Thursday, January 21, 2016

Teen Wolf, Season 5, Episode 13 Co-dominance



Last episode Kira was confronted by a group of Skinwalkers – or, as she pits half naked women with spears wearing animal pelts (to which I have to give kudos to Noshiko for her rejoinder “You wear a leather jacket and carry a sword”. Excellent come back – though the half naked animal pelts also come with camera upskirt shots – really Teen Wolf?).

They’re here to save Kira – or have her joint them as one of them – which, since we have little explanation for what, exactly, they are means she will get an echo-reverb voice, a mud facepack and the aforementioned animal skins. Except curing her may take months or years – which Noshiko doesn’t see as a problem since she’s live for 900 years and Kira can expect the same. Kira is not nearly as blasé but it may be the only chance to resist her overwhelming fox possession

I’m not quite sure how the Skinwalkers are supposed to fix this – but it seems to involve a lot of dramatic storms and Kira fighting a shadowy Oni. Every time she cuts it, it wounds her instead which is not winning strategy. After a few slices her inner Fox decides and to do an epic Fuck This Shit and completely overwhelm the oni with really shiny effects

Which isn’t good – because it shows how little control she has over her inner fox and how the foxy one is in control. Kira’s failed the test

I was loking for a storyline for Kira for a very long time – and one with Noshiko as well was an awesome bonus. So I find myself disappointed by this. We have Skinwalkers – beings from Native American mythology, dropped in with little or no development or explanation. We don’t even know how they were supposed to be saving Kira. They’re just there to be half naked and creepy. And Kira’s storyline hasn’t actually progressed. She left Beacon Hills because she had no control of her fox-nature and now she… still has no control of her fox nature. What have we learned? How has she grown? What has changed? Without any POINT to this diversion it feels like just a convoluted way to get Kira out of the picture for a few episodes.

Back in Beacon Hills, Scott and Stiles are developing, talking more and beginning to put their pack together. That doesn’t start with Liam because Scott still has ISSUES with the werepuppy. Stiles, who was always the smart one, does advise Scott he really needs to get over this, especially if they’re going to put the pack back together. After all, the werepuppy is the only other werewolf they actually have.


Instead they’re going on a roadtrip to find Kira – and it’s awesome. Not for the travel, not for the rickety jeep in the New Mexico heat – no, for the excellent conversation between Scott and Stiles. After a brief mention of Malia (and Scott revealing he knows exactly what Malia is up to with Braeden) they talk about the biggie – Stiles killing Devon. Stiles tells Scott how it really happens and Scott lays out the huge regret in that whole issue: why didn’t he let Stiles talk? If he and Stiles had just talked, rather than Scott assuming the worst and accusing Stiles and Stiles being consumed by all the guilt. Yes it’s a simple admission that communication would have made it all better but it’s still awesome.

Scott also has a lot of guilt over Stiles’s guilt – as the actual supernatural one and the leader, Scott believes that if anyone was pushed to cross this ultimate moral boundary and actually kill someone, then it should have been him. It’s an interesting comment on leadership and responsibility as well as recognising just how traumatic killing Devon was for Stiles. It’s a great moment, their relationship is always awesome.

They do find Kira and just as Kira’s failed the test and about to be forcibly recruited by the Skinwalkers (well, assuming they get past Noshiko) and have a nifty getaway (Noshiko is awesome). Kira and Scott are all sweet and loving and even Noshiko smiles which would be sweet, except she’s smiling while her daughter and Scott are all but making out in the back seat.

Anyway while they were road tripping everyone back in town is worried about the big scary beast which is very big and scary. Theo also knows lots of stuff which he never actually explains how he knows this. Including that the Beast is human at least some of the time and that the Dread Doctors want to him to remember his past-incarnation which was erased from history because he’s that super scary.

This is why Hayden and Corey both are still Team!Theo despite all the evil because a) he brought them back to life and b) they think he can save them from something that will destroy them all.

Can we address this for a second? I mean Theo says how terribad the Beast is because it killed 500 people. Don’t get me wrong, killing 500 people is not exactly the mark of a nice fluffy person. But, in terms of town destroying terror that would make you flock to Theo for safety? I dunno, seems like a problem you could solve by…. Moving.

Anyway, both Mason and Liam accept this excuse and the relationships are on

And Mason and Corey kiss – actually kiss, and seem to be having a romantic relationship and I want to hope, I want to hope so badly that this will become awesome and loving and involved and they’ll become more important characters. That’s my hope

Oh and for them both to live. Yes I’d quite like them to live. And not be put on a bus and disappear to wherever it is Ethan and Danny have disappeared to.

They’re so dead, aren’t they? So very very dead. Carve the gravestones now.

Mason also knows something of Theo’s evil plan (beyond needing to invest in some contacts because he’s super cross he doesn’t have red-alpha-eyes) now involves fining Deucalian

Hey, now Stiles has killed someone can we consider that line crossed and just murder Deucalian? Is that why he and Gerard Argent are coming back? A kind of “shit these guys should have been killed last time but we didn’t want to go that dark – now make with the killing”? Please?

Also Malia wants Theo’s help to find Deaton and her mother. This is a bad plan but it comes with her smacking him around a lot so it’s not all bad.