Hello there.
I was distracted for a few days with the latest Teen Wolf News. Go check
it out if you haven’t seen what’s happening currently.
Now, though, I can turn my attention back to the Gods of Teen Wolf. There are a bunch that
get name-checked in the series and at least one that seems to still be active in that universe.
If you enjoy examining the canon and nostalgia of Teen Wolf, you should
totally subscribe and join us on these weekly journeys back to Beacon Hills.
Before I get into it, I’m using a lot of illustrations from an Italian art book called
Age of Pantheons. I would love nothing more than to sell you a copy of this book but it’s
out of print. The whole thing is available to view online though and I’ve linked you to that.
It’s absolutely beautiful and you should definitely check it out.
First up in the Teen Wolf Pantheon is the one god that makes me think the other gods
must be real in this universe - Tezca... Tezcat... Texacapol...
Kate: Tezcatlipoca.
Yeah, what she said.
This hunk of Mesoamerican lore was a total badass who was said to have ruled over the first world
known as Jaguar Sun. In the present world of the Aztecs he had returned
and defeated a big old feathered serpent, ended a golden age of prosperity
and reintroduced human sacrifice into the culture. Yeah, not a really great guy.
The reason I think Tez cat -
Liam: Tezcatlipoca
Yeah, him. The reason I think he actually existed in the Teen Wolf universe is because
his temple actually worked. It made a grown man into a teenager and stole the
free will of an alpha werewolf with the simple application of an animal skull.
That is powerful, god-like mojo.
And all the stories suggest that Tezcatlipoca...
Crowd: YAY!
And all the stories suggest that Tezcatlipoca could assume a humanoid jaguar form which
could explain why his temple worked for Kate when she was also in that form.
I don’t know if he’s still around, but he definitely was at one time
and left his wonderful toys behind for Kate to pick up.
From Mexico, we move a little further north into the spirit world of North American
indigenous populations. Now, here is one of the cases where I consider the creatures
and spirits we saw on the show to be separate from and not dependent on any specific gods.
From the native American traditions we get the Wendigo which is said
to be an evil spirit that endlessly hungers. It takes over a human that
has done evil deeds or broken taboos like cannibalism and turns them into a monster.
There’s an argument within the context of Teen Wolf that Wendigo started way back in
the timeline as a werewolf bite that went wrong in a specific way producing this very
hungry caterpillar with sharks teeth. But we don’t know enough about them really to even speculate.
Also from North American tribes we get the skin walkers. Again, we don’t really know enough
about their Teen Wolf versions to speculate too far and the Navajo who do know the real
stories don’t like to tell them to non-Navajo. I suppose I’m actually doing a great disservice to
the entire culture by rambling on about it but it was on the show and shouldn’t be ignored.
Skin walkers seem to be akin to the dark druids we saw in Season 3.
In this case, powerful medicine men and women
who tipped too far toward evil and use their powers to harm instead of help the tribes.
They’re portrayed as powerful beings on the show with a command of the elements,
an ability to create life-like illusions and a full understanding and control
of all things supernatural.
Skinwalker: You'll stay and become one of us, a skinwalker.
Skinwalker: You'll walk with us under the sun, through the dust.
But again, they don’t seem to be related to any specific god group.
The same is true of Anuk-ite which in the real world myth is considered to be a monster with two
faces that paralyzes with fear. Old double-face isn’t a god
and not directly related to one that I could find.
Now I’m up to the only Teen Wolf god that seems to actually still be active in present
day Beacon Hills. That would be Odin, the father of Thor and head honcho in the Norse Pantheon.
We see proof of his existence indirectly with the Wild Hunt. Odin is a nasty bit of work,
mean tempered and blood thirsty. He started the wild hunt way back in the deep dark before.
Throughout history, the ghost riders sweep through the sky riding a supernatural storm
and collecting souls as they go. They got stuck in Beacon Hills so we got to spend
lots of quality time with them but we never got to meet their master.
Of course, Odin doesn’t always ride with them. Many of the
stories have other Norse deities or even regional psychopomps leading the hunt.
But I think Odin was there in Beacon Hills due to this scene from Season 6.
Here we have Douglas who has usurped control of the riders and is ordering them to kill Scott
and his friends. The riders seem ready to obey until big sky daddy speaks up.
I think that thunderous command is Odin taking back the reins and
doling out punishment to the arrogant Nazi.
Douglas: I am you leader! [German]
Obey me! [German]
and if you’re wondering why Norse ghost riders look like cowboys – it’s our fault. Neil Gaiman’s
wonderful novel American Gods speculates on how immigrants to America bring their gods with them
and then the gods change shape and appearance due to the ideas and folklore in this new land.
In the case of the wild hunt, in 1948 singer Stan Jones
cast the wild hunt as cowboys damned to ride herd forever across the sky gathering souls.
Stan Jones: Ghost riders in the sky.
It’s a very popular song with versions released by various singers
and charting in the United States in every decade from the 40s through 80s.
So, here and now, Odin’s wild hunt appears as a bunch of cowboys.
Wow, this got really long and there are a half dozen more gods appearing or at
least hinted at on the show including the most important god in the whole Teen Wolf universe.
I’ll have to do all those in part two. For now, thanks for watching,
be sure to like and comment and join us next time when we go back to Beacon Hills