Stiles Stilinski, the best friend we all wish we had. In celebration for the conclusion of the Teen Wolf series, it’s time to write down and pinpoint just exactly what I’ve learned in the past six years. Here we go...
1. It’s okay to be anxious
In his case, it means trying not to die, trying to save your friends from dying, or in the worse case- watching them die anyway. The character is known regardless of suffering from anxiety and severe panic attacks, which eventually attributed to to one of the most well-known scenes of the series between him and Lydia Martin. The best part about this was that it showed each and every viewer that it’s perfectly okay to freak out. The teenagers in the show are painted as practically perfect human beings, and the imperfectness of Stiles assures viewers that it’s okay to freak out and break down. More so than that, it’s okay for that to happen in public. Because humans aren't perfect, we’re anxious far from perfect beings.
2. Live healthy
Through all the monsters and corrupted humans, you have to eat at some time. Despite a serious love of curly fries (which I don’t know a single person who doesn’t love them too), lots of veggie burgers and painstakingly healthy salads are shared with his father. With all fighting they ensure there’s no reason to always stuff yourself with fatty carbs and candy; sometimes you just need a nice wholesome meal to help your metabolism not die out in the middle of a battle- practicalities here people. But this may be less of live healthy, as don’t forget you’re under high levels of stress and you’re allowed to cheat and eat a whole roll of cookie dough by yourself.
3. It’s okay not being superhuman
Surrounded by werewolves, a kitsune, banshee, and Huntress Stiles is left to his own wits most of the time. Not saying viewers don’t appreciate the muscle tone (we all know exactly what I’m talking about here), but he can’t exactly rip someone’s throat out, or push through a ring of mountain ash. What he does instead is use everything he can to assure the pack leaves each battle with the least amount of bloodshed possible. He creates a hardened resolve in the face of these villains, leaving him unafraid each time he’s threatened with a gun- which is more often that one would think. Maybe he doesn’t have a supernatural scream but that doesn’t stop him from throwing himself into battle regardless.
4. Humor is an acceptable coping mechanism
With a serious childhood trauma of losing his mother to cancer, it’s really no surprise that humor and sarcasm are his choice of coping. Not to mention he’s possessed by an evil fox spirit. But it’s most people’s coping choice and it shows the viewers that there’s no problem in doing so. We all have our demons and our issues and while it’s taken as the comic relief to an intensely dramatic show, it provides insight to a character we wouldn’t understand otherwise. Everyone does it, we have a bad day and we joke about it. In the case of Stiles, he sees more dead bodies than a single person should see and makes a joke of it to take away for the absolute horror of the situation.
5. You can’t save everyone
He’s watched his mother die from cancer, his friends murdered in front of him, and watched nearly all of them tiptoe the line between life and death multiple times. While most of us haven’t witness horrors similar to Stiles’s we understand the pain and suffering that comes after the fact. But with each terror comes an added sense of protection, a stronger desire to educate himself on the newest evil creature if it means the long run won’t end up in bloodshed. He’s human, and he makes mistakes, and he isn’t perfect-- so he still loses people. He’s watched people around him not only physical be taken by supernatural forces, but succumb to them emotionally and mentally, and that’s the hardest part. He can still see them, see who they were and now the corruption is etched on their face and in their movements. These instances are terrifying, but Stiles’s has learned from each of them and the end product has become the same each time: you can’t save everyone.
6. Have faith in nearly broken things
Easily both Stiles and his friends and family have seen horrors and have little bits and pieces that don’t quite fit how they used to, but that’s not the end of it. In a literal sense, Stiles has his Jeep: a vehicle that he will defend to his dying day, and dies almost everyday. But you can look at the ferocious loyalty he possesses while stranded in the desert pouring over the engine and realize that this idea of loyalty runs strong through him. The pure devotion Stiles has for his Jeep gives the viewers a sense of pride for the broken pieces within themselves and the hope for their nearly broken pieces of machinery.
7. We all have breaking points
Now I don’t mean breaking points where we sit in our room crying and eating pizza, or longing over a crush, or panic attacks, I mean the breaking points where the only emotion left is anger. The times where our eyes start to bleed red on the edges of our vision. We all feel sympathy when we see that Stiles suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, we feel a surge of pride towards him with his overwhelming abundance of devotion, his sense of loyalty and ability to protect; viewers do this with all characters from all stories. But what doesn’t evoke support from audiences is anger. Anger means they’re the villain; evil. That isn’t what happens when Stiles breaks and meets this type of breaking point. It’s not because of his pretty face or charm that the audience doesn’t turn on him-- it’s that it's real. These moments in life exists and viewers get to see Stiles, who they adore and wholeheartedly trust, break and collapse and finally let the anger and frustration out.
8. Embrace your talents
Sometimes we’re ashamed of our abilities, we think they’ll make us seem weak, or maybe they aren’t cool. There’s no sense in hiding them. Stiles could have denied his quick wit and problem solving, though he stumbles in certain moments (like the stress of his friend caught in a bear trap) but it’s these moments that his abilities shine. There are no dull or useless talents, nor do any of them make you uncool. Stiles doesn’t have a body overflowing with muscles or an arsenal of guns or arrows, but his wit and problem solving push him beyond the barrier and at times he is stronger than the supernatural creatures that surround him.
