In this episode of Teen Wolf, “The Maid of Gevaudan,” Chris and Gerard tell Lydia about the woman who brought down The Beast. Scott battles the monster in an effort to spare more innocent lives. The Argents believe Lydia has the power to defeat The Beast, while Scott and Liam finally uncover the human identity of the creature.
When we last saw our band of hapless BH teen supernaturals — or most of them, anyway — they were trapped in the high school after The Beast, drawn by high-pitched frequencies, decided to make an appearance at a charity lacrosse match.
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La Bete and Marie-Jeanne
In this episode, we learn about the creature that’s so fierce, it has most of the townspeople soiling themselves. We start with a flashback — 1760, North America-French territory. Two men, Sebastien and Marcel, are fleeing on foot through the woods.
They stumble across a cabin and seek refuge inside. A woman (its apparent sole inhabitant) warns them that they’ve come to the wrong place to hide because there’s a creature lurking just outside, a demon wolf.
A group of British soldiers have surrounded the cabin but are savagely attacked.
The fate of Sebastien and Marcel is yet to be known, but one of them found time while running from the enemy to write a letter to his sister. He says that even with the help of their Indian allies, they are losing the war to the British. He is injured, and the only thing that keeps him alive is the hope of one day seeing his home, and her, again.
That letter, according to Gerard Argent, found its way into the hands of a young women, a skilled hunter, who would face down The Beast armed with nothing more than a steel-tipped pike. She would become known as “The Maid of Gevaudan,” but her real name was Marie-Jeanne. Oh, and she’s Allison Argent’s doppelganger.
Chris and Gerard are sharing this story with Lydia and Parrish, and Parrish suggests they resurrect Marie-Jeanne and have her deal with The Beast. He walks off, and Lydia pleads with him not to leave. Parrish tells Lydia he’s not like her; he’s not just a harbinger of death, he’s the cause of it.
Gerard tells her to let him go. Chris confides in Lydia that even though they believe Parrish could take on the big, bad monster, neither of them think he’s the only hope for stopping it. There is another: Lydia.
Marie-Jeanne was a lot like Lydia. She was skeptical of her abilities and, at one time, skeptical of the supernatural.
Flash back to Marie-Jeanne sitting alone in a tavern. She listens as some of the men discuss the creature that is killing people in the area for sport. Things have gotten so bad that the King himself is thinking of sending a group of hunters over to take care of the problem. Until then, they’ll have to use volunteers for their hunting party.
Sebastien appears and boasts that his sister is the most skilled hunter. He and Marcel survived that rainy night after all.
After a super brief reunion, it’s back to the business at hand. The men concede that Marie-Jeanne is the best woman for the job, but she says she hunts animals and not rumors. That’s when a man busts into the tavern with the body of a lifeless child. He tells the group that the child’s last words were “La Bete,” The Beast. Obviously, this display gets Marie-Jeanne to agree to find and hunt whatever did this horrific deed.
The hunting party leaves at dawn but doesn’t encounter The Beast until after midnight. Marie-Jeanne is quickly the only one left standing, but her so-called impressive skills are proving to be no match against the creature. In fact, she would have died had a young man armed with Mountain Ash not come to her rescue. Once The Beast is gone, Marie-Jeanne comments that the creature is not just a wolf, and her protector informs her that it is, in fact, a werewolf.
Scott vs. Beast
While Chris and Gerard tell Lydia about Marie-Jeanne, we catch glimpses of the action taking place at the school.
Chaos has erupted as everyone runs for cover. Liam survived his run-in with The Beast and is carried into an empty classroom by Stiles and Hayden. His wounds are so extensive and gruesome, Stiles looks ready to pass out or puke or both. Desperate to help her boyfriend in any way, Hayden questions Stiles as to what she can do. He suggests trying to take some of Liam’s pain away, so Hayden kisses him which seems to bring the kid some temporary relief.
Scott is chasing down The Beast, and Malia calls Braeden and tells her to come to the high school and to make sure she arrives heavily armed.
People are screaming and running everywhere, and one particularly stupid blonde finds herself in the creature’s path. Scott saves the day and shoves her into a classroom. As he braces against the door, The Beast begins to try and make its way in, so Scott orders the girl to jump out the window as he stays behind to pull hero duty.
A Werewolf Hunter is Born
Lydia senses that something is wrong and wants to leave, but Gerard insists she listen to the rest of the story. Lydia questions why she should even listen to Gerard, and Chris says because the old man knows the tale better than anyone else. Lydia isn’t so sure. All of her research says The Beast was killed by Jean Chastel. Gerard asks Lydia if she got that tidbit searching the Internet, and if that is her most reliable source of information she might as well go. A subtle shake of the head from Chris causes Lydia to decide to ride it out until this hour-long excuse to bring back Crystal Reed is finished.
Back in the woods, Marie-Jeanne’s rescuer, Henri, takes her to his place, a cozy little cabin surrounded by Mountain Ash. The two continue to converse with terrible French accents. I mean, really bad. Henri tells Marie he has spent the better part of his life gathering the implements and skills to protect himself from a werewolf and offers to teach her. Marie is only interested in knowing how to kill a werewolf, not how to survive one.
Marie-Jeanne serves all of the local men a drink, presumably spiked with rowan berries. Marcel appears to have an adverse reaction, and Marie-Jeanne takes him outside. But when he fails to heal, the woman realizes he’s covering for someone: her brother.
Marie-Jeanne confronts Sebastien, and apparently he became the demon-wolf simply by drinking rainwater from the footprint of a werewolf. Marie-Jeanne considers exposing her brother, but he swears that if she does, he’ll rip everyone in the tavern to shreds. He’s not exactly super sorry he’s a monster. Sebastien tells his sister that not only will she not catch him, she won’t kill him either because they’re family.
Marie goes back to Henri to figure out how to kill both a beast and a brother. He decides one bolt won’t be enough; they need something that uses the weight of The Beast against itself. The two come up with a pretty fierce weapon.
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A Close Encounter
Scott makes his way to the library and that notices many students have taken refuge among the stacks of books. He whispers to them to go upstairs, and they all quickly and gladly oblige, since The Beast is mere seconds from bursting through the door.
The Beast and Scott do battle, which mainly consists of Scott getting thrown around the room. Just as Scott is about to fall victim to the creature, Malia, Liam and Braeden enter and inflict enough damage to get The Beast to flee. Let’s just say Braeden brought a mighty big shotgun. Scott may not have expected to triumph over The Beast, but now he does have its scent.
Death and Damnatio Memoriae
Marie-Jeanne hunted Sebastien for three years, finally cornering him in 1767. She sets a trap, and The Beast runs right into her spike/pike/spear — whatever the hell it is. He transforms back into human form and tells his sister that if she thinks she’s managed to kill him, she’s sorely mistaken. He will live on and continue to kill and become famous for his savagery. But Marie-Jeanne says nobody will remember (Damnatio Memoriea). She’ll make sure his name is erased from history.
Sebastien soon realizes he’s suffering from more than a flesh wound. Marie-Jeanne didn’t use ordinary steel. This weapon was forged of Mountain Ash, Wolfsbane and their blood under the light of the full moon. She kisses her brother and tells him history may remember him but only as a beast, and then he dies.
Every detail of Sebastien’s existence was extinguished. The locals burned it all. The name of Sebastien Valet has been forgotten for over 150 years. But when it’s remembered, the teenager inside will be forgotten forever.
Lydia points out that Marie-Jeanne didn’t conquer The Beast alone; she had Henri. And Lydia needs Parrish and is off to find him. Chris warns her that Parrish is dangerous. He’s a shapeshifter who is just beginning to understand his power. Lydia argues that she’s no different and wonders why Gerard even cares. She wants to know why he’s suddenly on their side? Gerard says because it is his name as well. Marie-Jeanne wound up marrying Henri and taking his name, Argent.
The Big Reveal
Scott immediately begins tracking The Beast and his nose leads him to a car. In the truck are a pair of size 10 sneakers with bloody soles. That’s when Mason appears and asks what Scott is doing to his car. Corey, lingering invisibly nearby, grabs Mason and takes off. Things … just … got … interesting.
Teen Wolf airs Tuesdays at 9pm on MTV.
(Image courtesy of MTV)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
