Teen Wolf season 3

Lore & Background

The third season was renewed on July 12, 2012, and filmed in two parts. Part 1 was filmed from December 3, 2012 to May 5, 2013, and Part 2 from July 29, 2013 to December 19, 2013. Unlike previous seasons shot in Atlanta, Georgia, this season was shot in Los Angeles, California. Colton Haynes left the show to take a role on the CW series Arrow, and his character Jackson Whittemore moved to London. The season introduced new characters including twin alpha werewolves Ethan and Aiden (Charlie and Max Carver), Cora Hale (Adelaide Kane), Kali (Felisha Terrell), Deucalion (Gideon Emery), Ennis (Brian Patrick Wade), and Jennifer Blake (Haley Webb). For Part 2, Arden Cho was cast as Kira, a kitsune; Doug Jones as Barrow; Ryan Kelley as a new sheriff's deputy; and Shelley Hennig in an initially undisclosed role.

Reader's Guide

The third season is significant for expanding the Teen Wolf mythology with the Alpha Pack and supernatural Druid in Part 1, and the Nogitsune and Oni in Part 2. It marked a shift in filming location from Atlanta to Los Angeles. The season received an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews, with the critics' consensus noting it 'delves into intellectual horror themes while staying true to the movie's original mythology.' Crystal Reed decided to leave the show during Part 2 production, and her character Allison Argent was killed off in the penultimate episode. The season was released on home media in two parts: 3A on December 10, 2013, and 3B on June 17, 2014.

Did You Know?

• Season 3 was filmed in Los Angeles, California, unlike previous seasons which were shot in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Colton Haynes left Teen Wolf to take a role on the CW series Arrow.
• Crystal Reed decided to leave the show during Season 3B production, and her character Allison Argent was killed off in the penultimate episode.
• The season introduced twin alpha werewolves Ethan and Aiden, played by former Desperate Housewives stars Charlie and Max Carver.

The Alpha Pack and the War for Beacon Hills

Season 3A introduced Beacon Hills to a threat far more organized and brutal than anything the pack had previously faced. The Alpha pack, led by Deucalion—a werewolf whose eloquent, cutting intelligence drove a scheme to drive a wedge between Derek and Scott—descended on the town with a cadre of deadly hunters. Among them were the identical twin alphas Ethan and Aiden, described by the show's creators as dangerous charmers with brilliant minds, plus Kali, a female alpha, and Ennis, a force of pure brutality. Their arrival was marked by the kidnapping of Vernon Boyd and the emergence of a mysterious, threatening Druid who harvested categorized individuals as sacrifices, absorbing their power to oppose the Alphas. The pack's desperate infiltration of a bank where the Alphas had taken refuge yielded two devastating discoveries: Erica Reyes was already dead, and Derek's sister Cora Hale was being held captive. Their rescue of Cora became a turning point, pulling the Hale family's fractured history back into the center of the conflict.

Mythology Deepens — The Nogitsune, Kira, and the Oni

The second half of the season pushed the series' mythology into genuinely unsettling territory. Reigniting the ancient power beneath Beacon Hills produced horrifying side effects across the core group: Scott lost his ability to control his werewolf shift, Allison began seeing visions of her deceased aunt Kate, and Stiles could no longer distinguish waking from dreaming. The answer, the characters discovered, lay with Kira Yukimura, a new student whose remarkable abilities identified her as a kitsune. But the true antagonist was the Nogitsune, a spirit that possessed Stiles and compelled him to carry out tasks designed to generate chaos and strife—emotions the entity fed upon. Scott faced the agonizing dilemma of finding a way to save his best friend without killing him. Kira's mother, Noshiko, attempted to counter the Nogitsune by summoning the Oni, powerful spirits whose intervention added another layer to an already complex supernatural battle.

A Season Rebuilt — Production and Cast Transformation

Behind the scenes, Season 3 represented the most dramatic production overhaul in the series' history. For the first time, filming moved from Atlanta, Georgia, to Los Angeles, California, and the season was shot in two distinct blocks: Part 1 ran from December 3, 2012, to May 5, 2013, while Part 2 stretched from July 29 to December 19, 2013. The cast underwent a seismic shift. Colton Haynes departed to join the CW's Arrow, and his character Jackson's absence was woven into the narrative as having moved to London. An open casting call was held to find identical twins for the alpha roles, ultimately landing on Charlie and Max Carver. Five other major additions were announced in late November 2012, including Adelaide Kane as Cora Hale and Haley Webb as Derek's love interest Jennifer Blake. Tragically, Crystal Reed chose to leave during Season 3B production to pursue other film and television opportunities, resulting in Allison Argent's death in the penultimate episode.

Critical Response and the Season's Aftermath

Despite the narrative upheaval and cast turnover, critics responded warmly to the season's ambition. Rotten Tomatoes recorded an 88 percent approval rating across 17 reviews, with an average score of 7.97 out of 10. The site's consensus praised the show for being beautifully shot and crafted, noting that it delves into intellectual horror themes while remaining faithful to the mythology established in the 1985 film that inspired the series. Showrunner Linden Ashby captured the season's philosophical core, describing it as a season of consequence where every action produces a reaction that is not always what the characters expect. The season's two-part structure carried over to home media, with 3A released on December 10, 2013, and 3B following on June 17, 2014, allowing fans to experience the full arc of Beacon Hills' transformation at their own pace.

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