The Dread Doctors are the primary antagonists for Season 5 of MTV's Teen Wolf.
Using a mixture of science and supernatural forces, the doctors create chimera creatures that mimic the appearance and abilities of existing Teen Wolf shapeshifters.
History
The Dread Doctors have been operating in Europe and the US since the 18th century. Their movements and efforts are poorly documented due to their ability to make people forget them.
According to Dr. Valack, the doctors came to Beacon Hills many years before the events of Season 5. Many people died due to their efforts. They returned after Scott McCall, Allison Argent, and Stiles Stilinski recharged the power of the Nemeton. (A Novel Approach)
Origins
Marcel, a bar owner in 18th-century France and a soldier during the French and Indian War, was a loyal friend to Sebastien Valet. In a sign of his unrequited love, Marcel covered up Sebastian's crimes. Marcel continued to cover for his friend after Sebastian became La Bête du Gévaudan and went on a murder spree across the French countryside.
After Sebastian's death, Marcel sought to combine science and supernatural forces in an attempt to bring his friend back to life.
Along with like-minded individuals, Marcel practiced at the fringes of pseudoscience and, over several decades, learned to harness electromagnetic forces, prolong his own life and manipulate the memories of anyone who crossed his path.
Dr. Valack, who encountered the doctors in Beacon Hills at some early point in his career, says Marcel and the others are not entirely human anymore.
Methods
The Dread Doctors primary method of operation involves operating on young natural chimeras, teenaged humans who have two different sets of DNA. Human chimeras can be born with the condition or a second set of DNA might be introduced through organ or bone marrow transplant.
The doctors take these human chimeras and introduce supernatural abilities through mostly unknown means.
From details shown on screen, the process involves the doctors collecting pieces from real supernatural creatures. They also apparently use the seepage from an unhealed wound inflicted on Garrett Douglas by Ghost Riders during World War II. Douglas was a natural werewolf/lion chimera the doctors kept in a fluid filled tube in their laboratory. The liquid in the tube is infused with the trans-dimensional energy of the Wild Hunt and is apparently key to the doctors' efforts. The fluid also appears to prolong the doctors' lives.
After introducing the supernatural elements into their young victims, the doctors bury them in holes in the ground. Days later, the teens emerge with no memory of their experience with the doctors.
Failures
Their primary goal was to create a new body for Sebastian Valet. Marcel believed to way to achieve this would be to create the ultimate killer creature. All of the doctors efforts over the years failed to produce the desired effect although they came close with Theo Raeken. Marcel described him as "perfect evil" but he ultimately failed their purpose too.
Success
Theo's failure resulted in a change in doctors' tactics. After decades of trying to use evil to recreate evil, Marcel realize that the greatest evil would be to take something innocent and corrupt it.
They took Mason Hewett. Mason was a natural chimera because he absorbed the body of his twin while in his mother's womb. While the doctors' operation on Mason resulted in the body of the Beast of Gevaudan returning, the creature had no memory of his former life. The doctors used special electromagnetic frequencies to induce transformations in an effort to help Sebastian remember his former life.
Despite the efforts of Scott McCall's pack to stop them and save Mason, Sebastian remembered who he was and returned to life.
Deaths
While there had been several other Dread Doctors over the decades whose fates are unknown, Marcel and his final two associates were killed by Sebastian.
Season 5
The Doctors kill Belasko after he failed to take Scott McCall's Alpha status with his Garuda claws. (Read More...)
The Doctors stalk Tracy Stewart until she is lead to their lair where they inject her with mercury to "awaken" her. (Read More...)
The Doctors capture Donovan Donati and inject him with mercury and later kill Tracy after The Surgeon declares her condition is "terminal." (Read More...)
They continue their work and Donovan and later kill Lucas after he is deemed a failed experiment. (Read More...)
After Kira accidently causes a power surge, the doctors break in to Eichen House and steal Dr. Valack's third eye. (Read More...)
Lydia witnesses a flashback of them enhancing Josh Diaz and later The Pathologist attack Scott and Malia at the hospital. (Read More...)
The Doctors come after Hayden Romero and despite Scott's efforts, she and Liam are taken by them. (Read More...)
The Doctors perform procedures on Hayden and determine her condition is worsening. (Read More...)
They begin to track down their failed experiments and kill them off before the supermoon. (Read More...)
They appear the high school after a strange animal attacks some cops and back at their lair, The Surgeon destroys a wall to reveal a fresco and they declare success. (Read More...)
Lydia Martin sees a vision where the doctors make Theo a natural chimera with his sisters' heart. Later, they kill their last failure. (Read More...)
The Surgeon and Pathologist at the high school where they menace Theo and Tracy and warn him to leave as The Beast appears. (Read More...)
Gerard meets The Surgeon and the Pathologist in the tunnels where he immobilizes them in a frequency that stopped them in there tracks. (Read More...)
All three doctors capture Mason and prepare to finalize The Beast's resurrection. They are mauled by their creation. (Read More...)
Marcel is revealed to be The Surgeon. Before he dies, Marcel claims his motives were for the purpose of bringing him back. (Read More...)
Season 6
The bodies of the Pathologist and Geneticist are seen as Garrett escapes his glass tube. (Read More...)
The flashback of The Surgeon and Pathologist performing Theo's heart transplant appears as Theo is being tormented by his sister. (Read More...)
It is revealed that Garrett Douglas sought the Dread Doctors to help him catch the Ghost Riders, but they double-crossed him and used him to prolong their own lives. (Read More...)
The Anuk-Ite takes the form of the Pathologist in order to frighten Scott. (Read More...)
Abilities
Through electromagnetic forces, the doctors are able to move through reality as well as have enhanced strength and produce powerful hallucinations.
They can apparently induce life-like hallucinations that can incapacitate anyone who gets in their way. (See Strange Frequencies)
Weakness
While they are nearly invincible and strong in body and mind, they can be stopped by a frequency from an sonic emitter used by Gerard. (The Sword and the Spirit)
Tools
The Book
A novel, first seen in Tracy Stewart's room in Episode 504, is titled "The Dread Doctors" by T.R. McCammon. The book's tagline is “A terrifying tale of science fiction and horror.”
The book was actually written by Dr. Gabriel Valack. He says it details an earlier visit from the Dread Doctors.
The back cover reads:
- “In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night and buried alive. Days later they emerge transformed wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the Dread Doctors.”
Valack says he wrote the book to stimulate readers' brains and allow them to remember any interaction they might have had with the Dread Doctors.
Excerpts of the novel are shown on screen. Two pages are transcribed on the Required Reading recap page and two partial pages can be seen on Ouroboros recap page.
The Cane
Owned by the Surgeon, he uses it as a weapon to killed failed experiments or defend himself. It is revealed to be the pike that Marie-Jeanne Valet used to kill her brother. It was forged steel mixed with Wolfsbane, Mountain Ash and Marie's blood under the light of a full moon. When it is used on Sebastien again, it disappears along with him.
The Goggles
In The Sword and the Spirit, Theo lets Malia use these spiked goggles to find her mother. He explains that all supernatural creatures vibrate at certain frequencies that differ one from another. For them to work, one places the goggles over their eyes, flip a switch, and the spikes shoot out and embed themselves in the soft tissue just below the eyes. With enough focus, Malia was able to pin point the location of The Desert Wolf.
The Mask
These Masks are imbued with electromagnetic properties that can potentially kill anyone who puts it on. Dr. Valack had one of the masks from a former doctor. It was stolen by Theo in an effort to discover the identity of The Beast.
Experiments
Dr. Deaton explains that, while the Doctors' experiments may appear to be familiar creatures, they are not supernatural as evidenced by their ability to cross Mountain Ash barriers. The old rules and restrictions do not apply to the subjects of these experiments.
The Doctors created hybrids by combining parts, most seem to have some werewolf traits mixed with more exotic species, to form a chimera. Theo says they are "cheap knockoffs" of the supernatural creatures they resemble.
They would bury their victims in the ground for incubation before they emerged with no apparent memory of these events, then they were sought out by the doctors when they were "Awakening" to finish their construction with mercury injections. (Parasomnia, Dreamcatchers)
If an experiment is emitting black goo, the doctors consider their condition as "worsening" and will either salvage it or kill it. If mercury begins to bleed from their orifices, the experiment's condition is "terminal" and is deemed a failure before being terminated otherwise it will suffer a slow and painful death. (Ouroboros, Lies of Omission, Status Asthmaticus)
Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa McCall have figured out that several of the chimera they know about had skin or other tissue transplants at the hospital in the past. This suggests they were all genetically chimera before the Dread Doctors.
The Doctors performed some sort of procedure on Kira during the events of Creatures of the Night that amplified her powers to uncontrollable proportions.
They pumped black goo into Liam when he was briefly captured. According to Theo, this was a wolfsbane solution designed to suppress his abilities and make it impossible to find their lair again as he attempted the same procedure on Deucalion.
| Image | Experiment | Dominant Trait | Episode | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Belasko | Glowing Garuda Claws | Creatures of the Night | ||
| Belasko seemed to absorb power from Jordan Parrish and from Scott McCall through eagle-like talons that glowed blue. When stabbed by The Surgeon, his chest split open and several crows flew out. Belasko was played by Gabriel Hogan. | |||||
|
Theo Raeken | Werecoyote Transformation | Status Asthmaticus | ||
| While he presented himself as a bitten werewolf, Theo Raeken is one of the Doctors' early experiments. He is able to fully shift and claims this is thanks to the werecoyote part of his makeup. | |||||
|
Tracy Stewart | Kanima Venom, Features, Tail | Dreamcatcher | ||
| With the Doctors intervention, Tracy became a Kanima Hybrid with the claws of a werewolf and the scales and venom of a Kanima. She did not remember her transformations and her mind handled them as dreams leading to night terrors. The Doctors injected her with something and, from that point, she set about killing anyone who had tried to help her. She is killed by the Dread Doctors and returned to life by Theo. | |||||
|
Lucas | Scorpion Stingers, Eyes, Venom | Condition Terminal | ||
| According to his boyfriend, Lucas was usually shy and reserved but suddenly changed and became overconfident and aggressive. Sharp spines full of scorpion venom emerged from his skin. His stings were extremely painful to the point that morphine could not ease the victim. He showed great strength besting Brett, Scott and Kira. Liam eventually brought him down. Lucas was played by Eddie Ramos. | |||||
|
Donovan Donati | Wendigo Teeth, Eyes | Condition Terminal | ||
| The Doctors catch Donovan after his escape from the prison van, drill into his head and let him go. After taking him from the Sheriff's Station, the Doctors remove his teeth with pliers. His mouth fills with blood then new teeth, sharp in two rows, grow back immediately, Wendigo teeth. His transformation was ongoing. Toothy mouths appeared in his hand and neck. He attacks Stiles but is impaled and killed. Parrish takes his body. | |||||
|
Josh Diaz | Sharp Teeth, Electricity Absorption | Required Reading | ||
| A chimera being part eel, Josh is first seen chewing through the wires on the roof of Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. He later attacks Stiles and is killed by Theo. It is as yet unknown what species went into making Josh a chimera. His teeth were larger than any shapeshifter seen on the show to date. Josh is returned to life by Theo. | |||||
|
Hayden Romero | Eyes, Fangs, Jaguar-like spots | Strange Frequencies | ||
| Liam discovers Hayden is a chimera and seeks to protect her from the Dread Doctors. The Doctors say her condition is worsening. A wound in her side was slow to heal but eventually did completely. She died and was returned to life by Theo. She is apparently part Werejaguar and has the ability to sense Berserkers. | |||||
|
Zach | Wings | Ouroboros | ||
| A Chimera named Zach has what appears to be the stubs of wings growing out of his back. He explains that part of the process of becoming a Chimera involves a period of memory loss followed by violence. He says once you begin to bleed silver, the Dreads come for you. He begins to bleed silver and the Doctors take him away. He is played by Ben Stillwell. | |||||
|
Unknown Female | Long, Needle-Like Claws | Strange Frequencies | ||
| The body of a girl who appears to be a chimera was found at the McCall house with Kira's sword sticking out of her chest. She had needle-like claws. No other information about her is available. | |||||
|
Corey | Ghost Rider invisibility | Strange Frequencies | ||
| In addition to rapid healing and moderately increased strength, Corey displays the ability of the Ghost Riders to slip between dimensions and become invisible. He can share this ability by touching others and taking them with him and he can make Ghost Riders visible to everyone by touching them and bringing them back with him. Corey is one of the chimera returned to life by Theo. | |||||
|
Beth | Unexpressed | Lies of Omission | ||
| Beth is a student in one of Malia's classes who began exhibiting signs of chimeria failure in class. She was killed at school by The Pathologist. She is played by Lexi Aisworth. | |||||
|
Noah Patrick | Long Bone Spikes, Strength | The Last Chimera | ||
| This chimera is seen eating bags of blood plasma. He has long spikes protruding from his arms and very sharp teeth. He is identified as Noah Patrick a sophomore. He apparently attacked Sheriff Stilinski and left him near to death. Theo says he is part Berserker. Noah dies at the hands of the Dread Doctors. Noah was played by actor Jordan Fisher. | |||||
|
Mason Hewitt | Host for Sebastien Valet | The Beast of Beacon Hills | ||
| He absorbed his twin in the womb which made him have two sets of DNA to make him a genetic chimera. He is the success of the Dread Doctors experiments. | |||||
Doctors
The doctors appear to be slightly out of phase with reality. The bodies blur constantly. A sonic device deployed by Gerard Argent was apparently tuned to a frequency that kept the doctors motionless for an extended period.
The Surgeon
The Surgeon seems to be the "leader" of the Dread Doctors. He speaks the most and is the one who killed their first experiment seen on screen (See: Creatures of the Night) and injected Tracy (See: Parasomnia.)
He is revealed to be Marcel, Sebastien's friend who still protected him despite what he had become.
Under the mask, the Surgeon is played by actor Marti Matulis.
The Pathologist
In general, a pathologist is a doctor who study the cause and development of disease. Most choose a specialty such as genetics or forensic pathology.
The Pathologist is portrayed by actor Douglas Tait.
The Geneticist
As the name implies, a geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of living organisms.
The Geneticist is played for most of Season 5 by frequent Teen Wolf actor and stuntwoman Caitlin Dechelle. Dechelle moved to London midway through filming the second half of the season and was replaced under the Geneticist's mask by Elisabeth Carpenter.
Gallery
