I'd Actually Argue That Theo Is A Tragic Hero At Least For Those That Like Theo And/or Thiam - Tumblr Posts
theo raeken and tragic hero essay... thing (idk what i'm doing)
in this... essay, i will talk about theo raeken as a tragic hero, because why the hell not.
tragedy as a literary genre goes all the way back to the 5th century BC, and is still written about today. it is a genre of drama focused on stories of human suffering, where a human flaw/weakness/choice leads to devastating events, traditionally ending with death. examples of tragedies include 'romeo and juliet', 'a streetcare named desire', etc etc.
so, anyways, tragedies have multiple components, with an introduction, a middle and an end, dramatic events, a character that is usually the tragic hero, and it all leads to catharsis (catharsis being the purging of emotion).
the structure would go more or less like that:
the tragic hero, central character, starts out in a good position (could be of high social standing, or maybe they're famous, successful, happy in general, etc), whose choices or weaknesses lead to a chain of events that end with their downfall. it could be oeudipus, killing his father and marrying his mother, and later being like 'oh shit'. because of their action or trait, the hero is now facing an inevitable ending, which is... tragic.
and that leads us to theo!
i consider that theo's tragedy starts with him watching tara die, and ends with him going to hell (we're ignoring season 6, sorry theo, maybe later), and would probably actually be composed of two parts (his childhood, and then him arriving in beacon hills again).
we have the tragic hero, theo, who, while he has good qualities, makes an error of judgement (that's an understatement) and lets his sister tara die of hypothermia, in order to gain power. that choice leads to his downfall, as he becomes the first chimera, being experimented on.
so we'll consider theo's hunger for power his tragic flaw (the 'hamartia' of the story, which is a factor that causes the downfall), that follows him all the way to the first episode where we see him.
then again, theo starts out great, but he ends up experiencing peripeteia; a reversal. while he was planning on taking over scott's pack, there is a reversal of situation, which means that it doesn't turn out how he wanted.
from then on, theo loses control over the story, kills part of his pack, loses the few 'betas' he had, becoming isolated, fails at everything he attempts, and, at the last moment, realizes what's about to become of him. before being dragged by tara into 'hell', he has a moment of 'anagnorisis' (recognition) of his fate, and tries to fight against it (pleading to be helped, trying to hold on something).
however, a tragic character, while they might fight against fate, cannot reverse it, which is why theo gets trapped in hell.
so in my opinion, theo shares traits with tragic heroes, and part of his story follows the concepts of tragedy.
where it lacks, however, is the fact that you probably don't relate or pity theo's downfall until you've watched season 6 and started liking theo (which doesn't go along the idea of the tragic hero being relatable), and thus there is little catharsis, except for general satisfaction at his tragic ending. theo also escapes, in a way, his tragedy, by later being released from hell (his ending is reversed).
anyways, the story has a tragic hero, a tragic flaw, some sort of catharsis, peripeteia, and some late anagnorisis, so i'll consider it a tragedy :).
(sources are
https://www.supersummary.com/tragedy/
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/agamemnon-the-choephori-and-the-eumenides/critical-essay/aristotle-on-tragedy
https://literaryterms.net/tragedy/
https://www.britannica.com/art/tragedy-literature
https://teen-wolf-pack.fandom.com/wiki/Theo_Raeken)