Character Review MTV's Teen Wolf

Stiles Stilinski

Human

Stiles Stilinski: jaded, sarcastic, dramatic, funny, smart, FBI trainee, hero, best friend. 

Stiles Stilinski, portrayed by Dylan O’Brien, is Scott McCall’s best friend on MTV’s Teen Wolf. Stiles started out as one of six characters in season one; Scott, Allison Argent, Lydia Martin, Derek Hale, and Jackson Whittemore. During the pilot episode Stiles has not yet become jaded and he was able to form relationships much easier than in later seasons. Best friends since childhood Scott and Stiles label themselves as brothers, Stiles is fond of Allison, he has been in love with Lydia since the third grade, he’s almost positive that Derek wants to kill him, and he absolutely hates Jackson Whittemore. 

Stiles is the comedic relief of Teen Wolf. He is set up to be the opposite of Scott in almost every way; Scott trusts easily, Stiles does not. Scott gives second chances, Stiles does not (well he says he doesn’t but there are exceptions to that rule). Scott wants to be a veterinarian, Stiles wants a career in law enforcement. Scott lives his mom and has a strained relationship with his father, Stiles lives with his dad and his mom died when he was a kid. In seasons one and two Scott is kind of clueless, whereas Stiles figures things out and makes the plans. Scott starts dating Allison immediately, Stiles and Lydia do not get together until the final season. Scott is a true alpha, Stiles killed someone in self defense. Scott is a werewolf, Stiles is human.

Despite all of this Scott and Stiles are perfectly in sync, and it sets up Stiles to be a compelling and interesting character. Stiles fights fiercely to protect his fiends and family; he goes as far as stepping into a puddle of gasoline when Scott is controlled to kill himself. We see Allison, Derek, and Lydia become three of his best friends, and he gradually comes to accept Jackson as part of the pack. 

Between being Scott’s best friend and having a love for antagonizing, Stiles becomes a target for Scott’s enemies; Gerard Argent kidnaps and beats him in season two to send a message to Scott. What their enemies do not realize is that Stiles takes these experiences and uses them to help push Scott forward instead of backwards into the enemy’s hands.

In season five when Scott and Stiles are fighting over whether to let Theo Raeken into the pack Stiles responds to Scott’s “why can’t you trust anyone?” with “because you trust everyone!” It’s true. Scott always sees the best in people and Stiles is the one who keeps him safe. Though as Scott points out Stiles has given out many second chances in the series; the best relationship that evolved over time was that between Stiles and Derek. Before I talk about that though, a few more examples of Stiles overcoming his differences with people: he mistrusts Theo (and is right not to trust him) but he allows Theo to fight with them and join the pack in season six, he sets aside his differences with Jackson and Peter Hale in order to help Scott, Stiles and Scott become pseudo-parents to Scott’s beta Liam Dunbar, etc.. Stiles is viewed as weak because he is a human, but in reality Stiles refuses the bite and remains Scott’s second in command throughout the entire series. 

Now on to the relationship people love the most: Stiles and Derek. It starts off at a great place with Scott and Stiles accusing Derek of murder (and not just once either!). Yet the relationship slowly evolves due to the fact that Stiles and Derek continuously save each other’s lives; this theme is continued into the finale when Stiles rescues Derek from an FBI raid and in turn Derek carries Stiles out the raid because Stiles was shot in the foot. By far Stiles and Derek have the most humorous relationship on the show. It was a shame when they only had a few scenes in season four. On top of that Tyler Hoechlin (Derek) left the show, and when the actors finally reunited in season six it was short lived due to both being busy filming other projects. 

Personally I think Stiles best relationships were with Scott, Allison, Derek, Lydia, Malia, his father, and Scott’s mother. It is around these characters that Stiles becomes most protective and allows his worth in the pack to shine through reminding viewers why he survived the entire series. 

Scott, Stiles, and Allison were without a doubt the central characters of Teen Wolf. In season three it is revealed that they were all connected on the night Scott was bit, even though neither had yet to met Allison. Stiles and Allison become the first members of the McCall pack and they are solidified as the most important members when the three sacrifice themselves to save their parents. The series always seemed empty without the dynamic between the three after Allison’s death. We had the leader and the planner, but the fighter had died protecting both of them and the rest of the pack. 

All in all, Stiles is one of my favorite characters on Teen Wolf. He’s not my favorite but pretty close given how much we saw him fight to overcome his struggles. Dylan O’Brien did an amazing job portraying Stiles, and his off screen relationships with Tyler Posey (Scott) and Hoechlin (the three were roommates while filming season one) helped elevate the love people had for McCall-Hale pack.