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A barista-turned-Hyde vulnerable to manipulation and held in a psychiatric facility,Wednesday’s Tyler Galpin is a dream pick of a character to explore through compelling writing. He’s smart, funny, talented — but, unfortunately, highly gullible. Marilyn Thornhill exploits his troubled family life, while Ty’s absentee father only makes matters worse. Sheriff Galpin’s refusal to talk about Tyler’s mother leaves him to wonder whether his father ever loved her.
Tyler works at the behest of Thornhill (real name, Laurel Gates) throughoutWednesdaySeason 1. What makes him such a compelling character is his potential to be redeemed through strong writing.Wednesdayhas retained him on board for Season 2, which raises the question: WillTy use his Hydefor better or for worse?
How Marilyn Thornhill Became Tyler’s Hyde Master
Thornhill took advantage of the dysfunctional relationship between Tyler and his father, and exploited the gullible Ty for her nefarious agenda. Uncle Fester identified the monster terrorizing Jericho and Nevermore as a Hyde, prompting Wednesday to ask,“As in Jekyll and Hyde?“Fester confirmed this, explaining that he’d seen three of them during his vacation at the Zurich Institute for the Criminally Insane.
The Hyde in Uncle Fester’s story was Olga Malacova, a concert pianist who transformed one night during a Chopin sonata, resulting in a slaughter. This raised an important question in Wednesday’s mind: did Olga transform on her own, or was something responsible for triggering her transformation? Finally, Wednesday stole the bookUncle Fester had recommended— Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary — from the Nightshade Library. She learned that a Hyde monster lay in its dormant form until unlocked by a traumatic event, chemical inducement, or hypnosis.
Ty’s late mother, Francoise Galpin, was a Hyde whose monstrous form was triggered by postpartum depression following his birth. Tyler had masqueraded as a normie all his life, while his father lived in dread. His mother didn’t suffer from bipolar disorder, as the sherrif had falsely claimed, but she was institutionalized at the Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital, the same facility where Ty is now being held.
In the case of Tyler, and as learned through Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary, he, too, was born of mutation. His Hyde form was unlocked by Thornhill/Laurel Gates through the inducement of a plant-derived chemical.An absentee fathercaused Ty to seek out solace outside his home. As was the nature of things, he developed a bond with his master or liberator, carrying out whatever Gates had on her agenda. Wednesday rightly remarked:
You manipulated him by showing him what his mother truly was.
This information led Wednesday to search for not just the monster but also its master.
What’s Tyler and Wednesday’s Status?
Tyler acted out of a mix of his primal fear stemming from the grief of his dead mother and his father’s neglect, and ultimately became apawn for Gates. After Wednesday abducted and interrogated him, she was taken into custody by Sheriff Galpin, who arrived on the scene at Weems' tip. Though she was later released in a quid pro quo deal, the turning point in her and Tyler’s relationship was when the latter quietly confessed to her at the police station that he was indeed a Hyde, and warned her of what was about to come.
Wednesday explained the truth toPrincipal Weems, who joined herin exposing Gates. Weems lost her life in the process of revealing Gates' agenda, but the inflection point in this tale was the realization that Tyler, Weems, and multiple normies killed by Tyler on Gates' orders were all pawns in her bigger game. Gates manipulated Tyler using textbook manipulation tactics and language, exploiting his tragedy to serve her interests:
What they did to your mother […] The outcasts made her a monster.
Only Wednesday could see the nuances in this dark saga. She sternly reminded Gates, still posting as Thornhill at that point:
What Tyler didn’t realize was that the truth wouldn’t free him. It would enslave him to you. And that was scary at first, so you used the cave and the shackles. But eventually, he willingly became your servant.
Is Tyler’s Redemption Arc Due?
Wednesday Visits Tyler In The Trailer
Wednesday and Tyler meet once again in Crackstone’s Crypt, but before Tyler has a chance to mock her,Gates orders himto wait by the boat. Wednesday taunts him as a “good a little Hyde” while he gives her a passive-aggressive shoulder check, walking right past her.
Later, Wednesday and Tyler meet in the middle of the woods, where Tyler steps toward her and calls her a cockroach for escaping death multiple times. They use provocative language, and there’s an air of tension between the two. Provoked by Wednesday’s words, Tyler transforms and attacks Wednesday, but Enid comes rushing and tackles him. Enid, in her werewolf form, fights Ty’s Hyde monster on a full moon night, while Wednesday gets back to school. In the end, Enid defeats the Hyde, while Sheriff Galpin lifts Tyler’s bloodied body. This crucial scene reflectsTyler’s latent humanityand a father’s compassion towards his son.
Tyler inWednesdaySeason 2 can be easily set on a corrective path, and his story is far from over. With his evil master now dead, he is open to change. He’s adaptable, and there’s hope for a redemption arc — one that can be achieved through self-mastery and emotional control.Tyler can use his Hyde for the greater good, and Wednesday’s visit has a purpose. The season 2 teaser trailer shows Wednesday reuniting with Tyler at the Willow Hill facility. Chained to a wall, Tyler gives her a deadly glare and snarls at her in proximity, while she remains unfazed.
This is just a glimpse into possibly one of the many former couples' interactions. Dark shadows are once again looming over Nevermore and Jericho, andWednesdaySeason 2 promises to be more brutal than its predecessor. Against this backdrop,shouldn’t Tyler and Wednesday do the tango?
