As we come to end of season 1 of Teen Wolf, it is important to remember the best moments of these past 12 episodes. It’s tough to pick only 40 top moments of the first season. But we tried anyway.
#40 Scott tells Jackson… everything in the “Pilot”
It’s amazing what people usually don’t tell each other in TV shows. Not Teen Wolf! When asked by a jealous and suspicious Jackson about what was up with him, Scott basically spilled the beans on everything werewolf-related. Of course, Jackson thought the truth lay in steroids, thus bringing up the excellent “Juice”/“My mom does the shopping” exchange between the two young men.
#39 “State! State! State! State…” in “Co-Captain”
You’ve got to love a show that gives us a background character whose only purpose in the entire season is the enthusiastic line, “State! State! State! State! State! State!”
#38 Scott proves not to be a security genius in “Code Breaker”
We get that Scott’s desperately in love, but there are limits. With a username of “Allison” and a password of “Allison,” we have to respect Stiles’ question, “Do you still want him in your pack?”
#37 Scott falls off the roof in “Formality”
It was a touching scene. As Allison slept fitfully inside, dreams of werewolves tormenting her soul, Scott perched on her roof, keeping watch over his forbidden beloved. Until he fell asleep. And fell off the roof. With Scott’s off-screen “Ow,” the entirety of Teen Wolf’s unusual (and awesome) tone were summarized.
#36 Allison steals her aunt’s condoms in “Magic Bullet”
Despite her protests to the contrary, the Allison we saw throughout the early episodes was kind of a prissy, girly girl. But maybe we just didn’t know her well enough. That sweet thing would never have raided Aunt Kate’s bag for condoms. And she definitely wouldn’t have shown them to her father.
#35 Lydia solves a math problem in “Second Chance at First Line”
At first, anyone would see Lydia as nothing more than a popular and superficial airhead. Then she solved a complicated math problem while simultaneously explaining high school social rules to Scott. Something else was definitely going on there.
#34 Peter’s face suddenly heals in “Wolf’s Bane”
Horribly disfigured by fire, Peter Hale just needed time to heal. He did so — suddenly and quickly — in the moment when we met season 1’s big villain, face-to-face.
#33 Allison tazers Scott in “Co-Captain”
Nothing says love like voltage to the chest, right? That’s what it took for Allison and Scott to reconnect in the woods anyway.
#32 Mrs. McCall gives Scott advice about girls in “Formality”
“Listen dumbass, I’m gonna tell you a secret that most guys don’t even have a clue about. OK? You ready? Women love words. You need to tell her how you feel. Say it. Say it again. Say it differently. Learn how to say it better. Learn how to sing it. You know, just write it in a poem, in a letter attached to flowers. Carve it in a tree. In a sidewalk with cement. Tattoo on your arm…”
#31 Lydia takes some sedatives in “The Tell”
The results of those sedatives included calling everything a mountain lion, giving Stiles something to get excited about and the line, “What the hell is a Stiles?”
#30 Scott does the serial-killer thing in “Lunatic”
Mostly, Scott was just cute and tortured. But it was pretty cool to see the titular wolf’s bad side when the Moon came into play. You almost thought he might even take down Stiles…
#29 Peter goes dress shopping with Allison in “Formality”
Peter Hale had to show his full-on insane creepiness somehow. Offering dress advice to a confused Allison definitely took care of it.
#28 “It looks like someone’s behind you…” in “Second Chance at First Line”
Horror movies really haven’t done enough with the terror of the faulty Internet connection. Teen Wolf at least tried to remedy the situation.
#27 Stiles doesn’t want to perform amputation in “Magic Bullet”
Can you blame him? Even if you could, the Stiles-Derek banter (and shirtless Derek) made up for any wimpiness on Stiles’ part.
#26 Stiles wants to know if Danny finds him attractive in “The Tell”
Stiles’ insecurity knows no boundaries, orientations or prejudices. If he can’t get affirmation that girls (or just Lydia) like him, then what about boys? Alas for Stiles, Danny declined to answer.
#25 Jackson begs to be turned in “Formality”
Oh Jackson! When you’re making heartfelt requests of a monster in the dark, at least make sure it’s an actual monster and not the heavily-armed men hunting it.
#24 Lydia and Scott make out in “Lunatic”
Lydia was angry at Jackson. Scott was crazy with Full Moon nuttiness and Allison-rejection. So of course they had a good make-out session. Poor Stiles!
#23 Stiles hurls lacrosse balls at Scott in “Heart Monitor”
Only Stiles would think that the best therapy for out-of-control Scott is repeated blows from lacrosse balls. Only Stiles would be right.
#22 Stiles bribes Danny with shirtless Derek in “Wolf’s Bane”
It was a slow-build of a joke, but once you realized the reason why Derek kept dressing and undressing in front of Stiles and Danny, it was kind of hilarious. Meanwhile, of course, yay shirtless Derek!
#21 The Lacrosse Coach’s meets with Stiles’ Dad in “The Tell”
What is Stiles’ name??? I assume they’re never going to tell us, but it’s got to be bad. Even worse than the lacrosse coach’s initial thought of “Stiles Stilinski.”
#20 A wolf claw comes out of Jackson’s mouth in “Heart Monitor”
In a season with its fair share of horror-movie moments, this won. It was weird. It was creepy. It didn’t make much sense (seriously, what was all that about?). But it sure was effective.
#19 Lydia bowls in “Pack Mentality”
Lydia continued her WTF streak by suddenly — after a night of girlishly throwing gutter balls — knocking down every pin. Along with Jackson’s ego.
#18 Lydia and Stiles go to the dance in “Formality”
Thanks to Allison’s blackmail, Lydia agreed to attend a dance with Stiles. It didn’t start off well, but things were definitely looking up when a smitten Stiles pointed out that he actually knew Lydia. Plus, it was educational: we learned that the Field’s Medal is the equivalent of a Nobel Prize for mathematicians.
#17 Scott tells Allison he loves her in “Formality”
Awwwwwwwww… Of course the Romeo and Juliet of Teen Wolf must end up together in the end, but it was super-sweet when Scott finally got to tell Allison how he felt. Too bad about what Jackson was telling Allison’s dad at the same time…
#16 The Vet stands up to the Alpha in “Formality”
We knew something was going on with that vet. But it was totally unexpected that the veterinarian would have a werewolf-proof barrier and the courage to stand up to an unhinged Alpha.
#15 Scott slow dances with Danny in “Formality”
How does one best to avoid eviction from a school dance? Scott played on the prejudices of his crazy lacrosse coach by claiming a dance with the apparently super-easygoing Danny.
#14 Scott has dinner with the Argents in “Magic Bullet”
It’s always awkward to meet a significant other’s family. Especially when you’re a teenager. And especially when your friend’s been shot and may be dying. And especially when your significant other’s family might suddenly decide to kill you like an animal. Being offered alcohol by Dad doesn’t help either.
#13 Stiles’ Batman and Robin comparison in “Pack Mentality”
Stiles: “Why is it starting to feel like you’re Batman and I’m Robin? I don’t want to be Robin all the time!”
Scott: “Nobody’s Batman or Robin any of the time.”
Stiles: “Not even some of the time?”
#12 Derek becomes the new Alpha in “Code Breaker”
It would seem that killing an Alpha makes a werewolf into the new Alpha. Or something like that. Whatever the case, Derek Hale ended his season with a whole lot of ominous aggression and creepy, glowing red eyes. What does this mean for Scott? For werewolf-wannabe Jackson? For Derek? We’ll find out next season.
#11 Allison gets a speeding ticket in “Formality”
We get it. Your beloved aunt shows you a werewolf and informs you of the family’s supernatural hunting legacy. That’s enough to make any girl cry after a cop pulls her over for doing 85 in a 25 mph construction zone.
#10 Lydia knows how to make a self-igniting Molotov cocktail in “Night School”
If you didn’t know Lydia was a secret genius before, her immediate knowledge of easily-made, self-igniting explosives would have given it away.
#9 Kate locks and loads in “Magic Bullet”
Kate looked just like the tragic young woman who gets herself slaughtered by the monster in virtually every horror movie. That is, until the werewolf actually attacked, prompting Kate to pull out a giant rifle and shoot at the monster. Hello badass Aunt Kate!
#8 Stiles descends from above in the “Pilot”
It’s fitting that the first time we saw Stiles, he was upside-down. How can you not like a guy who thinks that hanging from a balcony roof is a great way to say hi?
#7 The Alpha “kills” Derek in “Heart Monitor”
So what if we knew Derek couldn’t really be dead? He sure looked it when the Alpha clawed him from behind.
#6 Scott finds out Derek didn’t bite him in “Pack Mentality”
It was a big step in getting Scott to actually ally himself with Derek. And it was an even bigger step in the season-long plot. Remember, before this revelation, we didn’t even know there was an Alpha.
#5 Kate dies in “Code Breaker”
In the end, crazy aunt Kate proved too crazy to live. With her own brother threatening to kill Kate for breaking “the code,” it was almost a mercy that the Alpha showed up to finish the job. In addition to the graphic, yet almost matter-of-fact, killing, we got to see a rare moment of softness from Kate as she apologized in an attempt to save Allison.
#4 Stiles turns into a hero in “Code Breaker”
After a season of being Teen Wolf’s punch line, it was time for Stiles to be the hero. He refused the Alpha’s bite (nobility), he figured out Kate’s involvement in the Hale fire (intelligence), he stood up to Allison’s heavily-armed and highly-motivated father (bravery), and he figured out the one best weapon against the Alpha (ingenuity). Yay Stiles!
#3 Kate alternately tortures and licks Derek in “Formality”
OK, so we knew that Aunt Kate and Derek knew each other from “before.” But they dated? And the fire set at the Hale house had something to do with their love? Also, Aunt Kate is batsh*t insane. It was a plot twist we didn’t see coming, and it made both hunter and werewolf suddenly kind of awesome.
#2 Allison learns the truth about Scott in “Formality
All season long, our hero has had to hide his werewolf-self from Allison, lest she run to hunter-Daddy and/or dump Scott. Then Mr. Argent figured it all out on his own (with an assist from Jackson) and decided it was time to run over Scott. Scott’s subsequent transformation — right in front of a horrified Allison — ended up being the defining moment of an incredible penultimate episode.
#1 The return of the Molotov cocktails in “Code Breaker”
So it wasn’t just cool that Lydia knew how to make self-igniting Molotov cocktails — it was a major plot point for the season! The final showdown between the various heroes and evil Alpha Peter allowed Stiles and Jackson to save the day by throwing the aforementioned cocktails, Allison to ignite one with her arrows of death, and werewolf Scott to kick the Alpha away from harming the others. Those Molotov cocktails allowed for a true group effort.
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.
