Here are my ups and downs from Wolf Pack Season one, episode 102 "Two Bitten, Two Born".
Credited writers are Emily Eslami and Jeffrey Nieves.
It was directed by Joe Genier with Dave Daniel as Director of Photography.
Again, if you didn't see last week's installment, this "ups and downs" thing is a direct rip-off
from another Channel I like a lot called Trek Culture.
I don't know if they were the first to structure their episode reviews like this, but it is
a very effective tool.
With credit given where due, this video contains spoilers for the first and second episodes
of Wolf Pack.
Go watch the show on Paramount Plus before joining me back here.
My first awarded up for this episode is right off the top - Blake's freak out.
We just had this amazing moment, four people drawn together with their eyes all glowing.
For fans of supernatural genre shows, this is a "music swells" moment of pure excitement.
For those actually living through this, not so much.
Everett: Wait.
Blake: I gotta go.
This is a completely realistic reaction from a real person to freaky stuff and I'm really
glad they took it in this direction.
Another up in this scene is the banter between the teens and this Ranger or firefighter person
that they know and the driving scene that follows that.
Ranger: Who are these two? Are they friends of yours?
Harlan: Yeah uh that's Evan. Everett: Everett.
Harlan: Everett. He's Everett and she's ..
Chef's kiss on all the dialogue and a big up for me.
And I'll throw in another for the fact that we get to see a lot more of the chemistry
between Luna and Harlan in this episode both in this scene and later while they're arguing
over how to proceed with the bitten.
Luna: There's a full moon coming, both of them were bitten on the highway.
Harlan: Neither of them had a scratch!
Luna: Because they healed!
Harlan: I've never healed like that.
It may seem like I'm just throwing out all kinds of "ups" here but another one comes
right away and that's for Kendra.
Kendra: Do I look angry, upset, enraged, any or all of the above, which I have every right to feel?
Everett: Yes, you look angry.
She's an awful parent.
Awful.
And so much fun to watch.
Even in her calmer moments, you can see the rage just below the surface of Lake Kendra.
Kudos too and a big up for this group of scenes illustrating Everett's attempts to rest.
This isn't part of some supernatural transformation.
This is literally just regular day-to-day life for regular people in the 21st century.
Okay.
This next bit started out as an "up" but then quickly became a major "down" for me.
This sequence in which we see an entire day pass with
Blake and Everett unable to get out of bed.
That's a full 24 hours from late night/early morning to late night/early morning -
beautifully illustrated.
Kendra even says Everett has been out for a whole day.
Kendra: You barely came out of your room yesterday.
Have you been taking your medication?
So why then do Blake and Kristen Ramsey seem to think that whole day never happened?
Danny: You're not fast.
Blake: I was fast last night.
Kristin: I was hoping I could ask you some questions about yesterday.
You were on the bus, right?
This is a colossal "down" not only because it's confusing for the audience but because these
types of things are so easy to fix.
It is a simple matter of dialogue and editing.
Another down - I'll just get them out of the way now - this helicopter did not land in this forest.
The producers go to such great lengths to make something realistic, forcing your actor
to suffer smoke inhalation while stumbling around for days in the middle of a forest fire.
And then you go and ruin the illusion.
That is a big-ass "down" for me
Okay.
I'm gonna have to calm down and clear my palate from all that.
My "up above all ups" this week - while poor Garrett Briggs is basically cooking in that
forest fire, he has a flashback to the day he found the twins in a similar fire.
We saw the first part of this last week.
It picks up this week with him getting those wolf cubs back home.
And then...
paw to baby hand.
Paw to baby hand.
It's not a big thing.
It's so subtle, but man that was great to see.
The cast gets an overall up this week.
There's really too many great cast moments to name them all.
You've got Nevada Jose who can deliver a great joke and then turn around and be completely
creepy when necessary.
Rainer Dawn as the as-yet unnamed Gym Bro distracting Harlan.
And of course, Sean Phillip Glasgow as Connor.
He had some truly great moments this week.
Another up this week for the mystery caller.
He's literally now luring people out into the open.
Also praise again for the big wolf.
He's a big scary worthy of the name.
My final up for this episode is a bit abstract - the way they depict the werewolf abilities
as debilitating.
Many genre fans seem to think that transformation and heightened senses is something awesome and fun.
But again, Wolf Pack is far more centered.
Sudden burst of super hearing and then getting all lusty and confused due to a full moon
is a miserable way to live.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode immensely right up until the moment the wonky time check
reminded me I was watching actors on a screen.
Let's switch to canon observation mode now.
We learned last week that werewolf abilities are not ubiquitous for all individuals.
Harlan has better hearing.
Luna's sense of smell is greater.
This week we learned that Blake and Everett healed faster than the born werewolf Harlan
had ever seen.
We also saw Connor wasn't healing in the same way as his classmates.
Additionally, Blake's super speed seemed to be gone right after the four met up in the woods.
The mental bond between Everett and Blake seemed to remain in full force.
He could not sleep for the longest time but then seemed to drift off when she fell asleep.
They both then saw each other while they were asleep and they both woke up at some point
and moved heavy furniture in front of the door.
I would have given these mini-transformations an "up" but, due to the nature of everyone's
mental state so near the full moon, I don't know if this is real or just in their heads.
And that's kind of where we stand canonically.
So far we know almost nothing about how werewolves work in this world except that it can really
suck when the full moon is near.
Wolf Pack Streams new episodes every Thursday on Paramount Plus.