Teen Wolf - Premiere Recap: When Is a Door Not a Door?

Episode 13 of Season 3 of Teen Wolf, “Anchors,” was the premiere of Part 2 of Season 3. Trailers leading up to this debut episode highlighted quite well the nature of the next string of mind-bending horror to come our way. While Scott (Tyler Posey) began to lose control of his ability to transform and Allison (Crystal Reed) was plagued by the demonic ghost of her dead aunt, Stiles (Dylan O’brien) found himself paralyzed in a dream, within a dream, within a dream… Lydia (Holland Roden), for one, was happy that the crazy train had moved out of her station, and Isaac (Daniel Sharman) began to take steps in his pursuit of Allison’s heart. Meanwhile, Sheriff Stilinski (Linden Ashby) began reopening case files in order to tie up some lose ends. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 3 Episode 13 of Teen Wolf, “Anchors,” the Winter Premiere!

First, I’ll address the specific brands of pure insanity warping the minds of our Beacon Hills heroes. Remember, in venturing over to the land of the dead and subsequently returning to the world of the living, Scott, Stiles, and Allison knew that a sacrifice came with consequences. One doesn’t simply “press reset” on a supernatural homing beacon without suffering from terrifying repercussions, it seems, and as the doors to their deepest and darkest thoughts were left wide open, entities of all sorts were free to venture forward to prey on their fears.

MTV "Teen Wolf"

Scott: Scott’s own specific form of punishment slowly crept in from the start of Episode 13, as twisted visions of his alpha self began infiltrating his everyday life as a high school student. We’d catch glimpses of wolf-like shadows in place of his own regular human form, beginning with a simple shift from hand to claw and eventually evolving into a full primal shadow of a raging werewolf. The sights went unseen for all but Scott to begin with, though his erratic behavior eventually caught the eye of Stiles, who’d also been suffering through his own torment.

Kira Yukimura (Arden Cho) is the mysterious and intriguing new girl of Beacon Hills. Her father, a new teacher at school, wasted no time calling his daughter out publicly on her lack of a an effort to make friends. As Scott continued to battle through his feelings for Allison, this special new student caught his eye from the get-go. It seemed Kira had her eye on Scott as well, and her initial interest from afar proved to be the trigger that pushed McCall to the brink. Under the bright lights of the school hallway, Kira began to make her way over to Stiles’ locker in order to introduce herself to the boys. Scott, whose returned feelings of interest couldn’t have been clearer, began to transform in plain sight. Had it not been for Stiles’ efforts to whisk him away to the safety of a nearby classroom, Scott would have wolfed out in front of his entire class, Kira included. Scott, realizing that pain trumps the animalistic nature of the wolf in a sheer showing of humanity, dug his claws into his own palms. As blood gushed from his open wounds, the unwilling transformation began to end.

This was the point where I began to realize that we could very well find ourselves at the close of the Season 3 finale a few months from now only to discover that this was all one long nightmare. We could be the ones actually driven insane here. Thanks, MTV!

Allison: Shifting in a flash from the comfort of her building’s elevator to the decrepit and dank morgue of the hospital, Allison found herself in her own nightmare realm. As one of the doors in the morgue seemed to contain the remains of her deceased aunt, Kate (Jill Wagner), Allison couldn’t resist the temptation to prove this unreality false. Inside, the depths of the tiny chamber seemed to go on forever in blackness, yet from the darkness sprung a demon. The twisted and filthy ghost of Kate Argent, in all of its mangled glory, clawed its way in a hurry to the doorway. Just as the malignant spirit reached Allison, she flashed back to reality and to the halls of school. Lydia, who is no stranger to losing time, was concerned for her friends' wellbeing, needless to say. Though, I will admit I enjoyed her snark here. No more insanity for Lydia! At least, not for now. Then again, what came next in Allison’s arc of craziness for this Episode 13 premiere might have been worse for our favorite Beacon Hills ginger.

MTV "Teen Wolf"

MTV "Teen Wolf"

Amidst the chaos of facing the horrifying specter of Kate Argent, Allison seemed to have lost her touch in archery. Her hands, once naturally steady as a rock, now began to shake and tremble uncontrollably with any attempt to fire an arrow. Lydia, adamantly intent on helping her friend through this crisis, took Allison out to the middle of the woods to attempt to help her find her balance; however, the concentration required only served to send Allison into another bout with this agonizing insanity. The vision of Kate’s ghost attacking through the trees was enough to drive Allison to raise her bow with ease and fire. Unfortunately, the vision actually sent an arrow shooting straight for Lydia’s head. Had Isaac not been lurking among them, Allison would have killed her friend in an instant.

This Season 3 premiere was an episode focused on finding anchors. As some of our favorite heroes found their minds slipping into the abyss, it seems the only thing keeping them from completely losing it might be their loved ones. Allison seemed to find some comfort in Isaac, as we’d later come to witness her fantasy session with Scott’s friend. Without realizing that she’d fallen asleep, Allison envisioned a romantic and steamy scene with her new love interest, only to find her dream, once again, shattered by the appearance of the illusion of Kate... killing Isaac.

MTV "Teen Wolf"

Stiles: I saved Stiles’ plot for last during this recap because it was clear to me that this is going to be the season of Stiles. The Winter Premiere of Season 3b actually opened with Stiles’ first absolutely terrifying dream sequence. Is there anything more awful to consider than a nightmare, inside of a nightmare, inside of a nightmare? Sleep paralysis, a crippling condition in which your mind awakes before your purposely-paralyzed body, is a truly horrible ailment to begin with. (Trust me. Anytime I nap anywhere other than a bed, it happens to me!) First, Stiles envisioned himself within the empty halls of his school at night, drawn to the twisted power of the druid trunk inside. Next, he awoke in his bed to find Lydia casually at his side to comfort him. At first, we were made to wonder when these two officially began snuggling up, but Stiles was quick to point out that something was amiss. From the corner of his room, his closet door was left just a crack opened. Blackness poured in. What was trying to infiltrate his mind? What were the things attempting to seep in? Stiles, refusing to suffer any longer, entered the black abyss inside the closet, only to find himself in a field, able to wake up solely by screaming his lungs out. Finally, he truly snapped back to reality in his own bed, alone. At school, Scott seemed interested to learn of Stiles’ side effects to the ritual they'd endured. Stiles, meanwhile, confided in his best friend of his true fear… the fact that he wasn’t even certain that he’d ever truly woken up and snapped back to reality. At this moment, Teen Wolf truly pushed the envelope. Stiles woke yet again. This time, his father rushed in to comfort him as he shot into an absolute fear-induced frenzy. My brain exploded here. Did yours?

Episode 13 also revealed another devastating repercussion to Stiles’ death and revival; he lost the ability to read. Everything from book titles to the numbers on his locker lock appeared as jumbled letters and symbols. One absolutely freaky scene involved his entire class, including Coach Finstock (Orny Adams), using sign language to convey some kind of cryptic message to Stilinski. Later, Scott and his buddy ventured over to Dr. Deaton’s (Seth Gilliam) office for information. Deaton subsequently helped the two decode Stiles’ sign language message, a warning from his subconscious of what’s to come.

When is a door not a door?

When it’s “ajar.”

Their minds were left open following the reactivation of the druid trunk’s magic. If Scott, Allison, and Stiles fail to close the entry soon, they will surely be doomed.

Oddly enough, Kira proved to be quite helpful in the discussion at hand. After overhearing the entire group brainstorming as to what could be plaguing their minds, Kira suggested the Tibetan concept of bardo, the “intermediate state” between life and death. As the trio remain in this state, they’re susceptible to all of the mental agony they’ve been suffering through. They’re also vulnerable to the presence of entities… including demons.

As this all came to transpire, Sheriff Stilinski began sifting through countless unsolved case files in hopes of solving as many mysteries as he could following his inclusion in this world of the supernatural. Knowing now that beings like werewolves and kanimas exist, he can essentially venture back in time to reopen the tragic cases that he could find no explanation for prior. Why the sudden rush? Stiles came to learn that Scott’s father had been enlisted in an effort to impeach his own dad following a clear lack of unsolved mysteries in Beacon Hills. Scott, absolutely infuriated that his own awful father would do such a thing to his friend, almost completely wolfed out that evening at home. Had it not been for his mother, Melissa (Melissa Ponzio), and her encouraging words to find the strength in himself as his own true anchor, he most likely would have ripped his dad’s throat out, not that any of us would be complaining… Also, kudos to Ms. McCall for keeping the peace between Scott and Isaac as their friendly(?) rivalry over Allison's heart continues to grow.

Most of Sheriff Stilinski’s focus this week was on the case of Malia Tate, a young girl who’d gone missing eight years prior. While her mother and sister were found dead in an absolutely devastating car wreck in the middle of the woods, Stilinski faced the arduous task of informing the girl’s father that she’d most likely been hauled off and eaten by coyotes (Yikes!); however, no body was ever found. Now, he had reason to believe that a werewolf might have been to blame, and with a little help from Scott and Stiles, he attempted to get to the bottom of Malia’s disappearance.

After visiting her distraught father and reopening some old wounds by suggesting *gulp* a murder, Sheriff Stilinski might have regretted this decision. As Scott snooped through the girl’s belongings looking to pick up her scent, he came across nothing but the smell of her protective guard dog. Later, however, McCall rallied Stiles up one last time, and the two headed out to the scene of the crash. The car had been left to rust, most likely due to its odd location, but the werewolf claw marks on the side of the vehicle were enough to give the boys proof. Scott, catching a glimpse of a new wolf in the shadows, entered into an awesome chase scene to close out his arc this week. After finally cornering the unknown being and using his alpha powers to quell her angst and aggression, it became clear that this was no random werewolf… this was Malia, and her eyes were an icy blue.

MTV "Teen Wolf"

Scott, desperate for more answers and some assistance, attempted to text Derek (Tyler Hoechlin), who was conspicuously absent for the entirety of this Winter Premiere. To end the recap, Episode 13 of Season 3b closed with the sight of Derek and Peter (Ian Bohen) strung up against a wire fence in some gnarly looking torture chamber. As electricity began to surge through their torsos, we became privy to the fact that there is, indeed, more going on in Beacon Hills.

What did you think of the Season 3 Part 2 Winter Premiere of Teen Wolf, Episode 13, “Anchors”? Are you interested in this new mind-bending storyline or do you miss the lighter stuff from earlier seasons? What are Kira’s motives? Is Derek now aware of Peter’s motives? Will Scott’s dad succeed in getting Stiles’ father fired? Are you into Allison and Isaac, or are you still rooting for a reconciliation with Scott?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of the Season 3b Winter Premiere of Teen Wolf, Episode 13, “Anchors”!