(Image credit: mtv.com)
Season 5, Episode 1, “Creatures of the Night,” Aired June 29, 2015
After months (months and months and months, forming a seemingly never-ending hiatus) of waiting, Teen Wolf finally returns to our screens and it couldn’t have started with a better episode.
When the first minute of the cold open features one pretend-catatonic banshee, sordid orderlies, and a dead boyfriend chill you to your very bones, you know you’ve got a winner on your hands. This flash forward into a grim future where all our favorite characters are (as seen at the end of the episode) cornered or dying, explains why season 5 will be told through different time periods, eventually circling back to how this future came to be.
The excitement and intensity of Lydia’s Eichen House scene only increased from then on, with the episode gracefully switching from hilarious to heartfelt, and concerning to terrifying. Below you’ll find five favorite scenes from the episode, even though the whole thing was pretty much stellar throughout.
Teen Wolf is BACK you guys, and I couldn’t be happier about it!
1. Father knows best
Hey, remember Mr. Tate? You know, slightly insane looking, with an impressive collection of coyote-traps and a not-too-bright dog. Ring any bells? Right. After being introduced to him during the second half of season 3 as Malia made the transition from grieving coyote to long-lost daughter, Mr. Tate, well … disappeared. Malia ended up at Eichen House, then at the Stilinski’s place and for all intents and purposes the remaining member of her adoptive family was MIA. Until now! As the kids reunite for Senior Scribe after clearing some debris, Papa Tate tags along. So fear not, Malia won’t have to rely on Peter for fatherly advice (which would undoubtedly land her into Eichen House again, just like him). What’s more, Mr. Tate might let his daughter crawl into bed with her boyfriend every night, but that doesn’t mean it’s open season on kissing in his presence, either. In fact, he went all Chris Argent on the boys and reminded them of how well equipped he is when it comes to weapons.
Petition to have him and Chris form some kind of boyfriend bashing team, yes?
2. True Alpha? … Puh-lease
If being the new kid in town isn’t easy, being the new pack-less werewolf with a mysterious past in town definitely isn’t. After being attacked by yet another creature of the night (who already put Parrish in a miserable state), Scott and Kira try to overpower said-creature. While Scott struggles to show how, exactly, he succeeded in becoming a True Alpha, and Kira forgets how to use her powers, Theo immediately jumped in to help. One might wonder how he knew Scott was in trouble … maybe Theo has some stalker-ish tendencies? Nevertheless, his introduction into season 5 was flawless and hopefully we’ll learn more about him soon. Or at least enough that we can figure out if Stiles is being completely paranoid or his usually shrewd self.
To be fair, Scott did end up True Alpha-ing the nasty blue-clawed dude who was trying to steal his powers, but he certainly took his time.
3. Melissa McCall wins as a mom, also at life in general
Once upon a time, Melissa McCall unzipped scary body bags containing half-transformed Kanimas and shocked twin alphas with defibrillators. At some point however, having teen werewolves throw themselves against the walls destroyed her house and evidently all the money she had went into repairing it.
Food? Who needs food, Scott can go catch some rabbits, no worries.
4. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear
Considering the Derek Hale Beta Education Technique™ led to two of the betas getting killed, one becoming a murderous lizard and a fourth leaving forever, it’s no surprise Scott is steering clear of it. During the six months since Liam was turned, Scott and Stiles have been quietly grooming him into becoming a manageable, if still furry, baby werewolf. This doesn’t come without its challenges of course, and Scott and Stiles have an … interesting way of going about it.
They aren’t acting like this without reason, though, since Liam apparently has some trouble grasping what’s appropriate public attire when one transforms.
Who can blame him—those sideburns alone must keep him quite toasty. And after all, he isn’t the first one to elicit complaints …
“Strange sighting of bipedal lizard man sprinting across freeway.”
– 3×13: Anchors
5. Ally A Always Saved The Day
See, this scene focusing on what Senior Scribe is all about was already emotional enough with Stiles getting caught up on (maybe, probably, in any case he thought they were) Derek’s initials written on the shelf.
Then you have Malia who hesitates between Tate and Hale, and finally picks Tate because it’s all she’s known so far and her dad is still part of her family.
If you weren’t already blubbering by this point, well, what can I say, my tear ducts are particularly efficient. But let’s say you’re not me, your heart is all shriveled up and you step on kittens for fun during your days off from being an orderly at Eichen House—You couldn’t have not teared up after this. And if you say you didn’t, you’re LYING and I don’t believe you. Either that or you need your human card revoked.
FINE, TEEN WOLF, TAKE ALL MY TEARS WHY DON’T YOU
So there you have it. The quasi-perfect premiere, one of the best episodes since season 3B, the launch to what will hopefully be a wonderful (if devastating) season.
What did you think of the premiere? Was it scary enough? Are you wondering what Theo might be up to and how on Earth Lydia ended up in Eichen House? I know I am!
Episode two, “Parasomnia,” premieres on June 30th at 10/9c on MTV, so be sure to watch it! In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a happy Stiles, because who knows how long that’ll last …
