Teen Wolf 5.05: A Novel Approach

This was exactly the type of episode we needed at this point; one that finally gave us an idea of what we’re up against, while also raising the personal stakes.

The opening melee between Stiles and Donovan was great in and of itself, but it was the aftermath and the emotional fallout that made it one of the most significant twists so far this season. Stiles getting blood on his hands gave us the chance to see how someone without wolf blood, or kitsune powers deals with killing someone, albeit unintentionally.

If nothing else, this episode was a showcase of how important Dylan O’Brien has become to Teen Wolf. He’s easily the most talented cast member, and ever since the third season he’s started stealing every scene he’s in. This week the trauma from Stiles’s confrontation with Donavan and his struggle with doing the right thing, gave O’Brien the chance to show yet another dark side to the show’s most important human character. It also bed through into the rest of the episode, driving him to find answers in the darkest places, like Eichen House.

The meeting with Dr Valack revealed quite a bit about the Doctors and the power that they have. The idea that the these creepy masked surgeons have been meddling with people unbeknownst to them makes these guys even more terrifying than before. This twist could also take a few interesting turns if we find out that some of the main cast have been tampered with.

Malia was sidelined a bit this week, but we did learn one interesting thing about the accident that killed her parents. We now know that Malia’s birth mother, The Desert Wolf, was there that night. Why was she there? Why would she target them intentionally? And when the hell do we get to meet her?!

Plus

Kira is continuing to lose control. I hope this plot goes all the way and she goes full on bad guy.

He Said, She Said

Scott: “I don’t remember saying that.”
Kira: “You don’t remember a lot of things.”

Stiles: “There’s got to be a point where self defence is justified.”

I feel like this season is really making use of a longer running narrative. We’re halfway through season 5B and it doesn’t feel like there’s an ending in sight, at least for a while. This could be the first time we see the show split a show completely between breaks, which could be interesting. There’s nothing about this season that seems like it’s stretching itself too thin, so I could see it working it the show’s favour this time around.

8/10

Also posted at Doux Reviews.