Time for a flashback! 1 week ago in Massachusetts
We have Paige looking after Savannah who is a young
teenager with a truly wonderful attitude (suddenly kidnapping her and putting
her in a cage doesn’t seem that unreasonable) when magic stuff happens – it’s
not Savannah. The ceiling cracks, the eerie whispering begins and a man appears
(hey, they’ve got a cute guy summoning spell. Where do I get one of those?)
freezing Paige in the process. The guy introduces himself as Aleister – which
briefly causes Paige to escape and more shaky house quaking before the freezing
comes back.
He tells her how mean the coven his and how she’s super awesome (c’mon even the most narcissistic teenager won’t fall for this) and then gives her a sweet which she eats (candy from strangers? Savannah, really! Who accepts food from the sinister guy who teleports to your kitchen table?). He then says “I am the lock” and she replies, by rote “I am the key” which causes another mini-unfreeze for Paige.
The freeze ends and Paige is alone, Savannah and Aleister are gone.
To the present and the pack realising they’ve lost
Malcolm and his trail and that witches are behind it. This is a problem since
the Alpha council will be coming back and demanding Malcolm’s head and, without
the explanation of treachery, they also have a dead Alpha on the floor after
Jeremy killed Roderigo. They have a body to hide
The ring Ruth hid in Jeremy’s nuts (not an innuendo)
decides to slide around the place, attracting attention. Jeremy follows it and
its pull to the front door where Ruth and Paige are waiting. He refuses to hand
it over without them giving back Malcolm. Paige magically forces him to release
the ring.
Ruth tries to apologise before she marvels over Elena (and Paige insults her, of course). The whole pack gathers and they don’t decide to kill one witch and torture the other (would be my plan) but talk (how tiresomely civilised). Ruth finally decides to tell them about Aleister kidnapping Savannah and how dangerous it is for her. Jeremy agrees to work with them. Ruth’s plan is to use Malcolm as a lure and afterwards Malcolm can return with the pack.
More drama – members of the Spanish pack show up looking
for their alpha (there’s two of them – kill them both and put them in the body
pit. Job done). Jeremy talks to them with lots of posturing while Elena and
Clay get on that whole body hiding thing. By the time they give the wolves a
tour, the evidence is sufficiently covered (especially since the recent Mutt
attack left blood and gore and then cleaning products everywhere, covering the
smell).
Elena and Clay are nastily thorough about body disposal
(snipping off fingertips) and Clay has a bad moment imagining his mother’s
death. He tells Elena about what Malcolm did and now he and Elena are both on
the horribly murder Malcolm train.
Malcolm has been picked up by a hitchhiking witch who can
easily hold him prisoner in a car. She throws in some sexually-handsy
molestation.
Over to Savannah in a room with a woman chanting and
Aleister trying to be all friendly, offering to teach her magic and pretending
she’s not in prison. She tells him her dream about Malcolm the werewolf and how
powerful it is (she may also have jumped up and down and yelled “walk into my
trap!” Subtlety isn’t her strong point) but when he uses his lock chant she
warns him that the wolf won’t be alone.
Nick and Logan went with Paige and Ruth and Nick isn’t
exactly thrilled with the alliance. Paige herself is rather terrified of
Aleister while still feeling responsible for losing Savannah. They use magic to
communicate with Savannah – and hear that Aleister has a pregnant woman from
Rochester as well: Rachel.
Logan jumps on Paige for answers which is super bad for her while using magical skype, but she’s turns out ok and everyone now knows about Rachel also being held.
Ruth, Paige, Logan, Nick and Jeremy all gather and
prepare as the last witch brings Malcolm. Michael continues to beg for them to
work together and Elena and Clay join them. They all wait.
Aleister arrives and they surround him (all in human
form?) though Elena and Clay are more concerned with killing Malcolm than
finding Aleister’s compound. The witches shout at him and yell threats while
Aleister pretty much ignores them to taunt the terrified Malcolm. He throws a
shard of sharp metal at the witch holding Malcolm, cutting across her ribs, she
falls and Paige runs to her.
I’m not impressed by this ambush.
Malcolm is free and runs – Logan and Elena attack and are
thrown aside by a mini earthquake Aleister conjures – the sound of which is
loud enough to stun the werewolves. As they recover two vans appear full of
Aleister’s pain-immune followers. Most of the pack easily tears into them while
Elena chases Malcolm (alone? Is she a match for Malcolm? Wouldn’t Clay be the
better choice? Jeremy I am disappointed) while Nick carries the injured Bridget
inside for Paige who, after 3 episodes of nifty, werewolf beating powers, are
being astonishingly ineffective.
They’re attacked by one of Aleister’s followers who Nick has
surprising trouble with – is she a werewolf? Being immune to pain wouldn’t
cover her being this touch. Bridget dies.
Ruth decides to confront Aleister. Well, she stands in a
magic circle while he taunts her. 2/10 for effort Ruth, that was a really mean
look you gave him. He talks ominously about something the witches did to him in
the past before going after Malcolm
Elena catches Malcolm and is promptly smacked around all
over the place because Malcolm seems to be the only werewolf who has remembered
his super-strength. Thankfully, he decides to slowly strangle Elena without
restraining her arms rather than beat her to death or break her neck or stab
her or do anything that would kill her quickly, giving her the chance to stab
him in the neck with her claws. Elena watches him bleed to death
And Aleister shows up and decides Elena is the strongest werewolf (what, based on Malcolm being damn foolish during a fight?) Elena decides to attack him. There’s no way that ended well. Jeremy and Clay find Malcolm’s body – and no sign of Elena.
After all this action, Logan finally regains consciousness. He notices Aleister’s followers loading up the dead/unconscious bodies of their fellows and jumps in the van, hiding among them.
In the aftermath Nick tries to offer comfort to Paige who
continues to snarl at werewolves. Paige tearfully talks about what the dead
witch, Bridget meant to her with lots of added guilt. Why is it no-one in TV
land can processes grief without feeling like it’s all their fault? It is
actually possible to feel sad without blaming yourself.
The wolves took the follower who attacked Nick captive
and they try to question her, but she’s confused and babbly about gates, keys,
the great undoing and light and the numbers 4 and 6 which is all wonderfully
ominous. Before she stabs herself.
Clay makes it clear to Ruth that if they don’t find Elena, he’s going to hold the witches responsible.
Elena is strapped to a table in Aleister’s bunker.
I think I preferred the book version where the werewolves
showed some strength to the witches rather than being overwhelmed time and
again. The show misses the chance to show how the werewolves’ strength and
speed as an equal threat to the witches. I see this as being a major problem
for later – if this follows a similar path of the books, we’re going to have
the wolves among an array of supernaturals but the wolves respected as equals
and/or a major power in the supernatural world. We’re going to need to see some
power from them.
I’m not impressed by the ambush – none of the wolves were
in wolf form, only two attacked apparently sprinting from the next county and
the witches didn’t even try to do any magic. Ruth hid in a circle, Paige
screamed. That wasn’t an ambush, that was offering themselves for target
practice. Even the fight scenes lacked much evidence of werewolf strength –
except Malcolm vs Elena
There was a lot of missed opportunity to show what the
werewolves could do – and some frankly bizarre decisions. It wasn’t a bad
episode by any stretch, but it was mildly frustrating.
