5.5. A Novel Approach This serves as both a thrilling beginning—watching Stiles fight for his life is always great—and a suspenseful follow-up—while Stiles waits for the police to arrive and investigate the body while having a really impressive mental breakdown. Of course, when Beacon Hills’ finest show up, there’s no body to be seen. In fact, the whole crime scene has been cleaned up and completely put back to normal, minus one tell-tale blob of blood left behind to let us know that it’s not a figment of Stiles’ imagination, but someone coming by to clean up the mess. It’s not just Donovan in the library with the steel bar, it’s all over Beacon Hills. The animal hospital, where Tracy was being examined? She’s gone. The morgue? The bodies are missing there, too. Someone’s disposing of evidence and making these bodies disappear, but why exactly is Parrish covering up the piles of dead shape-shifters? And if the doctors are creating them and Theo is working alongside them, what is Parrish’s role? Clearly he’s involved somehow, if only as the clean-up man. The attack on Stiles is the kick-off point for the entire episode, as the alarm goes off at the animal hospital, rousing Scott and Kira from a sleepover. The three meet with Lydia and Malia concerning the Dread Doctors book, and there’s only one clue: Dr. Valack. Time for a field trip to Eichen House! Tim Andrew did a phenomenal job behind the cameras this week. O’Brien’s performance was great, and the way that particular conflict was shot was awesome as well, kind of a throw-bask to the more horror-based first season of Teen Wolf, but with a guy who grows spontaneous mouths on his neck and hands (and who basically hangs out while impaled through the chest, which was a stunning visual). As if that wasn’t enough, the appearance of the Doctors at Eichen House was even better, particularly the crane shot of the kids going through the gates starting at gate-top level then dropping down as they march up the stairs on the grounds, only to all turn at once when the gates clank ominously shut. When Kira’s powers start to go haywire due to the interference of the ley lines under Eichen, the visuals only get cooler. Say what you want about how the show takes its visual cues from Highlander, Scott carrying Kira through the halls and out the door while she arcs and sparks fly behind them looked awesome. The script was also very intricately constructed this week. The fact that Valack planted the clue in the book (that he wrote) isn’t surprising, but the fact that the book was written to waken sleeping memories hidden by the Dread Doctors is going to power some very fun stuff later this season, especially when the gang actually starts reading the book. Angela Harvey also did a wonderful job of reminding us that Stiles and Lydia were almost a thing, and that Stiles’ ability to see through people is both good (for Lydia) and bad (for him, as it seems that death after death is finally getting to his secretly sensitive soul). She also doesn’t overdo the flirtation between Malia and Theo. It’s clearly Theo being manipulative, since he gets the girl involved in a car accident behind the wheel of his Toyota Tundra and waits for the breakdown, but it also seems like actual flirtation. As for Stiles and Lydia, their scenes work because they’re clearly not flirting with one another; the two love one another in that way that close friends do, and Stiles can’t help but be protective of Lydia due to all they’ve been through together, even if Lydia does have a scream that can shatter plexiglass and free a possibly dangerous maniac with a hole in his forehead. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, Condition Terminal, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan didn’t have a great time learning how to drive, but he was definitely better behind the wheel than Malia. He only had one sobbing meltdown, not several. 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.
