Teen Wolf premiere recap: Season 6, Episode 1

Stiles is more than the main human of Scott’s pack/Beacon Hills. He’s the heart. So what happens when he’s not only taken but erased from existence? That’s the question this season will have to answer after that emotional premiere.

We catch up first with Liam and Hayden, who are on the most recent of what’s apparently a string of horrible dates. This one doesn’t appear to be their worst … at least until a car comes rolling past them with a shattered windshield, a scared kid in the backseat, and the promise of a new evil lurking in Beacon Hills. Talk about setting the mood!

While Liam and Hayden work on getting the kid, whose parents were taken, to safety, Stiles and Scott are doing their best to “help” the police across town. Their latest heroic act? Crashing a van full of stolen helium. So yeah, maybe Beacon Hills doesn’t need them anymore? Just kidding! It still does, because Scott has to use his claws to get inside the poor kid Alex’s head and find out what happened to his parents.

Once inside Alex’s head, Scott gets his first look at the Ghost Riders — the creepy guys on horseback who took Alex’s parents. However, as soon as Scott leaves Alex’s mind, he can’t remember everything he saw. The only thing that’s certain at this point is that the Ghost Riders will be back for Alex.

With that in mind, Alex asks to be locked up in an actual jail cell while Scott gets the pack together to try to find answers. Malia seems to think that Alex’s parents are dead, but Lydia claims she would know if that were the case. More importantly, Scott’s not convinced this case is even supernatural. It’s been three months since anything happened in Beacon Hills, and it has Stiles going a little crazy. In typical Stiles fashion, he’s been claiming that everything is “supernatural” lately.

But he might be right on this one. Once Scott realizes that whatever bullet was used in this case had the capability to blow out an entire windshield — and leave behind a blue residue — he agrees to look into it with Stiles. Well, that’s IF he can get past Mrs. Martin. After missing 38 classes last year, she’s doing everything she can to make sure Scott graduates, and that means the sworn protector of Beacon Hills is going to have to wait until 3:30 p.m. to check out Alex’s house.

It leads them straight to Alex’s house, where Scott and Stiles are currently snooping around. The place looks abandoned, except for Alex’s room, which looks perfectly put together and lived in … except for the fact that all of his photos only feature him, and let’s just say this kid is too young to be that into selfies.

Stiles stays behind after Scott leaves the room to check out the photos, but that leaves him vulnerable. When the Ghost Rider shows up, Stiles is the only one there to see him. The good news is that the Ghost Rider is a terrible shot and somehow manages to miss Stiles multiple times from close range. The bad news is that Stiles saw him.

And as soon as the Rider leaves, Alex’s room is erased.

NEXT: “Remember I love you”

Back at the school, Lydia and Stiles realize what’s happening. When Lydia starts quoting the song “Riders on the Storm,” she makes the connection: The Ghost Riders come with the Wild Hunt and they take people. Stiles takes that information straight to Scott, who’s leaving lacrosse practice, which no one told Stiles about. Also, why is some kid wearing Stiles’ jersey? Yep, this isn’t good.

Scott and Stiles realize Alex must be next, but by the time they get to the police station, he’s already been erased. Furthermore, no one even remembers him coming in. So who’s next? Well, Stiles. But they haven’t figured that out yet. Scott and Stiles thinks Liam and Hayden must be next, so they head back to the school, where Liam, Hayden, and Mason have just discovered a dead body in the boiler room.

And here’s where things really start to go south. Scott and Stiles separate, and before Stiles can say something to Scott, the true alpha says the one thing that ensures Stiles will be taken: “Tell me later.” Nooooo.

Just like that, everyone starts to forget Stiles. First, Mrs. Martin doesn’t recognize him. Then it’s Liam, Mason, and Hayden acting like Stiles doesn’t even go to their school. And then, worst of all, Stilinski doesn’t know his own son.

Stiles calls Scott in a panic, only to hear his best friend ask him, “Who’s this?”

But then there’s Lydia: The moment Malia forgets Stiles, Lydia realizes what’s happening and runs to find him. Just as she promises not to leave him, the Ghost Riders arrive. Stiles leads Lydia to Roscoe, but before he starts the engine, he realizes that no matter what he does, he’s going to be taken. Then we get this:

Stiles: “You’re gonna forget me.”

Lydia: “I won’t.”

Stiles: “You will.”

Stiles tells Lydia to find some way to remember him. Then, Stydia fans get the moment they’ve waited for since season 1. Stiles tells Lydia that she was the first girl he ever danced with, and the girl he had a crush on freshman, sophomore, and junior year. She’s the girl who saved his life (and he saved hers). Most importantly, “just remember … remember I love you” Stiles says seconds before he’s taken.

GUYS. I’ve watched this moment multiple times now and it always gives me chills. He finally said it, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect goodbye.

The next day, Lydia shows up at school feeling like she was supposed to do something. But she can’t remember what.

Altogether, I really enjoyed this hour. As much as I’m bummed to lose Stiles, I am so excited to watch how that loss impacts everyone in Beacon Hills and their journey to, eventually, remember him. Just for that final Stydia moment alone, I have to give this episode …

Episode grade: A-