the one huntress that matters
ও a study (read: ramblings) on allison argent in light of the news that according to the 2023 teen wolf movie, allison is alive...with absolutely no repercussions for it??
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Allison Argent will always hold a special place in the land in my heart that Teen Wolf occupies. If you look her up, you'll find articles on why she was and is one of the most important female characters in the history of teen dramas. I agree. I agree with it all.
She was not a black-and-white one-dimensional character. She was layered and complicated, someone we were all conflicted about: What is she doing? Do we support her? Is she good or bad?
Allison entered as the archetypal pretty new girl, unaware of anything supernatural. The hero's love interest, and nothing more. I thought she was pretty but didn’t give her much agency.
The show clearly had another plan for her. Over the course of the first season, it became clear that she had her own storyline, separate from Scott's, which is hardly ever seen in such shows. She no longer had to use “love interest” as her crutches. We saw her becoming a talented archer and a conflicted hunter, targeting her own werewolf boyfriend before ultimately accepting Scott.
Scott and Allison's romance (I blame them for idealistic expectations) was real and moving: the excitement of new romance but the undercurrents of a first love that went deeper. She became his anchor; the one that brought him back when he teetered on the edge. All he had to do was think of her. All she had to do was hold his hand to let him know she was there.
Season 2 saw Allison pick up her trademark weapon and evolve into the strong hunter we began knowing her as. She and her bow and arrow came before Katniss did (The Hunger Games released 2012), so you couldn’t compare them. We saw how far she could go, what limits she could cross. Unaware that her mother died trying to kill Scott, she was manipulated into thinking that a rival werewolf pack was responsible for her mother’s death.
Her mother's death started her downward spiral—something that was completely fresh and unexpected in a teen drama and wholly fascinating to see in a lead female character. Instead of breaking down, Allison used her anger as a weapon, pulling away from Scott and hunting down the rival pack, shooting arrow after arrow into teenagers until she was stopped by her stunned father.
We watched her, a human, fight werewolves that were stronger than her, using her training, her daggers and arrows, to make them bleed. Her transition from a sweet and pretty love interest to a strong and dark warrior was a change that all us fans were enthusiastically cheering for. Teen Wolf was setting milestones in their character portrayals and breaking stereotypes, setting an example for all media ahead.
Season 3 became Allison's redemption arc. She needed to atone for the wrong she'd done. And so, she broke up with Scott and became completely independent—another move that made her different from other teen female leads, especially back then. She was making her own choices and telling us that we could too.
We saw Allison become less confident in her abilities, unsure of what she was capable of and if she could really protect her friends. Her insecurities made her more human. Despite their break-up, it was clear that Scott and Allison still cared about each other.
Lydia’s friendship with Allison also evolved. For the first time, a female friendship was given as much depth and importance as a male one. We saw Allison become more protective of Lydia. When Lydia had to meet the Alpha that was responsible for biting Scott and killing Allison's aunt, Allison accompanied her, ready to defend her if needed. Lydia pushed her to gain back confidence in her abilities, giving her encouragement when she struggled with archery.
In fact, the character relationships are probably the best thing about Teen Wolf. When people remarked that Allison and Stiles weren't really friends at all, the show proved them wrong: When Allison has to confront Void Stiles in season 3, she has tears in her eyes and an angry, determined expression that betrays her emotions—it is not an expression someone who isn't a friend would have. She doesn't even have to verbally say anything.
Season 3 was the show’s peak. Allison overcomes her internal struggles and is able to protect her friends without worrying she will hurt them. At this point, I was completely invested in the main gang. I was rooting for them to make it through. I was rooting for Scott and Allison to get back together despite the introduction of Kira.
Here, Allison was at her high point. Fierce, loyal, caring and sweet. She had emerged as one of the strongest female characters on the show whose role wasn't reduced to being the love interest, and it made history. Her story wasn't merely connected to Scott’s nor was it there just to support him, nor was it always impacted and affected by him. Her storyline was her own, and that's what we all loved. We loved her.
Which is why the entire fandom blew up when Allison died at the end of season 3. It was the first time I broke down over a character death on a TV show.
It's important to note where Lydia was at the time of Allison's death. She and the real Stiles could not see what was happening; they were in a tight passageway so narrow Lydia could touch both walls if she stretched her arms. The scene that followed was remarkable in its depth. Where once Allison was so unsure of her abilities, here she was, using her bow and arrow to destroy the Oni.
When she realized that an Oni was about to kill Isaac, you see her nocking an arrow and pointing it at the shadow warrior. And then you see her visibly take a deep breath. She's both steadying herself and assuring herself that she can do it. That she can hit her target. That she can save her friend. It was amazing—it made her so human. She was not perfect, just like the rest of us.
And it hits. The arrow goes right through the Oni. And in that brief moment, her face lights up. She did it. But she doesn't see the other Oni that promptly avenges his fallen mate. And she is run through with his sword. I screamed when that happened. No, no, no. No, she'll live. She'll survive that. She will.
The scene cut to Lydia with an unconscious Stiles. The moment the sword went through Allison, Lydia stiffened and gasped. And she screamed Allison's name. The scream was bloodcurdling, both terrible and ultimate.
But wait. Lydia is inside. She didn't see Allison get stabbed. So how did she know? You could say it was banshee powers. Intuition. But as the viewer, you realize that Lydia felt the sword. It was as if she had felt the sharp pain Allison must've felt. Could you imagine losing your best friend that way?
But Lydia is not the only one who breaks. Scott comes running just in time to see the Oni drag his sword back out and vanish. Allison collapses into his arms. The blood that stains her lips looks like crimson lipstick. You can see the struggle in Scott's eyes, the helplessness, the shock: like he can't process that the girl he has always loved from the very beginning of the show is now dying in his arms. It was something not even we, as fans, had seen coming.
And then Allison says something. "I love you," she says to Scott. "I love you, Scott McCall."
Why was this so important? One, because Allison and Scott are not together. And yet she says this. Second, one thing I've always loved about Teen Wolf is that not everything is verbal. There are meanings underneath what they say on the surface. This is a show that treats its teens in a more mature way than you see in most teen shows.
So when Allison said "I love you," to Scott, it wasn't just a romantic love she was talking about. She truly loved him. As a person. She had always loved him just as he had always loved her (fun fact: this line was not in the original script. Crystal Reed had come up with the line herself, against the producer's wishes. She too believed that till her dying breath, the one person Allison Argent had always loved was Scott).
Everything about this scene was brilliant and beautiful and top-notch for what you'd normally see in a teen drama. It wasn’t sappy. It wasn't overdone or underdone. I loved that they emphasized the friendship between Allison and Lydia—two female characters—just as much as they had emphasized the lovers. Because yes, Allison's death took something away from Scott. But it also took something away from Lydia. When I think about Allison's death scene, it is Lydia's reaction that stands out most in my mind, despite her not even having witnessed the death like Scott did.
Allison's death was almost historical. MTV put up a website that was designed as her memorial. All you saw were fans posting about how much Allison had inspired them. Entertainment websites and blogs waxed poetic about why Allison was such an important TV character and why her loss really was a loss.
It was especially sad because Jeff Davis had not originally planned for Allison to die. In fact, in his plan, Allison actually lived and he had envisioned her and Scott getting back together and eventually getting married (give me a moment while I cry about this forever). Allison's death was a result of Crystal Reed's decision to leave the show to pursue other roles.
Of course I wish she hadn't made that decision. The entire fandom wished it. It is true that Allison’s death marked the beginning of the show’s fall, its downward spiral and shaky foundation. Ever since her death, the show was unable to keep itself steady, mostly due to the high character turnover. Characters entered and left as if everybody was a guest star instead of the main cast.
They began introducing a plethora of characters with immense potential, just for the show to never expand on them, or for the actors themselves to leave.
The worst blow came when the show wrote off Arden Cho, the only, might I add, Asian character in the main cast. Kira Yukimura was a kitsune, a fox spirit. She had no control over the kitsune inside her—rather, when she was in battle, the fox spirit rose up and controlled her instead of the other way around, and Kira didn’t even know it.
This created so much potential for her. How could she help Scott and be a part of his pack if she couldn’t control her powers? What if the kitsune completely took over? What havoc would she wreak, especially with a sword in her hands and her powers in tow?
But just when her story was building up to an exciting crescendo, Arden Cho revealed that she would no longer be part of the show come season 6. The writers had cut her out—their excuse was “too many characters to keep track of.” It was a slap in the face to fans who had invested in Kira the same way they’d invested in Allison. Now, just like Allison, Kira would be leaving, and she didn’t even get a proper goodbye.
Yet, the show chose to keep irrelevant characters. They were introducing unnecessary male characters instead of expanding and building on the characters they already had. We were all confounded when after giving that reason to cut Kira out, they announced that a new cast member would be joining—“a hunky, sexy lacrosse player who gets drawn into the supernatural world.” At this point, we already had way too many “hunky, sexy” boys. It was ironic how the show that complained they had “too many characters” was now introducing a new face none of the fans wanted, when they could’ve spent that energy developing Kira.
But one thing Teen Wolf did that I loved that was very unlike typical teen dramas was that they didn't brush off Allison's death nor did they ever forget that she was such an integral part of the show. In other teen dramas, when characters die, the show tends to find a quick replacement and move on without looking back. Teen Wolf did the opposite.
For example, the fandom was pretty angry when Teen Wolf didn't give Allison a funeral and instead jumped right back into trying to save Stiles. But upon thinking about it, I realized that they did it to reflect the situation: the truth was that none of the teens had any time to process Allison's death—they had to rush to save Stiles before Void Stiles caused anyone else's death.
This is why, at the end of season 3, the scene where Scott sits alone at the kitchen table staring into space until his mother arrives and he suddenly breaks down crying in her arms, hits that much harder.
Teen Wolf has always done well with nonverbal scenes and I loved this one. Without any words at all, we understood who Scott had been thinking about. That was both a testament to how well we had grown to know Scott over the span of the show and to the writers of the show.
We thought that after season 3, Allison would never be mentioned or thought of again. But we were wrong. In the 5th season, the gang attends a “senior scribe:” a tradition where seniors write their initials on a bookshelf in the library decorated with the initials of previous seniors.
Scott writes his initials. Pauses. Then, right underneath his initials, he writes, “A.A.”
The fandom went crazy. It was so endearing. With that simple—again nonverbal—scene, Scott proved that he would always love Allison. He would never forget her. She too would’ve been with them, taking part in this tradition, if she were alive. It was lovely and it hurt.
In season 5, the fans celebrated Crystal Reed’s return. She would be guest-starring in one episode as Marie-Jeanne Argent, a woman who bravely killed a beast who turned out to be her brother, Sebastian.
When Sebastian and Scott are facing off, Sebastian is winning. Ready to serve Scott the killing blow, he digs his claws into the back of his neck: however, in doing so, he is immediately immersed in Scott’s memories.
And who did he see? Allison. What did the fans see? Flashbacks of Allison, who we thought we’d never see onscreen again. Disoriented at the visions, Sebastian stumbles back, whispering his sister’s name: “Marie-Jeanne?”
That quick moment gave Scott the time he needed to save himself from the blow that would’ve killed him. Though dead, Allison had saved Scott’s life yet again.
The fandom went wild. This was the best tribute the show could’ve given and nobody had been given any warning. The show had not revealed that they’d be doing anything like this. It was the second tribute they'd given her despite it being two years since her death, and it was beautiful.
The fact that the show understood the value of its female characters (with the exception of Kira) and makes sure to remember them is something I have not witnessed in any show. Allison was the perfect flawed character. Teen Wolf will always be special for their deft handling of their characters and the amazing way they turned an actress’s desire to leave into something beautiful.
So while I am elated that Crystal Reed is back for the movie, the fact that they brought Allison back, alive, after I've finally gotten over her death—has me in doubt. I wonder if it doesn't negate all these beautiful moments, the growth the characters and the fandom has had because of her death. Because then, what was the point?
