Derek and Allison

I’m starting to think that the story to watch for next year is Derek and Allison. Their histories are, at the close of season two, incredibly similar.

  • Both experienced intense, forbidden relationships that went hideously awry.
  • Both were manipulated by people close to them, to do harm to other people close them. 
  • Both lost most of their family to violent tragedy, save one close authority figure, and one injured, psychologically damaged relation who’s effectively MIA. (Which makes me wonder if Chris is scheduled to die next year, for the sake of symmetry). 
  • Both were trained to be fighters, and thrust into leadership too early, and ill prepared.
  • Both went on ill advised, violent power trips, that made things go even more hideously awry for everyone in Beacon Hills.
  • And now, both are weighed down by their respective family legacies and guilt, and will have to contend with next year’s big bad(s). 

In terms of emotional makeup, they may be more foils than complementary characters, but Victoria’s death brought out some rather Derek-y characteristics in Allison. As leaders they’re pragmatic, goal-oriented and capable of breathlessly casual cruelty. They’re also inexperienced and rely too much on their feelings to carry them through a fight. But what makes them foils is their flaws. Derek’s is pride (in his abilities, position and knowledge). Allison’s is her fear (of being weak, being left behind, of being kept in the dark).

So I think it’ll be interesting to see if the show continues to set up plot parallels between them. I kind of think it has to, with the Hales and Argents now trapped in a useless, generational revenge tragedy, it would be a shame not to exploit that angle to the utmost.

I feel it’s important to point out that Stiles’ dad is an investigator, and his hero is The World’s Greatest Detective.

His dad is a hands on sheriff, actually working cases, instead of being wrapped up in managing his office. He’s a good investigator. Hell, an over invested, creative investigator, with protective instincts that would put Bruce Wayne to shame. Beacon Hills is HIS TOWN and he’s got people to take care of.

Scott isn’t Batman, you guys (he’s Superman, duh). Sheriff Stilinski is Batman and Stiles is Robin. But one day he’ll grow up into Red Robin and then eventually strike out totally on his own.

But my point is, Stiles’ dad is his real hero, and that’s why it’s so terrible for Stiles to think about disappointing him.

“I’m not a hero dad.”

“You were that night.”

Let’s talk about Teen Wolf’s hunters for a sec.

The show tells us that the hunters are matriarchal, but it shows us Gerard Argent as top dog in the Argent clan. From the moment he rolls into town, he’s calling the shots on the home front, as well as in the field. He asserts his authority over Chris and Victoria as parents, as well as hunters. Gerard is a stereotypical patriarch in a supposedly matriarchal subculture. So what’s up with that?

If the hunters are matriarchal, it’s Gerard’s wife, Chris and Kate’s mother, who should be leading the Argent clan, but she’s absent from the show. Not only does she not appear on screen, she’s never once mentioned, and Gerard’s authority is absolute. It seems likely then, that she’s been dead for some time. (And knowing Gerard, one wonders if we should suspect foul play). Gerard’s authority seems to derive from his age, his experience, and his place in the family. Maybe there were no aunts or cousins who could take up leadership. Maybe Gerard just back stabbed his way through the power struggle. Regardless, the Argent family legacy means that they’re always going to be significant to wider hunter culture, even without their matriarch. 

What I take from this is that either, a) men can be leaders, in spite of the tradition of female leadership, or b) men can be leaders in special cases. I think it’s the latter.

Read More