“If you’re going through Hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill, as quoted by the guidance counselor
The first act of “Battlefield” was spectacular in every way. The blatant, soul-ripping honesty of Stiles in his session with the guidance counselor was a side we haven’t seen of him until this point. He was completely unprotected, exposed, fiddling with his lacrosse net. They continued this theme throughout the episode, when Stiles was confessing to Scott how scared he was when Matt hit his father. His paralysis was the perfect symbolism of the helplessness he feels day-to-day, when everyone else around him seems to have some sort of superpower. I’m reading his sudden success on the lacrosse field as symbolism too — Stiles can rise above his perceived mediocrity and become a real player in the battle between monsters and humans, or perhaps more appropriately, good versus evil. Stiles’ character has grown infinite proportions this season, and this was just another example of how to take a character who could simply remain a one-note comic relief clown and turn him into a three-dimensional player, integral to every storyline going. The only predictable thing about Stiles’ story in”Battlefield” was his disappearance at the end of the episode. Just when he’s gaining confidence, it stands to reason he’ll be reminded of his weaknesses. Poor Stiles.
Back to the first act — it was beautiful. The cinematography was inspired; I loved the close-ups and the experimental camera angles during the Stiles scenes and the highly contrasting lighting and the sepia tones during the scenes with Scott’s mom. Every shot was full of artsy goodness and it’s very clear the folks behind Teen Wolf aren’t messing around; they mean to create a very high quality show and that’s exactly what they’re doing on what has to be a fairly limited budget. Amazing.
Gerard continues his descent into pure evil, though I don’t think we’re much closer to knowing why he wants the power of the Kanima, except to get more of what he wants. Do you really believe that he will give Allison to Scott if Scott gives him Derek? I don’t, not for a moment, or Gerard wouldn’t be threatening Scott’s mom. Gerard’s got too much to hold over Scott, he’s not going to give up his only granddaughter, who’s unlikely to want to join Scott at this point anyway (which is maybe part of Gerard’s plan, for Allison to reject Scott).
The only thing I’m not buying is the utter and complete brainwashing job that Gerard has done on Allison. I’m sure her mother’s death has traumatized her, and she’s certainly been through a lot since moving to Beacon Hills, but she’s one step away from being a murderer, and that’s just not true to her character. Even her father seems soft in comparison, but it’s really that he’s strong and isn’t going to let his wife’s death cloud his judgment. I’m just not sure why the alliance between Allison and Gerard is suddenly so strong, though I am still wondering if Gerard faked the note from her mother so Allison would do his bidding. If Teen Wolf wants to stay true to Allison’s character, something is going to have to break through her walls during next week’s finale, and it’s going to have to be Scott.
This and that:
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Aug 07, 2012 @ 09:58 EST5EDT
I’m kind of terrified of what’s going to happen next week. You’re right about the show getting better and better. It’s now one of my favorites. It’s sad that it’ll probably be another Supernatural, a high quality show dismissed by many because of the network it’s on and the attractiveness of the cast.
I really hope Scott doesn’t buy Gerard’s whole “I’ll give you Allison” spiel, one because obvious liar is obvious, and two because he doesn’t really have that power anyways. Like you, I find it unlikely that Allison would side with Scott now anyways, no matter how many blessings she got from “grandpa”.
What’s happening with Allison is both interesting and alarming. It does seem a little bit ooc just how far along she is towards dark side suddenly, but on the other hand, it raises some interesting questions. Especially if you recall Kate from last season. I wonder now if Kate was ever like the Allison we’ve always known, a sweet, smart girl with a little bit of badass in her, who was brainwashed by her father Gerard (who is clearly the world’s biggest nutjob) into being almost entirely without a moral compass. Of course that begs the question of why Allison’s father Chris isn’t the same way. I do hope Allison steps back from the ledge a little bit though, or at least if they are going to turn her dark side, she becomes a baddie with a little nuance and complexity. It’ll break my heart if she becomes like Morgana on BBC’s Merlin, one minute an interesting, complex, nuanced character with both dark and light sides, suddenly and irrevocably morphed into a cartoon villain complete with cackling and rubbing of the hands.