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ysabetwordsmithThis installment discusses Tyler Galpin and his relationship with Wednesday Addams in Wednesday.
Here is the character study:
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 1: Introduction
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 2: Ethnicity & Linguistics
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 3: An Outcast
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 4: Thoughts and Feelings
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 5: Relationships
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 6: Solitary Accomplishments
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 7: Trust and Betrayal
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 8: Connected Characters
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 9: Enid Sinclair
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 10: Eugene & Morticia
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 11: Thing
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 12: Tyler Galpin
See also:
Wednesday TV Series (The Addams Family) Overview
Tyler Galpin
Tyler Galpin is the son of Sheriff Donovan Galpin and his late wife Francoise. He works at the Weathervane café in Jericho, Vermont not far from Nevermore Academy. There Wednesday meets him while trying to escape from the town, having already escaped from the school. Tyler comes off as hapless -- she has to read the (Italian) manual for the espresso machine in order to repair it for him.
Wednesday asks, “What’s wrong with your machine?” Barista boy answers, “It’s a temperamental beast with a mind of its own, and it doesn’t help that the instructions are in Italian.” Wednesday walks around and snatches the booklet from the boy’s hands, reading it and saying, “I need a tai-wing screwdriver and a four-millimeter Allen wrench.”
The boy frowns, “Wait, you read Italian?” Wednesday looks at him like he’s said something stupid, “Of course. It’s the native tongue of Machiavelli. Here’s the deal. I’m going to fix your coffee machine, then you’re going to make my coffee and call me a taxi.”
Wednesday Addams: I'm not used to people engaging with me. Most see me coming and cross the street.
Tyler Galpin: You're not scary. You're just kinda... kooky.
Wednesday Addams: I prefer spooky.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 1, with the title of ‘Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe’
Tyler then decides to pursue Wednesday. She is in no way interested in romance and indicates this clearly. In fact she's bad with people in general, and is honest about that too. Tyler doesn't care; he makes persistent attempts anyway. Lots of men interpret "no" as "try harder." (Remember, if a guy won't take no for an answer about dating, then he won't with sex either. There are ways to deal with this.) Then when Wednesday continues to be herself, exactly as advertised, he acts confused and hurt. Meanwhile she just finds his adolescent male behavior opaque and annoying. If Wednesday has a sexual interest at all, inept teen boy is clearly not it. What follows is a comedy of horrors. Tyler has only himself to blame. For anyone who wishes to explore consent issues, this makes a great setup.
"I'm not friend material, let alone more-than-friend material. I will ignore you, stomp on your heart and always put my needs and interests first."
-- Wednesday Addams to Tyler
This is not helped by Thing meddling in Wednesday's life. In Episode 4, she has already asked Xavier Thorpe to the Rave'N dance (to cover up her spying on him) but Thing sets her up with Tyler anyway. It also comes out that Tyler has a history of assault and vandalism -- normally not great boyfriend credits, but Wednesday isn't bothered by that. The petty jealousy and possessiveness between Tyler and Xavier over a girl neither of them is even close with? Now that's tiresome. Despite Tyler's claim of Wednesday sending him "mixed signals," she has been crystal clear about her disinterest in him. Probably every woman has had some creepy guy interpret "standing in the same room" as "interest in him." Wednesday reminds Tyler again that she can't understand his feelings (or for that matter, probably romance in general). He continues to have no clue whatsoever.
Wednesday presses him on his mood, and he calls her out for giving him mixed signals. "It's not my fault I can't interpret your emotional Morse code," she fires back. This extremely relatable one liner is bound to be adopted by viewers. Afterward, Tyler offers to spell out his feelings to Wednesday so that she knows exactly what's going on: He likes her, and he thought she liked him too.
(Tyler sees Wednesday in her prom dress...)
Tyler Galpin: Wow, you look...
Wednesday Addams: Unrecognizable? Ridiculous? A classic example of female objectification for the male gaze?
Tyler Galpin: Amazing. I mean it, Wednesday. You look beautiful.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 4, with the title of ‘Woe What a Night’
In Episode 6, Tyler gets all huffy about Wednesday ignoring him, which is what girls generally do to a guy they don't like. Thus he sets himself up for her trap; Wednesday isn't actually a great liar, but it's easy to convince people of something they want to believe. So Wednesday entices Tyler and Enid to investigate the Gates Mansion with her, where they all get attacked by the monster. Tyler's father sensibly orders him to avoid Wednesday, but that approach never works.
In Episode 7, Tyler succeeds in pressuring Wednesday to go on a date with him. To his credit, he arranges a picnic in Joseph Crackstone’s crypt and they watch Legally Blonde, which is Wednesday's idea of a horror movie. Tyler wants more than just a date, and tries to kiss Wednesday, but his father bursts in and stops them. (This probably saves Tyler from the several knives Wednesday is undoubtedly wearing.) She returns to Nevermore only to find her room ransacked and Thing stabbed. When Wednesday finally does kiss Tyler, though, she has a vision that reveals him as the monster.
Wednesday Addams: [to Tyler] When I came to Nevermore, romance was the last thing on my mind. But when you kissed me, you opened my eyes, and suddenly it all made sense.
By the conclusion in Episode 8, things are thoroughly mangled. Wednesday meets Tyler in the woods, but she suspects him of being the Hyde. Other students help her to capture Tyler, but then flee when she proposes torturing him. These twists put a lot of strain on Wednesday's already low ability to trust or rely on other people. When Tyler transforms into the Hyde and attacks Wednesday, however, he fails to account for her allies, and a wolfed-out Enid rips into him. This allows Wednesday to escape and deal with other problems. At the end of this episode, Tyler is shown in chains, then shifting into Hyde form, so he may well return in subsequent seasons.
One scene in particular stands out. As Tyler leans into Wednesday to whisper threats, the look of horrified revulsion on her face is that of every young woman when a man rubs himself against her and says disturbing things in complete confidence that he'll get away with it. Usually that just provokes Wednesday to violence; this is the first time it actually unsettles her. Also, remember how Angel lost his soul and turned monstrous after having sex with Buffy? Tyler's transformation into the Hyde is a similar representation of how men often change after getting what they want from women; it's a common trope because it's a common problem. Gothic or other paranormal shows just add a layer of phantasmagoric mayhem to that base premise. If you want to play with the "creepy guy" motif, you can't beat Tyler.
Wednesday Addams: What do you want?
Tyler Galpin: To ask a question. What does it feel like?
Wednesday Addams: What does what feel like?
Tyler Galpin: To lose.
Of course, being Wednesday, it doesn't take her long to get back to the pursuit of violence and vengeance. Plus she has a werewolf roommate who does understand pack dynamics and is eager to maul Tyler for messing with Wednesday. But if you ever wanted to write a scene where a girl says NO by means of maiming, now's your chance. That is 100% in character here, according to canon! I'm sure we can all think of 420 ways for Wednesday to remove some of Tyler's junk, without even reusing the piranha.
On the other hoof, some viewers ship Wednesday/Tyler, and that's okay too. See the Wyler page for supporting materials on this relationship. You can take a number of different approaches. Among the easiest is to pick a favorite scene and build on it, because things don't really crash and burn until fairly late in Season 1, so you've got plenty of potential in earlier episodes. A different method is taking a pivotal moment as your turning point for Alternate Universe fanfic. (The time-travel card game Chrononauts calls these Linchpins, and their subsequent effects are Ripple Points.) For possible turning points and plot questions, see my Episodes entry in the series overview. As an example, Xavier or someone else could be the Hyde, rather than Tyler; or the monster could be something else altogether, like Enid wolfing out without realizing it, which derives really well from the rainy footprints scene in Episode 3.
Depending on when in the timeline you choose to launch your ship, you may have some work to do uncreepifying Tyler, but it's doable. He's a teen boy, he's allowed to make mistakes and learn from them and fix them. Maybe Eugene drags Tyler behind the Hummers Workshop and gives him a lesson on hive dynamics. Getting Wednesday to give Tyler the time of day may be considerably harder -- dude needs to find some serious competence somewhere for that. But hey, he works in a coffeehouse, so it's conceivable that he learned great social skills there, an area easy to top her non-existent expertise. Canon gives you at least some things to work with if this is your ship.
10 Most Popular Wednesday Ships
12 Surefire Ways to Get a Creepy Guy to Leave You Alone
Betrayal: The Feeling of Being Broken ... and the Recovery
Can you be in a relationship with someone like Wednesday Addams?
Dealing with Betrayal
Tips To Create & Write Creepy Characters & Situations
How To Write Saucy Betrayals
How to Be Just Friends With a Guy When He Wants More
The Real Inspirations Behind 'Wednesday's' Dance Scene
Relational Transgression
Wednesday Fans Call Out Tyler Claiming She Gave Him Mixed Signals
'Wednesday' Proves Love Triangles Have to Go -- The Everygirl
Wednesday’s Lackluster Love Interests Have Fans Clamoring for Alternatives
What Are Tyler's True Intentions With Wednesday Addams? Hunter Doohan Explains
What Makes a Guy Creepy? 24 Signs & Types of Men Girls Should Avoid
Who Is Wednesday Addams in Love With? -- CBR
Wikihow Guide: How to Not Be Creepy -- USC
Women share their best tactics for scaring away 'creepy' men in public
Here is the character study:
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 1: Introduction
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 2: Ethnicity & Linguistics
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 3: An Outcast
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 4: Thoughts and Feelings
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 5: Relationships
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 6: Solitary Accomplishments
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 7: Trust and Betrayal
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 8: Connected Characters
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 9: Enid Sinclair
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 10: Eugene & Morticia
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 11: Thing
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 12: Tyler Galpin
See also:
Wednesday TV Series (The Addams Family) Overview
Tyler Galpin
Tyler Galpin is the son of Sheriff Donovan Galpin and his late wife Francoise. He works at the Weathervane café in Jericho, Vermont not far from Nevermore Academy. There Wednesday meets him while trying to escape from the town, having already escaped from the school. Tyler comes off as hapless -- she has to read the (Italian) manual for the espresso machine in order to repair it for him.
Wednesday asks, “What’s wrong with your machine?” Barista boy answers, “It’s a temperamental beast with a mind of its own, and it doesn’t help that the instructions are in Italian.” Wednesday walks around and snatches the booklet from the boy’s hands, reading it and saying, “I need a tai-wing screwdriver and a four-millimeter Allen wrench.”
The boy frowns, “Wait, you read Italian?” Wednesday looks at him like he’s said something stupid, “Of course. It’s the native tongue of Machiavelli. Here’s the deal. I’m going to fix your coffee machine, then you’re going to make my coffee and call me a taxi.”
Wednesday Addams: I'm not used to people engaging with me. Most see me coming and cross the street.
Tyler Galpin: You're not scary. You're just kinda... kooky.
Wednesday Addams: I prefer spooky.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 1, with the title of ‘Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe’
Tyler then decides to pursue Wednesday. She is in no way interested in romance and indicates this clearly. In fact she's bad with people in general, and is honest about that too. Tyler doesn't care; he makes persistent attempts anyway. Lots of men interpret "no" as "try harder." (Remember, if a guy won't take no for an answer about dating, then he won't with sex either. There are ways to deal with this.) Then when Wednesday continues to be herself, exactly as advertised, he acts confused and hurt. Meanwhile she just finds his adolescent male behavior opaque and annoying. If Wednesday has a sexual interest at all, inept teen boy is clearly not it. What follows is a comedy of horrors. Tyler has only himself to blame. For anyone who wishes to explore consent issues, this makes a great setup.
"I'm not friend material, let alone more-than-friend material. I will ignore you, stomp on your heart and always put my needs and interests first."
-- Wednesday Addams to Tyler
This is not helped by Thing meddling in Wednesday's life. In Episode 4, she has already asked Xavier Thorpe to the Rave'N dance (to cover up her spying on him) but Thing sets her up with Tyler anyway. It also comes out that Tyler has a history of assault and vandalism -- normally not great boyfriend credits, but Wednesday isn't bothered by that. The petty jealousy and possessiveness between Tyler and Xavier over a girl neither of them is even close with? Now that's tiresome. Despite Tyler's claim of Wednesday sending him "mixed signals," she has been crystal clear about her disinterest in him. Probably every woman has had some creepy guy interpret "standing in the same room" as "interest in him." Wednesday reminds Tyler again that she can't understand his feelings (or for that matter, probably romance in general). He continues to have no clue whatsoever.
Wednesday presses him on his mood, and he calls her out for giving him mixed signals. "It's not my fault I can't interpret your emotional Morse code," she fires back. This extremely relatable one liner is bound to be adopted by viewers. Afterward, Tyler offers to spell out his feelings to Wednesday so that she knows exactly what's going on: He likes her, and he thought she liked him too.
(Tyler sees Wednesday in her prom dress...)
Tyler Galpin: Wow, you look...
Wednesday Addams: Unrecognizable? Ridiculous? A classic example of female objectification for the male gaze?
Tyler Galpin: Amazing. I mean it, Wednesday. You look beautiful.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 4, with the title of ‘Woe What a Night’
In Episode 6, Tyler gets all huffy about Wednesday ignoring him, which is what girls generally do to a guy they don't like. Thus he sets himself up for her trap; Wednesday isn't actually a great liar, but it's easy to convince people of something they want to believe. So Wednesday entices Tyler and Enid to investigate the Gates Mansion with her, where they all get attacked by the monster. Tyler's father sensibly orders him to avoid Wednesday, but that approach never works.
In Episode 7, Tyler succeeds in pressuring Wednesday to go on a date with him. To his credit, he arranges a picnic in Joseph Crackstone’s crypt and they watch Legally Blonde, which is Wednesday's idea of a horror movie. Tyler wants more than just a date, and tries to kiss Wednesday, but his father bursts in and stops them. (This probably saves Tyler from the several knives Wednesday is undoubtedly wearing.) She returns to Nevermore only to find her room ransacked and Thing stabbed. When Wednesday finally does kiss Tyler, though, she has a vision that reveals him as the monster.
Wednesday Addams: [to Tyler] When I came to Nevermore, romance was the last thing on my mind. But when you kissed me, you opened my eyes, and suddenly it all made sense.
By the conclusion in Episode 8, things are thoroughly mangled. Wednesday meets Tyler in the woods, but she suspects him of being the Hyde. Other students help her to capture Tyler, but then flee when she proposes torturing him. These twists put a lot of strain on Wednesday's already low ability to trust or rely on other people. When Tyler transforms into the Hyde and attacks Wednesday, however, he fails to account for her allies, and a wolfed-out Enid rips into him. This allows Wednesday to escape and deal with other problems. At the end of this episode, Tyler is shown in chains, then shifting into Hyde form, so he may well return in subsequent seasons.
One scene in particular stands out. As Tyler leans into Wednesday to whisper threats, the look of horrified revulsion on her face is that of every young woman when a man rubs himself against her and says disturbing things in complete confidence that he'll get away with it. Usually that just provokes Wednesday to violence; this is the first time it actually unsettles her. Also, remember how Angel lost his soul and turned monstrous after having sex with Buffy? Tyler's transformation into the Hyde is a similar representation of how men often change after getting what they want from women; it's a common trope because it's a common problem. Gothic or other paranormal shows just add a layer of phantasmagoric mayhem to that base premise. If you want to play with the "creepy guy" motif, you can't beat Tyler.
Wednesday Addams: What do you want?
Tyler Galpin: To ask a question. What does it feel like?
Wednesday Addams: What does what feel like?
Tyler Galpin: To lose.
Of course, being Wednesday, it doesn't take her long to get back to the pursuit of violence and vengeance. Plus she has a werewolf roommate who does understand pack dynamics and is eager to maul Tyler for messing with Wednesday. But if you ever wanted to write a scene where a girl says NO by means of maiming, now's your chance. That is 100% in character here, according to canon! I'm sure we can all think of 420 ways for Wednesday to remove some of Tyler's junk, without even reusing the piranha.
On the other hoof, some viewers ship Wednesday/Tyler, and that's okay too. See the Wyler page for supporting materials on this relationship. You can take a number of different approaches. Among the easiest is to pick a favorite scene and build on it, because things don't really crash and burn until fairly late in Season 1, so you've got plenty of potential in earlier episodes. A different method is taking a pivotal moment as your turning point for Alternate Universe fanfic. (The time-travel card game Chrononauts calls these Linchpins, and their subsequent effects are Ripple Points.) For possible turning points and plot questions, see my Episodes entry in the series overview. As an example, Xavier or someone else could be the Hyde, rather than Tyler; or the monster could be something else altogether, like Enid wolfing out without realizing it, which derives really well from the rainy footprints scene in Episode 3.
Depending on when in the timeline you choose to launch your ship, you may have some work to do uncreepifying Tyler, but it's doable. He's a teen boy, he's allowed to make mistakes and learn from them and fix them. Maybe Eugene drags Tyler behind the Hummers Workshop and gives him a lesson on hive dynamics. Getting Wednesday to give Tyler the time of day may be considerably harder -- dude needs to find some serious competence somewhere for that. But hey, he works in a coffeehouse, so it's conceivable that he learned great social skills there, an area easy to top her non-existent expertise. Canon gives you at least some things to work with if this is your ship.
10 Most Popular Wednesday Ships
12 Surefire Ways to Get a Creepy Guy to Leave You Alone
Betrayal: The Feeling of Being Broken ... and the Recovery
Can you be in a relationship with someone like Wednesday Addams?
Dealing with Betrayal
Tips To Create & Write Creepy Characters & Situations
How To Write Saucy Betrayals
How to Be Just Friends With a Guy When He Wants More
The Real Inspirations Behind 'Wednesday's' Dance Scene
Relational Transgression
Wednesday Fans Call Out Tyler Claiming She Gave Him Mixed Signals
'Wednesday' Proves Love Triangles Have to Go -- The Everygirl
Wednesday’s Lackluster Love Interests Have Fans Clamoring for Alternatives
What Are Tyler's True Intentions With Wednesday Addams? Hunter Doohan Explains
What Makes a Guy Creepy? 24 Signs & Types of Men Girls Should Avoid
Who Is Wednesday Addams in Love With? -- CBR
Wikihow Guide: How to Not Be Creepy -- USC
Women share their best tactics for scaring away 'creepy' men in public
