Teen Wolf: 10 Red Herrings We Wish The Series Pursued

A series like Teen Wolf wasn’t just about the love interests or the fight scenes. It was also about the mystery. The main characters always found themselves stuck in the middle of a supernatural question, trying to find their way to a solution to their problem. Like any good mystery, not every lead they followed was going to pan out.

Teen Wolf liked to surprise fans with plenty of red herrings to follow. Misleading fans down one path, something else would pop up to redirect them later. Some of those red herrings, however, would have made for some interesting stories on the show, whether it was the potential for a new relationship, the emergence of a character they believed lost, or a whole new direction for a storyline. There were some great opportunities the show missed by abandoning them.

10 Lydia’s Grandmother Is Alive

During the “deadpool” arc of the series, Lydia tried to find out more about her banshee familial connection. Her grandmother, specifically her father’s mother, was a banshee, though she didn’t seem to understand it until later in life.

As Lydia began using her grandmother’s lake house more often, trying to find a way to connect to her banshee side and unlock information about the deadpool, there were a lot of hints dropped that she might still be able to connect with her grandmother in the flesh, like her grandmother’s nickname for her unlocking another portion of the deadpool list. Unfortunately, that never actually happened, and Lydia only had memories of moments with her grandmother from the past.

9 Stiles Becomes An Emissary

The beginning of Teen Wolf didn’t reveal what Dr. Deaton was to a pack of werewolves, though it was clear he had a lot of information about the supernatural world. Eventually, the show gave more backstory for him, clarifying that at one time, he was the Emissary for the Hale family’s pack, but only a few people knew his identity.

Emissaries were those who trained in the Druid ways of healing and protection, and acted as a neutral party between packs, though they definitely had their loyalties. Hints were dropped early in the series that Deaton was shaping Stiles to be an Emissary for Scott’s pack. Stiles was reminded often that he was the only one who could handle mountain ash, and was relied on to help complete rituals, but Deaton continued helping Scott, and Stiles left Beacon Hills to train with the FBI.

8 Allison Was Possessed

Stiles becoming the target of the nogitsune was one of the most memorable storylines on Teen Wolf. As they watched, however, some fans thought it would be someone else.

While there were plenty of hints that something was wrong with Stiles, another character was spending a lot of time in waking dreams and hallucinations. That was Allison. Scott, Allison, and Stiles were all affected by their time spent as sacrifices for their parents, but Allison and Stiles seemed to suffer from more nightmarish aspects than Scott. There are still fans who wonder how the storyline would have been different if it was Allison instead.

7 Parrish And Lydia’s Chemistry

Lydia and Jackson were the most popular couple at Beacon Hills High — at least, they were until all of the supernatural events started happening around town. After her relationship with Jackson, Lydia didn’t allow herself to get serious with anyone else. There was, however, a connection between her and deputy Parrish.

That connection was eventually played as both characters being supernatural beings who had a connection to death, but fans thought their chemistry would play out in another way. Plenty wondered why they were shown to be so into one another if they were never going to attempt a relationship.

6 There Was Something Supernatural In Claudia Stilinski’s Death

Claudia Stilinski passed away long before the events of the series happened. A degenerative brain disease robbed her family of her. One story Noah Stilinski told about the night of her death, however, made fans think there might have been more to it.

While Claudia was in the hospital, Noah was responding to a car accident. The woman in the car, whom he couldn’t save, talked about Claudia while she was dying. Fans thought it was more than just a coincidence, but nothing ever came of it.

5 The Co-parenting Of Scott And Stiles

Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski were the best of friends, practically brothers. With Melissa McCall’s marriage over years earlier and Noah Stilinski losing his wife around the same time, the two initially appeared to be a parenting team. They both had a no-nonsense approach to their kids, and had no problem reprimanding each other’s kids either.

Fans thought that the co-parenting might turn into something more by the end of the series. Instead, Melissa had a disastrous date with Peter Hale and Noah had an equally terrible date with Natalie Martin. Melissa ended up dating Chris Argent instead and Noah was still alone at the end of the series’ run.

4 Ms. Morell Wasn’t One Of The Good Guys

Ms. Morell started her time on the show as a Beacon Hills High guidance counselor. Eventually, she started working for Eichen House as well, but she was never far from the supernatural conflict, though all she claimed to want was to “maintain the balance.”

Scott and his friends suspected she was up to something, but it turned out she was an Emissary like her brother. The trouble was, for someone who wanted to maintain balance, acting as an Emissary to an Alpha pack of werewolves hunting down other Alphas didn’t really achieve that. She was secretive and snarky, so fans wondered if she was hiding her true intentions. If she was, it was never revealed.

3 Stiles Was Interested In Cora

For a guy who spent all of his formative years hung up on Lydia Martin, Stiles sure had his fair share of love interests in the show. He reconnected with a girl he knew from camp, had a bit of a crush on Erica, dated Malia when she joined the series and even demonstrated a connection to Cora Hale.

Stiles hinted at his crush on Cora when he had to perform mouth-to-mouth tor revive her. That’s about the most interaction the two had, however, since actress Adelaide Kane became the lead in the CW series Reign. It would have been interesting to see if Stiles ever pursued anything with Cora.

2 Theo Wasn’t Theo

When Theo came to town, Stiles disliked him on sight. Initially, he believed Theo wasn’t who he said he was. Stiles attempted to prove that Theo wasn’t the same kid who left Beacon Hills nearly a decade earlier but couldn’t.

The idea of someone impersonating Theo might have been even more interesting than a kid who helped the Dread Doctors kill his sister and steal her heart. We also have to wonder what happened to the people Theo made impersonate his parents.

1 Lydia Is The Kanima

Of all the red herrings in the series, this might be one that lasted the longest. When Jackson received the bite from Derek at the end of season one, he didn’t turn into a werewolf, but neither did Lydia after her bite from Peter. Season two was about puzzling out which of them was the kanima.

Derek and his new pack were sure that Lydia was the kanima, though Scott and his friends didn’t want to believe it. While fans love Lydia as a banshee, the show could have been very different if it turned out she was the kanima and Jackson was a different supernatural creature altogether.

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