Review/ Read Along: Teresa’s Mystery Continues in “The Scorch Trials” Chapters 43-46

Amanda McHugh ‘18/ Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

“The Scorch Trials,” sequel to “The Maze Runner” (written by James Dashner and directed by Wes Ball) will be hitting the big screen on September 18. To get psyched for more action-packed dystopia, Emertainment Monthly will be re-reading and reviewing “The Scorch Trials” chapter by chapter.

Teresa Agnes, played by Kaya Scodelario, first premiered in The Maze Runner series in the first book and movie. Her entrance was a little different from book to movie. While in the book she came up in a coma, and didn’t wake up for a few weeks, she was called the Trigger for the Ending (essentially the Maze trials were ending). In the movie she came up in the box (same way as the book), but immediately wakes up, says Thomas’ name, and then passes out. She then stays in a coma for about a day. Though in the book Teresa and Thomas often communicated telepathically, in the movie their connection was still strong. Seeming like a helpless girl in a coma, Teresa soon proved herself to be just as tough as the guys when she fights off Grievers, helps solve the Maze puzzle, and gets the group to escape through the Griever hole.

At the start of The Scorch Trials, Teresa is still just as close and friendly with Thomas and the rest of the boys. Though after her mysterious disappearance, from both Thomas’s telepathic connection and physically being replaced by Aris, she changed drastically. On one hand she would tell Thomas he needs to trust her and only her, but on the other hand she goes in and out of his life, and also yelled at him telepathically at one point. Where we last left off, Thomas had just been retuned to the group after being fixed up by WICKED, and had heard Teresa tell him telepathically that tomorrow was going to be awful, but that he needed to trust her.

So even though it shouldn’t be a surprise, when Teresa is holding a sharp spear, and the rest of the Group B girls are encircling the boys with bows and arrows, it’s still a little shocking (Group B were the girls in the Maze trials. Group A is the Thomas and the boys). Things escalate even faster when Teresa threatens to start killing them off one by one if Thomas doesn’t go with them immediately, with no one following. Minho, being the good friend that he is, tries to prevent this from happening. But Thomas isn’t the one to risk other lives over himself, so he goes.

Two girls, a dark skinned girl named Harriet and a reddish blond girl named Sonya, awkwardly drag Thomas with a bag over his head. They were commanded by WICKED to drag him until the boys could no longer see them. This whole time Teresa is clearly the leader, but cold, almost emotionless. However, at one point as their dragging Thomas, she whispers in his ear that it’s almost all over. But then they still drag him across the desert ground. So who’s going to actually trust Teresa right now?

When they get above the mountain, they tie Thomas up to a tree. Thomas remembers his tattoo that read “To be killed by Group B,” and asks why they’re going to kill him, but Teresa just shouts that the all know what Thomas did to them, and now he has to pay. It’s most likely Teresa is talking about the Maze. That Thomas was one of the creators who made the trials, and put all of them in the Maze. In addition, it’s also unclear is Teresa is being controlled by WICKED or not. She isn’t acting the way Gally did before he killed Chuck in The Maze Runner, or the way she was in earlier chapters when she kissed Thomas, but was clearly in pain fighting something. Here, she seems almost happy to see Thomas suffer before she plans to kill him. She yells at him “shut up” multiple times, and keeps saying he knows what he did to them. To her, specifically. Though Thomas doesn’t know what she’s talking about, again, it might have to do with the whole he helped create the Maze trials thing. Finally though, they leave him, and he falls asleep.

Teresa’s character has changed drastically since we first saw her in The Maze Runner, and even in the beginning of The Scorch Trials. Though she may be being controlled by WICKED, if this is who she is now, controlled or uncontrolled, Teresa’s negative character development is actually quite amazing to read. Instead of Teresa becoming this girl even more trustworthy and perfect from before, she becomes bitter and unpredictable. Moreover, Teresa is also contrasting Brenda now. Brenda has become the sweet, innocent girl, whereas Teresa is ruthless and cruel. Maybe this says something about staying around WICKED a little too long. It’s still unsure if she’s actually going to kill Thomas, or if she’s just putting on an act.

Be sure to check out the new trailer for The Scorch Trials, coming out on September 18!