REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E11

This week’s episode was nowhere near as good as last week. The whole episode was a little all over the place but ignoring the confusing timeline and disappointing follow through are some of the best character moments of the season. It also saw some of the best performances of the season, the whole cast blew it out of the park.

Stiles, Allison and Isaac search for the missing parents, Scott comes to terms with his decision to join Deucalion and Derek pays a terrible price to save his sister Cora. Along the way Stiles and Lydia share an intimate moment, Peter continues his manipulation of Derek and Scott finds out about the flirtation between Allison and Isaac. The episode ends with Scott, Stiles and Allison making performing a dangerous ritual in order to save their parents. There is also a rather well done plot twist.

This episode suffered many of the same problems of early episodes; the timeline was confusing, the reasoning unsatisfactory and it failed to follow through on a number of the events of the previous episode. Last week, Scott’s decision to join the Alpha pack had seemed disastrous but this week there seemed to be very few consequences. Scott was able to save Ms Morrell, find out vital information and then leave the moment that his friends called for help. It was hardly the dire situation it was painted to be.

On the other side the search for the parents was beautifully done – with the exception of Chris Argent purposely getting himself caught without a plan for escape. Watching Stiles and Allison break down at the loss of their only parent was heartbreaking and Sheriff Stilinski’s emotional speech about his wife’s death was quite the tearjerker. At the same time Derek’s storyline still lacks emotional resonance because his sister Cora is little more than a two-dimensional plot device.

The best moment of the episode involved an astonishing realistic depiction of a panic attack followed by a sweet kiss between Stiles and Lydia. The scene was played beautifully by Dylan O’Brien and Holland Roden with just the right amount of hope without pushing it too far. Surprisingly, while the moment had a hint of hope for something more it was more about cementing the friendship that has been building all season rather than romance. It was refreshing.

Realistically, at this stage there is no way that Teen Wolf can tie up all the loose ends left by this season. All I want out of the final is an exciting adventure focusing on the key friendships that have been the best part of this hit and miss of a season. If I get that, then I will probably be convinced to follow this show through into the next adventure.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.  

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E10

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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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E09

After a couple of fairly disappointing episodes Teen Wolf is back on form this week. While it was far from perfect – the pacing issues from earlier episodes are still causing problems – “The Girl Who Knew Too Much” was exciting, emotionally gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

This week darach was revealed, the Sheriff was brought in on all things supernatural (with terrible consequences) and we found out that Lydia is actually a banshee. This episode was action packed but still managed to fit in a couple of sweet emotional moments, that have been sorely lacking from previous episodes, including a surprisingly moving moment between Scott (Tyler Posey) and Lydia (Holland Roden).

It wasn’t particularly shocking to find out that Derek’s most recent romantic interest, Jennifer Blake, was actually the big bad dark druid but that wasn’t really a bad thing. Jennifer’s character always felt a little forced so it’s nice to know there is more too her than just a terrible cliché romance. Haley Webb played the reveal brilliantly, whoever the darach really is she’s a far cry from the bumbling English teacher Derek fell in love with.

Only time will tell how Jennifer’s secret will affect poor Derek Hale but does it really matter at this stage? There’s only so much manpain you can inflict on one character before it loses its impact. More troubling is the fact that when Jennifer fled the scene, after attempting to kill Lydia, she took the Sheriff with her. I think is speak for everyone when I say that killing the Sheriff is pretty much unforgivable.

There wasn’t anything particular interesting about this episode, the story and the way it was presented was simple but it was nice. Look I appreciate the way Teen Wolf has been experimenting with style and technique this season but sometimes it’s nice just to be able to focus on the characters emotional journey, something that this season seems to have forgotten at times.

Overall, this episode was Teen Wolf at it’s best – sexy, a little bit camp, kind of scary and super fun. Let’s see more of this and less flashbacks with unnecessary manpain from now on please.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E08

The best way to describe this week's episode of Teen Wolf is underwhelming. It was entertaining enough as I was watching it but when the credits started rolling I found myself wondering what the point was. The performances were moving and the direction was solid but most of the story consisted of boring clichés that's sole purpose was to deliver exposition.

"Visionary" involves two of Teen Wolf's biggest bads reminiscing about an unknown period in the past (I say unknown because we have no idea when these events took place). There are two stories, one is about Derek's tragic first love and the other is the events that led up to big bad Alpha Deucalion's blinding. There are a couple very unsubtle hints to the season mystery but otherwise this episode was mostly filler.

I have to admit that I am not a fan of flashback episodes, they are generally lazy and very rarely add anything of substance to the actual story. And that's a pretty good description of this episode. My guess is they needed to give the lead actor's a bit of a break so they headed into the past for two of the most cliché origin stories ever.

Deucalion - who is this season's big bad - was just like Scott, idealistic and naive, until Gerard Argent betrayed and blinded him during a peace summit. Giving the villain and the hero similar beginnings is a staple of pretty much ever hero's journey. It's fairly predictable and doesn't really add much to Scott's character arc but it's not as bad as what they did to Derek.

Derek had a really interesting origin story. He's your classic anti-hero but his tragic back-story was essentially a rape narrative (whether you want to read it literally or metaphorically).  Presenting a classically masculine character as a rape survivor was one of the most interesting things Teen Wolf has ever done. With this week's episode they pushed that aside to tack on the most cliché white hero origin story ever.

A jock jerk falls for the quirky outsider, she sees through his arrogant exterior but it all ends tragically when she dies in a way that is either directly or indirectly the jerk jocks fault. He then carries her death with him as the basis for his heroic manpain. If that sounds familiar that's because it is. That is the origin of pretty much every white male hero ever (occasionally it's his mother or his sister).

It doesn't matter whether this storyline has a greater significance, it's still awful and frankly I expected better from Teen Wolf, although I don't know why. I'm starting to hope that all the people that have died for Derek's manpain band together in the afterlife to kill Derek so that no more innocent women and POC are harmed in the name of mangst.

Anyway, next week it's back to the actual story and again they promise answers, yeah I'll believe that when I see it.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.   

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E07

It actually hurts me to say that this episode was not great. I could just be that the last couple of episodes raised the bar too high but that would just be making excuses and that doesn’t help anyone. We have pasted the halfway point for this storyline and I am starting to worry that Teen Wolf might have bitten off more than it can handle.

The dark druid is after healers this week so it’s bad luck for the doctors of Beacon Hills, including Scott’s mysterious boss, Alan Deaton. While Scott searches for Deaton, Boyd comes up with a (completely ridiculous) plan to stop alpha Kali from killing Derek and for some reason Cora ends up hanging out with Lydia and Stiles. In the end everyone fails. The Sheriff saves Deaton (with some help from Melissa McCall), Lydia’s powers don’t work and Derek is forced to kill Boyd.

This week Teen Wolf threatened a major character death and it delivered, kind of. They certainly killed a character, but whether he was major is debatable. Vernon Boyd (Sinqua Walls) didn’t get much development beyond being the third member of Derek’s pack and in the end his death didn’t really add much to the overarching narrative and as a result fell flat.

The actual death itself was emotional enough but because there was no build up after the initial impact it almost felt cheep. To their credit, Tyler Hoechlin and Sinqua Walls acted the hell out of the scene but not even great performances could save this episode. The logic that led up to Boyd’s death was inherently flawed and at this point Derek’s manpain has reached a point of diminishing returns. His life sucks, we get it. It really doesn’t get much worst that having his family burn to death in a fire that he believes was his fault. Everything after that is superfluous.

Very little about this season has made much sense so far but in episodes like “Frayed” (305) and “Motel California” (306) that general sense of confusion and mistrust worked to an advantage. But as of “Currents” the mystery has reached the point where we need proof that this story is actually heading somewhere worthwhile. I can no longer tell the difference between intentional confusion and bad writing and if I don’t get something soon I’m going to lose interest.

Luckily next week is the episode that many fans have been waiting for since it was announce. It’s the flashback episode. While I’m not a fan of flashbacks generally, I am a fan of the answers they can provide. Hopefully “Visionary” will give us enough answers to make me want to keep watching (I’m going to watch it regardless but the longer it takes to get a hint of explanation the more resentful I will become). Just please tell me you have a plan Teen Wolf.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E06

Last week I claimed that “Frayed” was the best Teen Wolf episode ever it seems I spoke too soon because this episode might have been even better, it was certainly more traumatizing. Not that I’m complaining, I want Teen Wolf to keep getting better and for a dramatic television show causing your audience emotional trauma is basically the goal.

After the meet is postponed the cross-country team, as well as Allison and Lydia, are forced to spend the night in a motel that looks at though it belongs in a CSI cold-open. It turns out about as well as you might expect. The werewolves, Scott, Isaac, Boyd and Ethan all suffer from hallucinations that drive them to attempt suicide. It’s left up to Lydia, Allison and Stiles to save the day. Meanwhile Derek gets a little sexual healing from Beacon Hills High’s new English teacher, Jennifer Blake.

There were two seemingly unconnected storylines in this episode. The first was The Shinning-esque horror plot at the suicide hotel and the second was Derek’s recovery process and romantic interlude. I say seemingly unconnected because there is more than likely a very significant reason that these storylines were placed side-by-side but as it stands, with the information we have now, the shift in tone was jarring at times. That said it was nice to see a softer, not to mention sexier, side to everyone’s favourite brooding alpha Derek Hale.

While there were a number of exceptional performances in this episode, it was Tyler Posey (who plays the teen wolf himself, Scott McCall) that stole the show for me. His emotional breakdown, and the beautiful broment between Scott and Stiles, had me in a puddle of tears for far longer than I should probably admit. The powerful moment is also a perfect example of the jarring cuts between the murder motel and Derek’s loft. As a said above, I’m sure there is greater purpose for this but sometimes it’s better to stay in the moment and leave the significant edits for another time.

The other fantastic thing about this episode is that the female characters were in charge of driving the plot forward. Lydia, Allison and even Jennifer were all in the position of power throughout the story. The men had things happen to them, the women actually did things, which is a fabulous reversal of gendered expectations of narrative agency. I also have to give them kudos for a make-out scene between two male characters. I complain about the soap opera dramatics and excessive slow motion but Teen Wolf actually does some seriously cool stuff.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that I enjoyed this episode, if you can call crippling emotional distress enjoying, which I do. Anyway if things are heading the way I think they are this season is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to watch it happen.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E05

I’m probably going to regret saying this but I’m pretty sure “Frayed” was the best episode of Teen Wolf ever. Considering the episode was almost all flashbacks that is a big deal because I am really not a fan of flashbacks (I think they’re often lazy and very rarely done well). As a warning this review is going to be obnoxiously positive but I am just so excited that after a few false starts Teen Wolf Season 3 is finally starting to live up to my expectations.

Scott and Stiles are on the bus heading to an out of town cross-country meet. Scott was injured in a terrible confrontation that happened the night before. He’s not healing and that’s not all, he believes that Derek is dead. As the episode progresses the events leading up to “Derek’s death” are revealed through a series of flashbacks.

Logically I knew that Derek wasn’t going to die. Tyler Hoechlin in the opening credits, and the synopsis for future episodes show that Derek is around for a while yet. But the part of my brain that enjoys Teen Wolf isn’t all that logical so there were a few brief moments when I started to wonder if maybe this was the end for my favourite brooding alpha. It wasn’t but it is a testament to this episodes excellence that there was a moment that I thought Derek might actually be dead.

Tucked between the emotional trauma were some of the funniest moments of the season. Coach Bobby Finstock (Orny Adams) is always a wonderful addition to any episode and he had some fantastic lines this week, especially his hilarious interactions with Stiles (Dylan O’Brien). The star of the episode though was without a doubt Crystal Reed who acted the hell out of Allison’s stress induced emotional breakdown.

The time shifting format could have been incredibly confusing but the use of colour, lighting and music made it reasonably easy to follow. It also added to the overarching feeling that nothing is as it seems. It’s pretty clear that the audience is missing some vital clue that will help decode the increasing web of mysteries threaded through this season. The answer is there we just don’t know how to find it yet. I’m not sure yet who is behind the mysterious happenings in Beacon Hills but I know enough not to trust anything or anyone.

Words can’t really do this episode justice because much of what was great about it is indescribable. All I can say is that I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time (I almost fell off at one point). Before this season began I said that it looked like Teen Wolf had finally grown up, well with “Frayed” it proved me right.

Next week promises to be an emotional rollercoaster sending us swinging from slight arousal to debilitating despair. Bring it on.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E04

Last week I was pretty unapologetic in my disappointment but I’m excited to say that this week Teen Wolf is back on track. “Unleashed” was a fun and enjoyable episode that reminded me of all the things that made me fall in love with this show in the first place.

This week on Teen Wolf, Stiles is on a mission to prove his theory about the virgin sacrifices and gains a little help along the way from Lydia and the mysterious town vet, Dr Deaton. Isaac, Allison and Scott team up against the alpha twins and Derek gets a visit from Deucalion, it’s not exactly a pleasant experience.

While it wasn’t my favourite episode it was so much better than last week that I can’t bring myself to care, besides there was a lot to love. We finally got some character development for the alpha twins, Ethan and Aiden, who have up until now been walking gimmicks. The interaction between Derek and Jennifer Blake, which felt forced in the previous episode, was actually kind of sweet. And the developing relationship between Allison and Isaac is only getting more and more intriguing.

 

There was still an excessive use of slow motion in the fight scenes, it’s like they have a new toy and they don’t know when to put it down, but as it was accompanied by an interesting storyline it didn’t bother me as much. I always love the classic horror homages, like the cold-open death, and Deucalion’s over the top villain’s speech was just kitsch enough to be fun.

The introduction of Druid and Celtic mythology broadens the scope of this series significantly. It also asks an intriguing question, who is this mysterious bad guy giving Druids a bad name and what is their connection to Lydia? All kinds of theories are speculating already, popular picks include Sassy Uncle Peter Hale and Gerard “MOUTIAN ASH” Argent. But the truth is at the moment it’s anyone’s game.

I am still rather disappointed by the treatment of Erica’s death (and Boyd’s trauma). I’m not the only one hoping for a little bit of closure but as the season is progressing at breakneck speed that much needed closure looking less and less likely. Then there’s the small issue of the increasing number of plot holes that I’m desperately hoping are actually part of a magnificent master plan but maybe I am expecting too much from this silly little MTV show about werewolves.

All in all this was an entertaining episode that perfect-showcased Teen Wolf’s ability to mesh the superficial teen years with seriously traumatic adult issues like PSD. As long as the rest of the rest season has more of that and less menacing growling I’ll be happy.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.   

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E03

 

Last week’s episode was really good, like exceptionally good. Maybe my hopes were a little high but this week just didn’t quite make it. Don’t get me wrong, this episode wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t great and after last week’s offering it was sorely disappointing. That said there were some great moments hidden in what was a rather lacklustre effort as a whole.

Derek and Scott enlist some unlikely help to find Boyd and Cora who are still at the mercy of the full moon. Lydia and Stiles investigate a series of disturbing murders and Allison takes matters into her own hands. This episode is mostly snarling and running through the woods with a little bit of gore and a dash of harlequin romance.

Teen Wolf doesn’t really have filler episodes, but if it did this would be it. The search for Boyd and Cora could, and probably should, have been completed in half the time. While the secondary storyline of revealed significant information that furthers the overarching season mystery, the majority of the episode was spent watching the werewolves run through the woods in slow motion.

Speaking of slow motion, the director of this episode obviously had a fetish for attractive men in walking slow motion. Now, I’m partial to the occasional use of slow motion, especially on attractive men, but there comes a point when it’s time to speed things up and give us something relevant. When they were walking in slow motion they were performing excessive and unnecessary acrobatics. There is just so much that could have cut from this episode.

If you ignore the running and growling there were a few things that stood out in this episode. The classic horror elements, including a camping trip gone wrong and a surprise dead body, were really well done. I’m actually loving Teen Wolf’s use of classic horror tropes this season. Dylan O’Brien was exceptional as always, especially in a particularly poignant emotional scene.

Although the female characters were relegated to the background they outshone the testosterone filled hunting party. Especially Allison, who managed to achieve by herself, what Derek, Scott, Isaac and Chris had been unable to achieve as a team. The one highlight of the hunting storyline was Derek’s slow decent into despair, as he loses the last vestiges to his self-esteem but even that was undermined when he was gifted a romantic reward for his sacrifice.

Ms Blake (Haley Webb) was introduced in the first episode of season 3, and while we didn’t learn much about her she appeared capable and intriguing. In this episode most of what made her intriguing was ripped away from her so that she could be forced into the role of damsel in distress in preparation for meeting Derek Hale. While this episode didn’t introduce Ms Blake’s storyline particularly well, I am hoping that behind the romantic damsel is a dynamic character with a storyline of her very own as more than just Derek’s ‘love interest’.

It’s safe to say, that this episode was a bit of a let down but hopefully it will be the exception in an otherwise amazing season.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E02

Okay, I’ll admit it. The premiere had me a little worried. It was good but it was as good as it needed to be to live up to the hype. This episode alleviated most of my fears and I now completely on board with Season 3. This was a fantastic episode that had me on the edge of my seat screaming at the screen for forty minutes.

Stiles went to a party to get laid; it didn’t end well. Scott tried to get Allison and Derek to work together; it didn’t end well. Derek and Isaac are tried to find Boyd and Erica; it didn’t end well. Lydia and Danny are trying to get laid… it’s going well. Uncle Peter is still sassy with dubious intentions. Stiles has research fever and enjoys a good fisting (that might be an exaggeration). Also Derek had a blast from the past that could be a game changer.

There is so much to love about this episode but what stood out for me are the interactions between Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin) and Allison Argent (Crystal Reed). Those two have a complicated past and I hoped that when they finally got to talking that it would be fantastic and it was even better than I could have imagined. All I wish is for more of this dynamic in future episodes.

The other thing this episode showcased was the incredible cinematography. Last week I suggested that this was Teen Wolf all grown up and the look of this episode proved that sentiment. There was a scene between fan favourites Peter Hale (Ian Bohen) and Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O’Brien) that was truly beautiful with an innovative use of light and shadow. For a moment it made me forget I was watching an MTV show about teenage werewolves.

The performances were solid as usual, especially the wonderful Dylan O’Brien, who as usual added remarkable depth to comic sidekick Stiles. I was also surprisingly impressed with Tyler Hoechlin, who let’s face it is known more for his abs than his acting talent, but somehow managed to break my heart with just one word: “Cora”.

Some might be annoyed by the amount of what could be called fan service but the episode flowed really well and every scene appeared as though it had a place. While there were some fun fan winks nothing felt superfluous. There was not a moment to waste, there was a lot of information packed into just forty minutes, and for me at least nothing felt wasteful.

Part of me feels like I’m being far too unashamedly positive but then I watch this episode again and I’m reminded of just how entertaining it really is. This is the Teen Wolf I want see in Season 3 and I hope that it’s onwards and upwards from here. If the next ten episodes are half as good as “Chaos Rising” this will be the best season yet.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Teen Wolf - S03E01

It’s back and it’s bigger and badder than ever. It’s been a long hiatus since Teen Wolf’s fantastic second season but it has finally come blasting back into our lives with an amazing season premiere.

The opening sequence, involving a mysterious girl and a motorcycle chase, represents everything that was right and wrong with this episode. It’s pretty clear they’re aiming for epic and while it doesn’t quite make it, they just don’t have the budget to pull off big CGI based stunts, it sets the tone for a season that is quite clearly going where Teen Wolf has never gone before.

Once it moved into more familiar territory, especially the turbulence of teenage romance, the episode really came into its own. Scott was more lovable than ever, which I didn’t think was possible, and it was nice to see Stiles back in his role as comic relief. Especially after the dramatic turn his character took towards the end on Season 2, although I doubt that the fun times will last much longer.

Without a doubt the star of the episode was Holland Roden as Lydia Martin. Lydia had a rough ride throughout the first two seasons and while she had some awesome moments she was often relegated to damsel in distress or romantic reward. It was nice to see a more confident Lydia, one that wasn’t defined by her interactions with the male leads. Roden stole every scene she was in and I can’t wait to see where they take her character this season.

The episode was a little hard to follow at times due to the amount of information they had to give us but over all I think it was a solid start to the season. There is clearly a lot going on, including a lot of new characters, but it was nice that despite a couple of moments the majority of the episode focused on Scott, Allison, Stiles, Lydia and Derek. It was especially great to see Scott and Derek working so well together.

Despite the tagline’s warning that “this might hurt” this episode was relatively pain free but the mysteries introduced were intriguing, and Deucalion seems like he will make a delicious villain. I wasn’t keen on the implication that Scott is the hero of a prophecy driven adventure (one werewolf to save them all) but as Teen Wolf has a tendency to take tired tropes to unexpected places I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

Although not without it’s problems, “Tattoo” was a great introduction to what looks like an exciting season but only time will tell if the many, many mysteries this episode set up are able to fulfill their potential.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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Teen Wolf Season 3 Trailer review

A couple of weeks ago Teen Wolf told us that “This Might Hurt” but it was only with the release of the first full length trailer for the show’s third season that fans actually understood just how much it was actually going to hurt. The heart attack inducing two minutes led fans to lament the choice they made when they decided to engage with what was supposed to be a silly MTV show about teenage werewolves.

Those of you that have not yet fallen under Teen Wolf’s spell might be wondering why I’m getting so emotional over something that sounds so utterly ridiculous but I’m going to have to ask you to take a leap of faith and just trust me on this one. Teen Wolf is actually one of the best supernatural dramas on television at the moment and the trailer this week suggests that it’s only going to get better.

Video title: Teen Wolf Season 3 Preview

Fade in, Stiles runs down a corridor cut to Derek bloodied, beaten and being comforted by an unknown woman. Derek’s voiceover states: “everyone around me gets hurt” and the next 2 minutes proceed to prove his point. All is not well in the town of Beacon Hills; the Alpha pack is here with their charismatic leader Deucalion and they are not looking to make friends. No one is safe including Scott’s mother who is shown getting her throat ripped out. In the final moments of the trailer Scott’s eyes shift from their familiar amber to Alpha red.

Those of you that are familiar with this show’s first two seasons will notice that this is a much darker and more dangerous Teen Wolf than we’re used to. While the familiar romantic plot is still visible it’s definitely taken a back seat to the suspenseful horror narrative. The budget has definitely increased and the few glimpse we had of fight scenes and stunts were a vast improvement on what we’ve seen before. This is Teen Wolf all grown up and it’s not so much shedding it’s innocent past as obliterating it.

It’s seems ‘might’ was not a strong enough warning because this already hurts and something tells me it’s only going to get worse. Sorry, I guess I’m not really hiding the fact that I’m a fan of this show but I’m ashamed to admit it. This show is so much better than it appears on paper and if you just give it a chance you will be seduced by it’s charm as well. You should probably just watch it because I am not going to stop until everyone has fallen into the same trap as me.

Teen Wolf season 3 returns June 3^rd in the US and airs on FOX8 in July.

By Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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