Teen Wolf Review: “I.E.D.” (Season 4, Episode 5)

Teen Wolf was firing on all cylinders on tonight’s episode, and it’s the best we’ve seen this season (maybe the entire series). The toned down look of the show that dominated the first few episodes took a back seat, and Teen Wolf made it very clear that Liam (Dylan Sprayberry) wasn’t the only thing that fans can brand as explosive. The natural reset that the show went through has opened up a realm of possibilities and the writers are taking full advantage of that by introducing us to a new, improved version of the show that we’ve already been captivated with.

Instead of focusing on recreating the wheel, the Teen Wolf writers are just adding to it. Last season fans had to wrap their minds around all the additional mythology that weaved its way through the story arc, but that’s not necessarily something pivotal to understanding what’s happening now. Although there has been the addition of new forms of supernatural creatures – the mute assassin, wendigo – the details aren’t the point of contention that they were in the past. Instead, it’s the connecting features of all the new characters that is the focus.

In “The Benefactor,” Lydia (Holland Roden) uncovered an encrypted hit list, or deadpool, of supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills, and the surrounding county. Those 12 names were only a third of the overall list, though. So, painstakingly, Lydia spent her weekend trying to uncover either one of the two remaining encryption codes to unlock the rest of the names.

There’s definitely something suspicious about the first key word being “Allison.” Since Allison (Crystal Reed) was killed at the end of last season protecting her supernatural friends from the Oni spirits, in hindsight it makes sense that the second password had some connection to that event as well – or at least to Allison in some way. With some assistance from the only other banshee that we’ve encountered, Meredith (Maya Eshet), who has an acute sense of timing, and a little prompting from a nervous were-coyote, Malia (Shelley Hennig), Lydia uncovers the key to the second cipher – “Aiden.” Aiden (Max Carver) being one of the twins who died the same night at Allison.

So, which name will unlock the final piece of the puzzle? Your guess is as good as mine. Since Allison and Aiden were the only characters who died that night, this one might be the trickiest to figure out. Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) was possessed by the Nogistune, who was defeated in that same episode, so maybe it could be “Rhys,” the name of the evil spirit’s last host. But, that may be stretching the imagination a little too far.