Maybe somebody just misspelled "charade"

[the_deep_magic]

Just gonna go ahead and type this up right quick before I read any of the recaps, which will probably make some of the same points I do, but funnier.

• Items of "Continuity": mistletoe is poisonous (I assume Deaton means to werewolves, but it's poisonous to humans, too... like wolfsbane); all lacrosse players have to run cross country in the fall; Harris teaches physics now; bald dude = Ennis (pneumonic to remember: his head looks like a tEnnis ball); Derek looks like his mom; Deucalion knew (or at least claims to have known) Talia Hale; Danny plays the trumpet; Harris is ex-military (well, he might be ex-everything...)


• Wow, Derek, it is a damn good thing you are hot and up on your Arthur Miller references, because you are one creepy fucker when you're digging on a lady.  Also, what even was that stick Ms. Blake was holding?  Does she get to whap students with it?  Seems to fit with BHHS's discipline philosophy (see below).  Can I whap Derek with it?  When did this bullet point start to lose focus?


• Scott: "Deaton makes me have sex with all of his clients."  Uh... dude, technically Deaton's clients are animals.


• I would rag on the twins, Scott, Isaac, and Allison for all being unbelievable idiots when the stakes are death, but it's actually somewhat accurate high schooler behavior, just with more supernatural incest-y vibes.  I just don't understand why in the last two episodes Isaac's been so murdery.  Does he really think he stands a shot at taking down the twins?  They should all just have a literal pissing contest.  (Why do I think Allison would win?)


• Yeesh, are ALL the Hales horrible self-flagellators?  I mean, I wasn't expecting huggle-times at the Hale loft, but maybe less with the self-punishment and more with the "Hey, where the fuck were you because I maybe missed you a little bit when I thought you were burnt to death?"


• Best thing in the episode: Derek's OH SHIT red flashing light and alarm.  100% necessary.  Though he should probably set it to go off sooner than when murderwolves are actually IN the apartment.


• Most terrifying thing in the episode: flashback to Allison's mom.  Is she connected to Morrell in some way?  Why is Morrell threatening Allison?


• BHHS Disciplinary Policy: falling asleep in class = lunch detention; beating the shit out of someone = lunch detention; bringing motorcycle in deserted hallway = AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION


• Everybody's emotionally rejecting Stiles this week.  I guess I can give Boyd a pass, because he's grieving, but Danny: I'm totally putting you on notice.  YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT AT THE STILES, MAN.


• After all the shit Isaac's been through (read: Derek's put him through) as a werewolf -- broken bones, thrown across rooms, shackled -- being trapped in a fairly sizable closet for twenty seconds is what triggers him?  Yeah, every survivor deals with abuse differently, but Derek even throws a glass at his head just like his dad did and that hardly gets a reaction.


• Okay, I know I said I wouldn't rag on them, but Scott's plan to "get [the twins] angry.  Really angry."  YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PLAN THINGS, SCOTT.


• Almost more interesting (and less sad) than Stiles "wither and die" comment is Lydia telling him to "leave the figuring out to someone human."  Neither of them seem to recognize the implications of that.


• My livestream was so shitty that I missed pretty much the entire "I AM THE DEMONWOLF" monologue.  Which... yeah.  Wow.  Just.  Wow.  Let's get him and Gerard in a room together and have a scenery chew-off.


• What if the twins try to fist-transform with their shirts on?  Do they end up with, like, one shirt melded down the middle?  Or would it be some sort of horrible scene out of The Fly that's all mangled flesh and poly-cotton blend?


• Second best thing in the episode: after Deucalion scars their pwetty faces, the twins just WALK AWAY WITHOUT THEIR SHIRTS ON.  I like to imagine that this sort of thing happens all the time at BHHS and the janitors don't even blink.  "Fantastic, they're getting naked in the halls again.  I am so sending my kid to private school."


• I guess Scott/Isaac is pretty much canon now.  Also, getting Daniel Sharman soaking wet is becoming A Thing...


• Hmm, maybe there's an actual reason Harris has always had such a hate-on for Stiles if he's been secretly collaborating with EEEEEVIL Darach dude and Stiles is basically Boy Detective.  Or maybe Harris is just a dick.

There was just waaaaay too much going on in this episode.  Hopefully that means a good bit of it will get wrapped up in the first 12 episodes and there won't be too painful of a cliffhanger come the end of the summer.  Eh, who am I kidding.  This show is designed to be as painful on the viewers AND the characters as possible. 

Comments

[rhodynne.livejournal.com]

Advance apologies...

~Dude, pick up your dog and keep your hands to yourself.

~I don't completely trust Derek here, and not because its the lamest comment about "The Crucible" imaginable. I don't like the little smile; but then after, just before he leaves, its a little smile she can't see and that one works.
Its a pointer, old people like me remember them as manual lasers. :-P

~Aha! The animals are the clients, aren't they? I just love Scott's face. "Stiles, I'm funny! Did you hear my funny? I made funny!" Stiles is just "FOCUS!" Also, HELLO Danny!

~Why are they all wearing the same shoes? Why does Isaac recognize the twins? How many schools do you suppose the twins have been to? How do they keep track of their records? Is Deucalion their legal guardian? How did they both get to be alphas? Not hereditarily (sp?).

~I like the idea that the workouts match because its the Hale Family Workout. Poor Derek is hovering, cause he's not capable of just being supportive or saying, "glad you're back". Alarms alarm better when its before the alarming event.
Dumb fight scene, it seems designed to show off her pedicure.

~Why was Cora in the vault for 3 months? Where was she before that? I get they put her in there for the "no-moon-kill-Derek" thing, but she made it sound as if she was in there distracting them while things were being accomplished outside and now Derek announces all he did was watch Netflix.

~I like the Mom sighting. It does make you wonder if Allison's sleeping brain picked out a connection.
How did whoever block the door know it would trigger Isaac? And he reacted instantly to Scott. Hopefully, Alpha Foreshadowing.

~BOYD! Let me give you a tender hug, my poor darling! Why is Isaac ignoring Boyd? Did Boyd push him away too?
I'm with you, Ignore Stiles At Your Peril.
...although I loved that Stiles was all "That's so sweet." instead of "ewww boy cooties" so...canon now... :-)

~Remember the perpetual fall of seasons past? (heh, seasons) Hello CA! All Sun All The Time.
The "wither and die" was so sad, and a nice moment. Is that why Stiles is so insistent at "solving" the murders? He's really in the way, and a bit frantic about it. Neither of them blinked when she said "human". Lazy storytelling? bad acting? or something beneficial to us all?
When is Lydia going to notice something is going on with herself again? Why isn't she talking about it, knowing part of the problem was keeping it secret last time?

~I liked the whole "Get the Twins" scenes. Allison and Isaac were cute, but then my brain started up again. Why doesn't Miss Blake notice Scott is taking her class for the second time that day? Why is she teaching two different books(plays)? Bad filmmaking there. Shouldn't she notice Twin 1 wasn't out of class long enough to get the bike in the hall?

~I HATE the way Derek is treating Isaac.

~"Naked in the halls again" snerk. Twin 1 was wearing kind of a nice jacket, too.

~There's only 3 teachers left at the school!

I want to know why the alpha pack is so set on Derek. He's not shown himself to be anything special. CLEARLY Deuc knows the whole family, is it connected to that?
Also FOREARMS! Hi Dylan :-)

Gad, this is longer than yours. :-)
Thanks for your continued indulgence, you may now rest.

[the-deep-magic.livejournal.com]

I didn't know anyone even HAD pointers anymore. I was all "Where did she get the pool cue?" I still hope it's part of the school's disciplinary practices.

Scott's "I made a joke!" face WAS adorable.

I'm guessing Isaac could sense the twins were werewolves, and he kind of got a look at them at the end of the motorcycle chase. Maybe recovered memories from the ice tub? (I can't believe I even had to type that sentence.) Anyway, there are probably not that many pairs of twins that look at Isaac like they want to eat him (or possibly double team him and post it on the internet), so maybe he just made some inferences.

Good question about the twins both being alphas, since Deucalion made it seem like killing your whole pack was what made you an alpha of alpha, destroyer of worlds, DEMONWOOOOOOOOOOLF, etc., and the twins had to be part of the same pack. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess the writers didn't quite think that one through. Someone said "Hey, how 'bout hot twins?" and everyone else nodded eagerly.

I like the idea of Derek actually just watching Netflix for 3 month and totally not telling anybody BECAUSE THE ALPHA NEEDS A BREAK, OKAY? JFC.

I'm guessing Cora heard about a "Hale alpha" around the same time the alpha pack did and started heading for Beacon Hills, where they caught her before she could find Derek. But the way she talked about it WAS kind of weird. I guess pack senses don't work all that well if neither Derek, Peter, nor Laura sensed she was still alive.

I assumed the Forehead Twins blocked the door. Maybe they didn't know that would specifically trigger Isaac, but perhaps thought locking him in with a hunter would cause Bad Things? But yeah, Isaac went belly-up REAL damn quick. Heh heh.

I'm trying to remember if Isaac and Boyd had ANY scenes together that weren't at Derek's Batshit School of Werewolf "Training." It was usually Isaac and Erica doing Derek's dirty work until Boyd and Erica ran away together. So they're pack, but I don't think they're quite friends, which is sad.

I think we've all decided at this point that Stiles is canonically bisexual. Or possibly pansexual.

I don't know what the fuck is going on with Lydia, and I don't think the writers know, either. I think whatever explanation we get is going to be incredibly lame, which is sad, because Lydia's character has such potential. THAT'S probably what pisses me off most about this show -- wasted potential. Good actors, surprising subversions of expectations (sometimes)... and really shitty execution.

Ha! I didn't notice Scott was in the same class twice in one day. Though English teachers at my high school taught different books to the honors, non-honors, and AP classes, so that didn't strike me as terribly odd. And since Beacon Hills goes through all teachers like Hogwarts does Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers (and Spinal Tap goes through drummers), I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Blake was teaching every English class in the school.

I think I've said it before, but I get that the way Derek's treating Isaac is in character for him and his anger issues, but for the love of god, SOMEONE ON THE SHOW NEEDS TO CALL HIM ON IT. Stiles might not know what's going on there, but Scott has to, and it is absolute bullshit that Derek is allowed to keep retraumatizing Isaac.

I think Deucalion's there for the Hale family connection. And Derek was a beta for most of his life, so perhaps Deucalion assumes he'd be easy to control.

UNF, I have such a thing for guys rolling their shirtsleeves up. And Derek in that t-shirt a couple episodes ago. So, yeah, huzzah for forearm!porn!

[rhodynne.livejournal.com]

Ah, AP classes, that easily explains the different books.
Hell, my school didn't even have AP classes when I went, it never occurred to me.
Please don't waste Lydia please please.

I have such a depraved forearm kink, these boys are killing me. :-)