Vernon Boyd was a recurring character in the second and third seasons of the 2011 supernatural drama series Teen Wolf, debuting in "Ice Pick," the third episode of the second season. He was a teenager bitten and turned into a Beta Werewolf by Derek Hale during his brief time as an Alpha. His physical strength, background in the military, and heightened intelligence, particularly in the field of engineering, allowed him to rise in the ranks of the new generation of the Hale Pack and he was appointed as Derek's second-in-command.
He was portrayed by Sinqua Walls, who portrayed Lancelot on Once Upon a Time, Jamarcus Hall in Friday Night Lights and Daniel in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
History[]
Season 2[]
Conflict with Scott McCall[]
Boyd was first seen in the high school's cafeteria until he was approached by Stiles Stilinski, who requested his keys to the local ice rink so he and Lydia Martin could go on a double date with Scott McCall and Allison Argent. Despite Stiles' best efforts to reduce the price for the keys, he ultimately ended up giving Boyd $50 as promised.
A few days later, he was working in the rink until confronted by Scott, who asked him if he was really going to accept Derek Hale's offer to be turned into a fellow Werewolf even after hearing of the cons of such transformation, namely the threats and enemies that he would face. When Scott argued that there were other and much better alternatives to make friends, Boyd insisted that he was done being the guy who sat at lunch alone everyday. Their conversation was interrupted by Derek himself, accompanied by his newly-turned Betas, Isaac Lahey and Erica Reyes, who guaranteed that their lycanthropy changed them in ways they could not have possibly imagined. Derek silently ordered them to attack Scott, who defeated both of them with little difficulty as a result of being a Werewolf for much longer than either of them. Seeing his minions down, Derek stepped up and literally wiped the floor with Scott through his heightened Alpha powers. Lifting the side of his hoodie, Boyd revealed to have already received the Bite from Derek and reassured Scott that he wanted to be a Werewolf like him rather than one like Derek, Erica, and Isaac.
Boyd watched a training session between Derek, Erica, and Isaac and seemed amused that his fellow Betas kept using the same moves over and over again, resulting in Derek defeating them effortlessly every single time. Isaac complained about his broken bones and though Derek initially seemed sympathetic, he ultimately broke Isaac's arm and aggressively reminded his Betas that he was teaching them how to survive, with Boyd and Erica displaying expressions of concern and fear. Derek went on to insist that his Betas needed to learn everything he knew as soon as possible if they were to have any chance of surviving the Argent Hunters and the new mysterious shapeshifter that had murdered Isaac's father.
Erica and Boyd were watching a lacrosse game until a player from the opposing team, nicknamed "the Abomination," began injuring some of the Beacon Hills Cyclones, prompting Coach Finstock to ask Boyd if he could join the team. Ignoring Erica's demands not to risk exposing his new supernatural status, Boyd's desire to be a star spoke louder and he joined the team, aiding the Cyclones in winning the game. In a moment of glory, he removed his helmet and his eyes flashed gold, leaving Scott concerned that he could become a target for the Argent Hunters, namely their patriarch, Gerard.
Dealing with the Kanima[]
Suspicious that Lydia could be the new shapeshifter known as a Kanima, Derek sent Erica and Isaac to test her with a sample of Kanima Venom, just like they had done to Jackson Whittemore, who was paralyzed by the toxin like any other victim. During chemistry class, they succeeded in coating a crystal with the toxin and when Lydia ate it, she was unaffected, convincing Derek that his suspicions were correct. Not believing Lydia to be the serial-killing shapeshifter, Scott went to speak to Derek in the lacrosse field, only to encounter Boyd instead. Boyd seemed pleased that Scott was not willing to fight him as a result of their difference in size and strength. Scott noted that though Boyd may be bigger and stronger than him, he was faster and more agile than him, proving his point by quickly tackling Boyd and shoving him to the ground. Derek finally appeared and Boyd listened as Derek and Scott argued over the Kanima problem, with Derek refusing to consider the possibility of Lydia possessing an immunity to supernatural phenomena, claiming such was never seen or heard in the supernatural community. As he watched the former mentor-protege argue, Boyd faltered when Scott correctly guessed that Derek only gave Jackson the Bite because Derek hoped it would kill him. Having predicted that his plan to dissuade Derek would end in failure, Scott had ordered Allison and Stiles to take Lydia to his home, under the guise of a study group.
The Hale Pack members tracked them to the McCall House and Boyd remained outside with Derek whereas Erica and Isaac infiltrated the home to kill Lydia. However, they had underestimated the resourcefulness of Scott and his friends, resulting in an unconscious Isaac and a paralyzed Erica to be thrown at Derek's feet. The groups witnessed the Kanima crawling through the roof of the McCall mansion and it hissed at them before escaping. Seconds later, Lydia came outside to demand an explanation, allowing Allison, Scott and Stiles to realize Jackson was the Kanima all along, though Derek and his Betas would not realize this a few episode later.
Upon learning of Jackson's next target and their location, Boyd accompanied Derek, Scott and the others to a rave. Derek and Boyd were found by Chris Argent and some of his fellow Hunters, who were there to kill Jackson to prevent more lives from being taken. Boyd and Derek took cover behind some dumpsters and attacked once the Hunters had run out of ammunition but even after putting up a valiant fight, they were forced to retreat after being shot with bullets laced with wolfsbane. Derek handed Boyd the keys of his car so he could get to the animal clinic and receive treatment from their ally, Alan Deaton. Though Boyd was reluctant to leave without his Alpha, he ultimately did as he was told whereas Derek remained behind to search for Scott.
A few nights later, the Hale Pack was preparing for the March full moon as Derek was pulling out numerous chains and other restraints meant for his Betas. When Isaac became curious towards a triple-spiral symbol in the box of the restraints, Boyd explained the meaning of the triskelion before correctly deducing that for Derek and the Werewolf community in general, they translated the three ranks of Werewolves-- Alpha, Beta, Omega. Impressed by his knowledge, Derek explained that the members of their kind could always rise to one rank or fall to another. At night, Boyd watched as Derek screwed a spiked headband into Erica's head and winced in sympathy at her agony. Boyd and Isaac were restrained afterwards but when the full moon rose, all three managed to break free before viciously attacking Derek. Upon finding an anchor to his human side as per Derek's guidance, Isaac gained control over his inner wolf and helped Derek in knocking Boyd and Erica unsconscious so they could finish the full moon without further issues. None of the three were present when Lydia came to knock Derek out and drag him towards the ruins of the Hale House for a ritual to resurrect his uncle, Peter Hale.
Leaving the pack[]
Boyd and Erica were seen walking through the dark woods until numerous howls were heard from all directions, with both of them realizing that none of them did sound like Derek's. They arrived at the Hale House to announce to Derek of their plan to flee Beacon Hills that evening to start new lives out in a nearby town. A displeased Derek warned them that he had informed them of what they were getting into when he had offered them the Bite and Boyd shot back that Derek never mentioned that the situation with the Argents and the Kanima would grow so intense. They brought up the howls that they heard earlier and despite Derek's beliefs that they might have heard just two wolves instead of a dozen, Erica and Boyd insisted that their minds were made up. Derek warned them to think through their choice because if they went along with their plan, they would never stop running. The two Betas held each other's hands and left the House, much to Derek's irritation.
Captured Twice[]
Unfortunately, Derek's assumptions ultimately proved correct as the howls heard by Boyd and Erica were pre-recorded by the Argents and were used as a trap to deceive the Betas. Boyd and Erica eventually realized such and were seen running away from the Argents, who pursued them in ATVs. Though Erica was wounded in her leg by an arrow fired by Allison, she instructed Boyd to keep running and not worry about her. Despite this, Boyd came back and prevented Erica from being killed by catching an arrow Allison shot at her face. Not afraid of Boyd partially-transforming, Allison fired arrow after arrow to his chest and abdomen, ignoring Erica's tearful pleas to stop, Allison's father Chris shot Allison's bow out of her hands and they captured the two Betas before taking them to the Argent mansion's basement.
They were 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 gave Boyd and Erica the chance to scape.
After Gerard was defeated and Jackson was inadvertently resurrected into a Werewolf-Kanima hybrid with the efforts of Peter, Derek and Lydia Martin, 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. Moments later, they were surrounded from all directions by mysterious Werewolves, who whipped out their claws and cornered them menacingly. They would eventually be revealed as members of the Alpha Pack, who were now targeting Scott McCall and Derek Hale.
Missing[]
Captured by Deucalion and his Alpha Pack, Boyd was held hostage in the vault of an abandoned bank for four months along with Erica and Derek's long-lost sister Cora Hale. The three bonded and likely shared their relationships to Derek. Unfortunately, Erica tried to fight her way out by attacking Kali, who overpowered and killed the younger Beta right in front of Boyd and Cora's eyes. During this time, Derek, Isaac and Peter banded together to find them, with Scott and Stiles joining soon after.
Season 3[]
Shortly afterwards, the duo was rescued by Derek and Scott, only to succumb to the full moon's influence after being deprived of it for the entire summer. They returned to normal once the night had passed. Though Boyd returned to school, he withdrew into isolation once more as a result of losing Erica. Nevertheless, he decided to rejoin his packmates in the war against the Alphas in hopes of avenging Erica's murder.
Upon learning that Kali and the Steiner twins had intentions of fighting and/or killing Derek for his supposed role Ennis' death, Boyd and Isaac skipped school in order to aid their Alpha in preparing their next move against their enemies. Inspired by his and Erica's brief imprisonment and torture at the hands of Gerard Argent, Boyd suggested performing a similar trick, but at a larger scale. Filling the loft with water, Boyd explained his plan to turn the apartment into an electrical trap for the Alphas, who will be weakened and hopefully killed if they step foot into the loft. Isaac commented that Kali would be unprotected from the shock given that she was always barefoot. Unfortunately, when night fell, the Alphas somehow had predicted their plan and shut down all power to the building before revealing Derek's new girlfriend, Jennifer Blake, in their grasp. Kali forced Derek to fight her solo without the support of his Betas because if he refused, Ethan and Aiden would tear Jennifer apart. Despite Derek dealing a few blows, it quickly became clear that he was no match for the Augmented Alpha and there were several instances when Isaac and Boyd tried to interfere, only for Derek to send them back to the sidelines out of fear for Jennifer's life.
Eventually, Cora, Lydia and Stiles arrived to the loft and began turning up all the switches to restore the power to the building and hopefully give their packmates an advantage over the Alphas. Though Isaac successfully made it to a safe zone, Derek, Kali, and Boyd were all in the water when the power was turned back on, weakening all three. Thanks to her especially-enhanced durability, Kali recovered from the shock in a matter of seconds and furiously ordered the twins to grab Derek's clawed hands. When his claws were upwards, Kali shoved Boyd's weakened body against them, mortally wounding Boyd and causing Derek to inadvertently absorb his powers. Before leaving, Kali and the Steiner twins warned Derek that he had until the next full moon to slay the rest of his Betas and join the Alpha Pack or they would return to kill them all.
Following their departure, Derek frantically and desperately applied pressure to Boyd's wounds in hopes they would not be fatal, but Boyd reassured him that none of this was his fault and thanked him for making his life worth it by turning him a Werewolf, even if it ended up getting him killed. Before his imminent death, Boyd brought up his curiosity towards a lunar eclipse and its effects on Werewolves like them before Derek began seeing Boyd's memories of his and Erica's moments while in the Alpha Pack's captivity, with Erica wondering if the lunar eclipse would make them stronger before she met her demise at the hands of Kali. In the present, Boyd finally succumbed to his wounds and his body collapsed in the flooded floor of the loft. Moments later, Cora, Lydia, and Stiles arrived, with Cora sobbing uncontrollably over Boyd's body whereas Stiles tried to comfort the guilt-ridden Derek by placing his hand on his shoulder.
Legacy[]
Two days following Boyd's death, Derek decided to spend some time away from his remaining packmates and made his way towards the Abandoned Distillery, his favorite hook-up spot back when he was a teenager in a relationship with Paige Krasikeva. Staring at the spiral carved in the wall by Ennis, Derek looked more determined than ever to avenge the deaths of Boyd and Erica by destroying the Alpha Pack for good.
Out of all the members of the Alpha Pack, Ethan Steiner was the only one who harbored guilt for participating in Boyd's murder. His regret towards his actions against the Hale Pack and future McCall Pack would eventually drive him to abandon the Alpha Pack, especially after learning that Deucalion was Ennis' true killer, not Derek as he had made him, Aiden, and Kali believe.
Consumed with grief and rage, Cora tracked down Aiden to the high school and attempted to kill him for his role in Boyd's death. However, he easily overpowered her thanks to his Alpha status and would have killed her in front of his romantic partner, Lydia, had Scott, Stiles, and Ethan not intervened. Cora would then berate Scott, Stiles, and Lydia for not doing anything to avenge Boyd and Erica as well as for their failure in preventing the Darach from taking more innocent lives.
Isaac was distraught over the loss of Boyd and Erica, combined with his loss of faith in Derek's leadership as a result of his rash decisions and impulsive behavior. Isaac was drawn to Scott McCall and defected to the group that would become the McCall Pack. He joined the group in their search for the missing parents.
Later that evening, Julia Baccari, now known as Jennifer Blake, launched hundreds of shards of broken glass into Kali, killing her instantly. The woman who played a role in both Erica and Boyd's death was killed.
Several weeks following Jennifer and Kali's deaths and the disbandment of the Alpha Pack, Ethan and Aiden pleaded with newly-ascended True Alpha Scott to let them join his pack. He and his packmates, particularly Isaac, rejected them, namely for their role in Boyd's death. Their guilt towards their actions against the members of the pack they wished to join motivated the twins to become better individuals and seek redemption in order to join the McCall Pack. Additionally, Lydia revealed that one of the reasons why she would not get back together with Aiden was because of the role he played in Boyd's death.
Under the possession of a Nogitsune fly, Isaac tried to kill the twins by burning them alive for their part in the deaths of Boyd and Erica, only to be confronted and subdued by Allison Argent and Kira Yukimura. However, the two women found it difficult to stop them; fortunately, their druid Emissary Alan Deaton arrived on the scene and helped remove the flies from Isaac and the Twins.
Personality[]
Haunted with guilt towards his sister Alicia's disappearance and possible death, Boyd was a reserved and stoic individual who spent his high school days in loneliness but saw an opportunity and enregistered in the Air Force ROTC Program in hopes of serving his country and preventing more people like his sister from facing a similar fate. His meeting with new Alpha Derek Hale and subsequent transformation into a lycanthrope enabled him to develop genuine friendships, with his bond with Erica Reyes possibly growing into something more than just friends. Although he appeared satisfied with the power and friendships that he had gained, he had no trouble in deciding what was best for him when he and Erica informed Derek of their plan of leaving Beacon Hills to start over with a new pack.
The death of Erica at the hands of the Alpha Pack traumatized Boyd to the point that he temporarily became reserved once more upon his release from the captivity of the Alphas. However, he quickly rejoined Derek and his fellow packmates in their conflict with the Alphas, determined to kill them for murdering the one person with whom he had shared a real connection. The loss of Erica also caused him to develop a more violent side in his personality, as he considered starting a fight with Ethan Steiner in a bus filled with several of his human peers, only to be dissuaded by Isaac and Scott. In addition to his fighting skills and strength, he proved to be a highly intelligent young man, giving the idea of turning Derek's loft into an electrical trap for the Alphas. Had the Alphas not predicted such and sabotaged their plan, it would have weakened them considerably. In his final moments, he did not hold Derek responsable for his death and insisted that his last months as a Werewolf had made his life worthwhile while appearing to show relief at the possibility of reuniting with Erica in death.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Boyd possessed the all the standard powers of a Beta-level Werewolf. When the Hale Pack consisted of him, Derek, Erica, and Isaac, and later, Scott, Boyd's powers were Advanced because Packs are stronger tissue. This includes: superhuman strength, speed, agility/reflexes, durability, senses, accelerated healing, shapeshifting, pain absorption, and the animal instincts of his wolf counterparts. He was physically stronger than most Betas in his age due to his muscular physique. He was able to take down Scott, who had been a werewolf two months longer than Boyd. However, this was a feat he was able to accomplish because Boyd was a Beta strengthen by his pack and Scott was an Omega.
Abilities[]
- Expert Combatant: Boyd demonstrated moderate skills in combat due to his time in the Air Force junior program and receiving combat training from Derek. These skills allowed him to survive encounters with Argent Hunters and the Alpha Pack.
- Intelligence: Boyd was shown to be highly intelligent, being a quick study when it came to the history and culture of Werewolves (such as the meaning of the triskelion) and had a decent enough understanding of electrical engineering to come up with a trap for the Alphas which would have been successful had they not shut off the power.
- Pain Tolerance: Boyd has shown that he is very resistant to pain, as he fought through gunfire to defend himself and Derek against Argent Hunters, took multiple arrows to the abdomen and chest while trying to rescue Erica Reyes and endured hours of torture via electricity both from Gerard Argent and to help Derek battle the Alphas, the latter of which ultimately led to his death.
Weaknesses[]
- Mistletoe
- Wolfsbane
- Electricity
- High Level/Sublevel Frequencies: These level of sounds are disorienting to the werewolves.
- Mountain Ash: cannot cross the circle of mountain ash
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Mrs. Boyd - Mother
- Mr. Boyd - Father
- Alicia Boyd - Sister
Allies[]
- Hale Pack - Packmates and Friends
- Derek Hale † - Alpha and Indirect Killer
- Erica Reyes † - Fellow Beta, Classmate and Best Friend
- Isaac Lahey - Fellow Beta and Friend
- Cora Hale - Fellow Beta and Close Friend
- Peter Hale - Fellow Beta
- McCall Pack - Allies, Classmates and Temporary Enemies
- Scott McCall - Former Packmate and Fellow Beta
- Stiles Stilinski - Savior
- Allison Argent - Attempted Killer and Former Enemy
- Lydia Martin - Former Target and Savior
- Chris Argent - Former Captor, Liberator and Ally
- Beacon Hills High School
- Kyle † - Friend
- Bobby Finstock - Coach
Enemies[]
- Matt Daehler/The Kanima Master †
- Jackson Whittemore/The Kanima
- Jennifer Blake/The Darach † - Targeter
- Argent Family - Former Captors
- Gerard Argent † - Former Principal, Captor and Torturer
- Alpha Pack - Former Captors
- Deucalion †
- Kali † - Killer
- Ennis †
- Aiden Steiner † - Indirect Killer
- Ethan Steiner - Indirect Killer
Trivia[]
- Derek gave "The Bite" to Boyd and Erica in the same episode.
- Boyd's "dark antithesis" was Ennis. They are both strong-and-silent-types and the brute enforcers of their respective pack," according to the Teen Wolf Pack Wiki. However, Boyd was caring, kind and protective of his packmates, whereas Ennis was a brutal and violent soldier in Deucalion's Alpha Pack.
- When Scott and Derek were arguing in "Venomous," Boyd falters upon hearing Derek's reasoning for giving Jackson "The Bite", foreshadowing Boyd and Erica questioning Derek's leadership and eventually defection of the Hale Pack.
- Boyd was Derek's second Beta to die, after Erica Reyes, leaving Isaac Lahey as the only surviving member of the trio.
