For the past decade I’ve been cataloging Teen Wolf canon and
for almost that long I’ve been listening to people complain about Scott McCall.
voice 1: "I never liked how they made Scott be so weak. voice 2: "If there is going to be a 7th season please let Scott be
voice 2: "a good Alpha for once, "
voice 2: "since he became a alpha he was so weak." voice 3: "Exactly Scott is weak AF."
voice 1: "We were always hearing about how powerful true alphas are. And yet we see Scott get beat by literally every other character."
voice 2: "Scott is probably the weakest alpha in the whole of teen wolf universe."
"Scott may be a True Alpha but he always gets his butt whooped by his betas."
I cannot relate to this sentiment. I never felt Scott McCall was really weak when compared to the
rest of the werewolves. Yes, he lost almost every one-on-one fight he was in up until Season 4.
Yes, he almost lost his entire pack and his life because he didn’t listen to Stiles in Season 5.
But I don’t think Scott is weaker than anybody else on the show. Scott’s just this guy, you know?
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I think the perception of Scott’s weakness comes primarily from unrealistic expectations
on the part of the viewers. Part of this is Peter’s fault. Throughout season one we saw
the big blue hairy and everybody expected that powerful werewolves were that guy.
Okay, that’s Jeff Davis’ fault for not making it blatantly clear that this form is wrong and not
something to strive for. Damn you TV writers for your nuanced approach in using monsters
as stand-ins for violent human tendencies. But it’s not just Jeff’s fault - there is a
deeper trend in genre TV and films that creates some unrealistic audience expectations as well.
It’s the trope of sudden power which for some reason, in some shows equates to sudden
expert-level fighting skills. Let’s use Buffy for a second.
I know that show’s creator is currently cancelled, but I do love me some Buffy.
Buffy trained constantly to be a good fighter but the vampires on the show
all seem to automatically know martial arts as soon as they climbed out of the grave.
Dawn summers: "But, he's new. He doesn't know his strength."
Dawn summers: "He might not know all those fancy martial arts skills they inevitably seem to pick up."
I’m sure this was to make better fight scenes on screen, but the perception that gets into
the zeitgeist is that supernatural abilities mean instant fighting skills and that is wrong.
So, we kind of brought this expectation with us into Teen Wolf and then took it out on Scott when
he didn’t live up to the misguided head canon. I won’t go over the actual canon on the werewolf
versus monster thing, I have a whole video on that subject that you’ve probably seen.
Let’s just focus on Scott and the complaints that he never lived up what everyone seemed to expect.
First, Scott was a relatively weak kid when Peter bit him. He became stronger
and his reflexes improved immediately but all he had inside was the experience of that weak
kid. He had no idea how to fight before so why would he automatically know how to fight now?
Also, despite what some characters said in some episodes,
the overwhelming evidence presented on the show is that all werewolves are basically the same.
The strength is automatic but how to use that strength comes from experience and practice.
The only reason why Alphas are perceived to be "stronger" in-universe is because you usually
have to kill an older more experienced werewolf to attain the status of Alpha.
But baseline: werewolves all have the same set of special abilities
whether they be betas or omegas or Alphas. All the things we saw Alphas do are experience
things. Either fighting skills or just knowing the extent of their own strength.
Ennis: "Ready for a rematch?"
It gets a little tricky with the Alpha Pack because they actually absorbed werewolf abilities
from others which did seem to boost their baseline, but they were strong and good fighters before
that because they had to be in order to become Alphas. I’m getting off track.
In Season 3, we saw Scott seek help from the twins because he wanted to roar to change Malia back
but he feared losing control if he shifted.
Scott: "I thought you guys were going to teach me to roar."
Aiden: We are. You do it by giving in.
Ethan: "Giving in and letting go. That's how Deucalion taught us control"
This was presented as an Alpha thing,
but Scott had this same booming roar all the way back in Season 1 once he figured out how to do it.
The actual "Alpha" status, as we saw with Scott’s rise to True Alpha,
comes from leadership ability so this Alpha roar is a command from a leader
that other werewolves and werecoyotes recognize and react to instinctively.
Unlike every other Alpha on the show, Scott rose to the status on his leadership ability alone.
He actually formed a pack around him way back in Season 1.
Derek: "I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me Scott."
Derek: "You're not an Omega. You're already an Alpha of your own pack."
By the end of Season 2, he was already an Alpha, his eyes just didn’t reflect
that fact until Season 3 during a moment of great emotional and physical exertion.
Now, he didn't automatically achieve some instant superpowers at this moment. He was still the same,
relatively inexperienced werewolf he'd been the day before. And you have to keep in mind that
Scott had been a werewolf for only like eight or nine months at this point in the timeline.
Pretty much he’d be like any other werewolf with that level of experience – the only
difference being the red eye and the stubborn trait of always doing the right thing.
Kincaid: "You have the eyes of an alpha, but where's the strength?"
So here, a few weeks later when Kincaid commented on Scott's lack of "Alpha strength"
he was surprised because most Alphas one would encounter in this universe
would have to be killers who gained and maintained their status at least partially
through physical strength and fighting ability. It is unlikely that Kincaid would have seen or even
heard of a True Alpha since the status is so rare. Plus, I mean, look at this guy. If they weren’t
werewolves Kincaid would kick his ass in a second. Give them the same level of extra
strength and agility and he still kicks Scott’s ass because he’s bigger and knows how to fight.
What is Scott supposed to do? Leadership Kincaid into submission? Big guys beat small guys unless
small guys have some serious Mr. Miyagi moves.
Mr. Miyagi: "Wax on. Wax off."
Man, I can’t stay on topic today for shit.
From the minute Scott became an Alpha, he feared losing control and going too far.
All that is rooted in his experience with Peter’s murder spree.
It’s not an irrational fear it’s very real. But it doesn’t make him weak it makes him cautious.
When Scott faced Peter at the end of Season 4, he had just learned an important lesson.
He faced that greatest fear in the fight with the hunters at the warehouse. He was able to
pull himself back from the edge in that instance so - when he faced Peter later - he knew where
the edge was and could better utilize his strength without the fear of going too far.
Peter, on the other hand, was out of control here and could not utilize his strength intelligently.
What else? Oh yeah, Liam beat Scott nearly to death that one time in Season 5 so
Liam is stronger than Scott, right? No. Liam is not stronger than Scott.
Scott was trying to contain Liam without hurting him and took a beating to do it.
This was exactly like what Derek did for Cora and Boyd in Fireflies back in Season 3.
Scott was also at a major disadvantage with Liam due to the wolfsbane Theo slipped
in his inhaler but he did manage to contain Liam and stay alive. Until that bastard Theo
stepped out of the shadows and killed him. I keep thinking of other examples but you
get the gist. Scott was not weak, he’s just this guy who happens to be a relatively new werewolf
and he doesn’t want to hurt anybody. Thanks for watching and do all the YouTube
things, like the video, comment and tell me how I got everything wrong and if you feel like it,
subscribe to the channel. I’ll see you next time we go back to Beacon Hills.