Teen Wolf - Recap: You ARE the Father!
Teen Wolf continued tonight with an episode that had the nogitsune in Stiles setting up some seriously elaborate traps for one wicked purpose. Meanwhile, Lydia made a shocking discovery after doing some brave digging on her own.
What do you know? Episode 19 began in Japan! At the Yakuza headquarters, the son of the last man inflicted with the torment of the nogitsune paced in a fury. As his pet wolf remained incapacitated due to some unknown cause, the man was forced to turn to desperate measures. Calling in Dr. Deaton all the way from Beacon Hills, the Japanese mobster quickly learned that his pooch was poisoned by lichen, Letharia Vulpina… wolf’s lichen. Quickly ushering Deaton into the garden, we learned as the pair searched for evidence of this neon moss-like plant that this was the exact location where Allison’s father had witnessed the Oni attack for the first time. Remember, we’ve seen that flashback for ourselves. The very fountain that caught the blood of this man’s father, the leader of the Yakuza who’d been harboring the nogitsune, now sprouted Letharia Vulpina. At this point, we learned of the true nature of Deaton’s plan. He’d paralyzed the wolf temporarily using leftover venom from the Kanima (Thanks, Jackson! How’s Europe? Cheerio!) and subsequently rendered this new leader of the Yakuza incapable of movement as well. Finally, he scooped up a sample of the plant poisonous to wolves and foxes and headed home to cure Stiles.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
First, they’d have to locate Stiles! Outside of the hospital, Kira (Arden Cho) witnessed the chopped electrical wiring flailing about as a subsequent series of unfortunate events sent massive puddles of water flowing through the parking lot. At this point, Allison and Isaac began to head towards the action, but Kira, realizing that the electrical current was hurting those in contact with the flooding, managed to tip Isaac off. Allison, however, was another story, and before we knew it, Isaac was stepping in to knock her from danger, rendering himself some heinous electrical burns in the process. Kira, tapping into her innate abilities, ninja-flipped onto the scene and sucked the power from the open chord. Derek and Scott watched on in awe. Kira’s mother, on the other hand, was first concerned with the exposure her daughter had just brought upon herself.
The next day, Scott and his mother, Melissa (Melissa Ponzio), headed back to the hospital before school to check in on Isaac, Scott’s almost-brother, who remained unconscious in a hospital bed and unable to heal. This got me wondering about just how many teens in this town this woman mothers, by the way! Allison held Scott’s hand in fear as the two approached Isaac's hospital bed, and this was surely a nice moment for fans of this couple who’ve been given very little this season. Though, I’ve often noted that Teen Wolf seems to be one of the only shows where I’m seriously enjoying the swapping of partners here and there. Scott used his special ability, the power to sap the pain from others, to at least give Isaac a bit of comfort while he healed slowly.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
At school that day, Ethan and Aiden reminded Scott of the looming threat of an invisible Stiles among them. As the entire town seemed to be on the lookout for nothing more than a missing teenage boy, these three knew better. Sheriff Stilinski (Linden Ashby), meanwhile, sat concerned in his office with nothing more than signing off on package drop-offs to keep him occupied. Before we knew it, however, the wolves of Beacon Hills High tuned into the sound of an Argent homing beacon in the school’s basement. There, Scott and the twins came upon a now very aware Stiles, surrounded by new tools to create a seemingly bigger terrorist attack. Using a map apparently left behind by the nogitsune as it subsided back into Stiles’ brain, the foursome managed to deduce that the next attack would take place along the path of the track practice through the woods, a covered trail which an entire class of kids would sprint down that headed straight for the spot where the father of the werecoyote, Malia, had laid down several bear traps weeks prior.
The subsequent scene where the class, led by Kira and Danny (Keahu Kahuanui), went for a run down the trail was both exhilarating and heart-pounding to watch. As Kira tapped into her newly acquired super speed, Danny seemed to be annoyed that he slipped behind. Of course, we didn’t want them to zip too far ahead because then they’d run right into the nogitsune’s trap. Lucky for Kira, Scott managed to sweep her off her feet just in time. Though, Ethan tackling Danny and preventing him from carrying on with a kiss was probably better! Nice try, Scott! By the way, how long before Danny is filled in on some of this stuff? He’s had a few close calls now! Stiles, tapping into his own mind, I presumed, lifted a rusted metal chain from the leaves, a chain that seemed to lead to a massive bear trap. On the other end, however, he found nothing but jeers from Coach Finstock (Orny Adams), who subsequently tripped a nearby wire activating the actual trap set by the mischievous nogitsune. An arrow shot into Coach’s gut, knocking him to the ground, and while the class waited impatiently for an ambulance to arrive, Scott could do nothing but suck the pain from Coach’s veins as he’d done previously for Isaac. Even screaming in agony, Coach Finstock is the best!
Both Derek and Chris Argent were dragged into the mix presumably as part of the nogitsune’s plan. Both found a beacon of Argent’s in odd locations that were used to drag them together. Before we knew it, none other than Agent McCall (Matthew Del Negro) arrived at the Argent’s apartment to bring them both down to the station. McCall had been doing his research and discovered that the man known as Silverfinger, who of course tied back to Argent, had been murdered. Agent McCall seems to be smarter than we’d initially assumed, and after doing just a little digging on his own, he managed to tie the situation back to the Yakuza. Now, were Derek and Chris Argent being framed somehow by the nogitsune for the crimes at hand? I never thought so. At least, I didn’t think Agent McCall thought so. I just think he’s become increasingly aware of who is involved in the mysterious catastrophes constantly plaguing Beacon Hills.
Using gear in the back of Stiles jeep while he remained unaware, the twins and Scott managed to piece together that the nogitsune was attempting to recreate Barrow’s bomb of choice, a nail bomb. If you recall, the nail bomb was first detonated on a school bus. Thus, Teen Wolf subsequently jumped back to Beacon Hills High where the buses began to be evactuated and poor Jared sat alone, sweating, and holding a “gift.” Kira’s father attempted to handle the situation first, while the Sheriff’s team began to arrive. In the end, it was none other than Sheriff Stilinski’s deputy (Ryan Kelley), whom I’m really starting to like, who used his military training to get to the bottom of the faux terrorist attack. The box was empty, save for the Sheriff’s desktop nameplate. Suddenly, Stiles’ father realized just what had actually gone down in his office that morning. They'd all been duped!
Derek listened in as chaos ensued around him, and Allison’s father remained absolutely baffled. It was too late, however, and in a flash the package that had been delivered to the Sheriff that morning exploded, injuring several officers and Derek, who’d dove to protect Allison’s father in the process. Allison’s father thanked Derek, who stood stabbed with countless shards of glass down his entire left side, for saving his life. Meanwhile, Scott and Stiles began tending to the wounded, even against his father’s shouts. Scott, unable to leave people suffering, continued to relieve one fallen officer of his pain just before he passed away. The nogitsune had certainly struck again, but was it really doing just what Kira had assumed it to be doing? Apparently, nogitsune are mischievous but they really don’t care about doing good or evil. They simply like the fun of it all; however, ticking one off is another story. For whatever reason, the monster inside of Stiles’ mind is pissed, pack.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
As all of this transpired, Lydia dragged Allison along on her own adventure for redemption. Remember, Lydia’s power seemed to fail the group last week, though we know that it actually didn’t turn out that way. Episode 19 found one of my favorite Teen Wolf pairings coming back together for our viewing pleasure. Upon witnessing none other than Peter Hale flirting with her mother in her high school hallways, Lydia realized that she was, yet again, being drawn to Peter for some service. Peter does, however, know more about her abilities than anyone else, and Season 3 Lydia is not the same girl who was brainwashed or bitten by this wolf seasons back. Peter and Lydia have great chemistry, but throwing Allison into the mix was even better. The Hunter and the Banshee can now match wits with Peter, who cut right to the chase. He offered to help train Lydia to use her gifts if she could read the claws of Derek’s mother. Before her death, the powerful alpha had stolen a memory from Peter, and he simply wanted it back. Lydia’s scream is merely a tool to tap into a wave of noise normal folks can’t actually here. For example, when Allison and Peter nearly came to blows after trading shade, Lydia’s absolute frustration and need for silence was enough to tap into another wavelength and read the nails she’d instinctually tossed into a nearby pillar. Congratulations! Peter Hale isn’t just an uncle. Peter Hale is a father! Of course, the camera cut to Derek at this point (Actually, this occurred before Derek was nearly blown to smithereens, fyi.), but we’d later learn that Lydia kept something from Hale. Is the werecoyote actually Peter’s daughter? Only time will tell! Lydia is way better than Maury Povich.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
To close the recap for this week, Kira listened in on a conversation between her parents from within the privacy of a classroom at the empty school. Apparently, her mother has been sacrificing her “tails,” symbols of strength for the kitsune, in order to draw forth more and more powerful Oni. As she cracked through the last of her tails, we witnessed the Druid tree spewing the demons forth. Kira, recognizing that this meant death for Stiles, tipped off Scott and his friend and the three made a run for it to Deaton’s clinic. Eventually, however, the Oni caught up to them, and both Scott and a newly ninja-like Kira did battle while Stiles waited safely inside. After a significantly entertaining fight sequence that ended with Scott taking a sword to the gut, the new couple (They are, right?) joined Stilinski, only to learn the truth. Kira was knocked unconscious, and Stiles twisted the sword inside of his friend. This wasn’t Stiles from the start. This was merely the tricky fox manipulating Scott into sucking the pain out of those around him because... the nogitsune feeds on chaos! Luckily for Scott, Deaton intervened, injecting Stiles with the Letharia Vulpina. The nogitsune is now poisoned, but it’s not dead… yet.
What did you think of Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 19, “Letharia Vulpina”? Can Stiles make it out of Season 3 alive? (I hear we might be losing some of our regulars!) Did you like seeing Lydia and Peter together again? What’s the deal with Mrs. Yukimura’s tails?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 19, “Letharia Vulpina”!