Wolf Pack 1×03 “Origin Point” is the type of episode you have to just…get past certain parts of to enjoy. There’s a clunky start, with characters we can’t quite manage to care about until after they interact with the pack. (And even then, eh.) And there are certainly some bits that creep just over the line from “ok this is fun, so who cares” to “omg. Melodrama. Go away.” With that being said, though, there’s certainly plenty worth watching and discussing.
The best part of the episode comes from the opportunity to watch Blake, Everett, Luna, and Harlan come together. It’s the same “found family” storytelling that worked very well during the first two episodes. This time around, we really start to learn what that means beyond just a general, thematic sense. Because in “Origin Point,” we start to get a little bit better of an idea of what it means to be part of a pack in this series’ universe, specifically. And the episode doles out just enough information to answer some of our early questions — while making sure we start asking many, many more.
Oh! Did we mention there’s still an arson investigation and a father recently returned from the middle of the inferno? No? Well, here we are. Let’s break it down.
“It’s because we’re a pack. We’re connected.”
By the end of “Origin Point,” Luna gets a very intense opportunity for an “I told you so.” And, to be frank, if the next episode of this series starts with her hitting Harlan over the head, repeatedly, and just constantly saying that line and nothing else for the full hour, it’ll make for good television. Ever since that moment in the woods at the end of the premiere, she’s known that Blake and Everett were part of her pack. And that includes Harlan, meaning they are also part of his pack. But, as we’ve seen, Harlan has refused to listen to her and remained (understandably, in a lot of ways) wary of letting outsiders in on the family secret.
Everett and Blake are part of that family now, though — and that’s something Harlan can’t ignore anymore. First up, there’s the police station scene. In their separate interrogations, when the pack needs it — when they need each other — most, everyone is able to share Harlan’s sense of hearing. Later, though it doesn’t happen exactly when they expect or want it to, everyone has Luna’s super smelling ability. For whatever reason, these four strangers (or, more accurately, two strangers and two siblings) are now part of something larger. They are, as Luna says more than once, connected. And although he needs to be beaten over the head with the image of a werewolf choosing not to eat Everett for dinner before he accepts it, Harlan does finally get the message.
It’s not a second too late, either. Because, in the process of barely surviving an attack, the Briggses find out their dad has been hiding something deadly from them all along. Getting the obvious out of the way, that ending is gutting. There’s so much hurt written all over Luna and Harlan’s faces, and exactly zero viewers need an “I feel betrayed” line to get that that’s exactly how these two characters feel. It’s good work from both Chloe Rose Robertson and Tyler Lawrence Gray in a scene that, rather than relying on the same melodramatic feel the series makes use of in other places, is much quieter and more genuine.
There’s also no question about why Garrett has those silver bullets or whether he loves his kids. Before this episode, every second we spent with Garrett was about him getting home to Harlan and Luna, no matter how easy it would’ve been to just give up. To him, they’re worth fighting for — we’ve seen more than enough proof — but he also fears them, fears what he can’t understand. And that type of fear always leads to the worst possible outcomes. For better or worse, the world of Wolf Pack is obviously no different. Sure, it’s understandable that Garrett would want to protect himself if necessary…but that doesn’t make this particular method of protection ok.
At the end of the day, for as much as the kids need Garrett in the human world — especially when it comes to arriving just in time to save the pack from the cops — there are still things about them he will never get to be a part of. He will never share their experiences, no matter how much he may try to see them. Because of that, Harlan and Luna need their pack. We all need “our” pack, our people who get us in ways that nobody else can, and that’s what Everett and Blake are to them. That’s why it’s so incredibly important for the whole pack to start to work together — to really be a pack.
Garrett’s betrayal makes all of Harlan’s talk of a “real dad” way less frustrating, and everything about his inability to be more open with others suddenly makes a lot more sense. And it’s also more proof that, within this series, it’s the ordinary world that’s the most terrifying. Not the things that go bump in the night, no matter how dark and scary the night may seem. And not the other kids who may be a different, or may be going through their own shit that doesn’t make sense to us. It’s the “normal, average” adults and their “normal” world that kids should fear, not what’s inside themselves.
“Speaking of pushing…”
Wolf Pack 1×03 definitely makes it clear that this series is not about copaganda. If the first two episodes of the series didn’t make that obvious enough with some of Ramsey and Jang’s questionable tactics, here’s even more proof. And, honestly, even if Officer Miller gets a little bit “cartoon villain” in the process, I can’t be bothered to care. Typically, I might even have a snarky word or two about something wooden in the performance or whatever. Instead, I’m going to say that it’s nice that audiences aren’t being fed the typical lies.
Perhaps more shows should take this route, especially if the messaging is aimed at the younger demographic. Rather than indoctrinate them, educate them. Give them the message we hear over and over again in “Origin Point,” whether it’s from the kids’ terrified whispering in the back of the police car or the cops’ actual behavior. And it’s an important message, however heavy-handed the delivery may be in some places. To be specific: Don’t trust the police. They can’t hold you without cause. You don’t have to say anything, and in fact, it’s best if you don’t without a lawyer — or, at the very least, a parent/guardian of some sort — present.
There’s also a sense of nuance or gray area (or whatever you want to call it) here. Ramsey lies to Garrett about the teens “volunteering” to answer her questions. Her interrogation with Everett, too, is uncomfortable to watch because it’s difficult to figure out her intentions. Is she just playing the good cop to Jang’s bad cop by trying to relate to Everett about anxiety…or honestly trying to connect with the kid by exposing her own vulnerabilities — to let him know it can get better? The answer to that one will almost certainly depend on who you ask, but the way she sets boundaries with Miller is indisputably doing the right thing.
Or, well. It’s on the path to doing the right thing, at least. Realistically, a hero — a “good” character, even — would’ve immediately removed him from the task force. (And forced him to surrender his badge and gun, actually.)
But at least she’s the only adult in the room stating that no, it’s not ok to use that kind of force, period. The action sets her apart from the likes of Miller; arguably, some previous behaviors have also already set her apart from Jang. So, luckily, we get a very good illustration of this character having substance and layers, as opposed to the “cartoon villain” status I mentioned above.
But there’s a little bit more to what makes this character so interesting. And no, it’s not (just) that she’s played by Sarah Michelle Gellar (Though that continues to always, always help.) The other notable part of Wolf Pack 1×03 for Kristin Ramsey is this: Regardless of the authority she has over the kids, and regardless of her ranking, she is still a woman in the (cartoon villain-ish) good ol’ boys’ club. When Miller’s trying to be all “rah, rah. Look at how big and tough guy I am. I could’ve forced a confession in five minutes,” Gellar gives us the subtlest, yet strongest, of reactions.
In that moment, she’s every woman who’s ever had to just politely listen to that kind of mess and patiently swallow it down, biding her time until she can do something about it. It’s that tiny glimpse of her, looking down and barely working her jaw, that just says it all. If only the character wasn’t still a cop, walking right up to some lines while happily leaping over others. To her credit, Ramsey has proven herself to be smart enough to know the pack wasn’t behind the fire. And she’s “good” enough to put Miller in his place. But she’s still part of a very broken system and is therefore, uh, not entirely great.
Basically, Wolf Pack said, “ACAB. Even Buffy Summers Kristin Ramsey.” She can save us later — or not! We don’t know and wouldn’t tell even if she did! — but the series has done a very good job of making it very, very clear that these kids should not trust the cops. And neither should we.
More on Wolf Pack 1×03 “Origin Point”
- I’d still love to know how, after being bitten, Everett and Blake — and those two alone, apparently — are part of this pack, while the likes of Connor (RIP)…not so much.
- What even with that music in the opening scene? And, really it was all a bit much in general. Perhaps introducing me to those particular kids in that particular way might’ve worked for me in a pilot…but not to kick off a third episode.
- “You can’t say pussy anymore, asshole. It’s sexist.” “But I’m gay, and you can talk about my asshole.” Someone please tell the cutting room floor that it accidentally dumped some weird AF dialogue back into the episode. To be honest, at least half of this scene should’ve been cut. I get that we’re trying to set up the whodunit of it all, and there are some interesting things going on with some of these actors…but no. Goodbye.
- “It’s the fucking apocalypse.” Ok. You know who to beep, right? Oh? You don’t even know what a beeper is? Well, fuck.
- “I kind of like that she doesn’t carry a cell phone. She just doesn’t give a fuck.” You. I’m keeping you because so very much same, forever, on Blake. She remains the undisputed favorite of this series so far, hands down.
- The bit when the main characters are entering the station is so great, on so many levels. There’s what I like to call “the Buffy walk,” some powerful imagery of what it’s like to need a place to go in the aftermath of a tragedy, that intense heartbeat sound and the very real feeling of sharing Harlan’s overstimulation…and some more weirdness with horses for Luna. (Pretty sure she gets the short end of the stick here.)
- Another reason the pack needs each other: Shitty kids from school like Phoebe. Blah, blah. Blake’s the arsonist. (I will end you if the werewolf doesn’t, kid!) Blah, blah, fuck Harlan for stealing my boyfriend…Girl, go.
- “That guy? That’s your type?” “Fuck off.” I love!
- “You…were smoking an edible.” The delivery. Just. Brilliant.
- “It used to hit me the hardest right before I went to sleep.” It’s giving “I should be home in bed, cuddling up to my insomnia and worrying about how I’m going to mess up tomorrow.”
- Buffy jokes aside (see? I’m capable!), that whole discussion of anxiety…Imagine if more shows told kids it was ok to not be ok, that they’re not alone…Amazing. Such important work here, regardless of how it’s done.
- “What keeps you up at night?” His shitty parents. In fact, Ma’am, convince to me you’re a hero. Do something about them.
- “That’s not what I saw. Get your hands off my son, Officer. Or we will have a conversation about assault.” Get him. And, of course, this type of thing made the ending hurt that much worse.
- That car scene with Phoebe…Lawyer Daddy has clearly never let her watch a horror movie or else she would’ve known better than to stick her head out of that car door to investigate.
- “Fine. Call him in.” “Her.” I know that’s right!
- “I didn’t volunteer for this shit.” Have I mentioned yet that we stan Blake?
- Everett’s catching Garrett up on the first two episodes of this series in what I assume is the exact hella rushed way I yell at people to get them to watch my shows.
- “…rules could be completely different for them. “ARE. THEY.
- “Glowing? Jesus.” Same.
- Blake automatically assuming the “not safe” message is about her loved ones not being safe around her…girl, that guilt complex is as bad as mine.
- Kinda getting tired of the hookup dreams. All right, I get it. The actors have chemistry. Do we have to chat about it all day?
- “Don’t ask.” “You slept with her boyfriend in her own house?” “He said don’t ask.” And Harlan’s smirk. I see these two are going to get along!
- “You said werewolf.” “Go fuck yourself.” Young love!
- Not mad about the wolf attacking Miller. Kinda happy, actually.
- All that guilt and shame, yet with still an element of not being sorry, in that quiet “yes.” Rodrigo Santoro had the last word on our feelings for this episode, huh? Daddy Briggs, you’ve got some explaining to do.
Thoughts on Wolf Pack 1×03 “Origin Point”? Leave us a comment!
New episodes of Wolf Pack stream Thursdays on Paramount+.
