A look at the Core Four of both Teen Wolf and The O.C.
When I first started watching MTV’s Teen Wolf (Jeff Davis) I instantly became a fan of the friendship between Scott (portrayed by Tyler Posey) and Stiles (portrayed by Dylan O’Brien). It wasn’t until a little later on in the first season that I saw the parallels to one of my favorite teen soaps, The O.C. (Josh Schwartz). Scott and Stiles’ dynamic, as well as their individual personalities is so strikingly similar to The O.C.’s Ryan and Seth.
Digging deeper, one can notice other comparisons between the two series:
Scott McCall Teen Wolf → a high school athlete who becomes a werewolf, and just so happens to fall in love with the girl (Allison) whose family hunts supernatural beings.
Ryan Atwood The O.C. → a poor juvenile delinquent who is essentially rescued and adopted by Seth’s public defender/lawyer father. Ryan also falls for his classmate and neighbor, Marissa, who is from a wealthy family which disapproves of the relationship.
Allison Argent Teen Wolf → a strong character that, even though she gets a lot of hardship thrown at her, still manages to maintain her personal values. She accepts her role in the “family business” but still attempts to continue her relationship with a werewolf.
Marissa Cooper The O.C. → though not as strong of a character as Allison, her ability to handle and cope with the challenges of every day life as well as the misfortunes she suffers throughout her adolescence are commendable. For the most part, she follows her heart and struggles to have a fulfilling relationship with Ryan despite the disapproval of her family.
“Stiles” Stilinski Teen Wolf → serves as comedic relief, with his sarcastic remarks and quick wit. He is the unpopular, but devoted best friend who accepts Scott’s wolflihood without any hesitation. Stiles has been hopelessly in love with Lydia, the popular girl at school who is also Allison’s best friend, since childhood
Seth Cohen The O.C. → possibly even more unpopular than Stiles, though his friendship with Ryan could be considered even stronger. He befriends Ryan quickly after meeting him and eventually spearheads a campaign in the hopes that his parents will adopt him, making them brothers. Seth becomes known on the series for his sarcasm and ability to make light of most situations (and definitely helped pave the way for characters like Stiles). Seth has similarly been in love with Marissa’s popular best friend Summer since they were children.
Lydia Martin Teen Wolf → essentially is proposed to the audience as the popular girl at school who “finds it in her heart” to reach out to the new girl, Allison. It is only until later on that we realize that she is not merely the stereotypical well-liked (or feared) fashionable best friend. Lydia turns out to be highly intelligent and a joy to watch develop throughout the series. She clearly has a soft-spot for Stiles, but either does not want to give in to her feelings or just hasn’t seriously considered him as a possibility yet.
Summer Roberts The O.C. → like Lydia, she is the one-dimensional popular party girl at the beginning of the series. She is rude to anyone not in her circle of friends, and is interested in fashion and her appearance. While she has been close friends with Marissa for years, she shares in the disapproval of Ryan, and is quite vocal about it at first with Marissa. She later comes to like Ryan, and falls in love with Seth. Again, she shatters the beliefs about her having a low IQ later on in the season with the revelation of her stunning SAT scores and eventual passion for politics and the environment.
…and that’s just a glimpse at the many links between the two series. I’m hoping to spend more time researching both Teen Wolf and The O.C. and will present more findings in the future. What other connections have you noticed?
