Warning! SPOILERS for Teen Wolf: The Movie!
While Derek’s (Tyler Hoechlin) behavior toward Eli (Vince Mattis) may have seemed overbearing in Teen Wolf: The Movie, it makes sense due to Teen Wolf season 3. Coming-of-age stories that center around Eli’s struggle to find his identity make perfect sense for the teen-centered supernatural drama, but it is a new shift for the movie to see the younger protagonists of the show shift into the parental roles. Derek is a perfect example of how Teen Wolf: The Movie used this shift to the best effect, making his arc both poignant and tragic.
Teen Wolf: The Movie depicts the return of the McCall pack to face a new threat that resurrected Scott’s (Tyler Posey) old flame, Allison Argent (Crystal Reed). But for Derek, his personal story revolved around his relationship with his teen son, Eli, and his Teen Wolf future as he grew into, or rather resisted, his lycanthropic nature. This arc is particularly personal for Derek given the strong contrast between his son and himself at that age in Teen Wolf, where Derek’s abilities were always embraced and celebrated before the Argents burned down the werewolf family’s home.
Teen Wolf Proved Derek Experienced A Lot Of Trauma When He Was Eli’s Age
With this contrast between Derek and his son already established, it makes even more sense that Derek is so protective of Eli in Teen Wolf: The Movie. This is especially true given that by the time Derek was Eli’s age, he’d already experienced several massive losses and personal shifts in his life. Not only had he lost almost all of his family in the Hale fire, but he’d also been betrayed by one of his few remaining relatives, Peter Hale (Ian Stuart Bohen) when Peter killed Derek’s sister for her Alpha abilities. This, in turn, led to further trauma for the Teen Wolf shapeshifter when he killed his uncle – even if it was for righteous reasons.
Even after Derek struggled through this conflict in the early seasons of Teen Wolf, he still was not allowed any peace, especially regarding those he loved undergoing the transition to become a werewolf. After all, when Derek was 15, he was forced to kill his then-girlfriend Paige Krasikeva (Madison McLaughlin) when she rejected a werewolf bite. This alone would have been enough to give Derek serious attachment issues with those he loved becoming werewolves, but Paige’s death also helped trigger the later events of Teen Wolf season 3 as well. As such, it’s no wonder Derek would want to protect Eli during his transition at any cost in Teen Wolf: The Movie.
Why Derek’s Death In The Teen Wolf Movie Is So Tragic
After all the trouble he experienced in Teen Wolf season 3, Derek’s death for his friends and family at the end of Teen Wolf: The Movie is all the more tragic. Not only does his loss deprive Eli of his father, but on a personal level, Derek can no longer guide Eli on the werewolf journey that was so personal for him. As well as this, Derek’s death means that he could not break the cycle of loss that began with his family home burning down, which led to Derek growing up without a father just as Eli will now come of age without his.