Teen Wolf: The Broken Spell Recap [Season Finale]

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14qhs-hyqR0]

Teen Wolf: The Broken Spell (4×12)

By Elise Kulik

Rating: ★★★★★ 

It’s the end of an era.

Ever since last season, we know that another Teen Wolf season finale means high stakes, lots of action, and possible death.

Thank the powers that be that it also means the end of the conspiratorial psychopathy that was Peter and Kate, the two single most irritating characters on this show.

Granted, Peter did have his redeeming moments- his flavor of megalomania came with its fair share of cynical humor and resting bitch face, two things we can all appreciate.

Anyway, we pick up where we left off last week; Scott’s a Berserker, and Kira’s kidnapped in the Temple of the Smoking Mirror. Somehow this piece of information is supposed to be illuminating for history’s sake, but frankly, it’s hard to see the point behind all the bone dust and decaying church.

We learn that Kate has the power to control and make Berserkers #ObviousExposition and she sics Scott on Kira.

I take a lot of issue with this scene: it depicts an act of very graphic violence against a female character by her romantic interest, and the violence against males in this episode is nowhere near as graphic or as extended. I use extended here because the way the scene is framed, Kira very intentionally cannot fight back- she loses her power very quickly and the audience just gets to sit and watch for a good thirty seconds while her boyfriend pummels and stabs her.

Active Kira becomes victimized Kira- and somehow when Derek is victimized, the violence against him is not as brutal, and he eventually ends up transforming to save himself, while Kira finds empowerment through further brutalization and pain.

After we get done normalizing violence against women, Kira’s left to learn how to heal herself. She makes the connection that werewolves and foxes heal via the same mechanism: pain. So what does chica do? She freaking pounds her fist into obsidian until it shatters and then cuts open her hand with the shards.

Because apparently she wasn’t in enough pain from, I dunno, the massive stab wound on her chest.

Temple happenings aside, the gang plus Derek, Braeden, and Peter gear up to go to Mexico to rescue Scott and Kira. Derek doesn’t think he’s coming back alive, Peter’s just looking to screw everyone over, Liam’s in the middle of learning to control his werewolf transformation, and Lydia gets held up at the high school.

Lydia and Liam’s best friend (I swear they’ve said his name maybe two times, tops) are being held hostage by a Berserker at the high school, because Peter and Kate didn’t want Lydia predicting Scott’s death. I’m swallowing my disbelief at this plot line, because I doubt Lydia would have been able to tip off the gang that Scott wasn’t Scott anymore, even if she did sense that he was going to die.

At the end of the episode, they get free with the help of the Sheriff and an I.E.D., which local sheriff departments probably should not have in their possession, but we’ve all seen that kind of horribly unnecessary militarization of a police force before, amiright Ferguson?

Back at the Temple, Derek gets attacked by a Berserker and dies, only to be resurrected as an actual wolf who then tears apart Kate. Eh. Still not the most unreasonable thing about this show. Will swallow disbelief.

Then, when all looks horribly bleak, Parrish and Argent come storming in with the Calaveras!

Chris fires the magic plant bullet at Kate and wounds her, but still won’t kill her #PlotHoleResolved. We find out that Kate’s been doing all of this nonsense because she believes that Allison’s friends deserve to die because they killed Allison. She’s not super unjustified here even if her revenge motivation is one dimensional. #NoFuneral Kate scampers off into next season, bringing Chris with her to track her down.

Liam gets Scott to remember his true identity, and Scott loses the bad headgear and fights Peter.

Side note: Peter sounds ridiculous with those werewolf fangs. They should have fixed that in post-production.

Scott’s so done with Peter at this point that he pulls a Keanu Reeves from The Matrix and knocks Peter out. Kira gets her first ninetail from the obsidian she cut herself with, Lydia offers to help Parrish figure out what type of supernatural he is *crosses fingers for romance*, and Peter gets thrown in Hannibal’s cell at Eichen House. Seriously. That guy is way too eager to flash people his third eye. So many disturbing double entendres.

That’s it for now- all’s well that ends well here on Teen Wolf.

Catch you next season! In the meantime, stay fierce like new Derek!