There is one mystery that has plagued “Teen Wolf” since day one, and it has absolutely nothing to do with werewolves. As the MTV series comes to a close, fans are looking for answers about one person and one person only – Mr. Stiles Stilinski.
The consummate human of Scott’s (Tyler Posey) pack, Stiles’ (Dylan O’Brien) past was littered with interrogatives from the moment he dropped onto the McCall’s front porch. “Teen Wolf’ handily wove the story of his mother’s death into season 3B, and the final season will ultimately reveal the teen’s first name.
Until then, we’re here to lay out the clues so far.
'Teen Wolf'’s trail of clues
Attempting to guess Stiles’ first name is akin to teaching Malia (Shelley Hennig) AP Calculus -- frustrating, confusing, and quite possibly impossible. Nevertheless, the following teasers always make is feel as if the secret’s on the tip of our tongue.
Season 1’s “The Tell” gifted fans two clues. First, we learned that Stiles’ given name ends with “–ienim.” Barely seconds later, Coach’s ascertains of child abuse assured us that the Sheriff (Linden Ashby) blessed his son with a mishmash of letters that no preschooler should ever have to spell.
Then, for four seasons, “Teen Wolf” stayed mum. It wasn’t until "Ouroboros" that viewers received their next clue – a peek at Stiles’ high school ID.
As he chucked the damning plastic in the trash, his first initial (an “M”) grabbed a little screen time.
Now, in season 6, MTV’s supernatural drama has reconfirmed the name’s ties to Stiles’ maternal grandfather as well as the paternal origins of his cognomen. More importantly, Lydia’s (Holland Roden) experimentation with automatic writing linked her pal’s name with the word “mischief.” According to showrunner Jeff Davis, that scene wasn’t a red herring.
“It’s a clue, it’s a definite clue,” Davis told TVLine. “That word was not chosen randomly.”
Fans should not, however, conflate “mischief” with the forename we’ve sought for so long.
“It's not a name,” writer Will Wallace confirmed on Twitter, adding that you should be looking for “ an actual Polish name.”
What’s next on 'Teen Wolf'?
It seems inevitable that Scott and Co.
will need Stiles’ true name to bring him back from his Ghost Rider purgatory, but, in the meantime, Lydia is on a quest for her own answers. When “Teen Wolf” returns on Jan. 3, the pack will trace the Wild Hunt back to Cannan.
“Teen Wolf” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
