It’s Halloween – Devil’s Night to be exact – and the Boogeyman has come to town. Turn up the creep factor gang, ‘cause Whedon alum, Doug Jones, is in the Teen Wolf house!!

 Lord of the Flies

“Where I’m from, we called it… Hell Night,” murderous hospital patient, William Barrow (Doug Jones), informs Nurse Melissa McCall during his pre-op interview.  Of all of the “Big Bads” to descend upon Beacon Hills thus far, mass murderer William Barrow is, without a doubt, the creepiest.  He is the frighteningly pale, thin Boogeyman of children’s nightmares — with an extra helping of scary for those of the supernatural type.  As he talks about his motivation for killing kids on a school bus- their glowing eyes– we’re not sure if he is an average man made mad by his brush with supernatural beings or if he is an otherworldly messenger, sent to destroy them.  Although, the pouch of flies exploding out of his abdomen during his surgery seems to indicate that even if he once was human, that ship has now sailed. And before we know it, he is on the loose in a town full of some of our favorite folks, who just happen to have glowing eyes. And I must add that I loved the moment when Melissa McCall and Sheriff Stilinski have a sidebar in hushed tones about their mutual connection to kids with glowing eyes. I love that they are both in on the secret now! I also love that Scott’s Dad, Agent McCall, is not.

Doug Jones is superb as the elusive Barrow.  From his superhuman escape during surgery (and his gruesome “self surgery” later); through his dogged pursuit of his prey, he brings a quiet desperation to his demeanor that makes him more frightening than any of the pack’s previous foes.  Barrow moves like a ghost all around them– behind the door of the chemistry lab, on the other side of the library bookcase– as he zeroes in on his target.  And we fear for the safety of Scott and his pack all the way through the moment that Barrow leaps out of the darkness, completely crazed, and attacks Scott from behind.  What is more shocking (no pun intended) is the identity of the person who Barrow is really hunting.

 Family Values

With Deucalion gone, the twins no longer have a pack.  They want to join Scott’s pack, but to say that this idea is not being met with enthusiasm is an understatement.  In order to redeem themselves and gain Scott’s trust, they reluctantly decide to go back to high school.  It’s interesting that the notion of returning to high school comes from Aidan and it is directly connected to getting into Scott’s pack (and not Lydia).  For Ethan, though, the thing that influenced his decision the most was seeing his old boyfriend, Danny, flirting with another guy.  Each twin is sincere in their desire to join Scott’s pack, yet one is analytical and calculating about it, while the other is governed more by the emotional connections he has made and perhaps a desire to belong to the group.  They both know that, after the havoc they wreaked with Deucalion, their chances of survival without a pack are slim to none.  Will they both be able to succeed in winning the pack’s trust even though they seem to be coming with opposite motivations?  It will be an interesting journey to watch and it starts when the pack needs help tracking Barrow after his escape.

As a matter of fact, everyone is in on helping with this one – from Melissa to the pack to the twins and even Agent McCall (though his search is only in an official capacity and he remains blissfully ignorant of the full ramifications of Barrow’s gruesome plans).  Everyone’s role in the Scooby gang is becoming more defined.  Lydia’s supernatural spidey sense is used, as well as Allison’s hunter skills and education.  Isaac is stepping up more as Scott’s wolf pack second (though Stiles remains his true bro’ second).  Even Sheriff Stilinski, somewhat reluctantly, is getting more comfortable with a little supernatural help in solving these cases.  But, the wolf family pack is still missing a key component – Derek.

While the search for Barrow continues, Derek and Peter are doing some family bonding of their own.  In an induced dreamlike state, Derek sees his mother, Talia, in her wolf form.  Her eyes glow Alpha red, as if trying to tell him something.  And Peter is very nervous about what she may reveal.  Hale family strife – dead ahead.

And finally, we get to meet Kira’s Mom at a dinner with Scott, arranged by Kira’s father (who may embarrass her a lot, but seems like a really cool Dad overall).  The revelation that her mother has a Japanese lineage that goes back many generations, and that her father took the mother’s name of Yukimura in order to preserve that heritage, implies that Kira comes from a strong matriarchal background.  Her mother was also the last of her lineage before her marriage, which makes Kira, now, the last.  And, although she was polite and cordial at dinner, Mama Yukimura (Tamlyn Tomita) is definitely hiding something.  Perhaps there is a bit more than name, beauty and brains that have been passed down from mother to daughter.

 It’s Electrifying!

This season seems to have a theme of “shock the werewolf.”  From Derek and Peter being tortured on an electric fence, to Isaac being zapped by electronically alarmed windows while trying to sneak into Allison’s house, to Scott receiving a jolt from Barrow while trying to save Kira, the wolf pack is not having fun with electricity.  But, electricity is the thing that leads Scott, Stiles and Lydia to finding where Barrow has taken Kira.  Barrow, an electrical engineer, plans to use electricity to shock (or galvanize) the world into believing that the children with the glowing eyes are real.  But, that plan backfires and Kira is the one with the real voltage.  She absorbs so much energy that she causes a blackout over the whole town.  What is she?  Is this part of the legacy of her mother’s family?  And the even bigger question is: does she even know what she is?

As the town is plunged into darkness, the shadowy figures from the last episode re-appear – in the Argent home. They are no longer shadows, but warriors of some type. Are these beings part of the Bardo? Or are they connected to the Nemeton? Unfortunately, Isaac may be about to find out, if Allison and her father can’t get to him in time.

 Teen Wolf airs on MTV on Mondays at 10/9c.  Full episodes are also available at the MTV Teen Wolf website and On Demand (check your cable listings) as well as on iTunes, Amazon, Hulu and Google Play.

Wolf Wisdom

I always like to include some of my favorite quotes and exchanges from the episode.  If you have some quotes or moments you liked, please share in the comments section.

#1
Barrow:  “Why don’t you just ask the question you really want to ask?”
Melissa:  “Why did you do it?”
Barrow:  “I saw their eyes.  [beat]  Their eyes were glowing.”
 
#2
Scott to the twins:  “You back in school?”
Ethan:  “No, just to talk.”
Stiles:  “Ah.  That’s kind of a change of pace for you guys.  Usually, you’re just hurting, maiming, and killing.”
 
#3
Aidan:  “When everyone we screwed over finds out we don’t have a pack anymore, what do you think is gonna happen?  We’re dead on our own.”
Ethan:  “That’s still better than being back in high school.”
 
#4
Stiles:  “Scott, I don’t think you get it yet.  You’re an Alpha.  You’re the apex predator.   Everyone wants you.  You’re like the hot girl that every guy wants.”
Scott:  “I’m the hot girl?”  [Isaac walks up and joins them.]
Stiles:  “You are the hottest girl.”
Isaac:  “What?”
Scott, staring off:  “I’m the hot girl.”
Isaac:  “Yes you are.”
 
#5
Stiles to his Dad:  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad, please just… Lydia said that he’s[Barrow] still here.”
Sheriff Stilinski:  “Did she see him?”
Stiles:  “Not exactly.  No.  Well, not at all actually.  But, she has a feeling… a supernatural feeling.”
Sheriff:  “Ly – Lydia wasn’t on the chessboard.”
Stiles:  “Well, she is now.”
Sheriff:  “Kanima?”
Stiles:  “Um, Banshee.”
Sheriff:  “Oh, God –“
Stiles:  “I know.  I know how it sounds.  But basically it means that she can sense when someone’s close to death.”
Sheriff:  “Can she sense that I’m about to kill you?!”
 
#6
Kira:  “Scott?   What happened to your wasabi?”
Scott:  [Choking]  “I thought it was guacamole.”
 
#7
Allison:  “You were just trying to kiss me.”
Isaac:  “No, I wasn’t.”
Allison:  “Then what were you trying to do?  Head-butt me?”
 
#8
Mr. Argent, upon catching Allison and Isaac shirtless in her bedroom:  “Allison.  Can I see you in my office?  [beat]  Where I keep my guns.”
 
#9
Peter, regarding Derek’s mother, Talia:  “Did you see her?  What did you ask her?  Did she say anything about me?”
Peter, off Derek’s reaction:  “Well, that doesn’t look good.”
 
#10
Barrow, regarding the movie Village of the Damned:  “The original, not the remake.  Nobody cares about crappy remakes.”  [A little inside joke, perhaps?]
 
And the final quote of the night – and my personal favorite – comes from Mr. Argent, off screen yelling at Allison about Isaac, “ANOTHER WEREWOLF?!!”