Strange Frequencies is the 7th episode of Teen Wolf Season 5.
Synopsis[]
An attack by the Dread Doctors complicates Scott's plan to protect the latest victim.
Full Recap[]
In the moments after Theo kills the chimera on the hospital roof (See Required Reading), he confronts Stiles about the death of Donovan at the school. Theo claims he was at the library to witness the end of the fight between Stiles and Donovan. He says he heard the scaffolding fall and saw the body. He then witnessed Stiles leave the school and the arrival of the police car but did not see who took the body.
Theo suggests they take Josh’s body from the roof as a way to find out who is stealing the other chimera bodies. Theo says he killed Josh in self-defense because “he was going to kill you and me.” He leaves the choice of taking the body or making up a story for the police to Stiles but says he doesn’t want to ask him to lie to his father. Stiles says he’s had plenty of practice lying to his dad.
Hayden leaves Sinema in a hurry after learning about werewolves and the Dread Doctors from Liam. He tries to show her he is sincere by flashing his werewolf face at her. She punches him in the nose and drives away.
Later she stops the car to catch her breath. Her knuckles are bloodied from punching Liam but as she rubs them with her other hand, they heal.
Her radio begins to speak in the voice of The Surgeon saying her (or your) “condition improves.”
Hayden’s car sputters and dies. She tries frantically to get it started again but the engine won’t turn over. In the distance she sees the Dread Doctors walking toward her. The locks on her car doors automatically engage. She unlocks them but they relock immediately. The radio, tuned to 91.5 FM, begins saying her name over and over. Her side-mirror cracks as does the windshield.
Liam tears out her sunroof and grabs her out of the car. They run away from the Dread Doctors.
At the Vet Clinic, Stiles and Theo show Scott the body of the chimera from the hospital roof. Scott says his name was Josh and he was a junior. Scott assumes that one of the Dread Doctors killed him and Theo lies and agrees with him.
Stiles changes the subject to what they should do with the body. They agree, since Tracy’s body was stolen from the clinic (See A Novel Approach) that they should stand watch over Josh to see who comes to claim him. Theo agrees to stand watch saying “It’s not like I had a big Saturday night planned.”
Scott gets a text informing him that they’ve identified another chimera.
Scott and Stiles arrive at Scott’s house to find Hayden has locked herself in the bathroom. Liam apparently brought her to the McCall House after their escape from the Dread Doctors on the road. Scott can hear her heartbeat and says she is freaked out. Stiles tries his luck getting her to open the door saying that her sister works with his dad and they just want to help. Scott says he’s there to help but will break the door down if he has to. She opens the door, her eyes are glowing yellow. She has fangs and claws.
Kira and her father carry two boxes into his classroom. She complains asking if “this was really necessary on a Saturday morning.” He thanks her for her help.
- EDITOR’S NOTE: This scene along with Theo’s earlier comment about watching the body on “Saturday night” suggests all the action takes place from Friday night (when Theo killed Josh) through Saturday night. This timeline works except for the fact that dozens of students appear to be in the school library on Saturday.
Ken leaves to fetch another box from the car. Kira hears the unsheathing of a sword and turns to find her mother attacking her. Kira seems to have left her sword and Noshiko hands her one. They fight with her mother continually taunting her in Japanese, demanding to know “who are you” and “show yourself, kitsune.” Kira’s eyes blaze orange and she fights back harder. Her aura flares around her body and she strikes back at her mother, breaking her sword and leaving her defenseless. Noshiko falls to the floor and Kira rears back for the killing blow.
Ken enters with an obsidian throwing star (Kira’s first tale - See: Smoke and Mirrors) and slams it into the desk. This seems to snap Kira back to reality.
Kira is angry saying she could have killed her mother. Noshiko says it’s not Kira but “the fox inside” her.
In the library, Mason runs into Corey (Lucas' boyfriend). He wants to know if Lucas told Mason anything about him or about what happened. Mason says no. He then notices that Corey was reading a book called “Miraculous Healing True Stories of Impossible Medical Cures.”
Scott has a map of the telluric currents (See: Currents) running through Beacon Hills. His plan is to use the currents much in the same way Eichen House did to keep the Dread Doctors out. The school is also a focal point or “strongest convergence” besides Eichen House for the currents and he’s decided to keep Hayden there as a means of protection.
Hayden told her sister, Deputy Clark, she is staying at a friend’s house. Clark is working a double shift. On her monitor there is a missing person poster for “Josh Diaz.” It lists AGE: 17, RACE: HISPANIC and says he was last seen at Beacon Hills High School. Josh is the chimera killed by Theo.
In addition to the natural protection, Lydia has Jordan Parrish take three cell phone jammers from the Sheriff’s Station to help block the Dread Doctors’ frequencies. Lydia is thinking of when Valack quoted Tesla about “frequency, vibration” (See: A Novel Approach) and believes the jammers might “disrupt their frequency.”
Scott says Kira should come to the school with them and bring her belt. She says she thinks she lost it again. She begs off coming to the school saying she doesn’t want a repeat of what happened at Eichen House (See A Novel Approach). Scott points out that she’s at school every day without sparking the Eichen effect. She then explains that the doctors used her to get inside Eichen. She says she needs to figure out what is going on with her before she tries to help anyone else. They kiss and flashback to earlier scenes of their relationship.
Scott admits to Kira that the plan isn’t just to protect Hayden but to trap one of the Dread Doctors.
Theo is watching over Josh’s body when The Surgeon shows up at the Vet Clinic. Theo asks if the doctor is checking up on him. He says he’s sure the Doctors also want to know who is taking the bodies but The Surgeon says “Inconsequential.” Theo is confused. He expects them to care that someone is running off with their failed science experiments. He wonders aloud if the doctors already know who is taking them. Theo is angry, saying that the Dread Doctors are supposed to be keeping him in the loop on everything. The Surgeon repeats “Inconsequential.”
Theo hears Stiles Jeep pull up outside and the doctor is gone when he looks back. Stiles has realized that whoever is stealing the bodies won’t come while they’re standing guard. He rigs his cellphone camera to transmit and places it on top of the lightbox used view x-ray images. He attaches his Samsung Gear watch to the rearview mirror in his jeep. The clinic interior is visible on the watch.
Kira’s mother taps acupuncture needles into her back. She explains that the balance of power inside Kira is in conflict, a struggle between the fox and the human. She thinks the acupuncture might shift the power back into Kira’s hands. Kira is crying but says she is not in pain from the needles.
Sheriff Stilinski has come up with a theory that the something in the chimeras’ medical histories might link them in some way. He gets Melissa McCall to break the rules and open up the hospital’s records to check.
Lydia, Parrish and Malia arrive with the cell signal jammers and begin setting them up in different locations around the school.
- EDITOR’S NOTE: In reality, only federal agencies can use this type cell signal jamming technology legally in the US. The Beacon Hills Sheriff’s Department should not have access to them. US federal law prohibits their marketing, sale and use on public or private property.
Lydia asks Scott if Liam is aware of the second part of the plan. Scott says he’s still not sure there will be a second part or if it is going to work.
One of the Dread Doctors, seen only from behind, approaches one of the classrooms from outside the window. A port on the back of its hand glows white and a whine of static issues from the speakers in the classrooms and hallways of the school. Visually it seems to be using the school’s electrical system to scan the area, finding Malia in the hallway and Parrish in the bus parking area out back. The radio in the deputies vehicle flashes on and off at 97.1 FM.
Theo and Stiles are still outside the vet clinic. Theo asks if Stiles is wondering why he hasn’t told Scott about the death of Donovan. He claims all he’s ever wanted is for Scott and Stiles to trust him. Stiles doesn’t believe him.
Theo claims Stiles reminds him of his sister (Tara Raeken). He says she was smarter than everyone and a pain in the ass like Stiles but that she always looked out for her brother like Stiles looks out for Scott. He talks about how she got lost, fell in a creek, broke her leg, and died from exposure. Theo says he found the body. The authorities say she would have been fine if it hadn’t been so cold that night. He says he should have known and should have been looking out for her, but, in flashback, we see what really happened. Tara (Makenna James), freezing in the creek, is calling out to young Theo but he just stands on the bridge above staring down at her.
Theo says even if Stiles doesn’t like him, he will continue to look out for him.
The Sheriff added an infographic poster of the moon's cycle to his bulletin board once he “realized just how much bigger the job had gotten.” Melissa McCall points out that there is a full moon coming. Her gaze shifts to the mugshot of Donovan pinned to the board. She is skeptical that Donovan is still alive. The sheriff is skeptical too but wishes Donovan was still alive. Melissa points out that Donovan threatened to stab him but the Sheriff says Donovan was a victim of circumstance.
He says the day Donovan’s father was paralyzed; Donovan was in a motorcycle accident while trying to get to the hospital. His injuries required surgery for internal bleeding.
Liam tries to make Hayden feel better by explaining that she will learn to control her werewolf abilities. Hayden is unconvinced saying that she wasn’t bitten by a wolf and is somebody’s “science experiment.”
Liam says she’s going to be fine and she says if he manages to get her out of this situation then she will forget about the incident when they were in 6th grade.
Scott sees a bloodied dog lease being dragged down the hallway. He follows it. Lydia points out that, with the jammers in place, they can’t use their cell phones to check on Theo and Stiles.
Theo talks about Donovan’s teeth indicating he was Wendigo. Stiles explains the native American myth that says if you ate human flesh you would develop an insatiable craving for it and turn wendigo. Theo says the myth is “judgmental” and he looks for justifications for cannibalism pointing out that it might be the only way to survive and bringing up The Donner Party. He says that famous case of cannibalism didn’t result in wendigos but Stiles points out that they didn’t live in Beacon Hills.
Stiles says he believes the punishment for killing Donovan will be the loss of his best friend.
Noshiko and Ken enter Kira’s bedroom to find she is missing. The acupuncture needles are now sticking into the headboard. They are aligned in numbers “1 1 5.”
At the school, Hayden has fallen asleep on Liam’s shoulder. He notices a black dufflebag and gets up to examine it. Inside he finds chains and asks Scott what they’re for. Scott and Lydia explain that they hope to trap one of the Doctors. Liam says that makes Hayden the bait.
Parrish sees a playing card, face down, on the floorboard of his SUV. He picks it up and flips it over showing the Queen of Diamonds. Suddenly he sees Lydia in the seat next to him. They rip off each other’s shirts and begin making out. Flaming lines appear as she runs her fingers down his chest. When they break the kiss Lydia’s skin is all charred and burned.
Malia hears Parrish’s SUV pull away and head down the hall to check on him. Suddenly, a steel-jaw trap with enormous spikes springs up from the floor and clamps on her leg. She falls backwards and another trap closes on her arm. She tries to scream but a spike plunges from the floor and impales her throat.
The Dread Doctors enter and as they pass Malia there is no sign of the traps or the spike. She is lying on the floor struggling against nothing. She is hallucinating the devices and injuries.
The Sheriff and Melissa begin to piece together the fact that all the chimeras were given skin grafts or other tissue from other humans, Tracy and Donovan both had skin grafts, Lucas had corneal transplants, these “allogeneic” transplants meant the victims were already carrying two sets of human DNA prior to the Dread Doctors interference.
Liam is angry. Lydia reiterates that they brought Hayden to the school to protect her but he still says she is bait. Scott says no one is bait but they can’t bodyguard everyone every night. Liam questions Scott’s wisdom saying they should be doing something more, something better, than hiding in a school. Scott defends his decision saying the Dread Doctors are winning and they don’t know anything about them yet. Liam asks what they do if the jammers don’t work or if Scott has another asthma attack. Scott says he doesn’t know. Liam says the plan sucks and Scott gets angry. He says somebody has to save everyone and that means somebody has got to be the bait.
Liam calms down and asks Scott to promise to do everything he can to save Hayden. Scott hesitates but says he’ll do everything he can.
Hayden realizes that she doesn’t have her anti-rejection meds and Scott offers to go to her locker to get them. In the hall, he sees the bloodied leash again and follows it into a classroom. Kira stabs him through the torso and wraps the leash around his throat choking. She says, in English, I am the messenger of death.
Lydia goes looking for Scott and instead finds Tracy standing on the stairs. She says she needs Lydia’s help but when they get close, Tracy rips out Lydia’s tongue. Gouts of blood spew from her mouth as she falls down the stairs and lies, choking on her own blood, on the floor. The Dread Doctors step over Lydia. There is no blood. The exchange with Tracy and the injuries were hallucinations.
Still sitting in the Jeep, Theo is trying to convince Stiles that Donovan wasn’t worth all the guilt Stiles is feeling. He says if Scott gave up on Stiles for killing Donovan then Scott wouldn’t be a true Alpha. Stiles counters that True Alphas might, by their nature, not put up with murder. Theo says it was justifiable homicide. Theo points out that a werewolf’s eyes are supposed to change color when they take the life of an innocent but his eyes didn’t change after killing Josh. He flashes them yellow to prove the point. Stiles suggests that one might have to feel guilty about killing in order for the eye change to occur. Theo asks if Stiles felt bad when Donovan died. Stiles says he felt good. Theo seems pleased by this answer.
Theo smells something burning. He is suddenly punched by a flaming fist through the window of the Jeep blood spatters all over Stiles just before Theo is ripped out of the vehicle. The back tires of the jeep lift off the ground as the vehicle is flipped over onto its top. Stiles sprawls unconscious. Parrish walks passed into the vet clinic. As he passes, the vehicle catches on fire.
A few moments later Parrish emerges from the building carrying a body over his shoulder.
At Sinema, Corey has been drinking. When Mason shows up he steps in as if to kiss him but Mason changes the subject to Corey’s miraculously healed arm.
Hayden and Liam hear the Dread Doctors coming. He calls out for Scott and Lydia but the door to the locker room opens and The Pathologist steps in. The Surgeon follows, knocks down one of the jammers and says “we’re on a frequency you can’t possibly imagine.”
Theo saves Stiles from the burning Jeep and informs him that the body is gone from the vet clinic.
Kira continues to choke Scott until a small incision opens on his hand. Scott suddenly snaps out of his hallucination and Mason is standing before him holding a scalpel. Mason apologizes but says Liam told him that pain makes werewolves human. Scott is confused, he wants to know what happened and Mason explains that Corey is a chimera.
Scott remembers Liam and Hayden. The two boys rush to the locker room. Lydia and Malia are already there but Liam and Hayden are gone.
In the Dread Doctor’s lair, Liam is lying on the floor with a black tube sticking into his arm. Hayden is on an exam table. The Surgeon enters without a mask, the skin on the back of the head seems to be a mass of scars with white tuffs of thin hair. They surround her and seem to be performing surgery on her back. Blood begins dripping on the floor as The Surgeon repeats her name “Hayden” over and over again.
Melissa arrives home to find a girl impaled on the island in her kitchen. Kira’s sword is sticking out of her chest and blood streams down and pools on the floor. The girl has flaming red hair and black-tipped fingers that end in needle-like claws.
Melissa screams.
Soundtrack[]
- SBCR, Elisa Bee & His Majesty Andre - “Blush”
- Scene: Scott comes up with a plan.
- Morgan Page & Lissie - “Open Heart (Acoustic Version)"
- Scene: Scott and Kira share a moment.
- Made In Heights - “Drexler”
- Scene: Kira’s mother taps acupuncture needles into her back.
- The Unknown - “Get Back Up”
- Scene: Scott and his friends set up the frequency jammers.
- Glass Face - “Holland”
- Scene: Liam and Hayden share a moment in the locker room.
- Wurk Insoxx & K-Mi - “Pleasure”
- Scene: Mason approaches Corey in the club.
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 |