Game of Thrones influenced the death of Allison Argent on Teen Wolf. Premiering on MTV in 2011, the series was loosely based on the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie of the same name. The series followed Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), a teenaged werewolf who takes on the responsibility of protecting the town of Beacon Hills while also juggling the stresses of high school and family.
In the first three seasons of Teen Wolf, the romantic relationship between Scott and Allison (Crystal Reed) was a big part of the show’s focus. Together with Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O’Brien), the trio seemed poised to be part of the supernatural drama for the long haul. That’s why it came as a shock when, at the end of season 3, Allison was killed off. Although this occurred partly because Reed wanted to leave the series, Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis admits that there were other factors that influenced Allison’s fate. Including, it seems, Game of Thrones.
Speaking with E! Online on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of Teen Wolf’s first episode, Davis admits that he feels some regret about the decision to kill off Allison. At the time, in the wake of the attention Game of Thrones received for being open to killing off main characters, particularly Ned Stark, the writer said he felt pressure to include a major on-screen death. You can read Davis’ quote below:-
“I don’t know if I would’ve done it now, but back then, it was the time of Game of Thrones’ big death and it was all about which character could you kill off to shock the audience? There was a lot of pressure to kill a main character. I remember the network saying you have to kill someone off. And me being like, ‘I don’t want to kill anyone, they’re like my children!’”
To a certain degree, the impulse to emulate Game of Thrones makes sense. Teen Wolf season 3 aired from June 2013 until August 2014, in two parts, just as the HBO adaptation was experiencing the glow of its early seasons. But that impulse belies the differences between the two shows. Taking the beheading of Ned Stark as an example, the climactic moment arguably served as the driving force of the series in several ways. Teen Wolf, meanwhile, faltered after the loss of Allison. The show never figured out how to properly mourn the loss of the character, with many viewers arguing that the MTV drama failed to honor the significance of the bond between Scott and Allison. The death was made worse by the fact that it was followed by the departure of other fan favorites like Isaac and Derek.
While it’s true that Allison would have to leave Beacon Hills in some fashion, due to Reed wanting to pursue other projects, perhaps she could have reprised her role occasionally if not for the pressure Davis experienced from MTV. This would have left the door open for a satisfying finale that would have satisfied fans that watched from the beginning and wanted a happy ending for characters that they grew to love. In any case, it serves as a cautionary tale against chasing what happens to be popular at the moment. In the case of Teen Wolf, it didn’t work out.
Source: E! Online