Now I'm curious what you would say about Peter's position in the narrative? (and I'm totally on board with what you said about Derek btw.)
I mean, yes he was kind of the tragic villain in S1 but especially later?
Okay, strap in, because I have a lot of feelings about Peter Hale and it's gonna take me a while to talk through all of them. Thank you for this question though! 💖
I believe that Peter is a tragic villain in S1 and S2, a reluctant ally for S3 and part of 4, a straight up villain/antagonist late in S4, absent in S5, and back to a reluctant ally for S6. I'm just putting this up here to refer to because Peter does not have a single role in the narrative that is consistent throughout the series (he's a slippery little shit like that).
So let's start at the beginning: S1. Peter is pretty clearly the villain in S1 and S2. S1 - there's a little more sympathy for him (not expressed in the show, but from an outside perspective). He was the victim of a horrific crime, and then abandoned to die by his remaining family. He is not sane. If that happened to anyone, I don't think they would be sane afterwards. It's not made incredibly clear, but it seems that Peter's level of consciousness in the coma varied a lot (especially as related to later events). To have no sense of time, to only know pain both physical and mental (his body burned, the loss of his entire family and pack) and have no release, no way to express it - yeah. Peter's a hell of a tragic villain.
What he does in S2 is...less tragic, and more villainous, even though he's not the primary villain of this season. This is where we start to see more of how manipulative Peter is (though we definitely catch a glimpse in S1 where he's trying to get Derek and Scott both to join him). What he does to Lydia is unforgivable. He's already assaulted her physically, but he then, in parallel to his own suffering, assaults her mind. I wish we had a better understanding of how magic worked in TW because it's difficult to assume how much of this is directly Peter's choice. He glimpses Gerard Argent with the kanima and nopes the fuck out of there purely out of fear and self-preservation.
S3 with the alpha pack and the nogitsune is where we finally start to see a more complete picture of Peter - and it isn't pretty. He's manipulative. He's a liar. He's sarcastic and petty to a bunch of teenagers. But he is their ally, even if it's reluctant. He shares information - for a price. He helps - when it benefits him, or at least doesn't inconvenience him. The only time he seems to help without these things is when Stiles is possessed by the nogitsune, and even that can be interpreted as a continuation of self-preservation.
S4 is where things get complicated and also they fucked up with Peter for me. Not with the benefactor storyline - I think that turning out to be related to his coma madness was actually incredibly interesting. Even an unconscious Peter is a manipulator. But working with Kate - even if he was going to double cross her in the end - and trying to kill Scott didn't make sense. It's pure villainy, yes, and maybe that's why they did it, but it doesn't fit the Peter that we know. He would never have agreed to work with Kate. He dedicates his entire life to killing everyone involved with the fire - but especially her - in S1. He's willing to die just to kill her. And then they team up? Nah. Trying to kill Scott for his alpha spark is more reasonable, but I still don't quite buy it. He knows he wouldn't have taken over the pack, or escaped, or accomplished whatever other goal. That's where it's unclear - what, exactly, is his motivation for wanting to become an alpha again? Just...power? Peter loves power, don't get me wrong, but
S5: my man is imprisoned in Eichen and then immediately gets kidnapped by the wild hunt when he gets out. Nothing for his character arc but handing him a fat L honestly. He kinda deserved it.
S6: now this is where things get complicated again but in a better way. Awesome that it only took them the entire show to get to this version of Peter (I guess that's the point of the character arc. but I wanted more of this Peter). Peter has fully succumbed to the wild hunt until Stiles shows up (and I have a lot of Steter thoughts about this but that's not what this post is about. anyway.). That magic is strong, since the Peter we've seen clings to life so desperately that he tears it apart with his claws all the time, but he is docile here. At least until he wakes up - then it's back to fighting to the death to escape and to live. He's - surprise, surprise - manipulative here once again. The clearest example of this is when he encourages that guy to try his plan just to watch him fail and die. But when he gets back - he tries to help Stiles and the others. His selfishness makes a return when he goes to get the fuck out of Beacon Hills (which, honestly, fair) but it is an interesting turn that he tries to convince Malia to come with him, is it not? The narrative has told us Peter doesn't care about other people, family more than included. Seems he didn't get the message, in the end. And speaking of 'in the end' - he stands by the pack. He very nearly dies (again!!!) because he stayed to help. It's an interesting end for a character as complicated as Peter, for sure.
Peter is selfish and self-serving and manipulative and honestly just kind of a dick to a bunch of teenagers for little reason (teenagers are annoying, yes, but dude. you're a grown man cut the sass a little). And he's my favorite special little guy, even if the narrative doesn't really care about him until the end of the series and only barely then. Peter is, if I had to sum it up in one term, an infrequently justified villain with some hinted at soft spots that I would've loved more exploration of. Let's pretend that's one term. Like I said, he's my favorite, and I had a lot to say. I hope this sums it up well!
