Deucalion: What he fears most, he can't beat you and he knows it.
So I kind of have a new theory on Deucalion's death .
Honestly by the time Deucalion showed up at the end of season six there was
so much going on that I just kind of ignored him.
I mean, we've just been introduced to the United Kingdom's cutest powered couple. In addition to
being the third old friend to show up in this one episode, while everyone else was realizing just
how much the Hunter War had spread, Deucalion says categorically that he is not fighting.
Deucalion: You know my fighting days are over.
Eventually the bodies pile up so high that even a blind man can't ignore them.
Deucalion's protestations, as valid as they are for him due to his violent past,
are not helpful in this moment and they seem somewhat naïve to the rest
of us as we are gearing up for the coming battle.
So I largely ignored his part in this episode,
but then I got a question this week about his little speech and I went back to have a look.
Scott: So help us stop him. Deucalion: I think you've realized that
stopping Gerard now means killing him.
I'm sorry Scott that chapter in my life's over.
I mean yeah, this all sounds a bit silly under the circumstances as Malia rightly points out.
Malia: So what? You moved into a cave and took a vow of uselessness?
So that's it? You're just a pacifist now? What's going to stop me from slashing your throat?
I agree with sis here, this is super silly in the face of global attacks.
But for Deucalion personally, this choice is huge and very difficult.
Deucalion: I'm not afraid to lose my eyes again. I'm afraid to lose my soul.
I mean we saw the same thing play out on The Walking Dead.
I absolutely hated this Morgan character arc because it was absolutely useless
in the face of literal monsters and the overt evil of greedy little men.
Rick: Why are you doing this? Morgan: What I believe, I'm not right.
There is no right. It's just the wrong that doesn't pull you down.
Rick: It hasn't pulled me down. Morgan: I think it will.
I knocked him out and I could have killed him but all life is precious.
And TWD ran it in the ground that season taking
time away from important plots over the whole run of that year and attempting
to convince the audience just how difficult and unrewarding a life of pacifism could be.
Deucalion: I'm afraid to lose my soul.
Yeah I get it. It's a valid life choice and if everybody
chose to be a pacifist things would go better in this world.
But it is impossibly dull to watch this play out
on TV. I mean please God just go kill something already and stop talking.
I mean there's a reason why there were
no heartfelt letters from pacifist in that big Civil War documentary.
Narrator: April 17, 1862 - Turkey Run, Virginia.
Dearest mother,
It is with a heavy yet resolute heart that I take
up my quill to convey the state of my soul in these troubled times.
From the solace of my countryside abode, the echoes of war reach my sensitive ear
like distant thunder reminding me of the horrors that beset our nation.
While the ceaseless cannonade reminds me of the battle,
each day I tend to my garden and I stand firm in my unwavering commitment to peace.
I rest my head each night secure in the knowledge
that mine is as noble a sacrifice as those who march forth toward battle.
The guns are firing again dear Mother and as my brethren face the grim specter of death,
I sit here sipping my chamomile tea secure in my conviction that
my absence from the field of folly will somehow inspire the warring
factions to lay down their arms and embrace fully the fellowship of man.
Rest assured mother that I shall not waver. I assure you, my commitment to peace is as
steadfast as my avoidance of anything remotely resembling physical exertion.
I must go now to pen verses that seek to heal the festering wounds of hatred and division,
hoping that, while they remain unread,
my words may resonate and dindle the spark of peace in savage hearts hardened by strife.
Ezekiel Pumpernickel, poet, philosopher, pacifist.
At least Teen Wolf's pacifist werewolf didn't bore us to death with it.
Malia: How'd you do that? Deucalion: It's Baguazhang.
A martial art that takes the path of least resistance.
Malia: You think you're going to beat me without fighting?
Deucalion: I think you're going to beat yourself.
Deucalion only got this one brief exchange and it
was easy as a viewer to miss what a big deal this was for his character.
Less than a year before this he was passively letting Theo kill
the Legion of substitute superheroes just because Deucalion wanted to help Scott.
Deucalion: You feel that Theo? That's the secret to taking power, pain. Take their pain,
take their life, take their power.
A year before that, he'd been the ultimate narcissistic murder proponent.
Deucalion: I am the alpha of alpha.
I am the Apex of apex predators.
I am death destroyer of worlds.
I am the Demon Wolf!
So post-epiphany Deucalion was a shock and did not
ring true or logical to me as a viewer at the time .
Maybe I've matured a bit since then but his position and his
lack of action seem a lot more profound to me now.
And when I look back at it with all this context, his death might actually make a lot more sense.
I mean the big argument was that Deucalion should have healed from this.
The other big argument is that someone should take
this moment to 187 Deucalion and steal his alpha spark.
I can't help anyone who holds on to that core misunderstanding of what Teen Wolf is about,
but looking at just the death and taking into consideration the martial arts and philosophy that
Deucalion has been studying and living his life by, I now believe that Deucalion let himself die.
Lydia: Scott! None of us are going to survive this.
Of course the meta explanation was that the writers wanted the Hunter War to be a genuine threat
and when you want a genuine threat you have to kill off an important and well-loved character.
But in-universe, given that Deucalion has professed his pacifist nature and
his chosen fighting style is more Yin than Yang, by willingly enduring the pain and
refusing to heal himself Deucalion is making a statement about the true cost of violence
and his willingness to pay the ultimate price for his commitment to non-violence.
He may well have allowed this to happen this act of self-sacrifice so his example
could serve as an inspiration to the others and highlight the depth of his pacifist convictions.