Teen Wolf: The Divine Move

Teen Wolf wrapped its third (and a half) season with a doozy that took another regular but finally put a fork in the Nogitsune. In a really appropriate nod to the ensemble the show has become, it took a village to do it, and it was a satisfying, if sad, resolution. And we got a whopper of a surprise ending that proves, yet again, nobody ever really dies on Teen Wolf.

We pick right back up after Allison’s death as Lydia, Scott, and Isaac sit numbly in the police station and Scott flashes back to Allison’s last moments and then her dad coaching him on the official story–they were ambushed for their car and she was stabbed.  Chris never wavers and Scott catches his breath and turns to face him, asking him how he is doing this, so calm, so organized. Then it’s Chris’s turn to catch himself and he answers simply, “It’s what we do.” Parrish questions Isaac and he can only repeat Chris’s coached mantra, “It happened so fast.”

At Kira’s, Stiles and Kira sit with her parents and mull how Allison killed one of Oni, and the only thing Stiles can hang onto is that Allison is dead, and it looks like he’s dying, too. Kira’s dad says Stiles isn’t safe there and Noshiko says he isn’t safe anywhere. Kira’s folks suggest that Stiles needs to make a divine out-of-the-box move. Then they realize the Nemeton is (again) the key, and Deaton tells them about the magical wooden box from earlier this season, which, it turns out, he made from the Nemeton.

Over at the Argents, we get a really sweet moment between Isaac and Chris as Isaac is just sort of dumbstruck and on the edge of tears and Argent tries to tell Isaac he doesn’t need to stay. He softly and matter-of-factly says he’s OK with grief, and he’s been through this before, and he knows how to compartmentalize his emotions. Isaac crumbles and says he doesn’t and Argent finally realizes it’s not just about his own grief and hugs Isaac as he weeps.

Scott, Stiles, Kira, and Lydia head to the school and Stiles wants them all to know that he’s expendable and the Nogitsune has to go down. Scott says the only plan he’s going with is to save him. When they step inside the school, they find themselves back in the Yakuza courtyard as snow starts to fall and the Rhys version of the Nogitsune appears and starts to taunt them. Kira and Scott throw down and after a really long exposition fairy soliloquy where he suggests everything could be neatly wrapped up if Stiles would commit suicide; Stiles finally twigs to the fact the whole thing is an illusion.

While that’s going on, Isaac helps Chris figure out that the silver arrows Allison made are the ticket to killing the Oni. They load up and head over to the school to help Derek and the Scavos. Earlier, Derek gives them a pep talk that the only way they will ever be part of Scott’s pack is to serve his whole pack, meaning Stiles, too. So the three of them take on the Oni and NotStiles, and Derek brings along the magical box to store the master Nogitsune firefly.

An Oni shows up at the police station and works his way through the deputies but Parrish and the Sheriff hold them off, taking wounds in the process. At the hospital, director Russel Mulcahy must have been giddy because the Oni literally slice their way through the hospital population until Mama McCall takes a hit. She ends up in an elevator with her ex and then it’s her turn to think she’s going to die and she clears the air that she threw a drunk out of her house but she never meant for him to just leave them altogether. She also tells him to suck it up and mend fences with Scott.

In the imaginary garden, Stiles tells Scott and Kira what he’s realized and they slice their way to the door and take several injuries of their own, but when they get clear and end up back in the school’s hallway, they’re fine. Outside, the Oni get the upper hand and Aiden is stabbed through. Isaac and Chris finally take a couple out with their arrows. Then the surviving Oni and NotStiles blink back into the school and another throwdown ensues. Scott clamps down on the NotStiles, changing his form. He turns to ash and his firefly buzzes down the hall until Isaac boxes it. Done.

Around town the folks who haven’t been mortally wounded–the Sheriff, Melissa, and Parrish–magically revive. Aiden does not, and Lydia races outside to find Ethan cradling his brother.

The coda flipbooks between several scenes.

Scott in his kitchen, finally mourning Allison as his mom holds him.

Kira’s folks box up the game board and its pieces (I want to know if Noshiko is human now).

Scott helps Malia work on her instaclaws.

At school, Danny tells Ethan he can’t date him because he’s a werewolf. Ethan is stunned that Danny knew all along and Danny gets the line of the night with his response, “Dude, it’s Beacon Hills.”

Derek talks to Stiles about a nightmare and realizes he’s still asleep, battling a group of hunters seeking a she wolf. Then Kate Argent appears, back from the dead, and morphs into a wolf, thanks to Peter’s throat slit. And that’s your setup for season four, which, thankfully, is back in June.

So, yay that Stiles survived (which I completely expected). Boo that they’re setting up Lydia to be completely off her nut as she has suffered the most significant personal losses this season, on top of already losing Jackson.

I look forward to seeing how Malia fits in. I’m guessing we’re going to see her square off with Kate some way (girl fight!).

I want to see Stiles deal with everything the Nogitsune/NotStiles inflicted (and I still sort of secretly wanted Scott to turn him to defeat the Nogistune, but we need a human in the Pack).

I want to see who Scott becomes without Allison and whether he and Derek have a discussion about their losses.

I’m curious to see if we keep Ethan, even though he says he can’t stay without his brother.

So glad we’re only three months out from season four, but I really wish it was an extra-long season again. So far, we’re only getting a summer run. You can rewatch the entire season on MTV–most of the episodes are already up and the last few will be released in the coming weeks. Season four returns June 23rd. Thanks for coming along with me for season three!

Photo courtesy of MTV.