6 Reasons TV Needs More Lydia Martins
She can take care of herself
Season 5 of Teen Wolf starts with a sequence of Lydia trying to escape from Eichen House, which includes a pretty killer fight scene where Lydia takes on several orderlies at once. After almost bleeding out due to an injury from a kanima tail, Lydia takes it upon herself to learn close combat. Even though almost all of her friends have supernatural strength, Lydia decides not to rely on them to save her, but to learn how to take care of herself. You go Lydia!
She’s the best friend
Lydia takes her friendships seriously. She would do anything for them, from cheering at their lacrosse game
to offering up her lake house for a werecoyote and a new werewolf to be chained up during the full moon
to saving their lives
Basically, there is nothing in the world that Lydia would not do for those she cares about, and with a group of friends constantly in trouble, they need someone they can always count on. For the Beacon Hill’s pack, Lydia is that someone. And don’t want we all want that someone? Therefore we like watching and rooting for that someone. Three cheers for Lydia!
She doesn’t let her past struggles keep her down and handles adversity with strength.
After she walks around naked for two days she has to go back to a school full of people whispering and pointing. Does she hide? No! She flips her hair and marches straight down the center of the hallway. When she is almost killed at Eichen House, she is willing to go back there to get information, despite the terrifying memories. And when Jennifer attempts to strangle Lydia, instead of covering up the marks, Lydia tells her mom “Someone tried to strangle me. And I survived. I don’t need to hide that.” TV needs more female characters who don’t run from their past, but instead embrace it and move forward.
She is relatable.
At first glance, Lydia seems like a spoiled, rich kid who few viewers could connect to. However, as the seasons progress, we see more of the real Lydia and realize she is just like us! And isn’t that what every TV show needs? Someone the viewers can relate to, who feels their pain, who makes their mistakes, and who proves you can get through anything with the help of your friends.
What girl hasn’t cried in her car?
Or still liked a guy after he treated her like crap?
Or fell for the bad boy?
Thank you, Lydia, for reminding us we are not alone.
She proves women can be more than one thing.
All too often on television, female characters play one role. They are the “pretty one” or the “nerd” or the “tough chick.” Lydia Martin, however, does not fall into a stereotype. Not only is she gorgeous, but she’s brilliant. We get to see her be tough, but also see her care and cry. I think we all could use the reminder that we are more than just a category.
She reminds the world that people can change
Nothing frustrates me more on a television series than a stagnate character. I want to see growth and dimension to each of the characters. Teen Wolf does this incredibly well with Lydia. We see her start as a ridiculous, often annoying character and form into the heart and soul of the show. Lydia moves from trying to be the girl everyone will like, respect, and maybe even fear in season 1 to just becoming herself in the following 4 seasons and herself turns out to be someone her friends like, respect, really know, and count on. The growth of Lydia Martin prompts us to give people a second chance because we never know who they might become and encourages us to stop pretending to be something we aren’t and learn to be comfortable with and share who we are.
So, television creators, producers, and writers, take note: Teen Wolf’s Lydia Martin is just the example you need as you create, produce, and write new female characters. She’s fabulous and we want more.