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Teen Wolf: The Divine Move

“Does anyone feel divinely inspired?”

‘The Divine Move’ ends season three on a fittingly high note. Not that I would have expected anything different from one of the strongest stretches of episodes I’ve ever seen in a TV serial.

The dust barely had time to settle after the shattering ending to ‘Insatiable’ before things kicked back into action. The Nogitsune’s final acts of terror were appropriately bloody and insane, and definitely allowed him to go out as the creepiest and most merciless of Teen Wolf’s big bads. That hospital massacre will be a little tough to explain, too.

Naturally the final fight had another fatality to add to this show’s growing list. I’m not going to lie and say I’m sad to see the twins bow out, but having one survive and the other perish was a cruel twist of fate, but a great way to send them off into the sunset without it feeling like they got out easy.

There was a definite mark left on everyone in Beacon Hills this season, and I think that almost every choice made by the Teen Wolf creative team will serve the show well going into its fourth year. With stories that propel forward at a thousand miles a minute, there’s very little time for the show to service the dead weight, and it looks like it won’t be burdened by that in any way come season four.

Final confrontations aside, as a season finale there was a need to fit in some set up before we say goodbye for a few months, which we got in the fun but slightly choppy final few minutes. It looks like Malia is going to be a regular staple, which is great considering there’s definitely room for another kick ass heroine, and of course it will be great to see her cause a stir between Lydia and Stiles.

If you discount the loss of Allison, I think Stiles has the longest recovery ahead of him. The Nogitsune did so many terrible things, and Stiles had to endure all of it. Experiencing and remembering all of the terror it inflicted has totally changed him from the old spaz he used to be.

I think season four should start with a reset given all of the pain and suffering that’s happened here. Allison’s death will have such a tremendous impact that will resonate for a long time, and it definitely requires everyone to move on. Not just Scott, who’s lost the love of his life, but characters like Lydia too, who will probably be incredibly lonely without her best friend, and also her boy toy around to keep her busy.

I don’t think anyone will be bored for too long, though, with the show’s biggest villain making a tremendous comeback. Kate was one of the greatest things about the show’s hit-and-miss first season, and I’m incredibly excited, not just to see her back again, but to see what the writers do with her now that the show has gotten so much more confident and sure footed in the time since her supposed death.

In any case, season four has a hell of a lot to live up to. In its supersized third year Teen Wolf has proven its worth in so many different ways. The missteps were few and far between and, to be honest, went pretty much unnoticed in the spectacular chaos that was Teen Wolf season three.

4.5 out of 5 crazy aunts back from the dead.

Plus

I got really worried for Melissa there for a while.

What the hell is Kate?

Her return is even better now that I know it was planned well ahead of time.

Aiden’s death scene was really well acted. I’m genuinely surprised since I’ve never been blown away by either of the twins’ performances.

Malia just randomly showed up at the end, didn't she? A side effect of the producers not knowing if she was signed on or not.

He Said, She Said

Agent McCall: “I tried to apologise.”
Melissa: “He’s a teenage boy. He doesn’t care about apologies; he wants you to do better.”

Originally posted at PandaTV.

5 comments:

  1. With the loss of Allison, the twins and Isaac, Teen Wolf will certainly be different. But I don't think it will suffer, especially with the addition of Kira and Malia.

    And hey! Danny knows!

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  2. The entire 2nd half of Season 3 was fantastic, I can't wait to see what they have in store for Season 4.

    I'm not entirely surprised with who won't be returning. I figured the twins were toss-ups both for survival and for sticking around, and I can't say I'll be all that sorry to see Isaac leave, he didn't really click with me sicne hooking up with Allison, he was better in Season 2.

    I AM a tad surprised at who's going to be around next year. I would have laid better than even odds that Kira's mom was going to get killed by the Nogitsune. We already have the Druidic Exposition Veterinarian, wasn't sure we needed a second Wise Old One for them to go to. But hey, if it keeps Tamlyn Tomita on the show, I'm all for it!

    A couple of notes from this episode in particular:
    *Do NOT scare me like that with Scott's mom! She is one of my favorite characters on the show, killing her off would make me a very unhappy camper, especially if you tried to replace me with that screen-wasting wuss-bag Scott has the misfortune to call a father. I just want to smack him SO hard.
    *The way they were talking about a "divine move", I was expecting something a little more epic. I get it, seeing through the Nogitsune's illusion, etc. But they were kinda building it up to be more of an "OMGWTFWASTHAT!" moment.
    *Don't get me wrong, I adore Jill Wagner. She's hysterical on Wipeout, she's fun on Wolf Watch, and she's insanely hot. But she still can't act her way out of a paper bag.

    There's definitely some things I'd like to see in Season 4. Derek seems to be pretty well invested in Scott's "protect Beacon Hills" mission, I'd like to see him working more closely with the gang, instead of being off on his own or just with Peter so much of the time. He's not the brooding loner he once was, darnit. And speaking of Peter, the writers need to either write him out or actually give him something to do. Maybe now that we know Malia's going to be around they'll have a reason to give Peter more screen time too. He's great fun, WHEN he has something to work with. When the new season starts, do NOT have Scott & Kira be totally estranged & awkward and have Scott morose over Allison. It was good to see Kira wanting to give them some space, but Scott & Kira were REALLY good together and I don't want to see that relationship turn into a drama-fest because of Allison's death. If Danny knew about the twins, who else does he know about? Oh, and one thing I really REALLY hope they address, what's with the different types of were-creatures? We've got wolves, a coyote, and now some sort of feline, I think I read somewhere that Kate's a were-jaguar. But Kate turned because of a wolf, so why isn't she a wolf too? And how did Malia become a coyote? And why is nobody asking "WTF, there's more than just wolves?"

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  3. I'm soooo happy with this second part of season 3 for Teen Wolf. It's just been non-stop action, fun and feelings, and it's been hitting all the right notes for me, with very little that I disliked.

    I, too, was worried there for a second for Melissa, but thank God nothing happened. I did see some romantic moments with Scott's dad wich, no. Seriously. Mama McCall and Papa Stilinsky has to happen, right? Right?

    I hope Peter gets a bigger role come season 4. I adore the character, but I agree that he needs to be doing something. I actually think he has great chemistry with Lydia and Stiles, and now that Malia and Kate are back in town, it seems like his time has come again.

    I also hope we get some Malia character development before she gets stuck in a couple/romantic triangle. I actually thought the romantic relationship between her and Stiles during S3 was awkward and not necesary in the least (I mean, Stiles would have saved her anyway, even if they hadn't been involved).

    As for Kate, were-phanter, maybe? Or yeah, were-jaguar.

    Patrick, I don't know if I'm just making this up, but when Jackson was turned into the kanima, they explained that the animal people turned into reflected who the person really was, or something of the sort. So maybe that's an explanation for Kate and Malia? I do hope they adress it, at least.

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  4. Bea, I could have sworn the explanation for Jackson was less generalized than that. If that was the case, he would've just been called a "were-lizard" or some such. I thought the Kanima was a special case where the werewolf turning didn't fully take, because of something in the victim's psyche. Remember, one of the books showed them what the final form of the Kanima would be, since one of them commented(I think it was Peter) that the image had wings.

    In Malia's case, perhaps she's a coyote because she's got a werewolf father in Peter and(presumably) a human mother? Whatever the reason, I hope they address it. The lack of inquiry from Scott & the gang was odd.

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  5. I finally got to see the last few episodes, and I was not happy about losing Allison, even though it was very well done and her character's arc was obviously over. But I agree that it was an exceptionally strong season, especially for Stiles, who is a favorite of mine. I loved what they did with Coach. I just wish they knew what to do with Lydia.

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