When MTV first announced Teen Wolf, I, like many, rolled my eyes and went on with my day. From the network that has provided us with the annual Twilight Awards for the past few years, it seemed like an obvious ploy to capitalize on the ever increasing popularity of vampires and werewolves. Frankly, I just didn’t care.
I continued to disregard the show, until suddenly, it couldn’t be ignored anymore. A quick visit on any social networking site could tell you that Teen Wolf was unavoidable, kind of like the One Direction of TV.
So I—and don’t follow by my poor example—succumbed to peer pressure during my final exams, and settled in for the pilot. Now, two months and two seasons later, I include myself as part of the Teen Wolf fandom.
It wasn’t an easy sell, but I can’t deny that an MTV show about werewolves has won me over.
It isn’t a show without flaws. I still have a hard time complimenting it, which has a lot to do with the first few episodes. Everything about them is easy to hate; the plot, the writing, the acting. The first few episodes showed me exactly what I originally expected of Teen Wolf.
There’s still a lot of ridiculous, eye-roll inducing, are-you-kidding-me moments. A lot of what the well-meaning Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) says and does (like making his 100% human mother zip up the body bag of a dangerous creature) proves this. The fact that one of the second season’s main villains was a giant lizard (that almost grew wings) proves this. Peter Hale (Ian Bohen) was resurrected seemingly for the sole purpose of being sassy—which may be fun to watch—also proves this.
A lot of people who don’t watch the show don’t consider the possibility that maybe; just maybe, Teen Wolf is good; that it’s emotional; that it’s entertaining.
Somewhere in the middle of the first season, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit. There was visible improvement in both the acting and writing. The show became fun to watch. Performances no longer invoked constant cringing. The stories were interesting and suspenseful. Characters, relationships, and the plot developed and grew complex. And the eye rolling was reduced by a lot.
Then season two started, and despite the overall ridiculousness of an early revelation (The Kanima. Is. An. Oversized. Lizard.), it was even better. The stakes were higher, there was more action, the show became scarier, and a ton of new characters were introduced. Risks were taken, and for the most part, they worked.
Fan favourite Dylan O’Brien shines as Stiles Stilinski, Scott’s best friend, bringing humour and a certain aspect of humanity to the show. However, it was about halfway through season two when Teen Wolf stopped being the Stiles Stilinski Show for me, and actually became Teen Wolf. That was when I realized that this show didn’t completely suck.
One of the best things about Teen Wolf is how different the characters are. Sure, often stereotypes are relied on. Lydia (Holland Roden) likes to play your typical airhead. Jackson (Colton Haynes) usually appears to be your typical jock. However, it’s easy to see that the stereotypes the characters project aren’t the only facet to their personalities. The women have strength and thrive in this testosterone-fueled world. Most of the men are subjected to typical testosterone activities (see: werewolf battles, Derek Hale [Tyler Hoechlin] running around shirtless), but they develop most—and the actors do best—when given emotional moments to deal with (Stiles’ reunion with his Dad in the finale, for example).
By far, my favourite part about the show is its ability to layer all characters—even the ones we don’t initially like. Jackson is all too easy to hate; he’s rude, arrogant, and whiny. I could go on. Victoria Argent (Eaddy Mays) may possibly be one of the craziest characters I’ve seen in a while. It’s fair to say that I didn’t like them. I didn’t care for them at all and wished they could go away. Those feelings didn’t last though. There were moments where I found myself feeling for characters I hated. It was weird, and it was confusing, but it was also exhilarating. Teen Wolf brings new light to characters frequently, and they do it well.
Colton Haynes has described Teen Wolf as “the little MTV show that could,” and that is exactly what it is. With Awkward, and now Teen Wolf, MTV has really hit its stride in scripted TV.
We’ve got a long hiatus in front of us until season three, but that gives plenty of time for the skeptics to give in.
Originally posted on my tumblr!
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