Teen Wolf 3 x 23 Review: Insatiable

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Well, it finally happened.

After months of teasing from Jeff Davis and the Teen Wolf publicity along with months of fan speculation and sheer panic, we experienced the first death among the central core characters of Teen Wolf. And it was pretty painful.

Before going into that, however, let’s look at the rather cramped episode as a whole. “Insatiable” wasn’t necessarily a weak episode but it seemed aware that it was the penultimate episode of the season and thus crammed as many emotionally draining storylines as possible.

Besides the main plot of finding out where evil Stiles has taken Lydia and determining how to stop him, “Insatiable” revealed the truth behind Agent McCall’s leaving Beacon Hills and Scott and Melissa, furthered the tension between Kira and her mother in what appeared to be another long-winded exposition sequence that was thankfully cut, and actually provided an incredibly touching scene with Coach Finstock.

I know, I was surprised, too. Normally, Coach annoys me with his grating voice and bug-eyed insults but between his gentle (for him) interaction with Meredith, played by Maya Eshet who has deftly proven that she can hold her own with the rest of the cast, and the revelation that he was the victim of bullying, Coach became a sudden hero in this episode. For once, he listened to the students and actually believed in them. It was incredibly refreshing and a great moment to cheer for.

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Also refreshing was the return of the Stiles we all know and love: funny, flailing, and quick on his feet Stiles. Dark!Stiles has been and continues to be a lot of fun but there’s a reason why regular Stiles is such a fan favorite. Of course, our Stiles is still not completely back on his feet and as the episode progressed, his appearance and apparent strength declined. Is he dying? Is his health directly connected to evil Stiles’? His proclamation that he doesn’t care if he dies so long as the Nogitsune dies too could have been a hint of things to come or a heartbreaking acknowledgement from a lost and scared teenaged boy.

All of the central characters had their moments of fear and danger in this episode. It seems that the main theme of this season is that no one is to be trusted, even mother figures. Unfortunately, “Insatiable” gave us yet another mother in Beacon Hills who we may lose in the figure of Kira’s mom. Between her and the Nogitsune, the teenagers are really just dealing with powerful people who have their own agendas.

Even Derek, who escaped the episode seemingly unscathed, could be more dangerous than previously assumed. In what could have been an example of sloppy editing, we had a scene that featured Deaton removing the Nogitsune flies from the twins and Isaac, thus ensuring that they are in their right mind. We never got a similar scene featuring Derek though he appeared to be normal. Did the writers/producers simply overlook this moment or are we supposed to suspect that Derek is not all that he appears to be? Or has Teen Wolf officially made me completely paranoid?

Now, onto the death.

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To be frank, we should’ve all seen in coming with the scene of father/daughter bonding between Chris Argent and Allison in their stockroom of weapons. For myself, as soon as she mentioned her mother and never getting the chance to say she loved her, I knew we would soon be bidding farewell to Allison Argent.

Personally, I’m torn about her death, which occurred coldly at the hands of one of the Oni. On the one hand, I’m truly saddened to see a female character get killed off on a show that desperately needs more female representation. On the other, Allison hadn’t been bringing a great deal to the storyline during 3B. Yet, whose fault is that?

Allison and Lydia had one of the best female friendships on TV right now, and Allison was a complex, interesting, and occasionally scary young woman. She was capable of great things and rather than be given the chance to see her evolve as a character, we had to watch her slowly die in the arms of her first love, Scott McCall.

Crystal Reed’s acting in this scene was some of the best this show has ever produced. Her acceptance was moving and though the Scott and Allison romance was always clichéd, I genuinely felt for these two characters. However, I am more heartbroken over Lydia and Chris Argent’s reactions to this death. I only fear that Scott will harden now and like dark!Stiles, we’ll lose the humor and life that existed in him. The last thing any of us want is for Allison, in her death, to simply become another victim of Women in Refrigerators syndrome.

So, what do you all think of this episode and the concluding death scene?

  • Are the rest of the characters safe or do you fear a surprise attack next episode?
  • What do you think the Nogitsune’s plan is and how will they defeat it?
  • What are your theories for the season finale next week? Are you even emotionally ready for it? I’m not.

Author: Kerry


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6 thoughts on “Teen Wolf 3 x 23 Review: Insatiable

  1. I am so upset that I was right about Allison that I can’t even form a coherent thought about anything else right now.

  2. There is so much great acting in Teen Wolf. It’s also one of the best shows for creating relationships that feel genuine between characters.

    I guess I’m relieved about Allison being the one to die, since we knew it was coming and I didn’t want it to be Stiles, Derek or Lydia. (Admittedly, since there’s another episode to go, I probably shouldn’t feel relieved yet.) I liked Allison, I liked that she was a badass and I loved her friendship with Lydia. But once I knew someone was going to die, it came down to which character I was more willing to lose, so I suppose I’m okay with it.

    Except that I’m not really okay with it.

    I know that character deaths are used for any number of purposes – some of which are just a way to milk emotions from the audience. But I hate character deaths, and I especially hate when a show has multiple character deaths in a relatively short time. I know Teen Wolf is a horror show, and deaths are to be expected. But it’s also a show with interesting characters and terrific acting, so I become invested in these characters. I liked Boyd, I liked Erica, I even liked Mrs. Argent. And I really liked Allison, as I do all of the core players. Caring about the characters is part of the enjoyment of the show. The second and third seasons have just about hit the limit to the number of deaths of likable characters I can take.

    Too many deaths makes me feel less invested in the other characters – especially newer characters – because I figure they’re disposable in the writers’ eyes. For a show like this one, where the characters and their relationships are the main appeal to me, that diminishes my enjoyment of the show overall.

    I didn’t watch this episode until after it aired so that I could check online to find out who died before I watched it. That’s what I plan to do next week, too.

  3. So Derek still has the fly inside of him? will it come into play later? and Parrish saying that ‘he was drawn here’ really caught my attention

    So, Allison died…good job killing of another female character show…she was still the only one left without the ‘self’ test right? I still don’t buy her death…i guess i have to wait until season 4 airs in order to see if she really is dead or if Jeff’s (aka the nogitsune) is messing with us

    Either way the season finale has to deliver because until now 3B has been a jumble of too much happening and Allison dying without giving anything else

  4. I want to know why Chris freaked out about that shotgun shell and if that has anything to do with Kate. Just his reaction made me think it was someone he never thought he’d hear from again.

    Allison…I full-on gross-sobbed during and after that scene. Crystal did such a great job, and I hope she has bigger and better parts in the future.

  5. Oh man, I never thought about not seeing the fly removed from Derek! I almost want him to be possessed so him saving the twins in the forest doesn’t grate on my nerves so badly.

    I’m at peace with Allison’s death because we know she asked to leave the show, and there’s no way Allison would leave her friends voluntarily. And considering she told Jeff she wanted to leave before 3B was written I almost can’t blame him for sidelining her story. It’s lazy for sure, but I don’t know that I’d want anything more elaborate for a character that was going to die at the end. She had some great moments, and she had a great death, and I’m okay with that.

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