Teen Wolf review – 2×10: ‘Fury’

It’s time to examine the ramifications of last week’s cray-cray episode when Lydia (Holland Roden) brought Peter Hale (Ian Bohen) back to life. All of the sudden the number of potential bad-guys has increased dramatically. What does this mean for Scott (Tyler Posey) and the Teen Wolf version of the Scooby gang?

Let’s bitch it out…Umm…apparently it means very little because everything in this episode is about dealing with the Master and the fall-out from Victoria’s (Eaddy Mays) death. After watching the episode, which almost feels like a season finale, it’s fun to consider just how far we’ve come this season: remember back in the premiere when Jackson (Colton Haynes) videotaped himself and the tape suggested nothing happened? Or when we were all debating what exactly the Kanima was (a reptile? a frozen creature?) Or who the ‘friend’ palming the car window with the Kanima was back in 2×05 ‘Venomous’? Ahh good, peaceful times.

Now the entire police force of Beaconhills is dead and Matt is holding people hostage with a gun.

As AV TV Club points out, this episode is basically Assault on Precinct 13 only with teenagers and a giant reptile. Like previous episodes Abomination and Venomous the episode takes place primarily in a single location: this time it’s the police station. It’s here that Scott, Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) and his father, former Sheriff Stilinsky (Linden Ashby) finally tie Matt (Stephen Lunsford) to all four of the murders, which means it’s time for him to show up with a gun and an increasingly unhinged attitude.

Like many of the second season episodes, this is Teen Wolf in full-on crazy mode. Key indicators:

1. Jackson-as-Kanima (Colton Haynes) kills the majority of Beaconville’s police force (hope there’s insurance money for the widows!).
2. Matt shoots Scott in front of his mother, Melissa (Melissa Ponzio), which means that she’s now in on his secret, hairy secret.
3. Oh, and the Argent’s essentially descend on the place with the firepower of a small army

In short, ‘Fury’ is indulgent, excessive and chaotic. Clearly I thought it was great. Watching Michael Hogan as Grandpa Argent quote Shakespeare while casually hanging out watching the smoke seep out of the shattered windows of the precinct was like the MTV version of Appocalypse Now (abridged, without helicopters).

In the end, the episode was negatively affected by two aspects: 1) the unnecessary Bond villain-like flashbacks as Matt explains Every. Little. Detail (much of which we already know since we, you know, actually watch the show) and 2) Lunsford’s overacting. He starts off appropriately crazy and then descends rapidly into full-on batsh*t insane. I get that Matt is meant to be completely mad at this point, but it’s a little difficult to believe he’s gone this far, this fast. The only real indicator that this was coming was when he threatened Allison over the pictures she found on his camera last week and this is like a quantum leap on the ‘insane-o-meter.’

Alas Lunsford won’t have a chance to try it again since he suffers a watery death at the hands of Grandpa Argent in a shallow river at episode’s end. In the final ominous moments of the episode, Grandpa takes ownership of the Kanima as Peter Hale (Ian Bohen) watches on. Is this part of the Argent plan or is Hale a wildcard in all of this?

Other Observations:

• While Allison gets the “most improved” award for her badass make-over, it’s never fun to watch a relatively intelligent character get so easily duped. The scene in which Grandpa uses the (forged?) letter from dead Mama Argent to reset Allison into ‘homicidal Aunt Kate’ mode is way too obvious. For the rest of the episode she’s basically Lady Terminator running around shooting arrows, stabbing Jackson and coldly telling Scott to get out of her facial. It’s entertaining, but frustrating that she wouldn’t realize he’s playing her
• Intentionally hilarious: Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) and Stiles ending up paralyzed on top of (and then next to) each other. It’s like a shipper’s dream come true!
• Unintentionally hilarious: Melodrama thy name is room-cleaning montage. After Grandpa fires her up, Allison dramatically sweeps everything cutesy or pink into the garbage in an overblown musical montage. Generally if you want to do this right, you gotta be a) more aggressive b) in an office and c) not actually aim to get anything in the garbage. This is like a “Swiffer endorsed” angry room clean
• Joking aside, the moment that Scott (accidentally?) reveals himself to his mother while she’s locked in a cell at the station is kinda heartbreaking. Perhaps hiding behind the wolf prosthetics helps Posey’s mournful acting, but seeing her slowly back away into the shadows sobbing is a good tug at the ol’heartstrings. It’ll be interesting to see how this affects their relationship moving forward.
• So Jackson’s got a new Master now, huh? Way to swap out the twink for the sugar daddy, stud!
• Finally, after her dominating performance last week, Holland Roden sits out this week completely. So, too, does Gage Golightly’s Erica and the rest of Derek’s misfit crew. I know that Teen Wolf isn’t a huge production, but the budgetary limitations that prompt key characters to disappear without explanation is frustrating. Lydia isn’t officially in the “know” so it mostly works, but couldn’t Derek at least mention that he left the kids at home or something? A simple line of explanatory dialogue is all I’m asking for here!

Best Lines:

• Stiles (explaining his ability to ID Matt from behind): “I sit behind him in Math and he has a very distinctive…cranium”
• Seth Gilliam’s Dr. Deaton (to Derek): “You’re still an Alpha…though not a particularly competent one.” True story
• Matt (referring to the cacophony of monsters in Beaconsville): “It’s like a freaking Halloween party every full moon”

And with that we’re down to two. Clearly it’s time for Grandpa to take his position at the top of the villain ladder, so it’ll be interesting to see who takes him out: Scott (thereby ruining his relationship with Allison)? Derek (thereby putting himself even more in the crosshairs)? Argent (thereby ruining his relationship with Allison)? Or maybe Allison herself? Personally I’d like Jackson to do it – reassert control over himself. Either that or the hunk is headed for the scrap bin himself. Thoughts on Matt’s demise? Miss Erica, Isaac and Boyd? Think Hale is on  the side of good or bad? Hit the comments with thoughts, comparisons and general witticisms!

Teen Wolf airs Mondays at 10pm EST on MTV