Orphaned is the 6th episode of Teen Wolf Season 4.
According to the Nielsen Company, approximately 1.5 million people saw the episode upon it's initial airing on MTV.
Synopsis
Scott is forced into helping a dangerous enemy; Derek and Malia track an old ally.
Full Recap
“Four Weeks Ago” Kate Argent awoke in the back seat of her car. Noticing static playing from the radio she pushed the knob. A cassette tape ejected from the Kenwood deck. The words “PLAY ME” were hand-written in ink on the label. Kate placed the tape back in the deck and a cultured radio-announcer voice said the following –
- "…eventually settling in a small town in Northern California, this family used their wealth to rebuild the community around them while remaining isolated from it. This was sometimes more a choice than a necessity as not all of their children would become werewolves. The ones that did, these born wolves, had to be trained. They needed to learn control. They had a practice for the training of betas, a tradition passed down through generations, it involved the use of a sacred object called ‘a triskelion’. Without control, violence – extreme violence, is inevitable."
Weeks later – Kate is covered in blood amid wrecked motorcycles, burning cars, and torn bodies. One of the Berserkers holds a bleeding man (Josh Wingate) aloft while Kate questions him about “who pays the bills” and the “mixtape” she received. Because, while no one seems to know who is pulling the strings, Kate believes the assassins each got a tape too. The man says he did not but says a couple who look like “teenagers” got one. He says they're called “the orphans.”
One of the not-so-dead bodies fires a gun into Kate’s back. She walks over with shotgun drawn to shoot the man but she loses control, transforms and claws him to death. She then turns on the man being held by the Berserker. He begs for his life but she rips him up too.
Coach tells members of the lacrosse team they cannot enter the locker room after the scrimmage game (see I. E. D.) due to the crime scene inside. He also tells them that they should call the police if they see Garrett and then tell him that he’s off the team.
Liam comes around the corner and sees Scott McCall talking to his father. Agent McCall apologizes for not being at the game. He says he promised Melissa McCall that he would be around so she could take some extra shifts at the hospital. Scott says it's okay because he's "here now."
Deputy Parrish walks a handcuffed Violet from the scene. She notices his name and calls him "Jordan Parrish," connecting his last name to one of the targets on The Dead Pool list. He corrects her with an emphasis on his title “Deputy Parish.”
Violet eyes Scott on her way past. The Sheriff stops and shows Scott’s dad the thermal-cut wire Violet used on her victims. The FBI agent seems to recognize it. Liam tells Scott that Kira took off after learning about the second half of the Dead Pool. Scott understands this is because her mother is on the list. Liam worries that he might be on the, as yet, unknown third part of the list.
Agent McCall confronts Violet saying they've got a file of more than a dozen murders in which the weapon was a thermal-cut wire. She claims she doesn’t know anything about it, claiming she just goes to school here. McCall says maybe they should call her parents but then admits he knows she doesn’t have parents, “That’s why they call you ‘the orphans’.”
McCall tells the Sheriff they need to find her boyfriend. Sheriff Stilinski asks Coach for their lockers and says he’ll need bolt cutters.
On the exam table at Beacon Hills Animal Clinic, the Devenford Prep lacrosse player, Brett Talbot is convulsing and spewing yellow foam from his mouth. Dr. Deaton explains about the Wolfsbane poisoning and says Stiles Stilinski and Derek must hold him very still. He needs to make an incision in his chest and if they don’t hold him still he could die. Stiles cracks that Derek Hale use some “werewolf strength” to help hold him down. Derek, who appears to be struggling with the boy, says he’s not the only one in the room with werewolf strength, pointing out that Brett is a werewolf as well.
Just as Deaton begins to cut, Brett breaks free and rushes toward the exit. He is punched into unconsciousness by Peter Hale who cracks that “I guess I still have a little werewolf strength myself.” Derek thinks he has more than a little. Derek notices that his arm, where Brett scratched him during the struggle, is not healing.
Stiles says Brett stopped breathing. Deaton pushes the scalpel deep into Brett’s breast bone and slices down. The boy gasps and a thick yellow smoke flows up from the open wound and dissipates.
The scratch marks on Derek’s arm heal.
Brett is unconscious but begins whispering “the sun, the moon, the truth.” Deaton explains that it is a Buddhist saying “Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” Peter realizes Brett is connected to a werewolf named Satomi.
Scott breaks into Garrett’s locker while Liam stands look out. He recovers a bag full of money but tells Liam he found nothing.
The power at the McCall home has been shut off. Melissa is on the phone with the electric company attempting to get them to turn it back on. She is apparently 3 months late in paying her bill. Upstairs, Scott is listening to his mother beg on the phone while a bag with thousands of dollars sits under his bed.
Liam and Mason are out for a run. Mason is amazed that two assassins used them, pretended to be their friends. He’s also amazed that Liam isn’t freaking out. Liam says he’s got plenty to freak out about and takes off running at “werewolf speed” leaving Mason far behind.
Once he realizes he’s left his friend, Liam stops and turns. Garrett rams into him from behind with his truck. With his dagger in hand, he apologizes for missing “movie night” but says he has something else planned.
Mason arrives along the road where we last saw Liam. He doesn’t notice the spots of blood on the pavement at his feet.
In math class, Stiles, Kira and Lydia are absent. The teacher asks Malia Tate about them. She offers to “try catching their scent.” She then hears someone whispering her name. She gathers her book bag and leaves class.
Derek is waiting for her in the hallway. He says Brett is still out of it but he needs help finding Brett’s pack. He says they have a secret meeting place in the woods and since Malia has spent more time in the woods than anyone, he’s hoping she can help. He’s brought Brett’s jersey for Malia to catch a scent. She says she’s not good at that yet. Derek explains that some scents are tied to emotion, others to identity. Malia sniffs and understanding seems to dawn in her eyes.
Stiles and Lydia take the second part of the Dead Pool list to Deputy Parrish. He says he ran a bunch of the names through “the system” but couldn’t find anything on any of them. They turn the page over and show him the name “Jordan Parrish."
He is shocked to learn he’s only worth $5 dollars. He is even more shocked after Stiles explains the number stands for $5,000,000. Parrish says he only makes $40,000 a year and then suggests “maybe I should kill myself.”
Stiles and Lydia don’t explain that the list is of supernatural creatures. They’ve come to Parrish to get him to help them get in to see Meredith. He is reluctant because the last time they were with Meredith, she almost had a nervous break down.
Coach is guzzling cold medicine from a bottle. He tells Scott and Mason that Liam skipped his class. Coach says maybe Liam is “sick like me.”
The bell rings. Mason is reluctant to go to class but Scott says not to worry that he’ll find Liam. He says Mason should text him if he sees Liam. Scott’s phone buzzes. The caller ID says it’s Liam but Scott knows it’s not him. It’s Garrett. Scott offers to give Garrett the money in exchange for Liam but Garrett wants the cash and Violet.
Liam is down a deep well in the middle of the woods.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeff Davis reports that the stone well set piece used in this episode is the same one used in the movie The Ring .
Scott meets Garrett in the bus parking area. His plan is to break Violet out while the police are transferring her by car to a federal facility. Garrett says he stabbed Liam with the wolfsbane poisoned blade and once it gets to the heart “bad things happen.”
Liam has a stab wound in his chest. It oozes yellow puss as he screams for help in the bottom of the well. He is too far into the woods for anyone to hear.
As they enter the woods, Derek explains to Malia that Satomi is an Alpha and one of the oldest werewolves alive. He says she’s a bitten werewolf and learned a lot about control after an incident “a long time ago” (see The Fox and the Wolf). Derek says the mantra is to help train her betas to control their shift. Malia smells gunpowder. Derek finds a shell and says he doesn’t think Satomi’s pack is meeting – he says they’re hiding.
Scott tries to talk his father out of transporting Violet saying it’s dangerous because Garrett is still out there. He urges his father to let someone else do it. Agent McCall says no, he lost evidence once from an armored car (see Echo House) and doesn’t want to take any chances this time. Sheriff Stilinski is accompanying him.
Violet smiles at Scott as she is led out of the Sheriff’s station.
Scott opens a case and finds, what looks to be, a tranquilizer gun inside. He tells Garrett that the plan won’t work. Garrett says all Scott has to do is stop the car and Garrett will “take care of the rest.”
As one of the orderlies is trying to open Meredith Walker’s room at Eichen House for Parrish, Lydia, and Stiles, the chief orderly, Brunski, stops him. He chastises the orderly not to open a door for just anyone with a badge. Parrish says he has to talk to Meredith about an ongoing murder investigation. Brunski says he can go in but Stiles and Lydia can’t. Parrish says they are crucial witnesses. Brunski demands he return with a court order.
He then turns to Stiles and says his father needs to pay his bill since it is overdue. He cracks wise about public jobs not being as reliable as they once were. Parrish points out public jobs are useful when you need a favor “like last month when Canaan PD helped you get home after blowing a 0.1 on a Breathalyzer.” Brunski relents and they enter Meredith’s room.
Scott and Garrett see the Sheriff’s vehicle ahead. It has rolled onto its side and two figures are lying in the roadway. Garrett stops the truck and Scott rushes to Stilinski. Agent McCall is unconscious and the sheriff is trying to pull him along the ground to the side of the road.
Garrett gets his double bladed stick from the back seat and begins advancing down the road toward the wreck.
Sheriff Stilinski reaches for Scott and gasps “they’re still here.”
A berserker rises from the shadows. Garrett is impressive, swinging his stick and taunting the Berserker. He shouts “you’re not so big!” He is not prepared as another berserker steps into the road and skewers him through the chest with a sharp bone and lifts him off the ground. Garrett drops his bladed stick and apparently dies.
Scott runs to help but he is hit from the behind.
Meredith says she can’t tell Stiles and Lydia the third cypher key because “things have changed.” She says The Benefactor doesn’t want her to tell them.
Scott wakes up on the exam table at the vet clinic. There is a large sharpened bone sticking from his side. Chris Argent pulls it out. Deaton explains that Scott’s dad and the sheriff are at the hospital. Argent says the berserkers move fast and don’t leave much of a trail to track. Deaton suggests they use the bone knife to catch a scent.
Malia and Derek have had no luck finding Satomi’s pack. Derek explains that some werewolves have an ability, a kind of mastery over their body that they can inhibit their scent. Malia suggests that this ability to hide from other werewolves is why no one knew about Demarco or Brett.
Malia suggests they try to think like Stiles, like a detective. She says instead of asking where werewolves hide they should ask where Buddhists would hide. Derek says when Buddha sat under the Bodhi Tree he looked to the east for enlightenment. They decide to look at the eastern most point of the woods, Lookout Point.
Liam tries to climb up the sides of the well. The rocks are slippery but he manages to get about halfway up before falling back into the water. He remembers talking to Scott after the events at Lydia’s lake house (see The Benefactor Scott explains how he broke through the window during his escape. He said the cuts from the glass healed while Liam was “changed.” Liam says that’s one good thing about being a werewolf but Scott counters that it could also be really bad for other people. He says Liam needs to “get a grip on this.” Liam says he’s been trying for years to get his anger under control. Scott asks what advice Liam’s dad has on the subject. Liam says “when kids get angry, they deal with it in one of two ways. They either hurt themselves or they hurt someone else.”
Liam starts back up the slippery rocks toward escape.
Lydia demands that Meredith tell her the name of the Benefactor. Meredith says she cannot help “anymore.” She becomes more and more agitated until she screams so loud that Lydia’s ears begin bleeding.
Scott and Chris follow the berserker scent to a warehouse. The faded sign reads - “Argent Arms International” Chris explains that he worked here when his family owned the building. Scott warns him that the creatures are “really strong.” Chris retrieves a machine gun from the back seat of his SUV.
At lookout point Malia catches a foul scent. There are a dozen dead bodies lying nearby.
Chris and Scott are just entering the warehouse when they hear Kate. She says she was hoping to wait for this reunion once she had more time to learn control. She offers them the chance to walk away without getting hurt. She asks Chris to put the gun down. The berserkers attack and Chris begins firing at them. Scott tells him to stop. Kate reaches Chris and punches him. Scott manages to dodge the berserkers while Chris gets thrown through a table.
In the woods, Derek says it looks like the dead people were poisoned. Malia says maybe they should all be running from Beacon Hills. As Derek turns to go, he hears someone move, he rushes back and finds Braeden wounded and gasping.
Scott gets knocked through a wall. Then picked up by a bersker and rammed through several walls. Then picked up and thrown through a wall into a room where he finds Violet. She’s dead.
Chris is severely beaten by the berserker but before it can deliver the killing blow, Kate calls it off. Scott picks him up. He is distraught saying he won’t find Liam now. Chris says there is still time.
In the well, Liam is still climbing. He begins to cough and his hands slip a bit. He looks up and sees the waning moon shining down on him from the mouth of the well. He shouts in frustration. The cry becomes a growl.
At the former Argent Arms International warehouse, Scott turns as if he hears something.
Lydia and Stiles are in his bedroom trying to figure out the remaining cypher key. They thought maybe it would be another dead person’s name but they’ve tried all the dead they could think of (a lot) and nothing worked.
Lydia is worried that she’s driven “the only other Banshee I’ve ever met” over the edge. Stiles says it’s not her fault, that he was there too. This exchange gets him thinking about banshees and how they know when someone is going to die. He suggests that the third cypher key may be the name of someone who’s not dead yet but will be. Lydia concentrates and begins typing. When she’s done – the name on the screen is DEREK.
The code begins to unravel and another list of names appears.
SATOMI ITO 10
MALIA HALE 4
LIAM DUNBAR 3
MEREDITH WALKER 1
LIZ MOORE 1
PATRICK CLARK 1
BREE LEVERETT 250
KAITLYN SCHAAR 250
GENEVIVE CARY 250
ANGELIQUE FAIN 250
LORILEE ROHR 250
BRITTANI KEGLEY 250
Seeing Meredith’s name on the list, Lydia says they need to call Parrish.
Liam is slipping. He struggles just to hang on to the rock wall of the well. One hand slips off and hangs limp at his side. His strength in the other finally goes and he falls back. At that moment an arm from above reaches down and grabs his hand. Scott has arrived and pulls him to safety. Scott holds him close and tells him he’s okay.
Parrish tells Lydia that Meredith took her own life right after they left her earlier in the night.
Brunski removes a knotted bed sheet from around Meredith’s neck.
Lydia is stunned into silence. Stiles pulls her close into a hug to comfort her.
Dr. Deaton makes an incision along Liam’s chest. The yellow smoke drifts out and dissipates as it did before with Brett. Scott says he doesn’t want to keep watching people die. Chris Argent says he doesn’t have much choice but Scott is adamant. He says no one else on the dead pool is going to die. “Wendigo or werewolf or whatever,” Scott promises to save every one.
Melissa McCall is going through her bills. She clasps her hands together as if in prayer. Upstairs Stiles and Scott are looking at the bag of money. Stiles says they should count it and when they dump the stacks of cash out on the floor, a cassette tape falls out as well. It bears a handwritten label, “PLAY ME.”
Kate is washing the blood from her face in a storm drain under the street. Peter arrives saying he followed her scent “even in a sewer.” He says her “surges of anger” are getting worse. He says he too struggled with anger and would break his toys in little fits of rage. He then realized he could break someone else’s toys instead.
Peter says they are in a “mutually assured destruction” situation but Kate, indicating the berserkers, doesn’t think the scales are that well balanced. Peter says he knows Kate wants to return the Argents to power but she can’t until she learns control. He offers to teach her control in exchange for his money back (see 117) She doesn’t buy it saying there must be something more. He leans in close and admits that he also wants power.
Soundtrack
This episode's soundtrack is mostly original score compositions by composer Dino Meneghin.
Hayden Calnin – "Coward"
- Scene: Melissa frets over her bills while Scott and Stiles are upstairs with the stolen money.
Episodes List
| ← Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 → | |
| #01 The Dark Moon | #07 Weaponized |
| #02 117 | #08 Time of Death |
| #03 Muted | #09 Perishable |
| #04 The Benefactor (Teen Wolf Episode) | #10 Monstrous |
| #05 I. E. D. | #11 A Promise to the Dead |
| #06 Orphaned | #12 Smoke & Mirrors |
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