dead, the Sheriff is lucky. This is not a normal homicide with a normal killer or body stealer. The Sheriff knows this, he can't treat it as one. 

 

I liked that Melissa told the truth about what happened in her statement, if he wants to tell the truth about the girl then he should be prepared to tell the whole truth. Not one to fit his normal homicide theory.

 

As for bringing Mason, Scott brought Stiles everywhere with him and he has no training or powers. I do agree Scott has to do a better job containing these bad creatures. He'll have to learn that sometimes you have to kill the one to save the many. 

 

I don't get the Desert Wolf's reason for wanting Malia dead. If she didn't want her that was taken care of, she was being raised by another family. She didn't have to do anything for her. Do were-coyotes have a different power hierarchy than the wolves? Can the children siphon off the power from the parents? What other reason would there be for her to kill Malia?

Edited August 11, 2015 by Sakura12

[wayne67]

How well did that go? They got taken out in about 2 seconds without firing a single shot. Cop training doesn't prepare you to fight super strong, super powerful beings. Most of those bunch of teenagers are also super strong and super powerful, they are a better match against other supernatural creatures. Well at least Malia is. Scott not so much. But his super special True Alpha status tends to always help him in the end. Those human cops stood no chance against Parrish or any super creature. If they are not all dead, the Sheriff is lucky. This is not a normal homicide with a normal killer or body stealer. The Sheriff knows this, he can't treat it as one. 

 

I liked that Melissa told the truth about what happened in her statement, if he wants to tell the truth about the girl then he should be prepared to tell the whole truth. Not one to fit his normal homicide theory.

 

As for bringing Mason, Scott brought Stiles everywhere with him and he has no training or powers. I do agree Scott has to do a better job containing these bad creatures. He'll have to learn that sometimes you have to kill the one to save the many. 

 

The deputies don't have the Plot Armor that the pack has... and still Scott and everyone at the school got mind raped into submission by the Dread Doctors and two teenagers were stolen right from under Scott's nose. Scott had to be saved by freaking Mason of all people.

 

Mason who has shown more interest in the supernatural and figuring stuff out than most of the other teens this entire season.

 

Melissa could have cooperated with the Sheriff and simply said that she found a strange looking teenager on her kitchen counter impaled with a katana. Everything else was extranneous and done to spite him. He could have filed that report and Melissa would have exposed her son and everyone else in the pack to further scrutiny. Actually I'm still not sure how the FBI decided not to put more effort into finding out why this town has about 40 deaths a year.

 

As for the Humans not having any powers... Well neither do the Argents and they managed to fight supernaturals with knowledge and firearms. Should the Argents have just let random werewolves eat people simply because werewolves are stronger than them physically?

 

The Sheriff did quite well against a beserker with no superpowers and a claymore. The truth of the matter is that the Police Department is handicapped by it being the Scott supernatural show rather than actual personal deficits. That's why Scott can power up at the last second of a fight and doesn't use that power the other 95% of the time.

 

I don't buy into the normals should just stay at home and let Scott deal with everything because he's shite at it. He still hasn't bothered to find out how Peter brought himself back from the dead. A useful trick for a True Alpha to learn with all his many enemies but I guess that would require thought and preparation and planning...

[Sakura12]

As for the Humans not having any powers... Well neither do the Argents and they managed to fight supernaturals with knowledge and firearms. Should the Argents have just let random werewolves eat people simply because werewolves are stronger than them physically?

 

The Argents knew about and were trained to fight the supernatural. If the Sheriff told his department what was actually going on and trained them, then I would be fine with them going out. But as it is, they have no idea they are dealing with the supernatural. That puts them in danger. 

 

Scott's pack shouldn't be the only one fighting the bad guys, that's why the police dept. should be told about it so they know how to handle it better. 

Edited August 11, 2015 by Sakura12

[benteen]

Agreed that the normals shouldn't let Scott deal with all the problems.  Scott's solution is to let those who committed horrific crimes go free with a stern talking to.  But this show has always been ridiculous.  The fact that nobody but Scott's dad seems to notice the insane amount of a murder and mayhem that happens in Beacon Hills (much of it involving teenagers and school) is a joke.

 

Outside of his chickenshit concealing of what he saw with Kira a few episodes ago, Scott's not to blame for this current set of problems.  Stiles inexplicably concealing what happened at the library is just going to make things look worse when it finally comes out into the open.

 

So, we got a first initial for Stiles now?  M.

 

This episode had some good stuff and I liked the opening scene (although I agree, it seems to take multiple murders to get Deaton going) although I find myself less and less inclined to watch this show all the time.

 

EDIT: Great point about the police force.  While it would be extremely difficult to read in the normals on a situation like this, the Sheriff is basically sending his officers in there completely blind to the dangers they face.  Time to accept what this town is and inform the men and women who work for him about it.  That makes him accountable for what happens to them when he doesn't.  The Sheriff knows this...remember that supernatural attack in the police station in Season 2?  How come nobody asks what the hell happened there?

Edited August 11, 2015 by benteen

[wayne67]

The Argents knew about and were trained to fight the supernatural. If the Sheriff told his department what was actually going on and trained them, then I would be fine with them going out. But as it is, they have no idea they are dealing with the supernatural. That puts them in danger. 

 

Scott's pack shouldn't be the only one fighting the bad guys, that's why the police dept. should be told about it so they know how to handle it better. 

 

The Argents had a bestiary and lots of weapons. Scott could call Chris Argent and give the book to the cops... It's the very least he could to help. Did he even notice the blood on the kitchen counter or was he too busy lying to Kira about trust.

 

Then again even with training Scott has no idea what kind of chimeras they're fighting. They could be kanima cross breeds, scorpions or weird never been seen before combinations of kitsunes and werecoyotes or the Dread Doctors themselves with unknown abilities. I am confused since when did the Dread Doctors care about the corpses of their failed experiments ? They seemed indifferent to Parrish taking them and burning them at the Nemeton prior to this. Damn flimsy characterisations of the bad guys.

 

Derek tried to train his pack who also had supernatural speed, strength and healing and they either died or deserted or both. Even with supernatural powers and training if you're not a main character or a parent of the main two teens you're likely to die or disappear anyway (Danny, Isaac, Coach).

 

You'd think with a dozen teens missing the town would be up in arms about the lack of police presence at the school. They haven't even tried giving a curfew to the town since the first episode.

 

I don't know if I can tolerate this show any more. The twinks are all starting to blur together, Theo, Corey, Liam. Scott finally used an Alpha power and he used it in the most non consensual way possible. yay ?

Edited August 11, 2015 by wayne67

[jelaine]

I think this episode proves why we need Chris Argent.  He may not have investigative training, but he does know about the supernatural and how to fight it.  It gives the teenagers an adult to turn to who can actually do something and someone Melissa can count on to handle the situation in the best manner for everyone.

 

 

 

What did Melissa expect him to do with a dead body in her kitchen? Ignore it ? Bury it in an unmarked grave?

Is there a reason that her family can't be notified that she was found dead in her kitchen?

 

Melissa expected him to help her deal with it in a manner that doesn't expose the supernatural or put her family in any more danger than they already are, hence her very specifically asking him to leave his badge at the door, literally and figuratively. I don't think they were going to bury the body in an unmarked grave.  The other victims were all found, just not where they died.  Finding them where they died raises too many questions they can't answer unless they include the supernatural.  Questions that can't be answered in a murder investigation do no lead to a closed case.  Sheriff has a murder board in his office with every victim/chimera accounted for except Donovan.  I was under the impression the police knew about the deaths, the families knew about the deaths and what is knowing their child was killed in the McCall kitchen versus the Preserve, for example, going to do for Red Shirt's family.  Did she even get a name in the episode?  There can be comfort in knowing, but how is switching one detail for another going to make any difference?  Give them somewhere to focus their anger at losing their daughter in Melissa?  No, Melissa didn't kill her, but she could have secured her home better.

 

I understand Sheriff's frustration and sympathize.  He's in a position to do something, but he really can't.  He either needs to get fully on board and bring Chris Argent or Braeden in to handle what the police can't or he needs to wash his hands of it entirely. That option won't do good things for his relationship with Stiles, but that needs some serious work on both parts anyway, so why not.  Sheriff doesn't want to know about the supernatural.  He's proven that more than once.  He's not capable of straddle the line between the real world and the supernatural one or at least he doesn't want to make the effort.  That's not good for him or Stiles or Melissa or anyone else.

[ahisma]

Although....maybe hope that Scott's pensive look at Theo was a sign that Scott's up to something?

I read that look to be, "It's all my fault. I'm a terrible alpha. Look, Theo saved the day and is comforting the pack—he'd be a better alpha than I am."

As far as Scott's asthma, I'm betting it's psychological, a manifestation of his self-doubt. His entirely valid self-doubt because his actions as the nominal leader of this pack have been pretty questionable.

Agreed, like his feelings of guilt over Derek's "death" that kept him from healing.

Papa Yukimura is once again my favorite. Like Melissa, he'd do anything for his kid. (Although, "the body's gone, they dropped the charges" is some serious TV plotting BS.)

Mason is again an MVP, but get that kid a baseball bat, stat.

Sheriff, Sheriff, Sheriff. What were you going to do, have the coroner do a report on the extensive body modifications and seriously weird DNA of the victim? And then report that to her parents? That would just make their pain 20 times worse. I'm afraid some highly respected alpha is going to come along and try to take him out because he can't be trusted to keep the existence of the supernatural secret.

[benteen]

AV Club had another spot-on review of the episode.  I always find myself posting quotes from it but here's one by the reviewer LaToya Ferguson that paritcularly bothered me about last night's episode...

 

 

•As someone who doesn’t usually find herself with face-blindness, I will say I confused Corey for Theo at least twice in this episode and then spent the rest of Corey’s onscreen moments rather frustrated by the fact that they cast someone who looked so much like an “established” reccurring character. Every other new character on this show looks like a cross between Dylan Sprayberry and Cody Christian (which includes new, possibly dead chimera Zach), and that right there is what should be called a failure.

Edited August 11, 2015 by benteen

[HunterHunted]

I think this episode proves why we need Chris Argent.  He may not have investigative training, but he does know about the supernatural and how to fight it.  It gives the teenagers an adult to turn to who can actually do something and someone Melissa can count on to handle the situation in the best manner for everyone.

 

 

Melissa expected him to help her deal with it in a manner that doesn't expose the supernatural or put her family in any more danger than they already are, hence her very specifically asking him to leave his badge at the door, literally and figuratively. I don't think they were going to bury the body in an unmarked grave.  The other victims were all found, just not where they died.  Finding them where they died raises too many questions they can't answer unless they include the supernatural.  Questions that can't be answered in a murder investigation do no lead to a closed case.  Sheriff has a murder board in his office with every victim/chimera accounted for except Donovan.  I was under the impression the police knew about the deaths, the families knew about the deaths and what is knowing their child was killed in the McCall kitchen versus the Preserve, for example, going to do for Red Shirt's family.  Did she even get a name in the episode?  There can be comfort in knowing, but how is switching one detail for another going to make any difference?  Give them somewhere to focus their anger at losing their daughter in Melissa?  No, Melissa didn't kill her, but she could have secured her home better.

 

I understand Sheriff's frustration and sympathize.  He's in a position to do something, but he really can't.  He either needs to get fully on board and bring Chris Argent or Braeden in to handle what the police can't or he needs to wash his hands of it entirely. That option won't do good things for his relationship with Stiles, but that needs some serious work on both parts anyway, so why not.  Sheriff doesn't want to know about the supernatural.  He's proven that more than once.  He's not capable of straddle the line between the real world and the supernatural one or at least he doesn't want to make the effort.  That's not good for him or Stiles or Melissa or anyone else.

I've argued for a long time that Chris Argent and Derek should have been transitioned to those liaison roles. The adults, except for Kira's mom, don't have any powers, but they do have the authority to cover up the supernatural goings on in Beacon Hill. As much as it could be a mess, they really could have mirrored Chris and Derek's trajectory with what they did with Damon on Vampire Diaries. He seemed to work best with the adults. They made his two best friends actual adults. He was a connection between the teens with powers and the adults without. The kids on teen wolf need that bridge between the grown ups. It could have been Chris and/or Derek. And now we're left with the teens making dumb decisions and the adults finding out as an afterthought. I'd be fine with that if I thought that it was occurring for some later narrative reason.

[Primetimer]

Scott stops being polite and starts getting real in the quest to save Liam and Hayden. Meanwhile, Kira finally remembers her Doctors appointment, but not until after she maybe/probably kills a girl.

Read the story

[blueray]

Somebody needs to give Malia a hug.  Poor girl.

 

Not you, Theo.  You can stop taking up screentime now, thanks.

amen to that!

 

Anyhow, that was a good episode at least for this season. I liked Scott, Malia and Mason teaming up, just wish that resulted in something (mainly them finding them instead of Theo). I really hope they didn't do anything bad to Liam :(.

 

I liked Melissa comforting Scott. And that Stiles told Lydia about Parrish. I wonder if he knows he is doing it, because it doesn't seem like he did. But now he's suspecting.

[greenbean]

That was a really enjoyable episode. It moved fast, with a lot of tension.

 

Scott's panic about Liam was palpable. I'd forgotten about the memory thing, so when he did that it surprised me.

 

I liked seeing the Sheriff at least try to do things by the law. As an adult, and the Sheriff of the town, he does have a different kind of dilemma. It was good to see him conflicted about his complicity in all the cover-ups.

 

Theo is such a good villain. I hate that he's slithered into the pack at Scott's expense. I felt so bad for Scott at the end. Nothing worse than losing your friends when you're a teen. Which fits into what Stiles was worried about.

 

I hope the boy with wings survives. I think Scott's pack is going to get new additions by the end, Hayden and winged!boy hopefully. But, I also suspect Parrish taking the bodies to the Nemeton means the kids will heal and survive.

 

Not surprised that Kira is off, that montage last week was odd and ominous. She and Scott looked good in the rain though.

[wayne67]

Melissa expected him to help her deal with it in a manner that doesn't expose the supernatural or put her family in any more danger than they already are, hence her very specifically asking him to leave his badge at the door, literally and figuratively. I don't think they were going to bury the body in an unmarked grave.  The other victims were all found, just not where they died.  Finding them where they died raises too many questions they can't answer unless they include the supernatural.  Questions that can't be answered in a murder investigation do no lead to a closed case.  Sheriff has a murder board in his office with every victim/chimera accounted for except Donovan.  I was under the impression the police knew about the deaths, the families knew about the deaths and what is knowing their child was killed in the McCall kitchen versus the Preserve, for example, going to do for Red Shirt's family.  Did she even get a name in the episode?  There can be comfort in knowing, but how is switching one detail for another going to make any difference?  Give them somewhere to focus their anger at losing their daughter in Melissa?  No, Melissa didn't kill her, but she could have secured her home better.

 

If it was just about moving a body any of the supernatural teens could have helped with that. Hell even Lydia and Melissa could have moved the body outside the house. It seemed like Melissa was more expecting the Sheriff to help her move the body AND remove the sword AND not investigate the death at all which is asking a lot of someone in law enforcement.

 

The Sheriff has a board of all the missing teenagers, they aren't presumed dead until they find a corpse which is why Stiles looked all guilty about Donovan's name being mentioned during that discussion last episode. They were buried but they weren't actually there, hence they're not dead yet, they're just missing and those parents would probably like to know that their sons or daughters had been found or who had killed them but I guess that's asking a lot for a show that never really does resolutions very well.

 

For all he knew the Red Shirt in the kitchen could have been the first of many of Kira's kills. It probably was either self defense or a psychotic break due to the fox finding a predator in her mate's lair but still no one bothered to really ask any questions about Kira's involvement because the other parents were super quick to try and cover it up. Which is stupid because for all they know the chimeras all know where Scott lives and Melissa and Scott could be in danger from further attacks and should invest in some security.

[jelaine]

 

The Sheriff has a board of all the missing teenagers, they aren't presumed dead until they find a corpse which is why Stiles looked all guilty about Donovan's name being mentioned during that discussion last episode.

Actually the board we see in Required Reading, which is what I was referring to, has the two known chimeras who are dead, Tracey and Lucas, and Donovan who is missing.  They found eight holes in the lacrosse field at school, so they know there are more chimeras, but they don't know who they are.  Before Zach, it looked like the chimera experiments are returned home until such time as the experiment is terminated with no knowledge of what happened to them.

 

As for Melissa calling Sheriff instead of one of the Supernatural teenagers, Scott, Malia, Lydia, and Mason are looking for Liam and Hayden.  Theo and Stiles are recovering from Parrish handing them their asses and maiming Roscoe the Jeep.  Kira's sleepwalking her way down Highway 115.  Though why she didn't ask the Yukimuras is a good question.

 

You do make excellent points and I desperately wish the show would address them.  That's one of the things I find so frustrating about the show.  It has potential to really be something special, yet is too easily distracted by the "oh, hey, this would be so cool" without thinking about how real people would deal with the "so cool" situation or giving them lobotomies to keep the story going.  There is no way the Stiles and Lydia of S1 and S2 wouldn't be all over learning every shred of information about the supernatural world right along with Mason.  Stiles because the knowledge would make it easier to protect the people he loves, Lydia because knowledge is power.  So I'm at a total loss as to why there is still so much she doesn't know about banshees even if it worthless fairy tales that don't relate to her situation.

[wayne67]

Actually the board we see in Required Reading, which is what I was referring to, has the two known chimeras who are dead, Tracey and Lucas, and Donovan who is missing.  They found eight holes in the lacrosse field at school, so they know there are more chimeras, but they don't know who they are.  Before Zach, it looked like the chimera experiments are returned home until such time as the experiment is terminated with no knowledge of what happened to them.

 

As for Melissa calling Sheriff instead of one of the Supernatural teenagers, Scott, Malia, Lydia, and Mason are looking for Liam and Hayden.  Theo and Stiles are recovering from Parrish handing them their asses and maiming Roscoe the Jeep.  Kira's sleepwalking her way down Highway 115.  Though why she didn't ask the Yukimuras is a good question.

 

You do make excellent points and I desperately wish the show would address them.  That's one of the things I find so frustrating about the show.  It has potential to really be something special, yet is too easily distracted by the "oh, hey, this would be so cool" without thinking about how real people would deal with the "so cool" situation or giving them lobotomies to keep the story going.  There is no way the Stiles and Lydia of S1 and S2 wouldn't be all over learning every shred of information about the supernatural world right along with Mason.  Stiles because the knowledge would make it easier to protect the people he loves, Lydia because knowledge is power.  So I'm at a total loss as to why there is still so much she doesn't know about banshees even if it worthless fairy tales that don't relate to her situation.

 

Thanks. I just can't help feeling sorry for the Sheriff. Here's a dead body with a katana in it, he knows who the katana belongs to and he can investigate it as it's fairly normalish minus the whole chimera freakish transformation of a teenager and every direction he turns he's cop blocked. Melissa slaps him (assaulting a police officer), Papa Yukimura confesses stopping him from finding out if Kira did it out of self defense, fugue state or because she felt like it, Melissa adds in a whole bunch of irrelevant details about every other supernatural in town except the Dread Doctors making her statement useless unless he feels like sending her to Eichen House or prison. He tries to safeguard the corpse and is undermined by Parrish his own deputy.

 

Dude's sinking into the quagmire of supernatural murder and bullshit and no one is throwing him a life line. Has Deaton ever been in a scene with the Sheriff?

 

It's one thing if Lydia or Stiles only had incomplete sources for information but it comes across as they're not interested in finding out anything about the supernatural. They don't even bother to ask Deaton for his magic scrolls or Argents for their bestiary. They look for information in the school library instead for some reason. It's all so contrived and stupid.

 

As for Theo and Stiles recovering from their last mishap. Did Melissa even know that ? Was Theo even injured for more than 10 seconds ? The problem is we know that the teens may have been busy but there's not indication that she tried consulting anyone other than the Sheriff first. If I wanted to hide/move a dead body I wouldn't be calling the Sheriff. I'd call Deaton or Derek or Malia.

 

Actually did Melissa even know that her son had lost Liam ? Does Liam have parents ?

 

It's so hard to keep track of who knows what about what.

 

I missed that about the board being about who they knew were chimeras. I must have confused that with Sheriff and Melissa looking at the patient files and coming to the wrong conclusion that they had more suspects as to who was chimeras. I find it harder to keep track of the details as most of this will disappear by next season like Scott's dad disappearing into smoke along with the investigation into the assassins so it's hard to care that much about the details. I guess the FBI no longer cares about who set up the hit list on the teens or why there were so many assassins in town. Oh well.

 

I'm not sure I'll watch this after this season if there's another season. It seems to have lost its humor and any actual stakes. Red shirts pile up in a mountain of corpses and we're supposed to ignore the impact that would have on the town of 10000 or so. It doesn't help that the more people involved in Scott's pack the more diluted the core relationships feel. Scott and Stiles were facing a tragic end last half season and now they're barely ever in the same room for more than 3 seconds before racing off to another murder mystery. I can't even tell if Stiles and Malia are even in a relationship at the moment because they seldom spend any time together and they don't do any normal coupley things, hold hands, kiss, date or do anything together.

Edited August 12, 2015 by wayne67

[jelaine]

 

I'm not sure I'll watch this after this season if there's another season. It seems to have lost its humor and any actual stakes.

I suffered though S7 of Buffy and S5 of Angel, so I'm here until the bitter end.  I realized earlier this season that a lot of my frustration comes from the extra focus on the Big Bad since 3A.  We spend a lot of time with Alpha packs and darachs and assassins steampunk Doctors and not so much with Scott and Stiles being bros, with McCalls and Stilinskis being there for each other (they still are, but it doesn't seem as everyday as it was), Lydia and Allison shopping or bowling or target practice in the woods. Do they even attend classes except for Scott's AP Biology class?  I love these characters.  I love their relationships.  I don't love cold opens with people I've never seen before and will never see again once the episode is over.  I don't love the atmospherics of the Dread Doctors laboratory.  I find myself more bored than scared, though anything with the eyes makes me look away.

 

Say what you will about the simplicity of S1 and S2, but they kept the focus on the story and the characters even if a lot of stuff ultimately didn't make sense like Peter resurrecting himself. 

 

I do think the ep put pieces into place for the wrap, I'm just confused as to how they are going to wrap this part of the story up in two episodes.

[jhlipton]

 If they are not all dead, the Sheriff is lucky.

 

I don't think they're dead.  A deputy killing fellow cops would put me off the show.

 

 

So, we got a first initial for Stiles now?  M.

 

"Miles Stiles"?  It would explain why he never uses his first name!

 

For all he knew the Red Shirt in the kitchen could have been the first of many of Kira's kills

 

I don't think Kira killed the RedShirt.  Someone (Theo?) took advantage of her fugue state to do the deed.

[blueray]

 

Does Liam have parents ?

He does, at least have a step-father (who seems to a good parent, not that we have seen him this season). So I feel like he (and if he has a mother) would be worried when he didn't come home. Actually the fact that he has not come home before (the trip to Mexico). Also Hayden has a sister who works in law enforcement, you'd think she'd be worried when she didn't come home either. I wish this would at least be mentioned in the show. Unless they weren't actually missing for that long?

Edited August 12, 2015 by blueray

[AudienceofOne]

I don't love cold opens with people I've never seen before and will never see again once the episode is over.

 

 

Hey remember in 4 where they devoted achres of screentime to the ridiculous teen assassins only to promptly kill them off? That.

 

Truth is, the main characters are leaving the show in droves and so they're basically throwing new characters at the show hoping they'll make them stick. I don't know who developed the original set of core characters but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the current writers because they truly suck at characterisation. Often other writers are brought in at the original planning stage of a new show for that purpose and that's the only explanation I have for why the core are so three-dimensional and all the new characters are cutouts.

 

With the exception of Isaac, I can't think of a single character introduced after first season who wasn't one-dimensional (and yes I include Liam in that).

[snakenax]

 

Unless they weren't actually missing for that long?

From what I could tell the timeline of this all took place over one day, with Liam and Hayden being kidnapped the previous night(when they presumable used excuses for why they weren't home given it was pre-planned). Assuming it was a weekend since nobody had school, that would mean all they would need is a excuse why they were gone all day, which at least with the 16 year olds i've known tends to be more 'annoyingly common' than 'call the police worried'.

 

With the exception of Isaac, I can't think of a single character introduced after first season who wasn't one-dimensional (and yes I include Liam in that).

I would place Isaac as the single most one dimensional character the show ever had(seriously, it felt like he developed and lost character traits by roll of dice randomly flipping between psychopath, broken bird, asshole jock, total aw shucks dweeb and even bigger psychopath without any development in between) and easily it's worst acted character as well, his actor was just absolutely stunningly incapable of acting(that scene in the vet clinic where Scott shows him how to take away a dog's pain has possible the most laugh out loud acting on the show).

 

I would easily call Kira, Malia and Liam waaaay better characters than Isaac. They at least have a actual character, rather than just being whatever the current scene needs. And their actors are at least minimally skilled at line reading and portraying emotions.

Edited August 12, 2015 by snakenax

[Gwen-Stacys]

I do admit to cheering when he jammed his claws into Corey's neck.  Finally, Scott's using some of his Alpha powers!  Except that it was dangerous and lacking in consent, and he didn't have any remorse. 

Same! That was probably my favorite part of the episode because, although it was rather harsh and invasive, it made sense given the situation. Two kids were missing -something Scott blamed himself for- and they didn't have time for some random to sit back and slack read through a book it took them all an entire night to read. It was also very wolfish/alpha behavor. More of that, please!

 

And the lack of remorse on Scott's part was made up for because everyone (excluding Malia and Mason) were pretty upset that he took that risk.

 

The deputies don't have the Plot Armor that the pack has... and still Scott and everyone at the school got mind raped into submission by the Dread Doctors and two teenagers were stolen right from under Scott's nose. Scott had to be saved by freaking Mason of all people.

 

It has nothing to do with plot armor, but a lack of knowledge on their part. The deputies went in thinking they were protecting the body from your every day, normal variety human perp. They were inept for the challenge at hand because they're, as far as we know, ignorant to the supernatural elements in their town. It would've been in their best interest to know that the person they were fighting against something that could Flame On! punch and toss a jeep.

 

Having them go in for that job with their limited knowledge is akin to telling your friend you're going out hunting for deer when you're really hunting bears. Or that you're going swimming with dolphins when you're really going shark diving.

The Argents had a bestiary and lots of weapons. Scott could call Chris Argent and give the book to the cops... It's the very least he could to help. Did he even notice the blood on the kitchen counter or was he too busy lying to Kira about trust.

That's more on Sheriff Stilinksi to educate his officers, tbh. And the Sheriff has already expressed hesitation in learning about anything to do with the supernatural unless it has something to do with a case he's working on. Again, that's not Scott's responsibility to educate anyone that doesn't express a want to educate themselves.

 

He does, at least have a step-father (who seems to a good parent, not that we have seen him this season). So I feel like he (and if he has a mother) would be worried when he didn't come home. Actually the fact that he has not come home before (the trip to Mexico). Also Hayden has a sister who works in law enforcement, you'd think she'd be worried when she didn't come home either. I wish this would at least be mentioned in the show. Unless they weren't actually missing for that long?

Hayden's sister was working. Not to mention, they'd already made plans to be out all night. It's not outside the realm of possibility that they did a Round Robin (BTVS reference meaning they called their parents and told them they were staying the night at a friend's house. Liam probably said he was staying at Scott's, and Melissa would've covered. And Hayden probably said she was either at Kira's, who's parents also would've covered, or at some other friend's). That's actually something that happens in real life when teens want to hang out later than they're allowed.

[enness2000]

I can't even imagine how painfully difficult it would be to read a book backwards. I also can't comprehend how, when the point of the book is that it's a 'language trick' designed to spark buried memories, reading it in such a way as to deliberately avoid that language trick would still work, but whatever. That scene with Kira being experimented on was sufficiently creepy to make it mostly worthwhile. Though it does raise more questions of just how unfathomably powerful the Doctors are, and whether they can still pull that "operate right in front of people but without anyone there seeing what's happening or even noticing anything's wrong" trick on people who have read the book. In retrospect, I wish they had gone a more definite Silence/Ben-is-Glory route after Tracy's death. Having Malia emerge from the basement with a dead kanima, but not totally sure what happened or why, would have made for a much more plausible explanation behind the growing split in the pack, and would have kept their powers as a more consistent "You can't see or remember them until you've been forced to see/remember them" thing.

 

It seems like we're only just going to have caught up to the premiere by episode 10, so I guess the "Valack running Eichen House" plot is going to be the arc for 5B? And/or the Desert Wolf? On which point, if she knows Malia was being raised by the Tates, it's really not going to be that hard for her to find her again, given that she's still in the same house. 

 

That final Theo scene with all the hugging - I'm not wrong that Tyler Posey was trying to convey "suspicion" there, right? I mean, it is a little convenient that Theo was able to press for just the right information, though I'd expect Stiles or Lydia to be the ones sharp enough to pick up on that, not Scott. 

[wayne67]

Having them go in for that job with their limited knowledge is akin to telling your friend you're going out hunting for deer when you're really hunting bears. Or that you're going swimming with dolphins when you're really going shark diving.

That's more on Sheriff Stilinksi to educate his officers, tbh. And the Sheriff has already expressed hesitation in learning about anything to do with the supernatural unless it has something to do with a case he's working on. Again, that's not Scott's responsibility to educate anyone that doesn't express a want to educate themselves.

 

That of course presumes that Scott has useful knowledge to impart to someone who would listen. Scott has no idea how to fight the Dread Doctors even with half his pack backing him. What could he possibly tell Sheriff that would be of any use ?

 

Admittedly he could tell them they could stash the corpse at Eichen house but after the corpses piled up after Scott's last visit maybe that would be a bad place to lead law enforcement. I guess those people didn't have families either...

[Gwen-Stacys]

That of course presumes that Scott has useful knowledge to impart to someone who would listen. Scott has no idea how to fight the Dread Doctors even with half his pack backing him. What could he possibly tell Sheriff that would be of any use ?

I was just going off of what you said about Scott passing on the bestiary to Sheriff. Not Scott's inherent knowledge, though I'd say he's picked up a fair bit when it comes to werewolf business, it's the other stuff that, understandably, throws him for a loop. You should be more on Deaton for not sharing his knowledge, but even he seems of the thinking that it's best to leave the human police out of supernatural business. That is essentially what the Hunters (Calavares and Argents) are for. Though they seem to be more US Marshally than state police.

 

To be fair, no one seems to know all that much about the Dread Doctors, besides Dr.Valleck and whoever built Eichen House. And they're not Beacon Hills dependent; they, like everything else, were drawn there because of something the kids did back in 3b.

[Atony]

I realized earlier this season that a lot of my frustration comes from the extra focus on the Big Bad since 3A.  Say what you will about the simplicity of S1 and S2, but they kept the focus on the story and the characters

 

Yep, that is the biggest reason why I really enjoyed the earlier seasons.  It was supernatural teen drama, it was fun and character based.  Now they decide to jam so much plot and focus on the villians and redshirts with a supposed focus on making it "darker".  I don't mind darker, but darker doesn't mean better and when you don't have time to just breath and develop these characters it isn't a good thing.

 

Still, this string of episodes has been decent.  Certainly better than 4 and 3A.  Like someone else said, at this point I have accepted I'll be here til the bitter end.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Atony

[ahisma]

That final Theo scene with all the hugging - I'm not wrong that Tyler Posey was trying to convey "suspicion" there, right?

I read it as part of his shame/guilt spiral. "What? Theo found them? I didn't find them? I am a terrible alpha. I suck. Fuuuuudge. Theo would be a better alpha than me."

[SnoGirl]

I finally caught up in the past couple of episodes, and I was just waiting for Melissa to shout at Papa Stilinski "You certainly didn't have an issue with bodies piling up when Stiles was possessed."

I feel like, we're at this point where either the majority of the adults need to be clued in about the supernatural beings of Beacon Hills, or there needs to be a group (cough cough Derek and Argent) who are called to clean up these messes so the public doesn't know. I get why Papa Stilinski is upset, but I fee like we're going to get a bait and switch when he finds out Stiles killed Donovan.

And speaking of Stiles, how was he not concussed?? And does his father not know about the jeep? I feel like we're losing out on conversations we would have seen Season One and Two between Stiles and his father because of how fast everything is flying.

I wonder if the wolves can sense Chimera's, because my money is on Theo being one, and mixed with Kira's Fox. He could withstand the electricity and didn't he appear in that scene in the beginning of the season when Kira was out on the road? He was in a car wasn't he?

So with two episodes left, we've seen a ton of scenes from Lydia's flashes from the first episode. Stiles and the Jeep, the Slap between the parents (which, how could Lydia have known that happened), Kira leaving, Scott carrying Kira and a couple others right? I just assumed from those flashes, things would be more dire, like Stiles not being "fine" after the jeep flip, or Kira being out for the count, not just leaving. With Lydia trapped at Eichen, I'm now wondering what happens to the Pack that she's trapped there because her flashes weren't as devasting as I assumed them to end up being.

Unless the whole damn thing is a fake-out to catch the doctors and Theo. Which I don't know if our Pack is that smart...

[jhlipton]

Unless the whole damn thing is a fake-out to catch the doctors and Theo. Which I don't know if our Pack is that smart...

 

My Magic 8-Ball says: "All signs point to NO".

[AudienceofOne]

Unless the whole damn thing is a fake-out to catch the doctors and Theo. Which I don't know if our Pack is that smart...

 

 

I thought that when Scott had that stupid "I just don't trust Kira anymore conversation" with THEO that was completely out of character. But his hurt in this episode over feeling the pack pulling away from him seemed genuine so my "long con" theory seems to be, if not dead, at least in a coma. Unless he feels the need to maintain the con with his mother (why?). 

[Bo-Peep22]

   I feel like part of the reason Papa S. struggles with being a supernatural Pappy is because technically he isn't.

 

  For Melissa it's a tad easier for her to throw up her hands and declare her allegiance to the "dark side" because her kid is apart of it-in fact he's a permanent member of wolf-man hood! (for life-yikes!) So she can't exactly roll with the punches and hope for the best outcome (Scott not ending up in jail preferably) or just pack up and haul ass away from the action. However, our little goober (Stiles-whose-name-now-officially-has-an-initial!!) voluntarily assists the pack despite maintaining his pre-series status as a run-of-the-mill human. For the Sheriff, i think it's a hard pill to swallow knowing that his family doesn't have to be apart of the cycle of death. Knowing that the situation shouldn't affect his career or test his integrity as a person v. his status as a Father and yet still sort of stuck in the middle of, "I love my child but I can't stand the person I'm becoming because of his choices."

 

  I did find Mama M's station visit to be very spiteful though. Her statement, though it rang with truth, was more about shoving it to the Sheriff than actually having a point.

 

   Am i the only one who finds Kira's story line a little...boring?

 

As a character I like her (awkward turtles are always hilarious) but her relationship with Scott just seems so forgettable. IMO it's because she and Scott are both cupcakes in a sea of muffins and though on the surface having two saccharine tempered people create sparks is adorkable...it's also very repetitive.

 

 Malia's Mommy issues would have been a more enjoyable watch if Peter&Derek were still around for a Hale reunion BUT I will concede that Malia finally having a life outside of her boyfriend and the pack is refreshing. (Of course if her Mother has her way that life is soon to be over so...)

 

  Mason is the BWH of the group (Big Warm Hug) and he continues to amaze.

 

Considering the lack of communication that goes on in this group I can't imagine Lydia and Stiles actually telling Parrish they know what's up. Especially seeing as the first person Stiles informs of his discover is Lydia...decidedly not Parrish. 

[blueray]

I thought that when Scott had that stupid "I just don't trust Kira anymore conversation" with THEO that was completely out of character. But his hurt in this episode over feeling the pack pulling away from him seemed genuine so my "long con" theory seems to be, if not dead, at least in a coma. Unless he feels the need to maintain the con with his mother (why?). 

He many not trust Theo which I hope is the case and that he is trying to figure out what his story is. At the end of this episode he feels bad that he couldn't find Liam and that Kira left. I don't by that he didn't "trust" her, because yeah that is out of character.

[patchwork]

If Kira is truly gone then I now understand why Lydia is getting a martial arts and sonic scream upgrade. Kira replaced Allison as the sixth Ranger type, the one who's style is different from the others and now Lydia will replace Kira.

 

I would have loved to learn more about kitsunes, and it would have been so easy because her mother was right there, but the show moved on to shiny, new toys.

 

I want to believe Scott is pulling a long con like he did way back when but I'm not sure True Alpha Scott has it in him.   

[Scott]

So, we got a first initial for Stiles now?  M.

 

Maybe "M. Stilinski" is just French, using the abbreviation for monsieur.  

[jhlipton]

Maybe "M. Stilinski" is just French, using the abbreviation for monsieur.  

 

Monssiuer Miles Stiles.  I'm telling you!!!!  LOL

[mac123x]

Myxzptlk.  His mom was a huge fan of Superman comics.

[Sakura12]

Myxzptlk.  His mom was a huge fan of Superman comics.

 

That makes sense, didn't the coach ask "how do you even pronounce that?" 

[Terrafamilia]

I wanted to yell through the TV and tell Liam to tear out the wires that were on his side of the electrified doors. Even if they were not the wires to the electrification it would at least have been worth a try.

[ahisma]

I was thinking Theo should have been able to find some kind of shutoff switch or breaker, because obviously the DDs can open the gate. Or he could have looked for wires to cut from his side. Would have messed with his manly, trust-inducing heroics, though.