Hello there.
It seems whenever I do a video explaining something, I end up with hundreds of questions
about some other aspect that’s only tangentially related to the topic that I was explaining.
I do a thing on how being a werewolf is better than being a monster and I get a
bunch of questions about why Scott is so weak.
I do a video explaining why Scott is not weak but simply struggling to remain in control
and I get a lot of folks questioning my sanity
because Scott is obviously weak compared to others of his status.
I then did my whole “this is how Teen Wolf strength actually works so no,
it turns out Scott is not actually weak” and then I get questions about…
Well you get it.
No matter how well I think I make my points, questions about this universe just multiply.
And don’t get me wrong – I love talking about this stuff so keep the questions coming.
I mean, here I am again jumping on that hamster wheel trying to explain something else.
In this case I’ll attempt to convince you that Scott McCall
can kill anybody he wants to and still remain an Alpha werewolf.
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I’ve actually tried to explain the whole True Alpha thing before. But
I think I was being too cute with the religious imagery and my whole point got lost.
Basically, True Alpha is no big deal. It only refers to how you attain the status
and then has almost no other effects on the individual at all. I say “almost” because it
is true that the status can’t be stolen but that’s only because it wasn’t stolen in the first place.
I have receipts from Jeff Davis on the whole thing and it all comes down
to Scott being morally superior.
Morally superior. I love that.
I think what we really wanted to do with the term “True Alpha” was make him an Alpha who didn’t
have to steal his power, who didn’t have to
have it handed down to him. It basically came to him of sheer willpower, sheer force.
We don’t like telling “chosen one” stories so he’s not basically the Jesus character
who had it bestowed upon him. I like the idea that
by being a good person, he was able to become an alpha in his own right.
There, no special powers come with the status. He’s just a regular old alpha with the added
bonus of not having to kill anybody and not having a spark that anyone else can steal.
Well, almost anyone. If Scott makes a werewolf by biting them,
he’s basically sharing his spark, so that person could steal the rest of his spark.
In the Teen Wolf universe as we know it, only two people could do that.
Liam or Hayden. Both were bitten by Scott and therefore could take the alpha status from him.
It comes down to the fact that this particular alpha spark
was created inside Scott. It is unique to him and he can choose to share it but it
cannot be forcibly transferred to anyone that he hasn’t chosen to share it with.
God, I hope that makes sense. I mean, it makes sense in my head
but my head is a pretty twisted place so.
Back to the main point – True Alpha only applies to how you gain the Alpha status.
Deaton: Become an Alpha without having to steal or take that power. They call it a "True Alpha".
It's one who rises purely on the strength of character, by virtue, by sheer force of will.
It’s clear from what Jeff told me and what he had Deaton say in that episode,
that the term True Alpha only applies to how you gain the Alpha status.
Even if you disagree, assume that’s true while I finish my thought – if it’s just about how you get
the status – why then would there be extra rules you have to follow to keep the status? I mean,
you get it by being morally superior but you don’t lose it if your morals slip.
But, what about what Scott said that one time.
Scott: Make it stop or I'll kill you myself.
I don’t care what it does to the color of my eyes.
Okay, this part is pretty simple to me,
his eyes had just switched to red like a minute before this. He said the words “I’m an Alpha now",
but nobody in this abandoned distillery or anywhere else in the Teen Wolf Universe knew for
sure what that actually means. So it’s one of two things – either Scott didn’t know what he
was talking about or he was talking about the change to blue when you kill someone.
Okay, it could be one of three things – the third being that this speech was longer
at some point and got cut down to just these few lines and some of the deeper context got lost.
I say that because in earlier episodes they spoke
much more clearly on how killing would impact Scott becoming a true alpha.
Morrell: He wants a true alpha in his pack. He thinks it's you.
Scott: I'm not an alpha. Morrell: But you're well on your way aren't you.
Scott: Then what is he waiting for?!? What does he want me to do?
Morrell: He wants to make a killer out of you. That's what he does.
Scott: But if I kill someone, I can't be a true alpha right?
Morrell: Exactly.
This may be where most of the confusion comes from on this topic – but it’s
very clear to me when Scott says “if I kill someone I can’t be a true Alpha”
he’s talking about becoming a true alpha. He said this before it happened.
Deucalion wants to possess a true alpha but he
also wants to destroy Scott’s potential to become a true Alpha by making Scott kill.
Morrell: If the obsessive can't have the object of his desire, he'll choose to destroy it instead.
You'll either willingly become part of his pack or he'll make a killer out of you, destroying your potential to be a true alpha.
Again, they’re very careful to point out that a person who kills could never become a True Alpha.
That makes perfect sense because killing is always wrong.
I’m sure some of y’all will come at me with the justifiable homicide argument but it doesn’t
change the fact that taking another person’s life is always wrong. It might be unavoidable,
but it’s still wrong and you cannot be a killer and still be morally superior
enough to generate your own Alpha spark. So you can’t become a true alpha if you are a
killer – that doesn’t mean you can’t become a killer after you get the true alpha spark.
The status itself doesn’t prevent Scott from killing and killing wouldn’t change his status.
On a slightly more personal note, if the "no killing" idea is real it actually damages
the character in kind of an irreparable way. Scott chooses to do the right thing every time.
He agonizes over which course of action is the right and moral thing to do.
If the "no killing" idea were real, then you create a scenario where he’s only doing
the right thing because of some underlying selfish belief that he’d lose his status.
If that’s the case then he’s not actually doing the right thing at all.
boy, I got a little heated there didn't I?
Let me see, we got the ipso and the facto - so
that should be enough. Oh wait – I think there might be another way Scott can lose the status.
We saw it after he almost died and the pack broke up in Season 5.
Scott was at his weakest point and could barely get his eyes to flash. It is conceivable that
this loss of confidence and support if it were to be permanent could cause him to fall in status.
They never said that on the show but it was implied and I do want to cover all my bases here.
But barring that hypothetical situation or another attack from one of his made
betas, Scott’s Alpha Status is secure. It won’t change.
It wouldn’t even if he blows up a bus of nuns
on their way to the orphanage to perform miracles on sick kids. He’d still be an alpha.
no matter the body count.
Thanks for watching. Now go like the video and comment and tell me I’m stupid wrong.
Also, while you’re down there, maybe subscribe and I’ll see you next time we go back to Beacon Hills.