Teen Wolf: 10 Unpopular Opinions About Malia Tate (According To Reddit)

Out of all the characters on Teen Wolf, Malia Tate was the quirkiest. After being trapped in the body of a coyote for eight years, she had some adjusting to do. She often misunderstood routine customs and veered into her coyote instincts most of the time. Even after she settled into Scott’s pack, something about her just never seemed to fit in.

Even though this was no fault of Malia’s, her character stood out to a point where some fans never grew to fully appreciate her. Out of all of Scott’s relationships, Malia is one of the more detested and she has quite a few unpopular opinions about her.

She Wasn’t A Well-Developed Character

Malia Tate was introduced in the 3rd season of Teen Wolf. Trauma turned Malia into a coyote for years but some fans don’t think that backstory is interesting. “She wasn’t a well developed character and her introduction was kinda boring,” Redditor DaddyCheetoStar38 commented.

This is a surprising take as Malia has one of the most emotional introductions in the series. At nine years old, Malia got into a fight with her parents in a car. The resulting car accident caused her to turn into a full coyote, a form she couldn’t escape for eight years. Only when Scott can coax her into being human is Malia able to confront the tragedy of what occurred. This introduced the mythology of the werecoyote, something that had not yet been done on the show.

She Shouldn’t Be Learning At A High School Level

Once Malia freed herself from her coyote form, it was a long time before she was able to re-enter society. One of these steps was going back to high school and entering Scott and Stiles’s grade. “I’m still a bit skeptic about the fact that she could join them in high school when she turned into a coyote as an 8-year-old,” says Reddit user KweenindaNorf_7777.

While some fans may call Malia’s mental development into question, some suspension of disbelief should be allowed. Teen Wolf has brought back many dead characters without any cause for concern. Malia has also demonstrated to struggle with learning. Her personality demonstrates her inability to understand many things at the level of her peers. Lydia, Teen Wolf‘s best character of many seasons, would make sure Malia wouldn’t fail.

She Was A Good Partner For Stiles

Stiles spent much of his tenure on Teen Wolf watching his friends find romance. But if there is one person that Stiles was supposed to be with, many do not consider that to be Malia. “Malia and Stiles: I liked them together, they were good to each other until they took different roads,” counters Redditor Luna_MamandesRoars.

Unfortunately for Malia, she and Stiles were not meant to be. Most fans consider Stiles’s one true love to be Lydia. In addition, their time together was marked by questionable actions by both parties. For example, in a love scene with Stiles that did not age well, many fans believe Malia is almost taken advantage of by her boyfriend.

Erica Was Better

Erica was a highly controversial character on Teen Wolf. She spent most of season two trying to get between Scott and Allison or putting the moves on Derek. After Erica’s death, some thought Malia was supposed to be Erica’s replacement. “I didn’t like how she was a copy of Cora who was a copy of Erica,” says Reddit user DaddyCheetoStar38.

Though Cora and Erica were headstrong werewolves that disappeared from the show, that doesn’t indicate that Malia was a copy of them. She has her own distinct set of personality traits that no one else has. Her traumatic experiences form her into a character who was at times insecure about her place in the world. This is different from Erica and Cora who were more confident.

She Replaced Allison Too Quickly

Allison’s departure dramatically affected the main storyline of the show. In particular, her relationship with Scott was integral to the series and they were the best couple on many seasons of Teen Wolf. Some saw Scott’s relationship with Malia as a stand-in for Allison. “Allison I loved her, I cried like a baby when she died. 100% about Kira and Malia though, just replacing Allison straight away?” says Reddit poster riders0nthest0rm.

Allison’s death resulted from actress Crystal Reed wanting to explore other avenues in acting. While Kira and Malia eventually date Scott, they are completely separate from Allison’s personality and weren’t meant to be replacements. Scott still holds true to Allison and honors her by writing her initials on a shelf when they graduate.

She Was Rude

Malia had difficulty adjusting to life after being a coyote. Sometimes she struggled with saying inappropriate things at the wrong time, as this Reddit commenter states. “I hated Malia so much, there were very few scenes where I genuinely liked her character,” says Rosy_Pebbles. “At one point I stopped watching the show for a few weeks because I found her character to be so annoyingly rude.”

Malia often has no filter because of her life as an animal for several years. Malia doesn’t intend to hurt anyone, she just doesn’t understand what is expected of her. Malia was turned into a coyote at eight years old and still retains that child-like innocence.

Kira Was Better For Scott

Kira was Scott’s first girlfriend after Allison’s death and had a lot of potential. The character was unfortunately phased out making Scott available for Malia to date. One comment on Reddit states that this was a mistake. “Her whole romance with Scott was particularly out of place,” states Svinneh. “They should have kept Kira instead. She was a much more interesting character, and had a lot of potential for expanding the lore of the show.”

Kira went on to train with the Skinwalkers and did not have the potential to come back. Her story had run its course while Malia was more central to the main pack. She and Scott fell into a relationship easily because of their shared ideals.

She Made Peter Soft

Peter’s morally grey outlook made him the ideal villain. Some fans think this changed when he accepted Malia as his daughter. “Peter is a great villain but a subpar ally. i prefer him neutral/scheming. he got too soft bc of malia which felt ooc,” says Redditor guilelessNebula.

Though Peter was a classic villain in the 1st season, the character came into his own in later seasons. He was still a schemer, though not a bloodthirsty murderer as he once was. His relationship with Malia doesn’t change him as he was already going down that path. Peter never becomes completely good, even with Malia’s influence.

Scott Never Needed To Date Her

Scott was originally meant to be with Allison. He states in the season two finale that he believes that. But once Allison died, that threw a wrench into his romantic future. One Reddit poster things Scott and Malia were overrated. “I hate Scott+Malia, just because he’s the main character he doesn’t have to date or have some kind of fling with all the girls,” says Mayoholic.

Though it is difficult to see Scott without Allison, just because he’s the main character doesn’t mean he should be alone. Scott mourned his first love and deserved to find someone else. Malia is completely different from Allison which is something that Scott needs. So much so that some opinions about the Teen Wolf couples on Reddit argue that Malia and Scott should have more screentime.

She Was Kept Around For Too Long

Many characters had come and gone along the way. Kira had the fate of being given to the Skinwalkers while Malia was kept until the end of the show. Some fans found issues with that. “I don’t hate her, but I also think she was pointless to keep around after her initial storyline was finished. What was the point?” comments Redditor Svinneh.

Teen Wolf needed a character shake-up in season 3. It wasn’t long before Allison and Isaac had departed, leaving a dramatic void that needed to be filled by a new character. The show required a character to offer a perspective that had not been present before. Malia is always there to point out oddities that no one else would ever consider due to her “outsider” status.

About The Author

Carolyn Jenkins
(109 Articles Published)

Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King.

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