Life seems to be getting back to normal on Teen Wolf. Granted, on this show, “normal” means torture, murder and monsters. That’s what makes Teen Wolf so fun! Keep reading for everything you need to know about “Shape Shifted.”
A Wee Bit of Awesome
Before we get into the Teen Wolf recap, we must make time for a brief but joyous and lacrosse-filled interlude. I speak, of course, of the brand-new Teen Wolf credit sequence.
In case you had missed the main themes of Teen Wolf before, we now know they are:
- Lacrosse
- Naked bodies
- Mist
- Lacrosse
- Beautiful people
- Lacrosse
Got that? Good. We can move on.
New Boy, New… Thing?
So, Isaac. Because there aren’t enough werewolves running around Beacon Hills yet, Isaac is Derek’s next recruit to the wolf pack. This is probably a good thing for Isaac. The rest of his life is rotten — nights spent digging graves, only to go home to a vaguely psychotic and blatantly abusive father. Sprouting fur and howling at the Moon wins in that contest.
Or does it?
Having been bullied one too many times, Isaac takes off on his bike through a sudden, monsoon-like downpour. Dad, being the obsessed and violent man that he is, follows by car but finds only an abandoned bicycle where he expected a son.
But perhaps Isaac is there. A shape appears through the mist. What sort of a shape, we don’t know, since the mist, frequent disappearances and camera shots through rain-spattered glasses obscure things. The shape is scary though.
Dad realizes this a little too late and makes a run for his car. The Thing chases him down and proceeds to rip off the car door. Our last parting shot of Daddy Dearest is a bleeding foot left hanging in the rain…
Was Isaac responsible for this totally justified but bloody bit of violence?
Education Reform
In a much happier, drier part of Beacon Hills, Allison and Scott have another one of their secret rendezvous. But this one is safe. The senior Argents are on date night.
By “date night,” Allison really meant a “night out in a limousine used to kidnap and torture unsuspecting principals for no obvious reason.” Because that’s what the Argents do. It’s totally badass (and criminal, but whatever).
The explanation for such madness takes awhile, but we eventually we find out that it’s all part of the Hunters’ diabolical plan to install Grandpa Gerard as the new Beacon Hills High School principal. The genocidal, pill-popping old guy has teaching credentials? Who knew?
Or maybe he’s just a lacrosse fan. That’s all that matters at that school anyway.
Scent of a Werewolf
It’s that time of the month for the werewolves — the full Moon is about to rise, bringing along its rather inconvenient lunacy. This month, however, Scott isn’t too worried about going all homicidal. He thinks this is because of Allison. But Scott thinks everything is about Allison, so we can probably assume Scott is wrong.
Stiles has chains at the ready anyway, so it’s a moot point.
But Scott has more pressing matters. A bout of yellow-eyed clarity reveals the presence of a new werewolf in the lacrosse locker room. It’s Isaac, of course. But Scott and Stiles don’t know that. Fortunately, Stiles has a plan. Scott plays goalie for that practice and uses the position (incorrectly) to tackle each of his teammates.
Scott learns two important things from this exercise. 1) Danny wears Armani aftershave and 2) Isaac is the werewolf.
The puppies don’t have time to bond, because this is when the police arrive to take Isaac in for questioning. Which is fair, considering that Isaac had a whole lot of reasons to do the deed. Too bad the Beacon Hills holding cells aren’t werewolf proof on this moonlit night…
The Great Escapes
Derek, good responsible Alpha that he is, wants to fix everything. This first involves getting Scott over to Isaac’s house. The two wolves discuss senses, pack stuff (Derek just wants a big family! Scott just wants to date Allison!) and novel uses for home freezers. This doesn’t seem to be particularly helpful to Isaac, but whatever.
Stiles and Allison, meanwhile, are on the case. Having been randomly trusted with the knowledge that a Hunter is heading to the jail with wolfsbane, Allison distracts the man with a few arrows to the tire and leg. Grandpa Gerard would not approve!
Stiles uses his extra time to hook up with Derek for a daring raid on the jail. Mostly, this consists of Derek being hot (to distract the deputy on duty) and Stiles being Stiles (to steal his dad’s keys). But the Hunter was too fast — a fight between Stiles and the Hunter, Isaac (in full-on wolf mode) and the Hunter, and finally Derek and the Hunter becomes necessary.
Derek wins. That’s because he’s the Alpha. You don’t mess with the Alpha.
Of course, the Alpha isn’t much into taking responsibility. That’s left to Stiles, found alone with the unconscious Hunter when the police finally arrive. Derek and Isaac? Long gone…
Back at Isaac’s house, Allison arrives to find Scott huddled on the basement floor and trying not to turn into a homicidal monster. Scott wants Allison to chain him inside the basement freezer (a container eerily covered with dozens of scratch marks), because he doesn’t want to accidentally eat her.
Allison fits in one sweet kiss before chaining Scott’s coffin-like prison, and then she heads upstairs. Where her flashlight dies. Time for bad things to happen!
We hear only a few scratching noises before such ominous clues are drowned out by screams. This is not OK with Scott, who proves in mere seconds that the chained freezer was totally useless. The werewolf escapes and rushes to Allison’s aid. Granted, Allison has a giant knife and probably was just fine, but the sentiment is still noble.
The Thing — which we know from the episode title must be a shape-shifter — doesn’t want to fight anyway. Instead, he/she/it scurries across the ceiling (!!!) and out the door.
Who or what could it be?
Oh Lydia… It’s Only Going to Get Worse
Speaking of mysterious creatures, let’s check in with Lydia. The queen of Beacon Hills’ mean-girl population has survived her naked-in-the-woods ordeal and is ready to return to school. Too bad the entire student population totally knows what she’s been up to lately.
Lydia survives this first encounter with dignity intact, but her time with Jackson does not go so well. It seems that Jackson’s werewolf exposure has merely increased his douchebag levels. Thus, Lydia’s sincere gratitude that Jackson didn’t let her bleed to death is met with a brush-off.
Jackson also warns his ex to stay inside that full Moon night. Does she listen? Teen Wolf really, really doesn’t want us to know the answer to that question.
Should Have Gone with a Sex Tape
For Jackson, however, there are answers.
Being the werewolf enthusiast that he is, Jackson borrows a fancy video camera from the new school Camera Stalker, whose name may or may not be Matt. Matt(?) isn’t so sure about the rental agreement, since he thinks Jackson only wants to make an Allison-themed sex tape.
No, Matt(?). That’s what you want to do. Jackson has other priorities.
Alone in his room at last, Jackson checks his abs (perfect), his fingernails (perfect) and his teeth (perfect) before settling in for some on-camera wolf time. So much self-love is exhausting though, and Jackson falls asleep…
And wakes up the next morning. Rushing to the camera, Jackson eagerly watches for his historic transformation.
Which doesn’t happen. Whatever he’s got going these days, Jackson is not a werewolf. Just a jerk.
A Few Questions Lingering in the Moonlight…
- What was up with all those pills Gerard took while arguing with his son? Medication? Illicit substances?
- Why didn’t Jackson change? He does seem to be past his black gunk-spewing phase, but the wolf hasn’t shown up?
- Who was in that freezer before Scott?
- Did Lydia change? She might be the shape-shifter, but that seems too simple.
- Is Matt(?) another shape-shifter candidate? Or is he just an Allison-obsessed stalker?
What are your theories about the lunacy of Teen Wolf? Is Lydia the shape-shifter? Will Jackson ever be a wolf? Keep checking here or on my Twitter for updates, and let us know what you think below!
(Images and video courtesy of MTV)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
