3.18 Riddled It seems weird to be so full of praise for Dylan O’Brien, but of all the young actors on the show, he’s the one that remains the most impressive, week in and week out. This week is no exception to that, as Stile once again carries the bulk of the episode despite not being seen for much of it. Stiles has been sleepwalking again, or so he thinks, and has found himself trapped in a dank, cold basement with some sort of metal trap around his leg, thereby putting him at the mercy of the elements and a bandage-wrapped stranger with crazy metal teeth and a penchant for speaking in zen koans and goofy riddles. However, it wasn’t Stiles that caught my eye this week, but Evil Stiles. Dylan O’Brien pulls off a very difficult physical transition between scared teenage Stiles and the Stiles that is possessed by an evil Japanese demon. It was interesting last week, but much more impressive in this episode. Evil Stiles walks differently, holds his jaw differently, makes different expressions, looks much more confident and dare I say dangerous, and it’s really an impressive bit of physical work from the young actor. Even his line delivery is different than it is as Stiles. It’s some impressive stuff, and proof again that O’Brien is the best actor on the show, and one of the best young actors on television right now. As usual, the Stilinski family drama makes the biggest impression. Tim Andrew does some good work this week, particularly in the scenes involve Stiles and company in the hospital. The staging of the MRI scene is just brilliant, and the reaction shots of Melissa and Sheriff Stilinski were absolutely crushing (and that hug between Scott and Stiles!). Andrew also does a great job with the kogitsune, or whatever the leech mummy spectre in Stiles’ mind turns out to be. The creature is shot in such a way that it emphasises its most disturbing feature, its teeth, and not the fact that it’s just a guy with some bandages on his face and a mild speech impediment from having giant pointy teeth. That’s one of the most impressive aspects of Teen Wolf. It’s consistently entertaining no matter who is behind the camera, who is manning the keyboard, and who is in front of the camera. It’s clever and creative enough to make its blend of CGI and practical effects work to its advantage, and even having a basic cable budget doesn’t seem to be slowing down the shows ability to create scares, tension, and atmosphere. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, Silverfinger, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan thinks that if Teen Wolf lost Stiles, it would never recover. There would be a feelsplosion that would level Tumblr like the Death Star leveld Alderaan. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
