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Lydia and Jackson witness an animal attack at the video store. Kate gives Allison a family heirloom and encourages her to use it to learn more about the family history. Meanwhile, Derek must deal with the werewolf hunters on his own. Scott and Allison skip school, but are soon caught by their families at parent-teacher conferences.
Tropes applying to this Episode:
- Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Derek is again able to enter the high school, go into the boys' locker room, and menace a half-naked student without any adult interference.
- Bait-and-Switch: The final scene is set up to make it seem like the existence of werewolves is going to be revealed by the Alpha attacking a full school parking lot, but after Chris Argent shoots the animal, it's revealed to be a mountain lion. Certainly enough to panic people at the levels they were showing, but not supernatural.
- Birthday Hater: Allison hates her birthday because she is older than the other kids in her grade. She's tired of people assuming that it's because of something she has done (she had to repeat a grade due to academic struggles or had to sit out a year because of drugs or teen pregnancy). She's really pleased when Scott correctly guesses that she was held back a year because her family moved so many times in a single academic year that she was unable to meet the attendance qualifications to earn that year's academic credits.
- Brick Joke: Everyone who is in the know continually scoffs at the idea that the animal attacks were caused by a mountain lion, but the final scare of the episode was in fact a mountain lion.
- Continuity Nod: In their second interaction, Jackson is afraid of Derek, having learned his lesson from attempting to confront the older man.
- Delirious Misidentification: While high, Lydia mistakes Stiles for Jackson.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the video store, some actual movies are on display, including The Architect, Food Inc, and Mercury Man.
- Mr. Fanservice: Derek's workout routine.
- Sadist: Kate Argent very clearly enjoys torturing Derek, both physically and psychologically.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Both Jackson and Lydia are deeply traumatized by whatever they saw at the video store.
- Whipped: Jackson refuses to watch The Notebook again, trying to convince Lydia to watch something different. They end up getting The Notebook.
