Teen Wolf - 3.24 - The Divine Move - Recap / Review, Episode Awards, and Poll

Previously - The nemeton screwed up everything, Mummy Mouth wouldn't go away, Stiles doubled himself for twice the fun and suffering, Scott roared Stiles away from an exciting game of Go, Stiles barfed himself up, DarkStiles took the Oni from Noshiko, Allison killed an Oni and got killed by one, and everything hurt.

While waiting at the police station with Isaac and Lydia, Scott flashes back to Argent coaching him on what to say. He comes up with a carjacking story but Scott questions how he can be so calm, so rational in the face of his own daughter's death. Argent: "It's what we do." He face goes stone cold as he visibly pulls himself even more together before walking away. Parrish questions Isaac but he's obviously been coached too. Sheriff puts a hand on his shoulder, as Isaac whispers, "It just happened so fast." At the same time, Stiles waits at Kira's. He looks worse than ever. Noshiko serves him tea, while the family debates over how Allison killed the Oni. Kira: "But she did it. She killed one of them." Stiles: "Yeah and then they killed her. Allison is dead. Now I guess the only good thing is that it looks like I'm dying too." Oh Stiles, you can't think like that. We can't lose you as well. Noshiko says that the nogitsune splitting from Stiles was a powerful move. Now they have to counter with a divine move, an inspirational move that changes the flow of the game into their favor. It's a Go term and according to Wikipedia, very rare. Stiles: "Okay so is anyone feeling divinely inspired?" Kira brings up the nemeton, which of course leads to Deaton - he of the sketchy answers and big-time secrets. Oh no. Meanwhile back at the Argent's, Isaac is falling apart. He's ostensibly there to make sure Argent is alright but he assures Isaac he'll be fine. Maybe, probably not. Argent: "I've dealt with this before. I…uh, I have a capacity and an ability to compartmentalize my emotions." Isaac: "I don't." Oh baby. Argent hugs Isaac to comfort him but his eyes go cold in the process. He's enraged. DarkStiles just murdered the wrong child.

Speaking of Allison, Sheriff tells Parrish to keep her death quiet to keep the news uninvolved. In reality, he knows the supernatural fight is not over. As they talk the Oni materialize and guns start firing as they pan in on the fabulous Wanted poster from a few episodes ago. Bwah! That thing is still fantastic. Sadly, the Oni are not. Since it is an unwritten Teen Wolf law that all fight scenes must be broken up, attention turns to the twins. Whatever. For reasons I am not aware of, fire is now an effective cure for wolfsbane. Wish we’d known that a couple of seasons ago. Derek has no sympathy. "You should be fine in a couple of hours unless whoever shot at you manages to find you again." Ouch! The alpha twins plan to pack up Lydia and Danny and flee Beacon Hills. Quite honestly, it's the smartest plan I've heard all season. Derek of course disagrees. Aiden: "I'm going to try and convince her to run and hide like any sane person would do." True. Ethan: "Allison's dead. Stiles is dying. What do you think?" Derek: "I think Danny won't believe you and Lydia would never run and hide." Derek makes everything about Scott and shames the twins into staying in the most inspiring speech he’s ever given. I swear Derek is more alpha as an omega than he ever was as an alpha. I weep for what could have been. Derek: "You don't fight for a leader. You fight for a leader's cause." Aiden: "What cause?" Derek: "Scott's always been about one thing, saving his friends. He will do anything and everything to save the people he cares about. When there's no chance of winning, he keeps fighting. When all hope is lost, he finds another way and when he's beaten down, he stands up again. You want to earn a place in his pack. You want redemption. Find another way to stand and fight." It's rousing. It's ovation-worthy. It's for Scott? Sorry it's the pack as a whole, not one person. Scott does keep fighting and never gives up, but it's generally someone else who finds another way, namely Lydia.

She does it again tonight. Scott and Lydia question Deaton about the nemeton but since it thing can never be helpful, it’s too weak to trap the nogitsune but powerful enough to attract all things supernatural. Thanks nemeton. Can we burn you now? Deaton reminds them that the nogitsune is a Stiles-shaped spirit, not a real person. Lydia reminds him Noshiko caught it before. In other words, be helpful or get off the screen. Saving the conversation, Lydia remembers Peter carried Talia's claws in a special box, which Deaton confirms is made from nemeton wood. She calls Derek to rendezvous at the school. Eight minutes in and we have a plan. Sadly DarkStiles has one as well. He asks an orderly to page Melissa, but the impatient Oni skewer him. DarkStiles: "Well I guess I'll just find her myself." Ha! He smirks and the creepiest version of Bad Moon Rising plays as the Oni kill them aaaalllll!!!!! (Sorry. Bad Moon Rising requires a Supernatural reference. Had to be done.) One heroic orderly uses a serving tray to bash them but alas he’s outmatched. Blood flies everywhere as DarkStiles follows them nonchalantly in the flickering lights. Unaware of the turmoil below, Melissa and Douche Dad discuss his plans to ditch Scott again. Really sir? How clueless can you be? He answers by suggesting Melissa tell Scott he's left for him while he sends a "follow up e-mail." Melissa and the entire universe: "You're an idiot!" DD: "What's wrong with that?" Melissa: "Seriously?" He's too dumb to live and it is Beacon Hills. May the next corpse be you, DoucheDad. Melissa tells him not to bail yet. "He doesn't hate you. He just wants you to try harder." And from what I can tell, that wouldn't be hard. The elevator opens onto the Oni and although DoucheDad tries to protects her, Melissa is sliced by an Oni blade. Noooo! They got the wrong McCall.

It's a two-fold attack as the other Oni still lay waste to everyone in the police station. Parrish and others empty their pistols, but Sheriff knows the score. Sheriff: "You're gonna need a bigger gun." He leads the charge but it's over in minutes. When he protects Parrish, he's nicked and Oni poison courses through his veins, through all of their veins. Mission accomplished; the Oni vanish. Parrish: "Why did they let us live?" Sheriff: "I'm not so sure they did." Judging from the black smoke pouring from the wound, I think you're right. Parrish goes under, but Sheriff snaps him back to attention while I hope Parrish lives because he's snarky fun. Once Melissa is down, the Oni leave the hospital as well. DoucheDad (DD) tries to call Sheriff, but he's too busy dying himself. Melissa says to call Scott, but DD isn't privy to the pack yet so being the awesome mom she is, she tells DD to be there for Scott if she doesn't make it. If she doesn't make it, I'm siccing a platoon of Oni on you, Jeff. Fair warning. DD insists he apologized, proving he's never been in the same room with a teenager in his life. Melissa: "He's a teenage boy. He doesn't care about apologizes. He wants you to do better. He probably wants you to suffer a little." Yeah there's a woman who understands teens. He gets her to a gurney and she makes him promise not to leave Scott. DD: "You told me to leave." Way to blame her, you prick. Melissa: " I told a drunk to get out of the house. I didn't tell his father to get out of his life." As people in both places lie dying, Lydia is overwhelmed by the force of it. She starts to swoon. "Something's happening. I had a sudden rushing feeling like we're running out of time." Enter Stiles, leaning heavily on Kira to bring him into the clinic. Stiles: "Yeah, yeah I kind of got that feeling too." I get the feeling a gust of wind would knock Stiles over. Get the boy a wheelchair. Still it's nice the Detective Duo are of one accord tonight.

In the House of Dead Daughter Discord, Isaac plays with Allison's weapons until Argent rescues his fingers. Isaac mentions that Allison's dying breath was to ask Scott to tell Argent something, but she didn't finish it. Probably because she was too busy telling Scott she loved him. Priorities people. Isaac: "She didn't get a chance to finish it but I'm sure it was just that she loved you." Argent recaps that beautiful scene from last week. For once it's not a recapitation. For once, I wish it were. Isaac asks to see the silver arrowhead she made because he's figured it out, the key to killing the Oni. Way to go! Isaac: "I need to see it." Argent: "Why?" Isaac: "Cause I have a feeling it isn't there." Bingo! The 5th arrow's missing and now we get a recapitation of Allison holding the arrowhead and silver bullet. Argh! Sadly this time I called it. The Oni can be killed by silver. She and Isaac remember Argent's Yakuza gun deal story and piece it together. What I can't piece together is how a creature over 1,000 years old didn't know his mortal enemies had such an easy weakness? Why did DarkStiles need anyone else's help when he could have stuffed the Oni with silver anytime he wanted to? This is a Plot Device, capital P, capital D. They make a big deal of the Yakuza scene being Argent's first deal. I have no idea why but it does mean we get the young Argent flashback for the 53rd time this season. Seriously, I know people think he's hot but that's ridiculous. Isaac suggests the Oni are allergic to silver so if it stays in their body, it kills them…rapidly, as in instantly, as in…oh who cares. They have a better plan now. Isaac: "We can stop them." Argent: "No, we can kill them." Vengeful Argent is not someone I'd want to meet alone at night, but I vocally cheer each time this scene comes on. Go kick Oni butt!

….but not at Beacon Hills High at night! That never works guys. I'm still convinced it's built on a Hellmouth. Stiles stops Scott from entering in order to confirm the plan. Stiles: "Scott, hold on. I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me too but even if it does, you just…you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?" Scott: "The plan is to save you. That's the plan I'm going with." I adore Loyal Scott. He's my favorite version. He pushes open the door and instantly the plan changes. They've entered Narnia, minus the frozen animal statues. (Bet you could borrow the frozen monkeys from Helix, guys.) Stiles: "Well this is definitely not part of the plan." Ha! Does Plan A ever work on this show? Plan B isn't a surefire winner either. Derek marches up to DarkStiles, who snarks, "Did you bring us a present?" Derek: "I brought 2." I guess his speech really worked as the Alpha Twins flank him. DarkStiles: "I've heard of an alpha pack Derek, but not a pack of former alphas. It's a little sad, isn't it?" Nah, as long as the words alpha pack never are said again. Derek: "I might not be an alpha anymore, but I can still fight like one." Not a ringing endorsement considering how most those alpha fights ended. Still the battle is on both outside and inside the Narnia school. I groan and eye roll when Mummy Mouth lurches in. I thought we finished this mess once he barfed up Stiles. Urgh! MM: "You're dying Stiles and now everyone you care about is dying too." Stiles: "What? What do you mean?" MM does the poor winner monologue which basically boils down to I'm killing your dad, mom-substitute, and even Deaton. Deaton however holds his own, using one Oni's sword against the other until he's sliced too. MM wants Stiles to die the samurai way, gutting himself like DarkStiles did with Scott, and then having Scott behead him. MM: "I'm going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles, and you're going to let him because just like you they're all going to die, everyone touched by an Oni's blade, unless Scott kills you first." Say what? Unh unh. Not happening. Stiles: "Why? Why are you doing this?" MM: "To win the game." Yeah, not playing with you anymore.

The battle commences. Well at least Kira and Scott, since Lydia is busy tending to an ever worsening Stiles. Scott: "How is this happening? How are we in this place?" No one knows, Scott. It's Teen Wolf. Just go with it. Kira: "You're asking me? A month ago I'd never even touched a sword." Don't remind me, Chuck! The battle doesn’t go well either inside or outside, but man does it look cool. Teen Wolf fight scenes have gotten immeasurably better. Derek yells for the alpha twins to get the box so the Oni appear right in front of it. Aiden: "I hate ninjas." You and me both, honey. Things go from bad to worse as Kira loses her sword and Melissa bleeds from the mouth. Nope, no way. Melissa cannot die. I refuse. Overwhelmed as Scott is surrounded, Stiles picks up Kira's sword and places it at his abdomen. Stiles is NOT dying either. You hear me, Jeff Davis! His hands shake as he hesitates. Scott: "Stiles, no! Stiles!" Stiles: "What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?" Lydia: "What if it's just another trick?" MM: "No more tricks, Lydia." Um, you are a trickster. Lies are your business, so shut up Mummy Mouth. It tries to get Scott to behead Stiles and while it is tense, I laugh. Has Mummy Mouth never met Scott? It ain't happening. Give it up. Especially when Stiles realizes he has no reflection in the sword. MM: "You have no moves left." Stiles: "I do. A divine move." He tosses Kira back her sword. Argent has a divine move of his own. Just as the Derek and the alpha twins are defeated, Argent shoots silver arrows from the stairs, picking off the Oni one by one. Isaac joins the battle with an epic somersault and takes off with the box. DarkStiles just takes off. He's no dummy. Argent shoots at the last Oni, but he slices the last arrow in half. Argent yells for them to get it and Aiden dives in. He does some fancy maneuvers and takes out the Oni, but not before getting stabbed himself. As he pulls the blade from his chest, Ethan screams his name. I'm not up for more death tonight.

Back in Narnia, Stiles goes with Plan C. "Stop fighting them. It's an illusion. You have to stop fighting them. It looks real and it feels real, but Scott you've got to trust me. It's an illusion." Of course Scott trusts Stiles, and he and Kira walk the Oni gauntlet allowing them to slice and dice them. As Scott gets to the door, he shoves Mummy Mouth out and suddenly they're in the school again. No cuts or anything. Bye Narnia. Don't come back. All wardrobes are now closed. Scott: "We're okay." Famous last words. Enter a royally ticked off DarkStiles. Let's just say losing gracefully does nothing for him. DarkStiles: "This was my game. You think you can beat me at my game?" He stalks Lydia and Stiles down the hallway, getting more irate and frankly scarier with every step. DarkStiles: "Divine move. Divine move? You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni, but me…Me? I'm a thousand years old. You can't kill me." True, but according to Katashi's scroll they can change him. Stiles: "You can't be a fox and a wolf." Now it's DarkStiles who's scared. So am I. If he becomes a reformed werewolf hybrid and joins the pack, I will be rolling. Scott takes a big bite out of DarkStiles while Kira rams her katana through his heart. Nicely done! DarkStiles falls to his knees and a fly escapes from him only to be caught by….Isaac with Talia's claw jar. The shell that is DarkStiles crumbles to dust. So much for being a wolf. Instantly all those infected by Oni poison are healed. All except Aiden. Not that I care because at that moment Stiles falls unconscious to the ground. Nooo! This is a horrible time for a commercial break. Thankfully when we return, Stiles opens his eyes. False alarm. Stiles: "Oh God, I fainted didn't I? We're alive. We all alive?" Scott: "Yeah, we're okay." Again spoke too soon. Lydia senses something and speeds away, the rest of the pack following her.

In the Home of Horrific High School Deaths, Aiden bleeds out under the archway where Blake, former killer, and Derek kissed upon his return. Ethan holds him and it's painful in more than one way. Aidan: "Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me?" Crying, Ethan says yes as Argent looks away. Aiden: "Okay. Lydia never believed I was one of the good guys anyway." Derek: "She'll believe me." Awww. Derek being sweet? Is season 4 the apocalypse? Ethan cries over his dead brother's body and Lydia races out just in time to be too late. She stops and Stiles holds her in disbelief. Sad metronome music tocks as the ending montage of heartache and healing begins. Kira's family puts away the Go game, which I have zero interest in learning now. Scott cries over Allison in his mom's arms. Awww, poor baby. Isaac and Argent take off with the claw jar. The mood is broken when Kira starts yapping to Lydia. Shut up, Kira! It does slingshot us right into humor though. Malia enrolls in school and Coach wants her to join track. Malia: "I sometimes ran from cougars trying to eat me." Ha! Only in Beacon Hills. Coach: "I've got the same problem." BWAH! So, so glad you didn't die. At Scott's, Malia learns how to get her claws back. When it finally works, she gets so excited she almost slices Stiles. They all laugh and….yeah, I'm not fooled. No way Jeff Davis lets Teen Wolf end on a happy note. Back at school, Ethan and Danny break up. Ethan can't stay now that Aiden is dead (and because they are contracted to another show.) Danny can't date Ethan because he's a werewolf. Say what? Huh? Danny knows! How? Ethan is equally perplexed. Danny: "Dude, it's Beacon Hills." Um, well, actually that does explain everything and there's a new tagline for the podcast. Thanks Danny! They kiss goodbye as Stiles tears down his wall of weird. Sheriff: "Hey, whatcha doing?" Stiles: "Uh, just clearing my head." Good sign.

Even Deaton helps in his wacky druid way, spouting about regression to the mean or the yin and yang of life. All things end up balancing. Scott: "Like things will always get better." Deaton: "More like things can't always be bad." Love the positivity. Scott, the optimist, tries again. "So no matter how bad things get…" Deaton, the sourpuss: "Or how good…" Scott: "They always come back to the middle." Nice try, but Scott and I both know this is Beacon Hills, fancy philosophy or not. Scott: "I'm not sure that applies to a town like this." Umm hmm. Move now before the dreaded finale whammy. Derek and Stiles talk in the Locker Room of Zero Security about a nightmare. Hunters broke into his loft asking about the She Wolf but he wouldn't tell them where Cora is. Oh please, not her again. Good thing the hunters want someone else. A smoke bomb launches as a growl in the fog takes out said hunters and shooting Derek. Stiles asks who it was but he doesn't know. They discuss methods of becoming a werewolf but a recapitation of Kate Argent is the real problem. I don't like where this is heading. What's dead should stay dead! Dean Winchester said so! Stiles: "Derek, if this is all just a dream, why do you look so worried?" Derek: "Because I don't remember waking up?" Nope, no more nemeton shenanigans. Since Stiles is the expert, Derek asks how you know if you're still dreaming and he spouts extra fingers nonsense again. When Derek grabs Stiles' wrist, sure enough…6 fingers. Derek: "It's real." Kate Argent steps from the shadows and turns into the female version of X-Men's Beast. I turn into a raging loon. Even Cora would be better than Kate. Why not bring back Blake? How about Erica? Anyone but the one I wanted dead by her third episode. Noooo! She was annoying enough as a human psycho. Now she's a wolf-jaguar hybrid psycho? Well at least we know who shot the alpha twins, and maybe if we're lucky she'll be too busy for Wolf Watch. I'd much rather rewatch the Teen Wolf episode. Even better, maybe like Stiles, Derek is still dreaming and it's all a big hoax. Hey, a girl can dream.

And thus ends season 3 of Teen Wolf. For me there is no contest. This season was miles better than any other. The writing was for the most part tighter, the acting was a tremendous improvement, and the fight scenes were more thrilling. Every aspect raised the bar and makes me excited for season 4. We lost some great characters along the way like Allison, Boyd, and Blake. We gained two new characters with potential in Kira and Malia. We still haven't killed Gerard, but I have high hopes for next season. All in all, this Teen Wolf season will go down as one of the best seasons I have watched in TV as a whole. Jeff Davis, I may rant at you and basically scream your name a la "Kriiiiipke!" but take it as a compliment. You sir have done an amazing job of raising the bar each season and I can't wait to see what you do in the Lydia-centric one. My countdown to June 23rd starts now. Well done cast and crew! Kudos to all! Thanks for making such a delightfully entertaining show.

Grade:  A-
Best Scene - DarkStiles stalks Lydia and Stiles down the hallway and rants about how they cannot kill him
Best Quote - Danny: "Dude, it's Beacon Hills." Talk about 4 words that sum up the entire show.
MVP - DarkStiles
Best Snark - DarkStiles asks to have Melissa paged but then the Oni kill him
The "Are You Kidding Me?" Award - The Oni are killed by silver and the nogitsune didn't know that? I thought he was over 1,000 years old. Shouldn't he have been pursuing his enemy's weaknesses?

Best Moment - Melissa holds a crying Scott
Biggest Douche - DoucheDad who wants Melissa to tell Scott he bailed and then plans to send a follow-up e-mail…to his SON. Argh!
Best Action - the fight scene in Narnia and fighting the Oni outside the school
Best Character Interaciton - Argent and Isaac / Lydia and Stiles
Wicked Mad Ninja Skills - the Oni who deflected every bullet Parrish shot with his sword
Most Simpatico - Lydia and Stiles both feel time is running out as the Oni take out the police station and the hospital

Best Song-t0-Scene - Bad Moon Rising during the hospital slaughter
Best Gymnastics - Isaac somersaults
Best Reason to Watch - the pack works together to take dow the Big Bad
Biggest Shock - Danny knows about werewolves
Most Improved - fight scenes
Worst Surprise - Kate Argent is back
Saddest Statement - Argent: "It's what we do."
Most Nerve-racking Moment - Stiles falls unconscious / Melissa's bloody teeth
Best Continuity - Pan in on the Wanted poster



Special Feature - It's the season finale so I thought we'd end with one last poll. There has been some dicussion online as to what the divine move actually was. What is your take on it?






Screencaps by Screencapped.net, Colton's Dylan, Persea Americana, and Zimbio.

About the Author - Dahne

One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and creates polls for Sleepy Hollow, Arrow, White Collar, Grimm, Teen Wolf, and others. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts the Warehouse 13, Sleepy Hollow "Headless," and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."