Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg is the eighth episode of Teen Wolf Season 6.

The title means "Lightning War" in German. The word entered the lexicon during early Nazi military campaigns during World War II. While the word is commonly used by historians to describe the tactics of the German war machine, it was only used in twice in official military documents prior to 1939. In both instances, the word described a "swift strategic knock-out." It has since come to mean a strategy whereby the military throws everything they have into an overwhelming initial attack. For more on the real-world use of Blitzkrieg, visit our partner Wikipedia.

Synopsis[]

Scott, Lydia, and Malia decide to storm the rift and rescue Stiles; Liam, Hayden and Mason make a deal with Theo to learn Garrett Douglas' plan.

Full Recap[]

In Nazi Germany in 1943, Hauptman (now known as Garrett Douglas) tries to convince a group of fellow officers to help him capture the Wild Hunt. He believes the supernatural riders are just what the “Ahnenerbe” is looking for because an army of the dead cannot be broken like an army of the living. His book claims the “Ghost Riders of the Storm” are “masters of infinite power.” Hauptman says the dead riders are in the Ruhr Valley. Feldmarschall Schulz (Stephan Goldbach) mocks his plan to capture the “unstoppable army” and Hauptman slashes his throat with his claws.

The Sheriff Remembers[]

Sheriff Stilinski is in Stiles’ room holding his lacrosse jersey. As he touches the empty bookcases, a ball of red yarn and a box of thumbtacks appears. When he picks them up, a corkboard appears on the wall behind him. Inspired, Noah pins some string to the cork board and stretches the string across the nearby wall. When he turns back, pictures and newspaper clippings have appeared on the corkboard. He repeats the process, running string to the various walls, attaching it to the floor, and across the room. As he does this, all of Stiles’ possessions become visible including his bed, his murder board, his desk, clothes, and artwork.

Finally, once everything is once again where it belongs, Noah notices a photo on the corkboard. It’s Stiles and Claudia in a hospital. He takes the photo down from the board.

Scott’s Plan to Bite Stiles[]

Lydia, Scott, Malia, and Peter Hale are at the Sheriff’s station. Scott says he plans to bite Stiles in order to allow him to pass through the rift. Peter is incredulous. He asks if Scott plans to bite everyone in the train station. Scott says they just need to get Stiles back and then they’ll figure out how to rescue the rest.

Peter says they’re the only ones left in Beacon Hills and should run away. Scott says he’ll go into the rift. Liam and Hayden will stay behind with Mason because as long as someone is left in Beacon Hills the Wild Hunt can’t move on to another town. Peter picks holes in the plan. What if Scott doesn’t get taken? What if Stiles isn’t there? What if there’s no Beacon Hills to come back to? Peter says Scott has a flair for beating the odds “but this you don’t walk away from, you run.” Peter leaves them there.

On the Trail of the Hellhound[]

Melissa McCall and Chris Argent follow Parrish’s tracks back to the stone cottage where the pack captured the rider (See Heartless). Melissa examines the body and finds it’s pineal gland is gone. She wonders aloud why someone would take a Ghost Rider’s pineal gland and Garrett Douglas answers her. “So I could use this.” He flicks the rider’s whip and knocks the gun from Argent’s hand.

Garrett says he wants them to help him find a Hellhound. Argent realizes that Douglas was tracking Parrish but lost the scent. Douglas says he smells the hound on Argent. They refuse to help him. He grabs Argent by the throat and begins to crush. Melissa relents and agrees to help. Douglas releases his grip and Melissa and Argent embrace.

Mason and Hayden drive through the woods. They’ve found Corey’s phone. Mason says it’s a “relic” meaning they know he’s been erased. He flips through the pictures on the phone and realizes that they’re all of him and Corey. Hayden says that’s because Corey loves him.

Finding the Rift[]

Scott, Malia, and Lydia trek through the woods in search of the rift where Peter came out. Lydia says the rift could look like anything from a “microscopic black hole” to a “free-floating Einstein-Rosen Bridge. They start to split up but Scott immediately notices a pipe leading underground. The bars over the pipe entrance are bent outward and the ground is littered with dead leaves like those that herald the arrival of the riders. They decide the rift must be below ground.

In the tunnels below the pipe, Lydia, Malia, and Scott are searching for the rift when Malia walks right into and is thrown backward. Lydia says it is remarkably similar to an Einstein-Rosen bridge.

Theo’s Bargain[]

Hayden, Mason, and Liam are holed up at the Sheriff’s station. Theo is locked in a cell. Liam says it doesn’t matter where they hide, they need to find a way to fight the Ghost Riders. Hayden doesn’t believe anyone can fight them but Theo says Garrett Douglas can. Hayden realizes that if Douglas knows how to fight them then he might know everything about them. Theo reminds them that he knows all about Mr. Douglas.

Theo wants them to break the sword. He says he won’t tell them about Douglas until Liam destroys the only means they have to send him back to hell. Theo says he doesn’t want anyone’s pack or powers. He just wants to stay alive. Thinking he might run if they let him out, Liam says they’ll keep him locked up. He then releases the sword into its many pieces.

Douglas Nazi Past[]

Theo reveals that Douglas is a Löwenmensch. Mason says this means he is “part wolf, part lion.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: In reality, the Löwenmensch is an ivory carving of a man with a lion’s head. It was found in Germany and is one of the oldest-known animal shaped sculptures in the world. The Löwenmensch is not part of any known mythology but is thought to have been part of the shamanistic belief system of the humans in the early Upper Paleolithic.

Theo explains that Douglas was part of the Ahnenerbe, Heinrich Himmler's “personal project to use the occult to win the war.”

In the woods of Germany, soldiers, tanks, and other vehicles assemble. They use Geiger counters to gauge changes in background radiation.

Grenadier Abel (Paul Fox) says they should all flee. He then describes the coming of the Ghost Riders via storm and how they rode the horses. He says they were unnatural. Someone shouts and Douglas realizes they are close. He says Abel has done well and that “the Führer" will be pleased.

Douglas approaches the rift and touches it. It sizzles under his hand. He turns to Abel and says thank you for volunteering. He then pulls his gun and forces the man through the rift. He passes through the barrier and nothing happens at first. Then, suddenly, he bursts into green flames and is burned to death.

The Ghost Riders crash through the rift. The soldiers open fire but it has little effect. The rider leaps from his horse and fires, two-fisted. Soldiers disappear in flashes of green smoke. Another rider appears via lightning and begins taking out more men. Douglas stands his ground and growls at the rider who cracks his whip in the German’s direction. Douglas runs but is caught across the back by the whip and infected by supernatural properties.

Liam is less than impressed with the story saying Douglas didn’t beat the Ghost Rider. Hayden says they broke the sword for nothing. Mason what happened to Douglas between 1943 and now. Theo explains that he kept looking for answers about the Wild Hunt. He found three scientists that he thought could help him.

The Dread Doctors took Douglas and forced him into a giant tube. Theo says the bleeding from the whip lash “infected the water” and mixed with the fluid from the vat. The combination made Douglas stronger. He was soaking it in, absorbing the power for 70 years. Liam is stunned that Douglas came out of the tube with the power of an Alpha, a Löwenmensch, and a Ghost Rider. Hayden realizes this means Douglas can fight the riders and possibly stop them. They realize Douglas is still trying to form his own personal supernatural army.

Douglas Gets His Hellhound[]

Argent and Melissa take Douglas back to his bunker to the crypt where they keep Parrish. Douglas calls him Höllenhund (German for Hellhound). While Douglas is distracted, Argent makes for a gun but the German hears him. Argent gets off several shots, knocking Douglas back but the werewolf is too strong and disarms Argent. He looks to Melissa and says, “I’m sorry” just before Douglas whips him out of existence. Melissa screams for Parrish and bangs on the case but the deputy does not respond. Douglas says Argent’s efforts were brave but pointless. Melissa says, “Just crack the whip.” He does and she disappears.

Douglas walks over to the chamber holding Parrish and shouts “Entstehen Höllenhund” or “Arise Hellhound.” Parrish’s eyes fly open. They glow the same pale green as Douglas’.

A Ghost Rider shows up at the Sheriff’s Station just as Mason, Liam, and Hayden are leaving. Mason is taken. Liam and Hayden try to fight off the Ghost Rider. They manage to hold it at bay, but as they begin to escape, it whips out and catches Hayden’s arm. Liam tries to pull her free but another rider arrives in a bolt of lightning and lashes her other arm. She realizes she can’t escape and tells Liam he has to run and warn Scott. She says he can save her on the other side. He says he loves her. She says, “Then go.” She disappears as he escapes out the back of the station.

Crashing the Rift[]

Malia has a steel pipe that she’s trying to push through the rift. The end glows a bright orange as it melts against the almost invisible barrier. Douglas shows up and says getting through doesn’t have to be hard.

Scott believes Douglas followed their scent but he says he followed their desperation. He claims they all want the same thing, to get inside, save everyone, and stop the “army of the dead.” Scott and Malia are worried about the body count Douglas leaves behind, but he says all that matters is getting through the rift. They say the rift burns up everything that tries to pass through but he says not everything. Parrish steps out and growls. Douglas explains that the Hellhound can open the rift and they can all go together.

Malia points out that Douglas is the bad guy and helping him is a bad idea. Douglas begins to question the concepts of good and bad and wonders when has anything been so black and white. Liam steps in and says “World War II.” He goes on to explain that Douglas is a Nazi and wants the Wild Hunt as his own supernatural army. Scott says he’s not letting Douglas through the rift. Douglas cracks his whip until they all get away from the rift.

He then calls on Parrish to open it. The Hellhound forces his way through the barrier then turns to keep the pack from following Douglas. As they disappear into the rift, Scott, Lydia, Malia, and Liam try to follow but the portal closes tight.

Two riders appear in the tunnel. Scott sends Liam and Lydia to the bunker and he and Malia face down the riders. They quickly get a whip around Scott’s neck but doesn’t take him. He manages to escape and realizes that riders are trying to kill them. As they close in with their guns drawn, Peter runs through and fights them off. He tells the kids to run. The riders grab Peter from either side and fire a gun into him at point-blank range. He disappears in a puff of green smoke.

Down the tunnel, Liam and Lydia run into another rider but it stops and holsters its gun when it sees her. She tells Liam to get behind her and they walk slowly out of the tunnel. Liam says it’s afraid of her. She says she’s afraid of her.

Noah and Claudia[]

Noah drags his wife through the house to Stiles’ room. She protests. He tries to explain what happened to him earlier when everything reappeared in the room. He steps through and all of Stiles stuff is still there. He remembers Stiles is on the lacrosse team, that he’s terrible but still on the team. Claudia stands outside in the hallway and says she doesn’t see anything but an empty room. He says she has to step inside to see it, but when she does, the room is empty again.

He realizes that Claudia isn’t real. He admits he doesn’t remember Claudia’s birthday last year. He also doesn’t remember what they did for their anniversary or Christmas for many years. Claudia says they went to Big Sur. He says they always wanted to go but never did. He explains about the picture he found and how it was of her and Stiles on her “last good day.” He says Stiles refused to leave her side because he had his mom back.

Claudia protests and says she was sick but started getting better, the medication had started to work.

The Sheriff continues as if she hadn’t spoken. He says Stiles talked incessantly all day long about everything, school and how much trouble he’d gotten into. He tried so hard to stay awake but fell asleep in her arms.

Claudia tries again. She says the doctors couldn’t explain her recovery. She says they started making plans and dreaming again. She was herself again.

He says they just sat there, in the hospital room, and watched each other because they didn’t need to talk. He says when she finally closed her eyes, he knew she was gone. When he looks up from the photograph, Claudia is gone and all Stiles’ belongings are back in his room. Noah weeps openly. Suddenly, a bright light flashes behind him. He turns and looks into the glow.

Stiles’ Name[]

Sitting in his kitchen, Scott keeps dialing his mother’s phone just to hear her message. Malia makes him stop explaining that his mom is gone but is still alive.

They discuss next moves. Malia points out that they can’t hide. Liam says the rider was afraid of Lydia. She corrects him and says it was more like reverence towards her. Scott says it doesn’t matter because the rift is gone and it was the only one left in Beacon Hills.

The Sheriff comes in and announces that he has a son and his name is Mieczyslaw Stilinski.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The closed captioning for this episode had a different spelling for Stiles’ first name. Teen Wolf Wiki]] checked with Jeff Davis and he provided the correct spelling.

He explains that they call him Stiles and that, as a child, Stiles had trouble saying his first name. The best he could do was “mischief,” and that’s what his mother called him as long as she was alive. He says he now remembers when Stiles first got the jeep. It belonged to his mother and she’d wanted him to have it. The first time he took a spin behind the wheel it went right into a ditch. Noah gave him his first roll of duct tape that day. He says he was always in trouble but he always had a good heart. He says they’re all there tonight because his goofball son dragged Scott into the woods to see a dead body.

He explains how Stiles’ room came back and all the memories with it. Then he says he thought he saw Stiles. He says it’s like something opened in the middle of the room for a moment and then was gone. They realize it was a rift. They realize that remembering is a way to open the rift. They have to remember everything.

Episode List[]

← Season 5 Season 6
#01 Memory Lost	#06 Ghosted	#11 Said the Spider to the Fly	#16 Triggers
#02 Superposition	#07 Heartless	#12 Raw Talent	#17 Werewolves of London
#03 Sundowning	#08 Blitzkrieg	#13 After Images	#18 Genotype
#04 Relics	#09 Memory Found	#14 Face-to-Faceless	#19 Broken Glass
#05 Radio Silence	#10 Riders on the Storm	#15 Pressure Test	#20 The Wolves of War