Teen Wolf Review: “More Bad Than Good” (Season 3, Episode 14)

I think it’s safe to say that for the foreseeable future, Teen Wolf is going to be running two parallel narratives. One of which will revolve around Scott (Tyler Posey) and the supernatural mess back in Beacon Hills, and the other one will keep following Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) and his escapades on the road (err, wherever he currently is). This will simultaneously give fans what they want and leave them metaphorically holding their breath until these stories once again intersect somewhere down the line in a very contrived, yet satisfying reunion episode.

Let’s start with those playing for the home team. Describing the situation as simply ‘a supernatural mess’ might not really be a strong enough statement to convey the state of affairs in Beacon Hills. They’ve got werewolves, were-coyotes, super-glo fireflies, a true Alpha, former Alphas, a hunter that can’t aim, etc. And, now that Sheriff Stilinski (Linden Ashby) is in the supernatural know, they have a lot of suddenly explainable (well, sort of) cold cases that have so far only left an above average number of people-sized blemishes on the good Sheriff’s record, and maybe more importantly, his conscience.

Scott, Stiles (Dylan O’Brien), and Allison (Crystal Reed) are still reeling from their experience with death, and considering that they just activated a supernatural beacon (in this case in the form of an overgrown tree stump) – which is partly how they got themselves into this situation in the first place – this couldn’t be happening at a worse time. And, the side effects of their recent brush with death are only getting more traumatizing to watch.

With Derek out of the picture and the twins recent downgrade to Beta status, Scott is the only Alpha in town, and a newbie at that. At this point, lack of experience or not, he desperately needed to tap into his newly acquired leadership qualities to save the day – and, it didn’t take a sexually laden conversation (although it was definitely enjoyable) for anyone to figure that one out.

At least Scott isn’t alone in his new temporary state of woe. Imagine if he were the only one not immune (or, the only one immune, it could go both ways) to this “darkness.” That could have really put a damper on his friendships. However, in the spirit of the glass half full perspective, on the plus side they do all have each other.

Although Stiles going crazy isn’t any more preferable than what the other two are going through, the more pressing concern on a scale of ‘who’s the weakest link in this scenario’ would be Allison – since she’s usually the one bearing arms. Besides being haunted by her dead aunt, last week, in a state of hallucination, she almost shot an arrow through Lydia (Holland Roden) and this week her gun ended up pointing directly at Isaac (Daniel Sharman). On the off chance that this scene had gone a different way, it’s a good thing that he can heal quickly. Even so, and I’m no relationship guru, but it seems like being shot by the girl you like can’t be good for a relationship on the brink of being realized.

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