The Top 10 Reasons Why We All Love Stiles Stilinski from Teen Wolf
MTV’s hit TV show Teen Wolf has graced our television screens every year since 2011, and on June 29th and 30th, it’s returning for its highly anticipated fifth season with a two-night premiere. Every season we tune in to see what the group is up to, and what villains the producers have spawned from the deep evil recesses of their brains for these high school kids to fight. While last season was a bigger disappointment than I’d like to admit, there’s a reason that I (and a good portion of the remaining audience) tune in to each season or stream the episodes later for. Even through the disappearances of original cast members one after the other, there’s a few from the very beginning that remain—Scott McCall, Lydia Martin, and Stiles Stilinski. Not including the Sheriff and Melissa McCall, whom I could wax poems about.
While the show started out with its roots dug deep into making the show about Scott (obviously), there’s been a tug in the direction of very normal Stiles Stilinski since the show began. Played by none other than Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner), Stiles is a character many audience viewers have come to rally for and love–whether it’s when he was hyper active, over-enthused, buzzed-head Stiles from Season One, or Void Stiles, teenage guy taken over by an evil spirit and thrust into the vulnerable recesses of his mind. After every death, every unexplained character departure, there’s at least one thing that viewers can count on: fiercely loyal and hilarious Stiles Stilinski.
While the once light and fun Teen Wolf has taken a turn for the dark, brooding, and sometimes ugly, there’s always a moment, line, or facial expression thrown in that lifts the tone just that little bit, courtesy of Mr. Stilinski. Now entering into his senior year of high school, let’s take a look back at just why we fell in love with Stiles over his painful and very unnatural high school years.
10. Stiles and his buzzed hair cut in Season One
Stiles Stilinski—fast speech, fast movements, lightning quick wit, and…a buzz cut. Don’t get me wrong, Stiles with any hair, bald or flowing locks, could light me on fire any day, and I’d happily say thank you, but the buzz cut was as hilarious and endearing as his one-liners and over-the-top facial expressions. Call it self-absorbed, but there is a reason producers (and viewers) most likely told him to let it grow out; either way, many fans look back at the once-shorn hair with nostalgia, a representation of the way Teen Wolf once was.
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09. Stiles’ facial expressions
Let’s all think back to the way that we were introduced to Stiles in that very first episode. The kid almost got hit with a bat, which should’ve been a warning sign to how his character was to be presented, but hanging from Scott’s roof with the intent of getting Scott to go help him find a dead body, you couldn’t help but be endeared. Then came the facial expressions. A contorted face is never really attractive, or all that fun to look at, but in the midst of hilarious dialogue, or in the middle of a serious scene, sometimes it just makes you laugh. Mr. Stiles has that in the bag quite well.
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08. The fact that Stiles Stilinski finally found a girlfriend
Alas! The time we thought would never come. Although many didn’t really understand the development of Malia and Stiles, considering it happened in a very short amount of time, it’s still a treat to see Stiles cuddled up and blissfully in love with his coyote girlfriend. After the events of the fourth season, we’re headed into new territory with Malia and Stiles; that is to say, no one has any idea really where the producers and writers will take this relationship. There were a couple hints towards a Stiles and Lydia relationship in the works at the 2015 Paleyfest, but it seems to me from the newly released trailer that Malia and Stiles will stay strong in the fifth season.
07. Stiles’ one liners
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There is nothing more rewarding to me out of a Teen Wolf episode than the one liners from Mr. Stilinski. It’s a testament to O’Brien’s acting that he can go from Stiles circa the first season to Void Stiles in the third season. Fun Fact: A few of Stiles’ best lines are actually ad lib’s by O’Brien, including the very famous ‘Sour Wolf’ line and a few others represented here:
06. That one time Stiles got possessed by an evil demon
I’ve mentioned Void Stiles a few times already, and if you can’t tell, it’s because Void Stiles pushed many people to begin their Teen Wolf fandom demise. The performance by Dylan was intoxicating, and it’s a Stiles that many were on the edges of their seat about. Before it was revealed that he had been possessed, there was a brief period of time that many thought Stiles was sick with dementia, the same illness that eventually killed his mother before the seasons began. We see a vulnerable but strong and selfless Stiles have his father check him into Eichen House, until things go belly-up and then downhill from there—as it always goes in Teen Wolf. Void Stiles catapulted a whole new love for this character, and why this monumental version of him is on the list.
You can check out this amazing fan video of Void Stiles here:
05. His love for Lydia Martin
It’s hard to believe that in an actual episode (SPOILER ALERT) Lydia kissed Stiles, considering where they first started in the very beginning, but fast forward seasons later and there is nothing sweeter than the new bond that Lydia and Stiles share together. Well, other than the endearing major crush that Stiles harbored for her that evolved into a friendship that’s as tightly packed as Tyler Hoechlin’s abs.
For all the time that Stiles spent in a lovesick cloud, it’s paid back in kind as their relationship grows, until Lydia cares just as much for Stiles as he does for her. It’s a lovely romance-turned-friendship to watch unfold, while you secretly harbor your own feelings about just whether or not the two should end up together in the end.
04. That one time that Stiles called Melissa, ‘Mom’
As previously mentioned, Stiles dealt with the death of his biological mother at a very young age. Cue in Scott and the unbreakable bond they share together from a just as young an age, and Scott’s mom, Melissa McCall. The two McCalls are their own pair, opposite of the Sheriff and Stiles, but nonetheless just as close. Stiles loses his mother to a deteriorating disease, while Scott’s dad does the same, but at other end of the spectrum.
It’s hard to imagine a life without a mother, but another reason why we love Stiles is his drive to push through even the toughest times. There are awful moments where it’s revealed the Sheriff had a drinking problem, or when Stiles succumbed to his worst fears of being told that his mom’s death was his fault.
All this and then some is why the scene in the hospital between Melissa and Stiles is so difficult but rewarding to witness. Exhausted, weak, and scared, Melissa lays him down and strokes a hand across his forehead while Stiles looks up to her. If that’s not enough for tears to smart your eyes, it’s while he’s falling asleep that we hear him say, “Thanks, Mom.”
03. His super bro-man-dude relationship with Scott
What more can anyone say about Stiles and Scott, other than the fact that their super bro-man-dude relationship on screen is every bit as funny, sweet, and overwhelmingly well-written and played as you’d wish it to be? It’s obvious that the two actors have a close friendship off screen, which makes it all the more engaging and entertaining when emotional scenes come up in episodes, or when the quick back and forth banter between the two arises. The fact that we’re thrown into Scott and Stiles’ friendship suddenly and without pause shows that the relationship is built on behind the scripts and the fancy footwork, and that it’s a true bond. It’s apparent to the audience that a lot of thought was put in to how to present Stiles and Scott’s bro-fest to the world, and although it is based off of the movie, there’s more depth to every interaction between the two brothers that really captures the feeling of having a best friend.
It’s hard not to love Stiles when he’s telling Scott that if he’s going to light himself up, you better count him in too, or when doctors are telling Stiles he’s basically going to die, and Scott tells him that he’ll give him the bite to keep him alive. It’s a life-long friendship that’s worth every second of screen time it gets.
You can catch the compilation video MTV made of Stiles and Scott’s journey to their Senior Year below:
02. His protectiveness over his dad
A father-son relationship may seem like the easiest thing to us outsiders, but add in some werewolves, a Nogitsune, werewolf hunters, and a coyote girlfriend, and Sheriff Stilinski doesn’t have the easiest go-around being Stiles’ dad. Stiles tries to make it easier on him of course, but the supernatural is never something a child should have to explain to their father, let alone have him to get involved in it.
It’s with this mindset that we get to watch the Sheriff and his son overcome each blow to the head, each raise of a gun, and still come out with an unshakable bond and the promise that through it all, they take care of each other no matter what.
Not to mention their banter is entertaining to high extremes.
Dear MTV, these compilations are making me teary.
01. His fierce loyalty to his friends and family
If there’s one thing I’m looking forward to in the upcoming season, it’s more of fiercely loyal Stiles Stilinski. It’s one thing to be stupid about loyalty, but it can be borderline annoying when a character makes irreversible decisions regarding other characters that just about ruin the show in the name of loyalty; thankfully, Stiles doesn’t fit the bill for that.
You can argue that Stiles has made some ridiculous decisions in his time on the show, but you can never fight the fact that Stiles has never once intentionally put his friends or family in danger. His loyalty to their safety, happiness, and all around well-being is admirable in his character, and a trait that is reliable throughout every season. Except for maybe the time he was possessed, but Sheriff Stilinski said it best: “That’s not my son.”
He protects those he loves, and even ones that he doesn’t. He’s selfless and heartfelt, but also, because he’s a teenager, he’s selfish and endearingly annoying sometimes.
Stiles isn’t a perfect character, nor is Teen Wolf a perfect show, but it’s safe to say that over the past four seasons Stiles has been a confidante, friend, hero, and the automatic comedic relief that keeps the show watchable and, most of all, entertaining.
Nice one, Jeff Davis and Co.
You can watch the two night premiere of the fifth season of Teen Wolf on June 29th and 30th on MTV.
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