"Teen Wolf" Review/Recap: "The Divine Move"

Alysha Boynton ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Teen Wolf’s controversial third season came to a close in this week’s jam-packed finale, “The Divine Move”.
After having a week to process and accept the death of beloved main character Allison Argent (Crystal Reed) viewers were given a few scenes to grieve for her along with Scott (Tyler Posey), Chris Argent (JR Bourne), and Isaac (Daniel Sharman), before the episode really took off. JR Bourne had the daunting task of playing a man who had lost not only his sister and his wife, but now his daughter as well, and his performance was believable and heartbreaking as Chris attempted to compartmentalize his sorrow and take care of the teens.
In comparison to some of the more recent episodes, the finale did an admirable job of pacing evenly and switching between subplots, as well as giving a satisfying conclusion to the Nogitsune problem. It should be noted, however, that the incarnation of the demon which walks around covered in bandages is much more laughable than it is frightening, and at times it really did take away from the climactic scenes where the gang was facing off against him.

Certain plot points, as per usual, were left completely unaddressed, such as why Derek’s (Tyler Hoechlin) name had been on the King chess piece or Lydia’s (Holland Roden) reaction to her best friend and boyfriend’s deaths, but most of the questions posed throughout the season were either resolved or set up to be resolved in season 4. Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) is free from the Nogitsune’s clutches, and seems like he’ll make a full recovery. Malia Tate (Shelley Hennig) returned for the last few minutes of the episode, to set up her series regular spot for next season, and after Aiden’s (Max Carver) sudden and admittedly really upsetting death, Ethan (Charlie Carver) skipped town. One of the night’s biggest gasp out loud moments came when Ethan told sort of boyfriend Danny (Keahu Kahuanui) that he had to leave, and Danny responded that he couldn’t date him anyway because he was a werewolf (viewers had been led to believe that Danny was completely in the dark about all things supernatural).
Without a doubt though, the final scene packed the biggest punch, for a multitude of reasons. The first being that it featured Derek and Stiles sharing a scene together, something that hasn’t happened (much to many fan’s chagrine) for almost 13 full episodes. Derek was talking to Stiles about a dream he had where men came looking for a shewolf, and he also mentioned some myths about other ways that a person could get turned into a werewolf.

Most people were likely too distracted by the fact that Derek was confiding in Stiles in an empty locker room to process what either of them were saying, but then Derek asked Stiles how he knew when he was awake or dreaming, and when he sees that Stiles has 6 fingers, he wakes up in his loft, and he’s being shot at by the same men who were searching for the “shewolf”. Assuming they mean his little sister, Cora (Adelaide Kane) he says he’ll never tell them where she is, but in a surprise twist, the men have no idea who Cora is. That’s when the presumed dead season 1 villain Kate Argent (Jill Wagner) emerges from the gunsmoke and sets up one hell of a cliffhanger by shifting into some sort of blue were-jaguar creature and shooting Derek in the chest.
It definitely felt like a finale worthy of this mixed bag of a season, and with the loss of four main cast members (Daniel Sharman recently announced that he would not be returning) and many unpromising spoilers, it’s unclear how many fans will be returning for season 4. Teen Wolf desperately needs to go back to basics in the coming episodes, or else they will likely alienate the remaining members of the fan base who stick around due to loyalty or their love of the characters.
Overall Episode Grade: B+
Overall Season Grade: B-