Teen Wolf 3 x 23 Review: Insatiable

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.

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.

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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