r/TeenWolf • u/grwike • Jul 19 '25
Question Was Peter Hale evil or just misunderstood?
He was manipulative, sure. But he also protected his pack (sometimes). Was Peter actually a villain? Or just traumatized?
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u/Junior-Hour Demon Wolf Jul 20 '25
Originally he was just a schemer and an opportunist, but it was after he was burnt alive, the first time, it was then he became a monster; even though I kinda agree with most of the kills he did in season 1 he was off the rails
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u/Easily_Mundane Jul 19 '25
All he really cared about was power, even if he loved his family he was still willing to hurt them.
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u/Nyxelestia Jul 20 '25
He was greedy, narcissistic, and selfish. Made him a fun character, and a useful tool to the protagonists, but I'd never consider him "misunderstood." Everyone understood him just fine, they just disagreed with him quite violently and vehemently.
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u/katabasis180 Jul 20 '25
“We don’t like you. Now help us.” is the perfect encapsulation of who he is to them.
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u/ThisLeopardIsFull8 Jul 20 '25
He was a villain and a traumatized victim. It’s fair to call him evil for some of his actions, but if I did a ranking of the most evil villains in Teen Wolf, Peter would rank rather low on that list.
The inconsistent writing hurt many characters, including Peter. Peter was selfish, manipulative and seeks power, but he wasn’t stupid: teaming up with Kate Argent with such a ridiculous plan to kill Scott and become an alpha again almost ruined the character for me.
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u/RadiantFoxBoy Druid Jul 20 '25
He was a cowardly narcissistic paper tiger and it's surprisingly charming. I wouldn't necessarily say he was either, he was just very single-minded and did not particularly care about morality if it stood in the way of him getting what he wanted.
I suppose that is a form of evil depending on how you look at it, and he definitely leans a lot more towards evil than misunderstood, but on the whole he was more petty than anything else.
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u/GregMedve Team Peter Jul 19 '25
A bloody f*kin mess, that's what he was. XD But sure, I don't think he was evil, and it is hard to misunderstood a series of murders, but I still don't think he was a villain. A manipulative traumatized mess with great survival instincts for himslef, and occasionally for "his" pack for sure tho. ("his" bc he was not really accepted into the pack, imho) At least what I remember from the show. It was quite the time since I watched the source material, and I live in the fics. XD
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u/prolapsedbhole Hale Pack Jul 20 '25
Here's the problem with Peter. At the beginning of the show, the writers make him sympathetic, but then change their minds halfway through and want him to be unequivocally evil. So they have him murder his niece so he can steal her power to avenge his family. This weakens Peter's character, as these two writing styles don't mix well. You can't have the sympathetic villain also be the pure evil villain.
He's not misunderstood, he's just poorly written.
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u/kp__135 Jul 20 '25
I think they intended that from the start. Laura’s murder was the kick off of the whole show. I never got the impression they were intending anything but Peter murdering her.
Sympathetic villains are very common nowadays (hell MCU tried to make Thanos sympathetic)
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u/katabasis180 Jul 20 '25
Jeff has said that he hadn’t worked out the plot of the first season before they shot the pilot.
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u/kp__135 Jul 20 '25
Okay?
Peter doesn’t show up till episode 4. The first hints (the deer that brought Laura) were episode 6. We don’t get the flashback visions until episode 10 to show how horrific Peter’s history is. Episode 12 confirms Peter lured Laura.
I imagine he had the plot figured out by the time Peter shows up, otherwise he was dropping hints with no idea how they would be resolved (it’s possible. But that’s a bold choice in a first season). Also casting an actor without knowing the kind or role/character they will be playing would also have been a weird choice.
Unless you mean that Jeff didn’t know the plot when Laura died. In which case I think that further proves that Peter was always intended the way he is. Since Jeff created the character specifically to answer the question of who killed Laura.
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u/Formal-Inevitable-50 Jul 20 '25
Yep Peter was perfectly written to me. They even showed him in flashbacks trick Derek into letting Ennis bite Paige he was always intended to be wrote the way he was.
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Jul 20 '25
I thought he was insane at that point
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u/kp__135 Jul 20 '25
That’s what he told Derek. That killing her was an accident that he was out of his mind from pain.
But that left off how he was coherent enough to mark the deer. Get the photo. Send the photo to Laura. Then wait where she would come across him. That’s way too many steps to be an accident or don’t by someone out of their mind.
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u/katabasis180 Jul 20 '25
He’s not evil. He’s not a hero, he’s not good really either. He loves his family, just not more than himself or his revenge.
He’s willing to help in service to that love of family, or for revenge or his own purposes. But outside of that? He’s not interested.
Season four is inexplicably stupid plot wise, but having Peter be willing to work with Kate, a person he was willing to die to kill in season one is the most unbelievably stupid part. Even with all the ‘you killed my family’ parts aside, she’s a loose canon. He’d never work with someone that unpredictable.
I do think he’s misunderstood in a limited fashion. But only narrowly. I think people forget that aside from Laura, the only person that he kills in season one that’s not directly involved with murdering his family is the janitor of the high school. And his death is given context by Derek. Born wolves are taught to keep their existence secret. It’s nearly religious. And the effects of not keeping it a secret (because while Derek is terrible at keeping it a secret Scott is worse) are seen in season six. It doesn’t make it right, but from that viewpoint, it becomes understandable at least.
I do believe him when he says he wasn’t healed yet when he killed Laura, but only because it fits his actions when it comes to the Bite. He mindlessly ravages Scott, but when it comes to Stiles, he offers it, and respects when Stiles says no. The Bite, as the Hales believe, is a gift. It may even be part of why he dislikes Scott so much, he’s a reminder of Peter’s worst time.
But no, no generally misunderstood, but not really evil. Just self centered and manipulative. By any metric Chris is both more casually cruel and more murderous. But the fandom in general loves that sociopath.
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u/Pizzanigs Jul 20 '25 edited Jul 20 '25
I’m of the opinion that he was evil (being misunderstood isn’t really mutually exclusive to that though) and should’ve had a bigger mark on the later part of the show as a villain. I went from being curious about the future of his character in Seasons 2 and 3, to being excited by later Season 4, to being disappointed in the finale when his return to villainy and his plan to kill Scott were absolutely moronic, to just thinking he was wasted potential all throughout Season 6
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u/kp__135 Jul 20 '25
He lured his niece back to beacon hills and murdered her. Not sure where he was protective of his pack. With the possible exception of Malia (seemed it at end of show but Peter kept to his cycle in the past so…) he never acted to protect anyone if it didn’t help his own goals.
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u/ohheyitslaila Team Deucalion Jul 20 '25
He was a self centered narcissist and sociopath. He’s a very dark grey kind of character, he’s not all evil. And for all of his faults, he does show up to help Scott’s pack an awful lot. He might have selfish motives for doing it, but he still gets credit for it.
He’s a character who deserved a real redemption arc, especially after he finds out Malia is his daughter. I really thought he’d turn things around, but the writers totally fumbled his character arc.
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u/Zesty_CurlingIron Jul 22 '25
Well his family was burned alive and he almost was burned alive to. Everyone involved got what they deserved. Just like with Matt
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u/C00bahR00bah Team Peter Jul 20 '25
Lol misunderstood, no. But it’s hard for me to see Peter in black and white, evil or no. He is, to me, the very definition of morally grey. He has good moments and bad, he kills but sometimes protects, he’s helpful but sometimes most definitely not.
I feel like he had some decent character growth until a certain point then his character was trashed when he worked with Kate. I know he is driven by power, but I have a really difficult time believing that he would willingly work with Kate, regardless of any promised or anticipated outcome, after everything she did. Sorry, I just don’t buy it at all.
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u/Major_Enthusiasm1099 Jul 20 '25
Narcissistic, selfish, and the fire drove him crazy. But he wasn't too far gone, and by the end he just is who he is. He's got some good in him though.
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u/rosiebug_ Jul 20 '25
both misunderstood as well as a villain*, not evil though. a power-hungry opportunist for sure. he had shit he cared for though and often came around to help when he didn’t need to. his help just often comes in undesirable ways, but basically always produces the desired outcome.
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u/macysupriya Jul 21 '25
I don’t even think either. He is selfish, but I think the writers didn’t know what to do with him after s4 so they doubled down on it. I think he was more sympathetic in s1 and I still don’t even fully blame him for killing those that he did. I get his pain. I wish the writers continued to make him more dynamic and complicated, but they just kept getting confused with his character.
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u/ProtectionOne21 Jul 21 '25
I agree shitty writing. I liked him as an anti-hero in the final seasons more than a villain. Him teaming up with Kate is debatable because on one hand he did want to be an alpha and Liam killing Scott then him killing Liam furthered that goal but he did want Malia to make sure she killed Kate which definitely fits with his character.
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u/ClassicTale809 Jul 21 '25
Not evil, just stupid writing for season 4. He was redeeming himself and then they did that, it was pathetic. They destroyed one of the best characters imo.
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u/BeautifulNo9321 Jul 22 '25
Bro wanted power, and the way he went about it was evil and selfish. Over time, he learned what it meant to have a family and a pack, and changed a bit.
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u/zyrell0990 Jul 22 '25
I support him on S1 but later on i just hated his cunning. He could have a redemption arc but NO!!
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u/Yeah_umm_ok Jul 20 '25
Neither. He did heinous shit but I wouldn’t say he was fully evil. I wouldn’t say he was misunderstood either because that implies that people just didn’t “get” him and well murdering for power and stalking / harassing / trying to kill children is pretty straightforward. He was complex and traumatized and severely mentally unwell with probably permanent brain damage. I feel sympathy for what happened to him and wouldn’t blame him for going after the argents, but he also went after innocent kids and his own family. There comes a point to put the sympathy cap on and realize he is not justified in all his actions just because he was once a victim. It doesn’t give him the right to do what he did. I do love Peter though, his character was so good and honestly he was like the one person on teen wolf that if they would have made him “unbeatable” (at least in regards to the McCall-hale pack) I would’ve been cool with that
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u/Alternative_Duty4179 Jul 20 '25
Yes, Peter absolutely was a villain just because he was traumatized does not make him any less evil than he was……
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u/trayn-13 Jul 20 '25
A misunderstood mess he was like you said a manipulate and wanted revenge and to restore his pack after he more anti hero coming in aid though for his own gain he still was part Scott's pack even if as an outsider
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u/SadLilBun Jul 20 '25
He’s selfish and out for himself and doesn’t try to be better, and that is why I love him. It’s just honest ego.
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u/Key_Target_4990 Jul 20 '25
He was always evil the fact that Scott had to fight his maker again as a true Alpha makes it even more iconic
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u/Specialist-Animal954 Jul 20 '25
I think a mixture of both. I think his trauma from the fire got to him plus manipulation got to his head and he was so misunderstood cause no one not even Derek even understood the true trauma that he went through. But also his behavior from seeing when he was younger got worse too over time.
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u/CoyaasMowe Jul 20 '25
Plain evil. He always looked out for himself. His blue eyes should tell you everything you need to know
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Jul 20 '25
Derek has blue eyes? So do a lot of good characters?
Either way, he was hospitalised by an arson attack from a hate group which killed most of his family. He then spent decades in unimaginable pain semi comatose. How is he supposed to react to that?
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u/CoyaasMowe Jul 20 '25
Good. He wanted power he should’ve died he killed his niece to be a alpha and manipulated everyone. and lets be real his eyes are blue for a sinister reason don’t tell me he was giving mercy killings cause we know he wasn’t
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Jul 20 '25
He wanted power
Yes, because power = safety. Again, he literally suffered 4th degree burns for years because Talia (and everyone else) didn't listen to him.
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u/CoyaasMowe Jul 20 '25
Nah we not justifying it. Once he killed kate and the ppl responsible that should’ve been it but he tried to take scotts power and him attacking lydia just because not really helping his case. He should’ve suffered some more
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u/katabasis180 Jul 20 '25
He likely had gold eyes until the fire. When we see him in the Visionary flashback his eyes are gold, and that’s not long before the fire. It’s likely Laura was the first person he killed.
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u/UniversityNovel627 Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25
Honestly his character was really messed up by the writers from season 4 onwards (he would never join kate). He was a manipulative jerk but he did care about Derek (his family) albeit in his own strange way, he wasn't evil but he wasn't misunderstood either. He was a messed up extremist who had every reason to be angry but he wasn't downright evil. He was morally grey. He wasn't a villain more like a vigilante with his own ideas about justice (valid since he targeted those who had something to do with the fire, but also extreme like biting Scott, killing Laura, he was an extremist blinded by revenge), however he wasn't a guy who could be trusted because at the end of the day the only one he'll look out for is himself. the writers did screw up his character in the later seasons (from season 4 onwards, he was definitely evil in season 4). Though overall just a complicated traumatized morally grey extremist mess.