seperis | ep: teen wolf 2.10

..what the hell just happened?

I should probably disclaim this with the following: I have ridic amounts of Derek and Allison apologism in general and for this ep in specific. Which is really difficult to do with one trying to kill the other, but work with me. There is a very real part of me that could watch them slaughter a bus of schoolchildren and think this is totally understandable due to, well, trauma. As one does.

Now to: trust games, how to play and lose.

1.) Matt - I will probably be in the somewhat morally ambiguous minority in saying that while I know it is bad to kill people, I am less upset about it when they a.) have boatloads of moral culpability in why someone wants them dead and b.) the person killing them was given the equivalent of a death note power of thinking people to death. Which is at least partially what Matt was able to do here, and I'll be honest; there's a pretty good reason why people can't do that.

(On a personal note, the summer after third grade, I was leaped upon by a girl who could not swim and that memory is very vivid. I mean, they got me out before I passed out and I was nowhere near in need of medical attention or anything after, but trust me when I say, Matt's memory of that freaked me the fuck out. There's a fair to good chance that could be at least partially responsible for later development of my claustrophobia.)

However, I do hold him responsible for the attempted murder of Danny, as that was a CYA and not someone who caused him personal injury, and the police officer, and basically, anyone he killed who was not part of the entire traumatic experience, so.

On the other hand, it is really hard to hold onto that when Gerard fucking drowned him. Which I think the show was actually going for after Matt's break with reality in this ep.

2.) Christ, Allison. The return to kick-ass is interesting in that, like before, she's responding to personal trauma when she becomes terrifying. That was just--God. Allison. Dude, boatload of kittens, I'd forgive her that. Her life, Jesus.

3.) I did not see Scott's collaboration with Gerard coming, and for a variety of reasons, I just cannot deal rationally with this. I'm not going to now because what. the. fuck.

But also, I finally figured out that all of my issues with Scott, quite literally, involve the fact that he has no interests outside of Allison. I mean, even goddamn lacrosse is about Allison. The horror of being a werewolf (I have yet to understand the drawbacks inherent in being a werewolf, only in other people (aka hunters) knowing about it once you get control of yourself)--about Allison. Joining Derek's pack--about Allison, because I can pretty much guarantee the implicit deal included some idea of getting to still be with her because come the fuck on, he wouldn't deal with another hunter, but Allison's grandpa? Throw everyone under the bus. Informing on Derek's pack--about Allison. Informing about the kanima with at least some idea that Gerard was going straight for the kill, informing hunters who want to kill all werewolves period and who will likely kill Derek, Erica, Isaac, and Boyd, that's all okay because hey, he gets Allison.

It's just, it was cute and less disturbing when his obsession didn't actively involve assuring a lot of innocent people's deaths.

(I'd kill to know what Scott thought was going to happen, though. This didn't go according to plan? So what was the plan?

4.) Stiles crawling toward his dad just broke my heart. Oh Stiles. God. Stiles. Just, Stiles.

5.) Grandpa Creeper remains utterly creepy, but also, interesting. I kind of--in a very you-are-an-evil-villain-I-hate way--really love him like a lot. What makes me wonder deeply about Scott's inability to process anything, ever, is that at no point did he pick up the possibility that Grandpa Creeper wanted the kanima. Going back a few eps where the kanima was circling around him while he remained still and Chris asked him why, he said that it was knowing the enemy.

He also wanted Victoria Argent bitten, and I find that really, really interesting.

This part is theory based on other people's speculation:

Okay, it's possible Gerard's drug habit is some kind of anti-lycanthropy thing, which then, why wouldn't he share with Victoria so there wouldn't be suicide, which brings up three possibilities:
a.) he is just that against ever telling anyone he's a werewolf, ever, that he got bitten and his holding it off by sheer will and drug use.
b.) he bit Victoria, so he really couldn't let her survive because she'd know he was her alpha when it was fairly obvious it wasn't Derek.
c.) he's a kanima himself (and using the drugs to suppress that) and wants another kanima himself to figure out how to fix that shit so he can transform.

The reason Gerard-as-werewolf-or-kanima appeals to me is that it might explain why Kate Argent would have gone to a small town with a small and completely innocuous family of werewolves to kill them all in a goddamn house fire. I have suspected--since she said exactly that--that if she was following orders, she was following Gerard's, and the only reason I can think why anyone would bother with that personal a long term plan that involved banging one of the werewolves so as to kill his entire family and this was revenge on a Hale (probably Peter?) biting Gerard and blah blah blah. It's not that I don't think Kate was sociopathic enough to do it, but you know, that's a lot of trouble to go to, and a really convoluted way to go about it, not to mention time-consuming, just to wipe out a pack of werewolves who are literally doing nothing but living normal human lives, along with any humans in there.

It may or may not be significant that Gerard is the only one who saw Peter Hale wandering around and stared at him as if he was trying to place him. It also may or may not be significant that Peter Hale was the only one who saw Gerard take control of the kanima.

See, I even know this isn't how this is going to play out, because this show seriously goes the path of least predictability every time, but seriously, Gerard is just killing me with his awesome evil.

I hate to say this, but Peter Hale's presence is kind of comforting. I mean, sure, he's evil and kinda crazy, but he's also the only person that hasn't been effectively neutralized by Gerard between Gerard being grandfather of Allison and with Scott selling out everyone else.

6.) Okay, I've tried like, numerous times to actually break down my entire feelings on Derek, and I still just have this huge block. I mean, he makes terrible, terrible decisions. He does really sketchy things. But to be fair:

a.) Kate Argent seduced him, while he was still in high school, specifically so she could burn his entire family to death and only he, his sister, and his comatose uncle survive.
b.) his sister is then murdered and cut in half.
c.) by his no longer comatose uncle but totally by accident.
d.) then he was shot and later tortured by Kate Argent with beyond horrifying creepy sexual assault overtones tossed in just to make the entire horror just that much more horrific.
e.) then tortured by Nameless Hunter Thug (did he have a name?)
f.) then discovers no longer comatose uncle killed Laura on purpose.
g.) falsely accused of murdering his sister and other people by Scott (and later, due to Scott, by Stiles) for reasons I have yet to actually understand because what was the logic there?
h.) and multiple characters debate leaving him to die/be tortured/whatever for no particular reason.
i.) most recently, utterly fucked over by Scott.
j.) blamed for Victoria Argent's suicide.

I mean, on one hand, very sketchy pack recruiting. On the other, I have to admit a certain sympathy for wanting to have at least a few people around who at minimum are neutral on the killing him issue and at best might like him for effectively making their lives less miserable. Also, Boyd wants friends, and dude, Derek needs a goddamn friend. That's a match made in werewolf land right there.

I'm not saying he makes good decisions here, but I also kind of blinked at Deaton's entire trust thing there because honest to God, I have yet to see anyone in this show that Derek could trust on the low bar of not actively or passively contributing to his death, accusing him of murders they know he didn't commit, or trying to arrest him for murders he didn't commit.

I am deeply, deeply curious what Allison and Stiles will say when they find out Scott was working with Gerard. I also deeply, deeply wish I knew what the original plan was that Scott agreed to.

Also, why isn't it next week??????

I want to thump Scott. That, was just the worst plan ever. I mean, if he actually practiced what he preached 'doesn't being part of your pack mean no more secrets?' then he could have known that his mom was PROTECTED, and Allison wouldn't be as easily manipulated by somebody who oh- STABBED A KID IN THE GUT AND THREATENED HIS MOTHER.

Plus, Derek.
The guy needs a friend. And a hug, because it's way too late for therapy.

I want to thump Scott. That, was just the worst plan ever. I mean, if he actually practiced what he preached 'doesn't being part of your pack mean no more secrets?' then he could have known that his mom was PROTECTED, and Allison wouldn't be as easily manipulated by somebody who oh- STABBED A KID IN THE GUT AND THREATENED HIS MOTHER.

THIS. SO MUCH THIS.

Plus, Derek.
The guy needs a friend. And a hug, because it's way too late for therapy.

Like, his trauma just keeps happening.

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