Character Review MTV's Teen Wolf

Allison Argent

Hunter

Allison Argent: noble, warrior, archer, lover, fighter, strategist, leader, protector.

I’m going to make a bold statement in this character review; Allison Argent was the best female character on television since Buffy Summers. She was played by the amazingly talented Crystal Reed. In the pilot of Teen Wolf it appeared as if Allison would only have one job in the series: be Scott McCall’s love interest. That statement could not be more wrong. From the beginning of the series Allison knew who she wanted to be as a person and she chased after it until her dying breath. Allison entered into Beacon Hills High as an independent woman, a champion archer, and a kind-hearted person. She quickly stole both the hearts of Scott McCall and the fans of Teen Wolf.

Allison went on to become other things: Lydia Martin’s best friend and cheerleader, she was person Stiles Stilinski could always depend on, and a sort-of rival to Derek Hale. 

As important as these things were to her character development they mean nothing in response to Allison’s growth. Let me phrase that better, her friends awakened her character development but ultimately the person who changed Allison was Allison. She was raised by a family of hunters who were cruel and manipulative; several of them attempted to mold Allison into a killer, but Allison always broke free of their control. When Allison finally discovered the truth about her family and the supernatural (ie: Scott McCall), she became a hunter. She defied her family’s reputation and changed her father’s mind about the supernatural. Allison would come to be the leader of the Argent family, the protector of Beacon Hills, and a person who died to save her friends.

That last one is the most important. Season 3 was Crystal’s last season due partially to her wanting to move on to other projects, and partially because some fans never got over her brief two-episode arc as a ‘villain’ and constantly focused their anger toward Crystal. In season 3a Allison, along with Scott and Stiles, temporarily died to save their parents. This caused Allison to change the Argent family code from “we hunt those who hunt us” to “we protect those who cannot protect themselves.” After that (and before she stated the new code) Allison did everything in her power to protect her friends, her family, her pack, and her town. While Allison and Scott were able to overcome the darkness associated with their temporary deaths, Stiles was not so lucky. After learning that Stiles was possessed Allison did her best to save him; upon learning that Lydia was kidnapped by Void!Stiles Allison rushed to her side to “save her best friend.”

In what would become Allison’s final episode, she saved everyone. She lead the search party and recuse mission to save Lydia, she helped to separate Stiles from nogitsune (Void!Stiles) so Scott could trap the demon without killing Stiles, she figured out how to kill the Oni, and she saved Isaac Lahey’s life. Upon killing one of the Oni as it was posed to deliver a final blow to Isaac, Allison was stabbed and killed by another Oni as her friends could do nothing but watch in horror. Lydia, being a banshee, was forced to feel the exact moment Allison was stabbed and the exact moment when Allison took her last breath. As she lay dying Allison could only think about one thing: “is Lydia safe?” Scott held her in his arms as she died, and as Allison proclaimed that she would always love Scott (an idea of Crystal’s that was wonderful and brilliant and touching), we knew in that moment that Scott and Allison were soulmates who had their time cut short. 

At this point in the series we had seen two other fan favorite characters be killed while fighting against their enemies. Erica Reyes and Vernon Boyd died fighting, just like Allison. In the episode after Allison’s death we would watch a villain turned pack member die. The difference between these four deaths is that almost everyone was rooting for Allison whilst waiting for the return of Allison and Scott’s epic love story. In all honestly, no one expected Allison to be killed. Although Crystal wanted to leave the show she was devastated to find out it meant Allison had to die. The second that Allison was stabbed we all felt like Lydia and Scott in that moment, and we watched with shock, some with tears, as one of the most kickass heroines on television took her final breath. 

In the end Allison’s sacrifice paid off. Stiles was saved, the Oni were killed, and Lydia was safe. Her father would come to tell people how his daughter died saving her friends. Derek would finally believe that Allison and Chris (her father) were his allies, not his enemies. And Scott, Stiles, and Lydia would carry on in Allison’s name; even in the final shot of the series we would see the three go on to save supernatural creatures all over America. Allison died protecting her friends, and in turn her friends continued to protect those who could not protect themselves.