Teen Wolf – 3.03 – Fireflies – Recap & Review

“The firefly is an unassuming insect in the daytime. If you didn’t know what it was, you’d think it was nothing special. But at night, the firefly glows with its own light source. The darkness brings out its most beautiful gift. That’s an extraordinary talent for an ordinary-looking creature, isn’t it?” - Lisa Kleypas

OK, first off, let the above quote sink in and realize how perfect of a metaphor that is for a werewolf. You’re welcome, now moving on…

This week’s installment of Teen Wolf, episode 3x03: Fireflies was written by new comer Lucas Sussman and directed by Teen Wolf veteran Tim Andrews. Well, this season’s tagline ‘This might hurt’ has finally fully resonated with me, poor Stiles, poor Derek and poor Allison. Really, just poor Beacon Hills in general.

The Recap

We open this week episode with a shot of the night sky, complete with a full moon as some fireflies buzz around the camera pans down to reveal a boy catching fireflies. His sister tells him not to be a serial in training and either poke holes in the lid or let it go. Then the boy notices something, someone watching him and runs and relays the massage to his sister. They run holding hands into a shed. Boyd stalks the outside of the shed and Scott peeks in as Boyd lift the shed much to the two little ones’ dismay. Just as Boyd is about to tear the children to shreds the mason jar of fireflies is unleashed and distracts him long enough for the children to escape. Derek is perturbed that Scott lost the trail of Boyd and Cora. Scott tells them that they should regroup and stick together. After he hangs up the phone it revealed that Scott was the one that saved the children from Boyd.

Next we see Lydia waking up with a headache presumably only to discover her bottle of ibuprofen is empty. She yells to her mother (but in actuality it’s an empty house) that she’s headed out to the store and realizes she is alone. She stares out of her window at the full moon as she says the word lunatic… What no etymology lesson on that word? Oh, wait we’ve already got that covered in a previous season.

Moving over to when Derek stops at a track and Scott wonders if it’s ‘them’. It seems that Boyd and Cora have decided to stick together as well. Scott wants to know if that makes it easier or harder. Derek doesn’t know (as usual). Scott goes on to tell Derek how he saw Boyd try to tear the two kids from the opening scene apart. In another inquiry, Scott asks if Boyd and Cora are going to do that to everyone they find. The answer is ‘pretty much’.

After that we see pulling up to a place that doesn’t look anything like a store. Lydia looks up from her texting to discover a dead body floating in the pool, only it’s a dummy. But don’t worry, there is an actual dead body behind her and when she discovers it she lets out her usual death metal scream.

Then we see a brooding Allison sitting in her car in the exact spot where she and Scott use to secretly meet as she recalls what Scott told her about her mother trying to kill him. I could care less about their sappy, overly dramatic moment because in walks Derek holding Erica’s dead lifeless body. Yep, we have confirmation she is actually dead. Cut to present time and the score kicks in to let you know she’s about to let out her angst in an angry fashion. She reaches in her glove compartment box to reveal her weapon of choice and Allison is ready to rock.

Now on to a girl in the woods, in a tent, lighting candles to set the mood. That is interrupted by another girl’s ranting about a big snake that is coming from outside of the tent. The girl outside of the tent decides jumps over the snake and into the tent. The girls kiss but nerves stop the moment and then a bug clings to the outside of the tent and really ruins the moment. It gets swatted away. But as they get closer and more intimate bugs swarm the tent, inside and out and get all over the girl named Emily. Emily freaks out and flees the tent. She falls down and appears to be swallowed by the bugs. Her girlfriend chases after her only to be nearly mauled by Cora and out pops Isaac to save the day with an assist from Scott.

Later, we Stiles’ jeep pulls up to the pool where Lydia found the latest dead body. Stiles goes to call his dad but Lydia says she already called 911. This makes Stiles a little indignant. Cut to Stiles calling Scott about the dead body. They assume it was Boyd and Cora (but of course they were wrong). Derek refuses to believe it was then (and hey score one for Derek he was actually right for once). Scott declares they need help from someone who knows how to hunt werewolves and not kill them.

Back in the woods where Emily disappeared, the sheriff has arrived with his deputy to take Caitlin’s statement. She admits to doing half a tab of ecstasy and the sheriff and the deputy think that the she hallucinated ‘the girl with glowing eyes, fangs and claws’ and yeah and let’s not forget the three guys she saw too. I think Papa Stilenski knows something. I hope he knows something.

While Chris discovers the joys and frustrations of grocery shopping Scott approaches him. The hunter in Chris is still there because within a blink of an eye, Chris has a gun locked on Scott, much to Scott’s surprise as noted by his quizzical expression.

Meanwhile, Isaac and Derek sit in Derek’s new car and watch the encounter. Derek doesn’t think Scott’s plan is going to work and Isaac’s mind is on Cora. He asked Derek about Cora and decided it was bad timing. The look on Derek’s face says never would be too soon. Isaac agrees that never asking again would definitely be the best way to play it. Cut back to Chris and Scott talking about all the reasons Chris doesn’t want to help and why a part of him kind of wants to kill Scott. After Chris declines, Scott pushes his luck and asks for a favor, a ride to his car. Coincidentally, Scott’s car is park near an active crime scene. This changes Chris’s mind and the goofy look on Scott’s face suggests that it was all part of his plan to get him to help.

Chris schools the wolves about tracking and hunting werewolves as Allison hunts by herself. They set a trap with, what Peter called some high tech dog whistles.

While Team BAMF was doing that, Stiles was escorting Lydia home. They have a disturbing chat about how Lydia knew where to find the dead body and Lydia says not since the whole Peter fiasco.

Speaking of the devil, we cut to Peter stopping by to chide Derek about trying to save Body and Cora. He reminds Derek that he’s an alpha and can always make more werewolves. He also recaps Deucalion’s plan and that there’s nothing Derek can really do to escape Deucalion because he is an alpha.

Finally, we get back to Mama McCall. She has called in a specialist, to investigate the mysterious markings on the dead bodies. That specialist was Stiles.

After Isaac and Scott finish setting the trap and luring Boyd and Cora into the school, Scott stumbles into Chris who is staring at a firefly. Scott wants to know what the big deal is. Chris says that California firefly doesn’t glow. Scott wants to know if that means something but we get interrupted by a howl. Everyone gets ready for Boyd and Cora but Boyd and Cora decide to go over the school and not through it.

Back to the hospital’s morgue, Mama McCall reveals Heather’s body. She didn’t know that Stiles knew the girl. Stiles is devastated. But devastation seems to work to Stiles advantage in most cases. His grief triggers the theory making part of his brain and realizes he needs to talk to the girl to confirm if his theory holds true. Stiles, with the help of Mama McCall gets a chance to do just that. The girls were indeed virgins getting ready to explore the wonders of sex for the first time, just like Heather and the guy with the purity ring.

As the guys try to draw Boyd and Cora inside we see Allison already doing it and Isaac catches a glimpse of her. Derek and Scott draw Boyd and Cora into the boiler room and manage to lock them in. Scott is listening at the door and realizes he hears three heartbeats. The third heartbeat belongs to Ms. Blake. Really, Ms. Blake, what are you doing at school so late? Take those papers home with you. Bet you learned your lesson haven’t you? Derek decides to be a hero and goes in alone. Scott closes the door behind him. Boyd and Cora rip Derek to shreds as he holds them at bay but luckily the sun is coming up (I feel like that was a major case of insta-dawn but I’ll let that slide). Derek is OK and he goes to fetch Ms. Blake as Isaac and Scott drag Boyd and Cora out.

In the last scene of the episode Scott meets Stiles at the morgue. Stiles tells Scott his theory as the sheriff finds Emily’s body. The victims all suffered a three-fold death that functioned as a form of sacrifice. What that exactly means probably won’t be answered for some time. But luckily, I have a theory to share about that.



The Review

Stuff I Liked

• The pacing continues to be amazing but we’re going to need another time jump pretty soon at this rate.
• Mama McCall is just so enmeshed in the supernatural on goings of Beacon Hills and recognizes that Stiles is the go to guy with vital information.
• I guess they blew the music budget already because we were down to only three songs to be featured in this episode.
• Another 80’s movie reference… this week it was ‘The Shining’.

Favorite Moments
1. Nice drop and roll Scott
2. Isaac’s smile when he sees Cora
3. Derek flashes his Alpha mode eyes
4. Shots of the full moon
5. The use of fireflies (lots of interesting meta floating around about it)
6. All of the werewolf gymnastics/stunts

Favorite Lines
1. Lydia: I’m supposed to call you first when I find a dead body.
2. Derek: No thanks, I’ve got my own.
3. Lydia: You didn’t have to follow me home.
Stiles: I just wanted to make sure you got in OK.
Lydia: I had a police escort.
Stiles: I know the inner workings of that force. Alright? They’re not nearly as reliable as people think
4. Peter: You really think a few high tech dog whistles is going to help?

Favorite Scenes
1. Isaac and Derek sitting in the car watching Scott talk to Chris and Isaac wonders about Cora
2. Chris teaching the boys about tracking and hunting
3. The opening scene with the little boy and girl catching fireflies

Stuff I Didn’t Like

• The transition between most of the scenes was lacking.
• This episode was brutal and we only got two very brief comedic breaks in the action and doom and gloom.
• OK, don’t get me wrong, I love Dino Meneghin aka the composer for Teen Wolf but sometimes the scoring is a little over top and dare I say uber cheesy, this was the case for most of this week’s episode but hey, we only had 3 songs this week so I’ll take cheesy scoring over indie pop any day personally.

Fun Facts:
• Jeff Davis confirmed via Teen Wolf’s official Tumblr account, that alphas can mask their scent. That’s why Scott didn’t know Deucalion was an alpha and only got a strange vibe from the Alpha Twins. I don’t know about you but that was bothering the heck out of me.
• The Three-Fold Death is traditionally suffered by kings, heroes, and gods and usually has to do with a prophecy foretold long ago.

Crazy Theories:
#1 - Lydia is a either a banshee or a changeling or a hybrid of both. A banshee is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. A changeling is a typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Only a magical creature could/would/should be immune to a werewolf bite but also able to carry out such a tricky ritual as a werewolf resurrection. The resurrection and transformation of a kanima and shape shifters in general I suspect is all magically based. This theory has to do with my meta assumption about familial lineage and its importance in the overall mythology of Teen Wolf and it being an essential motif this season.

#2 – Gerrad is now a fully transformed kanima and that final state is basically a dragon (it’s one of the only things that is huge, has wings and reptilian characteristics with tons of cool lore). What do dragons traditionally like? Gold and virgins. Someone is sacrificing virgins to curry favor with Gerrad.

Burning Questions
1. What’s going on with Lydia?
2. What’s going on with the virgin sacrifices?
3. Is Derek going to let Peter become the alpha to avoid confrontation with Deucalion?
4. Is the virgin sacrifices part of another resurrecting ritual to bring the whole Hale clan back to life?
5. Who is going to deflower of sweet Stiles?

Grade: B-. It was a little depressing. I wanted to see the talk between Allison and Scott in real time. Erica’s death still isn’t officially getting dealt with. I need to see Derek mourn her loss. I know it is coming but not soon enough. Allison is off alone, again. The Lydia side plot is getting tiresome (episode 6 can’t get here quick enough). A devastated Stiles equals a devastated me. There was almost no humor (thanks Isaac for your inappropriate question about Cora). There was also a criminal under uses of Isaac and Peter. Not to mention very little Brotp time with Scott and Stiles. What saves it from C territory? Team BAMF (aka Derek, Scott, Isaac and Chris). To be honest if this was any other show I could sworn this felt like a borderline filler episode but Teen Wold doesn't do filler episode so...

Feel free to sound off in the comments and let me know what you think about this little recap and review.