Lydia Martin, is a smart, popular, and beautiful student at Beacon Hills High School on the MTV series Teen Wolf.
She is also a Banshee.
Lydia is portrayed by Holland Roden.
Biography
Her paternal grandmother, Lorraine, was a banshee who never knew about her abilities which lead everyone to believe she was insane, but her and Lydia appeared to have a close relationship. She would read The Little Mermaid to her and thought it was cute when Lydia wanted to be called Ariel.
Sometime after Lorraine was committed to Eichen House, Lydia witnessed the aftermath of her grandmother drilling her head. While her mother, Natalie Martin yells at her, Lorraine tells her that they were coming. Eventually her parents filed for divorce.
Lydia has developed quite a bit since she met Allison Argent, Scott McCall, and Stiles Stilinski. Lydia was manipulative with her friends, using them whenever it suited her ambitions. She was, on the surface at least, shallow and spoiled but this turned out to be an elaborate act to hide the fact that she possesses a genius level IQ. She is well versed in chemistry and understands both classical and archaic Latin.
The ruse, along with her relationship with Jackson Whittemore, was part of a carefully orchestrated plan to maintain her popularity at Beacon Hills High School. However, she harbored real love for him that surfaced when they broke up. She showed true feeling for Jackson in order for him to be free of the Kanima and save his life.
As the supernatural elements began to close in though, her carefully crafted façade began to fall apart. After being attacked at the winter formal by Peter Hale, she found herself haunted by her attacker and later possessed. This was all so that Peter could return from the dead should his death occurred.
Jackson's abrupt move to London, England left Lydia emotionally numb. She returned to her "just on the surface" existence and took a number of lovers over the summer, expressing a "love them and leave them" philosophy.
When supernatural threats arose again, Lydia found herself drawn to gruesome murder scenes again and again. She learned she was a Banshee and decided to use her abilities for the greater good. With help from Peter, Meredith Walker and history from her grandmother, Lydia mastered her abilities.
She fell in love again too. While she had entered into a purely physical relationship with Aiden to aid her friends in defeating the The Alpha Pack, she developed deeper feelings. She once again suffered genuine heartbreak when Aiden was killed.
Her feelings for Stiles developed over time. She, at first never noticed him, but she eventually built a strong, caring friendship with. When he is taken by the Ghost Riders, she is forced to look inside herself and discovers that she truly loves him.
Lydia's Age
Lydia is one of the few characters for which we have an firmly established age.
In Omega, Sheriff Stilinski reports Lydia is a "16-year-old" she then celebrates a birthday a few weeks later in Party Guessed making her 17.
In Season 4, Natalie Martin alluded to Lydia's upcoming 18th birthday as "a few weeks" away. It apparently passed off screen.
In Season 5, Lydia is confirmed to be 18 by Deputy Parrish.
Season 1
Lydia makes new friends and is attacked by the Alpha Werewolf. (Read More...)
Season 2
Lydia helps bring Peter back to life and helps Jackson transform from Kanima to Werewolf. (Read More...)
Season 3
Lydia starts having sex with a werewolf, finds out she is a Banshee and keeps finding herself at murder scenes.
Lydia helps Stiles push a Nogitsune out of his head and decides to use her developing banshee abilities to help people. (Read More...)
Season 4
Lydia discovers her grandmother had similar abilities as a banshee and figures out that her IBM computer contained The Benefactor's Dead Pool. (Read More...)
Season 5
During the start of senior year, she is sent to Eichen House after an attack from Theo Raeken.
She learns how to control her banshee abilities through Meredith Walker and uses her developed skills to help stop The Beast of Gevaudan. (Read More...)
Season 6
Lydia figures out the recent disappearances connect with the Wild Hunt and the Ghost Riders. She is present as the riders take Stiles. She promises him she'll remember but appears to have forgotten him completely the next day. (Read More...)
Lydia notices a doctor sitting across from her in class, she confronts the woman, wondering who she is and why she's in the class. The doctor opens her mouth, emitting a high-pitched sound. Later, she begins to remember a name wondering "What the hell is a Stiles"? (Read More...)
Lydia spots an elderly woman inside Sheriff Stilinski's home. She excuses herself, following the woman down a hallway, Lydia calls to her, asking why she is there and what it is that she would like to tell her. (Read More...)
Lydia returns to Stilinski's home, hoping to find a relic that belonged to "Stiles," which the Ghost Riders may have left behind. She returns to the hallway where she last saw the elderly woman. (Read More...)
She is forced to pay a tow truck driver off in effort to prevent Stiles' jeep from being taken out the school parking lot. (Read More...)
Lydia meets a fellow Banshee in Canaan. She questions her on the current state of the town. Lenore knocks Lydia across the room, the two then engage in a Banshee scream-off as waves of power are radiated from their hands and propelled by the screams. (Read More...)
Lydia joins Stilinski in Stiles' bedroom. She tells him about her experience in Canaan, claiming that Stilinski is doing the same. Then she notices Stiles' lacrosse jersey hung on a chair, crying as she picks it up. (Read More...)
Lydia and Liam encounter a Ghost Rider as they make their way out the bunker. Liam surmises that the Ghost Rider fears Lydia as it lowers it's weapon, allowing them both to pass. (Read More...)
Due to her lack of supernatural healing, Lydia can't survive the cooling chamber, so she is put under regular hypnosis. There, she eventually remembers Stiles, causing a rift to form. (Read More...)
She finds Stiles and they passionately kiss and after getting him out of the rift. She also helps Stilinski save Stiles from the make-believe Claudia. (Read More...)
Banshee
Main Article - Banshee
Lydia is a Banshee. Peter Hale claims it was his attack on Lydia in Formality that was the spark that activated her innate abilities.
Lydia can emit a high pitch scream which can be used defensively as it harms peoples hearing. She can also sense when someone is dying by tuning into a supernatural frequency that only she can hear. Her grandmother, Lorraine Martin also had this ability.
Gallery
Quotes
- “Jackson is gonna perform tomorrow, but he’s not gonna be at his peak and I prefer my boyfriend at peak performance.” — Lydia to Scott in Second Chance at First Line.
- “What the hell is a Stiles?” — Lydia to her mother when he comes to see her in The Tell.
- “Nobody likes a loser.” — Lydia to Scott in Second Chance at First Line.
- “Never frown, because some one could be falling in love with your smile.” — Lydia to Allison in Formality.
- “A lot can happen in one night. ” — Lydia to Allison in Motel California.
- “Sweetheart, my last boyfriend was a homicidal lizard, so I think I can handle a werewolf.” — Lydia to Cora in Currents.
- “I'm something!” — Lydia to Jennifer Blake in The Girl Who Knew Too Much.
- “A genius, yes. A psychic, no.” — Lydia to Cora in Currents.
- “The other night, I helped save someone's life and that felt really good, but when I look at you, all I can think is how you helped kill Boyd. You're not just a bad boy, Aiden, you're a bad guy, and I don't want to be with the bad guys."” — Lydia to Aiden in Illuminated
- “I don't believe that. Not all monsters do monstrous things.” — Lydia to Meredith in Monstrous.
- “I'm in blue. Orange and blue: Not a good combination.” — Lydia to Stiles in Ice Pick
Video
Season 1
