Teen Wolf recap: 'Memory Found'

There’s a lot that I want from a final season of a show that I love: answers, conclusions, big emotional moments, and more than anything, NOSTALGIA. I want the show to remember its early days and to use those days to make certain stories come full circle. I want to relive some of my favorite moments. I want to FEEL. And this episode? Well, it made me feel.

After a season of losing Stiles, forgetting Stiles, and trying to remember Stiles, we’ve finally made it to the hour that all of that has led to: It’s time for a very emotional trip down a Stiles-centric memory lane. I hope you’re all prepared.

The plan is as follows: Scott/Lydia/Malia need to remember Stiles in order to open a new supernatural rift… they think. So while they lock themselves in the tunnel and use Parrish’s freeze chamber-thingy in the same way that Isaac once used an ice bath — to lower your core temperature, slow your heart rate, and put you in a trance-like state — Stilinski, Liam, and Theo are on Ghost Rider duty. Essentially, their only job is to buy Scott and company enough time to remember Stiles. Also, while I’m talking about nostalgia, remember Isaac?!

Although Stilinski is reluctant at first, he agrees to let Theo out of his holding cell, and it’s a good move on Stilinski’s part, because within minutes, a million — 20ish, maybe? — Ghost Riders show up and immediately take Stilinski. (Here’s to hoping we get a father-son reunion!)

That leaves Liam and Theo to distract the Riders. Their plan? Head to the hospital, where Liam’s plan is to “hide with the dead.” However, when neither of them seems too keen on the idea of hopping in the morgue freezer — I can’t imagine why — they only have one option: fight.

And despite Theo’s claim to be 100 percent selfish, at the end of the day, he’s the one who throws Liam in the elevator and uses himself as bait. And from what we can hear, it’s safe to say Theo is currently hanging out at a train station in some sort of supernatural purgatory.

While all of this is going on, Scott is on a mission to remember his best friend, and it’s one that comes with a lot of throwbacks. Once he’s cold enough, the first thing Scott remembers is the time he kissed Lydia during the full moon and then had to convince Stiles it was all the moon’s fault while handcuffed to a radiator. From there, Scott is flooded by memories… too many memories. So as he’s overloaded by lacrosse, emotional hugs in hospital rooms, and Theo-related arguments, Lydia comes up with a plan. In hypnosis, they use images to guide you though your memories, so she creates an image for Scott.

In order to organize this process, she tells Scott to imagine he’s at the school, standing in the hallway. Each locker that’s in front of him represents a memory of Stiles. This way, he can open them one at a time. Only, it’s not just the memory that will open the rift. Malia realizes that there needs to be an emotional connection BECAUSE of the memory. Stilinski was able to create a dimensional rift not because he was remembering someone, but because he was remembering his son.

Recalling a conversation from the beginning of senior year, Malia reminds Scott that Stiles was planning for the two of them to live together after high school. She warned Stiles about living with a best friend, but his response was that Scott was more than that. They were brothers.

So it should come as no surprise that the next locker Scott opens contains a FLARE!!! Just like that, we’re back at the greatest bromance moment of this show, when Stiles risked his life to save his brother’s (and all of us cried like babies).

NEXT: Lydia remembers everything

But before Scott can complete his connection, Malia and Lydia pull him out of the chamber. It seems his heart rate dropped. And because of that, no rift was opened.

Next up, it’s Malia’s turn. Once her body is cold enough, Lydia gives her an image: She’s in the library, and each book on the shelf is another memory of Stiles. Some of them contain their first moments together at Eichen House, but the one that connects most with her is the moment Stiles promised never to leave her behind.

Malia’s connection almost works, but they have to pull her out before it’s 100 percent successful. But both Scott and Malia remembered something else during their time in the chamber: There was no connection like the one shared by Stiles and Lydia. She’s going to be the one to open the rift. But because she can’t freeze without dying, they have to do this the old-fashioned way: Hypnosis.

Scott talks Lydia through it — based on a script she wrote, of course — as she imagines that she’s watching TV and each channel is another memory with Stiles. Ultimately, she gets to the moment that changed everything: their first kiss, otherwise known as that time she kissed Stiles to stop his panic attack. As she tells Scott and Malia, “That’s when it happened. When I kissed him, that’s when it all changed.”

Then, she remembers everything. She remembers that she was the last one to see him before the Ghost Riders took him, and, most importantly, she remembers that he told her he loves her. And then come the five saddest words I’ve ever heard when she simply says, “I never said it back.”

BUT she might still have the chance. Whatever they’re doing works, and walking out into the tunnel, they see a bright white light. In the middle of the light stands a shadow. Is it Stiles?!

Well, we’re not sure, but I have to say, for a season that has dragged in moments and excelled in others, I think this hour was totally worth the wait. Sure, losing Stiles was a decision that came about in part because of Dylan O’Brien’s movie shooting schedule, but Stiles is the perfect character to put in this scenario, because he is the heart of this show. And watching everyone remember just why they love him? That’s a great way to pay tribute to six seasons of a character and six seasons of a show.

Well played, Teen Wolf. I can’t wait to see what next week’s midseason finale brings.

What did you think of the hour? Hit the comments with your thoughts or find me on Twitter @samhighfill.