You Should Be Watching: Teen Wolf

Honestly, it probably surprises me more than it surprises you that I’m recommending you watch MTV’s current rendition of Teen Wolf. It shocked me how much I adored it when I started watching it, especially once you get around half-way through season 2; don’t get me wrong, season one is great, but it’s a little more High School romance with a paranormal element spun in. But then things get really crazy as it goes along.

So the reason I started watching Teen Wolf was because a guy I knew in high school (we did shows together, and he was friends with my older brother) got cast in a recurring role in it. So I knew eventually I should watch it to support him. That was really the main reason I started watching. I told myself “Just watch up until the episodes he’s in, and then you can stop”.

There was absolutely no stopping.

I think I marathoned half the show in less than a week? Like I said, especially once you get into season 3 and on, this show gets RIDICULOUS. And by ridiculous, I mean awesome. There’s tons of action, lots of super cool magic/paranormal/supernatural elements, a heap of loveable characters (STILES. STILES IS THE BEST), and surprisingly great acting (STILES AGAIN).

Now, granted, this is a show about high schoolers, but it’s much less MTV than you might think. First of all, there’s not a gratuitous amount of scantily clad females or sex scenes. In fact, I’m having trouble remembering if there’s  sex? Maybe some, though there’s no nudity. Obviously it’s not every episode or I would remember better. Lots of kissing/making out, sure. It’s high school, with lots of romance story lines. I was watching an interview with the cast where one of the girls said she liked working on Teen Wolf because it was always the guys who had to take their shirts off and not the girls. (So yes, there are gratuitous amounts of shirtless guys).  In Season 1 especially there are lots of Lacrosse scenes, which is somewhat hilarious some of the time, but also kind of fun.

There’s a lot of humor in this show, especially in the first half. Stiles (one of the main characters) is actually one of the funnier characters on TV. I like the humor on Teen Wolf because a lot of times its just situational humor coming out of one of the characters’ weird quirks (usually it’s Stiles), rather than going for some joke, or resorting to crude humor.

Secondly, this show gets hella scary in Season 5. I mean like, nightmarishly so. Up until then, it’s got it’s creepy moments, but it’s pretty well balanced by being mostly just slightly creepy paranormal elements. Sort of a “creature of the week”, although really, this show is far less episodic than shows like Buffy were. Teen Wolf has pretty solid story arcs that last a full season. Well, in Season 5, it really turns into a horror show. Think Supernatural, on it’s scariest days, but for a whole season.

Then we get to the romance. There’s a ton of romance on Teen Wolf. Some of it I adore, some of it solidly “meh”. But except for Season 1, the romance is not usually the most important part. This show really is driven by the supernatural elements, rather than the romance. (While I’m on the subject, there are storylines following gay characters, though they aren’t the main characters, and there is definitely gay kissing/implied sex in a couple of episodes).

However, the best and most important relationship on the show is the friendship and really brotherhood between the main characters Scott and Stiles. They have the absolute best bromance, and their friendship is really what I love seeing develop over the seasons. Stiles (played by the ridiculously talented Dylan O’Brien) is one of the most likable and dynamic characters I’ve seen recently on TV (certainly in shows marketed towards teens). Dylan O’Brien (who is also known for playing Thomas in The Maze Runner) is really one of the best young actors I’ve seen, and I imagine he’ll have a very long, successful career. At least, I hope so, because he’s like, stupid talented.

Which means he’s amazing. And he’s also ridiculously adorable.

Just watch the show, and you’ll understand.

This has been “You Should be Watching”.