- “Since I just turned sixteen a month ago, I wouldn't mind getting my license. I can't do that if I'm dead, you know.”
- ―Erica Reyes to Derek Hale
Erica Reyes is a recurring character and minor antagonist in the second and third seasons of the MTV supernatural drama, Teen Wolf. She was the second Beta bitten by Derek Hale, a member of the Hale Pack, and a classmate of Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall, Lydia Martin, and Allison Argent.
She is portrayed by Gage Golightly
Biography[]
Early History[]
Erica was born to J. Reyes and his unnamed wife; her father was an adjuster for the insurance company that dealt with the car accident that killed Jackson Whittemore's biological parents. In her early childhood, Erica developed a severe case of epilepsy, which became the major factor in her reputation as an outcast years later in high school.
When Erica started high school, she developed a crush on Stiles Stilinski; however, he was too infatuated with Lydia Martin to notice her. Erica would not admit it to him until Season Two.
Season 2[]
Erica was first seen in gym class with the rest of her class, which included protagonists Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Allison Argent and Lydia Martin. After Scott and Allison had finished climbing the rock wall, Erica was paired with Stiles but suffered a seizure mid-way, forcing her to come down, much to her embarassment. Once class had come to an end, Erica was desperate to prove herself by trying to climb the rock wall again without any safety. Unfortunately, she suffered yet-another seizure, causing her to lose her grip and fall to the ground, but Scott sensed what was happening to her and caught her just in time. She was taken to the hospital, where she was gently reprimanded by her nurse Melissa McCall for not taking her anti-seizure medication seriously. Melissa left the girl to be picked up by the next doctor but Derek Hale secretly took her to the morgue. Showing sympathy towards Erica's plight, Derek offered her the perfect cure for her epilepsy and the means for a better life-- the transformation into a lycanthrope. Erica immediately agreed.
The next day, Erica made her entrance into the cafeteria as a glamorous young woman and earned the atention of Scott and Stiles, who realized that she had been turned by Derek upon seeing her enter in the latter's car. The following day, Scott questioned her over who Derek was planning to turn next because he opposed his idea of turning teenagers into more Werewolves as he was placing them up against dangerous threats. Failing to convince Scott to join them, Erica proceeded to explain that there was a day when their classmates recorded one of her seizures, which caused Erica to pee in her pants, and uploaded it in the Internet, destroying her social life. She tried to seduce him in front of a distanr Allison, but Scott rejected her.
Hours later, Erica knocked Stiles out when he tried to visit Boyd at his home to dissuade him from agreeing to be turned into a Werewolf and left him in a dumpster. She reunited with Derek and fellow Beta Isaac Lahey in the local ice rink, where Scott was in the middle of convincing Boyd to reject Derek's offer. When Scott refused to go home as Derek advised, he silently sent Erica and Isaac after Scott, only for him to take down the two new wolves as a result of his greater experience. He went on to tell them that Derek was using them as means to gain even more power for himself and called them a duo of guard dogs before sliding them at the Hale Alpha's feet. Derek then literally wiped the floor with Scott with little effort thanks to his Alpha powers. Boyd revealed to have already been bitten by Derek but expressed interest in becoming one like Scott rather than one like Derek.
Erica continued to try to seduce Scott and convince him to join the new Hale Pack as per Derek's orders and he eventually joined them so they could stop their classmate Jackson Whittemore from taking more lives and save him from being a Kanima. After going through her first full moon, Erica and her packmates became the main targets of the Argent Family of Hunters led by Gerard Argent and his granddaughter Allison, the latter of whom held Derek and his Betas responsible for the death of her mother Victoria.
Boyd and Erica were seen in the dark forest when they suddenly heard howling from a distance. Believing that another pack was there, Boyd and Erica approached Derek and told him they were leaving, having lost faith in his leadership and not desiring to be killed by the Argents or the Kanima. Unfortunately, the "howls" were pre-recorded by Allison and Chris Argent as a trap and they were seen running through the woods away from the Argents, who were pursuing them in ATVs. At one point, Allison fired an arrow that lodged itself in Erica's leg, causing her to collapse on the ground. Though Boyd initially continued running as Erica demanded, he eventually returned and prevented an arrow from killing Erica. However, Allison, fueled with rage towards Derek and his Betas for her mother's death, continued firing arrows to Boyd's chest and abdomen, ignoring a tearful Erica's pleas to stop. When she was about to fire another arrow, her father saw himself forced to intervene and shot Allison's bow out of her hands to prevent her from killing her classmates.
Afterwards, Boyd and Erica were taken back to the Argent mansion's basement and restrained to electrical cables that kept them too weak to break free. Eventually, Stiles Stilinski was also captured by Gerard and thrown into the basement, where he found the two Betas. He attempted to free them, only to shock himself upon making contact with the cables. Gerard came in and explained that Boyd and Erica's instinct to protect Derek was too strong that it became pointless to torture them. After Stiles began mocking Gerard and insisted Scott would find him, the elderly Hunter began beating the human teenager to a pulp as a message to Scott, with Boyd and Erica unable to do anything but watch the brutal scene in horror.
Hours later, Chris, concerned by his father's growing dark influence in his daughter Allison, came to the basement and explained to Erica and Boyd how different voltages disabled many of their powers before concluding that the electricity could stop their hearts and kill them at its highest voltages. Realizing Gerard was the true threat and Derek and Scott were the allies he needed to stop his father and the Kanima, Chris lowered the voltage and ultimately freed Boyd and Erica.
After Gerard was defeated and Derek and Scott turned Jackson into a Werewolf-Kanima hybrid with the help of Lydia, Boyd and Erica were running through the woods in hopes of making it out of Beacon Hills. They briefly took a break for Boyd to catch his breath, as he did not yet fully recover from being shot with numerous arrows and Gerard's electrical torture. Seconds later, they heard footsteps and soon found themselves surrounded by a pack of Werewolves who whipped out their claws, much to their fear. This pack would eventually be revealed as the Alpha Pack.
Between Seasons 2 & 3[]
Boyd and Erica were taken hostage and imprisoned in the vault of the abandoned Beacon Hills First National Bank by Deucalion and his fellow Alphas. Weeks later, they were joined by Derek's younger sister, Cora Hale, who had also been abducted by the Alphas while searching for her long-lost brother Derek. The vault of the bank was lined with Hecatolite, which prevented moonlight from infiltrating the room, and slowly leaving the three young Betas increasingly vulnerable to the full moon's influence for four months.
One night, Erica warned Boyd and Cora that a lunar eclipse was coming up and wondered aloud how the celestial event would affect their species before expressing her belief that it might make them stronger. Seeing Kali about to leave the vault, she fiercely declared that she hoped the lunar eclipse would make them stronger and attacked the toe-clawed Alpha with all her might. Unfortunately, Kali bested Erica with little difficulty and inflicted mortal wounds upon the younger female Beta. Erica tried to reach for Boyd and Cora and called out Boyd's name with her last breath before succumbing to her wounds, leaving Boyd and Cora horrified. Her body was taken away by the Alphas afterwards and left in a supply closet.
Legacy[]
Season 3[]
During their search, Isaac Lahey discovered the bank and believed to have finally found his lost packmates but he was found and tortured by the Alphas, who wiped his memories from his mind to prevent him from warning his friends, particularly his then-Alpha Derek. After being rescued by his friends, Isaac went through an ice bath that restored his repressed memories. He went on to inform his friends that while Boyd and Cora, the latter of whom whose identity he was not sure of at the time, were alive inside the bank vault, he had found Erica's corpse in a closet.
A few nights later, Allison Argent broke into the abandoned bank to prove her value to Derek. Marin Morrell, the Alpha Pack's Emissary and Allison's French language teacher, found her and told Allison to hide in a nearby supply closet to avoid detection from the Alphas. When Allison found Erica's body in a corner of the closet, she became horrified by this. Before going to catch the moon-deprived Boyd and Cora, Derek retrieved Erica's body, filled with extreme grief and guilt because of his inability to protect Erica as her Alpha.
The Beacon Hills packs eventually learned of the circumstances of Erica's demise when Kali and the Steiner twins forced Derek to mortally impale Boyd in his claws, causing Derek to absorb Boyd's powers and see his memories of Erica's last moments and her deadly face-off with Kali. This left Derek heartbroken as he had just lost both of his Betas and only Isaac remained.
Later, Cora attempted to avenge both Boyd and Erica by coming after Aiden. However, Aiden easily incapacitated Cora, who was already weakened by Jennifer Blake's mistletoe poisoning. He attempted to kill her in front of his romantic partner, Lydia Martin. However, Ethan, Scott and Stiles stopped Aiden from attacking Cora further and Aiden realized he had taken things too far when he saw how scared Lydia was.
Heartbroken with the deaths of Boyd and Erica and holding Derek responsable for their loss because of his poor leadership and unwise decisions, Isaac left the Hale Pack in order to join Scott and his friends, who would eventually become the McCall Pack.When Ethan, Aiden and Isaac were inhabited by the Nogitsune flies, Isaac set out to kill them for their roles in Erica and Boyd's demises. However, Kira Yukimura and Allison Argent incapacitated him.
Personality[]
Erica was originally a lonely, insecure young woman who thought of herself as a pariah among her peers in high school, who bullied her for her severe case of epilepsy. Her life changed when Derek Hale turned her into a Werewolf, causing her to experience a radical physical transformation that eradicated her disease permanently. Feeling powerful for the first time in her life, she became a gorgeous, fearless, and confident woman with an expertise at the art of seduction, allowing her to fight back against those who had always ridiculed her and sharing a devil-may-care attitude with fellow packmate Isaac Lahey. She had no trouble flirting with fellow Werewolf Scott McCall to destroy his romance with Allison Argent so Scott would be more susceptible to joining the Hale Pack. However, Scott resisted Erica's advances twice, and she flirtatiously shouted at him that she was his type, not Allison. She would later knock Stiles out with his own car's enguine and dumped him in the dumpster. This would lead Stiles and Allison both characterizing Erica as a "bitch," a sentiment Erica seemed to agree with because she said stealing a girl’s boyfriend from someone else made her one.
Erica after her transformation in to a werewolf.
Despite this toxicity, she proved to be willing to do whatever it took to protect her packmates, as seen by her willingness to help them kill Kanima Jackson Whittemore, who was threatening their lives and killing innocents, and proved her worth by gaining access to her father's documents that detailed the deaths of Jackson's biological parents, aiding her packmates in uncovering the cause of his transformation into a Kanima. Though she was initially glad with her new appearance, abilities, and friends, she would eventually realize that a lycanthrope's life in Beacon Hills was much more dangerous than she had previously thought and demonstrated no problem in announcing to Derek of hers and Vernon Boyd's plan to flee to a nearby town and start new lives. Even after being a prisoner of the Alpha Pack for four months, Erica believed that it was worth fighting in a battle against Kali and the other Alphas for her freedom, as well as the freedom of Boyd and Cora Hale, a decision that ultimately cost Erica her life. She was still a good person despite her malicious antics towards the core members of the McCall Pack in her first few appearances. She would have made an ideal packmate in Scott's pack due to her bravery and willingness to stand up for herself and loved ones had she not been killed.
Physical Appearance[]
- Species: Beta-level Werewolf; formerly Human
- Hair Color: Blonde
- Eye Color: Brown; Gold Yellow (as a Werewolf)
- Age: 16
- Height: Tall
Erica was a beautiful woman with a tall physique, long blonde hair, fair skin, and brown eyes.
Before the Bite, she was prone to wearing simple, plain-colored t-shirts and jeans. Later, she became more aware of her beauty and gained more confidence, leading her to choose more fashionable and fitted clothes. Erica boldly wore skinny jeans, combat boots, vibrant corset tops, and a polished black leather jacket, flaunting her physique to onlookers. She also wore lots of black eyeliner and bright red lipstick for a bold and sexier look.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Beta-Level Werewolf Physiology: Prior to her transformation, Erica was epileptic; however, Erica was cured of her epilepsy through a Bite from Derek Hale, which enhanced her beauty and granted her all the standard powers of a Beta-level Werewolf:
- Superhuman strength
- Superhuman speed
- Superhuman agility/reflexes
- Superhuman durability
- Superhuman senses
- Accelerated Healing
- Shapeshifting
- Pain absorption
- Animal instincts
Abilities[]
- Seduction: After Erica embraced her beauty, she used it to her advantage, having earned the attention of many boys as well as one girl in chemistry. However, the main male characters Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall, and Derek Hale were able to resist her charms for various reasons. Stiles had a long-time crush on fellow genius Lydia Martin, Scott had found a girlfriend in Allison Argent and Derek wanted Erica to drive a wedge between Scott and Allison because of her family of supernatural Hunters.
- Higher Tolerance for Pain: Erica possessed a higher pain tolerance rate than Vernon Boyd and Isaac Lahey due to her history of illness and female nature.
Weaknesses[]
- Wolfsbane: Wolfsbane (also known as Aconite) is an extremely toxic herb for canine shapeshifters and potentially Werejaguars. The effects wolfsbane has on a werewolf's depends on its type, method of exposure and potency. Additionally, if a bitten werewolf was exposed to the wolfsbane, then any previous illnesses they were cured with the bite would return. For example, Scott's asthma returned when he inhaled the wolfsbane from his inhaler in Season 5a. In Erica's case, if she had been exposed to wolfsbane, it is highly possible that her epilepsy would return. The only way Erica would be cured of Wolfsbane was if it was burned out of her system.
- Purple wolfsbane can cause a series of hallucinations, as seen with Lydia when she gave her friends and party guests wolfs bane-poisoned punch when Peter Hale plotted his own resurrection.
- Yellow wolfsbane (aconitum anthrax) is far less common than purple or blue wolfsbane. It can weaken and sometimes kill Erica faster than purple wolfsbane. For some reason, Chris was able to use yellow wolfsbane to keep Peter Hale heavily sedated so the McCall Pack could turn him over to the authorities at Eichen House. The only way for this type of wolfsbane to be extracted as Deaton had to make an incision on Brett's chest so the yellow mist of wolfsbane flowed out of his system. However, it is later revealed that yellow wolfsbane can be burned out like every other wolfsbane.
- Mistletoe: Mistletoe is a poisonous plant that is fatal to werewolves and other shapeshifters and other supernatural creatures. As a Werewolf, Erica is susceptible to the plant's effects. She could have gotten seriously ill and likely died from it if Erica had been exposed to it. For example, when Jennfier Blake poisoned Cora Hale, she retched a mixture of blood, vomit and mistletoe and nearly died from its effects. However, Derek Hale gave up his Alpha Spark and used it to heal Cora of her mistletoe-poisoning. If Erica had been poisoned by mistletoe, she likely would have suffered similar effects from it as well.
- Mountain Ash: Mountain ash is a form of ash created by burning the wood from a Mountain Ash tree. Werewolves cannot enter a barrier or leave a building made of mountain ash. It is also capable of killing them, as seen when Sebastian Valet was killed by his sister with a weapon forged with mountain ash and wolfsbane.
- Hecatolite: The bank vault was aligned with Hecatolite, a mineral that prevented moonlight from infiltrating the room. It made Boyd, Cora and Erica increasingly vulnerable to the full moon's influence for four months until Erica died by Kali's hand. This made them full moon deprived, making Boyd and Cora go on a rampage when exposed to moonlight after four months.
- Electricity: Electricity renders Werewolves like Erica without their powers depending on the intensity of the electrical currents. It is also one of the few things capable of wounding or killing Erica. She and Boyd were unable to shift into their wolf forms because Gerard had electrical cords around their wrists.
- Letharia Vulpina: The plant is capable of weakening/suppress the Werewolves' powers and shapeshifting abilities.
- Full Moon: Under certain conditions, werewolves are still capable of losing control during this time. Both Erica and Boyd were unable to control themselves from the full moon's influence. However, Isaac was the only one who was able to find an anchor and he easily incapacitated Boyd and Erica.
- Lunar Eclipse: When a lunar eclipse occurs, Erica would have been rendered powerless until the event is over.
- High/Sub Audio Frequencies: Werewolves' super hearing can be dampened if they hear high level or sub-level frequencies. For example, the Argents' ultrasound transmitters cause the Werewolves to hear high pitches and negatively affects their hearing, whereas sub audio sounds like those of some Deadpool assassins can leave Werewolves and other shapeshifters disoriented and unable to defend themselves, causing others to mistake them as feeling drunk.
Relationships[]
Derek Hale (Alpha)[]
See also: Derek Hale/Relationships
After Derek Hale killed his uncle and stole his Alpha Powers to avenge his sister's death, he took interest in Erica as a result of her severe case of epilepsy, timid personality, and lack of friends. In the hospital, he took her to a private room and offered her the Bite, which would give her everything that she needed, including a cure that would eradicate her disease and the side effects of her anti-convulsant medications. Erica agreed and successfully transitioned into Derek's second Beta, embracing her inner beauty and growing popular in school. During a training session, Derek angrily told Erica, Boyd, and Isaac he was teaching them how to survive and that their attacks had to be unpredictable. Erica responded by jumping on Derek and kissing him; however, Derek immediately threw her on the floor. Instead, he wanted her to seduce Scott away from Allison because Derek disapproved of their relationship because it exposed Scott to the dangers of being an Omega. He likely did this because Derek either felt that Erica was a better match for Scott, worry that Scott would be better suited as a member than an Omega or all three.
She would follow Derek's orders without question, such as attacking Stiles and bringing him before Derek in "Abomination," killing Lydia Martin, and testing Jackson. However, she eventually began questioning his leadership in terms of protecting her and her fellow Betas from the Argent Hunters and their dealing with the Kanima. After spending numerous weeks constantly hunted by the Argents, Erica and Boyd informed Derek at the Hale House that they would be leaving to find another pack in a safer town, with Derek not doing much to stop them.
Unfortunately, this would be the last interaction between Derek and Erica as she and Boyd were ultimately captured and held captive by the Alpha Pack for the entire summer. Derek eventually found the Alphas' lair in First National Bank and broke into its vault with Scott to rescue his long-lost sister Cora Hale and Boyd. However he was too late, as Erica had already been killed by Kali by the time he could rescue her. However Derek didn't learn the true nature of her death until Kali and the Alpha Twins forgiving impaled Boyd with Derek's own claws. The loss of his two Betas left Derek heartbroken beyond belief for several weeks until he gave his Alpha status to save his sister.
Isaac Lahey (Close Friend)[]
Vernon Boyd (Best Friend/Possible Crush)[]
Throughout their time together in the new generation of the Hale Pack led by Derek, Erica formed a close bond with Boyd and the two appeared to become best friends in the process. Desiring to flee Beacon Hills and start new lives somewhere safer, they left Derek's pack together, only to be captured by Deucalion and his Alpha Pack. Boyd was horrified when Erica was slaughtered by Kali right before his eyes and he became the most determined one to avenge her once he had been freed from the Alphas' captivity, considering her as the only friend that he has ever had. Unfortunately, this bloodlust would ultimately lead to his own death at the hands of the Alphas, who forced Derek to kill Boyd to absorb his powers, which revealed to Derek the circumstances of Erica's death, leaving him paralyzed with shock and guilt.
Stiles Stilinski (Unrequited Crush/Friend)[]
Scott McCall (Ally)[]
Allison Argent (Rival)[]
Before Erica's transformation into a Werewolf, Allison was one of the few students who never made fun of Erica's epilepsy and displayed sympathy and concern for her when she suffered a seizure trying to climb the rock wash. However, a rivalry between both girls sparked shortly after Erica's transformation into one of Derek Hale's Betas and after her attemps to flirt with fellow Werewolf and Allison's boyfriend Scott McCall. Derek had given such orders to Erica because Allison was the descendant of the infamous Argent bloodline of supernatural Hunters, who posed a threat to the Beacon Hills Werewolves. However, Scott's love and loyalty to Allison remained too strong for Erica to break and resisted the female Beta's attempts to seduce him. In a confrontation in the McCall mansion, Erica rudely told Allison that her romance with Scott was not going to last for long but the latter ultimately gained the upper hand by forcing Erica to catch an arrow that was secretly coated with Jackson Whittemore's Kanima Venom, rendering Erica paralyzed.
The death of her mother Victoria left Allison with rage towards Derek and his Betas, deeming them responsible for her mother's demise after succumbing to the manipulations of her grandfather Gerard. Allison came close to killing Erica by shooting an arrow at her face, only for Boyd to catch the arrow. The young Huntress relentlessly shot numerous arrows at Boyd's chest and abdomen, causing Erica to tearfully beg Allison to stop. Allison's father, Chris, saw himself forced to intervene and prevent his daughter from killing her supernatural classmates. Though the two Betas were taken to the Argent mansion for interrogation, Chris eventually set them free upon acknowledging that his father Gerard was the true threat that needed to be eliminated.
After realizing Gerard was using her as a puppet and had nobody's best interests in mind but his own, Allison regretted her actions. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to apologize to Erica for what she did to her due to finding her lifeless body in the Alpha Pack's lair. After mourning Erica's loss with Derek and Scott, Allison soon repented for her actions against Boyd and Erica by helping the packs in their war against the Alpha Pack.
List of Relationships[]
Family[]
- J. Reyes - Father
- Mother
Allies[]
- Hale Pack - Packmates
- Derek Hale † - Alpha
- Vernon Boyd † - Fellow Beta, Packmate, Best Friend and Possible Love Interest
- Isaac Lahey - Fellow Beta, Packmate and Good Friend
- Cora Hale - Packmate, Fellow Captive and Friend
- Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital
- Melissa McCall - Nurse
- McCall Pack - Allies , Classmates and Temporary Enemies
- Scott McCall - Fellow Beta and Former Packmate
- Stiles Stilinski - Unrequited Crush and Friend
- Chris Argent - Former Captor and Liberator
Enemies[]
- Beacon Hills High School
- Matt Daehler/Kanima Master † - Former Classmate
- Jackson Whittemore/The Kanima - Former Classmate and Former Target
- Lydia Martin - Classmate and Former Target
- Argent Family - Former Captors
- Allison Argent - Rival and Attempted Killer
- Gerard Argent † - Captor and Torturer
- Alpha Pack - Captors
- Deucalion †
- Ennis †
- Kali † - Killer
- Aiden Steiner †
- Ethan Steiner
Appearances[]
- Teen Wolf (2 seasons, 10 episodes)
- Season 2
- Ice Pick (first appearance)
- Abomination
- Venomous
- Restraint
- Raving
- Party Guessed
- Battlefield
- Master Plan
- Season 3
- Tattoo (mentioned only and picture)
- Chaos Rising (corpse)
- Fireflies (corpse)
- Currents (flashback only)
- Season 2
Trivia[]
- Erica is the second female werewolf introduced in the series, after Laura Hale but before Cora and Talia Hale.
- One of the criticized moments from fans on Teen Wolf was the creation of Derek's younger sister, Cora Hale and Peter Hale's daughter, Malia Tate, who fans accuse as replacements for Erica Reyes and Allison Argent.
- She may have had romantic feelings for her best friend and packmate, Vernon Boyd.
- Erica stated that she "just turned sixteen" and yet, her "missing persons poster" states that she disappeared at age 17.
- Erica, a female firm of Eric, is a name derived from Old Norse, meaning “eternal ruler” or “ever powerful.” Her last name Reyes is of Spanish origin, meaning "King." However, it has alternatively translated to "royals" and royalty. This is a fitting name for Erica, as it reflects a powerful person with great potential for leadership.
- If you look closely during the chemistry scene in "Venomous," one of the female students raised her hand to be Erica's lab partner, along with the rest of the boys who were attracted to her. This implies that some female characters like her classmate in chemistry were attracted to Erica as well.
- Erica in particular isn's seen disturbed by this, and actually smiles. Additionally, in the same scene, she gets aggressive with Allison, even sinking her classes into Allison's side and taking to her like she does to Scott when trying to seduce him.
Gallery[]
