Teen Wolf's Ryan Kelley Talks 'Crazy' Final Episodes, Laments Parrish and Lydia's Unexplored 'Connection'

One of Sunday’s back-to-back episodes of Teen Wolf (MTV, 8/7c) reveals the name of the mysterious, corpse-looking Big Bad of the final season — and it’s a mouthful. Fortunately, Ryan Kelley has a helpful alternative for fans.

“We just called him ‘Pulpy’ on set,” the actor tells TVLine. “He’s just this gooey, slippery, nasty guy — real creepy.”

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Unfortunately, the villain’s weirdly adorable nickname is one of the few specific details Kelley can still recall from the final 10 episodes’ unconventional shoot.

“When we shot [Season 6B], we were kind of mixing and matching episodes, so it’s all a blur in my head,” he admits. “And it’s a been a minute, so I really only have a vague memory of what happened. Because certain characters were coming back, we had all these different schedules we had to work with. The poor writers had to write the first few episodes, then figure out how to end it, then write what was in between. It was really fun, but it was also kind of crazy.”

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Below, Kelley talks more about the show’s impending conclusion, including the “loose ends” still to be tied up:

TVLINE | With so many villains on this show, Parrish ends up being a key component to defeating them. Why doesn’t the pack just go to him first?
[Laughs] Well, the thing about Parrish is that even he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing. This is still new to him, so he’s figuring it out as he goes along. First he found out he’s a hellhound, then that he’s not the only hellhound, then that you can kill a hellhound with a single bullet. It’s been a lot.

TVLINE | Is there still more we’re going to learn about Parrish’s hellhound side?
This being the final season, and the fact that we all found out halfway through shooting Season 6, there are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up. Fans of the show want to know more about every character, but because we only have X amount of time left, certain things probably won’t get to be answered.

TVLINE | Tell me about shooting those final episodes. Did it feel like the end?
It was bittersweet. A lot of us hoped we’d do Season 7, and that would be the final season, but at least we were lucky enough to find out with 10 episodes left to film. Some shows end without knowing if they’re getting another season — and then they’re canceled.

TVLINE | We’re seeing a few familiar faces pop up in the coming weeks. Did you get to work with anyone you hadn’t before?
Colton [Haynes], I think, is an amazing, hilarious human being. But Parrish and [Jackson] never got to cross paths. I thought that would have been pretty cool. And I’ve worked with him before, but Dylan [O’Brien] coming back to do the last few episodes was pretty neat.

TVLINE | Either way, it’s cool that Parrish gets to join the fight. Do you ever think back to your earliest days, before you even knew what Parrish was?
All the time. I knew there was something more to him, but I was originally given the impression that Parrish was going to be a hunter. He was going to be in the police force under Argent’s command. But with the way the story went, and certain people leaving the show, it didn’t make sense anymore. I’ve never gotten official confirmation on that, but I’m pretty sure that was the original plan. My only concern was that I wanted to be something worthy — something that could actually help in fights.

TVLINE | Speaking of the old days, what are your thought on the whole Parrish/Lydia thing? That was getting interesting before it was dropped.
[Laughs] They definitely teased you with it, then it didn’t happen. But whatever happened or didn’t, and whatever people were hoping for, Parrish did have a connection with Lydia — and vice versa. They’re both people who had recently discovered that they’re supernatural, so they went through the same thing. Parrish is a little older, but Lydia is wise beyond her years, so they clicked. They definitely had a friendship, and Parrish wanted something more, but it wasn’t his place to do anything. Because of timing and scripts and all that, it didn’t necessarily work out to the advantage of them as a couple. I also thought that last season, as Lydia was trying to find Stiles, those were some crazy powerful moments. One of my favorite scenes from the show was when Lydia was crying against the wall and Stiles was on the other side; they were so close that they could feel each other. The writers nailed that. So, personally, I’m sad that Lydia and Parrish didn’t get to explore their relationship more. But as a fan, I totally get it. It didn’t need to happen. Last season was an amazing storyline, and it couldn’t have happened if Lydia had been with Parrish.

TVLINE | While we’re talking about polarizing couples, do you have any thoughts on Scott and Malia? I doubt Parrish cares.
Malia is one of my favorite characters on the show. Shelley [Hennig] has amazing comedic timing. So her being able to have a connection is another interesting storyline I didn’t necessarily see right away. But now that we’re seeing it, it’s like, “Yeah, I get it. That can work.” … As for Parrish, as long as they’re happy and not hurting anyone, I’m sure he doesn’t care.

Your thoughts on… anything in this interview? Drop ’em in a comment below.

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