I got this question about the process by which Boyd and Cora
were shielded from the full moon while in the vault between seasons two and three.
The questioner wanted to know if this type of lunar blockage might
be - at least in part - responsible for Peter's season one crazy pants routine.
The short answer is "No."
But this was a thoughtful questioner and they deserve a more fulsome answer.
First, Boyd and Cora were locked inside a vault made of moonstone.
In the Teen Wolf Universe, this has the unique property of blocking moonlight.
Peter was not blocked physically from the rays of the moon, the influence of the lunar cycle.
He's shown in a room with a window. But even if he were on a windowless ward in this hospital,
regular building materials don't block whatever lunar
pull is responsible for exciting the monster within werewolves.
For Peter, the normal lunar cycles came and went for six
years. He and the beast inside were both asleep.
I imagine his EKG and other vital signs would show a spike during the full moon as the wolf reacted,
but it wasn't enough to wake him up... until it was enough to wake him up.
Let's take a quick look at what the moon does to regular werewolves in this universe.
For the inexperienced - be they born or bitten - the wolf can overwhelm
the human side and cause them to transform and become aggressive.
This is the primary conflict inside each and every standard werewolf on this show;
balancing the monster with the human.
Finding the balance becomes incredibly difficult during the full moon and you
need to have a special emotional anchor to keep your humanity during the lunar cycle.
Derek: Alpha, beta, omega. Peter: Again.
Derek: Alpha, beta, omega.
For Boyd and Cora those lunar cycles just ceased to exist.
The werewolf inside each of them was cut off cold turkey,
much like an addict who can no longer get a fix.
They showed us how Boyd and Erica were going through withdrawals and
how a weakened Erica just couldn't take it anymore and tried to attack Kali.
After months without a fix, Scott and Derek suddenly flood the room with full moon.
Just as withdrawal symptoms are intense and unpredictable,
the wolves' reawakened connection to the moon led directly to a loss of control.
Its instincts and primal nature were completely unleashed. And along with
that came aggression violence and lack of control.
This is much like what happened to Scott when
he thought Allison was in danger with Derek in the pilot episode.
The Wolf took over Scott but the human inside was
still trying to guide and control the animal parts.
Derek: Cora? Cora: Derek, get out.
Get out now!
We have to assume that, because Boyd and Cora are good people,
even right after the vault there is still some smidgen of humanity
attempting to exert itself, trying to keep them from becoming completely monstrous.
This is unlike Peter's crazy, his warped humanity, which rather than restraining
the wolf actually fed it with hatred and grew it into the monster we experienced.