Teen Wolf Season 4, Episode 5: "I.E.D" Recap/Review

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. The fifth episode in any season of Teen Wolf is usually pretty fucking bananas, but this one really takes the cake. The funny parts were so enjoyable that I could not stop laughing, but the rest just made me so anxious and worried for our heroes that I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack for the entire hour, in the best way.

Before we start, I'd like to talk about Scott McCall, true alpha of all our hearts, because for being the main character around whom the show revolves AND the titular "Teen Wolf" himself, he does NOT get the credit he deserves, and this episode is evidence of that fact. Wasn't it such sweet comeuppance when Violet got so high off of the amount of money flooding her bank account that she deluded herself into thinking that taking down the most valuable supernatural on the list was something she was capable of doing? Even Garrett insisted that they at least needed to prepare a little before going after the big game on the list, because of how Scott managed to even scare the Demon Wolf himself away from town. But nope, Violet couldn't keep seeing those dollar signs floating around behind her eyes, and decided she wanted the $25 million dollars that beheading an alpha werewolf would net her, completely forgetting that there is a REASON he's the most valuable player on that deadpool-- he may be sunshine personified, but he's also dangerous, and I think he made that point quite clear, judging by the look of sheer terror on her face before he knocked her skinny ass out.

And I think that's something that people often forget-- yes, Scott is about as kind and caring as they come, and refuses to consider physically harming or killing someone unless there is no other way, but that doesn't mean he's NOT willing to resort to it if it means the safety of his loved ones. Remember alllll the way back to 3A's "Visionary," when Scott leaned in close to Gerard's face and told him under no uncertain terms that if he lied to them and it resulted in someone getting hurt or killed, he'd be back to take more than just Gerard's pain? That was BONE-CHILLING. And Scott has only lost MORE friends to death by supernatural since that point, not to mention the guilt he feels for the dozens upon dozens of innocent, oblivious civilians who have been collateral damage in these supernatural battles. So now, he has grown up to the point that he will move heaven and earth to protect the loved ones he has left. And, we know Scott McCall, so we know that he will never back down until whatever needs to be done is done or he'll trying. (Which is another issue that I'm going to have to talk about another time because this is already WAY too long.)

This is the boy who was alpha of his own pack from the moment he was bitten, the one who rose to literal true alpha status by the sheer power of his own unwavering will, who has often won battles without having to kill anyone at all because of his incredible ability to inspire confidence and greatness in those around him. And it's because of how people immediately perceive him that will result in their asses being handed to them time and time again, because they see a dopey-grinned human puppy with a heart of gold and assume he'll be easy to take out. Joke's on them! Which, leads me to wonder-- does the Benefactor even know that Scott is a true alpha, or are they just assuming he became one after the deaths of Kali/Ennis/the twins' alpha form? Do the assassins know? Whoever cultivated all of the intel that must have been necessary to make the deadpool lists/determine the value of the hits seems to know quite a bit about what's going on, so it makes me curious how much they know, especially since Scott, as I stated earlier, has the highest bounty on his head out of everyone on the first two lists. Not to mention knowing what creature everyone is would be helpful when it comes to killing them, because there are a lot of things that can't permanently injure a werewolf, you know? Not to mention the fact that Kira, as a thunder kitsune, is immune to electricity. Stuff like that would be important to know, but the deadpool only has names and prices, so I'm not sure if they're aware of the minor details. Hopefully we'll get some answers about that soon!

ANYWAY, I am so excited to talk about this that I'm gonna stop this introduction and just dig in, because we have SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT. Buckle up, loves, because this is gonna be a wild ride.

Previously, on Teen Wolf: Coach inadvertently flung a lacrosse ball at practice that ended up flying straight toward Malia's head, and Kira just barely saved her a concussion by catching it before it made contact. So, naturally, Coach asked Kira to join the lacrosse team. Scott accidentally bit Liam in an effort to keep him from falling four stories to his death, and had a hell of a time wrangling him at Lydia's lake house during his first full moon. Stiles dug up intel on Liam and revealed that he had some serious anger issues, to the point where he got kicked out of his old school for attacking his teacher's car with a crowbar. Deputy Parrish hacked his way into the Mute's keyboard that he uses to speak, and found a message from someone with the handle "Benefactor" who indicated that money had been transferred into his account. Lydia found a secretly soundproofed room in her late grandmother's lake house with a blank wall and a record player, which she used as vibrations for her banshee voices, who told her the password to part of a hit list of supernaturals in Beacon Hills-- ALLISON. The Mute was revealed to be an assassin, which we already guessed, and though he tried to blow Derek and Sheriff up with a claymore mine, he ended up failing spectacularly, thanks to Derek's newfound ass-kicking skills. Before Sheriff could arrest him, Peter lunged at him and killed him to dead with his claws. Oh, yeah, and Violet and Garrett were revealed to be baby assassins, the former of whom's weapon of choice is a bolo necklace that doubles as a thermowire garrote, which she used to kill a werewolf on the deadpool named Demarco Montana. Which is where we pick up today!

Quick sidebar before we begin: I've been trying my best to keep up with the timeline of this season so far. I'm guessing 1.5ish months went by between "The Divine Move" and "The Dark Moon," since it was insinuated that the pack spent one full moon together in that time. "The Dark Moon" spanned two days, while "117" picked up what I'm guessing is one day later, and covered only one full day. "Muted" began one week after the vault was robbed, and spanned two days as well, and "The Benefactor" picked up no more than an hour or so after the previous ended and spanned about a day, which I'm guessing was a Friday, since they had the party at the lake house after school. In a few scenes, Scott says that Lydia spent the whole weekend at the lake house working on the keys, which suggests to me that we're starting off this episode on a Monday, which is approximately 17 days/2.5ish weeks since the season started. Of course, this is Jeff Davis we're talking about, so this could be jossed at any time, but it's something to reference, I guess.

ANYWAY, we pick up this week at the high school, where a youngish-looking blonde girl (whose name is Carrie Hudson, who happens to be another name on the deadpool with a bounty of $500,000) frantically runs through the school's campus and hurdles various fences in an effort to allude her attacker. At first, she seems to be gingerly holding her left wrist to her chest like she broke it or something, but it isn't until she stops to take a quick couple of breaths that we see just how injured it is-- she groans under her breath and lifts her arm up to examine it, revealing that her ENTIRE HAND has been severed by Violet's thermowire garrote, and is STILL sizzling and smoking, even now! YEOWCH. That's even worse than Peter getting his finger cut off, tbh.


She finally makes it to the bus bay and ultimately chooses one of the buses to hide and catch her breath and figure out her next move. Just as she makes it inside, Violet comes slinking out of the shadows with her garrotte necklace in one hand as she menacingly swings it around and snaps the wires between her hands. She slowly approaches the bus and peeks under it, while Carrie quietly watches from the bus window, her eyes flashing gold to indicate that we're dealing with another beta. Violet seems to sense Carrie's gaze, but thankfully, when she snaps her head around to check, Carrie has already ducked down between the seats.


Violet just smirks, and starts twisting her garrote wires around her finger as she makes her way around the outside of the bus. Inside, Carrie is trying to slow and quiet her anxious panting, and starts to recite what I'm assuming is her pack's mantra under her breath. "The sun, the moon, the truth. The sun, the moon, the truth." She fights to swallow down a gasp when she suddenly hears the bus doors open with a screech, and ducks down lower in the last seat of the bus as Violet continues to do her best cat-burglar-slink down the aisle. Violet has some seriously psychopathic rage in her eyes as she cruelly twists the garrote between her fingers and snaps the wire, causing Carrie to flinch and squeeze her eyes closed. Violet slowly makes her way down the aisle until finally, Carrie has mustered up the courage to fight, and manages to get in some seriously bad-ass swipes, even with only one clawed hand to work with! Before Violet can get the upper hand, Carrie roars at the top of her voice, jumps with all her strength and kicks Violet so hard with both legs that she falls flat on her back on the aisle, allowing Carrie to jump over her and run away.


Unfortunately for her, she was so desperate to get the fuck out ASAP that when she is stopped in her tracks by angel-faced Mason, who yells at her from inside the SUV he's driving to get in before Violet gets back, she immediately trusts him and hops in. However, once he hits the lock button and turns his own psychopathic smile at her, she immediately regrets her decision and anxiously presses herself back against her seat. "Seriously?" Mason sneers. "I can't believe you fell for that!" He holds up his knife, which is even more lethal-looking than Allison's Chinese ring daggers-- its blade is normal sized, but has been separated into two separate but equally deadly-looking points about halfway down-- and plunges it right into her chest. NOOO! Farewell, Carrie; we hardly knew ye. TITLE CARD!


When we return, we begin an amazingly-edited scene that cuts between Stiles (who is setting up his new and improved crime board in his bedroom, one of those clear dry-erase boards that House always used in House M.D., with a built-in tape holder that Stiles has filled with a roll of red electrical tape to replace his yarn from last season) and Stiles and Scott filling Sheriff in on what they've figured out in his office. There is a LOT of information that I'm thinking will probably be important later, so I'm pretty much going to be straight-up transcribing the dialogue. Sorry in advance! Stiles takes the liberty of starting us off in voiceover from the Sheriff's office while we watch him in his room. "So, the Walcotts were the first... At least, the first we know about," he begins, as he tapes photos of each of them on his board, along with the crime scene photos of their hacked up bodies after the fact. "Four murders-- Sean, his brother, and their parents. They were killed by a professional assassin called the Mute; weapon of choice: a military tomahawk," he continues, as the camera pans onto a very good sketch of the Mute. Was that a police sketch, or did one of them do it? I thought Lydia was the only one with art skills around these parts. ANYWAY. "But then the Mute was killed by Peter Hale, after he tried to blow up Derek with a claymore mine." Yeah, I'm not buying that Peter killed the Mute for any other reason except for petty anger for getting stabbed in the chest, or trying to cover up his own involvement in this deadpool shit. Sorry, Stiles!


In flashback, we see Sheriff watching Deputy Parrish through the glass window of the door, while Parrish, who is wearing a heavy-duty mask over his face and a vest but otherwise no other protection. That's kind of suspicious to me, there are only two explanations I could think of, aside for the prop/costume people deciding not to bother with it: either 1) he's a really bad at his job/REALLY confident in his bomb-disarming abilities, OR 2) he's not worried about getting hurt because he has some kind of healing ability or immunity to fire/explosions or something. Weird. Finally, Parrish finishes his task and gives Sheriff a thumbs up to indicate that they're all clear. "Next was Demarco," Stiles explains in the present day, as he tapes a crime scene photo of Demarco and his disembodied head onto his board. "He delivered a keg to the party at Lydia's lake house and he got decapitated outside his car." We flash back to right after Demarco was beheaded, where Scott and Chris examined his body upon finding it. Chris asks Scott if his scent tells him anything, and Scott reveals that not only is he definitely a werewolf, but he's pretty sure he's also in a pack. Chris replies that if that's true, the rest of the members will be looking for him, which makes me think of what Cora said back in "Visionary:" "Losing pack isn't like losing family; it's like losing a limb." Maybe his pack and the McCall will form an alliance to keep each other safe?


"And then last night," Stiles explains sadly, as we return to where Stiles and Scott are giving Sheriff the rundown of what they know. "Twenty-three year old Carrie Hudson." "It's a deadpool," Scott emphasizes anxiously. "A hit list of supernatural creatures." He pulls a folded up pieces of paper from his jacket pocket and hands it to him. "This is only part of it-- the rest still has to be decoded." Sheriff skims the list and frowns when he sees so many familiar names on it. He asks who found the list, and Stiles replies, "Lydia. [...] She wrote it. Actually, she transcribed it without realizing it." "Banshee?" Sheriff asks with an exhausted sigh. "Banshee," Stiles states in reply. Poor Sheriff is just SO DONE, because it never stops in this town, does it? Sheriff, naturally, wants to know what the numbers next to the names mean, but Scott and Stiles are getting there.

































(via wovenwithwords)
First, Stiles wants him to know that they found this part of the list using a cipher key, which Sheriff helpfully refers to as a password. "It's actually a name..." Stiles begins, and both his and Scott's eyes start to tear up, which does not escape Sheriff's notice. "A-Allison," Scott stutters, swallowing down all the grief the name dredges up. Even Sheriff is super depressed by this development, and Stiles gets so overwhelmed by feelings that he clears his throat and continues their report. "Her name broke a third of the list." Scott pulls himself together and adds that they think there are two more cipher keys to break the rest of the list.


Sheriff correctly assumes that those keyword will give them the rest of the names, which I'm guessing he wants so they can try to protect the hunted somehow. When he asks how they're supposed to find the other cipher keys, Stiles replies, "The same way we got the code..." Scott picks up where he trailed off. "Lydia. [beat] She's been at the lake house all weekend, trying to find the other two keywords." We flash back to the banshee room at the lake house, where Lydia is kneeling in front of the record player, clutching onto the table exhaustedly as she listens to the whispers from the record in a daze. She stares at the record as she nudges the pin onto another groove, and when that doesn't work, she moves it again. Behind her, Kira and Malia are seated on the couch, watching her with concern.


After a long moment, Kira gives Malia a loaded look and nods, which Malia returns in understanding. The two then stand up and walk over to their banshee queen friend. Lydia frustratedly prods at the needle of the record player, desperate to figure out the keys, but Kira gently lifts the needle up and shuts the record player off before she and Malia carefully lift her up off the floor by her arms. I am SO GLAD that Lydia has new girlfriends to take care of her, because I'm seriously starting to worry about our primadonna girl. She is worrying herself ragged with stress as she struggles to understand her powers well enough to be able to use them at will, but it's good to know that she's got some ladies to keep her grounded, now that Allison's gone. I think Allison would want Lydia to seek out Kira and Malia for support, since she's not there to do it herself. GOD, I MISS HER SO MUCH.


(via braedensderek)
Back in Stiles' room, we see him tape a copy of the "Allison" excerpt of the deadpool onto his board, and uses a red highlighter to scratch out the names of the completed hits: Sean Walcott, David Walcott, Michael Walcott, Christina Walcott, Demarco Montana, and Carrie Hudson. Judging by the values, the Mute netted himself $1 million before Peter killed his mouthless ass, and Violet and Garrett are up to $750,000, which is some pretty sweet cash, especially for baby teenagers. That money could pay for their schooling FOREVER. Or buy a sweet house. Actually I could pay off my seven years of college education and STILL buy a decent house with that cash. ANYWAY, Sheriff is rifling through the crime scene photos and confirms that the pack didn't know Demarco or Carrie, nor did they know their supernatural status. He asks them if he knew about the others (Kayleen Bettcher and Elias Town) or what creature they are, but Scott answers in the negatory-- what he does know is that Deaton warned them that the newly-reawakened Nemeton could draw more supernaturals to the area. Sheriff is just like, "FUCK IT ALL," and asks if that means Beacon Hills proper, or Beacon County (population ~30,000 and ~500,000, respectively), but the kids don't know the answer.


"Look, how many werewolves, banshees, kitsunes, whatever the hell else is out there are we talking about here?" Sheriff demands exasperatedly, clearly ready to just move to another planet. "And what happens if the next cipher key uncovers not twelve names, but a hundred?" Stiles insists that they're pretty sure there's a limit BECAUSE of the numbers that are written next to the names. We flash back to Derek, who has managed to find the Mute's hide-out, which is full of baby food jars (gagggg) and his feeding tube machine, and somehow manages to access his computer, even though I'm fairly certain that aside for cell phones, Derek is pretty much technologically impaired. In the present day, Stiles picks up a pen so he can write the letters K or M next to the numbers to indicate the values. All of the non-McCall pack/allies are in the thousands, which we already guessed last week ($250,000 for the Walcotts and Demarco, and $500,000 for Carrie), but everyone else is actually valued in the millions, which makes WAY more sense but is also WAY worse news. If Scott is worth $25 million, Lydia $20 million, Derek $15 million, and Kira $6 million, then they are going to be sought out by EVERYONE and that is going to be SO BAD. After Stiles is finished, he declares that they're pretty sure the limit is $117 million, also known as the amount of money stolen from the Hale vault, which the Benefactor is using to finance his hits. "Someone who wants every supernatural in Beacon Hills dead," Scott admits sadly. Back in Stiles' room, he's scribbling "The Benefactor" in white marker onto his board, and draws the shape of a man's head with a "?" in the middle.


"So, the coded list goes out," Sheriff Stilinski summarizes. "And, somehow these professional assassins get that list--" ("--And the cipher key!" Stiles interrupts.) "And then, they go after the names on the list. They being...killers with no mouths, tomahawks, thermal-cut wires that can take your head off..." LOL, the apple sure doesn't fall far from the Sheriff tree, because that was an uncanny Stiles impersonation, tbh. Stiles notices a weird hexagon shape around the stab wounds on Carrie's body in the crime scene photos, but when he asks his dad what caused it, Sheriff admits that they're still waiting on the medical examiner's preliminary autopsy for details. "There's one other thing that I-I don't get," Sheriff adds, as he also glimpses once again at the crime scene photos. "How did the new assassin know that Demarco was going to be at the lake house?" Scott smiles sheepishly before he admits that Demarco was well known around the high school circles for being willing to sell booze to minors if they're willing to pay extra to compensate for the illegality of it all. Poor Sheriff has had more than enough at this point, because it's not bad enough that there's all this supernatural murder happening that he has to figure out a way to hand-wave away, but there are also plenty of people who are just doing regular-old illegal stuff under his nose as well. The three of them determine that whoever ordered the keg from Demarco likely killed him, someone at the party. Someone who goes to their school...

... and, speak of the devil! The next day at school, Gary Numan's "Love Hurt Bleed (Radio Edit)" plays as Garrett and Violet arrive on the bus and walk through the school's doors hand-in-hand. Violet is sporting some pretty nasty claw-marks on her collarbone from her fight with Carrie the previous night, so she anxiously tugs her jacket over it, Marissa Cooper-styles, but when her boyfriend asks her if she's okay, she snits, "I can handle a scratch or two IF I know we're eventually going for the real money. Seven-figure money!" Garrett smirks, and assures her that they are-- tonight, at the game. SHIT. SHIT SHIT SHIT.


When we come back from the break, we meet up with Ken and Kira, the latter of whom is reading something in her notebook absentmindedly while her dad tries to talk to her. "It's not that we were wanting to talk to you... it's that we were wondering if you wanted to talk to us!" Kira is evasive, and asks him what he thinks she'd want to talk about, so Ken starts playing hardball.

KEN: "About something that you forgot to mention...? Something important?"
KIRA: [closes notebook and plays dumb] "How important?"
KEN: "Exceptionally."
KIRA: [stops dead in her tracks] "Oh god." [turns and walks toward her dad] "You know."
KEN: [serious] "We know."
KIRA: [panics] "I was gonna tell you. WE were gonna tell you, everything! About the deadpool, the assassins, the killings... but I didn't want you to worry!"
KEN: [confused, pulls out a lacrosse jersey] "I was talking about you joining the lacrosse team!"
KIRA: [cringes] "Oh! Then... [grabs jersey from him and flounces away] Never mind!"
KEN: [confused] "Deadpool!?"

































(via teenwolf)
Oh, Kira. And this is why she should have never said anything, because this will probably not do anything to make her parents want to stay in Beacon Hills. Especially considering what we find out later. But I think the most hilarious part is that Ken is just like so concerned about Kira playing lacrosse even though she's a thunder kitsune with lightning-fast reflexes and super-accelerated healing, so what's the big deal? It's not like she's gonna get seriously injured-- they'd have to catch her first!

Meanwhile, in the new weight room that Beacon Hills apparently set up recently, Liam is pumping away on a bench-press to "Baby Back" by Jetfire feat. Maya Simantov while Mason lifts hand weights nearby as he prattles on about Garrett's recent suspicious behavior. "Remember how I keep reminding Garrett to give me back my hoodie?" he asks, as he watches Liam get up off the bench and add another pair of 45 lb weights to the barbell. "Well, I remember he said he lived in that housing development on Spalding? So, I went there, and guess what? That housing development? Is STILL in development." Liam lays back down on the bench and gets back to his reps, not seeing the problem, but Mason insists that there are no houses even built there yet, so "unless he lives in some back-hoe," he's clearly keeping stuff from them. Liam doesn't respond, too engrossed in what he's doing, so Mason continues on by adding other suspicious things he's noticed lately. "And then, there's this other dude, man. He's been acting REALLY strange." Liam gets up and adds another 70lbs to the barbell and sits on the bench again. "Running to school for no reason, disappearing at parties... he used to be my best friend!" Just as Liam is about to lift the bar, Mason finally takes note of just how much weight is on it and adds, "And who's apparently on steroids?" which is enough to finally gain Liam's attention. "You're not ACTUALLY going to try to lift that, are you?"


Liam quickly sits up and looks around in hopes that no one nearby heard them talking, likely because he doesn't want anyone suspecting he's supernatural, both because of the current deadpool threat AND because he still kind of thinks he's a monster, even if Scott gave him that great pep talk. Mason kneels down in front of him and asks him if he's sure he's okay, and wonders aloud if maybe it's the lacrosse game that has him acting so weird. Liam insists that he's fine, since it's just a scrimmage, but Mason realizes that Liam must not know who they're playing. Liam finally admits that he must have missed Coach announcing it, so Mason sighs and breaks the news-- they're playing Liam's old team from his old school, Devenford Prep. Aw, shit, this is gonna be a hot ass mess.


Liam is clearly affected by this news, and angrily stomps into the locker room and slams his bag onto the ground. He looks through his locker, only to realize that his lacrosse stick is gone. That's when his super-sensitive hearing picks up the sound of something dragging against a row of lockers, and when Liam walks across the room, he eventually stumbles upon Derek fucking Hale. Naturally, Derek is holding Liam's lacrosse stick and has arrived for his traditional, "Hey, Welcome to the Supernatural" meeting/menacing session in the boys locker room, as he is wont to do. "Is this yours?" Derek asks calmly, as he turns the stick in his hands. Suddenly, he snaps it in half, and tosses the halves toward Liam. Liam's eyes flash gold as he growls at Derek, and wastes no time lunging for him. Derek doesn't even have to flash his eyes or anything, he just grabs Liam in a choke-hold and holds him up against the wall until Scott's alpha voice makes his way into his ears, and visibly relaxes at the sound. I LOVE THAT. It's only been a weekend since Liam was turned, but he already seems to be trusting Scott and it makes me super happy. On the other hand, maybe Derek should have indicated that he's a wolf too so that Liam wouldn't immediately hate his guts.


Scott gives him a look, and Liam immediately calms down. Derek is just loving every second of this, and quips, "You're right, he IS angry!" Well, Derek WOULD know, wouldn't he? Scott pulls Liam's actual lacrosse stick from behind his back, revealing that this was just a control exercise, which, as you can imagine, does not make Liam very happy. The bell cuts off their little lesson, so Scott kindly instructs Liam to go to class, which he begrudgingly does. Once he's gone, Scott lets out a 100% exhausted sigh, but Derek's lips can't help but quirk up in the corners as he tries to repress a smile. Scott's like, "Uh, what?" so Derek just smiles probably the most genuinely happy and content smile he's ever smiled in the history of the show, and replies, "You're gonna be good at this." MY HEART JUST TURNED INTO A PUDDLE OF GOO. Scott is about thisclose to a panic attack, and rambles, "Are you kidding? I'm TOTALLY unprepared! Remember how you said you could teach me a few things? I think right now I could use a full-on training manual!"


(via teenwolf)
Derek is still smiling like a doof, and admits he knows one thing-- Liam's anger is going to make him super strong, which we already kind of saw last week, when his rage allowed him to easily bust out of those chains. "And dangerous," Scott says with a sigh, but Derek just keeps smirking. "Very!" I love that for Scott, dangerous just means one more person he has to keep his eye on in order to make sure he doesn't unexpectedly blow up, but all Derek sees it as is an advantage for the pack when they need to fight, which is pretty much always. This is why they always need to work together, because they balance each other out. Scott has heart and strategy, Derek has knowledge, and strength. Scott sighs and sits down on the bench before confessing how much stress they have to deal with right now. "This was supposed to be the semester I could focus on school again," he says softly, as Derek smiles affectionately and sits down next to him. "But Kate's back," Scott continues. "And I've got a BETA, and there's a deadpool..." He doesn't bring up the fact that Araya's probably going to be coming after him for biting Liam, but I imagine that's probably just one more thing he's worried about. Derek reminds him that if all of their names are on this list, then they need to be focusing on that, first and foremost. "Do you think Lydia can get that second key?" Derek asks quietly, so Scott replies that she's working on it.


We cut over to the art room, where Zella Day's "Mustang Kids" (which I can't find online for the life of me, sorry kids!) plays while Lydia, who is seated in front of an easel that holds a large sketchpad, tries to concentrate while she attempts to try automatic writing again. As she sits and tries to summon up some divine inspiration, Malia stands behind her and watches curiously over her shoulder. When Lydia looks as though she's about to write something, Malia adorably switches shoulders and stands with her face just centimeters from Lydia's, which is doing nothing to help her concentration. She orders Malia to stop hovering, but Malia maintains that she's just waiting. "Draw something! Write something. We need to know who else is on that list!" Lydia can read between the lines, though, and corrects her-- actually, she just wants to know if SHE is on the list. Malia sighs, and admits that yes, if she's about to be beheaded with a thermowire, she'd like to know in advance. Lydia returns to the paper, but Malia leans in so closely when she's about to put the pencil to paper that she just screeches,


"Can you please just SIT DOWN? You're making me nervous!" Malia reluctantly heads over to the next table and starts flipping through a book while Lydia closes her eyes and once again tries to muster up some clues. For a moment, I thought that the sounds of Malia aimlessly flipping through the pages would maybe give Lydia some voices to work with, but no dice. Just as she makes her first mark on the paper, Malia calls out Lydia's name, which does nothing to tame her frustration. "What?" When Malia doesn't answer right away, she groans, and snaps, "Oh my god, WHAT?" Malia turns the book she's reading toward Lydia, revealing what looks like a face of a screaming woman. "Maybe we need help..." Malia suggests carefully. "From another banshee." Lydia sees the face on the page, and realizes they need Meredith's help. YESSS MEREDITH. I have been waiting forever for her to come back, because she is the best. Also, what the hell kind of book is Malia reading, anyway? Is it just an art book that gave her inspiration to seek out other banshees or what?


Meanwhile, Stiles and Scott are in Intro. to Business, where Coach Finstock is teaching them about economic disparity, which is a pretty apt topic, considering all of our heroes and their allies seem to be having money problems lately, while the assassins are making boatloads of money from killing the town's supernatural population. Scott is taking diligent notes, while Stiles continues to flip through the crime scene photos from the various murders. "Economic disparity exists in all forms," Coach lectures, as he wanders around the room, spinning a lacrosse stick in his hands. "We'll take sports, for example; some teams have better training facilities, some have better equipment... unlike Beacon Hills, that can barely afford the duct tape to keep our equipment together!" Coach gets distracted when he sees Stiles flipping through the photos instead of taking notes, and when he rifles through them to see various brutal murders, he starts getting wary.


"Stilinski... if I could grade you on how profoundly you disturb me, you'd be an A+ student." Stiles isn't really amused, since all of his friends are currently on a supernatural hit list, and just thanks him so he'll go away, but when Coach turns around, he notices the end of the lacrosse stick and pulls it toward him. Naturally, Coach is like, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" but when Stiles pulls the rubber end off the stick, he realizes that the metal tube that makes up the handle is in the same shape as the indentations around Carrie's stab wounds. Scott can sense his bro's unease, and silently gives him a look that asks "What the fuck is up?" "It's a lacrosse player," Stiles admits grimly, which gives them both the realization that their most recent assassin is on the team. A+ detective work, kids! The McCall pack should just be appointed as the police force for Beacon Hills, let's be real here.


A little bit later, we find Stiles, Scott, and Kira frantically searching through all of the lacrosse sticks they can find in Coach's office in hopes of finding one with a hidden dagger in the end. Scott pulls the end off of the last one and slams it down onto the desk before sighing, "This is pointless!" LOL, I see what you did there, Scotty, and I like it a lot. Get it? Because none of the lacrosse sticks have daggers in them? Hee? He points out that most of the team plays with their own gear, so really unless someone offers to let them search them, they're basically screwed. Kira suggests that instead of looking for a super secret supernatural-killing dagger, they should be trying to get the game cancelled, but Scott figures the game is their chance to finally catch their perp red-handed. "But, what if he's red-handed because his hands are covered in the blood of the person that he just stabbed to death?!" Stiles worries aloud. "Which, by the way, could be either of you guys!" Scott sighs, and realizes that it could be Liam, too, since they still don't know who is on the other two lists yet.


"We don't know anything about that list!" Stiles snits. "How it's made, how it's UPDATED? I mean, who's been out taking supernatural census, anyway?" That is an excellent point, dearest Stiles. Kira doesn't understand how they know about her, but Scott points out that they seem to know about ALL of them (except, not quite, because there are still a few notable people who have yet to be found on the list, but we'll talk about that more when we get there.) Stiles sighs, and agrees with Kira's earlier suggestion to get the game cancelled, but Scott just stands firm and insists that he's not scared of them. Kira looks her boyfriend in the eye and agrees. "Neither am I!" Scott smiles at how gutsy she is, just as Stiles exclaims, "Well, I'm terrified, and I'm not even on the list!" OH GOD, WHY DO I GET THE FEELING THIS COMMENT IS A HINT THAT STILES IS TOTALLY GOING TO BE ON THE LIST? I mean, I'm sure someone has got to want him dead after all the people who were hurt/killed when he was possessed by the nogitsune, and even if there isn't, he's still a vital member of Scott's pack and has already proven on several occasions that he would die for Scott, so it's definitely possible that they'd want Stiles out of the way, or want to use him as bait for Scott or SOMETHING. "Guys, these are professional killers! It's their PROFESSION! One of them has a thermal-cut wire that cuts heads off! Who knows what else they have?"


As it turns out, the answer to that is vial of a yellow powder that Violet identifies as wolfsbane, which Violet mixes with some kind of bubbling liquid in a beaker in the chemistry lab. How can they even get in there? My high school locked all of the chemistry stuff up tight when classes weren't in session. Although, they ARE baby assassins, so they can probably pick locks or whatever if the doors actually were locked. Anyway, when Garrett points out that he thought wolfsbane is purple, Violet points out that this is a very rare and expensive species, which means he needs to do his best not to fuck up and miss his mark. "Okay? All you have to do is nick him," Violet explains. "It'll work fast... even on an alpha." Garrett is a little annoyed that she's back on the "LET'S GET BOATLOADS OF MONEY" train, but Violet doesn't understand why they're going after some beta when there is going to be an alpha on the field. That's when Garrett proves that he may just be smarter than he lets on. "Because an entire PACK of alphas went after McCall, and HE was the one left standing." DAMN STRAIGHT, GARRETT. Violet reminds him that it's a lot of money, but Garrett insists that the beta is as well. He lifts up his lacrosse stick and pushes a button, revealing the hidden dagger inside, so Violet uses a pipette to dribble the wolfsbane mixture over the blade. They both have a really Patrick Bateman-psychopathic-murdery-vibe going on in their eyes, so I'm guessing they probably have some serious tragedy happening in their pasts to make them become assassins before they've even finished puberty yet.














(via stilinski)

In the hallway, Lydia and Malia are making their way down the stairs while Lydia explains that Eichen House won't allow Meredith to have visitors without authorization from her family. "That's not gonna be easy, since her whole family is dead," Malia replies, and I totally forgot that since Malia was in Eichen House for god knows how long, she was probably pretty good friends with her, or at least acquaintances who know each other well from having group therapy together all the time. Also, I need to know Meredith's backstory, like, YESTERDAY. Lydia proclaims this to be a wonderful obstacle in this shitshow of a situation, so Malia suggests that they go back to the art room and keep trying to figure it out, or perhaps the music room.


"I'm not going plucking piano strings for two hours waiting for some supernatural inspiration!" Lydia hisses in frustration, so Malia immediately concedes to her wishes and asks her what else banshees do to dig up clues, but Lydia, who is clearly at the end of her rope when it comes to the involuntary nature of her powers, gets real with her new girlfriend. "You think I know? I can't just turn this on! I'm not like you guys. I don't have claws, or glowing eyes, or super senses. I just have VOICES in my head." Malia, feeling super bad about how defeated Lydia seems to be, looks around and notices that a couple of students nearby seem to have overheard Lydia's last statement, and Lydia, who has had enough of ALL of this, just turns around and storms away. Malia, feeling even more guilty, takes a moment to process this before determinedly following behind her. Guys, I am really worried about Lydia, aren't you? She seems to be fraying as bad as Stiles did in 3A-3B and it's very concerning.
















(via wovenwithwords)
Meanwhile, Liam seems to be ready for a confrontation with his former nemesis at his old school, Brett Talbot, who has just arrived on the bus for the scrimmage. Mason chases behind him, yelling at him to reconsider what the fuck he's about to do, but it's Liam, so of course he isn't listening. "Brett!" Liam yells, as Brett gets off the bust. Mason's like, "Aw, here's goes," as he watches Liam skulk over to his former teammate. The two of them stare at each other for a long moment, before Liam finally states, "I just wanted to say... have a good game," and holds out his hand as a peace offering. From the doorway, Stiles and Scott are watching them warily, especially when Brett immediately bursts out laughing and asks if that's what he learned in anger management. Yup, Brett's a douche. "You demolished Coach's car," Brett continues, though Liam, who is barely keeping a lid on his temper, reminds him that he paid for it. "Yeah, you're gonna pay for it!" Brett sneers. "We're gonna break you in half out there, and it's gonna be all. your. fault."


Scott notices that Liam's clenched fist is bleeding from where his claws are digging into his palms, so he and Stiles immediately rush over to mediate and get Liam under control. Scott quietly whispers, "What's going on?" while Stiles flails over to the rest of the Devenford Prep team and hilariously appoints himself as the cheesy welcome wagon. "Hey! What's going on, prep students? Welcome to our little public high school! How you doin'?" He points out that he's excited for them to be here, and adorably reminds them that they want a clean game that night, and warns them against playing dirty before he and Scott scoop Liam up and push him in the general direction of the locker room, while Mason stands back and watches them with suspicion. THIS KID IS WAY TOO AWARE TO BE LIVING IN THIS TOWN.


In the locker room, Scott and Stiles have Liam, who is partially wolfed out and roaring ferociously, pushed against the wall while they cool him off under the cold water flowing out of the shower head. Yeah, I guess group showers are a way to get a werewolf under control? After a moment, Stiles asks him if he's calm yet, but he just responds by struggling even harder against them, forcing Scott to gesture at Stiles to push him harder against the wall, until finally, Liam manages to lisp out that he's cool around his fangs. He flings himself against the other wall of the showers and slides down onto the floor, while Scott and Stiles talk to him about what just went down. "That car you smashed?" Scott begins. "I thought you said it was your teacher's?" Liam admits that he was also his coach, and apparently he destroyed the car after he was benched for the entire season after a couple of red cards. "Just a couple?" Stiles snits unhelpfully, but Scott just ignores his rude best friend and insists that Liam needs to be straight with them about what happened so they can help him, and asks what else happened. As it turns out, when he got kicked out of school, he was sent for a psych eval and was diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder, or IED, as Stiles once again explains for us.


"IED? You're literally an IED? That's great!" Stiles declares, before turning toward Scott. "Great, you gave superpowers to a walking time bomb!" he adds with a wink. NOT. HELPFUL. STILES. You would think that a guy who has had so many issues with regards to mental illness as a result of his nogitsune possession would be a little more sympathetic, no? But, Stiles is an asshole (albeit a funny one who helps out a lot), we always knew that. Scott returns the topic to Liam, and asks him if he was given medication for it, so Liam confesses that he was prescribed risperidol, but he doesn't take it because it makes him too tired to play lacrosse. I've seen a lot of people give Liam shit for this, but as someone who has been on various antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, I can tell you that not all psych meds work the same for everyone, and sometimes the side effects are not worth the benefits, you know? And there are a LOT of possible side effects that can negatively affect your life, including lethargy, weight gain, mood swings, suicidal thoughts, etc etc etc. So, while being unmedicated is probably not the best plan, I can hardly blame him for not wanting to take a medication that doesn't make him feel well.


Scott sighs, and suggests that Liam try to get out of playing by complaining that his ankle still hurts, but Liam desperately wants to play so he can show-up Brett, obviously. "No. No! I can do this," Liam argues. "Especially if you're there," he adds as he stares his alpha down. Stiles rolls his eyes and frustratedly rubs at his brow, while Scott, clearly wanting to try to keep Liam out of danger, confesses that they're pretty sure the person who killed Demarco is also on the team and could be coming after any of them. Liam apparently wasn't completely filled in on the deadpool situation, so when Stiles breaks down the specifics, including the fact that they think whoever ordered the keg killed Demarco, something visibly clicks in his head, and Scott immediately asks if he knows something. "I don't know who ordered the keg," Liam admits. "But I know who paid for it." Cut to the hallway, where a super cocky-looking Garrett is walking down the hall, his modified lacrosse stick strapped to his backpack. Wonderful!




























(via tylersposey)

It's night time now, and the Beacon Hills lacrosse team is seated on their bench as someone flips on the field's lights. On one end of the bench, Garrett sits and talks amiably with some teammates, while Scott and Kira sit on the other end and stare at him. Kira wonders if maybe they shouldn't try something NOW to stop him, but Scott reminds her that they still don't have hardcore proof that Garrett is their guy, so they need him to show his hand first. Besides, if it ISN'T Garrett, and they try something, then the real assassin will likely get away. (Apparently, they're not considering the possibility that there is more than one, which is ultimately going to become a problem, I'm sure.) Kira looks a little wound up, which Scott quickly notices, and he asks her if she's nervous. "About someone trying to kill us, or about playing my first game?" Kira asks with an anxious sigh. "Both?" Scott replies with a smile, just as Kira catches her first real glimpse of the Devenford Prep lacrosse team, which is full of huge, hulking dudes with massive amounts of facial hair (except for Brett, of course, who is the usual twink boy that Jeff Davis likes to cast.) "Definitely both," Kira chirps nervously in response.


Stiles has just arrived to join Kira and Scott, and whines to his dad on the phone that he was supposed to be at the game already. "Leaving now," Sheriff says wearily. "This conversation doesn't get me there any quicker," he adds, before hanging up. Yeahhhh, sorry Stiles, Sheriff won't end up coming, because he's got a date with the banshee contingent of the Beacon Hills Supernatural Club. On his way out the door, Deputy Parrish stops him and admits that while he knows he's got somewhere to be, he was out patrolling and came across something strange. "I found someone walking from the coast to the high school," Parrish explains. Sheriff finds that to be strange as well, since it has to be at least fifteen miles, but Parrish retorts that the person was VERY determined to get there. Sure enough, we see Meredith Walker come into the station's bullpen and smile a tiny smile before declaring, "I'm looking for Lydia," leaving both Sheriff and Parrish flabbergasted. YES MEREDITH! Her willingness to help out when necessary is one of my favorite things, tbh. She's just like "Oh shit, the McCall Pack needs me! Time to break out of Eichen House again." She's crafty that way.


Over at the lacrosse field, Brett is getting changed in the middle of the field for whatever reason, I guess mostly to show off his rock-hard abs. A couple yards away, Liam is getting himself psyched up for the game, while Mason blatantly gawks at Brett's body. "I don't care if he's a foot taller than me," Liam states angrily. "I think I can take him!" YEAH, WITH YOUR NEW ANGER-FUELED WEREWOLF POWERS. Mason, distracted by the show, absentmindedly agrees with him, not taking his eyes off of Brett's six-pack. Liam catches on quickly to his best friend's lecherous tendencies, and then this cute exchange happens.

LIAM: [side-eyes Mason] "What do you think you're doing?"
MASON: [nervously babbles] "What, me? Psh! I'm agreeing with you! I'm being agreeable!"
LIAM: [nods sarcastically before glaring at Brett] "You think he's hot, don't you?"
MASON: "No! No! Not at all! No way! [Liam side-eyes him] ...Maybe. Maybe a little."
LIAM: [sighs] "He wants to destroy me!"
MASON: "I think you could definitely take him... and then give him... to me."


































(via teenwolf)
The boys just start laughing adorably, and MAN, how did Liam manage to win me over so fast? Look at that smile! Basically I love anyone who Scott likes because he is an excellent judge of character tbh. "Um, just go out there and kick their smug, prep-school asses!" Mason adds cheerfully, before the game is set to begin.

Elsewhere on campus, Derek and Chris have FINALLY reunited the good broship Hargent/Cherek and made their way to the BHHS sign so Derek can take Chris into the vault to investigate further into the whole Kate/robbery thing. Bless both of them so much, I LOVE IT when they team up! I am just so happy that Derek finally has somewhat age-appropriate friends now. Once inside, Derek digs around the different shelves until he finally finds the triskelion, and smiles from the memories of it. "She was here for this," Derek hesitantly admits, as he hands it over to Chris. "We use it to teach young betas how to control the shift on a full moon." Chris confirms our suspicions about Kate's difficulty controlling the shift by remarking that control was never one of Kate's strengths as he hands the triskelion back.


"You knew she was alive, didn't you?" Derek asks quietly. "Not for certain," Chris confesses. "But I've been searching ever since you handed me that shotgun shell." We flash back to the scene in "Insatiable," when Chris helped Derek bring the injured twins to the loft, and Derek handed him a shotgun shell he found when he saved them. Chris looks at the end and his eyes bug out as he states, "That's not possible!" In the present day, Chris pulls the shell out of his pocket and shows it to Derek, revealing the fleur-de-lis that indicates the Argent hunter family. Derek asks him what he's planning to do when he finds her, so Chris explains that there is a place where he can take her as he walks toward the broken safe and looks around. "You saying you have some kind of werewolf jail?" Derek asks incredulously, but all Chris will say is that it's "something like that." Derek remind him that Kate's not going to go quietly, but Kate is Chris' own sister, so he knows better than to expect any less, and he insists that he's going to do whatever he needs to do to get her under control. Even though I knew Chris wouldn't side with Kate, it's still pleasantly surprising to hear him say that-- by now, she's killed god knows how many people (the Hales, the hunters when she made her escape, not to mention the people she's likely accidentally slaughtered as a result of her inability to control her nagual side), so she's fair game as far as Chris is concerned.


After a moment of awkward silence, Derek asks, "What if I asked you not to?" Chris looks at him in confusion, so Derek makes his own confession as he flashes his eyes at him, a sight that definitely both concerns and baffles Chris the werewolf expert. He slowly walks toward Derek and examines his newly-golden eyes while Derek continues. "She took something from me. At first, I just thought it was part of my past. Then I started to lose something else-- my sense of smell." We flash back to "The Benefactor," when Derek and Sheriff were searching the school, and Derek completely missed the scent coming from the huge puddle of blood under the door. In the present day, Derek looks absolutely defeated as he adds, "I'm losing my power," as the gold fades slowly from his irises.


NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. HATING THIS TBH. Like, how many different ways can we torture this guy? First, he has to mercy-kill his girlfriend when she rejects the bite, and then his next girlfriend killed 95% of his family by burning down his family home (and to make matters worse, Jeff Davis has hinted in interviews that Kate set the fire on a lunar eclipse when the werewolves in the family had no powers, which is just SO TERRIBLE). Then, his uncle starts murdering people, including Derek's older sister, forcing Derek to have to kill him and take the alpha powers he was never intended to have in the first place. He gets so overwhelmed by fear of the Alpha Pack and the Argents that he makes up a new pack out of whatever teenager he can convince to take the bite and fails spectacularly at keeping them safe, to the point where two of them died, one of them turned into a murderous kanima before fleeing to Europe, and the last one defected to Scott's pack. He got so disillusioned by his own actions and leadership that he willingly gives up his alpha power to save his sole remaining sister's life, and JUST when he has FINALLY become content as a beta in Scott's pack, and working closely with the pack's adult allies, now they have to go and literally take away his lycanthropy all together? DEREK IS A BORN WEREWOLF FROM A LONG LINE OF WEREWOLVES. BEING A WEREWOLF IS HIS IDENTITY AND NOW HE'S LOSING THAT TOO? THIS IS THE WORST. I sincerely hope this isn't permanent. Like, if he ends up becoming fully human again, can't Scott bite him and turn him again? THIS MAKES ME SO NERVOUS.

ANYWAY, enough about that! We return to the lacrosse field, where the game is just about to start. Coach is yelling at the team to get moving, so Scott takes the opportunity to go over to him and suggest that Coach keep Liam on the bench for this game, even going so far as to use his team captain status to emphasize his point. So, is he f'reals captain again? Cool. Naturally, Coach just laughs in his face, and looks over at Liam. "What if Liam gets hurt?" Scott maintains, just as Brett, who wants to make sure we know he's a huge dick, yells, "Liam, think fast!" and lobs a lacrosse ball at Liam's head with his stick. Thankfully, Liam instantly catches it, demonstrating those new werewolf reflexes of his, which is all the evidence Coach needs to insist that Liam play in the game, and Scott, knowing that there's nothing he can do to get Coach to change his mind, just runs onto the field with Liam and Stiles, just as the referee's whistle blows to start the game.


When we return from the break, the game is in full swing, with Devenford in possession of the ball. Headhunterz & AudioFreQ's "Breakout" plays just as Devenford scores their first goal, much to BHHS's displeasure. In the stands, Mason is sitting with Violet, and they both wince when DP makes the shot. Brett immaturely points at Liam, all, "Ha ha!" so Scott walks over to Kira and Stiles. "Why do I feel like this is gonna end badly?" Kira asks nervously. "Because it usually does," Stiles quips in response. Scott instructs Kira to keep an eye on Garrett while he makes sure Liam doesn't Hulk-out on anyone. "Yeah, I'm just gonna try and play lacrosse!" Stiles shouts at Scott as he rushes away. Also, for the record, Stiles is still #24 and Scott is still #11, while Kira is now #15 and Liam is #9. Garrett blatantly stares at Scott, and when he passes Liam, Liam gives him the stink-eye as well. Aw! I am loving Liam's integration into the pack. My affection for him has really snuck up on me.


The field is kind of foggy, as Scott and Brett kneel opposite each other as they prepare for the first move. (I don't understand lacrosse at all, so I don't know what it's called, but the ref just lays the ball on the ground and then the two fight over it when the whistle blows), so Scott uses it as an opportunity to try to solve some of his problems. "Brett, I know you guys feel like you owe Liam some payback for what he did, but could you just hold off for one night? Trust me. One night." Brett shrugs and says yes, he will, and Scott is so surprised by what he believed to be genuine kindness that he doesn't realize Brett is just fucking with him. To add insult to injury, Brett takes advantage of Scott's distraction and steals the ball from right under his nose. DAMNIT! Scott sees Liam running for Brett and yells at him to back off, but of course he doesn't, and ends up getting tackled so hard that even Violet and Mason gasp in the stands. Liam is PISSED, you guys, and immediately scrambles to his feet, rushes over to where Brett is standing, and throws off his gloves before lunging at him. Thankfully, Stiles and Scott both grab him by the arms and pull him backwards. Aw, they really are like protective older brothers, aren't they? It's kind of adorable. Liam finally jerks out of their grasp, just as Brett shoots Liam another sneer and walks away, not noticing that Garrett is totally staring at him and rubbing his finger over the button that pops his dagger out of his lacrosse stick. OH SHIT, PLOT TWIST.


At the sheriff's station, Lydia and Malia have just arrived to talk to Meredith, and Sheriff is explaining that while HE knows that this is likely about the deadpool and thus very important, he still has to call Eichen House to tell them that Meredith flew the coop again, since it's not like he can explain to the powers that be that a rag-tag pack of various teenagers and youngish adults are more qualified to deal with these situations than the police. Lydia asks him if he can get them an hour, but he just sighs and replies, "You got fifteen minutes." Welp. Lydia manages to mostly resist rolling her eyes as she and Malia file into his office to talk to Meredith, but before he can join them, he's stopped once again by Deputy Parrish, where they have what is the cutest and also kind of suspicious conversation of the evening.


PARRISH: "You called Lydia!"
SHERIFF: [panics internally] "...Yeah."
PARRISH: [confused] "Because Meredith asked for her, or because of the other thing?"
SHERIFF: [confused] "What other thing?"
PARRISH: [looks around to make sure no one is listening] "The psychic thing!"
SHERIFF: "You think Lydia's psychic?"
PARRISH: "...Do you?"
SHERIFF: "...No, I do not. I think she is... um... intuitive."
PARRISH: "That's what they used to call psychics! Intuitionists."
SHERIFF: [sighs] "Yeah, and I used to call myself a rational human being. Get in here and close the door!"

YES! Can we please just get Parrish on Team McCall already? This is getting ridiculous. Anyway, Parrish follows Sheriff into the office to join Meredith, Lydia and Malia. Sheriff gives them permission to ask her whatever they need to ask her, so Lydia pulls out her phone and hands it to Meredith with a small smile. HOW DID SHE KNOW THAT? Did Stiles or Isaac tell her? Or is it their banshee connection? Meredith takes the phone from her and gives her a small knowing smile in return. After a moment, Lydia asks her if she's gonna answer the phone, so Meredith just stands up and kindly whispers, "It's not ringing!" into her ear. THAT IS SO CUTE. THEY ARE SO CUTE. Of course, Lydia is about done with being unable to figure out any answers as to the cipher keys, so she's not really happy about the amount of patience working with Meredith will require.


Back at the game, Stiles is up against a very heavily bearded giant from DP's team for the pre-play ball snatch whatever, and, being Stiles, can't resist making a smartass remark. "You guys know that anabolic steroids are illegal in the United States? You've got a lot of facial hair for a teenager!" LOLOL. "What are you on? Seriously! HGH? Gamma radiation?" I'm loving the Incredible Hulk reference, tbh. When the ref blows the whistle, Stiles is so fast that he grabs the ball before the other dude can even process it. Yayyyy Stiles! How did he get so good at lacrosse all of a sudden? He tosses the ball to Kira, who promptly catches it and stares at it in wonder for a brief moment until Stiles yells at her to run.


She quickly darts in and out around the various Devenford players who are going after her. Coach yells at her to pass the ball, but she's close enough to the net that she just rushes forward and goes for it, lobbing the ball at the net so quickly that the goalie doesn't have time to catch it. Violet and Mason cheer from the stands, Stiles makes this cute little "WHOOP!" noise, and Scott is just staring in awe and beaming at how badass his girlfriend is. However, Coach wasn't as impressed by her superior athletic skills, and calls out "Yukimura! Get over here!" She rushes over, still high off of the satisfaction of making the first shot, but Coach reveals that he's benching her for the rest of the game because she didn't pass the ball, and since this is a scrimmage and blah blah blah teamwork etc. So, now Kira's out of the game, leaving only Scott and Stiles to keep an eye out for Liam and Garrett. UGHH. Scott's disappointed, but is quickly distracted when he sees Garrett once again staring at him in the most unsubtle way. Dude, if you wanted Scott to be even MORE suspicious of your intentions than he already was, then mission accomplished.

Over at the Sheriff's office, Lydia is still trying to encourage Meredith's cooperation in the most patient and nice way she can muster, but she can't completely hide the fact that she's totally frustrated. "Meredith, you came here to help us, remember?" Meredith just kind of smiles and points out that actually, Lydia called HER. Lydia, of course, doesn't understand, but Meredith simply replies, "I heard you!" So, this is kind of like what happened back in "Insatiable," yeah? When Stiles and Isaac were trying to get in touch with Lydia, and Meredith said that Lydia didn't want to be found? It seems to give evidence to the theory that all banshees are connected and that the voices Lydia and Meredith hear aren't just spirits of the deceased but also living and dead banshees-- so, when Lydia was desperately thinking about how she needed Meredith's help, it kind of unintentionally sent her a message that her assistance was required.


As you recall, Meredith has a soft spot for hot guys, as evidenced by her willingness to help when Isaac was involved, so when Parrish kneels down so he can talk to her at eye level and asks, "Meredith, can I ask you a question?", Meredith just wiggles in her seat excitedly and nods in confirmation. "When you need help, when you need to find something, is there someone you reach out to? Maybe someone you call?" THAT IS SUCH A GREAT WAY TO WORK WITH MEREDITH. Lydia agrees, because she's staring at him like she's suddenly starting to make sense of something. Meredith admits that it depends, because there are different people she goes to for different things. "So, maybe there's a number that can help us? Someone we can call?" Thrilled to be of help, Meredith agrees that yes, there is someone they can call, and when they ask for a number, she squeezes her eyes closed as she struggles to recall the digits. "Two... four... three... six."


When she stops, Malia and Lydia just stare at her for a moment, before Malia gently replies, "Mer, we need a few more numbers." Meredith shakes her head and informs them that no, that's all of them, and even when she's reminded that all phone numbers have ten digits, she insists that that's all of it. Lydia, desperate to figure out the two remaining cipher keys, continues to push her, but Meredith starts to get upset, and Sheriff eventually pulls her away and suggests that maybe this is the best they're going to get from her. "No. There HAS to be more," Lydia whispers. Sheriff assures Meredith that it's okay, but Meredith continues to repeat herself. "That's the number!"


Apparently, Chris has moved back into his old apartment, which really surprised me, since wouldn't it be difficult, since it was where he lived with Allison after Victoria died? GOD, I MISS ALLISON SO MUCH IT HURTS. He's down in their little weapon lock-up, where he pulls out a couple clips full of rifle rounds and his assault rifle, as well as his tool kits so he can clean it and make sure everything is in working order. He's testing out the scope when he hears a thump nearby, and his thumb reflexively reaches for a lightswitch on his workbench. When he flips it, there is a crackle of electricity before a big, dark shape falls to the floor with a thump. Behind him, Severo Calavera appears with his handgun aimed at Chris, who aims his own handgun right back at him. After a moment of silently staring at each other, Araya comes out from behind him, with a sassy new hairdo and a pretty rocking cardigan, and quips, "In Mexico, we just call this a standoff." OH GOD, ARAYA IS HERE. Guess that means it's only a matter of time before she goes after Scott for biting Liam, yeah? That took no time whatsoever.


We then cut back to the game, where Liam is growling under his breath as he sprints toward Brett, who seems to have the ball. Before Liam can tackle him, Brett is tackled by Garrett, who runs right into Liam, causing him to flip over Brett's back. YIKES! Everyone in the stands, including Mason and Violet, gasp and cover their mouths in horror as both Brett and Liam groan in pain on the ground. Coach and the EMTs seem much more worried about Brett (which makes sense, given the extent of his injuries that will be revealed shortly), which is good news for Liam, because no one pays any attention to him while Scott and Stiles pull him up to his feet. "How hard did you hit him?" Scott asks incredulously, but Liam replies that he didn't actually hit Brett, Brett hit HIM instead. He holds out his left arm, which is broken at the medial end of the ulna and radius, and Stiles groans and looks away in horror. Oh Stiles, there isn't even any blood! Scott quickly removes his gloves and takes Liam's broken arm in his hands before ordering him to shut his eyes. Once he does, Scott pops Liam's bones back into place so they can heal, and Liam breathes a sigh of relief.


On the ground behind them, Brett is still writhing on the ground in pain, almost like he's delirious, so the medics each lift him up by the arms and help him walk back to the school for treatment. One of his legs drags behind him, so it's safe to say that he injured it pretty badly. Scott notices Garrett retracting his blade back into his lacrosse stick out of the corner of his eye, which Garrett totally sees happen, and Scott gets so worried that he did something to Liam that he doesn't even try to conceal the fact that he knows about Garrett. "Are-are you cut? Did Garrett cut you?" Liam swears he didn't, and Scott looks over once again to find Garrett just staring at him like a creeper. HE IS SUCH A LOUSY ASSASSIN. Who does that? Someone who wants their ass to get caught, apparently. Scott assumes that Garrett must have missed, which makes Liam super nervous. When he asks his alpha what he means, Scott admits that he's pretty sure that Liam is the one that Garrett is actually after.


Malia and Lydia are sitting in Sheriff's office, silent and clearly still disappointed about the lack of progress they've made that day at figuring out the cipher keys. Out in the bullpen, Parrish is helping Meredith with her coat and quietly talking to her about something, but we're not privy to what it is. Lydia is pinching and rubbing at the bridge of her nose like she has a headache, which tends to happen to Lydia when she's overwhelmed by her banshee senses (or by the lack thereof)-- remember back in 3A when she was eating Advil like candy? Malia sighs and stares at the paper, where one of the girls has written "2 - 4 - 3 - 6," before frustratedly crumpling up in her hand and throwing it in the trash. That's when she notices the landline telephone sitting on the desk, and suddenly gets an idea. "Lydia! What if it's like algebra?"


YES MALIA! I love that she's working so hard to get caught up, school-wise, and how it's actually helping her IRL as well. Lydia, however, is totally confused, until Malia explains that perhaps the numbers are actually letters. Following that train of thought, Lydia reflexively grabs her notebook and a pen and jots down the letters on the 2, 4, 3 and 6 buttons on the phone. From there, she realizes what the letters spell as she circles them, and murmurs, "Oh, god" and quickly pulls out her Macbook. The letters? "A I D E N." Lydia types the name into the program, and gives Malia a nervous look before she hits enter, which instantly unlocks another third of the list. Here it is, for your convenience:


Kate Argent 12M
Noshiko Yukimura 5M
Joanne McLaughlin 1M
Steve Grace 1M
Tom Hill 1M
Brett Talbot 1M
Richard Benefield 250K
Jack Marsland 250K
Joy Waldrop 250K
Cheryl Calix 250K
Jordan Parrish 5M

I know that last one is a doozy, but we're gonna wait to get into that part. For now, the important thing is that Brett Talbot, the dick from Devenford Prep's lacrosse team, is not only on the list, but on it for a seven-figure amount, which means SURPRISE, that's who the baby assassins are after! Lydia is horrified, naturally, but Malia breathes a sigh of relief when she realizes she's not on this list, either, although it still doesn't let her completely off the hook yet, as there is still one more list out there.

Back at the game, Liam approaches Scott and Kira and informs them that he complained to Coach about his ankle to get him out of the rest of the game. Kira asks Scott what he's going to do, but he's struggling to figure that out himself. "I don't know! I mean, something's still not right. We're missing something!" That's when Stiles comes over to join them with news of his own. "Guys? Lydia just broke another third of the list." Liam anxiously asks him if he's on it, and though Stiles assures him that he isn't, he does point out that someone else they know is. At first I thought he meant Noshiko, because of the way he looked at Kira, but in actuality, he's talking about BRETT...


...who is desperately crawling across the floor of the locker room, surrounded by the either dead or unconscious bodies of the medics taking care of him. Eventually, he loses strength and stops, his eyes flashing gold, before yelling, "What did you do to me?" Violet comes out of nowhere, with her bolo garrote in one hand, and takes great pleasure in informing Brett that he was cut with a wolfsbane-laced blade. She assures him that the wolfsbane won't kill him, which makes no sense to me, and then pushes the button on her garrote to heat the wire to a red glow. "But this will!" Seriously though, I thought if a wolf was injected with, cut with, or shot with anything that was laced with wolfsbane, they would eventually die from the poison? I mean, werewolves have inhaled it or drank it on accident, and only got nightmare hallucinations, but when Derek and the twins were shot with wolfsbane bullets, they were seriously, seriously weakened and injured and almost died until they were eventually saved at the last minute. WHATEVER. Anyway, Brett starts crawling away again, and asks her why she's doing this, but she insists that it's because he's worth a lot of money as she kicks his hands out from under him. She then throws the wire around Brett's neck and yanks his head back as she attempts to behead him. Girlfriend gets WAY too much pleasure out of killing people, it's kind of freaking me out, you guys.


Lydia is still analyzing the newest deadpool list she uncovered when Parrish comes into the office to check on her, which startles her so much that she instinctively slams her laptop closed to hide what she's doing. He immediately apologizes for scaring her, and just wanted to make sure she and Malia were okay. "You need a ride home?" Parrish asks kindly, noticing the worn-out look on Lydia's face, but when she takes a peek at Malia, who seems to be filling Stiles in on what she learned on the phone, Lydia politely declines and assures him that she's good. Giiiiiirl, when cute boys like Parrish ask if you want a ride home, YOU ACCEPT! If anything, you should be doing it to get to know him better for the pack's sake! Parrish gives her a concerned look, but leaves her in peace. As soon as he's gone, she goes back to the list, and stares at the last name: "Jordan Parrish 5M." First of all, I love the name Jordan and love that it's his name, and secondly, WHAT THE HELL IS PARRISH? That's still an awful large amount of money for a bounty, so he's gotta be at least somewhat threatening. Kathleen thinks he's the god Apollo, which is a theory I love, but I'm leaning more toward a phoenix, for reasons I will explain in the notes!






















(via frekkenbok)
Scott has run into the school to check on Brett, after finding out that he's on the deadpool, too, and when he sees the body of one of the EMTs halfway out the door of the locker room, he rushes toward him to check on him. I'm guessing from Scott's reaction that he's only unconscious, and not dead, plus I don't see why an assassin would kill someone if they don't have to, especially since it's not like they're gonna get paid for that. Scott then notices Brett laying supine on the floor and immediately goes to check on him next. Before he can get there, Brett's eyes fly open with a gasp, which startles Scott so much that he didn't notice Violet behind him. She throws her garrote around his neck and pulls it tight as she gloats about her good fortune. "He said we shouldn't try," Violet exclaims gleefully, as Scott tries to get his hands under the burning hot wire so he can pull it away from his neck. "But now I've got you! I've got an alpha!"





































(via joanne-h)
The words have barely left Violet's mouth before Scott's glow crimson as he growls menacingly and pulls the wire away from his neck with one hand. LOOK AT THAT SHIT. That wire is barely even tickling him. As Scott turns to face her, Violet's facial expression goes from arrogant smirk to "MISTAKES WERE MADE" in about a millisecond, just as Scott forcefully jerks the wire out of her hands and grabs her in a choke-hold against the wall. Violet's feet scrabble desperately as she tries to get some purchase on the floor, but Scott just slams her against the wall and knocks her out cold. Scott pulls the necklace off of him with a sigh, just as Stiles flails his way into the locker room. His reaction to seeing Scott surrounded by all these unconscious bodies is HILARIOUS, he goes from like "HOLY SHIT BRO ARE YOU OKAY?" to "Oh my god, did you do all this? I am seriously impressed." Scott is still hyped up with adrenaline and trying to catch his breath while he admits that Stiles should probably call his dad. Bahahaha, sucks to be Violet. We should probably just call her Icarus, tbh.


The self-proclaimed Mexican standoff is still going on in the Argents' weapons lock up, where Araya is lecturing Chris. "The girl we hired to find Kate? Hasn't responded in days. You know her, don't you?" Chris admits that yeah, he knows Braedon, so Araya suggests that maybe Kate found her, and perhaps even killed her. "Maybe we should stop hiring other people to do our work? Maybe we do it ourselves?" She walks over to the boys and forcefully pushes their guns down and gives Chris a hard look. She reminds him that they're hunters, all of them, and they follow a Code. She also keeps calling me Christopher, which does nothing to dissuade me of my theory that she is actually Grandmama Argent tbh. She asks Severo to remind Chris what that Code is, and he replies, "We hunt those who hunt us."


THAT'S NOT CHRIS' CODE, YA DICKS. CHRIS' CODE IS "Nous protegéons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-memes" ("We protect those who cannot protect themselves") because it was ALLISON'S CODE. The fact that he didn't say that troubles me, but they were really ragging on him so I can't blame him for complying just to shut them up. Araya turns back to Chris and repeats, "Christopher, what is our Code?" When Chris just gulps nervously and looks at the floor, Araya adds, "Say it with me-- we hunt those who hunt us." Severo repeats it for good measure, after Araya asks him to, and Chris is just getting increasingly angry and agitated that they just invaded his home with weapons drawn and are now hassling them about hunter shit when he's just buried his daughter and learned that his sister is alive and he's probably going to have to try to kill her at some point. Chris stays silent, so Araya continues making him feel like SUCH SHIT ABOUT IT, to the point that he literally turns away from her. "Say it for your wife Victoria. For your daughter Allison. Say the Code. Speak the words!" Finally, Chris looks up with rage in his eyes, and repeats, "We hunt those who hunt us." BOY, YOU BETTER MEAN THAT YOU'RE GONNA HUNT THE CALAVERAS OTHERWISE I AM GONNA BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU.


Next week, according to the promo: Garrett threatens Liam and Scott, while Malia and Derek team up to find an "old ally," whatever that means.

Click HERE to read my next recap of Teen Wolf!

[screencaps via Screencapped]

NOTES/SPECULATION/QUESTIONS:
-But seriously, you guys-- Allison died defending her new Code. Would Chris REALLY cast that away so easily? Chris, who started using a cross-bow instead of his 58E Desert Eagle in honor of Allison, who allied himself with werewolves, banshees, kitsunes, and humans alike. I just really have a hard time believing he would do that. So, my fingers are crossed that he's planning on backing up the pack, because that's what Allison would want him to do.

-Where is Kate hiding? No, really?

-As for the newest section of the deadpool, we still have Malia, Peter, Liam, Deaton, and Morrell missing from the lists. Malia I could possibly understand, since she just came back to the human world after living in the woods for almost a decade. Peter could MAYBE be excused because he was previously dead, but I feel like if they know about Kira and Noshiko and Kate being in town, they should probably know Peter is resurrected and kicking again, which makes me SUPER suspicious of him. (Although I am ALWAYS suspicious of him, so I guess that doesn't really mean much.) Liam is a super new addition so it makes sense that he would be left off, but I get the feeling that he'll be outed soon enough, and maybe even be on the third list, if the list is updated. And even if he isn't, he's still Scott's beta, and as such, he lends Scott power, and vice versa, so they might want to take him out just to make it easier to take down Scott. I'm still not sure if druids are considered supernatural or not, but since we've seen both Deaton and Morrell do things that are basically magical, I feel like they should count. Who knows? There's still one more list that should have 10-13ish more names on it.

-Now, let's talk about JORDAN PARRISH. Here's what we know about him: he's supposedly 24 and is often referred to as good-looking and/or young-looking; he was in the Army and his job was disarming IEDs and other explosives while he was deployed in Afghanistan; he felt "drawn" to Beacon Hills; he is worth $5 million dollars on the dead pool. So, he's definitely supernatural, but what is he? Judging by his profession, I'm thinking he's a PHOENIX-- it would explain why he's never fully decked out in bomb-diffusing gear (he'd be immune to fire/explosions so the gear would just be for show anyway), AND why some people have speculated that he's actually older than he looks, because phoenixes die by bursting into flames and then are reborn from the ashes. Which, conveniently, is one of the taglines for this season-- "FROM THE ASHES, RISE." We all thought it meant that our heroes would be rising from the ashes of their battle with the nogitsune and the losses they suffered as a result, but since this is another new supernatural creature, it could always be a double meaning. Who's to say?

HEY GUYS-- tell me your thoughts/feelings/theories about this season so far! I'd like to hear what you think. :)

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