Teen Wolf
So, the Teen Wolf Season 4 Finale rolled around and how did S4 fare overall?
I will say that I didn`t per se dislike any of the storylines introduced and thought each on its own had potential. Problem was a) there were too many of them and b) as a result they didn`t give any single one real weight. Not even the "main" ones, not in hindsight.
Like, Season 1 had the search for the Alpha and as silly as the show could be back then, that was a tight enough plot. Season 2 had the Kanima, Derek`s pack and Gerard with all coming together somewhat. Season 3.A may have sucked but it focused on the Alpha Pack and Scott`s Sue-Alpha-dom. Season 3.B had the tightest plot with Nogitsune!Stiles which was ONE focus.
You could Season 4 the Benefactor but in hindsight even that, the most heavily-featured storyline drowned as one among many. Scott had a beta, Lydia`s banshee-powers, Derek`s "it`s like the Fight Club, we don`t talk about it" arc of losing his powers, Peter wanting power back, Kate wanting God knows what, Chris being kind of lost after Allison`s death (hey, at least someone mourned her), weird Mexican hunters randomely showing up, more trouble at Eichen House, Malia learns to be a human, the buddhist pack etc.
It`s not unworkeable to do many storylines or quickly resolve them. Vampire Diaries used to do it reasonably well years back. However, Teen Wolf never did and never should attempt to. And maybe the Season was supposed to be centered on Scott, Lydia and Derek on paper but not on screen. 3.B showed how they can do focus well, 4 showed the opposite.
That said, I did like parts of the Finale: Happy about wolf!Derek as I feared they would give this to TruestAlphaScott as well. And actually, I thought Derek would be killed off.
Thing is, I find Scott a likeable character. He is nice, not condescending, truly empathetic and obviously has a big heart. He can still be a doofus and often I find him too wussy but I like that, too, because it gives him flaws. At points, he can come across too saintly otherwise. I just hate the SueAlpha-pimping because "mystical speshulness beyond the telling of it" is my anti-kink numero uno these days. And in leaders, I look for a bit more bite. Like, that episode where Kirk was split in a good and a bad half and learned he needed both to be a Captain. Scott right now is just the good half. Every other character from his de-facto pack can be more ruthless and frankly, that`s is what I believe a true leader needs. No matter what the show is telling me.
Also, I liked both Peter and Stiles` reactions to Derek being stabbed. The former because I think Peter works best as a bit more shades of grey and the second because holy hell, even without any shipping coming into it, the characters can be allowed to have interaction and possibly chemistry. This is coming from someone who thought Derek and Braeden were quite cute.
The threeway hug with Stiles, the Sheriff and Malia was sweet.
Chris and Kate having an honest talk, albeit a short one, was something that should have happened sooner. Oh well, I take what I can get.
I will say that I didn`t per se dislike any of the storylines introduced and thought each on its own had potential. Problem was a) there were too many of them and b) as a result they didn`t give any single one real weight. Not even the "main" ones, not in hindsight.
Like, Season 1 had the search for the Alpha and as silly as the show could be back then, that was a tight enough plot. Season 2 had the Kanima, Derek`s pack and Gerard with all coming together somewhat. Season 3.A may have sucked but it focused on the Alpha Pack and Scott`s Sue-Alpha-dom. Season 3.B had the tightest plot with Nogitsune!Stiles which was ONE focus.
You could Season 4 the Benefactor but in hindsight even that, the most heavily-featured storyline drowned as one among many. Scott had a beta, Lydia`s banshee-powers, Derek`s "it`s like the Fight Club, we don`t talk about it" arc of losing his powers, Peter wanting power back, Kate wanting God knows what, Chris being kind of lost after Allison`s death (hey, at least someone mourned her), weird Mexican hunters randomely showing up, more trouble at Eichen House, Malia learns to be a human, the buddhist pack etc.
It`s not unworkeable to do many storylines or quickly resolve them. Vampire Diaries used to do it reasonably well years back. However, Teen Wolf never did and never should attempt to. And maybe the Season was supposed to be centered on Scott, Lydia and Derek on paper but not on screen. 3.B showed how they can do focus well, 4 showed the opposite.
That said, I did like parts of the Finale: Happy about wolf!Derek as I feared they would give this to TruestAlphaScott as well. And actually, I thought Derek would be killed off.
Thing is, I find Scott a likeable character. He is nice, not condescending, truly empathetic and obviously has a big heart. He can still be a doofus and often I find him too wussy but I like that, too, because it gives him flaws. At points, he can come across too saintly otherwise. I just hate the SueAlpha-pimping because "mystical speshulness beyond the telling of it" is my anti-kink numero uno these days. And in leaders, I look for a bit more bite. Like, that episode where Kirk was split in a good and a bad half and learned he needed both to be a Captain. Scott right now is just the good half. Every other character from his de-facto pack can be more ruthless and frankly, that`s is what I believe a true leader needs. No matter what the show is telling me.
Also, I liked both Peter and Stiles` reactions to Derek being stabbed. The former because I think Peter works best as a bit more shades of grey and the second because holy hell, even without any shipping coming into it, the characters can be allowed to have interaction and possibly chemistry. This is coming from someone who thought Derek and Braeden were quite cute.
The threeway hug with Stiles, the Sheriff and Malia was sweet.
Chris and Kate having an honest talk, albeit a short one, was something that should have happened sooner. Oh well, I take what I can get.