Teen Wolf - Recap: Long Live Lydia!
Teen Wolf continued to claw it’s way through Season 3 tonight with what was arguably the most exciting, terrifying, and emotional episode it’s put up in a long time. Taking a page from Freddy Krueger’s handbook, Scott and his friends faced their worst nightmares.
(Side Note: Sorry for the lack of original screenshots this week, pack. I’m away without access to my HD dvr, but refused to skip this week’s recap and review! Well, I just didn’t want to miss Teen Wolf, okay? Woof!)
We first got a glimpse of the morose motel via a flashback to the mid-seventies in which a man, who’d clearly taken a wolf bite, decided to, in turn, take his own life. A shotgun blast through the head, and we were zapped back to the present night.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
The group broke off into pairs and got settled into their rooms pretty quickly. Scott (Tyler Posey) and Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) shacked up and got straight to discussing Darach and his dark druid ways. Stiles had compiled a list of suspects, and lucky for us, he still sort of hates/ fears Derek. More importantly, Stiles *gulp* had to admit that Lydia was starting to look way way too involved in these murders. It wouldn’t be the first time someone invaded our favorite ginger’s brain to do their own nasty bidding. While Stiles wasted no time venturing to the vending machine, it initially appeared as though Boyd (Sinqua Walls) had the same plan. That is, until the wolf smashed through the glass for a damn candy bar. Stiles reaped the benefits, but took a mental note of the strange behavior.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
While Lydia decided to do some snooping of her own, Allison found herself caught off guard when ex-boy toy Scott interrupted her shower. Getting a little too close for comfort, Allison managed to hold his creepy advances off long enough for the original Teen Wolf to snap out of it and back off. Something was clearly in the air. Downstairs, Lydia spoke to the motel manager while she attempted to trade in some disgusting cigarette soaked towels. She couldn’t help but notice a strange number tacked up on the wall. 198 what? The motel would never win any awards for customer service, obviously, but they were famous for one thing; suicides. 198 suicides and counting, to be exact. Back in their room, a frantic Lydia attempted to explain things to her bestie, and, realistically enough, strangely speaking, Allison bought it right away. Seriously, I often wonder why characters on supernatural shows in the same vein as Teen Wolf often take so long to realize that if something seems entirely off, there’s usually something awful and supernatural behind it. Throughout the episode, Lydia would go on to experience the audio tracks of several of the suicides through the motel vents. The first example happened to be that of a couple doing the dastardly deed together, once again, through gun shots to the head.
One of the more intense scenes during “Motel California” had to be Isaac’s (Daniel Sharman) reliving of one of his father’s abusive sessions. He wasn’t a tremendous presence time-wise during Episode 6, but Isaac left a big impression. Anytime they threw us a “cooler flashback,” I can’t help but wince and cringe. That is true terror. Boyd, meanwhile, had been reliving his own nightmare; the death of whom I’m assuming was his sister. First, he would have a vision of her corpse speaking to him while digging in the ice cooler. Next, he would be harassed to the brink by a bedside radio that would not stop replaying Boyd’s questioning following his sister’s ice rink drowning. It began to grow increasingly clearer that these wolves were being pushed to take their own lives.
With the help of Stiles, having taken note that the wall number had leapt from 198 to 201, the girls deduced that their friends were in danger. The trio then brainstormed further, recognizing the signs of yet another Darach sacrifice in the making. This time, the dark druid was targeting werewolves.
Danny (Keahu Kahuanui) is finally getting some action, pack! Season 3 Episode 6 officially put Danny’s love life on the Teen Wolf radar. Ethan (Charlie Carver) might be an evil alpha twin, but at least he’s kind to Danny. The two got to smooching in their own room, and before we knew it, it seemed as though Ethan was growing closer to biting. Not in so much of a sexy sense, but in a “I want you to be my werewolf partner” sense. Danny, though, shared stories of his scars and surgeries, proud of his own natural survival. Danny, of course, doesn’t know of the existence of werewolves, but we can already see a bit of a conflict brewing, even if the two are a good match. Unfortunately, their time would be cut short. Ethan began experiencing his own form of mental torture, as it seemed as though another body was fighting to tear its way out of his chest. Maybe there was some symbolism here regarding the fact that he’s an identical twin? Could be a bit of an identity crisis situation, although we just don’t know him well enough yet. Ethan fled to another room.
Stiles, Lydia, and Allison continued to play Scooby Doo, caught off guard by the sound of a screeching buzz saw from behind a mystery door. Inside, the trio found Ethan about to literally tear the imaginary force out of his stomach… with an electric saw. Stiles attempted to wrestle the tool from his hands while Lydia struggled to unplug it. In the end, it was a burn from a heater that awoke Ethan from his trance, prompting him to flee the room, yet again, absolutely clueless as to what had gone down.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
While Allison ran ahead in search of Scott, Stiles finally admitted to Lydia what he’d feared all along. This night certainly resembled the night of her birthday… when Lydia unknowingly poisoned her entire party with wolfsbane. Lydia might have been pissed in any other case, but another auditory flashback to a woman drowning herself, and her newborn baby, hinted at a present day drowning among their own. The duo eventually discovered Boyd weighed down in his bathtub, a safe pinning him to the bottom. Without super werewolf strength, the two seemed to have found themselves in a hopeless situation. That is, until Lydia recalled the way in which heat had snapped Ethan from his own suicide mission. Also, the girl managed to quickly remember that the bus would have waterproof flares inside in case of emergency. Stiles scrambled to the bus and back, snapping Boyd out of his unwanted death wish. In addition, the two found Isaac shuddering uncontrollably under the bed. Thankfully, they had an extra flare.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
As the horror show of the Glen Capri Motel continued to unfold, Jennifer managed to haul the big lug that is Derek Hale back to his loft. It seems as though the woman is growing increasingly aware of Derek’s non-human side, recognizing the black-blood wounds across his body. The last time we saw wounds like that, of course, was last week when Scott’s guilt manifested via a psychosomatic fatal blow to his side. Once I managed to realize that, I knew that this was in fact Derek’s own emotional issue. He is, indeed, “one big open wound,” and Jennifer seems to be the one in line to heal him. The two, as I previously stated, got pretty hot and heavy, and Derek’s wounds healed entirely.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
While Derek got lucky, Scott was looking more and more as though he were a Teen Wolf on the brink of destruction. After “witnessing” Deucalion’s (Gideon Emery) murder of his mother outside of his bedroom window, Scott took to the courtyard pavement of the motel. The vision had worked its dark magic. There, Lydia, Stiles, and Allison found their friend, drenched in gasoline and holding the final flare. Derek’s death had pushed him to the edge and alpha status would mean more death and destruction in his life. Scott recalled the days of being “no one,” an unpopular, un-athletic, and incredibly safe teenage boy to be around. This was certainly the most emotional scene of the season. This might have been the most emotional scene Teen Wolf has ever put up, especially considering Stiles’ amazing and tearful moment of friendship. In truth, Scott was never a “nobody” to him. He was always his best friend. Stiles stepped into the gasoline, breaking apart Scott's looming doom once and for all. The flare was tossed away, and just for a moment, we could catch our breaths. That is, until the wind blew the lit flare back into the puddle. Does the MVP award this week go to Lydia for immediately recognizing the danger held inside the motel or for her awesome and selfless tackle to knock the boys from the explosion? From the ground, Lydia looked back into the flames, gazing for the first time at the demon known as Darach. At least, that’s what we were lead to believe.
MTV "Teen Wolf"
The next morning, Ethan thanked Scott and Stiles for saving his life by tipping them off to Derek’s “alive” status; however, the death of one of their own meant that there would be hell to pay. As Coach Finstock (Orny Adams) boarded the bus, Lydia took note of something odd surrounding his whistle. Snatching it from him his neck, she recognized that it was laced with wolfsbane, the drug that had sent the teen wolves into a frenzy during their stint at the motel.
The episode closed with Allison’s father (JR Bourne) visiting that awful old Gerard (Michael Hogan). Previously, Mr. Argent had discovered Allison’s involvement in the werewolf battle that nearly killed Derek. Now, he was looking to get to the bottom of the suicide of one of his relatives, the man who’d shot himself at the episode’s start. Gerard laughed, revealing the dealer of the werewolf bite that drove him to suicide… Deucalion.
What did you think of Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 6, “Motel California”? Who is behind Darach? (Could it be Ms. Morell, who seems trapped by the alpha pack’s power?) Do you like Derek’s new lady friend? Was this your favorite episode of season 3? Did you love the final scene between Scott and Stiles? Do you appreciate that Lydia is both Daphne and Velma from Scooby Doo all rolled into one?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 6, “Motel California”!