Teen Wolf - Raw Talent - Review: "Summer's Over" + POLL

So while we don’t really learn much about the new Big Bad of the season, “Raw Talent” sees the return of several Teen Wolf characters back onto our TV screens. This episode isn’t really about moving the plot along so much as it is about reinforcing just how dangerous fear can be. We see two examples of this that show just how far people are willing to go when they're afraid. While the show has introduced a lot of Big Bads over the course of the series, none of them have had the effect that this new one seems to. While the previous Big Bads may have frightened our characters, the residents of Beacon Hills were mostly in the dark. Now it seems as though those in the background are finally noticing what's been lurking in the shadows, and they are expressing their fear in the worse way possible.

So we start the episode with Scott, Malia and Lydia running through the forest, trying to find out who killed the Hellhound. Except Scott is having flashbacks to him being hunted by Argent, which leads to him “wolfing out” in front of the entire sheriff’s department. This leads to a very honest conversation between Scott and Malia later in the episode. Scott thinks that him being freaked out caused Malia to freak out, but she’s only been trying to get Scott to talk because she’s worried about him. Cue the potential feels. Scott lets Malia know that he’s doing all right to which Malia responds by opening up and reminding Scott that was hunted as well. We haven’t really seen Malia take the initiative and be vulnerable with anyone besides Stiles. Scott then reciprocates by asking Malia if the fear every goes away. It’s a sweet moment between the two where they bond over both being hunted and does lay the groundwork for their future romance during the remaining episodes. I was somewhat on the fence about this pairing during my last review, but I can’t deny that Scott and Malia have chemistry. It’s never really been addressed before, but I’m definitely more inclined to give this romance a chance if we continue to get scenes like this one. I just hope the show takes the relationship somewhat slow, or at least builds to it, instead of jumping right in next episode. I also hope that the potential issue of Stiles will be addressed because while they may not need his permission, it would be nice if they at least considered how he would feel about his best friend and ex-girlfriend ending up together.

And then we have the return of Argent in the most Argent-way possible. The scene with him and army guys was classic Argent and reminded me just how much I love him. Seriously, this guy is such a badass, but he definitely does need to change his password. So where has he been this whole time? Well, hasn’t been avoiding Scott, he’s been trying to figure out why business has been booming. He also lets Scott and Malia know he hasn’t stamped a bullet since Allison died, and if the gang wants to find out who killed the Hellhound they need the slug. So Scott, Malia, and Argent return to where the Hellhound was killed and find the slug was actually a silver bullet. This just confirms my suspicions that the new guidance counselor is really a novice and got lucky when she killed the Hellhound. With Argent’s return cementing his status as one of the “good guys,” it still leaves the question of who stamped the bullet. My bet is that was Gerard, who we also see return at the end of the episode, but more on his return later. The flashbacks in this episode really show just how far Argent has come as a character. When we first met him in season one, he was a ruthless hunter. However, over the past six seasons he has become one of my favorite characters on the show. A lot of that has to do with Allison’s influence; she was a big reason why he changed for the better, and it’s always nice when we’re reminded of her presence.

So let’s take a moment to say a silent prayer for every supernatural creature in the closed unit of Eichen House. Rest in peace. Parrish was really onto something when he didn’t want Lydia going back there besides the fact that someone always tries to kill her. So Parrish takes a drive across town to our least favorite mental institution because the sound in Lydia’s banshee vision was of a card reader in the closed unit in Eichen House. Here, we find that Dr. Fenris has basically killed all of the supernatural patients due to fear. He has decided that the only way to protect the residents of Beacon Hills and himself is by killing every last one of them. He also would have been successful in killing Parrish if Lydia and her banshee powers didn’t show up in the nick of time. While this plotline doesn’t do much to advance the story, it does illustrate just how far and widespread the fear in Beacon Hills has become. It’s not just people who have noticed the weird stuff going on that are afraid, but also characters who have been aware of the supernatural beings. Dr. Fenris has worked at Eichen House for supposedly years, but this new Big Bad created such fear that he felt the need to kill every supernatural creature to feel safe. This story arc may seem like filler from the outside, and it may be, but it really does show just how powerful fear can be and what people are willing to do when they’re afraid.

Elsewhere Liam, Mason, and Corey spend more time playing lacrosse and detectives than studying for their history test. Liam, in particular, has a rough time on and off the field as he can’t seem to keep his anger in check. Even his mantra isn’t really helpful this episode as it doesn’t keep him from basically tearing the locker door off its hinges. I get that senior year can be stressful along with no longer being the best on the lacrosse field, but Liam really needs to get a handle on his anger. With everyone in Beacon Hills already freaking out over the unexplained phenomena, they’re not going to take too kindly to seeing a student turn into a werewolf with glowing yellow eyes. Speaking of unexplained phenomena, what was up with that dead body stripped of all its flesh? Is it too much to ask for the show to dial back on the visual effects? My guess is that it’s the freshman Aaron that had the spiders in his lacrosse helmet. Didn’t anyone else find it strange that he was just sitting alone in an empty classroom in the dark allegedly studying for their history test. I mean besides no one actually studying on this show, who sits in a dark classroom after school hours? I’m not sure if Aaron is like possessed by the spiders or if like a shapeshifter took his form, but something supernatural is clearly up with that guy. I mean these are the same spiders that ended up crawling under Theo’s skin and vaporizing into dust. It’s like Ron from Harry Potter said, “Why spiders? Why couldn't it be ‘follow the butterflies?’”

And then we have the new guidance counselor hunting teenagers in her spare time. Granted their supernatural teenagers, but Beacon Hills really needs to step up their process for vetting new faculty members. We also have the return of Brett this episode, who seems to have reappeared for the sole purpose of being hunted. How did the guidance counselor know Brett was a werewolf, you ask? Well, it turns out anyone who’s good at the lacrosse must be a supernatural being, but that’s a pretty true statement on this show. However, the main takeaway from this storyline is the return of Gerard. Our least favorite Argent makes a splash on our screens in the final minute of the episode with no indication of what he’s been up to other than returning to being a Hunter. As much as I hate Gerard, his presence will definitely up the stakes with the Hunters. The new guidance counselor may have “raw talent,” but she’s still technically a rookie who thinks a silver bullet can kill a werewolf. She got lucky with the Hellhound, but if Gerard hadn’t shown up I doubt she would have survived a fight with a werewolf. She wasn’t much a threat on her own, but if she teams up with Gerard, she’s definitely going to be someone the gang will have to be careful of. Gerard has been a Hunter for longer than Argent, and he is an extremely skilled one when he’s at 100 percent. It looks like Gerard will be mentoring the new guidance counselor and creating some more problems for Scott and his pack along with the new Big Bad this season. I’m really looking forward to the chaos that will ensue when Gerard returns to being the psychopath we all know him to be and starts hunting our favorite characters again.

Sadly, we don’t a Stiles or Derek update this episode. I was really hoping that at the end of every episode, we’d get a scene where we’d check in with how Stiles’ internship with the FBI and the manhunt for Derek is going. What we do get is a four-minute filler sequence at the beginning of the episode which pretty much consists Theo sleeping in his car and getting told to leave various parked places by the cops. I would feel bad for him except I still remember all the awful things he did including the manipulation of Stiles and Scott. But it looks like he has bigger things to worry about than where he’ll sleep tonight because last we left him, he was being fired at by the police. This was of course, after a little breaking and entering into the animal clinic to remove a spider from under his skin. Like I said in my last review, I could really do without all the creepy crawlies. However, it seems like the spiders have something to do with fear that everyone is Beacon Hills is experiencing. I’m not sure if it’s a possession thing or amplifying the residents’ fear, but those spiders are definitely connected with the supernatural Big Bad that is causing everyone to be afraid.

Hit the comments below to let me your thoughts. Which character were you most excited to see return? What are your feelings on the burgeoning Scott and Malia romance? How did you feel about returning to Eichen House? Will the new guidance counselor end up partnering with Gerard to hunt the supernatural?