Warning! Contains SPOILERS for Teen Wolf: The Movie.
Crystal Reed’s return is one of Teen Wolf: The Movie’s biggest mysteries and selling points. Reed's character, Allison Argent, died at the end of Teen Wolf season 3, as Crystal Reed had decided to leave the show to pursue other creative endeavors. Allison’s death on Teen Wolf was one of the most tragic moments in the entire show, as Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) had to watch the love of his life die in his arms. Though Crystal Reed returned to Teen Wolf one more time in season 5 to play Allison’s ancestor, it wasn’t until Teen Wolf: The Movie that audiences would see Crystal Reed return to Beacon Hills.
While Crystal Reed was known to be returning, it was unclear whether she would return as Allison herself. Before the movie, it had been 15 years since Allison’s Teen Wolf death, and while the paranormal has always been a central aspect of the show, human resurrections after death had never been an established part of the lore. With another memorable villain confirmed to return, however, namely Teen Wolf season 3’s Nogitsune (Aaron Hendry), it stood to reason that Allison was somehow intricately linked with this monster’s reappearance. Now that Teen Wolf: The Movie has finally been released, Crystal Reed's return can be properly explained and examined.
A Nemeton Ritual Brought Allison Back To Life In The Teen Wolf Movie
It should be no surprise that the Nemeton played a large part in Teen Wolf: The Movie, and it was integral in Crystal Reed once again playing a resurrected Allison Argent. In Teen Wolf’s lore, the Nemeton is a tree stump with significant supernatural power, located in the middle of Beacon Hills Preserve. It’s been used by countless Teen Wolf characters in the past to summon other creatures, resurrect fallen shapeshifters, stay alive after grievous injury, and gain more power. The Nemeton ritual that brought Allison back from the dead involved using earth from the spot where she was killed in Teen Wolf season 3, as well as the sword that killed her, and bringing it to the Nemeton on a specific night.
Though the Nogitsune, while it possessed Allison’s dad Chris (JR Bourne), convinced Scott and Lydia (Holland Roden) that the ancient Nemeton ritual would bring Allison’s restless spirit peace, instead, it brought her back to the real world, though not without complication. It’s never made clear exactly how those specific elements combined to bring Allison back, as the ritual didn’t include any kind of inciting moment or sacrifice, which the Teen Wolf show had previously established could play a large role in rituals involving the Nemeton. Presumably, the Nogitsune had prepared everything beforehand, only needing Scott and his friends to be the emotional link that brought Allison back for good.
How Allison's Return Was A Part Of The Nogitsune's Plan
Using Allison was a fundamental part of the Nogitsune’s plan to kill Scott and tear his pack apart. Allison was a hugely important part of Scott’s life and that of his friends. Allison was Scott’s first love, she died in his arms, and he’s carried her death with him ever since – even while he was in relationships with Kira Yukimura (Arden Cho), and later Malia Tate (Shelley Hennig). The Nogitsune knew that Allison’s resurrection would distract them all, Scott McCall especially, leaving them to chase after her while the Nogitsune could continue to move his game pieces into place and finalize his plan to kill the Alpha werewolf once and for all.
Additionally, Allison’s skills as a hunter would come in handy as well. Though she’d never truly killed a werewolf or anyone else before she had died, Allison was trained to use multiple weapons efficiently and knew how to track prey throughout Beacon Hills. The Nogitsune could thus leave an enraged Allison to her own devices, allowing her to get on with the job of killing the weaker members of Scott’s pack while he created the ultimate illusion.
Why Allison Only Had Some Of Her Past Memories In The Teen Wolf Movie
Though the exact circumstances of Allison's Teen Wolf return are a bit hazy, it is clear that the Nogitsune instigated her resurrection, and as such, likely had a hand in altering the state she returned in and what she would and would not remember. Allison not remembering Scott and her friends was clearly part of the Nogitsune’s strategy to get Allison to go after the weaker members of the pack. If she believed that Scott, Derek, and the rest of the pack were responsible for killing most of her family, including her mother and aunt, it would be enough to convince her that she was still a full-fledged werewolf hunter and force her to kill them.
Though on the surface, using Allison against Scott would seem like a solid strategy, one of Teen Wolf’s most important themes is the power that these characters’ relationships have to save the day, and the Nogitsune should have known that Scott, and the rest of his friends and family, would do anything to get the Allison they knew back. Ultimately, the Nogitsune underestimated Scott and Allison’s bond, as well as Allison’s bond with her best friend Lydia. Though using the image and memory of Allison’s mother to trick her into killing Scott and his friends worked in the beginning, it wasn’t real, and couldn’t fight the reality of Scott’s love and devotion to her.
How Scott Knew It Was The Real Allison Argent
One of the Nogitsune’s strongest powers is his power of illusion – he could easily make Teen Wolf's shapeshifting creatures see and feel things that weren’t there, making them believe they’d landed in another reality entirely. It would have been easy enough for any of the pack members to believe that Allison was just a part of the Nogitsune’s illusion, but Scott knew Allison better than anyone. Even in her rage-induced haze, he could see glimpses of the Allison he knew coming through, of who she had been when she had died.
Though Allison went after Derek’s son Eli (Vince Mattis) without any hesitation, that was because she hadn’t known him when she was still alive – it was easy enough for her to convince herself he wasn’t important. She hesitated when Scott was involved, however, and Scott used those moments to his advantage in the Teen Wolf movie. He knew that the Nogitsune wanted Scott and Allison to repeat their greatest tragic moment. But that wouldn’t have the same effect on Scott and the rest of the pack if it wasn’t the real Allison. She needed to be real for the plan to work, and yet her truly being there caused the Nogitsune’s final downfall.
What Will Happen With Allison & Scott After Defeating The Nogitsune?
The beginning of Teen Wolf: The Movie makes a point of explaining that Scott feels lonely, and “wistful” for the past and what his future could have been if certain things hadn’t happened. He’s ready to have a family and to be in love again, and Allison’s resurrection is meant to be a second chance for him. By the end of the film, Allison and Scott have rekindled their romance, kissing in an animal shelter, in a scene that parallels one of their most crucial moments together in Teen Wolf season 1.
Teen Wolf: The Movie uses nostalgia to pull its audience back into its supernatural world, and Allison’s resurrection is certainly effective in that regard. Her death was tragic, and yet so was her return, being used by the monster that got her killed in the first place, and only to try and make her kill those she loved. It was a compelling twist, even if it wasn’t flawlessly executed. It also allowed Teen Wolf: The Movie to harken back to one of its most important thematic elements – the power of these characters’ relationships with one another, and above all, Scott’s overwhelming belief in people, especially the people he loves.