After Images

**After Images** is the thirteenth episode of Season 6 and the ninety-third episode of *Teen Wolf*.

## Synopsis

Scott and the others pursue a missing Werewolf. Melissa and Argent investigate a strange body.

## Plot

On the run and wounded by arrow and wolfsbane, Brett attempts to flee from hunters Tamora Monroe and Gerard Argent. Scott along with Liam, Malia and Brett's sister Lorilee, try and track him before the hunters do.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Tyler Posey as Scott McCall
* Holland Roden as Lydia Martin
* Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate
* Dylan Sprayberry as Liam Dunbar
* Linden Ashby as Sheriff Noah Stilinski (credit only)
* Melissa Ponzio as Melissa McCall
* JR Bourne as Chris Argent

### Recurring Cast

* Michael Hogan as Gerard Argent
* Sibongile Mlambo as Tamora Monroe
* Cody Saintgnue as Brett Talbot
* Lily Bleu Andrew as Lorilee Rohr
* Froy Gutierrez as Nolan
* Michael Johnston as Corey Bryant
* Khylin Rhambo as Mason Hewitt
* Rhenzy Feliz as Aaron

## Continuity

* Melissa McCall and Nolan appeared in this episode. They were last seen in *Said the Spider to the Fly*.
* Gerard Argent is now one of the main antagonists for the second half of Season 6. He was last seen as an antagonist throughout the duration of Season 2, ending with the season finale, *Master Plan*. After this point, he became a recurring character.
* Gerard and Tamora Monroe continue their Hunter partnership in this episode, which began in *Raw Talent*.
* Liam Dunbar and Mason Hewitt spend an evening playing video games in this episode, which acts as a parallel to Season 4's *A Promise to the Dead*.
	+ In *A Promise to the Dead*, Liam, who was experiencing post-traumatic stress in the form of hallucinations following his and Kira Yukimura's battle with Kate Argent's Berserker, tried to get Mason to stay the night so he wouldn't have to suffer alone, even offering to help him study for a test to convince him to sleep over.
	+ In this episode, it is Mason who is suffering from post-traumatic stress and hallucinations (in this case, in the form of an after-image of the flayed, faceless body they found in the previous episode) and who offers to help Liam study for a test to have an excuse to stay the night to avoid being alone as well.
* Lydia Martin uses automatic writing in this episode to learn more about the creature with which they are currently dealing. She last used this ability in Season 6A's *Superposition*.
* It is confirmed that Brett Talbot possessed the ability to suppress his scent in this episode. It was first stated that Satomi's Pack could do this in Season 4's *Orphaned*.
* Satomi Ito is mentioned in this episode. She was last seen in Season 4's *Monstrous* and was last mentioned in Season 5A's *Dreamcatchers*.
* Stiles Stilinski is mentioned in this episode. He was last seen in Season 6B's *Said the Spider to the Fly*.
* Liam mentions that he has been the acting leader of the McCall Pack for the last three months, placing the current timeline in Autumn 2013, three months after where Season 6A left off.
* Scott and Malia's relationship continues to grow stronger in this episode when Malia expresses her fear of Scott dying, and Scott implies that Stiles would be okay with it if they ever decided to begin a romantic relationship. The first hint of Scott and Malia's deepening relationship began in Season 6B's *Raw Talent*.
* Argent and Melissa reference the fact that neither has spoken to each other since they kissed in the Phantom Train Station in Season 6A's *Riders on the Storm* in this episode.
* Lydia, Mason, and Corey reference Lydia's premonition of the citizens of Beacon Hills turning on each other in this episode, which she experienced in *Said the Spider to the Fly*. She then reveals that she was wrong about her initial interpretation of this premonition, and states that it actually means that the human population will turn on the supernatural population.
* After being hit by the SUV, Lori, realizing that she and Brett are going to die, tells her brother to close his eyes. This is a parallel to Season 4's *Monstrous*, when Brett, who saw dozens of Hunters aiming laser-sighted crossbows at them, told Lori to close her eyes, believing that they would soon be killed, though they were ultimately saved by Kira Yukimura.
* Lori also tries to take Brett's pain in their final moments, and says "I couldn't take away his pain" to Liam when he arrives on the scene. This is a parallel to Allison Argent's death in Season 3B's *Insatiable*, when Scott attempted to take her pain before she died and was unable to do so because, according to Allison, it didn't hurt.

## Cultural References

* Lorilee Rohr reveals that Satomi Ito taught her and Brett Talbot (and presumably the rest of Satomi's Pack) the art of rock balancing. Rock balancing is a hobby or discipline in which a person balances rocks on top of each other in a variety of positions without the use of supports or adhesives—the practice relies solely on keeping the balance naturally without assistance. There are several variations of this practice, and it can be performed for many reasons, including as a performance, as a type of devotion, meditation, or even a type of problem solving. It can be kind of a controversial practice due to a significant number of people believing nature should be enjoyed in its undisturbed state.
* Gerard Argent refers to Scott McCall's Achilles' heel as an inability to think strategically. An "Achilles' heel" is a metaphor that references the Greek mythological hero Achilles, who was invulnerable except for the place on his heel where his mother held him as she dipped him in the River Styx for protection. It is a saying used to describe a person's true weakness or vulnerability.

## Trivia

* This is the first episode to be directed by Tyler Posey, who plays Scott McCall.
* The title of the episode refers to the fact that Mason Hewitt is experiencing persistent "after-images" of the flayed, faceless body that Liam, Mason and Corey found in the Beacon Hills High School.
* Mason references palinopsia in this episode when talking about the after-images he kept seeing. Palinopsia (From Greek; *palin* meaning "again" and *opsia* meaning "seeing") is a rather large group of psychological symptoms which can be caused by many factors; the word *palinopsia* itself is defined as a persistent recurrence of a visual image after the cause of the stimulus is removed.
	+ There are two kinds of palinopsia—illusory palinospia, and hallucinatory palinopsia—and it is implied that the mysterious flayed creature possesses the power to inflict this symptom on others who see it.
		- Illusory palinopsia consists of short-lived or unformed after-images which are predictable or continuous in nature, which are caused by the brain's abnormal perception of a stimulus. It can be caused by migraines, hallucinogenic drugs, head trauma, or other prescription medications such as Trazodone, Remeron, Topomax, Risperdal, or oral contraceptives.
		- Hallucinatory palinopsia consist of formed after-images which are much more long-lasting and which are generally unpredictable, which seems more in-tune with the kind of after-images of the body Mason was experiencing. These usually result from brain issues such as strokes, hemorrhages, aneurysms, abscesses, and seizures.
* It is revealed that the mysterious Big Bad has the power to induce crippling fear in those around it, to the point where even the usually calm and collected Melissa McCall and Chris Argent were barely able to stand in its presence. It can also seemingly induce hallucinations.
* Lydia writes the number "68" in a variety of languages and codes (such as writing Er, the element Erebium, whose atomic number is 68, and LXVIII, the Roman numeral for 68) while utilizing automatic writing. These languages include Afrikaans (*sestig*), Albanian (*gjashtëdhjetë e tetë*), Basque (*hirurogeita zortzi*), Mandarin Chinese (六十八), Esperanto (*sesdek ok*), Javanese (*sewidak wolu*), Danish (*otteogtred*), Kyrgyz (*алтымыш сетиз*), Malay (*enam puluh lapan*), Czech (*šedesát osm*), German (*achtundsechzig*), Catalan (*seixanta-vuit*), Greek (*εξηντα οκτω*), Punjabi (ਸੱਠ ਅੱਠ), Japanese (六十八), Khmer (ហុកសិបប្រាំបី), Lao (ຫົກສິບແປດ), Marathi (अडुसष्ठ), Mongolian (Жаран найм), SInhala (හැට අට), Tamil (அறுபத்தெட்டு), Xhosa (*Ezingamashumi mathandathu ezisibhozo*), Zulu (*ayisithupha nesishiyagalombili*), Georgian (სამოცი რვა)
* According to Lorilee, Satomi Ito taught her and Brett how to practice the art of stone balancing.
* It is confirmed that Lori was also a student at Devenford Prep, thanks to Brett's acceptance on a lacrosse scholarship, which allowed them both to be chosen to enroll there.
* Both Corey and Liam are exposed as supernatural creatures to citizens of Beacon Hills. Corey was exposed after Nolan stabbed him in the hand with a pen and revealed his accelerated healing factor to the other students in the library. Liam was exposed after he jumped out of the sewer in full-Werewolf form and roared in grief at the sight of Lorilee and Brett laying dead on the ground after the two were hit by an SUV, as several cars full of people and dozens more passerby were around to see him do this.
	+ Nolan also seemed to figure out that Lydia is also supernatural when she began asking him questions about Brett being missing.
* It is implied that Scott purposely resisted Malia's attempts to take his pain after he was injured in Gerard and Tamora's trap, indicating a very high degree of control over his body. It wasn't until he briefly lost consciousness that Malia was able to successfully use her power of pain absorption.

## Body Count

* Brett Talbot - Wolfsbane poisoning and being run over by an SUV; killed by an unknown man (directly) and Gerard Argent (indirectly)
* Lorilee Rohr - run over by an SUV; killed by an unknown man (directly) and Gerard Argent (indirectly)

## Locations

* Beacon Hills Preserve
* Dunbar House
	+ Liam's Bedroom
* Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital
	+ Morgue
* McCall House
	+ Driveway
	+ Foyer
* Beacon Hills High School
	+ Courtyard
	+ Chemistry Laboratory
	+ Library
	+ Entrance Hall
* Underground Tunnels
* Route 115

## Soundtrack

* "Born Free" by Little & Ashley
	+ Liam and Mason play video games in Liam's bedroom. Mason asks if he can spend the night and admits that he can't stop seeing after images of the flayed corpse they found earlier.
* "Black Blood" by Waterstrider
	+ Scott resists Malia's attempts to take his pain, but after he briefly loses consciousness, Malia is able to do so, taking the edge off of his injury and allowing him to heal normally

## Gallery

*Teen Wolf Wiki* has 33 images related to ***After Images***.
* Images
* Videos

'Organisms Can Change' Official Sneak Peek Teen Wolf (Season 6B) MTV'The Hunt For Brett' Official Sneak Peek Teen Wolf (Season 6B) MTV'Will Brett Be Okay?' Official Sneak Peek Teen Wolf (Season 6B) MTV
## References

1. ↑ Teen Wolf Season 6B Premiere Spoilers & Cast Details