Fireflies is the third episode of Teen Wolf Season 3 and was viewed by 1.67 million people during its initial broadcast on MTV on June 17, 2013.
Synopsis
Boyd and Cora (Derek's sister) are under the influence of the full moon; Scott and Derek seek help from an unlikely ally.
Full Recap
Two kids, a boy (Billy) and a girl are hunting fireflies in Beacon Hills Preserve after dark. The full moon shines down on them as Boyd appears out of the darkness. The kids take refuge in a metal shed but the werewolf simply picks it up and tosses it away leaving them exposed.
Briefly distracted by a jar full of fireflies that rolls to a stop at his feet, Boyd looks away as the bugs surround him. When he turns his attention back to the children, they’re gone.
Scott explains to Derek by phone that he lost Boyd and that they should stick together to find him again because Boyd is “too strong, too fast and way too angry for one person to handle.” The plan to meet up but Scott says he has to drop someone off first, next to him are the two children Boyd had cornered and Scott apparently saved.
Lydia is where we saw her last sitting up in bed after waking up screaming. She reaches for a bottle of generic brand Ibuprofen but it’s empty. She rises, puts on her coat and yells to her mom that she’s going to the store. She realizes that her mom can’t hear her since she apparently didn’t hear her “screaming like a lunatic” earlier. She stares for a moment at the full moon and repeats the word “lunatic.”
While trying to follow tracks left by Boyd and Cora, Derek and Scott realize that the two out of control werewolves are sticking together. Scott relays the story of Boyd trying to rip the two kids apart and wonders aloud if they will do that to everyone they find. Derek says yes – everyone and anyone.
Lydia is texting as she exits her car so it takes her a moment to realize that she has not, as she expected, driven to the store. Instead, she is at the public pool near the Beacon Hills Preserve. She sees a shape floating in the water. Whispering to herself “please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead” she approaches and grabs the body – it turns out to be a CPR dummy used in resuscitation classes. As she breaths a sigh of relief she realizes that her hands are bloody. Following the pooling blood on the concrete, she looks up to find a man’s body propped in the lifeguard stand and she screams.
Allison is sitting in her car at the Beacon Hills overlook that served as Scott and her meeting spot during their clandestine relationship in Season 2. In flashback to the bank vault, we see that Scott told her about Victoria Argent’s attempt to kill him and has explained that Derek bit her while fighting to save him. Scott explains that he didn't tell her because he didn't want her murderous actions to be the last memory that she had of her mother.
Derek carries what appears to be Erica’s lifeless body and appears near to tears. Remembering all this, Allison comes to a decision. She reaches into the glove box of her car and removes an arrowhead.
In a tent in the Preserve, two girls are getting cozy. Caitlin (Zelda Williams) has lit a number of candles. She and her girlfriend, Emily (Lauren McKnight), begin to kiss. Suddenly Emily notices thousands of bugs have settled on the outside of the tent, their shadows visible due to the bright moonlight outside. She screams and completely freaks out when she notices one of the bugs is on her shoulder.
She runs from the tent into the woods. She trips and falls and suddenly is overwhelmed by a carpet of thousands of bugs. When they finally disperse Emily is gone.
Back at the tent, Caitlin calls for Emily as Cora walks slowly toward her breathing heavily. Suddenly – Isaac appears and attempts to subdue her. Cora tosses him into a tree. Scott flies through the air landing on Cora with both feet knocking her to the ground. Derek arrives and growls loudly at her and Cora flees. Derek and Isaac give chase while Scott stays behind to check on Caitlin and to warn her to get to safety as fast as she can. He then takes off after the others.
Stiles gets to the pool where Lydia is waiting. She shows him the dead guy and he says they need to call her dad. He is upset to learn that Lydia called 911 before calling him.
Stiles calls Scott who, thinking that Boyd and Cora are to blame, asks Stiles to get a closer look at the wounds to find out if it was actually them who killed the man. Stiles notes that the dead man is wearing a purity ring signifying that he has committed to remain a virgin until marriage.
Scott is convinced Boyd and Cora are to blame. Derek is doubtful wondering how they got all the way to the other side of the woods, nowhere near where they've been tracking them, in such a short period of time. Scott will not be swayed – driving home the point that they've killed an innocent and he and Derek are to blame. Derek says it’s his fault.
Scott wants to get help. Again Derek is reluctant saying they have Isaac to help them but Scott is insistent saying they are too fast, too strong, too rabid for them to catch. Derek is unswayed saying they will catch them on their own. Isaac points out that if they do catch them they don’t have a plan asking if they expect to just hold them down until the sun comes up. Derek says it might be easier just to kill them. Scott continues to push saying killing them isn't the right thing to do. Scott suggests they find someone who knows how to hunt werewolves.
In the woods, Deputy Tara Graeme (Mieko Hillman) and Sheriff Stilinski are questioning Caitlin. She admits that she and Emily split a tab of the drug ecstasy and the Sheriff points out that MDMA can cause hallucinations and suggests it might have been laced with something since the girl reported seeing a woman with glowing eyes, fangs and claws. He sends her to the hospital in hopes of finding out exactly what it was that she took. They also hope to get better descriptions of the “three guys” she saw there in the woods.
In a quiet conversation with the deputy, Sheriff Stilinski doesn't seem completely ready to dismiss the girls story of claws and fangs saying he’s sure she saw “something.”
Chris Argent is loading groceries into his Toyota RAV 4. He drops one of the bags, the one with a dozen eggs inside, as he picks up the bag and places it in the back, he spins - gun drawn on Scott who has appeared behind him.
Derek and Isaac watch from Derek’s new SUV. Derek says he doesn't think it will work. Isaac then inquires about Cora (Derek’s younger sister) in such a way as to suggest he might be romantically interested in her. Derek gives him a hard look and Isaac suddenly decides he’s not interested in her at all.
With the gun still pointed at Scott’s head, Chris says he doesn’t want to help anyone related to Derek and he doesn’t even know this kid Boyd’s last name. Scott corrects him that Boyd is his last name and that his first name is Vernon. Scott then asks about the gun and Chris admits there’s still some part of him that wants to shoot Scott.
Chris lowers the gun and speaks softly but urgently to the boy explaining how he watched Gerard brainwash Allison. He says Scott’s world “decimated mine.” He runs down the list of people he’s lost “wife, father, and sister” and asks why he would ever step foot in that world again. Scott tries to convince him that people are going to die and Chris knows he can stop Boyd and Cora without killing them but the hunter refuses.
Scott appears to give up, he asks Chris for a ride. He directs him to the site of the murder. As they arrive at the public pool, a grieving mother and father are looking down at a body bag on a gurney. This changes Chris’ mind.
In the woods, Chris explains that Derek, Isaac and Scott are useless at tracking because they are focusing their energy on suppressing their werewolf side under the full moon. He urges them to instead focus on their sense of smell explaining that actual wolves can track prey up to a hundred miles per day by scent.
While Chris is explaining this to the boys we see Allison has her dagger out and she cuts her arm allowing the blood to drop onto the leaves at her feet.
Boyd catches a scent in the woods and takes off to investigate.
Unaware that his daughter is using the exact technique he is describing, Chris explains that the Hunters can use the scent of blood to draw the werewolves to them from up to 2 miles away.
Allison sets a trap, a tripwire, in the woods.
Chris says they’ll be easier to track with infrared thanks to their higher temperature. He passes out IR glasses to Isaac and Scott. Derek refuses, his eyes flash red and he explains that he already has his own.
Allison also dons IR glasses and scans the woods.
Chris explains that underneath the wild impulses, Boyd and Cora are intelligent and that the beasts they've become can tap that suppressed human intelligence making them all the more dangerous and allowing them to mask their scent, cover their tracks and survive.
As they set out, Chris asks Derek when he saw Cora last. Derek says "not in years" (closed captioning presented the line as "nine years" Jeff Davis says that was a mistake).
Derek explains that he thought Cora died in the fire (see - Hale Arson Conspiracy). Chris wants to know if Derek has a “lock on her scent”. Derek shakes his head “no.” He asks Scott how confident he is in his skills, he explains that most of the time he’s trying not to think about all the things that he can smell.
Chris then explains that werewolves like to tear people apart. Unlike wolves, who hunt to eat, Boyd and Cora are “hunting for the pleasure of the kill, for some primal, apex predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds” and there is no telling when that desire will be satiated.
Thinking the school is empty; they decide to trap the two werewolves inside the boiler room.
Unfortunately, the school is not empty - Ms. Blake is in her classroom, at her desk working.
Chris brings out what he calls “ultrasonic emitters” saying that they put out a burst of high-pitched sound that will drive werewolves in a direction they want them to run. All the boys can hear the sound, it looks painful. They all take and begin planting their emitters, creating a corridor leading to the school.
Boyd and Cora respond as expected running toward the school.
Stiles follows Lydia home. In her room she explains that she doesn't know how she found the body. She says she didn't even know where she was until she got out of her car. They both realize that the last time this happened to her was when Peter was controlling her back in Season 2.
In the woods, Peter arrives and explains that Deucalion’s plan was for Derek to kill Boyd and Cora. That he wants Derek to get rid of his baggage making it easier for Derek to join the Alpha Pack. Peter suggests Derek give up the chase. He wonders aloud how much damage they can do saying “So they off a few homeless people, a drunk stumbling out of a bar too late, so what?” He says Scott can live in his morally superior world of black and white while Peter and Derek live in shades of gray. Then he points out that if Derek did kill Boyd and Cora, he could always make more werewolves.
Melissa McCall gets Stiles to the hospital to look at the dead body found by the pool. She’s discovered three different causes of death – strangulation, exsanguination through a cut to the throat and a massive blow to the head. She points out that this is the second body to come in with the same wounds.
At the school, Chris points out the glowing fireflies and explains that the species that lives in California are NOT bioluminescent.
The trap is laid at the school but Boyd and Cora take to the roof instead of heading inside the building.
In the morgue, Melissa pulls back the sheet on another gurney to reveal Stiles’ friend Heather. She explains in graphic detail that the murderer used a garrote, a length of rope or wire looped around the neck then secured with a stick that is then wound tight until the person is dead. Tears begin welling in his eyes and Melissa realizes that Stiles knows the victim. She quickly covers her with a sheet as Stiles explains the connection. Stiles suddenly realizes that both the victims were virgins.
On top of a bus at the back of the school Allison fires flash bang arrows at the ground near Boyd and Cora driving them inside the building. Isaac quickly shuts the door.
Derek and the rest manage to drive the pair down into the boiler room and lock the door trapping them inside. Scott listens at the door and realizes he hears three heartbeats, not just two. They figure out that someone else is trapped inside with the wolves.
Ms. Blake is in the supply area stocking up on copy paper when she hears a bump in the dark.
At the hospital, Stiles questions Caitlin about her date in the woods. He is trying to find out if it was to be Emily’s first time. Caitlin confirms that it would have been.
Derek says he’ll go in after Ms. Blake. He faces off with Boyd and Cora who tear him to shreds. He doesn't fight back, just holds them in place so they will focus on him and leave the human alone.
Just when it seems they will kill Derek – the sun rises and we find Derek kneeling with Boyd and Cora lying unconscious on the floor. Derek tells Scott and Isaac to take them out while he sees to Ms. Blake. Bloodied and bruised, Derek extends his hand to the frightened woman. Their eyes meet.
Stiles takes Scott to the morgue to see Heather’s body. As he explains his theory about all the victims being virgins, the Sheriff finds Emily’s body tied by the neck to a tree with her throat cut and the other wounds common to all the victims. Stiles calls it the “Threefold Death” and says it’s human sacrifice.
Soundtrack
- Guards - "Ready To Go"
Scene: Lydia in her room.
- Shana Halligan - "Do It"
Scene: Emily and Caitlin share a moment while camping in a tent.
Gallery
Video
Episodes List
| ← Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 → | |||
| #01 Tattoo | #07 Currents | #13 Anchors | #19 Letharia Vulpina |
| #02 Chaos Rising | #08 Visionary | #14 More Bad Than Good | #20 Echo House |
| #03 Fireflies | #09 The Girl Who Knew Too Much | #15 Galvanize | #21 The Fox and the Wolf |
| #04 Unleashed | #10 The Overlooked | #16 Illuminated | #22 De-Void |
| #05 Frayed | #11 Alpha Pact | #17 Silverfinger | #23 Insatiable |
| #06 Motel California | #12 Lunar Ellipse | #18 Riddled | #24 The Divine Move |