Teen Wolf recap: 'Heartless'

I’m not going to lie to you guys: I have no idea what’s going on in this opening sequence. The gist of it is Theo finds himself in this never-ending Groundhog Day scenario where he wakes up in the morgue, gets his heart ripped out by his sister, and remembers the moment the Dread Doctors gave him a heart transplant(?) — before it all starts over again.

I’d say this is a dream, but in reality, Theo is being pummeled by Malia in Scott’s kitchen. Maybe it could still be a dream if she’d knocked him unconscious? Regardless, he eventually wakes up when Scott and Liam pull Malia off him. Liam then tries to explain all the ways Theo could help them with the Ghost Riders, but Scott has one very solid point against keeping Theo around: “He did kill me.” It’s hard to argue with that.

It’s also hard to argue with an emotional Scott saying, “I can’t lose Stiles.” Yes, I teared up. (But that was quickly followed by me wondering just how much Scott remembers at this point.) Anyway, getting back to the Theo of it all, he claims he knows of a transformer that can handle a lightning bolt, because what high-schooler wouldn’t have that knowledge?!

With that, their plan to catch a Ghost Rider is underway. Theo takes them to the transformer, where Mason uses his still-incomplete high-school education to somehow build a cage that can repel a lightning bolt so that once they trap the Ghost Rider, he cannot ride the lightning back out. Now, for the plan: They use the lightning rod to get the Ghost Rider and Hayden runs into the cage as bait. Once the Ghost Rider’s inside (and Hayden’s back out), they close the doors, pour out a bit of mountain ash, and call it a day. Why they’re using Hayden as bait and not Theo is beyond me.

Although nobody seems extremely confident in the plan, it’s kind of their only choice at this point, which means it’s happening … and it’s happening now because there’s a storm brewing outside.

Long story short, the plan works (despite the fact I have serious trouble believing Ghost Rider would see a cage and run INTO it). But once he’s inside — and without his gun — it’s time for the second part of the plan. Wait, just kidding! There is no second part! Unless you count Liam calling him “Mr. Rider” the second part.

The moment the Ghost Rider seems to call for help, one thing is certain: They need to find a way to communicate with him, and fast. Thankfully, Mason is still part of the pack and realizes the Riders were never scared of Parrish. They were trying to talk to him.

By the time Parrish shows up, the Rider starts to talk, which is to say he identifies Parrish as a Hellhound and keeps repeating: “We are the Wild Hunt. Those who hunt with us hunt forever.” Just think of it as the “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” of the Wild Hunt.

NEXT: Mr. Douglas ruins everything

The bad news about the Rider communicating is he explains that “no one escapes” the Hunt. And when Scott refuses to accept that, the Rider somehow forces Parrish to turn. And once Parrish is in Hellhound mode, he tries to free the Ghost Rider. (So they can control him mentally?)

Thankfully, Liam and Scott overpower Parrish and throw him out, but that’s only the start of their problems. More on that in a moment.

While all this has been going on, Malia has been dealing with Peter. After Melissa uses her new knowledge of the nine herbs to cause Peter’s burned skin to fall off his body — it’s as gross as it sounds — he’s basically as good as new, and that means he’s reluctant to put himself back in harm’s way just to help Stiles.

But Malia, now fully realizing Stiles is her human anchor, takes Peter back to the spot where they found him in the hopes of finding the supernatural rift leading to the mysterious train station. However, by the time they get there, the Ghost Riders are already on their way to help their friend. So, in an unexpectedly paternal/heroic move, Peter tells Malia to run while he holds them off.

And yet, they turn back before he has to do anything. Why? Well, that has a little something to do with Mr. Douglas somehow sneaking in to visit the Ghost Rider when Scott and Liam weren’t looking. Of course, Theo recognizes him and even says his real name, but there’s no way I’m going to attempt to spell that.

More importantly than his name, though, is his accent! There’s no hiding around Theo, so Mr. Douglas over here goes full-on Nazi. And once he gets Theo to break the mountain ash barrier, he enters the cage with the Rider. Not only is Mr. Douglas able to catch the Ghost Riders’ whip, but he kills him by doing what he does best: He bites into his skull and eats his soul.

That act is what causes the others to turn back, which begs the question: Is the Nazi werewolf more powerful than the Ghost Riders? Is he the key to saving Stiles? Additional question: The hour ends with the Nazi werewolf using the Ghost Riders’ whip to capture Corey, and in that moment the Nazi’s eyes are green, so that brings me to my question: What do green eyes mean?!

Missing out on all the action this week is Lydia, who realizes something: If Lenore, the woman from Canaan, conjured her dead son to fill a void after the Wild Hunt passed through her town, then it’s possible Sheriff Stilinski conjured Claudia to fill the void left by his dead son. Speaking of Stilinski, he’s peeled back all the wallpaper to reveal a door … to Stiles’ room!

By the time Lydia shows up, Stilinski says he’s ready to discuss the possibility he had a son, even though he can’t see the possessions all around the room the way Lydia can. Lydia tells him Lenore’s story, but Stilinski isn’t buying that he conjured Claudia. With nothing to prove her theory, Lydia tries to throw Stilinski the lacrosse jersey she found, which he can’t see. And by some miracle, he catches it. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

And that’s the end of the hour. All in all, we made some real progress in terms of people remembering Stiles, though now, we might be going through the same thing with Corey. I have no idea what’s going on with the Nazi — or with Parrish, for that matter — but it all seems to be slowly coming together, which inevitably leads to my favorite part of each season.

What are your thoughts on the hour? Hit the comments below or find me on Twitter @samhighfill.