i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Hi, so, I'm going to give you my thoughts on all of that, and I'm gonna try to make it as coherent as possible, but it's probably gonna be a little rambly, so bear with me.

(also, I'm terrible at relaying feelings in written form, so I hope it's not gonna come off too abrupt, as it's not my intention at all)

First, I'm going to make an assumption. Since you said that you haven't watched all of the show yet, but have still been exposed to a lot of spoilers through the years, is it fair to say that you've engaged with the material in some way other than the show itself? Maybe through metas, gifsets, fanfictions, etc?

Because the first impression I had when I read your post is that you came to the show with certain expectations for the characters, and you were disappointed when the show didn't deliver.

Case in point, your question is "what are people’s thoughts on Scott becoming a True Alpha", but you focus your first paragraph, and a lot of your overall post, on Derek. To me, it was always very clear that Teen Wolf is a show about Scott McCall, a teenager that becomes a werewolf, and his journey from that point on. And for the first two seasons (and a half, one could argue) of that journey, Derek is very much one of the bad guys.

He's not evil. He's not Peter Hale or Gerard Argent. But he is a terrible person nonetheless. And there is nothing that contradicts that in the way Derek is portrayed. You say you view Scott becoming a true alpha as a slight against Derek. But why? It's not like Derek is this innocent character who's just living his life and suddenly the writers just decide to turn him into a bad person and to have him make all sorts of terrible decisions. It's who Derek is. It's his entire character during the first two seasons. It's how he's depicted from the get-go. He doesn't need Scott to be a terrible person. So why did you expect, going into the show, that he'd be a good guy?

All his actions during the first two seasons are beating people up, trying to murder people, manipulating teenagers, turning said teenagers into werewolf soldiers and getting them killed, and generally making terrible decision after terrible decision. What exactly among all that made you expect him to be a good person? I know you mention his sad past, but I'm not going to address that. That's not relevant to me. Derek lived through some traumatic events during his teenage years. That's the past. His current behavior is awful, and it cannot be explained or excused because he's sad. He doesn't get to hurt people because of that.

So yeah, to sum up, I think you came into the show with the expectation that Derek was going to be one of the main characters, or at least one of the good ones, and your expectations clashed with the reality of the show, which led to you being disappointed.

I also disagree with the idea of werewolves being othered, and the importance of werewolf culture (what you call the lore, history, traditions, etiquette, and pack relations). This is also something that makes me think you engaged with Teen Wolf in another way, before watching the show, because "werewolf lore and culture" has been developed a lot by the fans, but it's almost never talked about in the show itself (with a few exceptions). We're not led to believe that werewolves live differently than non-werewolves. Almost all of those we see are perfectly integrated in society. And the Hales are rich, and therefore have a certain amount of power. So I don't buy this idea that Derek lived a life anywhere close to what minorities can experience. After all, we see him as a teenager, and he's the picture of the popular jock who seems on top of the school, with lots of friends, and looking pretty happy with himself. Integrated into society.

Which leads me to another point (and I realize I'm getting very rambly now), the idea of Derek being a bad alpha and Scott being a good alpha. I reject that way of looking at things completely. I don't think you can be a good or a bad alpha. What does that even mean? Does the show ever tell us what that's supposed to look like? Do alphas need to be strong and command their betas like soldiers? Do they need to be aggressive? Are they supposed to be like parents to their pack? Or benevolent and all-knowing leaders? Derek isn't a bad alpha because he doesn't know how to werewolf. Derek is a bad alpha because he's a bad person. Because when he turned his betas, he did it because he wanted power and soldiers to protect himself against the alpha pack. Because his idea of werewolf 101 is beating them, breaking their arms, and torturing them with medieval looking contraptions. Because he used them like attack dogs to murder teenagers. Because he got them killed. They were 16. Not old enough to vote or to drink. But old enough to make the life altering decision to become werewolves? Without even consulting their parents?

And Scott? He's a good alpha because he's a good person. Because he's always trying to do the right thing. Because he never forces people to do what he wants, even though he could roar his betas into submission. Because he's always trying to save everyone, even to his own detriment. He inspires people, and they want to follow him. he inspires Derek too. After season 2, Derek changes, and he becomes one of Scott's staunchest supporters. That's why Scott becomes a true alpha. Not to make Derek look bad by comparison, but because that's the logical next step in his journey. He always had that potential, from the very first episode of the show.

So, just my two cents on the matter. Feel free to tell me if there's anything you disagree with. I realize that we see the show very differently, but that's what makes things interesting.

Teen Wolf Question Time

A question about Scott McCall being a True Alpha

I wanna start by saying that I have not watched all of Teen Wolf and that this is my first time watching. Honestly, I haven’t even gotten to the part yet where Scott becomes a True Alpha, but only watching it now after so many years means that I have seen most spoilers so there’s that.

My question is: What are people’s thoughts on the whole Scott becoming a True Alpha?

To me there’s sort of two reasons as to why I don’t like that storyline.

First, it seems like such a slight against Derek. In all that I have watched so far, it’s almost like the writers have gone out of their way to degrade Derek every chance they get. Almost like they made him such a terrible Alpha just to show how great Scott would be as an Alpha instead.

Derek just can’t seem to catch a break. He must have felt guilty over Paige, which would probably have made it easier for Kate Argent to isolate him, r*pe him, and gain access to the Hale property. Then he must have felt that the death of most of his family would have been his fault, even though it totally wasn’t. And then just a few years later his sister is murdered by his own Uncle, who he then have to kill himself, meaning that as far as Derek knows at this time, all of his family have been killed, leaving him all alone. Add to that, that he was accused twice of murder, one of those being his own sister, and becoming an Alpha, something he was never trained for, and without having a pack around him. And Surprise let’s just bring back the child r*pist, just to really twist the knife. Derek is all of 22 years old in the first season, or at most 23, depending on when his birthday fall, but even taking all of the supernatural out of this, this is a lot, for any one to deal with. And the writers just don’t slow down or allow him to build on himself and become a better leader, instead the writing seems to indicate that the reason Derek is a terrible Alpha isn’t that he needs training, (and honestly a good amount of counselling), but that Derek is just inept, that he has some kind of character flaw that means he is just a terrible leader. 

Second, this sort of reminds me of the site saviour trope. Now I know that Derek isn’t black and that Scott isn’t white, but Scott becoming a True Alpha really just resembles this trope.

Scott is a part of the majority AKA the normal people, while Derek is part of the minority AKA the supernatural people and the Werewolf community. While Derek has lived his entire life in the supernatural community he is written as having no idea how to be a proper Alpha, but Scott, who had no knowledge about the supernatural and zero knowledge on werewolves before becoming one, is just the best Alpha to ever Alpha.

Scott has no interest in werewolves at all. He only cares about the things which can help make him more popular, like better senses, and being stronger and faster as that all helps him become first line on the lacrosse team. Or how his new popularity helps him win over Allison. He has no issue over using these abilities but still whines over how much he doesn’t want to be a werewolf.

But even after he has accepted being a werewolf, he still doesn’t seem to care about the lore, history, traditions, etiquette, and pack relations related to werewolves, or indeed any supernatural beings. Nor does he show any respect for it. For example when he tricks Derek into biting Gerard. To Derek the bite is a gift, which he has already said at this point, and yet Scott just decides to violate Derek by forcing him to bite someone who is probably one of his worst enemies. 

I don’t know if others think the same way, or that things will chance as I get further into the series, but what I know about Scott becoming a True Alpha and what I have seen so far, just really feel like the writers went: Hey, this guy who grew up as a werewolf is a terrible Alpha, instead let’s have someone who knows nothing about werewolves, and who honestly doesn’t care, become a True Alpha. This person is worthy of being an Alpha and now watch him as he teaching all of those people who grew up being werewolves, how to actually be werewolves, according to the outsider.

Or like the White Saviour trope. White person saves black people from themselves while showing them how to be proper black people and how they should really understand their own culture.

What do you guys think? Am I way of base here or do you think something similar?

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

As a little addendum, I wanted to clarify what makes me think that Theo was a psychopath (or had the potential to become one) prior to his encounter with the Doctors, because I’ve seen people make the argument that he started as a normal child and was corrupted after the fact (and don’t get me wrong, some people make that argument brilliantly and compellingly, and I absolutely love their take on Theo; the benefits of knowing so little about his past I guess, you can have contradicting theories and still remain true to canon).

Apart from the quote by the Doctors that I already mentioned in my first post (“start with the perfect evil”), which to me clearly states that they already saw Theo as being evil (at least in their eyes; and as an aside, I don’t think they meant he was already the perfect evil, but rather that they intended to sublimate his potential for evil), I think the most telling scene is the flashback where we see Theo gazing at his drowning sister from the bridge. I don’t think he had been under the Doctors’ influence for a very long time by that point, at least not long enough to completely obliterate the family bonds that he should have shared with his sister, and yet he looks so calm and detached while she drowns (or freezes to death?) in front of him, and he doesn’t react to her plea for help. And the little head tilt at the end? It's almost like he finds the whole experience interesting, in a clinical way. And I believe that by standing on that bridge, and by making himself known to her, he wanted her to know he was the one responsible for her death.

And there’s another scene that I find telling, even though it happens during senior year in Beacon Hills, and that’s Tracy’s death. It shows how Theo’s evil was perfected by the Doctors, but still calls to mind his behavior during his sister’s death. Tracy’s death shows some similarities with Tara’s death: they’re both killed by Theo, and he wants them to know that he’s the one who killed them. But this time, there’s no emotional detachment. Theo manipulates Tracy to get her in a vulnerable position, and then, instead of surprising her completely, he takes pleasure in telling her that she’s going to die, that he’s going to be the one to kill her, and he smirks. He wants her to experience fear and betrayal in her last moments, and the way that scene was shot, with the heavy sexual subtext (the way Tracy’s standing in Theo’s lap and her body slowly arches backwards as she dies, revealing Theo behind, almost looks like they both climaxed; and if I read that wrong and that’s just me being incredibly weird then please don’t stone me), I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re supposed to infer that Theo’s getting hard from this. Provided that Kanima venom doesn’t interfere with that particular bodily function, but that’s another matter :)

I’m sure there are other scenes that could support this theory, but for now that’s all I came up with. Feel free to expand on this if you have other ideas (or if you disagree).

Is Theo really a ‘success’?

I’ve seen the statement that Theo was one of the Dread Doctors’ successes a lot. It’s something that’s accepted in fics as a truth without ever really questioning it. I’m currently reading a fic that’s actually using the opposite as a premise and it got me thinking.

This is going to be heavily influenced by my personal opinions and I’m not claiming that this is a perfectly objective analysis. A lot of it is speculation, because we know very little (read: nothing) about Theo’s time with the Doctors. Also, I haven’t watched the show in a while, and although I’ve researched the transcripts to refresh my memory, please feel free to correct me if you feel I’ve misremembered or misrepresented something. And as always, if you disagree, I’d love to hear from you.

Keep reading

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Is Theo really a ‘success’?

I’ve seen the statement that Theo was one of the Dread Doctors’ successes a lot. It’s something that’s accepted in fics as a truth without ever really questioning it. I’m currently reading a fic that’s actually using the opposite as a premise and it got me thinking.

This is going to be heavily influenced by my personal opinions and I’m not claiming that this is a perfectly objective analysis. A lot of it is speculation, because we know very little (read: nothing) about Theo’s time with the Doctors. Also, I haven’t watched the show in a while, and although I’ve researched the transcripts to refresh my memory, please feel free to correct me if you feel I’ve misremembered or misrepresented something. And as always, if you disagree, I’d love to hear from you.

So, the first thing is to determine what a ‘success’ is. Since Theo, and the chimeras, were created by the Doctors for the express purpose of making a host for the Beast and resuscitating Sébastien Valet, I’m gonna go with that. By that definition, Theo was a failure.

But some might argue that Theo was a success because he’s the only subject that survived the process of becoming a chimera. I don’t think this is the correct way to look at it. Theo certainly seemed to subscribe to the Doctors’ opinion on the matter. He’s got a massive inferiority complex, about not being a real werewolf, about not being enough (in their eyes), about failing to fulfill (their) purpose. And in fact, did surviving even make him special?

Just before Mason finally transforms into the Beast on his own, the Doctors explain to Theo that they chose him because they thought that ���to resurrect the perfect killer [they] had to start with the perfect evil”. I think they identified his psychopathy as a child and decided to go to all the trouble of making him a chimera (having his sister killed and performing a heart transplant sounds like a lot of trouble when they had an almost unlimited pool of candidates to choose from), but they eventually realized that their theory was incorrect and that “true evil only comes by corrupting something truly good".

But in order to come to that conclusion, they had to study Theo, how he performed as a human being, in order to better understand the nature of good and evil, and what went wrong with him. I think this is why Theo survived. Not because of any particular physical characteristic, but simply because they allowed him to.

“But your failure taught us one thing. The banality of evil. That you were and would always be an ordinary evil.” That sentence right there tells me that they kept him alive because for a time, they still hoped he would manifest the necessary qualities to become the Beast. When they realized it wouldn’t be so, they essentially kept him around because they learned from him what not to look for in a potential host. He was their template of what a failure looks like.

After all, they created Theo before all these other chimeras that we see dying on the screen. It seems absurd that the Doctors’ techniques would have regressed to the point where they’re incapable of maintaining them alive, or simply replicate what they did to Theo. They’ve been at it for decades, centuries even, and as I said I don’t think Theo had any particular physical ability that the others didn’t have, he was a regular human. It’s more likely that the Doctors didn’t care about the others dying, because they had already determined that to resurrect the Beast they needed to “corrupt something truly good”. When the candidates proved they weren’t going to cut it, they just let them decay or killed them outright.

And I think Theo realized that he wasn’t a success.

Theo “Because a Chimera isn't just a monster with different parts. It can also mean something impossible to achieve. An unrealizable dream.”

Scott “And they realized you?”

Theo “They came close with me. But we can't all be perfect. We can't all be true Alphas.”

That doesn’t sound like someone who thinks of himself as a success.

(A last thought, a bit wilder than the rest. We know the Doctors designed a serum capable of resurrecting people (or at least chimeras). Is it possible that they ever used it on Theo over the years when his body failed and he died, just to keep studying him? See how his mind evolved and how his psychopathy manifested? And then erased his deaths from his memory? Does that mean that eventually Theo will die if not given the bite and made into a real werewolf? Since we see him alive 2 years after in the finale, I think this is unlikely, but it’s a fun thought to play around with.)

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

On being a True Alpha

So, a thought popped into my head while I was showering earlier and it’s been bugging me ever since. It’s something I’ve been thinking about on and off for a long time actually, and I see discussions about it on my dash from time to time, so I thought I’d add my two cents.

What does being a True Alpha mean, and more specifically what does it mean in regards to killing. And, as an aside, what is Scott’s personal stand on the issue.

Before I begin, I want to say that I can totally understand people who believe that Scott is completely opposed to killing in any circumstance, and that he would stop being a True Alpha if he did, but I don’t share this opinion.

Teen Wolf is a show that aired on a network whose primary focus is teenagers and people in their twenties. As such, unfortunately, it’s not a show that lends itself well to deeper analysis. It’s not particularly coherent, often contradicting itself or reversing previously established canon, and people in that age groups tend not to care much about consistency anyway, so writers don’t make much of an effort. It’s the sort of show you watch with half a brain while doing something else with the other half. I certainly didn’t pay that much attention to any deeper meaning when it aired. So when you see Scott McCall loudly refusing to kill throughout the seasons, it sticks with you. You’re not going to stop and run a frame by frame analysis of every episode to extract the hidden truth behind it all. Fair enough. It also doesn’t help that it’s been years since the show aired and a lot of us haven’t watched it in a while.

Despite all that, some people care enough about this show that they look beyond the surface, and provide a lot of insight on who the characters are, what drives them, and possible interpretations of what is depicted on the screen. I’ve been an avid reader of such content, and it has helped me immensely to better understand some things, and changed my appreciation of the characters completely.

So, if you’re still with me, I’m not gonna rehash the entire argument, I wanted to talk about a specific scene of season 3A, and that is the moment Scott became a True Alpha by breaking the mountain ash circle surrounding the Darach.

We’re told by Deaton that a True Alpha is “one who rises purely on the strength of the character, by virtue, by sheer force of will.” Peter confirms this idea with a similar statement, “one that can rise by the force of his own will.” My interpretation of this is that in a moment of great struggle, a person has to be true to who they are, to never bend to someone else’s will in order to become a True Alpha. Which is what Scott does in that scene. He refuses to kill on Deucalion’s order, and remains true to who he is at his core, someone who will do everything to help others, and someone who never resorts to killing if all other alternatives haven’t been exhausted.

However, mere seconds after breaking the ash barrier, Scott, in answer to Jennifer, goes on to say “I'm an alpha now. Whatever you're doing to cause this storm, make it stop, or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the color of my eyes.” This statement, I believe, is perfectly in line with who Scott is at his core. It is Scott. It’s his Truth. It’s not something that suddenly popped into his head after becoming a True Alpha, “hey, here’s an idea, why not resort to killing?”. This is exactly what he was thinking when he was trying to breach the barrier. He did it for the express purpose of stopping Jennifer, by killing her if necessary. And I believe that he was completely honest when he said it, it wasn’t just an empty threat, because his rise to True Alpha required him to be completely true to himself. He would not have lied in that moment.

So my takeaway from this is that Scott’s creed as a True Alpha absolutely does include killing as an option, and that if he did, he would not stop being a True Alpha. At least, so long as he kills as a last resort in order to protect people. Although my belief is that he could never lose his status as a True Alpha no matter what he did, once you’re it it’s for life, but I don’t think the show mentioned anything on that so I’ll call it a headcanon.

Also, to be thorough, when Scott asks Morell “but if I kill someone, I can't be a true Alpha, right?”, she answers “Exactly. [...] You'll either willingly become part of his pack or he'll make a killer out of you, destroying your potential to be a true Alpha." My interpretation of her answer is that it’s not the killing specifically that would prevent him from becoming a True Alpha, but rather betraying who he is at his core by killing someone on someone else’s order, without a reason that Scott himself would deem valid.

Am I reaching? Am I completely misreading what the show meant, or seeing meaning where none was intended? If you disagree with me, feel free to tell me, I’d like to know your perspective.

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

I don't know if you followed through with that plan, but if the night's not over for you you should totally do it. I mean, it wouldn't be that bad... 😈

Please do the haunted house Sceo story idea that other Anon shared with you! It sounds like it would be really good lol

I’ve actually been trying but this is a jam-packed week for me IRL and I don’t think there’s going to be enough time to finish it. 😭

Haunted House is even a square on the latest SceoScareFest Bingo Card!

Here’s the beginning I’d written:

“I don’t get it.” Theo said, suspiciously picking up the ticket being offered to him. “A haunted house? Isn’t that like….for actual children?”

Liam’s nose crinkled in annoyance.

“Are you serious?” he asked. “You’ve never heard of Fields of Terror?”

Theo shook his head, turning the black ticket over in his hands and scrutinizing it’s stark white littering.

FOUR ACRES OF FEAR!!!

“Wow, do me a favor and do not tell Mason that.” Liam said. “We’ve wanted to go for literal years but it’s a three hour drive and it never worked out. Mason and I got a lot of cash for graduation so we bought tickets for the whole pack to do as a group thing — yeah, you’re welcome for including you because cuz it wasn’t cheap — and no, it’s not ‘for children’ it’s basically a farm that converts itself into this huge Halloween attraction every year. There are ads on TV for it in everything.”

“Oh wow, ads on TV,” Theo said smirking. “Guess it can’t possibly be for children then…”

“It’s not for children!” Liam growled, “They’ve got a barn that they’ve permanently converted into what’s supposed to be one of the scariest haunted houses in the country.”

“Liam, you’re an actual werewolf.” Theo scoffed. “What the hell is going to scare you in a haunted house?”

“You know what, Theo? Don’t go.” Liam snatched the ticket out of his hand dramatically. “Forget we invited you, I’ll sell your ticket online.”

“Oh don’t be so theatrical,” Theo said reaching for the ticket again. “I’ll go.”

Liam quickly moved it out of his reach.

“This ticket was forty dollars.” Liam said irritated. “So please don’t do me any favors.” 

Theo glared at Liam. He didn’t particularly care about the attraction, but still wanted to go with the rest of the pack. And now that Liam had retracted the invitation, the glossy ticket was all the more appealing.

He was about to make another lunge for it when a voice sounded from behind him.

“What’s going on?”

Scott was standing in the hallway, watching them.

“Theo’s being an ungrateful prick and I’m selling his ticket to Fields of Terror to someone that actually deserves it.”

“You’re not going?” Scott asked. “Why?”

Theo’s pulse jumped when he detected a disappointed note in the alpha’s voice. 

“I am going.”  he snapped, ripping the ticket out of Liam’s hands. “

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Oh that sounds promising! I really like that kind of relationship between Theo and Liam, it's reminiscent of The Call (which I'd like to read the sequel to, thank you 😀): snarky Theo and slightly bitchy but begrudgingly friendly Liam.

Is there any chance we'll see it completed, even if it's not for the event? I know you've got a lot of projects going on and a limited amount of time, but one can always hope!

Please do the haunted house Sceo story idea that other Anon shared with you! It sounds like it would be really good lol

I’ve actually been trying but this is a jam-packed week for me IRL and I don’t think there’s going to be enough time to finish it. 😭

Haunted House is even a square on the latest SceoScareFest Bingo Card!

Here’s the beginning I’d written:

“I don’t get it.” Theo said, suspiciously picking up the ticket being offered to him. “A haunted house? Isn’t that like….for actual children?”

Liam’s nose crinkled in annoyance.

“Are you serious?” he asked. “You’ve never heard of Fields of Terror?”

Theo shook his head, turning the black ticket over in his hands and scrutinizing it’s stark white littering.

FOUR ACRES OF FEAR!!!

“Wow, do me a favor and do not tell Mason that.” Liam said. “We’ve wanted to go for literal years but it’s a three hour drive and it never worked out. Mason and I got a lot of cash for graduation so we bought tickets for the whole pack to do as a group thing — yeah, you’re welcome for including you because cuz it wasn’t cheap — and no, it’s not ‘for children’ it’s basically a farm that converts itself into this huge Halloween attraction every year. There are ads on TV for it in everything.”

“Oh wow, ads on TV,” Theo said smirking. “Guess it can’t possibly be for children then…”

“It’s not for children!” Liam growled, “They’ve got a barn that they’ve permanently converted into what’s supposed to be one of the scariest haunted houses in the country.”

“Liam, you’re an actual werewolf.” Theo scoffed. “What the hell is going to scare you in a haunted house?”

“You know what, Theo? Don’t go.” Liam snatched the ticket out of his hand dramatically. “Forget we invited you, I’ll sell your ticket online.”

“Oh don’t be so theatrical,” Theo said reaching for the ticket again. “I’ll go.”

Liam quickly moved it out of his reach.

“This ticket was forty dollars.” Liam said irritated. “So please don’t do me any favors.” 

Theo glared at Liam. He didn’t particularly care about the attraction, but still wanted to go with the rest of the pack. And now that Liam had retracted the invitation, the glossy ticket was all the more appealing.

He was about to make another lunge for it when a voice sounded from behind him.

“What’s going on?”

Scott was standing in the hallway, watching them.

“Theo’s being an ungrateful prick and I’m selling his ticket to Fields of Terror to someone that actually deserves it.”

“You’re not going?” Scott asked. “Why?”

Theo’s pulse jumped when he detected a disappointed note in the alpha’s voice. 

“I am going.”  he snapped, ripping the ticket out of Liam’s hands. “

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Very good analysis of Theo’s character!

I particularly agree with your take on Theo post 5a: his more vulnerable and flawed side, being essentially out of his depth and just struggling to keep his world from crumbling around him.

I don’t usually try to go beyond what is shown on-screen, so I don’t like to ascribe motive when we don’t know for certain what the writers meant or what motivates the characters, but I think your explanation for Theo’s motivations and emotions makes a lot of sense and fits really well with what we’re shown in canon.

Good meta, it’s nice to see like-minded people sometimes!

Sceo Positivity Challenge Day 2

So why do I love Theo…

As a self admitted hater of asshole type of characters, Theo is a weird case.

For most of his first season, aka 5a, he was basically the villain (same in 5b), he was manipulative, dark, and intent on ‘serving his dark masters’, and the thing is, he was good at it.

See, that’s the thing with villains. Sometimes you can enjoy them for being evil, and love wanting to see them brought down. (it’s how I felt about Peter, Kate, Gerard and Jennifer as well)

He brought life into the Dread Doctors story arc, when often it seemed like the Doctors themselves were mere aesthetics and a sense of dread in the background while Theo brought in that spark of relatable fear. That someone could use everything that made a character who they were, against them

And if Theo had stayed gone after s5, that’s where the character had remained. A good well written villain who managed to tear Scott down deeper than anyone before him, by using the pack’s own weaknesses and insecurities against them. By using Scott’s compassion against him, and by earning Scott’s trust to get close and shatter it.

But what made him even better was that in s5b, they showed the cracks in the ‘competent master villain’ shell, and you started realizing that despite all he’s done, despite how much he had hurt and was still hurting our heroes, that really he’s just a broken shell behind it all. He wasn’t just the one doing the manipulating, he really was being manipulated by monsters who used him, using whatever carrot they needed to have him running trough their maze of doing their bidding. And whenever he thought he was getting one over on his masters, his abusers, they were really just playing him. Because they knew his weaknesses as well as Theo had known those of the pack.

All through 5b, he was basically trying to hang on, realizing the Doctors weren’t gonna let him keep what they’d promised him, scared of their criticism and desperate for their praise that would never come. And here’s where sceo starts for me as well. Because even after everything he’s done, Scott still found it in himself to have compassion for Theo, to want better for him.

Theo wasn’t yet ready to accept that compassion. Because Theo wanted to prove that no one could rise above what the doctors had done. That in the words of the Joker, ‘anyone could have their bad day and fall, even someone like Scott’ And then Scott didn’t…

It’s that what made Theo beg to Scott for help even as Kira used the Skinwalkers help to have some shimmer of Tara drag Theo into hell. And it’s what made Scott almost do so, even knowing the threat Theo still was.

Thing is though, while in hell, Theo could have let his pain and suffering drag him into even deeper resentment, into deeper hate. But instead, he accepted what was happening. And that gives you a scary idea of what his childhood had to have been like. That the only way he dealt with trauma, was to accept it, as normal, because it was the only way he had any kind of control over it.

But for Theo that was also a turn around, a moment of accepting that maybe power wasn’t an option for him. That power wouldn’t keep him safe.

So when Liam brought him back, he tried to stay useful, to keep from being sent back. After all, that was another survival mechanism he’d learned with the Dread Doctors. Be useful and they might keep you around. Be useful, And they might give you a crumb of anything, and even if they didn’t, being useful kept you safe and when it didn’t well…

You see that Theo desperately just wants to belong, even if he’ll never admit it, even if he’ll shout to the world that he doesn’t need it

“He has a pack.”

“But Theo isn’t in it”

But he so desperately wants to be…

And yet in 6b, when he most needs help, when he’s all alone, no one to be useful for, no one to want him, and he’s staring at that phone, desperate to call Scott for help, he can’t bring himself to do it, and that’s where his redemption really starts.

See, Theo is the kind of villain that makes me love redemption stories. Villains who accept that they’ve done wrong, and that maybe they need to change. But it isn’t easy to change. So at first they try and just hide themselves behind appearances. Pretend to be on the good guys side, if it gets you something. Follow the rules, because that’s what they want, right? But it’s still hollow, because they don’t feel it.

That’s what makes Theo taking Gabe’s pain so important, because for the first time, he actually feels what it’s like to put another’s feelings before your own. To want to help others for their sake. And that’s why it had to have been someone like Gabe that he did it for.

Someone who was in the same place that Theo had been in for so long. A kid who’d been manipulated and twisted into something cruel and dark, and who realized that the people who manipulated him, didn’t give a fuck about him. By taking Gabe’s pain, Theo was able to take his own, and move on, grow.

It’s a redemption story worth continuing. It’s not done, it might never be fully done. But it’s on its way. And THAT is a character that hooks me and makes me want to see more of it.

Cody did a great job with a villain that could so easily have been a mustache twirling villain but became much more than that, and I love him for it.

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

This is something that I see a lot in fandom, this idea that being a True Alpha should mean being more powerful than “normal” alphas. That’s never how the show explained it. It simply means that Scott had the strength of character to elevate himself to alpha status.

(As an aside, this is far from the only misinterpretation of what being a True Alpha means; like, this idea that if Scott ever killed someone he’d lose his power, that he has to remain “pure” to keep it.)

I think this notion of a True Alpha’s supposed greater power comes mostly from the fact that a lot of people see packs as these highly hierarchical military units, with an aggressive alpha leading his betas in training, and always fighting one threat or another. Which, admittedly, was the sole purpose of Derek’s pack. But we see a lot of other ones that don’t behave like that (Satomi’s, Deucalion’s prior to being blinded, Talia’s, etc.). And I think it’s fair to assume that Beacon Hills is an anomaly in the supernatural world, other places on earth are probably much less dangerous, which would mean that packs would have no reason to be this aggressive. So I don’t think that an alpha’s sole purpose in life would be to become stronger and skilled in combat.

Also, something that I like to do when presented with a potential conflict of interpretation is take a step back and try to imagine the situation in the real world, as if the characters were actual human beings and not TV show characters. Scott is a teenager, one that had asthma at that. How could he possibly be a skilled fighter mere weeks after being turned? Being bitten gives you greater strength and speed, but it doesn’t impart you with the knowledge to use it properly. You still have to learn.

Which, to be fair, I think he did. Scott might not have been the most powerful werewolf on the show, but he was never incompetent either. He beat Derek’s 3 betas, he held his own against Ennis while he was only a beta, he survived an all out assault by highly trained hunters, he did annihilate Peter in Mexico, etc. How many 17 year olds can do that?

And I think Scott isn’t the only one to be shown to have this learning curve. Liam, for example, didn’t magically become a master fighter minutes after being bitten, but by the end of the show he displayed some nice moves in the hospital while fighting in tandem with Theo.

So “weak, shitty excuse of a fighter” seems a bit of a stretch to me.

“Scott never defeated the bad guys by himself” That’s because Scott is a weak, shitty excuse of a fighter. He got his and handed to him by Barrow and Kincaid and the only reason he is still alive is because there are other actually powerful characters stepping up and neutralizing threats (just like the twins with Kincaid.) The only fights he “won” on his own were the one against Peter in s4 and the one against Derek’s newly bitten betas in s2. Scott is not more powerful than other werewolves.

Wow.  You have missed the point completely.    You missed it so completely, it has now entered orbit around Saturn, waiting in vain for you to find it again.

Scott isn’t a True Alpha and the hero of the story because he can beat ass.  True Alphas arise out of virtue, force of will, and strength of character.  Not a single ally of Scott’s respected him or followed him because he could force them to do so.  They followed him because he displayed compassion, vision, and leadership.  

Why would anyone expect Scott to be a great fighter?  He wasn’t trained to be a great fighter.   He didn’t like fighting, and he didn’t want to hurt people.  When he fought, he did it for the singular purpose of saving lives.   He didn’t care that he wasn’t the best fighter.   

I’m glad you brought up the scene with the twins and Kincaid, because it’s absolutely true.  It was the twins’ experience in fighting that carried the day against the professional Yakuza bodyguard werewolf.   The twins were most likely trained by their brutal alpha and by Deucalion.   You know what Scott was?   A high-school junior.

But even being a ‘shitty excuse for a fighter’ as you put it he never backed down from a fight to protect innocents, did he?   Let’s list the people and the times he stood up in combat against better fighters to protect innocents: Peter (3), Derek (2), Jackson (2), Ennis (2), Erica, Isaac, Boyd (3), Cora, Deucalion (2), Jennifer (2), the Calaveras, Berserkers (4), Kate, rogue hunters,  Belasko, Lucas, The Dread Doctors (2), Liam, the Beast (2), Ghost Riders (3), the Anuk Ite.   Sometimes he won; sometimes he lost, but he always stood his ground.  He always Persevered.   

And by the way, why did you put the word ‘won’ in quotation marks when you referred to him kicking the snot out of Peter in La Iglesias?  He pasted that asshole to the ground.  Do you not count that a victory?  

Scott didn’t.  He had hope for Peter’s rehabilitation when everyone else did not.  And he was right.   One could say, when it came to building bridges and turning allies into enemies, he was always right.   Something to think about.

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

That scene in 6x17 where Liam questions Theo’s motives seems indicative to me that he’s still struggling to trust him. That he’s not fully convinced that Theo isn’t still his old self, manipulating his way into Scott’s trust.

It’s becoming harder for him to deny that Theo’s genuinely helping, and he doesn’t like it, hence him lashing out like that, but this is a scene well into 6B where we can say that Liam still has his doubts about Theo’s motivations.

Though I guess you could argue that after trying to kill Scott, his lack of trust in Theo is because he’s also doubting himself. He doesn’t want to let himself trust Theo has changed for fear of repeating the past.

Scott is the first person to believe Theo has changed / That’s not true though. Scott literally asked Liam to send Theo back in Hell at the beginning of the episode, and Liam said no. Scott only listened to Liam because he knew they needed Theo’s help. The scene you posted happened after Scott asked Liam to send Theo back. So no, Scott is not the first person to believe Theo has changed: that’s Liam.

“Scott was the first person to believe that Theo’s changed” doesn’t mean “Scott trusted Theo immediately”.

It means he was the first one that believe that he might have changed.

Liam did not bring Theo back because he thought Theo had changed. He brought him back because he thought they could use the powers that Theo had stolen from Josh. He then kept him around because he thought Theo (who could remember Stiles, and also had information from the Dread Doctors about the Wild Hunt) could be useful.

Scott: I don’t trust him. Do you?Liam: No. But I think we can use him.

When Liam convinces Scott to keep Theo around, he isn’t telling Scott that they can trust Theo, he’s convincing him that they’re desperate and should try anything, and promises that he will watch Theo and make sure he doesn’t fuck them over again.

Saying that they should keep Theo around because they can use him isn’t the same as saying that he believes Theo has changed.

Liam doesn’t trust Theo any more than Scott does in that scene.

Now, that’s not to say that Liam (and everyone else) isn’t right for not trusting Theo right away. It’s very easy as an audience to watch Theo’s arc and understand that he’s changed, but the characters in the show don’t have the same perspective. It would be pretty stupid if Liam (or Scott, or anyone really) did just suddenly trust Theo.

But the point in the set that you’re referencing is that Scott, when faced with Theo spouting a story that sounds completely ridiculous, actually examines the evidence in the situation to see if what Theo’s saying might be true. He finds it, and points it out to everyone else. Stating that he believes Theo is telling the truth.

That entire sequence where they capture the Ghost Rider is an understated but important part of Scott and Theo’s story because it marks the turning point in their relationship and in Theo’s redemption arc.

After they work as a team to trap the Ghost Riders, Scott’s temperament towards Theo drastically changes. From that point onward, Scott never once threatens Theo or discourages him from trying to improve himself or earn back the pack’s trust.

Meanwhile, Liam, Malia, and Mason all do continue to discourage him even into 6B.

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

I mean, do we even want to go there? I know fandom’s job is to build on canon, but I feel like the writers weren’t even trying anymore by that point.

Does anyone want to explain why Theo’s car (and Theo’s body) was shot up from all sides by automatic weapons and yet it’s brand new the next episodes?

Or why Stiles could look the Anuk-Ite directly in the eyes without being turned into stone?

I don’t think you want to go there...  😂

My first post, a Theo/Sceo meta

I’ve been reading a lot of Sceo on AO3, as well as a lot of meta on Tumblr about Theo’s past with the Dread Doctors, and it got me thinking more and more about it in the last few weeks. I’m following someone’s advice and posting my thoughts on that. Thank you to that person for helping me take that terrifying step!

Also, I haven’t watched Teen Wolf in a while so feel free to correct me if I’m misremembering canon. And if you disagree with me, don’t hesitate to tell me, I love debate!

So here goes. Most of the time –virtually 100% of the time really– Theo is depicted as this highly competent individual whose skills were honed by years of working for the Dread Doctors. He’s a great fighter, master manipulator, excellent psychoanalyst… and I find that I disagree with this take more and more with every passing fic.

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense in canon. We know so little about Theo’s childhood before the Dread Doctors and his time with them that it’s possible to headcanon almost anything and make it fit with canon. But it just doesn’t work for me anymore, I have this uneasy and bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach every time. It’s hard to explain, but the idea of season 5 Theo, of the Bad Guy, being so collected and powerful, dominating Scott and the rest of the pack so easily, being constantly 10 moves ahead, makes me really uneasy. I don’t like it with Peter or Deucalion either, but they’re adults so I guess it somehow feels more normal to me.

The idea of this child doing the same thing doesn’t sit well with me. I need Theo to fail. I need Scott to have the upper hand and to dominate the situation. I don’t like Scott’s power being taken away from him. I need it to be very clear between the two who’s in control, who’s the most collected and emotionally balanced, who’s relying the most on the other for guidance and support.

One thing that I read a lot is that Theo assisted the Dread Doctors in “recruiting” the victims that would be turned into chimeras, and did the Dread Doctor’s killing for them. But I don’t think that we’ve ever seen that in the show. The Dread Doctors never ask or need Theo to assist them. They identify and track down the children they need, and we’re shown often enough that they do their own killing.

I seem to remember that for the whole of season 5, the only thing that Theo did was “run interference” to distract the pack while in reality pursuing his own goal of becoming an Alpha. And even that I think is giving him a lot of credit. The Dread Doctors are centuries-old, almost invincible beings. They incapacitated Kira from the get go, and literally destroyed the pack when they came to take Liam and Hayden in the school. They clearly didn’t need Theo for anything, the pack was no threat to them.

So I like to think that after Theo turned out to be a failure, they kept him around for whatever reason. Maybe because he survived, maybe because they found it funny to watch this little kid prancing around with delusions of grandeur, maybe as a reminder of the True Evil they talked about in 5B. And as a result, Theo started to believe that he was special, that he had a purpose, a destiny. So they let him “scheme” when they came back to Beacon Hills, just so that he wouldn’t bother them and their plan.

And I think the only reason that he appeared so competent when taking down the pack –apart from poor writing, incoherent behavior from the pack members and a few smirks here and there– is actually because he had the might of the Dread Doctors putting pressure on Scott and the others, disabling pack members, killing people and creating chaos. Without their interference and guidance, I doubt he would have managed to accomplish a tenth of what he did.

So basically, I like to think of Theo as a sad little boy with an inflated ego that only appear so competent because he’s got mommy and daddy –a.k.a. the Dread Doctors– doing the heavy lifting for him. Which doesn’t make him unintelligent or incompetent either, just not exceptionally gifted.

Then, enter Scott to make it all better and help him find emotional stability and love! ;)

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Actually I thought about that one, but then I wondered: do the Dread Doctors even eat? I guess Theo would have had to buy food for himself though, so I guess I’ll accept it. :)

My first post, a Theo/Sceo meta

I’ve been reading a lot of Sceo on AO3, as well as a lot of meta on Tumblr about Theo’s past with the Dread Doctors, and it got me thinking more and more about it in the last few weeks. I’m following someone’s advice and posting my thoughts on that. Thank you to that person for helping me take that terrifying step!

Also, I haven’t watched Teen Wolf in a while so feel free to correct me if I’m misremembering canon. And if you disagree with me, don’t hesitate to tell me, I love debate!

So here goes. Most of the time –virtually 100% of the time really– Theo is depicted as this highly competent individual whose skills were honed by years of working for the Dread Doctors. He’s a great fighter, master manipulator, excellent psychoanalyst… and I find that I disagree with this take more and more with every passing fic.

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense in canon. We know so little about Theo’s childhood before the Dread Doctors and his time with them that it’s possible to headcanon almost anything and make it fit with canon. But it just doesn’t work for me anymore, I have this uneasy and bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach every time. It’s hard to explain, but the idea of season 5 Theo, of the Bad Guy, being so collected and powerful, dominating Scott and the rest of the pack so easily, being constantly 10 moves ahead, makes me really uneasy. I don’t like it with Peter or Deucalion either, but they’re adults so I guess it somehow feels more normal to me.

The idea of this child doing the same thing doesn’t sit well with me. I need Theo to fail. I need Scott to have the upper hand and to dominate the situation. I don’t like Scott’s power being taken away from him. I need it to be very clear between the two who’s in control, who’s the most collected and emotionally balanced, who’s relying the most on the other for guidance and support.

One thing that I read a lot is that Theo assisted the Dread Doctors in “recruiting” the victims that would be turned into chimeras, and did the Dread Doctor’s killing for them. But I don’t think that we’ve ever seen that in the show. The Dread Doctors never ask or need Theo to assist them. They identify and track down the children they need, and we’re shown often enough that they do their own killing.

I seem to remember that for the whole of season 5, the only thing that Theo did was “run interference” to distract the pack while in reality pursuing his own goal of becoming an Alpha. And even that I think is giving him a lot of credit. The Dread Doctors are centuries-old, almost invincible beings. They incapacitated Kira from the get go, and literally destroyed the pack when they came to take Liam and Hayden in the school. They clearly didn’t need Theo for anything, the pack was no threat to them.

So I like to think that after Theo turned out to be a failure, they kept him around for whatever reason. Maybe because he survived, maybe because they found it funny to watch this little kid prancing around with delusions of grandeur, maybe as a reminder of the True Evil they talked about in 5B. And as a result, Theo started to believe that he was special, that he had a purpose, a destiny. So they let him “scheme” when they came back to Beacon Hills, just so that he wouldn’t bother them and their plan.

And I think the only reason that he appeared so competent when taking down the pack –apart from poor writing, incoherent behavior from the pack members and a few smirks here and there– is actually because he had the might of the Dread Doctors putting pressure on Scott and the others, disabling pack members, killing people and creating chaos. Without their interference and guidance, I doubt he would have managed to accomplish a tenth of what he did.

So basically, I like to think of Theo as a sad little boy with an inflated ego that only appear so competent because he’s got mommy and daddy –a.k.a. the Dread Doctors– doing the heavy lifting for him. Which doesn’t make him unintelligent or incompetent either, just not exceptionally gifted.

Then, enter Scott to make it all better and help him find emotional stability and love! ;)

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Well you’re right about Theo essentially being an undercover operative during season 5, so I guess I’ll reluctantly agree that it might have happened before...

Nicely done. 😀

My first post, a Theo/Sceo meta

I’ve been reading a lot of Sceo on AO3, as well as a lot of meta on Tumblr about Theo’s past with the Dread Doctors, and it got me thinking more and more about it in the last few weeks. I’m following someone’s advice and posting my thoughts on that. Thank you to that person for helping me take that terrifying step!

Also, I haven’t watched Teen Wolf in a while so feel free to correct me if I’m misremembering canon. And if you disagree with me, don’t hesitate to tell me, I love debate!

So here goes. Most of the time –virtually 100% of the time really– Theo is depicted as this highly competent individual whose skills were honed by years of working for the Dread Doctors. He’s a great fighter, master manipulator, excellent psychoanalyst… and I find that I disagree with this take more and more with every passing fic.

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense in canon. We know so little about Theo’s childhood before the Dread Doctors and his time with them that it’s possible to headcanon almost anything and make it fit with canon. But it just doesn’t work for me anymore, I have this uneasy and bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach every time. It’s hard to explain, but the idea of season 5 Theo, of the Bad Guy, being so collected and powerful, dominating Scott and the rest of the pack so easily, being constantly 10 moves ahead, makes me really uneasy. I don’t like it with Peter or Deucalion either, but they’re adults so I guess it somehow feels more normal to me.

The idea of this child doing the same thing doesn’t sit well with me. I need Theo to fail. I need Scott to have the upper hand and to dominate the situation. I don’t like Scott’s power being taken away from him. I need it to be very clear between the two who’s in control, who’s the most collected and emotionally balanced, who’s relying the most on the other for guidance and support.

One thing that I read a lot is that Theo assisted the Dread Doctors in “recruiting” the victims that would be turned into chimeras, and did the Dread Doctor’s killing for them. But I don’t think that we’ve ever seen that in the show. The Dread Doctors never ask or need Theo to assist them. They identify and track down the children they need, and we’re shown often enough that they do their own killing.

I seem to remember that for the whole of season 5, the only thing that Theo did was “run interference” to distract the pack while in reality pursuing his own goal of becoming an Alpha. And even that I think is giving him a lot of credit. The Dread Doctors are centuries-old, almost invincible beings. They incapacitated Kira from the get go, and literally destroyed the pack when they came to take Liam and Hayden in the school. They clearly didn’t need Theo for anything, the pack was no threat to them.

So I like to think that after Theo turned out to be a failure, they kept him around for whatever reason. Maybe because he survived, maybe because they found it funny to watch this little kid prancing around with delusions of grandeur, maybe as a reminder of the True Evil they talked about in 5B. And as a result, Theo started to believe that he was special, that he had a purpose, a destiny. So they let him “scheme” when they came back to Beacon Hills, just so that he wouldn’t bother them and their plan.

And I think the only reason that he appeared so competent when taking down the pack –apart from poor writing, incoherent behavior from the pack members and a few smirks here and there– is actually because he had the might of the Dread Doctors putting pressure on Scott and the others, disabling pack members, killing people and creating chaos. Without their interference and guidance, I doubt he would have managed to accomplish a tenth of what he did.

So basically, I like to think of Theo as a sad little boy with an inflated ego that only appear so competent because he’s got mommy and daddy –a.k.a. the Dread Doctors– doing the heavy lifting for him. Which doesn’t make him unintelligent or incompetent either, just not exceptionally gifted.

Then, enter Scott to make it all better and help him find emotional stability and love! ;)

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

The reasons I listed as for why the Dread Doctors would keep Theo around were completely random and not meant to be accurate, but since you mention a few of your own you kinda made me think more about it! Damn it!

(Also I’m really contrary, so I can’t help but to try to contradict people when in a conversation) 😛

Your first reason, observation, I can absolutely get behind. The DDs are scientists first, they would want to understand why he survived and why he failed to become the Beast.

Lab assistant I find hilarious! Those floors aren’t going to sweep themselves! How funny would it be to have the pack exploring a DD operating theater and thinking up all those terrible things Theo must have done, and Theo being: “Yeah, that’s totally what happened!” while nervously looking towards the closet where the mop and bucket are stored!

Errand boy and undercover operative, I just don’t see. I mean, they’re definitely interesting in a fic setting to flesh out Theo’s background, but I can’t imagine the DDs needing any information, technology or scientific data from anyone else. No one else in the world does what they do, they’re the only ones in their field of study (if you can call it that).

Now as for the DDs keeping him around for funsies, I agree with you, they don’t look like a really funny bunch. But I thought about the scene of Mason’s transformation into the Beast, and their monologue about Theo being a failure. It sounded to me like they were really getting out of their way to emotionally hurt him. What they said wasn’t necessary, they could have just ignored him.

Which makes me think that they probably derived a sick pleasure from torturing him and others. And their bit about Theo’s “entitlement and narcissism typical of [his] generation” shows to me that they resented him in some way, that they found him lacking in character. Which would reinforce the enjoyment they took from abusing him.

But it’s difficult to ascribe emotions to the Dread Doctors, so that might just be me seeing things.

My first post, a Theo/Sceo meta

I’ve been reading a lot of Sceo on AO3, as well as a lot of meta on Tumblr about Theo’s past with the Dread Doctors, and it got me thinking more and more about it in the last few weeks. I’m following someone’s advice and posting my thoughts on that. Thank you to that person for helping me take that terrifying step!

Also, I haven’t watched Teen Wolf in a while so feel free to correct me if I’m misremembering canon. And if you disagree with me, don’t hesitate to tell me, I love debate!

So here goes. Most of the time –virtually 100% of the time really– Theo is depicted as this highly competent individual whose skills were honed by years of working for the Dread Doctors. He’s a great fighter, master manipulator, excellent psychoanalyst… and I find that I disagree with this take more and more with every passing fic.

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense in canon. We know so little about Theo’s childhood before the Dread Doctors and his time with them that it’s possible to headcanon almost anything and make it fit with canon. But it just doesn’t work for me anymore, I have this uneasy and bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach every time. It’s hard to explain, but the idea of season 5 Theo, of the Bad Guy, being so collected and powerful, dominating Scott and the rest of the pack so easily, being constantly 10 moves ahead, makes me really uneasy. I don’t like it with Peter or Deucalion either, but they’re adults so I guess it somehow feels more normal to me.

The idea of this child doing the same thing doesn’t sit well with me. I need Theo to fail. I need Scott to have the upper hand and to dominate the situation. I don’t like Scott’s power being taken away from him. I need it to be very clear between the two who’s in control, who’s the most collected and emotionally balanced, who’s relying the most on the other for guidance and support.

One thing that I read a lot is that Theo assisted the Dread Doctors in “recruiting” the victims that would be turned into chimeras, and did the Dread Doctor’s killing for them. But I don’t think that we’ve ever seen that in the show. The Dread Doctors never ask or need Theo to assist them. They identify and track down the children they need, and we’re shown often enough that they do their own killing.

I seem to remember that for the whole of season 5, the only thing that Theo did was “run interference” to distract the pack while in reality pursuing his own goal of becoming an Alpha. And even that I think is giving him a lot of credit. The Dread Doctors are centuries-old, almost invincible beings. They incapacitated Kira from the get go, and literally destroyed the pack when they came to take Liam and Hayden in the school. They clearly didn’t need Theo for anything, the pack was no threat to them.

So I like to think that after Theo turned out to be a failure, they kept him around for whatever reason. Maybe because he survived, maybe because they found it funny to watch this little kid prancing around with delusions of grandeur, maybe as a reminder of the True Evil they talked about in 5B. And as a result, Theo started to believe that he was special, that he had a purpose, a destiny. So they let him “scheme” when they came back to Beacon Hills, just so that he wouldn’t bother them and their plan.

And I think the only reason that he appeared so competent when taking down the pack –apart from poor writing, incoherent behavior from the pack members and a few smirks here and there– is actually because he had the might of the Dread Doctors putting pressure on Scott and the others, disabling pack members, killing people and creating chaos. Without their interference and guidance, I doubt he would have managed to accomplish a tenth of what he did.

So basically, I like to think of Theo as a sad little boy with an inflated ego that only appear so competent because he’s got mommy and daddy –a.k.a. the Dread Doctors– doing the heavy lifting for him. Which doesn’t make him unintelligent or incompetent either, just not exceptionally gifted.

Then, enter Scott to make it all better and help him find emotional stability and love! ;)

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

Again, a Theo meta

Someone argued to me that Theo was reacting to events rather than planning in advance, which makes sense. But I do think there’s an argument to be made that he’s sometimes doing it poorly.

I know it’s difficult, in a show like Teen Wolf, to separate what we’re supposed to take as serious character development from what is just meant by writers to be shock-value, drama or plot twists. But I think a good example of Theo poorly handling a situation would be the killing of Josh on the roof of the hospital to “protect” Stiles.

When first watching the scene, I remember being really surprised at the stupidity of what Theo did. He saves Stiles by killing Josh. That’s great! He acts all submissive and begs Stiles not to tell Scott. Awesome! He’s got Stiles in his pocket now. Stiles will believe he’s got the upper hand on Theo. And both potential outcomes would be good for Theo: Stiles either shuts up, being lulled into a false sense of security because he believes he’s got something on Theo, making him less suspicious, or he tells Scott, who might not have been happy but who would have understood, which would have enraged Stiles, further driving a wedge between the two friends. That would have been a really clever and subtle manipulation.

But instead he goes for the less than subtle approach of blackmail and tells him that he knows about Donovan. Taunts him really, because he just can’t help himself. Which has the predictable effect of raising a million red flags for Stiles, making him a thousand times more suspicious and antagonistic. That was a stupid move. He could have placated Stiles’s suspicions, maybe even made an ally of him with time. Instead he ensured Stiles’s eternal antagonism.

Again, I’m not saying he’s unintelligent, but he’s still a child, and it shows in the way he thinks and behaves.

[i-dont-want-to-tell-you-my-name]

My first post, a Theo/Sceo meta

I’ve been reading a lot of Sceo on AO3, as well as a lot of meta on Tumblr about Theo’s past with the Dread Doctors, and it got me thinking more and more about it in the last few weeks. I’m following someone’s advice and posting my thoughts on that. Thank you to that person for helping me take that terrifying step!

Also, I haven’t watched Teen Wolf in a while so feel free to correct me if I’m misremembering canon. And if you disagree with me, don’t hesitate to tell me, I love debate!

So here goes. Most of the time –virtually 100% of the time really– Theo is depicted as this highly competent individual whose skills were honed by years of working for the Dread Doctors. He’s a great fighter, master manipulator, excellent psychoanalyst… and I find that I disagree with this take more and more with every passing fic.

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense in canon. We know so little about Theo’s childhood before the Dread Doctors and his time with them that it’s possible to headcanon almost anything and make it fit with canon. But it just doesn’t work for me anymore, I have this uneasy and bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach every time. It’s hard to explain, but the idea of season 5 Theo, of the Bad Guy, being so collected and powerful, dominating Scott and the rest of the pack so easily, being constantly 10 moves ahead, makes me really uneasy. I don’t like it with Peter or Deucalion either, but they’re adults so I guess it somehow feels more normal to me.

The idea of this child doing the same thing doesn’t sit well with me. I need Theo to fail. I need Scott to have the upper hand and to dominate the situation. I don’t like Scott’s power being taken away from him. I need it to be very clear between the two who’s in control, who’s the most collected and emotionally balanced, who’s relying the most on the other for guidance and support.

One thing that I read a lot is that Theo assisted the Dread Doctors in “recruiting” the victims that would be turned into chimeras, and did the Dread Doctor’s killing for them. But I don’t think that we’ve ever seen that in the show. The Dread Doctors never ask or need Theo to assist them. They identify and track down the children they need, and we’re shown often enough that they do their own killing.

I seem to remember that for the whole of season 5, the only thing that Theo did was “run interference” to distract the pack while in reality pursuing his own goal of becoming an Alpha. And even that I think is giving him a lot of credit. The Dread Doctors are centuries-old, almost invincible beings. They incapacitated Kira from the get go, and literally destroyed the pack when they came to take Liam and Hayden in the school. They clearly didn’t need Theo for anything, the pack was no threat to them.

So I like to think that after Theo turned out to be a failure, they kept him around for whatever reason. Maybe because he survived, maybe because they found it funny to watch this little kid prancing around with delusions of grandeur, maybe as a reminder of the True Evil they talked about in 5B. And as a result, Theo started to believe that he was special, that he had a purpose, a destiny. So they let him “scheme” when they came back to Beacon Hills, just so that he wouldn’t bother them and their plan.

And I think the only reason that he appeared so competent when taking down the pack –apart from poor writing, incoherent behavior from the pack members and a few smirks here and there– is actually because he had the might of the Dread Doctors putting pressure on Scott and the others, disabling pack members, killing people and creating chaos. Without their interference and guidance, I doubt he would have managed to accomplish a tenth of what he did.

So basically, I like to think of Theo as a sad little boy with an inflated ego that only appear so competent because he’s got mommy and daddy –a.k.a. the Dread Doctors– doing the heavy lifting for him. Which doesn’t make him unintelligent or incompetent either, just not exceptionally gifted.

Then, enter Scott to make it all better and help him find emotional stability and love! ;)