Teen Wolf type TV Show network MTV

Teen Wolf‘s fifth season put Scott McCall to the test: Scott lost everything when Theo divided his pack, even threatening Scott’s bromance with Stiles. But the second half of the season saw Scott work hard to mend friendships and reunite his pack, eventually defeating both Theo and the Dread Doctors. So what does that mean for season 6?

“The first half of season 5, when Theo infiltrated his life and tried to take over Beacon Hills, that really messed Scott up,” Tyler Posey says. “He was just a little bit darker. He’s wiser, if that makes any sense.” Speaking to the new season, Posey adds, “He’s rebuilt. Everything that happened in season 5 made him stronger so when season 6 comes up, he’s got a good head on his shoulders, nothing bad has happened in Beacon Hills lately, so he’s feeling confident about that. He’s in a pretty good place. When we pick up with him, he’s somewhat happy, which is sort of unusual for Scott.”

But one unexpected twist for many Teen Wolf fans is the fact that Arden Cho, who plays Scott’s lady love Kira, recently announced that she will not be returning to the show. In terms of what that means for Scott, fans are going to get a new side to the hero. For the first time in series history, Scott’s not going to find a new love interest.

“When we realized that the show wasn’t going to have Kira Yukimura this season, we wanted to ask ourselves, ‘Does Scott always need to have romance in his life to be a compelling character?’ We thought this might be a season where we don’t see that side and we see him struggling a little bit,” showrunner Jeff Davis says. “He’s had two great romances: One was the very epic and tragic romance with Allison, and we wanted to do a sort of romantic comedy side with Kira. But this season sees Scott as a single guy just trying to graduate and be there for his friends while facing yet another supernatural crisis.”

Davis continues, “This is something that we the writers have talked to Tyler [Posey] about. He’s alternately said that he loves the romance and then he also wonders what Scott would be like if he’s single and just out on his own and more of the lone wolf this season.”

Posey adds, “It was something I’ve always been interested in because from the very first episode of Teen Wolf he falls in love with Allison and then they break up and he immediately meets Kira so there wasn’t really much single time for Scott. In my experience, in Tyler Posey’s world, it’s kind of always been that way too. This is the first two years I’m really single, so I relate to it with Scott and I thought it was something that every person has to go through in their life, grow on their own and really figure out who they are. That’s kind of what’s going on with Scott.”

But just because he’s single doesn’t mean he’s going to be turning women away. Rather, let’s just say that Scott has other things to worry about. “I think he’s doing it subconsciously,” Posey says. “I don’t know if he’s actively trying to be single, but it’s doing good for him. He’s able to focus on what he wants and not let anything get in the way. He’s kind of a crazy puppy dog when he falls in love, kind of aimlessly wandering around, so it’s good that he’s not thinking of any girls right now. Keeps his eyes on the prize.”

Teen Wolf returns this fall on MTV.