A Credible Threat is the 17th episode of Teen Wolf Season 5. The episode marks the Season 5 return of actor Orny Adams as Coach Bobby Finstock
It will air on Tuesday February 16, 2016 at 9pm on MTV.
Synopsis
Scott and his pack use a charity lacrosse game in a deadly gambit to figure out the identity of the Beast.
Full Recap
Parrish says every night he believes he leaves his home. When he wakes each morning there are burned and bloodied clothes but he has no memory of where he goes. Saying he needs to know if he is adding to the body count, he enlists the aid of Chris Argent, Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski to follow him to find out and stop him if necessary.
They follow Parrish to the high school where they discover a trail of dead bodies leading to a bus with several dead bodies inside. One person is still alive and begs for help. Scott moves toward the bus but Parrish steps out and, in a voice not his own, warns that it is a trap.
The person that was crying out for help is torn in two and half the body thrown to the ground. The Beast of Gevaudan is in the bus. Parrish flames on and runs toward the bus. The Beast runs through the bus and escapes through the front windshield. Parrish pursues. Argent says the Beast is getting smarter.
Malia Tate is at the McCall House hiding from the Desert Wolf with Braeden. Malia doesn’t think they have much to worry about since her mother has to wait for a full moon to kill her if she wants to steal her power back. Melissa McCall says her new rule is “never be too careful” so she spreads Mountain Ash along the door way to seal the house against supernatural threats.
Scott and Kira make out at Kira’s house. They discuss the upcoming Charity Lacrosse Game. Kira says she is out of practice and they will likely lose. Scott says they won’t. The next morning, Kira wakes first and picks up her sword. As she goes through her moves, her eyes glow orange. Scott watches from his place in her bed.
Corey is leaving town. Mason tries to talk him out of it. Corey shows what remains of the burns he got from Parrish (See Lie Ability) saying the injuries represent life in Beacon Hills. Mason points out that they are healing, albeit slowly. He says Corey has power, can turn invisible, is strong and fast. He says people like him need people like Corey to protect them. Corey says Mason is too smart to need anyone and that it’s the smart ones who always survive.
Mason is confident that Scott will have a plan. He relates the story from “a couple of weeks ago” when Scott brought in cellphone jammers to block the frequencies of the Dread Doctors (See Strange Frequencies). This gives him and idea. He realizes that the appearances of the Beast to date have been connected to frequencies, the cell transmission towers (See Damnatio Memoriae), the attack downtown near the Radio Astronomy Observatory (See Amplification) and the attack on Deaton at the Army Base with huge radar arrays (See The Sword and the Spirit). He speculates that the Dread Doctors are broadcasting a high frequency transmission. Mason realizes that the charity lacrosse game will attract 2, possibly 3, local TV stations with microwave transmission vans. Corey realizes that means the Beast could be there and Mason believes a lot of people are going to die.
Kathleen Kassidy, a reporter for KQNB, is interviewing Brett Talbot outside the school. They discuss the upcoming charity game between Devenford Prep and Beacon Hills High School. The winning team will take home all the money for their charity and Brett says they intend to win.
In the library, Liam tells Lydia, Scott and Stiles about Mason’s frequency theory. Scott says he doesn’t think it’s just the frequency causing the Beast to shift. He explains that Argent said the Beast is getting smarter. He thinks the Dread Doctors may be using the frequencies to make it shift in order to make the Beast grow faster. Lydia draws a parallel to Peter Hale in Season 1. Scott says Peter, as an Alpha, became stronger with each full moon. He says eventually Peter’s burns healed and he was back to normal. Scott surmises that the Dread Doctors want the Beast to be as strong as possible as fast as possible. Liam thinks they want the accelerated growth because of Parrish.
Stiles says they have one clue to the identity of the beast. The sneaker print from the hospital, covered in Parrish’s blood, is a size 10. They don’t know the brand because it is only a partial print. They decide to try to get the game cancelled. Liam thinks the game might be an opportunity to figure out the identity of the teenager inside the Beast. Scott feels too many people are at risk and ultimately decides to get the game cancelled.
As the others leave the library, Lydia senses something and heads off into the stacks. She finds a book on the floor open to an illustration of a man with a spear struggling with a large black dog. Parrish calls to her from one row over. He is badly injured.
Sheriff Stilinski says he doesn’t have the authority to cancel the game. He says he would need to go to the school board with evidence of a credible threat. He suggests they get Coach Finstock to forfeit the game but Stiles explains that he has been in rehab for the past 7 months while they’ve been stuck with a substitute coach. The sheriff suggests they check on Finstock’s progress.
Stiles and Scott find the Coach in the reception area of Stepping Stones, Beacon Hills Rehabilitation Center. Finstock pretends to be catatonic until they touch his checker game when he snaps to and grabs Stiles’ arm. He refuses to check out to coach the charity game. Scott says they know he is fine but the Coach says he has a debilitating disease and indicates it is alcohol related. He then admits that he’s staying in rehab to avoid taking another arrow to the stomach.
He says he’s convinced the Stepping Stones folks to let him stay by having relapses, seven of them. He says every time they’re about to discharge him, he relapses. He refuses again to coach the game saying he hates charity games because they’re meaningless. Scott explains the charity game benefits cancer; the coach wants to know if it’s for or against cancer. Stiles says against, deeply against. Scott says they need him but he says he’ll never coach “there” again.
Stiles explains that they don’t actually need him to coach the game. They want him to forfeit.
Gerard and Chris Argent examine Parrish’s wounds and determine he is healing slowly. Parrish says he only remembers bits and pieces of his fight with the Beast. He remembers he was losing. Chris tells Lydia and Parrish that he believes resolving Parrish’s internal conflict with the Hellhound could help him win the external battle he’s losing with the Beast. Gerard wants to put him into a machine to give Parrish and the Hellhound “a proper introduction.”
Three microwave transmission vans from TV stations are aligned at the game. (Location: Woodley Park Van Nuys, California). The bus from Devenford Prep is also in the parking lot.
The Argents place Parrish in a device to lower his body temperature below the point that would kill a normal person. They believe slowing down his heart and mind will allow him to consciously access his subconscious mind and the Hellhound. Lydia points out how dangerous this would be. Gerard says it’s far less dangerous than if Parrish fails to evolve to face the Beast.
Chris explains that, as the teen chimera continues to transform each night into a very large, very powerful werewolf, it remembers a little more of who it used to be. Gerard says it yearns to know its name. Not just the Beast of Gevaudan but the Man of Gevaudan. Chris says he wants to live again. He says one night the teenager will go out and transform but when it changes back it won’t be the teen anymore it will just be the Man of Gevaudan. Lydia points out that Valack says that when the Beast remembers the teenager will be gone.
Parrish questions how something like that could even be possible but then, realizing that he is himself impossible, he tells them to forget he asked and gets into the machine. The machine fills with cold fog. Lydia moves toward the machine but Gerard holds her back. Parrish becomes visible in the mist. His eyes glow with fire.
In a classroom at School, Scott has each person explain their part of the plan. Mason and Corey are to check the Devenford bus to see if any of their players have bloody sneakers. Malia is to take out the microwave transmitters on the TV vans. Stiles explains that right before the whistle, Coach will forfeit the game. The rest of them will be looking for a size ten shoe with a bloody sole.
Malia is worried the plan won’t work and they will have to go up against the Beast. She points out that Scott is still healing from what Theo did to him but Kira says he’s not. Scott explains that he healed completely the night they got Lydia out of Eichen House. He says having the pack back together is what did it. Liam points out that the Beast doesn’t have a Teen Wolf Pack and Scott agrees. He says they can do it and promises that no one dies tonight.
Hayden arrives at the game and takes a seat next to Sydney in the stands.
Stiles tells Coach it’s time to forfeit the game but Finstock refuses. He says he’s never forfeited a game and never will. He blows the whistle.
Scott tells Liam they’ll be fine. Malia has an hour and a half to take out the wiring on the TV vans. Liam says they have time to find someone with blood on their shoes. Scott points out that it’s one person out of 400.
Stiles suggests to his father that they call in a bomb threat. The sheriff points out that a similar threat at the airport “three weeks ago” attracted more media to the scene.
Brett and Scott prepare to begin the game. Brett explains that his sister, Lori (Lily Bleu Andrew) is searching the bleachers for the bloody shoe.
Corey and Mason break into the Devenford Prep bus and begin going through the player’s bags searching for the shoe. With each bag, Mason marks off one of the players on his phone.
Malia rips cables from one of the TV Trucks.
Kira aggressively tears through the Devenford players and scores. Scott sees her eyes flash orange and says they may have a problem.
Chris Argent encourages Lydia to try to reach Parrish in the freezing device. She calls out to Jordan but the Hellhound answers, “No.” She asks who she is talking to and he says, “Cerberus, Garmr, Black Shuck. I’ve had many names.” He recognizes Lydia as the Banshee and goes on to say that Jordan Parrish died.
Kira continues the knock out other players even though she doesn’t have the ball. Scott points this out and she, in the voice of her fox spirit, tells him to stay out of her way. Scott and Liam decide to go with the “backup plan.” They have Brett knock Kira down and, when she turns on him and knocks his helmet off with her stick, she is removed from the game. She heads into the school saying, in Japanese, “What a dull game.” At Scott’s behest, Lori follows.
Malia finishes pulling the cords from the second TV van and leaps toward the third. She is pulled out of the air and to the ground. She looks up to find her mother, The Desert Wolf standing over her.
Lori calls out to Kira in Japanese. The Fox Spirit replies and mocks the girl’s accent. Kira hit’s Lori and they begin to fight in the girl’s locker room.
Malia says she would like to kill her mother but has other things to do at the moment. Her mother has apparently been watching her and asks if she has something against local news. Malia says she knows her mother won’t try to kill her until there’s a full moon and orders the woman out of her way or people are going to die. The Desert Wolf points out that people die every day and calls Malia “Sweetheart.”
The Desert Wolf says they could compromise. Malia could come with her and help solve their “little predicament” but Malia says she’s going to kill her. Her mother says Malia is definitely her daughter.
The Sheriff and Melissa McCall are talking Chimeras. They think they’ve already located all the genetic chimeras that might be used for Dread Doctor experiments. The Sheriff points out that Valack said there had to be another person who is a genetic chimera with two sets of DNA so there must be someone they overlooked.
Corey and Mason have checked 25 pairs of shoes on the Devenford Prep bus and marked all the players off the list without finding a bloody size ten. As a Devenford Player boards the bus, Corey grabs Mason and they both become invisible. Once the player leaves, they take a moment to make out on the bus. During their kiss, something upsets Corey and he breaks off and nervously exits the bus.
Beacon Hills is losing the game. Liam ends up hurt briefly as the Devenford scores making it 1-5. Scott says they need to keep the game going to give the others enough time. Scott can hear Kira and Lori fighting inside the school.
Now each armed with lacrosse sticks, Lori and Kira continue to trade blows and their fight goes from the locker room to the school hallway. Scott arrives and tells Kira to stop but she throws him to the ground. He tries talking to her again but she resists until he growls her name. She’s regains control and seems to have no memory of what she’s done.
Liam tells Brett they need more time and tells him to stop scoring so much. Brett says he’s been trying but Beacon Hills sucks so bad that it’s impossible to lose against them.
Hayden approaches Liam on the bench and tells him that she is joining with Scott’s pack because she believes in him and wants to be with Liam. They kiss.
Stiles realizes that Malia hasn’t got to all the TV vans and Liam says they’ll get her some more time by evening up the score. Stiles is skeptical but Liam says he just needs the ball.
The Desert Wolf is still questioning Malia about her desire to make a difference by trying to save a bunch of random people.
Liam scores making it 2-5. Liam makes and incredible run down the field, dodging players and scoring pushing it to 3-5.
Stiles is under the bleachers trying to check Sydney’s shoes for blood but she kicks his head into the bleachers leaving him stunned.
Lydia continues to question the Hellhound about Parrish’s “death.” The hound says Parrish is just a body, a means to an end. He says he is beyond life and death. He is infinite and has no use for “your deputy.” Lydia says they need Parrish. The Hellhound says the deputy won’t kill the Beast. Lydia says the Hellhound won’t either without Parrish.
She says she is a harbinger of death too and knows people are going to die and if the Hellhound doesn’t let Parrish in, he, and the Hellhound, will die too. She says the Hellhound needs Parrish.
Argent asks Lydia to tell the hound to remember when Parrish died.
The hound says Parrish died, “When I was born.” He flashes back to the time Parrish was first blown up in Afghanistan but also sees images of Scott, Allison Argent and Stiles going into the ice bath during their surrogate sacrifices (See Lunar Ellipse). Parrish begins to roar, the device he’s in begins to shake. He shoves the door open and falls out. Lydia catches him. He says he knows who he is and knows what he has to do. He has to leave.
Liam scores again and score is tied 5 to 5 as time runs out. The ref says they’re going to overtime.
Malia flicks her claws out on her mom. The Desert Wolf remains calm and sees Stiles nursing his sore head near the bleachers. She says that’s Malia’s “one.” Malia turns to look and when she turns back her mother is gone. She leaps to the top of the TV van to finish damaging the last transmitter.
Unfortunately, one of the TV engineers has had time to repair the van she damaged earlier and Reporter Kathleen Kassidy wants to go live immediately because the game is so close. As she keys her microphone, feedback fills all the speakers on the field. As the squeal subsides, it is replaced by a growl.
Eyes aglow, Liam takes off toward the row of busses outside the field ignoring Stiles warnings to wait. He leaps just as the Beast flies over the bus.
Students flee, into the school. Scott, Kira and Lori watch as they scream past the classroom. Scott closes the door as the Beast runs past. When they open the door again, the room opposite has large claw marks across the door.
Soundtrack
- Lyves - “Shelter”
- Scene: Scott and Kira share a moment in her bedroom.
- Afrojack & Bassjackers - “What We Live For”
- Scene: Everyone arrives at the lacrosse game.
- Frances & Ritual - “When It Comes to Us”
- Scene: Hayden talks to Liam on the bench.
- GTA & TJR - “Mic Check”
- Scene: After Hayden’s talk, Liam scores a goal.
Episodes List
| ← Season 5 Season 5 Season 6 → | |||
| #01 Creatures of the Night | #06 Required Reading | #11 The Last Chimera | #16 Lie Ability |
| #02 Parasomnia | #07 Strange Frequencies | #12 Damnatio Memoriae | #17 A Credible Threat |
| #03 Dreamcatchers | #08 Ouroboros | #13 Codominance | #18 Maid of Gevaudan |
| #04 Condition Terminal | #09 Lies of Omission | #14 The Sword and the Spirit | #19 The Beast of Beacon Hills |
| #05 A Novel Approach | #10 Status Asthmaticus | #15 Amplification | #20 Apotheosis |
Video
Gallery
