'Teen Wolf's' Dylan O'Brien: Playing the nogitsune and going evil in Season 3

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"Teen Wolf" has sent Stiles down a dark path in the second half of Season 3. Possessed by a homicidal nogitsune spirit, fun Stiles is gone for now. 

But is he gone forever? And what sort of creature is this nogitsune anyway?  Dylan O'Brien shares secrets of his character's evil side to Zap2it.

After the nogitsune's trick -- making everyone think that Stiles was back while secretly manipulating every event to cause maximum pain -- are audiences likely to see the real Stiles at all? 

"You'll still see Stiles," O'Brien insists. "I kind of get to balance both at the same time. Because he struggles with it, in the sense that he's always sort of there and conscious and aware. But he also isn't at the same time, and he isn't in control of what's happening to him."

Need more "Teen Wolf"? Check out Zap2it's recap of "Letharia Vulpina."  

According to O'Brien, the real Stiles will appear in two ways. Sometimes, he will be in a struggle with the creature controlling him. Other times, Stiles will get to re-take control for at least a short amount of time. 

"We still see Stiles in every episode, there's always glimpses of him," O'Brien says. "It's because [the nogitsune's] a trickster -- the spirit can sort of tap-in and tap-out, sort of navigate how he wants. So it'll be about Stiles' strength and willingness or ability to ward off the dark spirit. Which, right now, doesn't look good, because nobody can ward off the dark spirit!"

There is also the question of what the nogitsune wants. Kira ( Arden Cho) suggests in "Letharia Vulpina" that a kitsune only causes problems when it has been offended -- implying a mortal offense against this particular creature. O'Brien partially agrees with this, noting that trouble is just in the evil spirit's nature.

"He loves to just stir trouble, he's literally maniacal in that way," says O'Brien. "He gets joy out of seeing others in trouble. And he literally gets physically and spiritually stronger. That's just how he works, that's how the spirit operates. He feeds off destruction. It's an interesting thing to play, because he literally has no motive other than being designed that way. It's literally like a spirit who jumps from host to host and possesses and kills and ruins lives. That's just what he is, at his core. And he also happens to be this insanely powerful thing. So it becomes difficult to deal with."

How does O'Brien feel about this abrupt and extreme change of his "Teen Wolf" character? He is, in short, loving it. 

"It's awesome. It's super nerve-wracking and awesome and just a cool challenge," O'Brien explains. "It's all about learning, growing and challenging yourself. Trying new things and expanding. It's been great -- I've really enjoyed it. I really came to like the evil, dark aspects of Stiles. Which is funny, because he's horrible."

"Teen Wolf" airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on MTV.

Photo/Video credit: MTV