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Monday, September 25, 2017

Quote of the Week - September 3-23





A weekly feature highlighting the best quotes on TV as picked by the Spoiler TV team. Since there hasn’t been a lot of TV in the last few weeks, here’s our favorite quotes for the month so far. We'd love to hear your picks too so please sound off in the comments below.



American Horror Story:
1. Kai: “There is nothing in this world more dangerous than a humiliated man.” (DarkUFO)
2. Kai: “The revolution has begun.” (DarkUFO)
3. Harrison: “Lesbians! We're under attack.” (DarkUFO)
4. Pedro: “It's scary to be brown these days.” (DarkUFO)
5. Oz: “Am I asleep, or are you real?” Clown: “You're asleep.” (DarkUFO)
6. Kai: “Stop saying sorry. For anything. That makes you nothing. Everything is somebody else's fault from now on. Do you understand? You wanna be somebody? You wanna matter? Then you make the world wrong.” (DarkUFO)
7. Ivy: “Ally...this thing you're becoming. This is not the person I married. I have been sensitive to your fears. I've dealt with the mental imbalances. I even tolerated the fact that you voted for Jill f*** Stein instead of Hillary.” Ally: “You said you weren't going to bring that up again…” (DarkUFO)
8. Harrison: “How does it feel to exercise your white privilege and execute people of color with impunity?” (DarkUFO)




Broad City:
1. Ilana: "We are so not dying today!" Abbi: "So not! I mean, what, are we gonna listen to her? She was eating a burrito bowl." (Milo)





The Good Place:
1. Michael: “It's a rare occurrence, like a double rainbow, or someone on the internet saying, "You know what? You've convinced me I was wrong.” (Milo and Prpleight)





Insecure:
1. Chad: “And b*** don't need a motherf*** dude as a friend. Just extra d*** around for no reason.” (Luca).






Midnight, Texas:
1. Manfred: “We save Fiji, kill a demon, close a portal to hell, and we don’t die. Sound like a plan?“ Lem: “My flesh is burning. Stop talking.” (Prpleight)





Rick and Morty:
1. Morty: “Who doesn’t wish they could talk to animals, Rick?” Rick: “Most humans.” (Laura)





Salvation:
1. President MacKenzie: "I will safeguard this nation; you will safeguard humanity." (Donna)






The Sinner:
1. Cora: “She depends on me.” JD: “Cora, if Phoebe really cared about you, she'd let you go. She'd tell you to go live your life. Has she ever said anything like that? You know why? She wants your life for herself. She's a vampire and as long as you stay with her, you'll be a shell.” (DarkUFO)
2. Cora: “You've given up.” Ambrose: “No, I haven't. I've hit a wall, that's all.” Cora: “With the case or with yourself?” (DarkUFO)
3. Frankie: “I feel like I've always known you. I look at you, and it feels right.” (DarkUFO)
4. Phoebe: “What happened to you? Something happened 'cause you're so sad.” Maddie: “No, I'm not.” Phoebe: “Yes, you are. It's all around you. I'm so sorry.” (DarkUFO)
5. Phoebe: “No, listen. You are waiting for him to ride up and choose you. That's not your game because you're a giant. You could, you could f** up anybody you wanted. You could have anything you wanted. Do you even know that?” (DarkUFO)
6. Cora: “I'm more free now than I ever was with you.” (DarkUFO)
7. Cora: “It was you. I remember your eyes. I know you did it for your son.” (DarkUFO)



Teen Wolf:
1. Scott: “We need a new plan.” Malia: “Not a dumb one.”
2. Malia: “I don’t want to die like this.” Scott: “Oh, Malia.” Malia: “Not like this.” Scott: “The more you talk, the more oxygen that you use.” Malia: “I don’t care. I’m not dying here. I was supposed to go to France. I’m 18. I haven’t been anywhere. There’s still so many things I want to do. I don’t want to die here. Not here. Not like this.”
3. Mama McCall: “You have known about the supernatural for 5 minutes and we have been doing this for a lot longer so trust me when I tell you that these kids can handle it. So let them do what they’re best at - saving our a**.”
4. Malia: “So what? You moved into a cave and took a vow of uselessness.”
5. Peter: “What’s the hold up? I have a lot of revenge to plan.”
6. Malia: “I’m here for moral support.” Peter: “For him or for me?” Malia: “You’d need to have morals.”
7. Mason: “You can feel it right. It’s like it doesn’t want us here.” Theo: “That makes two of us.”
8. Liam: “That’s agreeing with Theo.” Mason: “Yeah, but I thought I’d try to soften the blow a bit.” Theo: “Is everyone completely shocked that I might be right?” Liam: “No, we just don’t like it.”
9. Malia: “I don’t think we should be hanging out here, waiting for him to spring back to life.”
10. Sheriff: “If you’re coming for my friends, you’re coming for me.”
11. Argent: “You think someone with that much hate is going to have any love left over for you.”
12. Deucalion: “I didn’t think it was possible but I’m actually starting to wish I was blind again.”




You’re the Worst:
1. Jimmy: “It's making a comeback, like pubes and racism." (Max)
2. Jimmy: "Like they say... 'tits, or GTFO.” Edgar: "What does that stand for?" Jimmy: "I'm not sure exactly. I think, maybe, 'Tits, or get thy fanny out.” (Max)



About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."




Friday, September 22, 2017

Teen Wolf - 6.20 - The Wolves of War - Preview





“So what happens next? Your story, how does it end?” asks the newest member of Scott’s pack. And that is the real question. With 6 seasons and 100 episodes, Teen Wolf’s legacy all hinges on the final 42 minutes and what a ride it is! Like most Teen Wolf finales, the pacing is intense as multiple strands are pulled together into one. However, this is Scott’s show and everyone in the finale knows it. Scott has never been so much of an alpha before, as he shows real leadership in a crisis. He delegates different tasks to his troops, finds the solution to the biggest problem, and kicks some supernatural butt. It’s a real testament to how far the character has come from the pilot, Those looking for a strong Scott episode have found it here, and yet, almost every other character in the episode has their hero moment too, minus the bad guys. It is a fairly balanced episode that actually works best when the pack is in different settings. By breaking the pack apart, it allows Sheriff to show how kick butt he really is and even Theo is completely redeemed.


Starting in a flash forward, Scott voiceovers the beginning and end of the episode. While it does lessen the tension over our hero’s fate, did anyone really think that Teen Wolf was going to kill Scott? Instead the opener makes nods along the way to the pilot, Allison, and Scott’s complicated journey with Argent. It is clear in one glance how much Scott and Argent respect each other and how close they have gotten over the loss of Allison. Good thing, because this episode clearly shows Mama McCall and Argent having a future together. The end voiceover also hints at what the future holds for the pack. Endings can be tricky - just look at the mess How I Met Your Mother’s finale created. However, I think most fans will be satisfied with this one. It’s open-ended enough to allow for a lot of different possibilities if Teen Wolf does get rebooted but still provides closure in that it feels like a chapter of the characters’ lives have ended. While our intrepid heroes have obviously left Beacon Hills, they have not left each other - still a pack, still a family, even if some are more long-distance.


Another powerful part of the episode was in the surprise character returns. Having not seen any spoilers for the finale, I didn’t realize that Coach was back and boy does he make an entrance. Of four great entrances in the episode, his was actually my favorite, beating out even Stiles and Derek. His appearance is just so out-of-the-blue that the other characters’ reactions had me rolling. Funniest, deadpan moment of the night. Yet, he was not the most shocking return. Two characters somewhat come back, whom I never thought I would see again, giving me flashbacks to Teen Wolf at its best. Sadly, Allison is not one of them but in the context of this episode, it would have been perfect. They missed a rare opportunity here. As for plot twists, Scott has a huge one, leading to the episode’s biggest What the Heck moment. In the end though, Scott learns that the simplest solutions are the best. For some, it might actually be too simple, but it does hold with Teen Wolf tradition.


For all the great aspects of the finale, it does lack a major component - Scott and Stiles time. If you’re looking for the last great bromance moment, you have to look to 6A. The sheer lack of my favorite bromance knocked the grade down for me. Given that Scott and Stiles are the foundation that Teen Wolf was built on and Jeff Davis himself said that they were the core relationship of the show, I expected a whole lot more of their final time together. Instead they are split apart for much of the time until Stiles’ big hero moment. Even then, they never have a private conversation together. Scott does get quality time with Derek though, as his mentor saves Scott’s life. Shippers will be happy that Malia’s big moment is with Scott also, in scene eerily similar to one from season 4. Since so much happens in the episode, there is also no reunion between any of Team Parent and their children. I really wish we could have gotten one last power speech from Mama McCall to help Scott out or to see Sheriff’s reaction to knowing that Stiles was back in Beacon Hills. Other than this, I thought the finale was great and leaves me happy with the show as a whole.


Grade: B, but it would have been an A- with a good bromance scene


Best Reason to Watch - Scott / the well-written ending
Best Save - Derek
Best Reference - a quote from an earlier season
Most Old School - comic relief Stiles
Most Kick Butt Human - Sheriff, with Mama McCall in second
Most Jealous - Stiles
Most Anti-Climactic - standoff at Deucalion’s place
Biggest Laugh - Coach’s entrance / Stiles and Derek’s ode to Supernatural’s “Tall Tales”
Biggest What the Heck Moment - Scott decides that to defeat the anuk-ite, he must…..
Biggest Disappointment - Scott and Derek instead of Scott and Stiles
Biggest Game of “Who’s on First” - Stiles, Lydia, and Jackson
Number of deaths - at least 3



About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."



Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Teen Wolf - 6.17/6.18/6.19 - Best Scene Polls







About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

The Brave & Seal Team - 1.01 - Pilot - Preview







Note - Originally I was going to review these two pilots separately, but they have a lot of similarities so it seemed better to review them together and compare their strengths and weaknesses.


The Brave premieres Monday, Sept. 25 at 10/9 C on NBC.
Seal Team premieres Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 9/8 C on CBS.


Characters:

Both shows focus on a team of elite soldiers, who are called in on the most harrowing cases, and the intelligence team that helps design their missions. The Brave devotes more time to the intelligence side than Seal Team does, but that’s because their intelligence team is lead by Anne Heche. In both, the two groups work well together, respect each other, and compromise when issues arise...and they do arise. Additionally, they both have a new person on the team, replacing someone the team lost. It is here that I thought The Brave was vastly superior. In it, Amir, the new guy, is vital to their mission and is shown to be highly qualified right away. In fact, the leader goes to bat for him when he comes up with a risky plan and he ends up saving the day. On Seal Team though, Spenser is a cocky, hot headed kid with a lot of snark and attitude. His main purpose seems to be to ratchet up the discord because the Seal Team leader doesn’t want him there at all. It adds unnecessary tension to the group dynamics that comes off as more irritating than story building.


Still, the biggest difference in characters is how they approach them in the pilots. The Brave takes a more widespread approach, giving each character a hint of background and helpfully, putting their names on the screen as they are introduced. Patricia Campbell, the Deputy Director, has recently lost her son in combat, while Hannah Rivera is now an analyst after an op went really bad. Rounding out the intelligence team is Noah Morgenthau, who is the team’s conscious. On the soldier side, Captain Adam Dalton leads the team in true hero fashion, but is actually the character with the least backstory. The pilot does more to portray him as a modern military leader, who recognizes the strengths of his team and is smart and capable when the mission goes awry. Sgt. Jaz Khan, the lead sniper, is more of a hothead and recently lost her best friend, whom Amir replaced. She can kick butt and doesn’t take anything from anyone, which becomes a problem in the mission. Communications CPO “Preach” Carter is a man of faith, who acknowledges evil but also looks for the good in others. He’s often partnered with Sgt. “McG” Mcguire, who is the playboy type.


Unlike The Brave, Seal Team takes a dive deep approach, focusing on the main character, Jason Hayes, played by David Boreanaz. He suffers from PTSD after losing a teammate, as is evident in the opening mandated therapy session. His job and difficulty in expressing himself has also put stress on his marriage. Still, he is a legend in the field. A risk taker, he can adapt to shifting circumstances and create missions on the fly with great success. He is also keenly aware of the politics of a situation and can work around big egos. Also on the team is Ray Perry, Jason’s best friend who has a very pregnant wife, and Sonny Quinn, whom we know little about from the pilot. More focus is given to CIA analyst, Mandy Ellis, who has been targeting a terrorist for years. Her experiences have left her more ruthless than she likes. While nothing happens in the pilot, it is possible that she will become part of a love triangle with Jason and his wife. Rounding out the team is Lisa Davis, logistics manager, whose no-nonsense demeanor leads to the best scene of the pilot when she puts the rookie in his place.



The Plot/Story Structure:


In both episodes, the team is pulled away without notice on a mission. For The Brave, Dr. Kimberly Wells is kidnapped from her Doctors without Borders assignment in Syria and the team must find terrorist Abu Al-Akmuti to rescue her. In Seal Team, they must kidnap well-known terrorist Abu Samir Al-Masri, who is planning to meet up with potential allies in Liberia. In both, the original mission gets tabled when a surprise person ends up in the mix. For The Brave, it starts as a hostage situation and turns into getting a terrorist. For Seal Team, it starts with the terrorist and ends up a hostage rescue. The story structure, however, is different. The Brave runs as a linear story with a clear beginning, middle, and cliffhanger ending. Seal Team spends more time jumping between the current mission and flashbacks to the earlier mission, which adds texture to a fairly straightforward story.



The Verdict:


Either you like military procedurals or you don’t, and neither pilot is going to change anyone’s mind on that. For those who don’t mind procedurals with a military bent, it will come down to the characters and actors, Seal Team gives Boreanaz more meat to work with as an actor than Vogel gets in The Brave, but it is also more angsty. In the end, I liked The Brave more but if you are only going to watch one pilot, I would suggest Seal Team. Sadly, The Brave’s whole episode (minus the great cliffhanger) is found in the trailer. You can watch the first 10 minutes of character introduction, then the trailer, and then the last 3 minutes and basically see the whole episode.



Battle of the Pilots:


Lead Character - The Brave by a hair but both are very similar

Other Characters - The Brave, since Spenser from Seal Team is downright irritating and because it focuses on more characters.

Pro-Military, Top Gun Moments - Seal Team for its full hero music swells and intense action

Most Military Jargon - Seal Team, by a lot

Ending - The Brave’s cliffhanger was one of the better parts of the episode

Best Speech - The Brave

Best Banter - Seal Team

Best Bromance - Seal Team

Best Teamwork/Plan - The Brave

Best Line:
Jaz: “They get grabby; I get crabby.”
Mandy: “You ever hear yourself say something that makes you wonder when you became the kind of savage animal who would say the thing you just said?”



Grade:

The Brave: B
Seal Team: B-



About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Teen Wolf - 6.19 - Broken Glass - Preview





The calm before the storm. Like most penultimate episodes of Teen Wolf, Broken Glass finds the team gathering strength to defeat the Big Bad. Argent hunts for Derek Hale in order to recruit him in the upcoming battle. Scott and Malia train with Duke to fight an enemy they can’t look at. Nolan and Liam, creating the night’s most awkward duo, head to the hospital so Nolan can share secrets. Lydia and Peter mostly hem and haw and ask pointless questions until they figure out what it takes Mason about 30 seconds of drive time to realize - the big attack is going down that night, Mason also helpfully explains that the episode title is taken from Kristallnacht, the night that Nazis executed a brutal, surprise attack against thousands of German Jews.



Overall, this episode is a lot like moving your pieces into place before the battle commences. It is heavy on exposition, as all the characters take various roads to end up with the same conclusion - war is nigh. The biggest plot drag is actually Malia and Scott, mostly due to Deucalion’s incessant chatter, but Argent and Derek get a small action scene and a lot of great banter. I really like these two together.  The other duos also get some fun banter, making this episode a bit lighter compared to the previous one, even if the stakes are a lot higher.  The episode also answers where Parrish is and what’s happening to Ethan, tying up a couple of loose ends.  Mostly though, it's big job is to amp up excitement for the final episode and the cliffhanger promises a bang-up end to the series.



Grade: B


Best Reason to Watch - the cliffhanger
Best Pairing - Argent and Derek
Best Dialogue - Kate and Argent / Scott and Deucalion
Best Quote - “If you’re coming for my friends, you’re coming for me.”
Biggest Kudos - music director
Most Shady (Even without Being in the Episode) - Gerard, whose motives may go deeper than hinted at before
Most in Need of Dying - Shady Guidance Counselor #2
Most Cathartic - Gabe and Nolan
Most MIA - Stiles, Jackson, and Creepy Corpse Kid
Most Welcome Return - Derek Hale
Least Welcome Return - Kate Argent
The “Et Tu, Brute?” Award - Sydney
The “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” Award - Derek and the car
The “Who’s on First” Award - Lydia and Peter


Other Quotes:

“Do you ever see anything remotely optimistic?” “It’s optimistic if you prevent it.”
“...he was the ally we needed at the time but you’re the one we need right now.”
“How dead are we now?” “Quite.”
“I didn’t think it was possible but I’m actually starting to wish I was blind again.”
“So you believe it too. You believe in werewolves.” “I believe in Derek Hale.”
“That is disturbing on multiple levels.”
“That was the only part of the plan that I liked.”
“You think someone with that much hate is going to have any love left over for you.”





About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

Friday, September 15, 2017

Teen Wolf - 6.18 - Genotype - Preview





“Genotype” is an episode on a mission. It needs to get the plot from point A to point B, and in that, it largely succeeds. It’s just not as much fun as some of the other episodes have been. In typical Teen Wolf fashion, it’s a race to pull all the plot elements together so the last two episodes can be dedicated to the big finale. The overall goal is to find Creepy Corpse Kid, figure out who Anuk-ite #2 is, keep the anuk-ite halves apart, and find a way to stop them. It goes about as well as any other non-finale plan on Teen Wolf. To accomplish this mission, the team pairs off. Malia and Lydia take the morgue, trying to figure out how the dead hellhound was still able to lead Lydia around last episode. Scott and Liam investigate who left a message on Faceless’ phone, although neither have any hacking skills. Not sure why they put Mason and Theo together to search the tunnels for Creepy Corpse Kid when Mason would have been much better on phone patrol. (Argent should always be consulted on their plans.)


While serviceable, the biggest issue I had with this episode was the lack of follow-up to last week and the pairings. It is a bit disconcerting to watch both episodes back-to-back and not hear one reference to how Mama McCall is doing, Sheriff’s situation, or an update on the London werewolves. Mason and Lydia obviously bounce right back but the best parts of last week’s episode are glossed over. The pairings are even worse. While Theo and Liam grumble and grouse about each other, they always provide a laugh or two. Theo and Mason are more a study on tired middle school insults. (Theo’s dumb; Mason’s weak.) Their conversation does get deeper for about 2 seconds before they are attacked, but that’s no tradeoff for Liam and Theo’s snarky barbs. Meanwhile, Scott and Liam partnering got old fast too, but only because Scott hands over every tactical move to Liam. Seriously every leadership position in their plans goes to Liam while Scott does important things like playing lookout by hiding in corners. It doesn’t help to have Liam constantly question whether he can handle the pressure or not either. Malia and Lydia are the only somewhat normal and fun pairing, even if Malia is a bit too aggro in her solutions.


Gradw: C-


Best Reason to Watch - tying up the plot to move towards the finale
Best Reference to the Princess Bride - Lydia’s take on mostly dead
Best Twist - Faceless backstory / alpha
Best Upgrade - ear coms
Best Worst Plans - dark and spooky, it is / chest compressions
Best Quote - “You can feel it right. It’s like it doesn’t want us here.” “That makes two of us.”
Worst Pairing - Theo and Mason
Worst Mating Ritual - anuk-ite
Biggest Gamble - hellhound
Least Tactful - Scott, blurting out some upsetting info
Least Missed - Shady Guidance Counselor #2
Most Missed - London werewolves, Mama McCall, and of course, Stiles
Most Dangerous Place to Hang Out - the hospital
Most Persuasive - Malia, who makes a good case for her decision
The “Floating Down Denial River” Award - the dead chick’s mom
The “Yeah, No Way This Could Backfire” Award - Gerard
The “Oh My Eyes, My Eyes, Make It Stop” Award - Scott and Malia



About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."



Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Teen Wolf - 6.16- Triggers - Best Scene Poll








About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

Friday, September 1, 2017

Teen Wolf - 6.16 - Triggers - Preview






As fear shrouds Beacon Hills, it’s General Gerard vs. Alpha Scott in a battle of military strategy and covert ops planning. On a typical day, that should mean Gerard wins outright. However, this time Scott has a plan and it doesn’t suck out loud. (I credit the influence of Argent here.) The A Team of Scott, Lydia, Malia, and Argent plan to break into Gerard’s arsenal and destroy the weapons he’s stockpiled like it’s Christmas in a militia’s headquarters. Meanwhile, the B Team of Theo, Liam, and Mason distract Gerard and get him to pull his men elsewhere. Granted this plan won’t win the war but it’s no ludicrous armored car heist either (looking at you season 3B). Sadly, it doesn’t go any better than their less thought-out plans. But then again, there are 5 more episodes so does anyone really think it will go well?


The episode opens in Beacon Hills High where the school’s teens look like war refugees since everyone walks around with a bandaged hand. Creepy Corpse Kid (CCK) and his psycho lacrosse sidekick take bullying to a whole new level, as CCK knifes them with a blood-encrusted scalpel to prove they are not supernaturals. He’s not into sterilizing the scalpel between victims either so here’s hoping they don’t all come down with a blood-born pathogen either. Would it hurt you to show a little hygiene, CCK? Mama McCall has her hands full enough, defending Scott’s ability to pull off miracles at the last possible second to Douche Dad, who is disconcerted to find that his son never actually left town.


Besides the excellent pacing of the episode, the real highlight is how they paired off the characters. Lydia and Argent are rapidly becoming my favorite kick butt duo. They complement each other’s skills and they both save the day...again. I love the non-romance focus that Lydia is getting this season and how Argent gives her extra confidence. It’s hard to believe how far these characters have come since the pilot and I have to think that Allison is smiling down on her dad and her best friend. Although I am still no fan of the Theo redemption arc, I admit that if it wasn’t for his tendency to be a total psycho, he could be a good therapist. He certainly has Liam’s number. I like both of these characters better when they have to work together than I do either of them alone. As for Scott and Malia, certain shippers will be very, very happy with this episode, but for me their highlight is Malia’s “only 18” speech and the fact that Scott trusts her in a risky situation. Overall, I was pleased with this episode and how it moved the storyline forward, especially at the end where the stakes get higher for Scott. Gerard is developing nicely as the craziest crazy who ever crazied and although I would prefer Peter as the final Big Bad, there’s no denying that Gerard makes for a worthy opponent.



Grade: B+



Episode Tidbits:

Captain Brett was a royal douchebag
Creepy Corpse Kid gives the gift that should never go on giving
DoucheDad and Shady Guidance Counselor face off
Edgar is a werecoyote so Malia is not the only one
It’s all about the map, which may explain why Jackson is returning
Liam is into Greek myths
Nolan is the world’s worst spy
Theo turns into Dr. Phil...and is actually pretty good at it
“We need a new plan.” “Not a dumb one.”





Highlights:

Malia’s speech
Everything Argent - the man is his own highlight, especially in the action scenes
Gerard puts SGC2 in her place
Lydia saves the day...again
Malia’s Cirque du Soleil moves
Malia’s speech
Mama McCall’s speech
Probable death
The Theo and Liam comedy hour
“Three times” / “Five”



About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she reviews and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, loves live tweeting, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Previously she wrote a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."