Teen Wolf 4×5 Review: I.E.D.
This week’s episode of Teen Wolf: “I.E.D.”, had a lot of revelations; however, not all of them were as surprising as I think the writers wanted them to be. Meredith, made an appearance, and Lydia found the second part of the dead pool list.
I’ve missed the awkward Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) this season, the one whose mind would fly off to the mystery at hand even when making out with a girl at a party. That’s why seeing him going back to his investigative ways felt refreshing. That’s the Stiles I like and am familiar with. Yes, he has been focused on Malia (Shelly Hennig) lately, but after the scene in the previous episode where he wouldn’t leave her during her shift, I think the writers can’t do more to cement their relationship further. And besides, for me, Malia shines more as a character when she isn’t sharing the screen with Stiles. I think every character shines more when they aren’t treated as just love interests during the narrative.
This week Malia was paired up with Lydia (Holland Roden) and they made a good team. The two shared a heartfelt scene where Lydia spoke about how she just heard voices in her head and didn’t have claws or superhuman strength for protection. I wonder how Stiles feels about himself because at least Lydia has a supernatural power. There’s some meta going around the internet about how Malia is deliberately trying to get close to everyone in the pack in order to learn about their weaknesses. According to next week’s episode description, she will be paired with Derek next. Looks suspicious? The meta could be true, but the fact remains that I liked Malia and Lydia working together to crack the code. Both girls, however, were outshined by Meredith (Maya Eshet). The actress plays her so well, and her character is just too amazing. Lydia talking harshly to her took me by surprise and I hope she apologizes soon.
The episode revealed two things. The keyword to the second part of the dead pool list was “Aide”’, and Deputy Parrish (Ryan Kelley) was on it too. The only surprising thing was the use of Aiden’s name as the second keyword. It seems the Benefactor is quite emotional about what happened back in Season 3B. First Allison, and now Aiden. Whose name is the third keyword?
As for Parrish being on the list, I think we all knew something was weird about him ever since he mentioned being attracted to Beacon Hills last season. So, what is he? A fallen Angel? A demi-God of beauty? Or is he the Benefactor and put his own name on the list to not look suspicious?
The rest of the action happened on the lacrosse field after Stiles found out that the girl who was murdered at the beginning of the episode got killed by a hidden blade in a lacrosse stick. I have to be honest; I do not find Violet or Garrett intimidating. Their characters are one-dimensional. At least Matt from Season 2 had the whole Allison-obsessed-traumatized-creepy-baby vibe working for him. Garrett might have an interesting backstory revealed in the coming episodes, but he does look like a guy who can be knocked out without putting up much of a fight. Was anyone else reminded of the blade Deucalion hid in his walking stick when Garrett’s weapon was shown?
Even Liam doesn’t look interesting to me. His character is revealed to have IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder) which means he has serious anger issues. I liked how Scott (Tyler Posey) asked Derek-snatches-lacrosse-sticks-from-freshmen Hale to help out with Liam. The only thing I got from the scene was how Liam is supposedly Derek 2.0 but with extra amount of anger. Liam is acting the way I thought Malia would be acting this season. But she comes across as timid compared to Liam even after spending eight years as a coyote in the forest.
Speaking of Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin), Kate really did a number on him. He told Chris Argent that he has started to lose his powers. So, is Derek turning human? Isn’t human Derek a popular fan-fic trope? Will Kate turn him into a Berserker? Will Stiles be finally revealed as his true anchor? The season is really dragging out his storyline.
A thing I noticed about the episode was the amount of screen time the new resident gay of Beacon Hills, Mason, received. I think the lines he got this week were more than what Danny used to get in an entire season. Anyway, Mason isn’t dumb and I think he’s going to figure out what’s happening with Liam. And do you know what will happen next? Like every other gay best friend who finds out the truth in Beacon Hills, he will be written out, or probably disappear. Seriously, where is Danny? He hasn’t been mentioned once in these five episodes. Unless, he turns out to be the Benefactor, in which case all will be forgiven.
Season 4 of Teen Wolf still needs time to work out what it’s trying to do. It’s trying to find balance between action, horror, mystery, humor, and making the new characters stand out. And it’s coming across as a mess; a somewhat enjoyable mess, but a mess nonetheless. Lessening screen time of characters the fans already like in order to focus on new characters doesn’t always work out. Glee didn’t fare well with regards to ratings or fan reception when it decided to introduce new freshmen in it’s fourth season.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Teen Wolf? Sad that Kira didn’t get to play more? Who do you think is the Benefactor? What are your thoughts about chant the girl spoke before dying? Let us know in the comments!
Author: Farid-ul-Haq
Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.
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I’ve been enjoying this season. I really like how it’s dropped all the doom and gloom from last season and I’m liking all the Scott/Kira moments and that there are more female characters with more to do. But then I read reviews and other people’s metas and I’m not so sure about it. Once I get done squeeing over things like Scott saying “the bite is a gift”, well, there are noticeable holes in the plot.
I enjoyed this episode a lot more than I have the other episodes so far. I agree that the characters do stand out more when they’re not on screen simply as love interests. Lydia and Malia working together this week was lovely to see. And Kira on the field was excellent and of course she owned at it. Derek losing his powers is so sad to me because the guy just can’t catch a break. When he smiled, my heart melted because let’s be honest, when was the last time Derek smiled?
As far as Liam’s temper and actions, I think that they’re over-doing it. I mean, we get that he has some serious anger issues but making him rage every five minutes doesn’t seem necessary to me. I found myself getting upset every time he got angry for little things, but I suppose that’s the effects of IED. Garrett and Violet are very one dimensional, their roles got old pretty fast. Especially after Violet got cocky and tried to go for Scott. She obviously acts impulsively and thinks that she’s the most scary thing in Beacon Hills right now.
Mason (our new resident gay character) is adorable, but I want Danny back. I don’t see the point of writing Danny off in order to bring in a new character. Why couldn’t there be both? If Danny ends up being the Benefactor, that would definitely be a huge plot twist. We probably won’t be that lucky to get Danny back but here’s hoping that we do.
As far as Parrish being on the list, I think it was an interesting move because it makes room for his background and I definitely want to know more about him.
I liked the episode well enough, but this whole season feels kind of sloppy. IDK, maybe it’s me. I keep feeling like I just want to sweep a few of the extraneous characters out of the way. I like Parrish, and I don’t mind Liam – or maybe I just think there’s potential in Scott having a beta – but this season is littered with people I just don’t care about.
I’m not against new characters in theory, but there are so many of them running around that I can’t get invested in them. I still feel nothing but irritation for Malia and the way she’s written. I like Kira but this season I find myself liking her less because she’s just there, randomly, even in her scenes with Lydia or Scott and now on the lacrosse team. So far, Mason’s a non-entity to me. I look at him and see a buy-one-get-one-free token box to check, and it makes me sad. Brett? A one-episode nobody. Garrett and Violet? One-dimensional and I have zero reason to feel invested in them, so I’m just waiting for them to be gone. (Oddly enough, I felt more invested in Carrie in her two minutes of trying to escape than I’ve felt in most of the other new characters.) The Calaveras are potentially interesting, but again, they’re just randomly showing up. Braeden, Kate, the Berserkers, etc. also have potential. There are just a lot of players scattered across the canvas this season. I want to push most of them out of the way and get back to a core group of a dozen or so, including parents.
But there are several interesting things that are moving forward in this episode, when I push through the crowd. Expansion on the dead pool/Benefactor stuff, Derek’s disappearing werewolf abilities, the mystery of Deputy Parrish, Lydia trying to get control over her banshee abilities, Scott dealing with his beta. There’s plenty of stuff unfolding. It’s just unfortunate that it’s doing so with so much clutter.
Very much enjoyed Malia and Lydia working together.Meredith is one of the best characters yet. I do agree about Garret and Violet not being all that scary. Violet’s set-up for Scott was way to predictable. I love Kira playing Lacrosse a very cool and Modern dynamic to the show, and as a athlete when coach pulled her out i found it very funny because she was really trying to show off on her first time on the field. Overall great episode loving the season so far. I dont get the whole missing Danny thing, never really a character I could get into, just saw. Had great POTENTIAL TO BE MORE AFTER WE FOUNF OUT HE KNEW THE WHOLE TIME