Noel isn't seen until after Lydia and Allison's talk, riding in the jeep with Scott and Stiles as they all confront the kanima in the parking lot. "What do we do now?" Stiles asks, but Noel and Scott are already out of the car and over the fence, running to get to where Derek and Jackson are.
By the time Scott and Noel get there and see Gerard Argent is holding a hand out to the kanima, Scott tackles Jackson away and turns to look at Argent.
Noel is over with Derek, also looking at Gerard in shock and horror. He runs a quick hand through Derek's hair before standing and following after Scott.
—
Cue the intro.
—
After the intro, Noel is with Scott as the two look around the corner and are scared by Stiles. "Did you see where he went?" Stiles asks, Scott shaking his head and admitting that they lost him.
"You couldn't catch a scent?" Stiles asks, Noel saying thoughtfully "I don't think he has one as a kanima. If he did I would have gotten it immediately, I know his scent."
"Well, do you have any clue where he's going?" Stiles asks instead, Scott looking at him and saying "To kill someone."
"Ah," Stiles says in mock passivity. "That explains the claws and fangs and all that. Good, makes perfect sense now." Scott and Noel both glare at him, and he delivers his famous "147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bones" line. It earns him an eye roll from Noel, but not much else.
"Just help us find it," Scott says, Noel responding quickly and defensively "Not 'it', Jackson."
Apologetically, Scott says "I know, I know."
"Alright, but does he know that?" Stiles asks, Noel biting his lip. "Did anybody else see him back at your house?" Stiles continues, Scott answering "I mean, I don't think so, but he already passed Derek's test anyway."
"Yeah but that's just the thing, how did he pass the test?" Stiles asks, Scott admitting that he doesn't know. "Maybe it's like an either or thing," Stiles suggests, Noel and Scott both looking to him for elaboration. "Derek said that a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom, right?" Picking up on what Stiles is saying, Noel finishes "When is the kanima not the kanima?"
Scott ponders this, before saying in realization "When it's Jackson."
Stiles looks up to the roof and sees Jackson's tail there, trying to get Noel and Scott's attention before pointing up. The boys look and see Jackson sneaking inside, Stiles asking "What's he gonna do in there?"
After a beat, Scott says "I know who he's after." Stiles and Noel both look at Scott in questioning, Stiles asking "What, how, did you smell something? Why didn't you smell anything," he asks Noel, Noel shooting him a glare before following Scott's line of sight to where Danny is waiting to get into the club.
—
After the break, the three boys are around back, trying to get in, Stiles saying "Alright, maybe there's like a window we could climb through, or some kind of-"
As he says this, Scott pulls the handle off the door and hands it to Stiles. Stiles states this out loud, Noel smirking and leaning into his ear. "Stupid werewolves, am I right?" he asks, Stiles flailing his arms in Noel's general direction defensively as the two follow Scott inside.
Once they get in Scott notes that, quote, "Dude, everyone in here's a dude. I think we're in a gay club."
Suddenly the camera pans to where Stiles and Noel are being paid attention to by some drag queens, Stiles looking annoyed while Noel is making gestures that suggest he's complimenting the queens on their makeup.
"Man, nothing gets past those keen werewolf senses, huh Scott?" Stiles asks as Noel laughs with the queens.
After Danny walks off to try and score with one of the patrons of the club, the three boys go up to the bar and Stiles asks for three beers.
"Actually I'll take a gin and tonic," Noel says, pouting when the bartender asks to see their IDs. All three boys pull them out, the bartender regarding them and saying in amusement "How about some Cokes?"
"Rum and Coke? Sure," Stiles says, before getting a stern look from the bartender. He says "Coke's fine, actually, I'm driving anyway."
When the other man comes over with their Cokes, he says "That one's paid for." as the boys all pull out their money. They all follow his gesture and see the guy toasting to them. Noel smiles at him appreciatively while Scott and Stiles have their small back and forth.
They all look out into the dance floor, and Stiles finds Danny. He tells them so, and Noel says while looking upwards "I found Jackson."
Sure enough, the kanima is on the ceiling, looking down at Danny below. We then cut to Lydia at her house with Prada in the backyard.
—
Back at the club, Scott orders Stiles and Noel to get Danny. "What are you gonna do?" Stiles asks, as Scott unleashes his claws.
"Works for me," Stiles says, he and Noel weaving through the crowd to get to Danny. Scott keeps a close eye on Jackson, Stiles and Noel struggling to make it through the crowd of dancing people to get to Danny. Soon, Stiles loses track of Danny and Noel, looking around and calling both of their names as smoke starts to fill the room.
As Jackson weaves through crowds and eventually starts blindly paralyzing people, Scott and Noel find each other in the haze and Noel calls out to Jackson.
The kanima's head snaps up in the direction of Noel's voice saying his name, but before he can make any further movements, Derek appears from in the crowd and attacks him. As chaos breaks out, Derek grabs Noel and pulls him away from Scott and Stiles and out of the club altogether.
Scott goes out and finds Jackson human again in the parking lot, a trail of blood leading to him. Jackson coughs, struggling to find his voice. He makes a soft noise of pain, one you can hear an "N" in.
Stiles runs up to meet them, without Noel, Scott asking nervously "What do we do with him now?" before a cut to black.
—
After Scott talks to Danny as the boy is put in an ambulance, he gets into the jeep with Stiles. Stiles tells Scott to text Noel and ask where the hell he is as his dad's car pulls up in front of Stiles' jeep.
Stiles goes out to talk to him, and when Jackson wakes up, he asks in a slurred voice "What's happening? Where's Noel, what-"
Before he can ask another question, Scott apologizes and punches him to knock him out. Jackson falls silent, and the scene continues with no more mentions of Noel.
—
In the car, Chris and Gerard discuss what had happened at the club. Gerard points out that tonight was the first night Chris had seen Derek since Kate's death. Chris acknowledges this fact coldly, Gerard saying "And the only other tie we have to [Derek] is Isaac Lahey."
"Not exactly," Chris says, and Gerard looks over at him with a raised eyebrow. Gerard smiles wickedly and says "You're suggesting we make use of the other Whittemore boy, aren't you?"
"There's no one closer to Derek than him. They left the club together holding hands, and rumor has it Noel's taken the bite from Derek since the last time we saw him."
"Really? Interesting," Gerard says and looks out the windshield of the car. "If this thing bothers Derek enough to bring him out of his little hole while still leaving his heart vulnerable, then we might have an opportunity. What did I teach you is the best way to eliminate a threat?" he asks Chris, and Chris responds "Get someone to do it for you" with a devious smile.
—
In Derek's car, Noel sits in the passenger's seat and looks down at his phone. He has eight missed calls, five voicemails, and twenty texts from Scott and Stiles. Noel turns and looks at Derek, saying "We could have handled it, Derek. We would have taken care of it."
"No, you were all already as good as dead by the time I showed up," Derek says, watching ambulances and patrol cars pull in and out of the parking lot and waiting for an opportunity to leave. Noel watches as well, saying "I really should be with Scott, he has Jackson, and I'm the only one that can get through to him."
"No one can get through to him," Derek says coldly and doesn't bother to look at Noel. Noel grits his teeth and says "Then tell me why he looked at me when I called his name."
"Turning toward a sudden loud noise in a consistently loud room doesn't sound like recognition to me," Derek replies while shaking his head, finally looking at his boyfriend.
To Derek's surprise, Noel has a tear rolling down his cheek. He reaches out to wipe it, but Noel ducks away from his hand. Derek freezes for a second before trying again, Noel letting it happen this time.
"Look at me," Derek says, and Noel slowly does. They make eye contact and Derek says "You can't protect him if you're dead."
"I can't protect him if I'm not with him at all," Noel argues, standing his ground. His phone starts ringing again, but he shuts it off and looks back up at Derek.
Derek's expression starts to become less soft, reverting back to his typical brood with lowered brows. He puts the car in drive, buckling his seat belt and saying "Tell me where you need to go."
—
In the jeep in the next scene, Scott is talking into his phone. "Noel, seriously, answer your freaking phone! We have Jackson and he's unconscious and we have no idea what the hell to do with him!"
Stiles grabs Scott's wrist and pulls the phone up to his own ear, saying "Stop making out with Derek for two seconds and help us out here." He then hangs up the phone and the scene continues as normal.
—
Noel is there with Scott and Stiles when Jackson wakes up in the van, shirtless and handcuffed.
—
The next day, with Jackson locked in the van, Noel is the one that goes in and sits with Jackson to talk to him and give him supplies instead of Stiles. He takes a few slow breaths before saying "Okay, Stiles sent me in here with-"
Jackson suddenly bursts out in a fit of anger, yelling "Let me out, now!"
Noel, outraged, says "You know I'm the one that put those pants on you, right? Because Scott and Stiles were too afraid to, and I wanted you to at least have some decency. We're doing you a favor, Jacks."
"You call this a favor?" Jackson asks and holds up his shackled wrists, Noel looking down at them and setting his jaw.
"Jacks, you're killing people," he tries to reason, but is abruptly cut off by Jackson roaring "DON'T CALL ME JACKS."
Noel jumps, and after a second of recovery, he says "That's another thing, alright? The lashing out. Yeah, you hated me before, but now it's gone too far. Until we can figure out how to stop you from killing, and lashing out, you have to stay in here. I'm sorry." Noel then reaches into the backpack that he had carried in, holding up two sandwiches. "So, do you want a turkey club, or a ham and cheese?"
"You think mom and dad won't be looking for me?" Jackson asks, eyes narrowed. Noel tosses one of the sandwiches at Jackson (the one he knew his cousin would prefer in the end) before saying "Not if they think nothing's wrong. You can thank Stiles for that one." He pulls out Jackson's phone and clicks through it a bit before showing the boy a text message Stiles had sent to his father.
Jackson leans forward and reads the text, smirking a bit and saying "Did you get a chance to proofread what Stiles sent?" Noel pulls the phone back in, not seeing what's wrong until he gets to the end. His mouth drops open and he says "Oh, damn..." before we cut to Mr. Whittemore and the sheriff, where the man reveals to the sheriff that Jackson hasn't said "I love you" in eleven years but signed "his" text as such.
—
When Allison is in the office with Gerard, Gerard tells her that Jackson didn't come to school that day. Allison puts on a face of fake surprise, Gerard continuing "His parents called, and so did the police. They asked his cousin, Noel, who was also out of school today, but the Whittemores claimed he had been sick this morning when they went into his room to ask about Jackson. He said he hadn't seen him since the previous day. You wouldn't happen to know anything about all of that, would you?"
Allison shakes her head and denies, Gerard continuing "Well let me tell you what I know: I know that a teenager's first instinct is to protect their friends. And I believe that my granddaughter would always want to protect her friends, even if that meant lying to me. So, I want to ask one more question, and this time with a small advantage."
During his last line, Gerard had been walking closer to Allison, putting his hands on her shoulders. His fingers move to her neck, and when she tenses, he says "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get a sense of your pulse. Think of it as a game, all you have to do is tell the truth. Do you know anything about Jackson being missing?"
Allison answers calmly "No." Gerard asks again "Is he in trouble?"
"I don't know," she stutters, and Gerard asks "Is your friend Noel covering for anybody?"
"Of course not," is Allison's response before Gerard asks a final question.
"Does this have anything to do with Scott?"
"No," she answers, a bit too quickly. She catches herself, saying "I mean... I don't know."
Gerard moves his hand and says "Your pulse jumped."
With that, Allison stands and says "It's because you're scaring me!"
Gerard apologizes, and the the scene ends as normal.
—
Back in the van, Noel and Jackson are sitting together, neither looking like they really want to be there.
"Scales? Like a fish?" Jackson asks, Noel shaking his head and saying "More like a snake, or a lizard. Some kind of reptile. And your claws, there's this goopy venom that comes out of them and paralyzes people. Oh, and you have a tail."
"I have a tail?" Jackson repeats with mock interest and a bit of sarcasm. Noel says excitedly "Yeah, a tail!"
"Does it do anything?" Jackson asks patronizingly, Noel thinking about it before shaking his head. "Nah. I mean, I don't think so. It seems pretty dexterous, though."
"Dexterous enough to wrap around your neck and strangle you?" Jackson asks, lunging forward as well as he can. Noel jumps back, saying "You seriously don't believe me? Alright, the night of the semi-final game, what did you do right after?"
"I went home," Jackson says, and Noel quirks an eyebrow.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, you idiot, what the hell else would I do?" Jackson asks, Noel saying "You attacked Stiles and Derek at the pool and trapped them in there, AND you paralyzed me. According to Stiles you also killed a mechanic right in front of him, and one of Argent's hunters. And last night, you tried to kill Danny."
"Why would I want to kill my best friend?" Jackson asks, and Noel says "That's what Scott's trying to figure out and why Stiles is out making sure none of his dad's deputies come around here looking for you."
"Well maybe Scott and Stiles should be trying to figure out how they're going to pay for lawyers when I prosecute their asses all the way to jail! And yours too!" he yells, struggling against the chains.
Noel pauses for a second and says calmly "Your parents wouldn't let you sue me. And tell me this- On the night of the first full moon, what happened?"
"...Nothing," Jackson says after a painful pause. "Nothing happened," he repeats, looking at Noel. The episode then cuts back to the school.
—
After Allison and her mom's scene, Noel sends another text to Jackson's dad (one much more malicious in tone and Jackson-esque). He turns to look to his right, and suddenly Allison pops up on his left and scares him. She has Stiles with her.
"They know," Allison says, Noel nodding and saying "Yeah, I'm aware, I'm trying to throw my uncle David off his scent right now."
"Wait, what?" Stiles asks, Noel saying "They all know Jackson's missing!"
"How, I texted his parents all night last night," Stiles says, Noel showing him the texts and saying "You think my cousin would sign off a text to his dad with 'I love you'? Really, Stiles? This is Jackson we're dealing with!"
Stiles seems to realize that Noel is right, and he jumps into the passenger's seat of the van to listen to the radio. They all hear that police are going to be making their way to the preserve, Noel cursing and kicking at the ground. Jackson listens in before we cut to black.
—
After the break, Stiles, Allison, and Noel are all sat in the van.
"Where are we going?" Allison asks, Stiles supplying "Somewhere far far away from this." He dials something on Jackson's phone and tosses it out the window, a woman (Jackson's mother) answering "Jackson?" as they speed off.
—
After Scott's talks with Danny and his mom and after he finds out the tablet with the restored video isn't in Danny's car, the four teens meet back up at the edge of the preserve.
"If Jackson doesn't remember being the kanima, he's definitely not gonna remember stealing Danny's tablet," Scott says, Stiles asking "Why would he steal the thing if he doesn't even know what's on it?"
"What if he's not the one that took it, what if someone else did?" Noel asks, Allison saying "Then somebody else besides us must know what he is."
"Which could mean somebody's protecting him," Scott suggests, Allison nodding and saying "Like the bestiary says, the kanima seeks a friend, right?"
"Okay, hold on," Stiles says. "So, somebody watches Jackson make a video of himself turning into the kanima and then just erases part of it so he wouldn't know? Who would do that?"
"Somebody that wants to protect him," Noel suggests, Scott saying "There's something else. You said the only thing you found online about the kanima is that it goes after murderers. What if that's actually true?"
"No, it can't be, it tried to kill all of us, remember? I don't know about you three but I haven't murdered anybody lately," Stiles says as Jackson eavesdrops.
"I don't think it was actually trying to kill us," Scott says thoughtfully. "Remember when we were at Isaac's the first time, it just went right by us, didn't it?" Scott asks Allison, who nods.
"And it didn't kill you in the mechanic's garage," Scott says to Stiles, before turning to Noel. "And you've been sleeping next door to it since Jackson was turned, and he hasn't hurt you once in all that time."
"Hasn't hurt me as the Kanima anyway," Noel says a bit coldly but with a nod. Stiles cuts in "But it tried to kill me and Derek in the pool."
"Did it?" Scott asks skeptically. "It would have, it was waiting for us to come out," Stiles defends, Scott saying thoughtfully "What if it was trying to keep you in?"
Stiles stares blankly at Scott before saying "Why do I feel so violated all of a sudden?"
Scott answers "Because, there's something else going on. We don't know what it is. We don't know anything about what's going on with Jackson or why someone's protecting him."
"Know thy enemy," Allison interjects, all three boys turning to her. She dismissively says "Just something my grandfather said," before Stiles says "Alright, I got it. Kill Jackson, problem solved."
"No, problem made bigger because then we'd be murderers on the lam, and I just generally don't want you to kill my cousin," Noel interjects.
"He risked his life for us, Stiles, remember? Against Peter?" Scott reminds him, but Stiles says "Yes, but what did we just find out? He got the bite from Derek. It's funny how he just got exactly what he wanted by supposedly risking his life for us. It's funny."
"Doesn't mean he's not still worth saving," Scott says, Noel nodding in agreement. Stiles looks between them and says "It's always something with him, though."
"He doesn't know what he's doing," Noel says in his cousin's defense, Stiles asking angrily "So what?"
"So we didn't either!" Noel says, talking about him and Scott being werewolves. Catching on, Scott backs Noel up. "Remember when I almost killed you and Jackson?" he asks Allison, and she nods before Scott continues. "We have someone to stop us when we go out of it. Jackson has nobody."
"That's his own fault," Stiles says, and we hear the sound of a hard shove even though the camera is on Jackson. Back outside, Scott is holding Stiles back and Allison has a hand on both of Noel's shoulders.
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," Noel growls, readjusting his clothes that had become mussed when he shoved Stiles. "If there's a way to save him, then dammit, I'm going to try. He's my family."
The focus goes back to Jackson, whose look of pain goes slightly soft at Noel's words. Before he can linger on the feeling, however, he looks down at his hand, finding scales there. Blackout.
—
In the car with Allison and Scott that night, Allison asks Scott where Noel and Stiles ran off to. Scott says Stiles had to go apologize to Lydia and Noel had to get home before his aunt and uncle so he could keep up the lie that he stayed home sick from school that day.
The rest of the scene is unchanged, save for one line that changes Stiles' name to Noel's ("Peter told *Noel that if the bite doesn't turn you, it'll kill you").
Shortly after Stiles finds Allison and Scott after Jackson's escape, Noel runs up behind them, stepping out of the car he had driven in the first episode of the season. He comes up as well, asking what's going on, and when he sees Jackson gone he drops his keys in shock.
"I have to tell my father," Allison says, after Noel grabs hold of her hand. Scott gives her permission, and Stiles says he has to call his dad too. Scott says it's all his fault, and shockingly, Noel is the one that says "No, it isn't. It was going to happen eventually, you did everything you could have."
Allison reiterates that they have to tell their dads, because they're a bunch of teenagers who can't handle something like this. Scott agrees with her.
"How are you gonna make your dad believe all this?" Allison asks Stiles, who says doubtfully "I don't know."
Scott suddenly turns to Noel and flashes his eyes yellow. Noel, catching on, steps closer to Scott and lets his eyes glow as well. They both turn to face Stiles, Scott saying "He'll believe us."
—
At the sheriff's station, Noel walks in with Scott and Stiles, all three of them freezing when they see Jackson sitting there in the sheriff's office. The sheriff faces them, saying seriously. "Scott. Stiles. Perfect timing. Noel, come sit over here with your cousin."
Scott and Stiles look uncomfortable, while Noel slowly and skeptically approaches the seat beside Jackson. Jackson gestures to Noel to take a seat, but Noel never takes his eyes off the unnamed man in the room. He settles down next to Jackson, who puts a strangely non-malicious arm around his cousin's shoulders.
The unnamed man smiles and says "Thank you for taking care of him and helping find him even while you're sick, Noel. He told me what you did. Amy and I always knew it was a good decision to take you in all those years ago."
The sheriff then suddenly asks "Have you two boys met Jackson's father? Mr. David Whittemore, esquire."
Jackson supplies matter of factly "That means lawyer" while squeezing his cousin's shoulder, Scott and Stiles staring at the men in shock. Noel wears the same expression as he stares at his uncle before turning to look at Scott and Stiles as well.
—
This is his last appearance in the episode.