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This article page is about therianthropes in Sanctuary. For real-world mythology, see Wikipedia:Werewolf. For category page, see Category:Therianthropes.
3x06

Henry Foss in HAP form.

Therianthrope are a species of shape-shifters; a human subspecies which are a Class Nine Hyper-Accelerated Protean (HAP) life form. They are a race of abnormals to which Henry Foss belongs. The most common type of a therianthrope is a werewolf / werewolves which are also commonly referred to as lycanthropes or lycans in other cultures, such as in England.[1] [2]

History[]

Web Series[]

Episode 0x03 - "Webisode 3"
At the very beginning of the webisode, Ashley Magnus, Helen Magnus, and Will Zimmerman are all down in the infirmary at the Old City Sanctuary. Will is treating his head injury with a cold pack while Magnus is stitching Ashley's shoulder wound caused by Alexei's appendage. At Will's questioning of the night's previous events (tracking and capturing an abnormal) as being something the mother daughter pair do a lot, Ashley starts to gloat about last years' trip to Romania, which resulted in more plasma flowing (assumedly this is about their injuries being far worse then than they are now). Magnus gets upset at Ashley glorifying their work. Ashley continues to provide details, albeit less embellished. The mission was an entire den of werewolves. Their hunting group consisted of some loser Romanian Lupus Wrangler, Magnus, and herself. During this encounter, the three of them found themselves low on silver-tipped bullets with a full moon on the rise (indicating increased jeopardy for the group). Ashley vaguely summarized the whole event as "That was a party" in relation to the scale of tonight's event capturing Alexei as being "nothing". Will is skeptical about the creatures in her story being actual werewolves.

Season 1[]

Episode 1x01 - "Sanctuary for All, Part I"
The first mention of therianthropes in the TV series was by Ashley Magnus. When being treated by her mother Helen Magnus for shoulder stitches in early 2008, Ashley becomes a little too chatty towards Will Zimmerman against her mother's wishes since he was still a guest at the moment. Ashley said that in the summer she turned 18-years-old (year 2002), her mother, a group of a few nervous locals (including one who seriously looked like Adrien Brody), and herself drew an entire den of werewolves for research cataloging. As she continued to blather and recount the mission, Ashley mentions being low on silver-tipped bullets and the Full Moon was on the rise before being cut off by Will, accusing her of making up the story. However, later in the series it is not confirmed that silver hurts werewolves or that phases of the Moon affect werewolf transformations.
Episode 1x07 - "The Five"
to be added
Episode 1x13 - "Revelations, Part II"
In early 2009, the Cabal had tried to permanently turn Henry Foss into his alternate form after Henry and Ashley had trespassed into one of their nearby facilities across the river just outside of New City. Before the Cabal could complete the process, Henry escaped from his cell by using the superhuman strength he gains during a partial transformation.

Similar to vampires, the werewolf species has been hunted by humans almost to the point of extinction. Only small pockets of the species remain in the world.

Season 3[]

Episode 3x06 - "Animus"
Henry Foss and Will Zimmerman headed to England after reports of werewolf sightings in a small village. Investigating the area, they discovered evidence that pointed to a mental institution called Oldham Psychiatric Institute. Henry, eager to meet another of his kind, wanted the Sanctuary to investigate, but since the clinic was private, they could not gain permission or force their way in.

Henry decides to go in undercover as a patient, and is put through a battery of strange tests by the suspicious staff. Henry eventually learns that everyone in the mental institute is a lycan, members of an extended clan. After being persecuted for so long, they built the institute as their own personal Sanctuary. Since it is a mental institution, any strange behavior would just be put down to the patients' supposed illnesses, so they have been left alone for years.

Henry Foss Werewolf 01

Henry Foss during the transformation.

Unfortunately, Henry learned that years of persecution had taken its toll on the clan, all of whom now lived in fear of themselves. Using pills to keep the wolf side suppressed, they were essentially prisoners of their own safe haven. The elders of the clan kept order by tailoring the drug to turn the user aggressive if they go off the meds, therefore discouraging anyone from attempting it. They had even forgotten that is possible to control themselves when transformed, as many now believe when they transform they are mindless beasts.

Henry was eventually drugged by the clan leader to use as an example to the others, since Henry has caused them to start questioning their way of life. The drugs force him into his wolf form and induce a berserker state, and he begins chasing Will who found his way into the institute. Fortunately, Will was saved by one of the clan members who secretly went off the drug and learnt how to control herself. She fought Henry long enough for the drugs to work out of his system.

After this, the clan was taken in by the London Sanctuary where they could be taught to control their powers and live amongst society.

Season 4[]

Episode 4x03 - "Untouchable"
A female lycan's body will normally go into a cellular 'lock-down' mode (where her cells are unable to shift) to protect the fetus, because the transformation also changes a lycan's internal organs. The natural gestation period of a lycan is ten and a half months, slightly longer than a human's nine months.

There were fears that the lycan species is slowly dying out due to the lack of newborns. When Erika Myers becomes pregnant, Helen Magnus discovers that the drugs that she and the clan were using to suppress their transformation also lowered their fertility rate. Now that she has come off the drugs, the chances of pregnancy have improved, though it is risky: her body is creating extra hormones as a defense after taking the medication for so long, something her body has trouble dealing with. Magnus suggests a procedure that will slow the embryo's growth, so that the hormones are released at a slower rate. This baby will be the first known lycan to be born since the death of Erika's parents.

Notes[]

  • Trivia: In real-word folklore and other general knowledge, there is a difference between a werewolf and a lycan. When a person who is a werewolf transforms into their alternate physical form, their shape is that of a wolf but much larger. The alternate form for a lycan is that of a humanoid wolf, such as like how Henry Foss is seen on Sanctuary.

Gallery[]


References[]

  1. Episode 1x07 - "The Five"
  2. Episode 3x06 - "Animus"
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