Drama
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf
‘The Terminal List: Dark Wolf’ provides more context for the events in ‘The Terminal List.’ It also expands on the original show’s violence and profanity.
Jackie’s life has been turned completely upside-down.
After her parents and sister die in a tragic car accident, she’s sent to live with her mom’s best friend from college, Katherine Walter.
It’s not that the Walters aren’t nice people. But the transition forces Jackie to trade New York’s skyscrapers for a Colorado ranch, her all-girls private school for a football-obsessed public school.
Jackie’s mom was a respected fashion designer, and her dad went to Princeton. Her whole life, she’s been taught to seek excellence in everything she does. But the Walters’ seven boys (plus their tomboy daughter and two nephews) aren’t really concerned with good grades. And let’s face it, Ralph Lauren didn’t exactly design a line for mucking stalls.
But this is what Jackie’s mom wanted. And Jackie is determined to honor her family however she can.
My Life With the Walter Boys, based on the book by Ali Novak, is a coming-of-age tale filled with romance, drama and enough teen angst to give you flashbacks to your own high school days.
Katherine and her husband, George, are kind but also a bit naïve about their children’s relationships. Eldest son Will and his live-in fiancée (now wife) can’t quite agree on their future. Teenage Nathan is in a relationship with another boy. And Jackie quickly becomes the subject of a feud between two of their other sons, Cole and Alex.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the teen brothers have argued over a love interest. Cole earned his younger brother’s ire the year prior when he kissed Alex’s then-girlfriend—a pattern he repeats with Jackie. He also has a bit of a reputation at school for having sex with lots of girls. And Mr. and Mrs. Walter are none too pleased when they discover those rumors are true, as well as learning that Cole’s younger siblings have been covering for him. Most of this salaciousness is kept offscreen, but we still see a fair bit of PDA between teen couples (including same-sex couples), and sex is a frequent topic of gossip at the high school.
And when the raging hormones become too much, the boys sometimes resort to rage, resulting in fistfights and yelling matches. Occasional profanity rears its ugly head, too. And don’t even get me started on rumor-spreading mean girls.
Ultimately, we’re dealing with the story of a girl learning to live again after facing incredible loss. But the nonstop teen drama here often overshadows that theme, stealing the heart of the show like a terrible ex-boyfriend.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Katherine convinces Jackie to return to the Walter home for another school year after spending the summer in New York. But Jackie quickly learns that while most of the Walters are excited to have her back, others still feel hurt by her sudden and unannounced departure.
Jackie, we learn, is still processing grief from losing her family. She came back to New York for the summer, hoping that being around old friends and old family hangouts would make her feel better. However, her friends have moved on with their lives; and those old hangouts don’t feel the same without her parents and sister. It doesn’t help that her uncle was away in Europe most of the summer for work. But Jackie also worries that returning with Katherine won’t feel right either, since she burned several bridges by leaving without saying goodbye.
Jackie isn’t entirely wrong. Many of the Walter siblings give her the cold shoulder upon her return. But Katherine encourages Jackie, telling the teen girl that she does belong with them. She promises to help Jackie through the transition as both a mentor and a friend. So Jackie works to make things right with the people she hurt.
There’s a lot of teenage romance drama here, too: Season 1 ended with Alex telling Jackie he loved her under the influence of alcohol. Jackie didn’t say it back—partially because she knew he was drunk, partially because she was secretly in love with Cole—and he’s still hurt by this. He expresses his anger by officially and rudely breaking up with her (though they both knew it had already ended). However, getting spurned by Jackie hasn’t slowed Alex down in the romance department. He flirts with multiple girls at school throughout the episode.
Cole, meanwhile, tries to get Jackie’s attention, but she’s avoiding him. They kissed at the end of the first season while she was still in a relationship with Alex (though Alex still doesn’t know about that).
A teenage boy and girl kiss. A married couple go to their bedroom after a flirtatious and suggestive conversation. Nathan gives Jackie updates about his relationship with his boyfriend. One of the younger Walter boys mistakenly refers to a female chicken as a boy. When someone asks if it even matters, Katherine says, “It does if you want eggs.”
Alex is rude to his best friend, Kiley, insulting her and blowing her off at school. A teenage boy confides to a friend that his dad only seems to care about him as it pertains to football. The friend sympathizes with his parenting woes, sharing that she lives with her grandmother. The Walters’ adult son, Will, gets into a disagreement with his dad over some proposed land developments.
A teenager says she almost joined her mom’s prayer group over the summer out of boredom. However, she doesn’t seem to be scorning the faith, either, since she also says that she helps out at church frequently.
God’s name is misused three times. We hear the words “d–n” and “h—” used in song lyrics. Other songs reference drinking.
After the loss of her family, Jackie moves from New York to Colorado to live with her new guardians, the Walters. It’s a big transition, especially since her guardians have ten kids already living there.
Teen couples make out. Many teens gossip about which of their classmates have had sex. The camera slows down dramatically, focusing on a teen boy as he climbs out of a pool. We hear the eldest Walter boy lives with his fiancée. Teen girls wear belly-baring tops to school. An adult woman wears a dress showing cleavage. Girls fawn over boys at football practice. A male character acts slightly effeminate (and it’s later revealed he’s gay).
Cole Walter toys with Jackie’s emotions, being rude one moment and flirting with her the next. His jealous on-again, off-again girlfriend, Erin, tells Jackie off even though Jackie hasn’t expressed interest in the boy. (And she crosses a line, calling Jackie “little orphan Annie” in reference to Jackie’s recent loss.) And his younger brother, Alex, storms off when he sees this since he has a crush on Jackie himself.
Teenagers gossip and act mean to each other. (Jackie expresses regret after she embarrasses Cole’s girlfriend.) Some characters play an online video game where their avatars kill monsters. A husband appears to be hiding his family’s poor financial situation from his wife.
God’s name is abused a handful of times. We also hear the beginning of the s-word twice (both are interrupted before they can be completed), and a use of “h—.”
The high school’s guidance counselor expresses concern for Jackie since she’s buried herself in schoolwork and extracurriculars since the deaths of her family. Jackie explains that her friends in New York didn’t know how to comfort her and wound up abandoning her in their confusion. And the counselor advises Jackie to be easier on herself.
Katherine Walter is incredibly kind to Jackie, telling her how much she resembles her mother in looks and spirit. Her sons, barring Cole’s behavior and a few harmless pranks, are also nice, showing her where her classes are, standing up for her in class and even inviting her to sit with them at lunch.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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