Thank goodness Teen
Wolf is back on form. This episode was fantastic; just the right
mix of excitement, emotion and humour. I was on the edge of my seat
the whole time, which isn’t a response Teen Wolf has been
able to get from me recently… and it was nice.
This week on Teen
Wolf… Stiles and Scott prove to Derek that Jennifer is the
Darach but they can’t kill her because she is the only person that
can save Derek’s sister Cora and Stiles’s dad. While trying to
save Cora, the pack end up trapped in an evacuated hospital by the
alpha pack who are after Jennifer. They have to work together to get
themselves, and Jennifer, out of the hospital safely.
Haley Webb stole
this episode with her nuanced portrayal of Jennifer Blake/Julia
Barracus. I found myself believing every word she said even though I
knew I was falling right into her trap and that’s the mark of a
great villain. She was still likable at times but there were moments
when she was genuinely terrifying. The way her face would switch as
soon as she wasn’t being watched was subtle enough to go unnoticed
but worked to foreshadow her final betrayal.
One of the highlights of
the episode for me was an incredibly awkward elevator ride. Where
Jennifer was stuck between a very angry Scott and Stiles, it was one
of those rare moments that are humorous on the service but underneath
it’s pretty distressing. That coupled with the return of the famous
McCall bat (last seen Season 1) made this moment a perfect
representation of everything I have been missing in previous
episodes.
It was a relief to
finally see the impact of some of the big emotional events Teen
Wolf has been throwing in all season. Stiles had to face the
possibility of losing his remaining parent. Derek had to acknowledge
that another one of his girlfriend’s turned out to be a homicidal
maniac. Scott had to finally accept that he might not be able to have
it all. These are the character insights I have been craving all
season. These are the moments that make the big emotional events mean
something.
“The Overlooked” was
a great hour of television and it didn’t hurt that there was less
slow-motion (it was still excessive but it’s a start). Let’s hope
that this a sign that Teen Wolf has pushed through it’s
teething problems and found a way to mesh the ambitious epic
storylines with much needed character development.
Review by Yvonne
Popplewell
More of Yvonne’s work
can be found at her
blog.
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