Teen Wolf - 6.01 - Memory Lost - Preview

Teen Wolf premieres on Tuesday, Nov. 15 on MTV at 9/8 C.

Good news, Teen Wolf fans. If you were frustrated or underwhelmed by the steampunk scientists of last season, the Ghost Riders appear to be a giant step up. Not only does the lore for them feel less convoluted, but they also bring a more personal touch to the story by involving Stiles right away. Instead of playing with flash forwards and flashbacks, the story is told linearly and doesn't focus on random people we've never met. Both give the episode a feeling of more urgency, which helps the pacing. Not that there aren't some pacing issues, because there were. They keep to the long-standing tradition of slow hallway shots of random people and add recapitations of scenes we just saw.

Still, this premiere moved at a much quicker pace than many of the of last season's episodes. The action starts when Liam and Hayden find a kid alone in a moving car, whose window has been shattered and the door taken off. Meanwhile, Stiles is taking his future in law enforcement way too seriously by roping Scott into playing cop with him even in non-supernatural cases. Let's just say that Sheriff is less appreciative of their new methods. He'd much rather have Scott clawing into the traumatized kid to root around in his brain. However, it gives the pack a starting point and helps to prove that the supernatural is afoot in Beacon Hills again. Much to Stiles' relief.

With another short time jump, the story starts 3 months after the steampunk scientists are defeated. Like last season, things have been fairly quiet in Beacon Hills and it's making Stiles nervous. Lydia calls him on wanting a new supernatural threat and Stiles doesn't deny it. He's starting to feel useless and their approaching graduation has him desperate to feel important again. It's the direct opposite of how Scott is feeling. Determined to buckle down and actually learn something in his senior year, Scott is content to leave the supernatural relegated to an afterschool activity. He is happy that Beacon Hills seems to be able to care for itself now and looks forward to moving away to attend college. In fact, the future is the main theme of the night. Scott isn't the only one thinking about what will happen when he's gone. Liam tries to convince Hayden that he would make an excellent alpha once Scott departs. Hayden and I just look at him like he's nuts. Like the previous 2 seasons, there is way too much of Liam's JV Squad for my taste, but if you like them, you'll probably find their scenes funny since they are used primarily as comic relief here.

All in all, I very much enjoyed the premiere. I am excited about the Ghost Riders and curious to see how they worked around Dylan O'Brien's schedule. By placing Stiles in danger this early, the show has created an intensity that was sorely lacking last year. It also allows Dylan some meaty scenes right away. In particular, his last scene with Lydia is likely to be a crowd pleaser with their shippers. For longsuffering Stiles/Lydia fans, this is your year. I think you'll be excited about both of the first 2 episodes. As for Malia, she makes quite the entrance these days while Scott epitomizes the transition of high school to the adult world well. He has by far the healthiest attitude about senior year and has grown significantly smarter since the pilot. It is easier to see him as a veterinarian now. While he figures a bit more prominently in the second episode, it is clear that they are taking Scott into a leader/mentor stage and it is a great look on him. The friendship between Lydia and Malia is another very strong plus here.

Grade: B+

Best Reason to Watch - it's back and the overall plot is about 10,000X better than steampunk scientists
Best Scene - Stiles realizes his dad…
Best Team - Lydia and Malia
Best Character Interaction - Stiles and Lydia
Best Bromance - Scott and Stiles
Best Reaction (funny) - Malia realizes that Lydia…
Best Dichotomy - how Scott and Stiles view senior year
Best Entrance - Malia
Worst Plan - no consequences from last year
Worst Timing - Stiles keeps interrupting Malia's yearbook photo
Biggest Dummy - Liam for not trying the door
Biggest Mystery - What's up with the helium?
Biggest Question - How do the Ghost Riders choose who they are stealing?

Most Mature - Scott
Most Desperate - Stiles
Most Loyal - Lydia
Most Missed - Kira
Most Pointless - Corey stealing…
Most Powerful - Ghost Riders
Most Relatable - Scott and Stiles watching the clock
Most Likely to Be Evil - hot new science teacher
Slowest on the Uptake - Stiles
Smartest Plan - not splitting up…until they do split up
Lesson of the Week - Schrödinger's cat
Fandom Group Most Likely to Be Happy - shippers of Lydia and Stiles
The "That's the Kind of Sense That Doesn't" Award - the recapitation of Stiles' blank yearbook form
The "Hey, I Guess the Word of the Day Calendar Paid Off" Award - Scott: "Or maybe you're sublimating the stress of graduating by avoiding key milestones."
Best if Most Predictable Music - Riders on the Storm
Teen Wolf Tropes (aka Bingo Card alert) -staring intently off in the distance, half naked (and implied fully naked) teens, new hot guy, shots of Stiles' hands, pointless recapitations, lingering shots of random people in hallways, lots of physical humor


Quotes -

"Find some way to remember me. Okay?"
"I got your text. You said you needed my help…Oh God. That kind of help."
"I mean that they don't need us anymore." "Oh, they need us. They just don't know it." "We're all going off to college soon so Beacon Hills is going to have to survive without us." "Beacon Hills would burn to the ground without us."
"It's called the Wild Hunt. It's a myth, only apparently it's real like every other myth in this town that should just really remain a nightmare."
"Lydia, you're so smart I could kiss you right now." "Do not kiss me."

"No. Okay look, they're coming for me so you have to get away from me right now." "I'm not leaving you."
"Now why don't you tell me your name?"
"Scott is a sworn protector of Beacon Hills." "He can protect it at 3:30."
"That's not creepy at all."
"This is a sheriff's station. You don't lose a child in the sheriff's station."
"Who is this?"
"Why does it matter how they're dead? Dead is dead."
"You want to split up?" "Uhhh, absolutely NOT."

Watch Teen Wolf next Tuesday on MTV at 9/8C.

Screencaps from Hypable, EW, TV Line, and SpoilerTV.

About the Author - Dahne

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