Teen Wolf 3.03: Fireflies

This episode was a jumble of fun reveals, married with some campy action and some great horror scenes. Those moments of horror are almost Buffy-esque in their execution and while Buffy had its leader-of-the-pack thing going, meaning it was one of the first shows of its kind, Teen Wolf has to try extra hard to make things work. There’s a definite sense of the producers making an effort to avoid stepping into traps that could lead to predictability and tedium. In that regard, a few scenes stood out in ‘Fireflies’.

That bug scene was a bunch of standard parlour tricks all thrown together in a way that made it hard to even guess where things could go next. One minute it’s like a scene from Creepshow, the next it’s all fangs and hairy legs. Lydia stumbling onto that bloody scene by the pool even took me by surprise. I’m still not sure what her deal is, though. Is she some kind of telepath that connects to each of these bad guys? Or is she just the easiest pawn for them to go to in order to get to everyone else?

Either way, she’s probably safe from whoever is killing the town virgins. Does this mean Stiles should watch his back? So far this season’s larger narrative has been pretty nuts in terms of who the bigger threats are, but whether or not the Alpha pack is involved in this string of killings, they’re still the most important menace so far, even if they were absent here.

If only Ms Blake had taken a rain check this week, too. She might have spared herself the trauma of what she witnessed in the boiler room. You can always tell the new people in town, they’re the ones who think it’s OK to stay in schools past 12 to correct the last of the English papers on their desk. I’m guessing there’s something about to go down between her and Derek based on that heroic save. It’d be nice to see him step outside his wolf comfort zone, so I’m hoping something does actually happen. He needs something to distract him from the mess that is his family life. Hopefully Cora will be a little more open to talking once the moon is past.

I think Allison is trying to make up for her own family. It was pretty cool of her to drop by and help Isaac out by letting loose a few flash-bomb type arrows. Is it all to say sorry for what her mother did, or is she in it for more than just accountable guilt? I wonder will she start making more time for other wolves beside Scott.

Though ‘Firelfies’ was a little odd in its fulfilment of some narrative insight, I’m still firm in thinking that this season is definitely heading in the right direction.

7/10

Plus

Peter is still a strong point for the show. He needs to be given a bigger role as soon as possible.

He Said, She Said

Lydia: “Mom do you hear me?...Of course you didn’t, you would’ve heard me screaming like a lunatic...”

Scott: “If these aren’t random killings, then what are they?”
Siles: “Sacrifices. Human sacrifices.”

Also posted at Doux Reviews.