3.20 Echo House However, that’s a normal television show, not Teen Wolf. I’ve talked before about how well Teen Wolf does when it brings horror to television. When it wants to be scary, it’s a legitimately unnerving programme. When you take that dedication to scares and put it in a naturally scary location, the results are really impressive. From the very introduction, the nicknamed Echo House asylum is a creepy thing indeed. Wrought-iron gates, high brick walls, a seemingly endless array of shadowy corridors, an introductory hanging, it’s almost not fair for Teen Wolf to play in this garden, but it does it so well that I can’t help but be happy with the results. From the opening tracking shot of Stiles stepping into the lobby of the asylum, Tim Andrew is in his element as director. The intake interview is a masterpiece of building tension. Sheriff Stilinski, as he realizes he’s about to sign his son over to a mental institution for the forseeable future, slowly begins to have a Stiles family panic attack. Buzzers buzz in the background, Stiles unloads his pockets in herky-jerky fashion, and Sheriff Stilinski tries to talk Stiles and himself out of their plan to protect the presently nogitsune-free Stiles into safe custody. Even after Stiles intercepts his father’s freak-out, the scene is still heartwrenching because, well, it’s Stiles and his dad, and they’re one of the best-crafted father/son relationships on television, especially in the hands of Jeff Davis. Of course, Oliver wasn’t the only person showing up at the asylum. There’s the return of the helpful Ms. Morrell and a familiar face from earlier in the season, one Malia Tate. You might remember her as the werecoyote, or you might remember her from last week’s reveal that she might be Peter Hale’s daughter (assuming you can trust the intuition of Allison and Lydia, that is). It turns out she’s not a dropped plotline, but an ally for Stiles in his battle versus, uh, himself; a possible love interest for our favorite sarcastic fox; and of course, a really clever twist in her own right. It’s not that Malia is in the asylum that makes her interesting, it’s the fact that she’s not happy with Scott and Stiles for saving her life. Or, rather, saving her humanity. She’s got to live with the fact that she caused the death of her family, she’s got to live with the fact she’s got to adjust to being human again after years of being a wolf, and perhaps most depressing of all, she’s cold all the time. Perhaps making out (and possibly more) with Stiles will be enough to convince her that being human sometimes isn’t all bad; or, perhaps, an exposure to Evil Stiles will be enough to turn her completely against humans altogether. I’d imagine some of the things currently going on will carry over into the fourth season, if only because it seems like there’s a lot of stuff up in the air right now. I don’t see how they can trim down these dangling plot threads succinctly over the next three hours, but Jeff Davis has proven himself to be a master at running a television show, and if anyone controls a show, he controls Teen Wolf and he seems to know what the audience wants and how best to supply it. Fingers crossed that everything ends well for Stiles and Coach, because it wouldn’t be Teen Wolf without those two. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, Letharia Vulpira, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan doesn’t want to see Stiles become another supernatural on a show full of them, but if it means he stays on the side of good, then so be it. 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.
