| “ | Marie-Jeanne: "You believe it? I never knew you to be so superstitious." Sebastien: "I don't need to believe in something I saw with my own eyes." Marie-Jeanne: "And I've been through every inch of these woods, and hunted just about every creature under the sun." Henri: "But not the moon." |
” |
— Henri Argent talking to Marie-Jeanne and Sebastien Valet about the Beast of Gevaudan in Maid of Gévaudan
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Henri Argent was a minor character who appeared in flashbacks seen in Season 5's Maid of Gévaudan. Henri was a scholar and one of the progenitors of the Argent line of Werewolf Hunters who lived in Gévaudan, France in the mid-late 1700s. He joined the hunting party that sought to slay the Beast of Gevaudan, led by Marie-Jeanne Valet, and was the first to realize for sure that the Beast was a supernatural creature and not an ordinary wolf. He soon found himself in a position to save Marie-Jeanne from the Beast, and the two began working together, combining his knowledge of the supernatural and her natural hunting skills to figure out a way to identify and kill the Beast for good.
He ultimately helped her forge a spear with which Marie-Jeanne killed the Beast, who was revealed to be her older brother Sebastien Valet, who had turned himself into a Werewolf by drinking rainwater from a wolf's pawprint while fighting in the Seven Years' War. After Sebastien's death, Henri married Marie-Jeanne, who took his family name of Argent, partially because Sebastien was punished after death with damnatio memoriae, which involved getting rid of anything with his name attached to it. He would ultimately become the ancestor to Allison Argent, Kate Argent, Chris Argent, and Gerard Argent, among many other Argent Hunters.
Throughout Teen Wolf[]
Season 5[]
In Maid of Gévaudan, Henri was in or around the woods of Gévaudan when he found the body of Emile, the son of the French Tavern's barkeeper, after having been attacked. He immediately brought him to the tavern, where the townspeople were welcoming home Sebastien Valet and Marcel and trying to convince Sebastien's sister, the famed huntress of mundane animals, Marie-Jeanne Valet, to lead a hunting party for the so-called Beast of Gevaudan, whom she believed to be an ordinary animal, not a supernatural being.
Those in the tavern were horrified to see Emile's dead body in Henri's arms when he entered the tavern, and Emile's father, Bernard, rushed toward him and broke down as Henri laid him on the nearby table. Henri explained that he had found him in the woods and heard the young boy's last words-- "La Bête," which is French for "the Beast," confirming what Marie-Jeanne did not want to be true. This caused Marie-Jeanne to agree to lead the hunting party, which would set out at dawn.
The next morning, Henri joined Marie-Jeanne, Sebastien, Marcel, and the other med of the town at the tavern, where they readied their weapons in preparation for their hunt. He listened in on Marie-Jeanne and Sebastien debate about the Beast, with Marie-Jeanne still skeptical that it could be anything other than a predatory animal and teasing Sebastien for being superstitious, while Sebastien insisted that he had no trouble believing what he saw with his own eyes while fighting in the war.
When Marie-Jeanne argued that she has been through every inch of the woods and hunted almost every animal under the sun, Henri finally spoke up, interjecting, "But not the moon," implying he knew more about the supernatural than most in attendance. Marie-Jeanne looked at Henri and Sebastien and accused them of trying to frighten her, but Sebastien insisted that he was just trying to warn her, adding that she was going to need more than ordinary steel to stop the Beast.
The hunting party searched the woods for over twelve hours in hopes of catching the Beast while it slept, but they eventually determined that they would only be able to find it after nightfall and waited to make their next move. Just after midnight, the hunters were attacked, one by one, with each of their torches blowing out as they were mauled and killed. Marie-Jeanne fired off a number of crossbow bolts in an attempt to even slow down the creature, but it was completely unfazed and managed to claw her deeply on her thigh.
She ducked when the Beast began to lunge for her, only for Henri to leap over her at the last moment, tossing a line of Mountain Ash around them to protect them from the Beast's attack. The Beast fought the mystical barrier for a few moments before giving up and turning his attention elsewhere. Marie-Jeanne, horrified by what she had just seen, declared that the animal was no wolf, leading Henri to retort, "of course not, you fool! It was a Werewolf."
Henri took Marie-Jeanne back to his cabin near the edge of the woods, where he tended to the wound she sustained on her leg while she curiously poked around the bowls and jars of various herbs and plants, asking him which each one was in turn. He explained that they were mountain ash and mistletoe before impatiently asking her to put the bowl down.
Though she was slightly embarrassed to be chided in that way, she continued to ask him why he had all of these objects. Henri began by saying it was to protect himself, pausing before revealing that he had spent half of his life gathering the implements and skills to survive a Werewolf attack. Seeing that her curiosity was genuine and that she was now a believer in the supernatural, Henri offered to teach her what he had learned, if she really wanted to know. Marie-Jeanne then sternly stated that she didn't just want to learn how to survive a Werewolf—she wanted to know how to kill one.
After talking more with Henri, they came to the conclusion that they couldn't just mount another attack as they had before until they had an advantage, and decided to try to figure out the human identity of the Beast by spiking the wine at the tavern with mistletoe in hopes of triggering a reaction in the concealed creature. They convinced everyone in attendance to drink, stating it was in honor of their dead, and waited to see who would react to the poisonous plant.
Suddenly, Marcel squeezed his glass so hard that it shattered to cause a diversion in hopes of preventing them from figuring out that the Beast was none other than Sebastien Valet, Marie-Jeanne's brother, who had been transformed into a "Demon Wolf" by drinking rainwater from a wolf's paw print while in North America fighting in the Seven Years' War. After Marie-Jeanne confronted her brother and was forced to allow him to leave due to Sebastien threatening to kill everyone in the tavern if she attempted to harm him, Marie-Jeanne returned to Henri to come up with a plan to kill her brother once and for all.
The two worked together to brainstorm a weapon with which to kill Sebastien. Henri pointed out that one arrow would not be enough, and that they needed something that would cut him deeper; Marie-Jeanne suggested a sword or an axe, but the two eventually decided on a pike, as it would use the weight of the Beast against itself, a powerful advantage given the size difference between Marie-Jeanne and the nine-foot-tall Beast. The two then created a spear tip made of steel mixed with wolfsbane and mountain ash, in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, which Marie-Jeanne forged with her own blood under the light of a Full Moon. They then attached it to the wooden handle, creating Marie-Jeanne's perfect weapon.
It took Marie-Jeanne three years to find and kill her brother, and when she returned, Sebastien was further punished with damnatio memoriae, causing the town to burn anything that had his name on it so that he would be forgotten to history as anything but a beast. She then developed a romantic relationship with Henri, marrying him and taking his name before the two became the progenitors of what would become the Argent line of Werewolf Hunters. In some history books, it would be Henri who would receive credit for killing the Beast of Gevaudan, though in truth it was his wife, Marie-Jeanne, who successfully put him down.
Personality[]
Henri was shown to be an honorable man who cared about those in his village and was eager to protect them from the Beast's reign of terror. He was also shown to be a somewhat scholarly individual, as he had spent a great deal of time studying Werewolves and their weaknesses, including substances such as Mountain Ash, Mistletoe, and Wolfsbane. He was intrigued by the possibility of training Marie-Jeanne Valet and seemed to thrive when the two began combining their knowledge and skills to hunt the Beast of Gevaudan.
Physical Appearance[]
Henri was shown to be a lean man of average height who had long, dark brown hair, pale white skin, and dark eyes, much like many of his future descendants. He wore clothes typical of the era, usually a gauzy white shirt with breeches and boots and a wool overcoat.
Skills[]
Henri was a competent hunter in his own right who was highly educated in the weaknesses of Werewolves, which led to he and his future wife spawning the Argent line of Werewolf Hunters. He showed a great deal of ingenuity with the idea of having Marie-Jeanne mix molten steel with Mountain Ash and Wolfsbane while forging it with her own blood under a full moon in order to finally kill Sebastien Valet, who believed himself invulnerable.
Etymology[]
- Henri: Henri is the French form of Henry, a masculine given name derived from the Old Frankish name Heimeric, from Common Germanic *Haimarīks(from *haima- "home" and *rīk- "ruler"). In Old High German, the name was conflated with the name Haginrich (from hagin "enclosure" and rich "ruler") to form Heinrich. Other variants include Haimirich, Haimerich, Heimerich and Hemirih.
- Argent: Argent is a surname with two known origins. The first is from the Old French argent, meaning "silver," usually used as a nickname for someone with silvery hair, as an occupational name for someone who was a silversmith, or a topographical name for someone who lived near a silver mine; in the case of Allison Argent and her family, it is likely related to the occupational name due to the use of silver in weapons centuries ago. The second origin is from the several French towns and villages called Argen or Argent, particularly in Aude and Bassey-Alpes where silver is mined, indicating that Argent could also be a locational surname. The town names are derived from the Late Latin personal name Argenteus or Argentius, meaning "silvery." The name Argent as a surname dates back to the 12th century, and variations of the name include Argente, Arghent, Argentt, Argont, and Argontt.
Appearances[]
Season 1
- Heart Monitor (mentioned)
Season 5
- Maid of Gévaudan (flashbacks only)
Trivia[]
- Henri lived in a cabin in Gevaudan, France, where he kept his materials for warding against Werewolves.
- He was mentioned in the Season 1 episode, Heart Monitor, by his descendant, Allison Argent. She stated that the man who killed The Beast of Gevaudan, his wife and four children were the first to fall pray. She then stated that his name was Argent. This means that Henri was married and had four children before he met Marie-Jeanne Valet.
Gallery[]
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See also[]
- ↑ Gerard's grandfather
- ↑ Gerard's mother
- ↑ In "Maid of Gévaudan", Gerard tells Lydia in 2012 that Sebastien's name has been forgotten for over 150 years. This means that by 1862 (150 years before 2012), no living person (besides the Argents and the Dread Doctors) knew about the Beast's true identity. So, Henri must have died before 1862.