Series Review
Series Review
Teen Wolf
Warning: there are spoilers for the entire series…and this is a long one…sorry
MTV’s Teen Wolf aired on June 5th 2011 and concluded on September 24th 2017. The show started with six main characters: Scott McCall (bitten werewolf), Stiles Stilinski (human), Jackson Whittemore (kanima/werewolf) Lydia Martin (banshee), Allison Argent (hunter), and Derek Hale (born werewolf). The characters were portrayed by Tyler Posey, Dylan O’Brien, Colton Haynes, Holland Roden, Crystal Reed, and Tyler Hoechlin. The series followed Scott McCall who was bitten while out searching for a dead body with his best friend Stiles. It would go on to add amazing characters, include six seasons, conclude with 100 episodes. The series ending rather vaguely, and with the knowledge that Tyler Posey and his cast mates would always be welcome to come back to their characters, fans took this as a sign that Teen Wolf might not be completely over.
The finale, “The Wolves of War,” got split reviews from fans; some thought it was the perfect ending to the series, other felt disappointed and let down.
I’ll start with a brief review of the whole series before getting into a review of the finale. Teen Wolf is one of my favorite television shows, I’ve been watching it since the pilot aired in 2011 and I anxiously watched the finale last Sunday. As a whole, I would state that Teen Wolf is a great series. It’s funny, it’s intense, and it features a great balance of actors and characters. That being said, Teen Wolf has a lot of faults. Pretty much all of these faults come from the creator Jeff Davis and the rest of the Teen Wolf writers. This is not to say I’m not thankful to Davis for creating a television series I love, but I’m not pleased with the way he handled..well basically everything. He made promises he never kept and many fans felt cheated by this fact. The main issue with the series is that the characters we loved either died or were written off, and the characters we hated always miraculously survived death. Part of the reason fans disliked the final season and the finale was because it featured Gerard and Kate Argent. Kate Argent’s season four storyline was horrendous and the fact that she didn’t actually die in season one was quite annoying. Same is said for Gerard Argent. ‘Murder Grandpa,’ as fans love to call him, did not die until there was about ten minutes left of the series (he should have died in season two by the way). Other hated characters such as Jennifer Blake and the Oni made an appearance in the finale leaving fans wondering why they didn’t bring in Crystal Reed to briefly revive her role as Allison Argent. Peter Hale and Theo Raeken also have honorable mentions as most hated characters that came back to life (though to be fair to them it was pretty much split 50/50 between those who hated them and those who loved them).
Another issue, as stated above, was that Teen Wolf unnecessarily killed off female characters and characters of color. Erica Reyes had so much potential but was killed off in a 30 second scene. Vernon Boyd died from an injury his abilities should have healed. Allison Argent could have been written off the show instead of being killed off. Allison, however, is also divided between fans. Some think it makes sense that the only way Crystal could leave the show was if Allison died. Others argue that she could have been written off in a way that made sense and still allowed for the character to come back in the final season.
The final issue involving how characters were treated is those who were written off the show for no reason. The biggest let down being Kira Yukimura (portrayed by Arden Cho), a character who was totally badass and had so much of a story left to tell was suddenly no longer in the show, much to fans and Arden’s confusion. Danny Mahealani was a fan favorite who disappeared after season three and was never mentioned again despite fan’s urging Davis to bring him back to the show. The final honorable mention goes to Braeden, a mercenary who became Derek Hale’s only positive and healthy love interest who left in season four and never came back.
Okay, now on to the finale. I actually loved “The Wolves of War.” Scott, Stiles, and Derek are the dream team. The three always have funny scenes together and it’s so touching to see how their relationships have progressed from ‘I hate you’ to ‘you’re my family and I would die for you.’ The best part of the reunions is that they were so genuine because the cast is truly a family outside of the show. Of course, Stiles and Lydia are the power couple while Scott and Malia are the new cute couple. It was great to finally see Mason, Corey, Liam, Theo, and Peter truly join the fight (also shout out to Melissa McCall and Sheriff Stilinski for still being badass six years later). The final shot was really beautiful to me to see how much the McCall pack has grown, and that even though they’ve lost so much they’re still willing to give more to save people.
The problem, however, with the final season (including the finale which yikes) is that it was more commercials than air time. We understand that many of the actors who came back (Dylan, Colton, Hoechlin, and Seth Gilliam) just barely had time to film what they did, and many of the actors we wished came back could not find the time to do so (looking at you Daniel Sharman). That being said more attention should have been paid to how long the episodes were, and if the content was good enough to be so short. The finale wrapped things up way too quickly. One second everyone was about to die and the next they were walking away into the dark (Teen Wolf doesn’t believe in lighting). Still, I am glad that we got what we did and that so many people came back to say goodbye.
Despite whatever faults the show did have Teen Wolf is a great show. It has given me two favorite characters, Allison and Derek, who continue to challenge fans to better themselves. It gave us Scott McCall, the most kind-hearted hero on television. Stiles Stilinski who was anxious, had ADHD, and PTSD yet still went on to be one of the brightest minds on the show and the person Scott looked to for help. Lydia Martin, who showed girls that you could be beautiful, both cold-hearted and warm-hearted, a leader, and a genius. If you read this review to get a glimpse of what Teen Wolf actually is to a fan (well first of all sorry that you read all the spoilers), please give the show a watch and support all of the actors in their future careers.
ALSO: Check out my blog for in-depth character reviews of the original six!
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