Ouroboros

**Ouroboros** is the eighth episode of Season 5 and the sixty-eighth episode of *Teen Wolf*.

## Synopsis

Scott and Malia set out to rescue their captured friends, and Deaton makes a horrific discovery about the Dread Doctors.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Tyler Posey as Scott McCall
* Dylan O'Brien as Stiles Stilinski
* Holland Roden as Lydia Martin
* Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate
* Arden Cho as Kira Yukimura
* Dylan Sprayberry as Liam Dunbar

### Supporting Cast

* Melissa Ponzio as Melissa McCall
* Linden Ashby as Sheriff Stilinski
* Seth Gilliam as Dr. Alan Deaton
* Ryan Kelley as Deputy Jordan Parrish
* Tamlyn Tomita as Noshiko Yukimura
* Cody Christian as Theo Raeken
* Khylin Rhambo as Mason Hewitt
* Marisol Nichols as Corinne
* Victoria Moroles as Hayden Romero
* Peter Katona as Vadim
* Tom T. Choi as Ken Yukimura
* Benita Robledo as Deputy Valerie Clark
* Ben Stillwell as Zach
* Michael Johnston as Corey Bryant
* Marti Matulis as The Surgeon
* Douglas Tait as The Pathologist
* Caitlin Dechelle as The Geneticist

## Continuity

* This episode marks the first present-day appearance of the Desert Wolf. She was first mentioned in Season 4's *Time of Death*.
	+ It is also the first confirmation that she intends to kill Malia Tate.
* The Dread Doctors' history is very briefly explored when it is revealed that they previously had a laboratory in Russia. This fits with Gabriel Valack's remark in *A Novel Approach* that the Doctors were "ancient" and had found ways to extend their lives, as the nuclear facility appeared to be from sometime between World War II and the end of the Cold War.
* Kira is arrested for the murder of the Chimera whose body was found at the McCall House with her katana-belt through her chest. The Chimera was killed in *Strange Frequencies.*
	+ This also marks the second person Kira has killed in the series. The first was William Barrow, though she didn't intend to kill him; he was electrocuted by the foxfire she released when he tried to shock her with a live wire in *Galvanize*.
* Theo and Stiles discuss the deaths of Donovan Donati and Josh Diaz.
	+ Donovan died in *A Novel Approach* after Stiles accidentally killed him in self-defense.
	+ Josh died in *Required Reading* after Theo killed him to save Stiles.
* Noshiko Yukimura confirms Mason Hewitt's theory that Kitsune have difficulty with language, which he made in *Required Reading*. She then helps Kira read Valack's novel *The Dread Doctors*, making her the last of the McCall Pack members to read it.
	+ She was also the only member of the pack who had a flashback-hallucination of her time with the Doctors, confirming that she was experimented on by them during the events of *Creatures of the Night*.
* Sheriff Stilinski decides to take a hard line when it comes to following the law with regards to the supernatural crimes occurring in Beacon Hills. It was first hinted that he would do this in *Condition Terminal*.
* Stiles finally figures out that Jordan Parrish has been taking the bodies of the dead Chimeras after Parrish's name badge was left behind in the morgue where the body of the Chimera Kira killed was stolen. It was first revealed that Parrish was taking the bodies of the Chimeras in *Condition Terminal*.

## Trivia

* "Ouroboros" is a Greek word that means "tail swallower," referring to the snake swallowing its own tail. Its origins were in Ancient Egypt as a solar symbol that represented the travels of the "sun disk." In Gnosticism, it is associated with the sun god Abraxas and symbolized eternity due to its circular shape. It is associated with other cultures as well, such as the serpent Jormüngandr from Norse mythology, the Aztec serpent God Queztalcoatl, and alchemical dragons from Chinese folklore.
	+ On a more relevant note, the ouroboros symbol represents the spirit of Mercury, an element that signifies continuous renewal, the cycle of life and death, and the harmony of opposites; this is because the snake is often used as a symbol of resurrection or rebirth due to a snake shedding its skin.
		- This could be a reference to the modified mercury used to turn genetic chimeras into pseudo-supernatural ones, the fact that the Dread Doctors' green serum that can be used to renew dying cells and resurrect the dead, or the Chimera nature itself, which involves components of two separate supernatural species within one individual.

## Body Count

* Vadim - gunshot wound to the head; killed by the Desert Wolf

## Locations

* Russia
	+ Dread Doctors' Russian Laboratory
* Beacon Hills, California
	+ Beacon Hills Preserve
		- Look-Out Point
	+ McCall House
		- Front Porch
		- Kitchen
		- Scott's Bedroom
	+ Route 115
	+ Beacon Hills Animal Clinic
		- Parking Lot
	+ Dread Doctors' Operating Theater
	+ Parrish's apartment
		- Living Room
		- Bathroom
	+ Beacon County Sheriff's Station
		- Sheriff's Office
		- Bullpen
	+ Abandoned House
	+ Water Treatment Plant
	+ Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital
		- Corey's Room
		- Elevator
	+ Yukimura House
		- Kira's Bedroom

## Soundtrack

* "Cut The Rope" by Charlotte OC
	+ Hayden worries that she's a failure because she's not healing, and Liam kisses her, unintentionally taking her pain when he does. Scott, Mason, and Malia return to the McCall Pack to find Hayden and Liam sleeping and home safe thanks to Theo's rescue.
* "I Found" by Amber Run
	+ Scott comes to the Yukimura House to find Kira packing up a suitcase. She asks him to look at her with his Werewolf eyes, and he sees her fiery Kitsune aura. Scott watches sadly as the Yukimuras drive away, a streetlight shattering as they leave.

## Gallery

*Teen Wolf Wiki* has 33 images related to ***Ouroboros***.