Previously on Teen Wolf , Scott bit Liam in order to save his life. The episode opens with Scott leading Stiles to where he has left him, alone, tied up in duck tape in his bathroom. We’re with Stiles, Scott; your plans really do suck. But to be fair, Stiles’ plan, which is to question Liam and inform him he might die, is not much better. Needless to say, things don’t exactly go according to plan. Liam, in an Oscar-worthy performance, fake cries his way out of his bonds and ends up booking it out of there leaving Scott and Stiles in a tangled mess on the floor.
Over at the loft, Peter is greeted, not by Derek's dour face like usual. Instead, his welcome home present is an axe to the chest. Looks like our mouth-less axe-murderer is back. Is he the Benefactor? We don’t know yet but he gets a point in our books for finally taking out Peter (again). So last week when Peter complained, “Why doesn’t anyone in this town stay dead.” It was really just foreshadowing of his demise! Be careful what you wish for, Peter.
Except Derek, who we’re pretty sure doesn’t even like Peter (does anybody?) has decided that today is not the day for him to die. Actually, that day was three seasons ago, or better yet, in that fire years before. The axe he was hit with was laced with wolfsbane so Derek is going to have to burn it out and there’s no way he’s not enjoying Peter’s pain, at least a little bit.
It’s the night of the full moon and the pack has to come up with a plan to tie Liam up again to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone when he changes. And since Lydia has use of her lake house, why not throw a party to lure Liam in with the promise of dancing, underage drinking, and whatever else kids do at these house parties? And who better to ask Liam out than Kira the Kitsune/fox, or as Lydia called her, the vixen.
Kira certainly catches Liam’s attention as she waltzes down the stairs, hair flowing in the artificial breeze, until, in true Lizzie McGuire style, she falls down the last few steps. Liam, the true gentleman, rushes to her aid and hey, if she couldn’t be a vixen, at least she could be the star in her own romantic comedy.
Kira delivers a very confused Liam to Lydia’s lake house, where he proceeds from very confused to very angry in about .2 seconds. They all just want to help, but dragging someone into the middle of nowhere, to an empty house, filled with the people who kidnapped him in the first place, is not the best way to get on someone’s good side. When Liam starts turning, they rush him off before he can ruin the floors too badly with his long, werewolf nails. Too bad he also decided to invite his friend Mason, and Mason decided to invite what looks like at least half their freshman class. Good thing Lydia throws the best parties in Beacon Hills!
Beacon Hills is already filled to the brim with supernatural beings and its death toll is starting to rival Sunnydale’s. Even though there are no slayers here, there are definitely hunters. While the party rages inside, as much as a party filled with 50 freshmen can rage anyway, outside one of Liam’s friends kills the keg-deliverer, who is also a werewolf.
While Scott and Kira slow dance adorably, Liam breaks free of his chains and jumps through the window. Thankfully, Stiles is having better luck with Malia, who he talks down by telling her about his own experiences with power and control while he was possessed. He tells her that control is overrated and then lets her out of her restraints. She seems to have taken his words to heart, because instead of mauling him and crushing his bones, like she said she’d like to do earlier, she’s able to control herself and push down the werecoyote inside.
Scott confronts Liam in the woods with the help of a special guest…Papa Argent! He's back from France because he got Scott’s text and came running. His return also probably had something to do with his hunter duties. Either way, he tells Scott that he needs to talk to Liam using his own words, presumably instead of Derek’s somewhat ineffective advice. So Scott, being the thoughtful, caring, true alpha that he is, assures Liam that he’s not a monster. He’s a werewolf, just like him! He then lets his eyes turn red to, um, assure Liam that he’s not a monster? Okay the logic is a little lost but it’s a nice thought! And it seems to work.
Meanwhile, the creepiest scene award for this episode goes to Lydia. It’s not surprising, as she seems to win almost every episode. Lydia finds herself in a room that is devoid of all sound, except the walls, which morph into faces that appear to be screaming. Kira walks in on Lydia in the middle of her wall staring and together the two of them figure out the key to all those wonky codes Lydia has been writing in her math notebook. The key is Allison and it reveals that the Benefactor is killing off all the supernatural entities in Beacon Hills. Er, that might take a while. Obviously the Benefactor didn't get the memo that people don't really stay dead in this town.
Image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com