#bardo

Written for @teenwolf-meta‘s Meta May Monday theme: bardo

The first time we’re introduced to bardo within the Teen Wolf canon is in Anchors when Kira brings it up to the pack as an explanation for the things they’re going through after sacrificing themselves to the Nemeton. The idea of an in-between place between living and dying is brought up within the story multiple times after that with the main two being in Time of Death when Kira slows Scott’s heart until he is basically dead, this results in him having violent dreams throughout the episode; and in Heartless after Theo is brought back from the skin walker realm and the episode opens with an exploration of his experiences underground. In all of these instances the character in focus is transitioning from one stage of being to another or coming to terms with something from their past which they have yet to deal with. 

For Allison in 3b her bardo experience becomes a way to deal with her familial trauma, she sees hallucinations of Kate and enters fugue states wherein she acts violently or threatens the supernaturals around her. Her hallucinations of Kate also tries to push her towards further violence forcing Allison to come to terms with who her family (particularly Kate and Gerard) wanted her to be. Kate is who Allison would have become if not for the rest of the pack there to pull her back from the ledge. Allison is able to break free of her bardo experience by reminding herself of the new code she created at the end of 3a “we protect those who cannot protect themselves” which in itself is derivative of the Argent family’s original code “we hunt those who hunt us” it’s not a way to hide from the past and her previous actions, instead it’s a way to acknowledge them and vow to be better in the future. 

Stiles’ bardo experience is not contained to the first two episodes of 3b like Allison’s is. He breaks through the initial realm at the same time as her but the same problems he faces during the initial experience carries over into the rest of the season during the nogitsune possession. It is also important here to note that the “symptoms” of the initial bardo experience are cognitive, he becomes incapable of differentiating between dreams and reality with the main indicator being his inability to read. Language problems are a common symptom of frontotemporal dementia and it’s not uncommon for dementia patients to have difficulty differentiating dreams and reality. The whole season, which is ripe with the undercurrent of the disease which killed his mother, becomes a bardo experience which functions as a way for Stiles to come to terms with losing his mother at such a young age. 

Scott enters a bardo realm twice within the show. The second time functions as a continuation of the first. During his first experience he becomes incapable of controlling his shift, it forces itself onto him throughout the two episodes and he refuses to make the conscious decision to shift out of fear that he will become stuck there and become more monster than human. His second experience is a dreamscape wherein he is initially pushed to kill the Mute and it results in him killing Liam with a tomahawk. In 3b it follows immediately after he becomes an alpha himself, the alpha who turned him was a werewolf who was no longer in control of himself, Peter was an alpha who acted purely on instinct and a vision for revenge. Derek, who despite being a close friend of Scott’s wasn’t a good alpha, he quickly got caught up in the power of being an alpha and ended up taking it out on those around him. This bardo experience also follows Scott’s interactions with the alpha pack, all of whom became power hungry and cruel to anyone they deem beneath them. Scott doesn’t want to become an alpha like them but he’s unsure if there’s any other way to be an alpha which doesn’t revolve around letting the animal side take over. His second bardo experience follows him biting and turning Liam, he has taken the final step into being an alpha and he can no longer kid himself that he isn’t one. This is also further underlined when the dream sequence result in the death of Liam. Scott feels as though he metaphorically killed Liam with the bite and took away his ability to be a normal person, something he hadn’t wanted to do after he went through it himself. Both of these bardo experiences serve as spaces wherein Scott has to come to terms with the changes to himself and his status as a werewolf. 

"Tinky Winky used to be the biggest among his friends, but he found himself right now in front of another Teletubby who was one head over him and who looked straight into his eyes with its dark and empty gaze. The twin began nuzzling the purple Tubby, then put its hands on his chubby belly and stroked it, as if analyzing the consistency of its next meal. Tinky Winky trembled like never before and held back from making the slightest bad move. It was then that the twin began to grasp the chin of its purple prey and to approach his mouth, sticking out its tongue. The action got interrupted by the grey Teletubby, who had suspected that the twin would have come to analyze the hostages. It reminded to both of them that under no circumstances should they do anything to the prisoners."

read his story here! :D