In Teen Wolf: The Movie, Derek is a dad, but he seems to be a single parent. So, this leaves the question: who is Eli Hale’s mother?
Teen Wolf went out with somewhat of a whimper in the late 2010s with its 100th episode. However, fans remember the show fondly, namely for its fun character and the endless ship wars.
Derek was one of these characters caught up in relationship drama. But while he appears to be single in the new Teen Wolf movie, there is an extra addition to his family: his son, Eli Hale.
As we wrote in our Teen Wolf movie review, Derek having a son is a huge surprise but it opens up the question: who is Eli’s mother, and how is Derek as a parent?
Who is Eli’s mother in Teen Wolf The Movie?
Frustratingly, Eli’s mother isn’t mentioned in the Teen Wolf Movie.
Now, Eli is high school age by the time of the movie, and the movie is set 15 years after Allison died in the show, meaning that Derek must have had Eli pretty much as soon as the show ended. Which makes guessing who Eli’s mother is a lot more interesting.
Some fans may assume that Eli’s mother is Braeden, a recurring character in the show. For those who don’t remember, she was the mercenary who saved Isaac from the Alpha pack, and she ended up together with Derek in Season 4.
However, Braeden doesn’t appear in the movie, and she and Derek may have long broken up, as they were two characters with a lot of baggage. Also, Braeden is a Black woman, and while this could just be a case of poor casting continuity, Eli appears to be fully white, making the logistics of Braeden being his mother slightly messy.
Perhaps it was Jennifer Blake, aka the Darach from Season 3, as she and Derek had a turbulent relationship too. Jennifer died in the show, but as seen by Allison and a twist villain in the movie, it seems anyone can come back from the dead.
But, most likely, Eli’s mother is someone we’ve never met, hence her never being mentioned in the film.
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Other pairings in the movie, such as Stiles and Lydia, have a bit more of a thorough explanation for their current status.
How is Derek as a parent?
Since Derek is a single parent, fans may wonder how the Sour Wolf handles a child. Well, his relationship with Eli certainly has its ups and downs.
The pair seem to get along okay, Derek even encouraging Eli to play sports at school, but there are some issues over their werewolf heritage.
Due to a traumatic incident when Eli was younger, he has issues accessing his wolf powers. This naturally causes a rift between him and his father. Also, Eli is somewhat of a delinquent, constantly hot-wiring and stealing Stile’s jeep from the police just to annoy his father.
To get an idea of their father-son dynamic, you can watch the pair interact in this clip below:
While Derek is somewhat struggling as a single parent, he’s obviously doing some things right. They’ve got a nice house, and Derek as a whole is much less angry in his teaching techniques, much better than he was as an Alpha in Season 2 of the show.
Throughout the film, you feel his growth from the past decade, probably so he can be more like Scott, who also helps guide Eli through the werewolf process in the movie.
We won’t spoil what happens with this trio by the end of the film in this article, but if you’re curious you can read about who dies in the Teen Wolf movie or see if there will be a Teen Wolf movie sequel. We’ve also explained the Teen Wolf time jump.
