"Visionary" brought us tales of the past, told from two perspectives and at different times. While the stories were interwoven and shared a place in history, they weren't of the same story. We either learned a lot, or were at least given a lot of hints.

Learning about the past, especially in terms of the Argent family as hunters and the Hales as hunted, gave us so much information it's difficult to know where to start. I'll start here: Introducing Talia Hale in the form of Alicia Coppola was very welcome. She's one of my favorite actresses and fits the canvas of Teen Wolf perfectly.

There is something about the way she delivers her performances that makes her immediately trustworthy and I love how she interacted with the various packs while keeping them together and focused on a common goal that would keep them safe as well as promote their agenda as wolves. 

Peter, who has come such a long way from the man we first met, was the perfect person to tell the tale of Derek's love of Paige. I was absolutely fascinated not only in the story of Derek's first love - an impossible love that Derek was sure would end if the tiniest hint of his true identity came through - but in the kind and concerned way in which Peter shared the memories.

It's hard to know what of the stories was true, as both Stiles and Scott realized the reports were coming from tainted points of view. Yet if we're to believe Peter's story, Derek would have gotten the girl based upon his merits as a man/beast alone. Paige wasn't unaware that he was different and would have loved him without being turned. That might be Derek's biggest regret. 

It makes sense to the present why Derek is always so reserved and keeps his love inside. He's lost so much, and it could have been at his own hands. That's not an easy thing to accept, even after years of ruminating on it and trying to forgive yourself.

Meanwhile, Scott and Allison visited Gerard, who told one story... while we saw something different visually unfolding. It was as if we were seeing Scott's interpretation of Gerard's story. The Deucalion we saw was so different than the man stalking Scott now - and it seems to be Gerard's fault. 

Meeting with Gerard, who arrived alone, in a distillery wasn't to his disadvantage but to the werewolves, as Gerard just cannot be trusted. He appears to be the ultimate cause of Deucalion's blindness and something tells me that although we saw this played out, Gerard didn't deliver the appeal to Scott and Allison:

Deucalion: Don't, don't do this! I had a vision. A vision of peace!
Gerard: A little short sighted, wouldn't you say? | permalink

With Talia at the helm, even after a member of Ennis' pack was killed, they truly seemed to want to make things right with as little overall disturbance to the peace of the community as possible. The outcome was anything but. Until Gerard did the unthinkable, Deucalion could have had a much different future ahead. He seemed reasonable and thoughtful. I'd like to see that man again.

Other thoughts:

• I'm still confused why Derek's and Peter's eyes are blue - it's because they took innocent souls? At least Derek did it out of love. It's nice to know that the color of eyes has a lot more meaning than just who is an alpha.
• I hated to see how quickly Deucalion changed once he was attacked by Gerard. It was almost immediate. Now that we've seen him in the past, I want Scott to save him somehow, to use his True Alpha state to heal what was destroyed by Gerard. Can a True Alpha heal tortured souls?
• I'm anxious to discover when we'll learn what part of the stories we heard were true and what were not. And for Scott to exact revenge against Gerard for lying.
• We finally know the deal about Deaton and Morrell. Emissaries to werewolf packs. It seems that their alliances have changed over the years, but I'm surprised Deaton hasn't given up more info about Deucalion to Scott given he believed he would be a true alpha. 
• How do werewolves age? From the jeans Paige wore in the flashback scenes, I'm guessing Derek was the equivalent of a 15-year old in about 1983 or so. I'm sure you're dying to tell me how I've missed the flowchart on werewolf aging, so let me have it!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.