Wake up, Stiles! It’s time for a new season . . .
Last summer, MTV, home to “masterpieces” like Teen Mom and Real World: Season 265, surprised everyone, by taking a cheeseball 80’s movie starring Michael J. Fox, as the hairiest high school basketball star ever . . .
. . . and turning it into a genuinely entertaining, smart, well-acted, and, at times, even downright scary, television drama series . . .
I mean, sure, at the beginning, most of us were just watching Teen Wolf for the pretty naked men. Because, let’s face it, there was A LOT of that . . .
“Doctor, why am I wearing pants? Don’t you know I appeal more to the 18-34 demographic without them?”
. . . but somewhere along the way we actually started giving two craps about these characters . . . wondering what was going to happen to them, and guessing who the mysterious Alpha Wolf would end up being . . .
Hint: It wasn’t This Guy . . .
Now, that the series is entering its sophomore season, the stakes are even higher for both its writers and actors. No longer will Teen Wolf be blanketed under the protection of diminished expectations.
No longer will the mere promise of gratuitous images of Tyler Hoechlin’s abs, be enough to keep us coming back for more . . .
OK, that’s a lie . . . I’d totally watch a show, just to see this . . .
Coming into Season 2, fans are going to expect even more blood, guts, and gore . . .
. . . massive plot twists . . .
. . . sex scenes that give the TV Ratings system the middle finger . . .
. . . romance . . .
. . . adventures in homoeroticism . . .
. . . and, yes, even some character development . . .
So, the REAL question is, can the series continue to deliver?
Without further adieu I proudly present to you, both the first official Teen Wolf Season 2 trailer, and the first ten minutes of the show’s sophomore season premiere . . .
(Special thanks to my blogging pal Andre for the awesome screencaps you see below.)
My first impression of the new season is that the writers and producers have cleverly taken the aspects of the series that worked in Season 1, and amplified them in Season 2. For example, Season 1’s pilot featured a whole lotta half-naked Scott . . .
The first ten minutes of Season 2 features a whole lotta half-naked EVERYBODY . . .
Season 1 revolved largely around Scott adjusting to his new werewolf persona . . .
Season 2 will feature Jackson, Lydia, and at least two new characters adjusting to their new lives as supernatural creatures . . .
Season 1 explored the various differences between Beta werewolves and the supposedly all-powerful Alpha . . .
Season 2 will introduce new species into the mix. Among these species will be the much-discussed Omega wolf (The first episode of the season will be entitled “Omega.”), the shapeshifting “abomination” that’s brutally eviscerating townspeople throughout the season, and whatever the f*&k Lydia is now (a wolf? a banshee?). Of course, there’s always the possibility that all three of these entities are actually one in the same . . .
*snickers* Season 2’s Big Bad kinda looks like Batman.
“Beef jerky . . . yum.”
Which brings me to my next comparison . . . the Main Murder Mystery. In Season 1, fans knew that it was the Alpha who had been committing brutal murders throughout the town. However, they weren’t quite sure of the Alpha’s identity. Many fans initially expected Jackson, due to his increasingly bizarre behavior, and the wackadoo hallucinations he suffered, throughout the series . . .
This season, I suspect one of the main suspects for the brutal murders around town will be Lydia, who was brutalized by the Alpha last season, but never actually turned into a werewolf. Like with Jackson, the first ten minutes of Season 2 show Lydia experiencing bizarre hallucinations. She also seems, based on the trailer, to regularly blackout, and awaken nude (SURPRISE!) in close proximity to where the murders are taking place.
My current theory? Lydia is NOT the Season’s Big Bad at all . . . but actually a banshee, inevitably drawn to death, and forced to harken its arrival, through ear-piercing cries of agony. (It would certainly explain all her screaming . . . though I’m not sure why being bitten by an Alpha wolf would cause someone to morph into this.)
Season 1 introduced us to the Argents, a crazy werewolf-slaying family, who, despite their supposed adherence to some sort of Code of Conduct, possessed a strong tendency to kill first, and ask questions later . . .
In Season 2, they are still the Argents. And they are still crazy. Now, there just seem to be more of them . . . and they have KNIVES . . . lots and lots of knives . . .
SCOTT: “Uhh . . . Derek, is that a knife in my ass, or are you just really excited for Season 2?”
For me, two of the weakest aspects of the first Season of Teen Wolf were the snooze-worthy supposed-Romeo and Juliet relationship between Scott and Allison . . .
And some of the more laughable CGI graphics on the show . . .
With respect to the former, I suspect that the Romeo and Juliet-ness of Scott and Allison’s story will only increase, now that Allison knows she’s a huntress, and her family knows that Scott is a werewolf . . .
“You were supposed to be MY boyfriend, dammit!”
However, whether these heightened circumstances actually serve to make this relationship more interesting to watch remains to be seen. I, for one, am still skeptical . . .
As for the CGI graphics on the show . . . well . . . that little Leap Frog Number Scott was doing on the way to Allison’s house definitely made me giggle . . . though, I suspect that wasn’t its intention.
Is he supposed to be running or taking a sh*t?
On a much more positive note, I absolutely predict that Season 2 will feature much more STILES! And that, my friends, is a very good thing . . .
But hey, writers. . . let’s get the guy a little romance this summer, OK? He’s earned it . . .
So, my fellow wolfbangers, it’s your turn to sound off on the first sneak peeks of Season 2. What are your thoughts on the new characters? The new creatures? Scott’s new haircut? Jackson’s new abs? Who do you think is this season’s Big Bad? Why wasn’t Derek naked in ANY of these shots?
And, perhaps most importantly, who was Stiles dreaming about in the first five minutes of the episode? Lydia . . . the night nurse . . . Derek . . . or Danny?
That’s all I’ve got. See you on June 3rd, my fellow werebangers!
Let's Go Shopping!
Buy Comeuppance!
Buy Hollywood Warlock!
Buy InGENEious!
Buy Life Sucks, Death Bites!
Buy Me and You, Inc.!
Snarky Goes to Hollywood!
The Exquisite Corpse
TV Recappers Anonymous 
Wow… I can’t wait for Teen Wolf! And by the way, it’s great to see you’re one of the NaNoWriMo 2011 winners! I tried to write on the website too, but never got past my goal. 😦
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, grasshopper84268! It’s great to meet a fellow Teen Wolf fan out there. 🙂 It really is a rather underrated show. And I hope more people find it, and give it a chance this season.
I’m also thrilled to meet a fellow 2011 NaNoWriMo. I had such a great time doing the competition, and loved how supportive the whole NaNoWriMo community was. (I even bought myself one of the t-shirts to commemorate the event!) And I wouldn’t worry too much about the final word count. Starting a novel is something you should be really proud of, no matter what. It’s something most people go through their whole lives without doing, and you did it! In other words, you are awesome! 😉
Thanks so much! I’ve also commented on your Teen Wolf posts before…except I didn’t have a WordPress account at the time, so I ended up using the name “Ashley”.
A lot things according to last year this season there would be new werewolves of course, new types of werewolves, new types of weres and this shapeshifter creature which will probably kill a lot of hunters since those hunters probably only hunt werewolves and will not know what to do except try to shoot it in vain and it won´t work. Of course Grandpa will shoot first and ask questions later and that might be his downfall.
Omega is supposed to be the lowest of the pack but I think in Teen Wolf Omega will be the most powerful variation of werewolf maybe even more powerful than the Alpha.
Its been hinted in the interviews that there will another Alpha besides our boy Derek. Maybe it will be a running gag maybe next season there will be another Alpha.
I think Lydia might be a banshee or she will have some ability its been said she will be important to the werewolves.
Loved Derek giving tough love to his subordinate, he´s right those hunters want to kill them even if there not bad werewolves especially grandpa Argent and they will need to stick together to survive. I think Chris might be crucial in stopping his father like he did his sister he might acknowledge in the end that hunters alone are not enough to combat or have the right tools to combat the supernatural threats to the town and will need werewolves.
I hate the ScottAllison romance too, we don´t all end up with our first girlfriends perhaps she should be killed off eventually.
Eric I mean Derek looks so badass this season. The writer did say his Alpha form will be more different than his uncle´s and I think he shift between beta and Alpha form or something.
Hey East Coast Captain! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, and for all your awesome insights into the show. You’ve really done your homework. 🙂
Perhaps, Lydia’s having been partially infected, and almost killed by the Alpha on the night of the dance, turned her into a banshee, who specifically can predict or “feel” werewolf murders. Once the rest of the pack realize what she is, and that she’s not causing the murders herself, this might allow them to track this season’s Big Bad more thoroughly. Just a thought.
You also bring up a great point about Derek looking different than the Original Alpha, and possibly being able to retain part of his Beta form (save for the fact that his eyes glow red now, as opposed to green, if I recall correctly). There was definitely one shot in the trailer of Derek wolfing out, where he looked more Beta than Alpha. Then again, perhaps that was only the start of the transformation. I guess we will have to wait until June 3rd to find out.
Either way, I found the trailer and the first ten minutes of the show pretty promising. Let’s hope it lives up to our expectations. 🙂
Ok, before I do my own comment two things first:
Derek’s original Beta eyes were blue not green. 😉
And they had stated even before the start of season 1 that the Omega wolves are those that are the weakest and change into actual wolves, like the corpse of Derek’s sister. It makes sense since in mythology hybrids are usually more powerful than their non-hybrid counterparts. Omegas were mentioned in the mini-web-series Search for a Cure with Mr. Fenris stating: “the Omegas, the lowest of the wolves”
If they make the individual Omega more powerful now it would be quite a retcon. And so far I know of no evidence that Teen Wolf goes down that road quickly.
Now to my actual comment:
I have to agree that Scott’s and Allison’s romance really isn’t the highlight of the show for me. Actually I so far have trouble to see her as much more than just “the girl” in the show, albeit their relationship was good for some laughs.
I am so not surprised that you kept the caps with naked torsos. 😉
Perhaps there will be some homoeroticism, but it’s still an American Teen Show so perhaps we will stick with tokenism, albeit I think that Danny had a bit too much screentime to simply be a token in season 1. What will happen now… no idea. And let’s face it non-heterosexuals are a minority as far as we know so if you want to keep it realistic there can’t be that many.
Of course it was only stated that Stiles would never get the girl and if the writers are smart they use that, but hopefully without him going down the Damascene road like so many other suddenly gay characters.
Your theory of Lydia to be a Banshee would at least fit the first 10 minutes of the show. However they are technically spirits of Ireland (of course Lydia could have that ancestry) and therefore it would be rather weird if the Alpha’s bite turned her. But she could have been one before that and the attack only triggered it.
Hopefully we will see more of the hunters, because the first season suggested that they have quite a financial income.
And yes this running on all fours by Scott looked rather a bit silly, albeit still interesting how fast it was, which is to be expected since human bodies are not really shaped for running on all fours.
And as far as was realized the show will at least have more independent story for Stiles, and since this is not TVD I actually give them some credit for that.
Hi Andre, I didn’t recall the webisode that discussed Omega wolves. However, I did find this . . .
http://teenwolf.wikia.com/wiki/Werewolf#Omega
As far as Derek’s sister being an Omega, I actually think she was the original Alpha before, Derek’s uncle killed her and took over. According to the above link, the Wolfsbane was used to keep Laura in full form after death.
That said, if Omega wolves can only turn into full wolves, and only during full moons, then the “abomination” / Big Bad of the series is most likely not one. After all, upon examining the body of one of the Big Bad’s victims, the veterinarian admitted it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. And presumably he would know what a full wolf, Beta or Alpha wolf could do to prey.
(We did see the veterinarian exhibit surpreme strength, and healing power. So, it’s possible that HE is the Omega.)
But back to the Big Bad, that scene in the trailer, where he was standing by Allison’s dad, made him look more Swamp Thing than Alpha, Beta or Omega wolf, unless that was just a fakeout.
Regarding the homoeroticism, I agree with you, though Danny might get himself a love interest, or possibly even be indoctrinated into the pack himself, I don’t think the writers are planning to make Scott, Derek, Stiles, or Jackson gay. But just like with TVD, and the Klaus and Stefan ship, Teen Wolf producers recognize that a lot of viewers enjoy ferretting out subtle homoerotic moments between the main characters, particularly Stiles and Derek. And therefore, will continue to include those moments in the series, to satisfy a sizeable portion of the fanbase.
If you’re curious, you might want to check out the “Sterek” tag on Tumblr, YouTube, or Fanfiction. You’ll see exactly what I mean. In fact, despite the fact that there are really only three or four subtly homoerotic scenes in Season 1 featuring these two, I think it’s safe to say they are a more popular TV couple than Scott and Allison. 🙂 (Though, I guess that’s not saying much.)
The webisode discussing Omegas was the sixth part of the Series “Search for a Cure” that can still be found online. In it Omegas were described as part of the pack. At least the ones born as werewolves. Now these wikias… I would never put much stock in them. I don’t know whether you ever read any TVD one but e.g. their article on hybrids was rather an article on Klaus and there was this statement that TVD werewolves supposedly can detect when somebody lies albeit I simply cannot remember that ever being stated. In addition a simple comment of Julie regarding a Charlotte Petrova being the first doppelganger was turned into an article and in the end there was a first doppelganger (contradiction within itself actually) called Tatja.
I know that Laura was the Alpha before she got killed, therefore I wrote that her corpse turned into a wolf. I guess when you are defeated by another werewolf in the show and become the new Alpha (old wolf stereotype) the loser of course no longer is and either becomes Omega automatically or Peter was originally an Omega and both simply switched their status.
I know of no source claiming that Omegas can only turn on the full moon and even if it was stated in an interview you have to keep in mind that this one assigned Omegas an outsider status while the series clearly did not. So unless it’s on the show don’t give credit to what was said in interviews.
And sorry but you make a mistake. The veterinarian has so far not demonstrated any healing or super strength. He was simply gone from the car in the school night episode and when Peter threw a chair towards the end of the season in shattered on the wall and the vet simply didn’t move that’s all.
We’ll see what will come as the Big Bad.
Personally I do not see anything homoerotic between Stiles and Derek, but perhaps that is due to cultural differences, I am not an American after all. In my eyes there is nothing between them so far not even remotely.
But like I said, I am not an American and if I understand it correctly my society has a different take on sex and eroticism than Anglo-America does.
Looking forward to your recaps! Congrats on the win; a lot of my friends were doing the NaNoWriMo. Me, I’m finally getting off my butt and selecting a final location for my Harlequn (it was set in Baghdad), changing the ending and adding at least 10,000 words (the current ending will have to be scrapped, and 60,000 is the minimum for the line it’s appropriate for. Have to double check the requirements, of course; this has slowly evolved over going on 20 years now).
Thanks Nina! All this time, I had no clue you were a romance novelist. That’s awesome. I’ve tried my hand at the genre a few times, but my attempts were always laughably bad. So, I’m a bit jealous of you right now. 😉 Definitely keep me posted about the novel. I’ll be looking forward to reading you in print. 🙂
Stiles was dreaming of the coach!…jk. It’s Lydia.
Anyway I wonder if the new members of Derek’s pack are going to have to kill as an initiation into his pack. Derek doesn’t seem like a bloodthirsty killer (he always tried to just knock out the hunters) but he probably has killed people other than the alpha before. He may not be Peter but he may feel just his actions are just as self-justified. I am sure he wants the hunters threatening him dead and for good reason. Look at how hard he is try to convince Scott they are bad. And the Jackson all covered in blood. Of course something tells me the blood on Jackson may have been from a mistake he made on his own.
Looks like Scott gets capture by the Argents and held somewhere and Allison is captured by Derek or a pack member (probably Erica) if you really study the trailer. I am sure she is screaming because she is still scared of the other wolves. However I am going laugh if her Grandpa was actually the one to kidnap her.
Anyone notice Allison’s ugly panda shirt/dress?
Also I am seeing Lydia’s a banshee everywhere. Where did this originate because this is the first I have ever heard of one. Where banshee ever on another mainstream show because I seriously never heard of one.
Lastly why did Scott make his hairstyle more like Peter’s in this season. Why? Does he need a dad role-model that badly? lol I guess he figures the old alpha had cool aspects now that he is dead and no longer asking him to kill his friends.
Banshee’s are a part of Irish folklore and attached to certain families. They are basically spirits/fae who act as omens of death. I don’t know much more about them. And I think they are rarely featured. The last two examples in mainstream show I was aware of was some monster hunter secret agency show and the Disney series Gargoyles. And the latter one was only one and quite more powerful.
There was also a minor show with Heath Ledger in its main role who had them as a village of women cursed to see death omens.
Hey Ikainica! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! Interesting point about Derek holding some sort of initiation ritual to ensure the loyalty of his pack members. The promo seemed to suggest that most of the new wolves were 100% willing to undergo the transformation, in exchange for whatever physical attractiveness, and increase athleticism resulted fro the change. That said, I could definitely see Derek being skeptical of Jackson’s loyalty, in particular, and possibly wanting to test that in some way.
Because you are right, Jackson definitely didn’t seem happy about all that blood on his hands. Now, whether that was because he made a kill in his wolf state, and was unaware of it until he turned human again, or because he did it against his will is uncertain.
LOL about Allison and her ugly panda dress. Perhaps that’s some kind of werewolf hunter uniform? 🙂
As for the banshee concept, for me, there’s a really solid young adult book series that kept the concept fresh in my mind, when I was viewing Lydia’s portion of the promo. It’s called the Soulscreamers series by Rachel Vincent. You can read more about it here: http://soulscreamers.com/soulscreamers/
Lydia’s behavior and experience just seemed to remind me a bit of the main character in that story. I doubt that’s why other fans latched on to the banshee concept. But that’s what did it for me. 🙂
once again, you make me laugh. hehe. Your reviews are so funny and i enjoy reading your blog. Keep it up- they are the highlight of my day! Are you doing Recaps for the show
Thanks so much, tylty2! Yep, my real life schedule is a bit crazier now. So, my recaps might be a bit later than usual. But I definitely plan on doing Teen Wolf recaps. I’d forgotten how much fun all you Teen Wolf fans are. Just reading all you guys’ thoughts and theories in the comment section makes my day. 🙂