Teen Wolf Recap: “Frayed”

by Kevin Ranson:

Teen Wolf Recap: “Frayed”
Original Air Date (MTV): Monday July 1, 2013
Season 3 Episode 5

Hey, what happened to that wolf turf war we were promised last week? It happened already?!

This episode opens on a bus with Stiles going over vocabulary with Scott, but Scott seems to be a bit distracted – could it be because he’s bleeding? Why is he bleeding? On their way to a track meet – with Isaac, Boyd, and one of the Doublemint twins on board – Allison and Lydia follow close behind in their car… wait, what do you mean Derek’s dead?

Hold up; rewind.

At the Argent’s apartment, Scott checks in with Allison; she denies that a high-tech arrowhead he found at the school belongs to her. What begins as a friendly tussle between them turns out less romantic, leaving Allison unsure of herself and Scott regretting making her feel that way – not cool, Scott. On the way out of the building, Deucalion just happens to be in the elevator; the alpha pack live in the penthouse of the same apartment building, and they aren’t making it secret. Threats are exchanged but little else.

At Derek’s pad, Scott tries to argue against going up against the alphas – Uncle Peter actually agrees with him? – but Derek, Cora and Boyd plan to hit them before they expect it. By the way, Lydia is totally snogging Aiden; hey, it’s important, okay? Catching up to now-now, an accident up ahead strands the team bus in traffic while Boyd looks ready to go off on twin Ethan, but Scott talks him down thanks to a little flashback advice from the good Dr. Deaton about leading by example. Peter and Cora investigate the scene after the unseen aforementioned battle in a mall somewhere, but the bodies are gone; did they walk away, or were they carried out?

Teen Wolf fact: Stiles can annoy you even with text messages. Meanwhile, a slashed-up Ennis is carried in to see Dr. Deaton, but the wolves can’t enter the main part of the clinic without his permission… hmm. When the doc refuses, Ms. Morrell and Kali insist, but he is more convinced by what might happen to others than to himself. Hmm… was Ms. Morrell held out, too, or just the weres?

Back on the bus, Scott is looking worse and can’t reach the occupied Deaton (see previous note), so Stiles calls Lydia and Allison for ideas. The Coach isn’t up for pulling over, so Stiles gets one of the greener team members to toss his cookies and get the bus stopped. At a rest area, Lydia speculates that Scott is blaming himself for Derek’s death and refusing to let himself heal; Allison channels a memory of her mother to stay calm and stitch Scott up – and he’s better for it. Flashing back to before, Issac tags along with Scott to talk to Deucalion, but Derek, Cora and Boyd show up unannounced. Derek challenges Deucalion to single combat to settle everything, but Deucalion didn’t come alone, either.

After his stitching, Scott has to stop someone from beating on Ethan, but it isn’t Boyd; it’s Issac. At the vet’s office, Peter and Cora approach outside – Peter notes that half of the building is made from mountain ash – but Deucalion is inside already. Deaton appears to have saved Ennis, but Deucalion kills Ennis anyway. Goodbye, Ennis… we hardly knew ye, and Kali really doesn’t look happy about it.

Finally: the battle! Deucalion watches as lines are drawn, and his alphas quickly take the upper hand. Deucalion commands Derek to kill Boyd; when he hesitates, Kali taunts him, hinting that Scott might make a better recruit. Allison arrives in time to create a distraction, giving Derek’s group a chance. When Ennis wounds Scott, Derek steps in; Scott tries to distract Ennis but ends up causing both him and Derek to plummet off the platform to a level below.

Back on the bus, Lydia consults with Stiles over the dark druid stuff while Scott thanks Allison for showing up when she did. At the vet’s office, Ms. Morrell scolds Dr. Deaton for acting like her big brother; are they good and bad druid siblings? Careful, doc; she used to be a slayer! Buffy reference… sorry. And just in time for the closing credits, Jennifer the English teacher runs into – wait for it – Derek, still alive if just barely! Whew!

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Kevin A. Ranson is the author of The Spooky Chronicles and the upcoming vampire thriller The Matriarch. He also the creator/critic for MovieCrypt.com and the “ghost writer” for its horror host Grim D. Reaper (often seen skulking around horror conventions). Find him on Facebook, on Twitter @KevinARanson, and his author blog at ThinkingSkull.com.