Frayed

Frayed is the fifth episode of Teen Wolf Season 3.

Synopsis
A preemptive strike against the Alphas leaves several injured and possibly one or more dead.

Full Recap
NOTE: This episode is presented in a non-linear fashion. I have collected all the events by chronological order below to make understanding the recap easier.

Before the Battle
Scott found an arrow at school and brings it to Allison’s apartment to confront her. At first she denies her involvement claiming it might have come from the archery team. Scott then points out that Beacon Hills High doesn’t have an archery team and if they did they wouldn’t use “military grade, armor piercing, titanium arrowheads”.

Scott warns Allison to stay away from the Alpha Pack because of their superhuman strength. They then flirt over the idea of who would win in fight between her and Scott. They spar. Scott easily blocks her attacks and they end up very close to kissing.

He leaves with a warning that the Alpha twins were just playing with them at the school. He says he is afraid and that she should be afraid of what the Alpha Pack might do.

In the elevator of Allison’s building Deucalion is waiting for Scott. The young werewolf extends his claws. The Alpha Pack leader seems amused saying he would have to be “blind, deaf and quadriplegic” for Scott to have a chance of taking him down. He then teases Scott saying he should take chance, kill an Alpha and become an Alpha but Scott isn’t interested. Scott says he’s not like Deucalion, that he doesn’t have to kill people. The older man says that might change that a circumstance may arise where the only way to save one person is to kill another. Scott thinks the leader is there to spark a confrontation with him but Deucalion says he lives in the building. He points out that the neighbors are surprisingly friendly. When Scott asks what he’s after – he responds “I want to see what you’re made of”.

In Derek’s loft, Scott reports the Alpha Pack is living in Allison’s building, Derek’s pack already knows because Cora and Boyd followed the twins there. Scott suggests that the Alphas want them to know where they are. Peter suggests they don’t care if Derek knows.

Derek says they plan to attack tomorrow and that Scott is going with them. The Alphas live in the penthouse right above the Argent’s apartment. Derek plans a preemptive strike to kill the Alphas first. Scott wants to know why killing is always the go to plan for werewolves. Peter agrees with him but mocks Scott for being “blandly moral”.

Cora disagrees with Scott and wants to know why they need “this kid”. Derek points out that Scott helped save her life and tries to convince Scott that they can’t just sit back and wait for them to make the first move.

Scott says they can’t defeat the whole Alpha Pack. Cora says they’re not going after the whole pack, just Deucalion. Boyd describes him as “the head of the snake” believing that if they kill him the rest will fold.

Peter says it’s not a snake but a Hydra – a mythical creature the demigod Hercules fought. Scott rightly points out that when Hercules cut off one of the creatures seven heads, two more grew back in its place. Peter congratulates him for doing his “summer reading”.

Scott visits Dr. Deaton saying he doesn’t know what to do about the situation. He doesn’t know how to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. He doesn’t know how to stop them. Deaton says Scott shouldn’t try to stop them, he should lead them.

Allison tries to convince her father that someone needs to help Scott and Derek. Chris says it’s not up to them. He is getting his consulting business going again and she is going to graduate. He says that’s a normal life and that’s what they agreed to.

Allison persists saying that a Pack of Alphas is trying to kill her friends and asking how she can stay out of that. Chris says situations that need careful navigation are called “threading the needle” – finding a safe path through two opposing forces. Allison says that sounds like “saving your own ass”.

Chris points out that Scott and Derek are not her family. Allison retorts that since she’s lost so much family that she could use a few friends.

Scott decides to meet with Deucalion himself. He is leaving his house for the meet but is stopped by Isaac. He lies and says he’s going for food but Isaac insists on going too.

They arrive at an abandoned mall where Deucalion is perched on a broken down escalator. Scott was supposed to come alone, thinking that he means Isaac, Scott apologizes but then Derek walks out of the shadows. Scott tries to talk Derek down saying that no one needs to get killed but Deucalion also broke the rules and all the members of the Alpha Pack reveal themselves.

Kali comes sliding down a concrete column, leaving claw marks from her feet all the way down. Ennis comes up another escalator from the floor below and the Alpha Twins are standing on a ledge one floor above.

Boyd and Cora step forward.

The Battle
Derek makes a move on Deucalion but Kali stops him with a kick to the head. The twins somersault from the upper floor and land merged.

Boyd is facing off with Ennis who seems to easily avoid most of his blows but the young man does score one good upper cut. Isaac takes on the merged twins and is tossed aside easily. Scott reluctantly transforms to help Isaac. The merged twins throw him into a concrete wall.

Derek briefly gets the upper hand with Kali, twisting her arm and delivering an elbow to the face.

Cora fights Ennis but the larger werewolf twists her around breaking her arm. Isaac and Scott fight the merged twins but they are no match and Scott gets a nasty scratch on his torso.

Through it all, Deucalion stands serenely on the damaged escalator listening. Ennis holds Boyd while Kali delivers a roundhouse kick, clawing deeply into Boyd’s chest.

Boyd is down. Kali has her foot on Cora’s neck. Scott and Isaac are on their knees. Deucalion urges Derek to kill Boyd saying if he does, then they others can go. Deucalion says Derek should “take the first step” referencing what he told Derek about killing his betas to become stronger.

Kali thinks Derek is laughable, mocking that he is Alpha to a couple of “useless teenagers”. Deucalion looks toward Scott and says that some have more promise than others. Kali threatens to kill Cora if he doesn’t and tells Derek he must choose between family and pack.

An arrow flies over Derek’s head and strikes the merged twins who immediately separate into two separate people again. Allison continues firing flashbang arrows and Deucalion warns them to cover their eyes.

Allison continues to fire, giving Scott and Derek time to regroup and begin to help the wounded out of harm’s way.

Scott regains his feet and takes aim at Ennis. The two hit each other with equal force and merely slide away from each other. Once he looks up we can see that Scott’s eyes are Alpha Red. He shakes his head and they return to the more common yellow color.

Derek attacks Ennis from behind. As the two struggle they get closer and closer to the ledge over a three floor drop. Scott jumps forward to help, slashing at the tendons in Ennis’ leg. Ennis spins and begins to fall over the ledge pulling Derek with him. The two crash down on another escalator far below.

After the Battle
A storm is brewing as the Beacon Hills Cross Country Team heads toward a meet on a desert highway.

Issac tells Boyd to stop thinking about their recent confrontation with the Alpha Pack and Derek’s apparent death pointing out that there is nothing they can do about it. Boyd says he’s not sure of that and stares back at Ethan who is sitting with Danny.

Ethan keeps checking his phone. When Danny asks why he says he’s waiting for a message but it’s not important.

At the back of the bus, Stiles is running vocabulary words with Scott using an app on his iPad. The word “Incongruous” and Stiles says it is incongruous that they are going to the meet after what just happened with the Alpha Pack. When he tries to work in the word “DARACH” (see Unleashed), Scott doesn’t respond.

The bus hits a bump in the road and Scott winces in pain. Stiles is worried. Scott’s wound, deep scratches in his torso, is not healing. He claims this is because the wound was inflicted by an Alpha but Stiles points out that Boyd and Isaac have already recovered. Scott says he can’t believe Derek is dead.

Allison is following the bus. Lydia is riding shotgun and wonders aloud if Allison is stalking Scott. Allison says after what happened she isn’t letting him out of her sight.

Coach berates a student named Jared (walk on role winner) about being carsick. Scott is dozing against the window and the Coach thinks he might be sick as well. He quickly sits up straight and says he’s good. Stiles points out that Scott’s wound is bleeding again.

Ethan is listening to their conversation, they notice but Scott says he won’t try anything in front of a bus full of people. Stiles wonders aloud if the same can be said of Isaac and Boyd. Scott says if they try anything he’ll stop them.

Still following the bus, Lydia is reading a textbook titled “Thermodynamic: Asymmetry in Time”. She puts the book down and points out that Allison is almost out of gas. Allison is worried she’ll lose the bus. Lydia says it doesn’t matter because they know where the team is headed. Allison points out that Lydia didn’t see what happened during the battle. Lydia says she knows who started it.

Allison teases her asking if that is what Aiden told her. Lydia realizes that Allison is not just keeping an eye on Scott but on her as well. She denies that she and Aiden are involved but then flashes back to a passionate exchange with him at school. He is apparently being too much of a gentleman and she tells him to put his hands “somewhere useful” so he grabs her bottom and lifts her up onto the desk.

Traffic on the road is stalled. Isaac checks his phone and says there is a jackknifed tractor trailer a few miles ahead.

At the abandoned mall, Cora checks the escalator where Derek apparently fell to his death. Peter shows up and the two discuss the fact that he killed Laura and that Derek killed him. Neither knows if they can trust the other. Cora points out that he’s known her for 17 years but he corrects her saying he knew her for the first 11 but that the last 6 are “unaccounted for”.

They both wonder how the bodies of Derek and Ennis disappeared. They hope that it’s a sign that Derek survived the fall and was able to walk away.

Boyd begins to wolf out. His eyes glow and he claws the back of the seat. Scott makes his way to Boyd’s seat and tries to talk him out of attacking Ethan pointing out that he doesn’t know what would happen to him if he attacked the Alpha on the bus. Boyd says he doesn’t care about his own future but Scott says he does care about Boyd.

Isaac notices Scott is bleeding. This seems to shock Boyd into submission. Scott says he’s fine and begs the Betas to give him a chance to figure something out. He hopes for a plan that doesn’t end with someone else dying. Boyd agrees.

Scott returns to Stiles at the back of the bus, his friend is worried that Ethan keeps checking his phone and that it is something evil. He texts Danny several times to get him to inquire about Ethan’s behavior but Danny refuses resulting in a ridiculous amount of text alerts, typing and beeping. Danny eventually does ask and reports back to Stiles that someone close to Ethan is sick and he’s waiting for an update.

Aiden, Kali and Ms. Morrell show up at Dr. Deaton’s with an unconscious Ennis. Kali begins to get all wolfy but the gate made of Mountain Ash blocks their way. Kali threatens to kill Ms. Morrell if he doesn’t open up but the mystical wood built into the structure seems to force her back into human form.

Morrell tries to reason with Deaton, pointing out that if Ennis dies the ongoing struggle between the two packs will escalate and that his “protégé” Scott will end up dead. He reluctantly opens the gate and allows them into the exam room.

On the bus, Jared is looking even sicker. Coach warns him not to throw up because he is an empathetic vomitter and that if Jared throws up, he will throw up on him and it will profoundly disgusting.

Stiles tries to convince the Coach to stop for food at the next exit but the Coach refuses saying nothing is going to make them miss the meet.

Scott has been trying to call Deaton but keeps getting voice mail. Stiles calls Lydia and Allison. He explains that Scott is not healing and they decide they have to get Coach to stop the bus so they can tend to his wound.

Stiles tries to reason with the Coach but gets nothing but a whistle in the face. He then sits down with Jared and somehow makes him vomit.

The bus pulls into a rest area and Lydia, Allison and Stiles get Scott into the restroom to treat his wound. It seems to be infected, turning black and getting worse.

Lydia believes his failure to heal is Somatoformic, that is his own brain is causing his very real physical illness. Stiles believes Scott is not letting himself heal because he feels guilt over Derek’s death. Lydia comes up with a plan to sew up the wound because if he believes he is healing he might actually start healing. She takes a sewing kit from her purse.

Allison starts by burning a needle with a lighter to sterilize it. Stiles leaves to find Scott another shirt in his bag on the bus Lydia goes to help him make sure the bus doesn’t leave while they’re treating Scott.

She then sets about her work but cannot seem to thread the needle. Suddenly her mother (Victoria Argent) is standing beside her berating her that she can’t do one simple little task. Her mom’s voice in her head goes from cajoling to comforting. Allison reminds herself to approach the situation clinically and unemotionally. She stops crying and threads the needle.

When she’s finished Scott seems to have lost consciousness. She calls his name until he comes back around. He snaps awake saying “it’s my fault” referencing Derek’s death.

Allison helps him to his feet and they make their way out of the restroom where Lydia is waiting and helps support Scott. Lydia reminds her that they are out of gas but Allison refuses to leave Scott and says they’ll take the bus and leave the Toyota at the rest area.

Isaac attacks Ethan, punching him again and again as Boyd stands by watching. The Coach steps into the break it up but Isaac doesn’t stop until Scott shouts his name.

At Deaton’s, Cora and Peter arrive and he explains that it is more than just an Animal Clinic. He says half of the building is made of Mountain Ash and he’s not sure how they can get in. Cora suggests they knock on the door like normal people but then Peter senses that the Alpha Pack is inside.

Deaton has finished treating Ennis. Deucalion enters and the doctor explains that Ennis is unconscious and will recover from his wounds. The Alpha Leader kisses Ennis on both cheeks, grabs his head and crushes his skull.

Kali and Aiden exit the clinic. Kali is breaking down and growls so loudly that car alarms begin to sound. Aiden hugs her and comforts her.

On the bus, Lydia and Stiles discuss the murders. Lydia brings up the fact some ancient cultures used human sacrifice to prepare for battle. Stiles sums it up “we have Alpha werewolves against a dark druid”.

Allison says if Derek is dead it’s not Scott’s fault. Scott thanks her for not listening when he warned her to stay away. Allison stares at Scott and says she is just looking at his eyes.

Ennis’ body is still on the table at Deaton’s. Ms. Morrell covers his face with a sheet. Deaton chastises her saying she doesn’t know what she’s gotten herself into. She retorts “It’s a little late to be playing big brother”.

At school, Jennifer Blake gets in her car to leave when Derek stumbles up and leaves a bloody hand print on the window. She gets out to help him.

Video
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