Teen Wolf/Buffy character match
Oct. 4th, 2012 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marguerite_26A wee bit of meta for this cloudy Thursday morning.
Any fan of both the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and MTV’s Teen Wolf knows that Jeff Davis was highly influenced by the former. He’s mentioned it in interviews and the parallels are pretty obvious in the basic premise of the show: high school kid gets unwillingly dragged into the world of the supernatural and tries to continue living his regular high school life but the threats to himself and those he cares about make it impossible.
What struck me most when I started watching though, was how the similarities went beyond the premise to way TW created a diverse cast ensemble so similar to the one that made the BtVS universe tick. It is one of my favourite things about the TW,ranked just beneath Beacon Hills’ multitude of pretty people and shortage of shirts.
So Teen Wolf’s ensemble rocks. This is news to no one.
I was having a conversation yesterday on Twitter about who is who? I have opinions on this (way more than can fit in 140 characters). You may not agree with my choices. They aren’t necessarily perfect matches. Perfect matches are impossible as they are clearly different shows and clearly distinct characters. But the process of matching (and justifying it in my head) was fun. Also who a character is in season 1 of a series isn’t who they are for the rest of the series. So this is focused on the core of the character, who they were introduced to us as, and not necessarily who they become as time goes on.
Scott is Buffy. Now, don’t argue with me on this one. He is Buffy. He may not be as kickass awesome and ground-breaking as Buffy, but in the matching up of BtVS characters to TW characters.... He is Buffy. Once bit, he is 'cursed' with this new life as Buffy was cursed with hers the moment she was ‘chosen’. All Scott wants is to be a regular teenage boy. He wants to go to prom, date his girlfriend without killing her/getting her killed. He has a job and school work and a relationship with his mom that all suffer because of his ‘secret’ and he’s put in situations where he has very valid reasons for skipping class/missing curfew/not studying, but reasons he can’t share so he gets in trouble constantly. He wants a cure. He wants out of this life. Scott is also not dumb; as far as school work goes he is on par with Buffy who constantly struggled in school and was also at risk of failing (studying for midterms in cemeteries is hard, yo). As an aside: Early in S1 there’s a part where Scott gets a test back with a poor mark and the note on it is: THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU, meaning he is capable of doing well and he previously got good grades but being a werewolf and falling in love with Allison are too big a distraction for him. Allison does tend to make Scott lose focus of absolutely everything (including proper password selection) -- a trait he does not share with Buffy whose eyes never glazed over for any man. They are very different characters.
Another example is Scott’s relationship with his mom. Especially in the early eps, that relationship is a carbon copy of Buffy and her mom (who was also a single parent and was struggling to understand her daughter’s unusual behaviour).
As with Buffy, a big part of the main premise of the show is Scott accepting this part of himself, learning to be a teenager AND a werewolf.
Derek is Angel (not just because Puppet!Angel could be Puppet!Derek. In the first few eps of both series the comparison is the strongest. Hell, they even look alike. Derek lurks in the forest, gives cryptic messages and leaves. He withholds key information because heis looking for attention doesn’t trust Scott yet. All things Angel did in the first season, except it was creeping in alleyways instead of behind trees. They are both full of angst, tortured souls with secret pasts. They are both ‘keys’ to the heroes success but are not above suspicion.
Stiles is Xander with a bit of Willow. On the surface, Stiles is Xander. There is no denying the flaily comic relief similarities between Stiles and Xander. He is the dorky, loser best friend who snarks and is fiercely loyal. He flirts with pretty people and gets eye-rolls or scowls. There are times when his sexuality is very fluid in the same way that Xander kept us guessing (BtVS had slash winks before the term ever existed peppered throughout Xander’s dialogue). Stiles, like Xander is the ‘token human’ with no special powers (no defense except sarcasm). Stiles stands at Scott’s side through everything. He’s wary of Derek, and often stands up to him even though he’s afraid of Derek (S1), unsure whether to trust Derek (S2) which has a lot of parallels of the Xander/Angel dynamic throughout Buffy. Actually most Xander/Angel conversations I can hear easily in Stiles voice:Xander: Angel, Angel, Angel. Does every conversation we have have to come around to that freak? [turns to see Angel behind him] Hey man, how ya doin'?
So Stiles is Xander... except they mixed it up a bit and added a touch of Willow in there too. Stiles turns to research when presented with a mystery. He has a mastery of google where he finds All The Answers when it suits the plot. He may or may not have a bit of magic in there (it’s left open for interpretation after Raving).
The one aspect that doesn’t match at all is Stiles: Son of the Sheriff. There is no ‘Sheriff’ in the BtVS world. Willow and Xander’s parents do not play any sort of role in the series and that aspect of their characterisation is unknown other than the great one liner:"Ira Rosenberg's only daughter nailing crucifixes to her bedroom wall? I have to go over to Xander's house just to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' every year." which still makes me LOL. But hardly draws any sort of picture of what Willow and Xander feel about all the secrets they are keeping from their parents, how many lies have they told? (more on that further down)
Lydia and Jackson are Cordelia - Lydia is obvious, here. She is the popular girl (the mean girl) who is rich and pretty and her life seems perfect. (obviously I’m talking early BtVS Cordelia here, not St. Cordelia from Angel: the Series) We even get the Stiles/Lydia and Cordelia/Xander ‘geek finally gets the pretty girls attention due to life threatening situation’ parallels. Interestingly, Cordelia and Xander actually managed to be canon (for a bit anyway) to great success (I thought that arc worked well and resulted in some memorable episodes, adding both humour and angst without taking over the show). I could see Jeff having intended a similar fate for Stiles/Lydia but I don’t see it being as successful but time will tell.
As for why I included Jackson here (and I’m talking the original purpose of Jackson as part of this ensemble cast), in Buffy, Cordelia isn’t just the pretty mean girl. She also serves the specific purpose of being Buffy’s high school rival. Obviously Lydia cannot be that for Scott in the same way that Cordy is to Buffy. So Jackson fills that role perfectly. He endless mocks and threatens Scott. He’s there to knock the hero down a peg and just be a pain in the arse, to deliver cutting and humourous lines that no one else can pull off because he is suppose to be the asshole, so he’s allowed.
Cordelia Chase: Has any girl ever spoken to you of her own free will? I don't think so.
Xander Harris: You know I've often wondered why that is.
Cordelia Chase: Got a mirror?
[Cordy walks away]
Xander Harris: Check back tomorrow, I'll have that devastating comeback ready.
That said, Jackson moved past that role into more Draco Malfoy territory … and possibly beyond that too... but that’s just muddying the waters here.
Allison is there to be the romantic lead that Derek cannot be because Jeff chose not to make this about Derek/Scott in the way that Joss focused on Buffy/Angel (even though Jeff could have gone down that round but I think it’s a really good choice that he didn’t). However Jeff might’ve borrowed from BtVS’s Riley a bit, though that’s probably a stretch. But if there was a comparison purely in ‘fighting on the opposite side of the war/fighting for the same results using different methods’ type of pairing, then Riley is it. Though Allison/Scott >>>> Buffy/Riley (which was doomed from the start in the shadow of Buffy/Angel and lacked the depth that Allison’s linage brought)
Peter is Spike, in the serial killer does comedy relief sort of way. Both Peter and Spike have dual roles. The first was to be a threat to the protagonist. The second was to bring a counterpoint to Derek and Angel respectively. Their ability to say anything cuts the intensity of a scene and lets everyone breath (and laugh). Peter,like Spike once was, is a looming threat, an unpredictable wild card that may or may not be on your side, and may rip your throat out with his teeth or possibly sit and have a hot cocoa with you. (Peter probably even likes the mini marshmallows). To me Peter is a hellava lot more scary than Spike, though Spike likely killed more people along the way (and almost entirely random, thoughtless murders) so it’s pretty much a toss up as to which is more evil. Regardless, sassy Peter, snarky over Derek’s shoulder and making Derek fume is perfect mirror image of Spike’s role with he’s paired in scenes with Angel. Not even to to mention the Peter/Stiles and Spike/Xander similarities (why yes, I ship all of of the above combinations and threesomes, thanks for noticing).
Sheriff and Chris - I don’t believe that a Sheriff character exists in the Buffy world, or a Chris Argent either. Just as I don’t think there’s a proper Giles in the TW world. I think it could be argued that Deaton is a Giles but if he meant to be, he’s not there yet. Not by a mile. So bits and pieces of Giles’ role gets picked up by many characters but I don’t think there is any true parallel at this point. I also think BtVS could have really benefited from having a Sheriff-like character. As it was, there were very few ‘older generation’ in the Buffy world. There was Giles and Joyce.... and a bunch of evil adults or adults who got killed quickly. The teens + Giles were on their own, always. I never felt it lacking while watching it, but imagining TW without the ‘family’ dimension that each character brings makes me sad.
Any fan of both the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and MTV’s Teen Wolf knows that Jeff Davis was highly influenced by the former. He’s mentioned it in interviews and the parallels are pretty obvious in the basic premise of the show: high school kid gets unwillingly dragged into the world of the supernatural and tries to continue living his regular high school life but the threats to himself and those he cares about make it impossible.
What struck me most when I started watching though, was how the similarities went beyond the premise to way TW created a diverse cast ensemble so similar to the one that made the BtVS universe tick. It is one of my favourite things about the TW,
So Teen Wolf’s ensemble rocks. This is news to no one.
I was having a conversation yesterday on Twitter about who is who? I have opinions on this (way more than can fit in 140 characters). You may not agree with my choices. They aren’t necessarily perfect matches. Perfect matches are impossible as they are clearly different shows and clearly distinct characters. But the process of matching (and justifying it in my head) was fun. Also who a character is in season 1 of a series isn’t who they are for the rest of the series. So this is focused on the core of the character, who they were introduced to us as, and not necessarily who they become as time goes on.
Scott is Buffy. Now, don’t argue with me on this one. He is Buffy. He may not be as kickass awesome and ground-breaking as Buffy, but in the matching up of BtVS characters to TW characters.... He is Buffy. Once bit, he is 'cursed' with this new life as Buffy was cursed with hers the moment she was ‘chosen’. All Scott wants is to be a regular teenage boy. He wants to go to prom, date his girlfriend without killing her/getting her killed. He has a job and school work and a relationship with his mom that all suffer because of his ‘secret’ and he’s put in situations where he has very valid reasons for skipping class/missing curfew/not studying, but reasons he can’t share so he gets in trouble constantly. He wants a cure. He wants out of this life. Scott is also not dumb; as far as school work goes he is on par with Buffy who constantly struggled in school and was also at risk of failing (studying for midterms in cemeteries is hard, yo). As an aside: Early in S1 there’s a part where Scott gets a test back with a poor mark and the note on it is: THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU, meaning he is capable of doing well and he previously got good grades but being a werewolf and falling in love with Allison are too big a distraction for him. Allison does tend to make Scott lose focus of absolutely everything (including proper password selection) -- a trait he does not share with Buffy whose eyes never glazed over for any man. They are very different characters.
Another example is Scott’s relationship with his mom. Especially in the early eps, that relationship is a carbon copy of Buffy and her mom (who was also a single parent and was struggling to understand her daughter’s unusual behaviour).
As with Buffy, a big part of the main premise of the show is Scott accepting this part of himself, learning to be a teenager AND a werewolf.
Derek is Angel (not just because Puppet!Angel could be Puppet!Derek. In the first few eps of both series the comparison is the strongest. Hell, they even look alike. Derek lurks in the forest, gives cryptic messages and leaves. He withholds key information because he
Stiles is Xander with a bit of Willow. On the surface, Stiles is Xander. There is no denying the flaily comic relief similarities between Stiles and Xander. He is the dorky, loser best friend who snarks and is fiercely loyal. He flirts with pretty people and gets eye-rolls or scowls. There are times when his sexuality is very fluid in the same way that Xander kept us guessing (BtVS had slash winks before the term ever existed peppered throughout Xander’s dialogue). Stiles, like Xander is the ‘token human’ with no special powers (no defense except sarcasm). Stiles stands at Scott’s side through everything. He’s wary of Derek, and often stands up to him even though he’s afraid of Derek (S1), unsure whether to trust Derek (S2) which has a lot of parallels of the Xander/Angel dynamic throughout Buffy. Actually most Xander/Angel conversations I can hear easily in Stiles voice:
So Stiles is Xander... except they mixed it up a bit and added a touch of Willow in there too. Stiles turns to research when presented with a mystery. He has a mastery of google where he finds All The Answers when it suits the plot. He may or may not have a bit of magic in there (it’s left open for interpretation after Raving).
The one aspect that doesn’t match at all is Stiles: Son of the Sheriff. There is no ‘Sheriff’ in the BtVS world. Willow and Xander’s parents do not play any sort of role in the series and that aspect of their characterisation is unknown other than the great one liner:"Ira Rosenberg's only daughter nailing crucifixes to her bedroom wall? I have to go over to Xander's house just to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' every year." which still makes me LOL. But hardly draws any sort of picture of what Willow and Xander feel about all the secrets they are keeping from their parents, how many lies have they told? (more on that further down)
Lydia and Jackson are Cordelia - Lydia is obvious, here. She is the popular girl (the mean girl) who is rich and pretty and her life seems perfect. (obviously I’m talking early BtVS Cordelia here, not St. Cordelia from Angel: the Series) We even get the Stiles/Lydia and Cordelia/Xander ‘geek finally gets the pretty girls attention due to life threatening situation’ parallels. Interestingly, Cordelia and Xander actually managed to be canon (for a bit anyway) to great success (I thought that arc worked well and resulted in some memorable episodes, adding both humour and angst without taking over the show). I could see Jeff having intended a similar fate for Stiles/Lydia but I don’t see it being as successful but time will tell.
As for why I included Jackson here (and I’m talking the original purpose of Jackson as part of this ensemble cast), in Buffy, Cordelia isn’t just the pretty mean girl. She also serves the specific purpose of being Buffy’s high school rival. Obviously Lydia cannot be that for Scott in the same way that Cordy is to Buffy. So Jackson fills that role perfectly. He endless mocks and threatens Scott. He’s there to knock the hero down a peg and just be a pain in the arse, to deliver cutting and humourous lines that no one else can pull off because he is suppose to be the asshole, so he’s allowed.
Cordelia Chase: Has any girl ever spoken to you of her own free will? I don't think so.
Xander Harris: You know I've often wondered why that is.
Cordelia Chase: Got a mirror?
[Cordy walks away]
Xander Harris: Check back tomorrow, I'll have that devastating comeback ready.
That said, Jackson moved past that role into more Draco Malfoy territory … and possibly beyond that too... but that’s just muddying the waters here.
Allison is there to be the romantic lead that Derek cannot be because Jeff chose not to make this about Derek/Scott in the way that Joss focused on Buffy/Angel (even though Jeff could have gone down that round but I think it’s a really good choice that he didn’t). However Jeff might’ve borrowed from BtVS’s Riley a bit, though that’s probably a stretch. But if there was a comparison purely in ‘fighting on the opposite side of the war/fighting for the same results using different methods’ type of pairing, then Riley is it. Though Allison/Scott >>>> Buffy/Riley (which was doomed from the start in the shadow of Buffy/Angel and lacked the depth that Allison’s linage brought)
Peter is Spike, in the serial killer does comedy relief sort of way. Both Peter and Spike have dual roles. The first was to be a threat to the protagonist. The second was to bring a counterpoint to Derek and Angel respectively. Their ability to say anything cuts the intensity of a scene and lets everyone breath (and laugh). Peter,like Spike once was, is a looming threat, an unpredictable wild card that may or may not be on your side, and may rip your throat out with his teeth or possibly sit and have a hot cocoa with you. (Peter probably even likes the mini marshmallows). To me Peter is a hellava lot more scary than Spike, though Spike likely killed more people along the way (and almost entirely random, thoughtless murders) so it’s pretty much a toss up as to which is more evil. Regardless, sassy Peter, snarky over Derek’s shoulder and making Derek fume is perfect mirror image of Spike’s role with he’s paired in scenes with Angel. Not even to to mention the Peter/Stiles and Spike/Xander similarities (why yes, I ship all of of the above combinations and threesomes, thanks for noticing).
Sheriff and Chris - I don’t believe that a Sheriff character exists in the Buffy world, or a Chris Argent either. Just as I don’t think there’s a proper Giles in the TW world. I think it could be argued that Deaton is a Giles but if he meant to be, he’s not there yet. Not by a mile. So bits and pieces of Giles’ role gets picked up by many characters but I don’t think there is any true parallel at this point. I also think BtVS could have really benefited from having a Sheriff-like character. As it was, there were very few ‘older generation’ in the Buffy world. There was Giles and Joyce.... and a bunch of evil adults or adults who got killed quickly. The teens + Giles were on their own, always. I never felt it lacking while watching it, but imagining TW without the ‘family’ dimension that each character brings makes me sad.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:07 pm (UTC)Jackson as Cordelia is such a riot. Reading all Cordy's old lines with Jackson in mind is just too funny. :D
And yeah, it's interesting how a male and female version of Cordelia ends up being so important in the TW ensemble.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:08 pm (UTC)*g* or vice versa!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 03:53 pm (UTC)Yay! I have a tag.
I can totally see Deaton becoming Giles. They are already pointing at it with the whole adviser thing.
Sheriff and Chris could be filling a little bit of the Joyce roll. Hopefully more in the future.
And I have an half-baked idea that may answer the sterek break down (don't shoot me just an idea).
If Stiles can be Xander/Willow can Derek be Angel/Tara? Tara's big thing if I remember correctly was the need for acceptance and unconditional love. Well, Derek is all about trust which can be acquated with acceptance and unconditional love.
It would also make sense if Angel characteristics were involved in this. It you mixed Angel with Tara. You would get someone with a whole host of trust issues probably mixed in with a fair bit of creeper and rage.
Both Tara and Derek have the absence family issue too, albeit for different reasons.
Half-baked I admit.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:26 pm (UTC)Not gonna shoot you. LOL. Though I can't agree with you on Tara. Only because to me Tara is the gentlest soul and i cannot see her in Derek at all (except for the mountain of family issues, but even then it breaks down because Tara was rejected by her family, and Derek had his family ripped from him. so.)
But I do think that there is a place for Sterek in the comparison, don't get me wrong. But there is no Buffy/Angel == Stiles/Sterek, in my mind because Stiles =/= Buffy.
BUT Xander/Angel definitely had chemistry though they were not given the same 'save each others lives moments' that Stiles and Derek were. Really it all comes down to Angel only having eyes for Buffy. Just like Scott only has eyes for Allison. So Stiles/Derek is believable in ways that Xander/Angel wasn't automatically.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 08:54 pm (UTC)But everything you said is perfect too.
Mama McCall as part of the Joyce role?
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 10:54 pm (UTC)except about Scott. ;)Mama McCall as part of the Joyce role?
yes! absolutely. I can't believe I forgot to state that outright. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 11:27 pm (UTC)I always saw more of Willow in Stile than Xander. I think it could be the whole magic/spark thing but I can totally see Xander in him too.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 03:56 pm (UTC)Lydia's outward persona has a hint of Harmony too, except Harmony really was that clueless and Lydia makes an art out of faking it.
Danny...who is Danny? Hmm. The Scoobs didn't really have any friends that were close but not in the loop...OMG, he's Oz. Cool, laid back, then dragged into it suddenly.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:02 pm (UTC)I was reading a bunch of bunch quotes this morning (as you do) and trying to match TW character's ability to pull off certain line and Danny hit Oz every time. that dead pan, never fazed response. LOVE IT. ;)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:48 pm (UTC)The other thing that Stiles does, which *could* be Xander but I don't think it is, I think there is no parallel in the Buffy-verse for this trait - is that Stiles is the Caregiver. Every motivation he has, is for nurturing and keeping safe his loved ones. He nurtures his dad, and a threat on his Dad's life is the scariest thing in his world. He nurtures Scott, he nurtures Lydia, he even starts to nurture Derek.
Stiles' Caregiving role is the thing I love most about him, and why he is the most compelling character for me (although Danny is a close second, and I don't know why because aloof and even doesn't work for me - but the Oz parallel works!)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:54 pm (UTC)That's because I cheated. LOL
And I love your thoughts on Xander as the Mirror. It's perfect and fits with the 'token human' thing. Like I have the time look at you all and see inside you because I have no other job (except stiles does because he's also Willow.) but yeah, I think Stiles is a mirror.
Every motivation he has, is for nurturing and keeping safe his loved ones.
*nods* this is a HUGE part of Stiles character and yeah, it doesn't 'fit' with anyone else really. Maybe Giles to Buffy? But Stiles is definitely a great nurturer and one of his defining (and most admirable) characteristics.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 05:04 pm (UTC)No, I'm joking, I just wanted to be obstructive because I can't fully participate. I get Scott/Buffy, Derek/Angle and Stiles/Xander-Willow, and even Peter/Spike, but that's really the extent of my knowledge.
I love this essay anyway and it makes TW a bit richer for me, especially knowing that Jeff Davis was inspired by Buffy.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 05:17 pm (UTC)>:|
>:|
*g* You'll just have to trust me that Jackson and Lydia are both Cordelia. ;)
Thanks for reading! It was fun to do and actually helped be remember so many different aspects of the characters. They really are so rich in characterization it's hard to keep everything in mind when writing them!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 05:50 pm (UTC)And somehow we decided that Derek was more of Faith(didn't have a good early life, tried to be bad but couldn't really do it and then (hopefully in S3) decides to join the good side but still with a tough exterior.)
Stiles though is definitely a Willow/Xander mix.
I'm kind of hoping the Mama McCall or the Sheriff(once he knows the truth) fill in the Joyce role, although without any of the untimely dying because guh, that would suck so hard.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 11:02 pm (UTC)I don't think Scott could ever truly be Buffy. Only because Buffy was that stereotype blond, beautiful, tiny (helpless) girl that is destined to be the victim and in everything he did, she turned people's ideas of her on their head. Scott can never do that.
Looking more at roles within the ensemble,I see him as Buffy without hesitation. But look outside of that, there is a lot that falls apart. That said, I don't think anyone else is Buffy, if it's not Scott.
I'm kind of hoping the Mama McCall or the Sheriff(once he knows the truth) fill in the Joyce role, although without any of the untimely dying because guh, that would suck so hard.
YES!! THIS!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 07:47 pm (UTC)He's CONNOR.
"I think you just approached the character from the wrong direction :)
You looking at him through the prism of father-figure/leader character. He's actually much closer to being Connor of the show. Only a Connor who suddenly finds himself the last survivor of the Angel Investigations and decides to rebuild it from scratch.
Powerful, arrogant, deeply insecure, hugely resentful of the situation, stubborn-mulish, family issues up the vazoo (betrayed by HIS father figure AND having been the traitor of his family)...
Recruitment of the damaged kids is a perfectly consistent, logical outcome of the insecurity, He tried to put together a pack from the components which would be easiest to bind with loyalty or control through the most basic methods or mind-games or intimidation. He is not capable of greater sophistication, knows it , and pretty wary of being challenged for the Alpha-ship.
Not sharing more data than necessary is straight from the same playbook. Any weak link means everyone dies. He knows - having been that weak link himself, once."
That was in answer to another question, but I think the basic motivations are laid out enough for this post so I copied it whole. But Angel had a reason for being who he was- penance. Derek doesn't have that. He as self-loathing and punishment and flailing, but he doesn't have that driving need to make up for what happened that Angel uses to achieve other things.
To me, that puts him more in the position of Connor, who is entirely reactive. It took Angel a while, sure, but by the time of the show he is constantly proactive. Derek only does things when he's forced to- his sister dying, killing Peter, even biting the other kids. It was all desperate survival on crappy information and self esteem.
Connor.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 11:50 pm (UTC)Though, I'll admit, I would looking more at 'role within the ensemble of characters' rather than strictly personality. When the show begins, Derek is the one with knowledge and insight into what is happening to Scott but he only lets bits of information trickle through. For me that mirrors S1 Angel's role with Buffy (at least before we understand his motivation through flashbacks).
but this: It was all desperate survival on crappy information and self esteem.
Connor.
Yessss! below the surface Derek is very much Connor.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 09:27 pm (UTC)(For me, Jackson has always been Draco... I'm glad you pointed out that parallel as well :)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 11:55 pm (UTC)I'm anxious to see what they do with him in S3. So many possibilities!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-04 09:36 pm (UTC)Buffy is the show of my heart so for it's always relevant to everything. I definitely see the comparisons of Jackson and Lydia to Cordelia (more Jackson, because I find he fits the Cordelia mold more) and even Stiles being a mixture of Xander and Willow.
For me the hardest one to wrap my head around is Scott as Buffy, because I absolutely adore and love Buffy so much it's a bit ridiculous. While I can see the base comparisons (teenager thrust into a world they never wanted while trying to be normal) for me it stops there and personality wise they have little if nothing in common. I really do like Scott, but he lacks the compassion and maturity that Buffy often displayed, I think there is a little bit of Xander in him where he sees the world is very obvious black and white, and can be a little bit self centered and unforgiving (Xander's lack of trust and resentment of Angel reminds me of how Scott treats Derek).
I do see a little of Buffy in Stiles as well, the lying to their very devoted and amazing parent and the guilt that comes from that. The parent relationship is also more similar to what Buffy and Joyce have, where Stiles and the Sheriff aren't just a father and son, but are a family and even though Stiles is the child he's often treated as being on equal footing with his father. Buffy and Stiles are both also very unselfish people, who often put others and their happiness first (Buffy with prom, Stiles with Scott and then Lydia and Jackson). I could also see Stiles as being the one to make hard choices based on keeping others safe, which I still think the choices Scott makes are based on what's best for him.
I do think Scott is starting to display some Buffy tendencies, the ability to gather a group of friends to his cause (Stiles, Isaac, Allison) but I just feel like he falls short because of his innate selfishness and narrow minded focus. Which honestly I would love to see change and for him to care more about those around him and for his motivation to shift more into being the hero type. (It could be argued that he's just a teenager and teenagers are selfish, which yes but Buffy was just a teenager too and her selfishness was often only about little things, like going on a date).
I do see the Derek as Angel comparison, as well as the Derek as Faith comparison. I see some Buffy in Derek as well, when it comes to cutting themselves off from others to be the leader. He tends to isolate himself off, either with his actions or attitude because he is setting himself above others.
I really do think Jeff uses a mixture of Buffy character archetypes in his characters, because I find all of them fit multiple molds and have different traits of different characters, which I really enjoy. I don't think I would love Scott without some of sweetness and naivety that Willow had early seasons, and I've come to love the way Stiles constantly puts overs happiness before his own like Buffy did (without him having a calling to and it just being who he is). I find it pretty amazing too how all the traits of Buffy/Willow/Xander and their friendship exist in Scott and Stiles and their friendship.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-05 12:06 am (UTC)*nods* Scott definitely has a black and white view a lot of the time. (black - Derek, white - Allison) And is ridiculously focused on Allison to the point of selfishness. So yes, Buffy has her own faults but they are very different from Scott's.
I'll consent that Stiles does share some personality traits with Buffy and Buffy/Joyce was often similar to Stiles/Sheriff. A lot of touching moments all around. Though from a 'role in the ensemble' angle, Buffy will always be the center with the storyline revolving around her, and Stiles will still be a sidekick. A fantastic character and the heart of the show, but still the sidekick.
I really do think Jeff uses a mixture of Buffy character archetypes in his characters, because I find all of them fit multiple molds and have different traits of different characters, which I really enjoy.
agreed!
I find it pretty amazing too how all the traits of Buffy/Willow/Xander and their friendship exist in Scott and Stiles and their friendship.
Agreed again! :D
no subject
Date: 2012-10-05 01:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-05 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-05 05:17 am (UTC)Do you think we'll get a Faith?
The more family-focused aspect of Teen Wolf is one of my favorite parts. Ack, I really hope they don't kill off the parents for angst! That already happened to Derek! LOL, I just remembered Kendra is actually in TW! I loved her in BtVS. DANNY AS OZ, J'ADORE!
Peter is Spike, that's brilliant! I've been trying to reconcile why I kinda like Peter even though I hate what's he's done (specifically killing Laura, YOU ASS!). They're the seriously bad bad guys, but we like them anyway because they're also the witty comic relief who miiiight help you. It's the Darth Vader principle: having a super-scary enemy is terrifying, but having him/her work with you against an even scarier enemy is awesome!