“So what happens next? Your story, how does it end?” asks the newest member of Scott’s pack. And that is the real question. With 6 seasons and 100 episodes, Teen Wolf’s legacy all hinges on the final 42 minutes and what a ride it is! Like most Teen Wolf finales, the pacing is intense as multiple strands are pulled together into one. However, this is Scott’s show and everyone in the finale knows it. Scott has never been so much of an alpha before, as he shows real leadership in a crisis. He delegates different tasks to his troops, finds the solution to the biggest problem, and kicks some supernatural butt. It’s a real testament to how far the character has come from the pilot, Those looking for a strong Scott episode have found it here, and yet, almost every other character in the episode has their hero moment too, minus the bad guys. It is a fairly balanced episode that actually works best when the pack is in different settings. By breaking the pack apart, it allows Sheriff to show how kick butt he really is and even Theo is completely redeemed.
Starting in a flash forward, Scott voiceovers the beginning and end of the episode. While it does lessen the tension over our hero’s fate, did anyone really think that Teen Wolf was going to kill Scott? Instead the opener makes nods along the way to the pilot, Allison, and Scott’s complicated journey with Argent. It is clear in one glance how much Scott and Argent respect each other and how close they have gotten over the loss of Allison. Good thing, because this episode clearly shows Mama McCall and Argent having a future together. The end voiceover also hints at what the future holds for the pack. Endings can be tricky - just look at the mess How I Met Your Mother’s finale created. However, I think most fans will be satisfied with this one. It’s open-ended enough to allow for a lot of different possibilities if Teen Wolf does get rebooted but still provides closure in that it feels like a chapter of the characters’ lives have ended. While our intrepid heroes have obviously left Beacon Hills, they have not left each other - still a pack, still a family, even if some are more long-distance.
Another powerful part of the episode was in the surprise character returns. Having not seen any spoilers for the finale, I didn’t realize that Coach was back and boy does he make an entrance. Of four great entrances in the episode, his was actually my favorite, beating out even Stiles and Derek. His appearance is just so out-of-the-blue that the other characters’ reactions had me rolling. Funniest, deadpan moment of the night. Yet, he was not the most shocking return. Two characters somewhat come back, whom I never thought I would see again, giving me flashbacks to Teen Wolf at its best. Sadly, Allison is not one of them but in the context of this episode, it would have been perfect. They missed a rare opportunity here. As for plot twists, Scott has a huge one, leading to the episode’s biggest What the Heck moment. In the end though, Scott learns that the simplest solutions are the best. For some, it might actually be too simple, but it does hold with Teen Wolf tradition.
For all the great aspects of the finale, it does lack a major component - Scott and Stiles time. If you’re looking for the last great bromance moment, you have to look to 6A. The sheer lack of my favorite bromance knocked the grade down for me. Given that Scott and Stiles are the foundation that Teen Wolf was built on and Jeff Davis himself said that they were the core relationship of the show, I expected a whole lot more of their final time together. Instead they are split apart for much of the time until Stiles’ big hero moment. Even then, they never have a private conversation together. Scott does get quality time with Derek though, as his mentor saves Scott’s life. Shippers will be happy that Malia’s big moment is with Scott also, in scene eerily similar to one from season 4. Since so much happens in the episode, there is also no reunion between any of Team Parent and their children. I really wish we could have gotten one last power speech from Mama McCall to help Scott out or to see Sheriff’s reaction to knowing that Stiles was back in Beacon Hills. Other than this, I thought the finale was great and leaves me happy with the show as a whole.
Grade: B, but it would have been an A- with a good bromance scene
Best Reason to Watch - Scott / the well-written ending
Best Save - Derek
Best Reference - a quote from an earlier season
Most Old School - comic relief Stiles
Most Kick Butt Human - Sheriff, with Mama McCall in second
Most Jealous - Stiles
Most Anti-Climactic - standoff at Deucalion’s place
Biggest Laugh - Coach’s entrance / Stiles and Derek’s ode to Supernatural’s “Tall Tales”
Biggest What the Heck Moment - Scott decides that to defeat the anuk-ite, he must…..
Biggest Disappointment - Scott and Derek instead of Scott and Stiles
Biggest Game of “Who’s on First” - Stiles, Lydia, and Jackson
Number of deaths - at least 3
