In the remaining episodes of Season 3 of the MTV drama series Teen Wolf, Scott (Tyler Posey) is struggling to find his place as an Alpha, while he, Allison (Crystal Reed) and his best friend Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) are experiencing strange side effects after reigniting the power within Beacon Hills. And in the heightened world these teenagers live in, all of their lives are in danger and everything has extreme consequences.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, actress Crystal Reed talked about how much she enjoyed the more psychological aspect of Season 3b, where things are headed for Allison, how she’ll have a few different weapons this season, getting to work with more of the actors now that their characters are more aware of the supernatural part of the story, having to remember that she’s playing a teenager, the relationship between Allison and Isaac (Daniel Sharman), and her favorite scene from this half of the season.  Check out what she had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

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Things are clearly quite a bit darker for Season 3b.  Was it refreshing to find out that, even with twice the amount of episodes, each half of the season would feel so different?

CRYSTAL REED:  Yeah.  I was a little skeptical, when they said we were doing 24 episodes, until I found out that they were going to do two separate storylines.  That made it so much easier.  And then, when (show creator) Jeff [Davis] said it was going to be more psychological, that’s much more interesting for me, personally.  It’s my taste.  Also, it’s fun to play that.  Psychology was going to be my minor in college.  I’ve always been really interested in the human mind, which is probably why I’m an actor.  So, that was really fun ‘cause I knew I’d be very challenged. 

With as dark as things are getting, what can you say about where Allison is headed?

REED:  She’s come from such an interesting past.  She’s had so many of her family members betray her trust.  Now she has Isaac in her life, but she’s not sure if she really wants to be with him, so it’s that tug-of-war thing.  And she also has a lot of guards up because she’s so jaded by everything.  In her heart, I think she wants to be a really good hunter and a really good person, so she’s struggling with how to do that and how to still maintain a bit of her social teenage life.  I know what happens, but it will be interesting to see how they edit it.  I can’t wait to see how it turns out. 

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How hard of a time does she have without being able to use her bow and arrow?

REED:  It’s so frustrating for her.  But, she ends up having a few different weapons this season. 

Is it nice to be able to have interactions with more people, now that some more of the characters know about the supernatural side of things?

REED:  It is.  I think it broadens the spectrum of actors I get to work with.  Linden [Ashby], who plays Sheriff Stilinski, didn’t know about werewolves at all and now he does.  I’ve had some beautiful scenes with him that I never got to experience before because he wasn’t part of Allison’s storylines.  Now that more people know that werewolves exist in our fictional world, it has gotten easier.  It was just Stiles and Scott, for such a long time, and those three were trying to figure out what was going on, but now everyone’s involved.  It’s good.

Is it hard to remember that these kids are still supposed to be in high school while all of these horrible things are going on?

REED:  Yeah.  I’m a 28-year-old woman, so I have to constantly remind myself that I am playing a teenager.  What helps a lot, for me, is Allison’s wardrobe and hair and make-up.  Oftentimes, we go into fittings and I’m reminded that she’s a 17-year-old.  When I’m dressing like a young girl, then I feel more adolescent.  But there are times when I try to bring so much depth and complexity to her, and my director will say, “Just roll your eyes at your dad.  That’s what a 17-year-old girl would do.”  In certain moments, it can be really frustrating, as an actor, because I want to do so many things with her, but then I have to bring myself into the world of the show and say, “Well, she is 17 and she doesn’t have all this knowledge that I have.”  It is challenging.  And she’s so mature for her age.  She’s been through so much that it’s hard to balance that.  She doesn’t get jealous over ex-boyfriends.  She doesn’t get angry.  She doesn’t do half the things that normal teenage girls do, so I have to remind myself that she is still a teenager, even though she’s a wonderful young woman.

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Does Allison consider Scott’s feelings, when it comes to her relationship with Isaac?

REED:  Yes, I think so.  That’s why she said, “Are you sure Scott’s okay with this?  Did you ask him?”  And he said, “Yes.”  She is worried about that because they’re still friends and I think she still cares about him.  She just knows that, due to circumstances, they can’t be together. 

Does it feel like the viewers and fans really get what this show is now?

REED:  I think they are.  I think we’re riding it now.  We know what it is, and they know what they’re writing.  The look of it is established, and the characters are moving along and developing.  I think we are just sailing, and that’s such a lovely thing to be a part of, as an actor.  There’s a level of comfort, confidence and security, knowing that we have this group of people, who are our fans, who love us and support us and get it, and we can just do such great things.  It feels really good.  People were so skeptical of the show, when we started.  They were like, “Teen Wolf?!  The ‘80s movie?  Okay, we’ll see how that goes.”  The Vampire Diaries was before us, so I think we were constantly being compared to that, and also Twilight.  I read a really beautiful review that said there’s nothing really on TV that’s comparing to our comedic element of the show, and also the drama and suspense of it.  They hit the nail on the head.  That’s why I love it so much.

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Was it fun to add some new characters for this half of the season?

REED:  Yeah, it was.  You do scenes with certain people, all the time, and you know them so well.  It’s not that it can become predictable, but it’s the same thing.  So, when you have new people in the mix, it’s so refreshing.  You never know what they’re going to give you, so it’s really fun.

Do you have a favorite episode or scene from Season 3b?

REED:  Yeah.  I have a really great scene with Linden.  It’s just he and I, and Allison has a mini-breakdown where she says, “I’m always terrified,” or something like that.  And it was great to work with him because it was like a father-daughter thing.  That was nice.  I remember that there was something going on in my personal life, at that moment, so it was nice to have that be my release.  That might be too much information.  It was cathartic.  Acting is really therapeutic for me, personally.  That’s something that I’ll always remember.  I don’t know how it’s going to look, but I gave it my heart and soul. 

Teen Wolf airs on Monday nights on MTV.