60 Teen Wolfs in 60 Days: day 11, Formality

[hth]

Kate says a weird thing – well, she says a lot of things that sort of veer left of sane, but what grabs me, and I went back and checked to see if I heard it right, is that when Allison asks if she's torturing Derek to death, she says, “Don't get all ethical on me now.” That seems like something you'd say to someone who's already been implicated in your murderosity: “now is too late to start getting ethical.” But Allison isn't implicated in any of this and hasn't done anything ethically shady at all yet – now is actually a perfectly reasonable time for Allison to wonder if torturing a dude to death is actually for real on the menu tonight. Maybe that's a throwaway now: “now, now, dear, don't get all ethical on me.” I suppose that makes more sense. So...nevermind.

 

What do the Argents do when one of their own doesn't have the stomach for the work? It must have happened a few times, over the centuries. Can you just be like, no, thanks, I'm thinking about maybe Library Sciences instead? Kate sort of implies that it's more of a problem than that, but I can't tell what's just Kate being the drama queen that she is.

 

As much as I dislike the return of Allison's “I am doing this thing, but I would also never stoop so low as to do this thing,” I did like her insisting that she needed the ticket. I may not entirely approve of her ungenerous attitude toward being Weak Like a Girl, but I get that it's now become a pride thing. If he doesn't give her a ticket because he feels sorry for the crying girl, then she's accidentally capitalizing on the very thing she's trying hard not to be (you know, Weak Like a Girl). The internalized misogyny blows, but I respect pride.

 

Pretty sure this was the scene where I decided I loved Deaton. I have a soft spot for people who handle adversity with a chillingly calm, “I'm afraid that's not going to be possible.” I long to be that cool someday. But also, uh, can chairs not cross the mountain ash boundary when thrown by werewolves? How does the chair know?

 

Scott's awfully sure that Derek wasn't going to kill anyone. He's way more sure than I am, but on the other hand, I did say yesterday that I've all but lost the thread of the plot by now. I'm pretty much with Stiles on the “remember the violent behavior?” although I wouldn't go so far as to ask for Derek's death as a personal favor.

 

Melissa crying was surprisingly effective, even though I don't have strong feelings about Melissa at this point. I think it just plays into how overall sad it is that both Scott and Stiles are in a position where they feel obligated to take so much adult responsibility for their parents' emotions. That's too much for a kid. Hell, that's probably too much for an adult.

 

Again, it's just so striking to me how rarely you see a male character sexually assaulted by a female character in a way that's not played as a goddamn joke. I hate that I'm surprised that a narrative treats it as something that makes Derek frightened and angry, rather than befuddled. That shouldn't be surprising. That should be the obvious choice. We live in such a weird world.

 

This may just be wishful thinking, but I feel like Scott trying to watch over Allison protectively while she sleeps is a little jab at Twilight. I mean...I guess not a jab, per se. It does turn the Super Intense Romantic Feelings into a joke, but it's not a mean-spirited joke, since it could be interpreted as, “That's all well and good, unless your hero is a doofus like ours.” Whether you think the punchline is Scott or the Super Intense Romantic Stalking device itself probably says a lot about you as a viewer.

 

Jackson is just the utter worst. Scott, you really missed your chance to bite him right in his weasel face. I'm sure Stiles would agree with me, and you should listen to Stiles and never disagree with him, ever, ever.

 

At this point, Scott and Stiles have both fully internalized the fact that their plans run the gamut from Terrible Plan to Seriously, Still Not Even Really a Plan, and I love that they've made their peace with that. “So this is some utter bullshit you're going to try.” “Yes! Utter bullshit works for me three times out of five!” “I like those odds!” Our heroes, flailing their way to victory.

 

MACY'S, you guys. Did you catch that? MACY'S MACY'S MACY'S. THE BAG, AND THE SIGN, AND WE GOT STILES TO SAY “MACY'S.” Everyone caught that, right!?! Just checking. MACY'S MACY'S MACY'S.

 

Peter, I hope your plan was to stuff her bodily into a goddamn Macy's bag and kidnap her, because if what you thought you were doing there was charming her into trusting you, holy shit, bro. I realize you've been unconscious for a while, but dude. Dude. You're reading out of the Skeevy Old Creeper Handbook there. I think it's page 37.

 

So – wait. What tipped Kate off is that Scott (werewolf) is in love with Allison (Argent), like a big dumbass, which is exactly like Derek (werewolf) falling in love with Kate (Argent), like a big dumbass. But... I mean, yes, obviously if you're solving BLANK:Allison::Derek:Kate, then Scott solves the puzzle, but...why would.... You know what, fuck it, I don't even care anymore. I haven't understood a damn thing in the last three episodes. It's late, I'm tired, and I don't care. Just give the Coach more lines and someone take Scott's shirt away from him again and I rest content.

 

Okay, this pointless, ginned-up Stiles/Lydia date is possibly the most cringe-inducing thing in the entire series. I don't understand what Allison gets out of forcing them to go together. I don't get whether or not the audience is supposed to be excited about this lurching mess of a plotline where a bright girl acts like the victim in an MRA training video and a guy we generally enjoy not hating yells at her about how she has to be nicer to him on this date she doesn't want to be on because he's earned it through all those years of keeping her on that pedestal she didn't ask to be on. It's just – what the actual fuck, show? At this point I'm rooting for Peter. At this point I'm rooting for Carrie to burn your damn prom to the ground. Somebody in the writer's room owes me a handwritten letter of apology and a new coffee mug to replace the one I just hurled at Stiles' head.

 

I love Danny being, you know, on Team Scott, but not on Team Scott. Danny is pretty awesomely choosy. Jackson's not his type, because he's got some sense. Scott's ambient air of panicky desperation is not tempting. I feel like Danny knows you think he's easy just because he's gay, and he's honed that slight look down his nose and that irritated “no” to really drive home how very wrong you are. It probably does work on the drunk lax bros.

 

That's a lovely shot of Peter in black and Stiles in white facing off on all fours over Lydia's blood-streaked body. Just very stark and well-framed.

 

And an excellently shot end scene. I love the way there's a whole storyline playing out without a word – Allison's horror when she thinks she's about to watch Scott be killed, Scott's uncertainty about whether or not Allison has betrayed him, and the clever way it calls back to and subverts Scott's nightmare about being the death of Allison early in the season. The direction in this episode is good enough to mostly make me forgive the writing. (“Mostly?” “Mostly...”)

Comments

[mecurtin]

I'm finally tearing myself away from The Great Sci-Fi Meltdown of 2015, OMG Hugos to catch up with you on these.

I really appreciate watching someone confront the fact that the plots frequently *make no sense*.

aha I didn't know the "kill the one that bit you" thing was from Lost Boys. NOW it makes sense.

edit -- and by "sense" I mean "why they put it in".