Season 3, Episode 9:
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
"The wailing woman. A banshee."
"I don't know why I am the one that keeps finding the bodies, but maybe if I just stopped trying to fight it, I'd find them before it happens, maybe with enough time for someone like you to do something about it."
— Lydia Martin to Scott McCall
With newfound information following Peter and Gerard's tales about the Alpha Pack, the pack scrambles to use this information to stop the darach's next series of human sacrifices—the philosophers. Allison puts together pieces of the puzzle leading her to suspect that her father is more involved in the darach’s plan than he’s letting on. Stiles makes a desperate attempt to convince his dad that the supernatural is real, but fate seems to step in the way. The school recital in memoriam of the murders quickly turns fatal, and a mad scramble to the finish sends Lydia straight into the hands of the darach.
Tropes
- Actually Pretty Funny: Stiles yells at Lydia for calling them when she didn't actually find a dead body. But the fact that Lydia called them when she went into the fugue state reveals just how much she doesn't want to have these powers. Lydia retorts Stiles's admonishing by saying "Oh no. I'm not doing that again. This time you find the body." The arguing between Lydia and Stiles Like an Old Married Couple builds perfect tension as the camera focuses in on Scott, just before he says "Guys. I found the body."
- All-Powerful Bystander: Morrell is painted as this when she psychoanalyzes the Big Bad villain Deucalion. Morrell's character for all three seasons that she appears in is shown in this way (except for maybe one episode). She is able to see the entire picture, and she knows everything that is going on. But for whatever reason, she decides not to get too involved. Of course, Morrell is not completely a bystander. She has aided Deucalion at least twice. It seems that she takes her role as an emissary in a more traditional sense than her brother Dr. Deaton—meaning that she allows things to play out as much as possible, maintaining a balance in the universe. Though this is never stated or even implied, this scene shows that Morrell is a much more advanced pack emissary than Dr. Deaton. While Deaton uses physical techniques to aid the pack such as potions, serums, and elements, Morrell relies solely on her brain. This gets her in trouble in episode 11 though.
- All Therapists Are Muggles: This tropes is subverted for almost every season of the series. However, it is inverted the most directly in this episode. Scott goes to the guidance counselor Morrell to get information out of her, and she is clearly being coy, willing to share very little with Scott about the darach and Deucalion. This is a bit of a case of Psycho Psychologist.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Scott's plan to get more information about the darach is to target Ethan and investigate him. The alpha twins thus far have shown to be the most sympathetic out of the alpha pack, and on top of that, Ethan is clearly the Lesser of Two Evils when it comes to the twins. Scott purposely chose Ethan to target because he thinks that Ethan is the Alpha Pack's weak link.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The framing and the way the shots go together consecutively show this really well. Scott and Stiles talk about how the darach still has one more teacher to sacrifice, and Scott says that they're all going to be at the recital tonight. It cuts to Jennifer, who stands in front of the school, handing out brochures for the recital.
This is a Red Herring, because it implies that Jennifer is at risk of being the darach's next victim. But it turns out, she is the darach, and things are about to get very spicy. - Chekhov's Classroom: In English class, Jennifer is teaching about idioms. Stiles seems to be the most interested in the lecture. Jennifer gives a couple of examples. Later, idioms become a subtle element of the episode, with almost every main character using one in the episode. It can be assumed that Stiles's realization to use the chessboard to explain the supernatural to his father is a result of paying attention in class.
- Chekhov's Gun: When talking to his father about finding Deputy Graeme's body, Stiles states that Tara used to help him with his math homework in the station, and Stiles later states that Tara was a teacher before becoming a cop. Stiles's seemingly innocuous line here at the beginning of the episode relates directly to the fact that the pack discovers that these sacrifices aren't guardians. They're philosophers.
- Creator Cameo: The recital concert is directed by Teen Wolf's actual composer, Dino Meneghin.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Stiles pulls this one on his father, saying that his mom would have believed him about the supernatural.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Scott's plan to get to Ethan involves Lydia distracting Aiden by making out with him in Coach's room.
- Dramatic Unmask: Scott is forced to reveal to the sheriff that he is a werewolf when he sees that Lydia is in danger.
- Empathic Environment: As Jennifer walks away from Derek in the tunnel that leads to the school lacrosse fields, the wind swirls around her and begins to stir dead leaves through the tunnel. This is a version of Foreshadowing, because the environment seems to know that Jennifer is the darach.
This is a bit of
Fridge Brilliance, because the swirling leaves imply that A Storm Is Coming. We later find out that the Jennifer, the darach, has Power of the Storm. Since at this point, it had not been revealed that Jennifer is the darach, this is a very, very subtle hint at her true nature. - Euphemism Buster: When Chris asks if Allison wants to go to the recital to "honor the losses," Allison quickly cuts him off and says, "They're murders, Dad. Not 'losses.'"
- Everyone Is a Suspect: Allison tells Isaac that she thinks her father either is the darach or is working with the darach from the inside, and she shows Isaac all of the evidence to support her claim.
Argent's innocence, which is revealed later in the episode, supports the fact that the killer is Never the Obvious Suspect.
Argent is this episode's Red Herring Mole. The writing of this episode heavily implies that he is working with the darach, and much of his sketchy behavior in the episode can not be explained by the fact that he was just tracking the darach's movements. - Evil Is One Big, Happy Family: When Lydia and Aiden are talking and Aiden claims that he and Ethan didn't have a choice—they had to kill Boyd—Lydia retorts "I thought you were all alphas," assuming that the Alpha Pack all worked together all the time.
Aiden retorts, "It's not that democratic," implying that there is some tension and disagreement going on within the Alpha Pack Legion of Doom. - Help Mistaken for Attack: Before realizing who it is, Allison yanks Isaac into her room and holds a dagger to his throat when she notices something moving around right outside her window. It's unknown whether Allison would've done the same thing if she had known it was Isaac.
- Heroic Wannabe: Referencing Cora's speech to them earlier in the episode, Lydia tells Scott that she doesn't want to just find the bodies. And she says that although she doesn't understand her powers, she thinks she can use them for good.
This also establishes Lydia as Scott's Deuteragonist, which she remains for the rest of the series: Lydia tells Scott she wants to use her powers to help Scott rather than save the day herself. - History Repeats: Melissa shows the sheriff a hospital record from ten years ago, saying that a Jane Doe was brought into the hospital, and while she was being treated, hundreds of birds kept flying into the windows and walls, killing themselves. This directly mirrors what happened in the premiere, with birds crashing into the classroom, revealing that what's happening now is related to whatever happened to that Jane Doe.
- Human Sacrifice: As with almost every episode of season 3a, this episode features human sacrifice—3 of them to be exact—the 3 philosophers: Deputy Tara Graeme, the history teacher Mr. Westover, and the pianist at the recital.
Targeted Human Sacrifice: The Cliffhanger that ends the episode reveals that Jennifer has taken Sheriff Stilinski, kicking off the final set of her sacrifices: Guardians. However, Jennifer purposely chose Stiles's father when she could have taken any parent in Beacon Hills. This is later backed up by the fact that she takes Scott's mother Melissa in the next episode and Allison's father Chris in the next—Jennifer wanted the children to perform a surrogate sacrifice for their parents. - Literary Allusion Title: The episode name is an allusion to the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much
Jennifer makes an allusion to Shakespeare's Macbeth, saying "You're just like me, Lydia. 'Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it.'" While this quote describes Jennifer accurately, Jennifer knows full well that Lydia is not inherently bad at all. Although, the fact that Jennifer says this could be a possible reference to the fact that banshees are commonly portrayed as monstrous and evil in Irish folklore.
Jennifer also gives a Title Drop by saying that Lydia is "just a girl who knows too much—Or...a girl who knew too much." - Lost in Transmission: Aiden is about to tell Lydia how he knows that Derek tried to kill Lydia, but he is cut short by Cora delivering a threat by scratching a revenge spiral in the frosted glass of the window.
- Mêlée à Trois: The scene where Scott and Stiles investigate Ethan about the other alphas as well as the Darach solidifies the fact that all of season 3a features an ongoing one of these: Scott's pack vs. the Alpha Pack vs. the Darach.
- Necessary Evil: When explaining why she has sacrificed so many people in order to get what she wants, Jennifer actually uses the exact words "necessary evil" to describe what she's doing. She says that Lydia doesn't know the whole story, implying that if Lydia did know the story, she'd totally be okay with the fact that Jennifer is killing her.
- Neck Lift: During their fight, Aiden grabs Cora by the throat and throws her across the locker room.
- "Not So Different" Remark: In the same scene in Coach's office, Aiden tells Lydia that she shouldn't expect him to be "filled with remorse," because Derek killed Ennis (which isn't true). He's implying that the "good guys" are not so different from the Alpha Pack. Here, he may be hinting at the fact that he wants Scott's pack and the Alpha Pack to team up.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: As per usual when the darach is around and on the prowl, Deputy Graeme hears the darach's death chant through her radio when she tries to communicate with dispatch. It slowly gets louder and louder, and Tara gets more and more freaked out, before she finally shuts off the radio. Good move, Tara. Or maybe not...
The chanting is also repeated when Lydia enters the classroom during the concert. The easily recognizable chanting is used as a way to make the reveal that Jennifer is the darach very obvious—they show Jennifer just as the chanting reaches its climax. - The Only One: After Allison and Isaac accidentally foil Argent's plan to catch the darach, Argent claims that Allison and Isaac don't know enough to be able to catch the darach. He also implies a little bit of I Work Alone.
- Our Banshees Are Louder: Upon being tied to a chair by Jennifer, Lydia's scream actually has an effect similar to the howls of werewolves—she successfully signaled her location to Scott, even if she didn't know it.
Jennifer also briefly mentions that it's a shame she has to kill Lydia, implying that banshees have a lot of potential power. This foreshadows the fact that Lydia learns to Make Me Wanna Shout in seasons 5 and 6. - The Reveal:
- The promos for this episode stated that the darach's identity would finally be revealed. And it was a SHOCK...to some.
- This episode was the first episode to air after the 2013 San Diego Comic Con, so naturally, a lot of the questions that the cast and producers fielded were concerning this episode and what it would entail. Creator Jeff Davis stated that this episode would "reveal Lydia's nature." This episode reveals Lydia to be a banshee.
- Stock Phrases: The English teacher in Jennifer comes out when she asks Derek where he's been and then tells him that he can't give the 'cliche' excuse of "I needed to be alone."
The fact that Jennifer is the one to mention it instead of Derek, makes it an example of Lampshade Hanging. - Synchronization: When Cora attacks Aiden and claws at his chest, Ethan can feel the pain that Cora inflicts on Aiden.
- Teaser-Only Character: The Teaser features Deputy Tara Graeme. She WAS in two other episodes, so this is slightly subverted, but what happens to her is very much Teaser-Only Character stuff. She walks through the school at night, and is eventually murdered by the darach, after experiencing a severe case of Discovering Your Own Dead Body.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer for the final 4 episodes of 3a that was shown at San Diego Comic Con did this completely by accident. A shot of Jennifer's hand when the sheriff shoots the darach was shown in the trailer, and some VERY dedicated fans detected that the hand belonged to Jennifer, revealing the identity of the darach before the actual reveal took place in this episode.
- The Unreveal: Allison tells Stiles that since Tara was killed and she was a police officer, it seems like the darach's new set of targets are guardians (AKA, law enforcement). This is later revealed to be false, when the teacher Mr. Westover is taken.
- Useless Protagonist: Cora calls Scott, Lydia, and Stiles this, calling them "a bunch of stupid teenagers" and says that they think they're doing good, but all they really do is find the bodies.
This doubles as a What the Hell, Hero?, with Cora calling them out for sitting around until people die.
Cora's comments come at a strange time, considering the fact that just two episodes ago, Scott saved the first person to be taken by the darach—Dr. Deaton. Also, Scott, Stiles, and Lydia all were directly involved in defeating the villains of both season 1 and season 2. If anyone, Cora should be giving this speech to Isaac and Allison, who have been little to no help in stopping the murders of any season.
Cora's speech is framed as a Despair Speech. But at the end of the episode, her speech turns out to be a Rousing Speech, motivating Scott to rescue Lydia just before the darach kills her. - Victor Gains Loser's Powers: As Jennifer is attacking both Stilinski's and Scott's attacks, the audience sees that Jennifer absorbs the powers of the people she sacrifices. For example: Her bullet wound immediately goes away, thanks to the three Healers she sacrificed.
- The Villain Knows Where You Live: Aiden implies this when he mentions something that happened in season 2, when he wasn't around. Although, it's not a direct threat to Lydia. But this does raise the question: just how much does the Alpha Pack really know?
