Scott X Allison X Isaac

Scott x Allison x Isaac

I’m aware that most of the Teen Wolf fandom agrees that Dylan is a good actor, or if not just good, the best actor on the show bar none. Which, okay, I do agree that Dylan is really good at carrying emotional beats, his comedic timing is usually spot on, and Stiles is very animated thanks to him. I don’t think that he’s head and shoulders above the rest of the cast in terms of ability (side note: my personal favorite actor is Tyler Posey, the best I’d say is Crystal Reed, who is also playing one of the best written characters on the show, but I digress), there are times when I feel he misses his mark and comes off as almost cartoonish in his delivery, and there are times where he doesn’t work for me. So, I don’t quite get when people herald him as a golden god of acting, but, you know, it’s my take. 

There seems to be a lot more to say about Dylan’s acting because he’s actually gotten a chance to flex his acting muscles on screen, Dylan has been afforded the opportunity to display his range as an actor, while others, chiefly Tyler Posey, have not. 

Now I’m not going to state that Tyler Posey is the best actor on the show, because he’s not, at least not at the moment, but I do think that he’s the actor who’s shown the most growth since the pilot (I’m looking squarely in the direction of Tyler Hoechlin when I write this, whose best bit of acting has been sarcastically raising his eyebrows). Tyler’s performance has really resonated with me, I just like Scott. What I like about how Tyler plays Scott is that there’s a natural warmth about him, he feels really down-to-earth, genuinely earnest. There’s also one aspect I can’t quite articulate, it’s his ability to click with his scene partner, it feels natural. 

The thing is that.. I feel Tyler isn’t being given the chance to showcase his growth or to even push himself, a lot of the scenes that should be his are given to Dylan, even though Tyler has really stepped up his game and is able to wring emotion out of scenes just as effectively as Dylan. It’s upsetting because as the lead he should be given the challenging scenes, the scenes that push him to his limit and beyond. So, while I’m happy that Tyler landed the lead role on a television series, I’m not happy with how it’s panned out for him or for his character. 

tl;dr I’m tired of seeing people hand wave Tyler’s acting as “bad” without taking the time to point out that he’s made demonstrable improvements. He hardly ever gets a fair shake. 

Remember who he is.

i’m really sick of that price peterson quote about allison argent.

you know the one. we’re all seeing it ad nauseum. allison argent was dewy and know-nothing and then she became a badass and then she died a hero. yes, yes, we get it, you literally missed everything about allison argent except the fight scenes and her death.

allison has never been know-nothing. even when she’s not in the know, she’s got a better idea of what’s going on than anyone gives her credit for. from the very beginning, allison is the only person totally aware of scott mccall. not even his best friend takes him as seriously as she does. she meets him and instantly, he’s on her radar, because she sees what even the show doesn’t see: that scott mccall is the hero of the story.

even i (who am usually among the first to start screaming that is MISOGYNY in my best effie trinket voice) am okay with allison’s story not being developed yet in the first couple of episodes. scott’s the main character. literally everything about this show is (or should be, logically speaking) about him if he’s the protagonist. so if, for the first couple of seasons, we see allison only through scott’s eyes, that makes sense. it’s his show. he’s the goddamn teen wolf. everything needs a foundation and the show’s protagonist is no exception.

once kate comes into play, though, that’s over, and from there on out we see just how much allison knows. allison is excellent at a second language (french) and by the end of season three i’m willing to bet she’s very close to fluent. she’s well-versed in art and photography and poetry. she’s good enough at archery that she’s nationally ranked. and when she doesn’t know something, she figures it out.

in fact, allison’s one of the only people we see researching on this show. not lydia, who’s going to win the fields’ medal; not chris, the wise hunter. allison, crawling through websites and library books about a reference her aunt made to learn more about her family. allison, trudging through archaic latin and telling people it’s for an online roleplay group. allison, crawling through the bestiary to look for anything and everything that might help.

and let’s not pretend that allison just suddenly became badass when kate put the bow in her hands again. allison stands up to her friends when they belittle scott and encourages him despite their mocking. allison walks into an empty school at night when asked to meet there. allison holds a condom up to stop her father and aunt from accusing scott of theft. and when allison feels as though her relationship is more harmful than positive, she ends it, and she doesn’t cave to pressure to start again—she waits until she’s ready.

because let’s be real, bravery isn’t just about facing down werewolves, it’s about navigating high school, which is pretty damn terrifying.

allison’s relationship with isaac is important even if you’re not a fan of allisaac—because allison starts to move on. allison is not solely defined by her interactions with the main character, be they positive or negative. allison moves on and shows no ill will when scott does the same; allison kisses who she pleases and only when she pleases and has sex and doesn’t waste away pining after scott while he moves on with grace and charm, as is so common for women in media. in fact, allison moves on first. so even if you’re not a fan of allisaac (though i most assuredly am) it’s important to realize that whether or not she loved isaac, her relationship with him was important because it further established that she was not defined by her romantic availability to the main character.

and no. allison did not go out as a hero. allison went out as a teenage girl whose last words were given to everyone else but her, who said it was perfect to die in the arms of her first love, who didn’t get a single moment to be selfish. allison went out disrespected and used and every writer who made that happen should be ashamed that they could find a way to write gerard and deucalion and jackson out but couldn’t find a way to give allison the send-off she deserved. there is nothing heroic about her death; it was cheap, it was poorly written, and it was a sign of just how little the teen wolf writers really care about young women.

so get the fuck away from allison argent, mr. peterson, when you clearly haven’t paid her any attention outside of a fight scene. “dewy and know-nothing” my ass.