Teen Wolf

Teen Wolf

Mondays 10:00 PM on MTV

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Teen Wolf Review: "Pack Mentality"

 

The first couple episodes of Teen Wolf were focused on Scott McCall figuring out how to handle his newfound ability and identity.

But "Pack Mentality" finally pointed the story in a direction worth following. The final discussion between Scott and Derek Hale - regarding what truly happened when the teen wolf was bitten in the premiere - made the future of the season much more interesting.

So Derek did not actually bite Scot... it was the Alpha Dog! It makes much more sense to give Scott a mentor rather than an enemy in Derek. Now the two of them can battle whoever this alpha werewolf is together, and Derek can help the kid learn how to control himself along the way.

Teen Wolf Cast Pic

Derek is easily the most interesting character on the show, and it is not only because Tyler Hoechlin is so easy on the eyes. This guy is dark and mysterious in ways that Scott could only dream of being. He has complete control over his wolf-ing, he stares people down with the best of them, and he will kill you in your hospital bed if you don't do as he asks.

Meanwhile... finally! We had a wolf-man on wolf-man battle as Scott and Derek dueled it out before the former learned about the truth from the latter in the aforementioned untimely conversation. I loved how calmly Mr. Hale turned from normal human to werewolf. And, yes, I loved watching these two creatures battle it out, especially Derek's choke slam. He must have learned that from The Undertaker.

The episode left things in an intriguing spot, but it took while to get there. It would have been way too soon for another person to find out that Scott is a wolf, so when he turned into the wolf on the bus with Allison, it made me angry. After finding out that some of what happened that night was a dream, it made things better, but I'm still not happy that they made me feel so sad for Allison.

I am also not convinced that she is completely innocent in all of this. With a father as involved as Mr. Argent is in all of this werewolf business, Allison has to know something, or be involved with supernaturals in one way or another. I would not be surprised to find out that there is more than meets the eye with her by the end of the season.

Elsewhere, other than the awkward night of bowling, which I'll get to in a second, Stiles had most of the comedic moments of the night. Between getting all upset that the gay guy in their group doesn't find him attractive, and his comparisons to Batman and Robin when searching the destroyed bus, Stiles brought the show back to Earth on many occasions.

But, yes, there was also bowling. Jackson and Lydia are both absolute caricatures of themselves. Still, it works. He is the pompous bully that wants nothing but to ruin Scott's life, while she is the popular prissy that wants whoever the best dude in school is at the time. Pretty familiar tropes on television and in the movies, but severely exaggerated in this case.

Either way, I enjoy watching both of those characters, and loved them in this awkward bowling scene. As much as I enjoyed Allison telling Scott to think of her naked? Not so much.

So, as Teen Wolf takes a new turn in its long-running plot of the season, I have become more interested. Will you be sticking around to see what Derek Hale has planned for Scott? And what did you think of "Pack Mentality?"

Teen Wolf: "Pack Mentality"

Editor Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
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User Rating: 4.6 / 5.0 (65 Total Votes)
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Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.


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18 Comments

  1. Taz

    I live Teen Wolf. Both Tylers are awesone but Tyler H jyst does winderd for the eyes. Now Tyler O reminds me of a young Jim Carey. He looks and acts like him. He is hilarious.

  2. Summers

    So far the show is proving to be generic & unoriginal. But all in all, its fairly forgettable. What irks me is the disconnect between the whole high-school experience & the lycan nights; basically normal high-school student by day and ravishing wolf by night, so by the time it gets to Scott in school, talking to stiles about his lycan adventures, its not believable, especially not how the actor pulls it off. And the love is made to seem like this great blown out romance. Its very much crushing and puppy love, something that wouldn't really last.

  3. misschelseagirl
    Rank: Guest Star

    This show is just getting better as it goes on i hope it continues.

  4. Mike

    In his werewolf incarnation Hoechlin looks for all the world like Liberace, a name I raise because Teen Wolf’s writers and actors seem to be structuring this particular re-weaving of the animal-in-man mythos to exclude any suggestion of the homoerotic. Creating a gay character (referred to but not yet introduced), and an open of discussion of gay themes (admirable), paradoxically allows the writers and actors to purge any vestige of guy-guy sexual tension that might otherwise arise between the all male model cast. This will undoubtedly suit some, but the problem for the show is that the way in which guys physically interact / long for approval / look up to / want to dominate / etc. other guys has a sexual-like (although not gay, and not strictly speaking sexual) component. If you wash this out as religiously as Teen Wolf’s writers and actors have done, you wash out half the color of real life. You also keep the show away from exploring how guys really bond, aggress and control

  5. Amy Jackey Amy Jackey
    Rank: Guest Star

    ian doesnt have thinning hair

  6. Saad Khan
    Rank: Guest Star

    it's immature and at times extremely frustrating..
    Just tell me One why Scott & Style talk so loud among people cafeteria. locker room or classroom as no-one can listen to them talking about killing & werewolf ? that's makes me frustrated.. bring some sense to it.. it's not the worse but not good either

  7. Dustin Myers Dustin Myers
    Rank: Extra

    Good Episode,Looking forward to seeing more.

  8. Gail Wakefield Gail Wakefield
    Rank: Extra

    I'm loving Teen Wolf. Love all the actors. And, so far, is not sleazy. Please, MTV, don't go there and spoil it.

  9. aninjawitagun

    He was on 7th Heaven

  10. Jessica Ghrigsby Jessica Ghrigsby
    Rank: New User

    Love this show! And yes Derrick is HOT! What other show was he in? I can't think of it for nothing and it is majorly bugging me? But really this show is awesome and you know as well as I do that it is only a matter of time before a vampire appears sometime. I mean there a werewolves in Vampire Diaries so there is probably gonna be vampires sometime in this show. Way to go MTV!!


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