Like the beginning of the first part of the season, the winter premiere starts with Lydia. The only issue with this is that the flashbacks continue to be unstructured and confusing. But ignore that. Just dive head into the confusion. You are watching the season premiere of Teen Wolf.
Lydia is being interrogated in the flash forwards in her place at the insane asylum. The doctor is asking the events of what is happening in the current timeline. But he does so by drilling into her head to “amplify her powers.” Sufficiently gross and controlling.
Not so sound like a broken record, but what even are Lydia’s powers? Somehow she’s able to see the reason why Theo would kill his sister. If by not elaborating on the rules of her powers the writers are trying not to make them into a plot device, then that’s fair. But they are failing.
In her banshee vision, Lydia sees why Theo let his sister die. He wanted her heart. While it is unclear how ten year old psychotic Theo still factors to any of this, the question that no one was asking is answered. By having a heart transplant from his sister, Theo became a genetic chimera. Unfortunately for Lydia, the chimeras hit the mental institution looking for her.
Lydia isn’t doing much better in the current timeline. She is missing which Parrish realizes what has happened to her through another thoroughly weird and sexual dream about her. These have got to keep happening for a reason. They are both harbingers of death which makes their connection obvious, but the sexual element is just odd with no pay off. Parrish realizes these dreams happen when someone has died. But it doesn’t lead him to a body. It leads him to Lydia’s catatonic form. Instead of taking Lydia to the hospital like he should have done, he takes her to Scott. And then takes her to the hospital.
Poor Ms. Martin. This is not the first time her daughter has been mysteriously brought to the hospital. Apparently Eichen House is the only mental health facility in this town. Lydia continues to be catatonic and her mother commits her, though not due to her own consent. For ominous reasons, Eichen House effectively kidnaps Lydia and somehow brainwashes Ms. Martin into letting it happen.
No one else is doing any better than Lydia. Papa Stilinksi is rushed into the hospital after an attack from a chimera and Liam is under the impression that his lady love Hayden is dead. Which is not a totally crazy assumption to make. But through his wolfy powers of smell, Liam begins to suspect that she is alive.
Stiles lays a trap for Theo to find out what is happening to his father whose system seems to be failing. He has been poisoned. While Scott listens to Theo’s heartbeat he deduces that he wasn’t the one that attacked Stilinksi. It was another chimera. Stiles, Malia, and Scott follow the chimera that poisoned Papa Stilinksi.
Malia and Scott bond over Stiles breaking up with them. Stiles’ angstiness is ruining everyone’s lives. He is distancing himself from everyone that cares about him. Stiles and the chimera make their escape and upon witnessing the teenager’s powers, Stiles realizes his father is being poisoned by the broken bone fragments from his powers. Malia and Scott are left to fend of the Dread Doctors. And in the smartest move that this show could make, the episode heralds the return of the only person that could make it better.
Chris Argent, ladies and gentlemen. Werewolf hunter extraordinaire and gun aficionado. He comes out of nowhere firing at the dread doctors after Scott called him. Good call. They return to the hospital just in time for Papa Stilinksi’s return to health. But Stiles won’t be healed so easily. He has seriously mental wounds that start with his fear of losing anyone close to him and ends with him cutting off the people that do care about him. Poor, wounded child.
In the flashforward, Theo reveals that he is after Lydia so he can attract a hellhound. Which is Parrish. Who is becoming after her because…? Maybe one day it will all make sense.
As far as premieres go, it could have been a lot worse. Here’s hoping to it getting better.