Tyler, the creators', the WOLF Trilogy explained

An in-depth look at Tyler, the creators WOLF trilogy

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The Wolf Trilogy weaves an extremely complex storyline that cannot be summed up in 1 specific theory. There's a debate over which theory is the best because, unlike IGOR, not every song has something to do with the storyline and because many Tyler fans disagree on the order in which the albums play into that storyline. However, after reading in between the lines of the lyrics, I have decided on the theory that makes the most sense to me. The first half of this article will be a concise summary, the second half will be an in-depth analysis on the storyline itself.

THE ORDER OF THE ALBUMS THAT I WILL BE USING TO EXPLAIN THE TRILIGOY IS AS FOLLOWS:

BASTARD -> WOLF -> GOBLIN -> SAM IS DEAD

Please note that the albums were not released in this order; however, follow this order when it comes to the specific storyline

Introducing the characters:

Before getting into the theory, it's important to become familiar with all the main characters involved. It is extremely important to note that every event that takes place in this story is inside of Tyler's mind, so basically none of the characters are real besides him. All of the characters used in the trilogy are different emotional reactions inside Tyler's mind. They are not real people, and they are not actually fighting him/interacting with him physically. I would label these characters as alter egos that live inside of Tyler's mind. I will be leaving some details out of the character descriptions in order to save some of the surprises and plot twists of this storyline for the end :).

Important Character list:

Tyler, the creator: Appears mostly on tracks discussing his dad, grandma, success, and suicide

Wolf: Is the person Tyler wants to be. Mostly levelheaded, respectful, a good guy, and funny.

Sam: the biggest asshole ever, violent, most of the tracks that refer to criminal activity are Sam tracks (these will be explained more in detail in the storyline explanation), and dating Salem

Doctor TC: the therapist that is trying to help Tyler get control of his alter egos, sends him to camp flog gnaw in wolf and then an asylum in goblin.

Tron Cat: I will explain this in the storyline explanation, it is very important but not until the last album. if you want to hear about the biggest plot twist of the century, keep reading.

Salem: lowkey a hoe. talks to Tyler, Sam, and Wolf who are all the same person technically. Tyler's different alter Egos responding to her actions show us how Tyler handles love and conflict throughout the story.

The Settings for each album:

Bastard: This album takes place in Doctor TC's office. This album is the first in which we are introduced to Dr. TC. The album is just different sessions Tyler has had with Doctor TC and introduces their relationship.

Wolf: Wolf Takes place at Camp Flog Gnaw, which is basically a safe haven that Doctor TC sends Tyler to so that he can take a break from the world and figure his shit out. This is where Tyler first meets Wolf and Sam.

Goblin: At the end of Wolf something happens that gets Tyler taken back to Doctor TC's office. This event will be revealed in the storyline explanation as to why I argue that the trilogy's order goes Bastard, Wolf, Goblin. Goblin takes place in an asylum for the first half and then back at Doctor TC's office for the final few songs.

A Short Summary of the Storyline

(this will be very brief. if you want to know about all the nuance of the storyline as well as all the proof I have supporting my claims, keep scrolling for the full in-depth story.)

The Trilogy starts with Tyler's first studio album, Bastard. Bastard instantly starts off with an extremely dark and demented tone. Tyler is seen in this album very frustrated with his father who left him at birth. Songs like "7," "Inglorious," and "Bastard" point directly to this. The first Character we meet in the album is Doctor TC, Tyler's therapist, who is trying to help him get through his daddy issues (go figure). Bastard takes place entirely in Doctor TC's office throughout the duration of the album, and each tracks place on the album is Tyler ranting about his problems in therapy with TC. In the final track, "Inglorious," Tyler goes insane claiming that he wants to kill himself and the song ends with a gunshot, leaving us questioning what happened to Tyler. Our questions are answered in Wolf when Tyler is sent to Camp Flog Gnaw to escape reality and heal from his suicide attempt. As of now it is not clear what is causing Tyler to go insane but is later revealed in Goblin. In Wolf, Tyler meets three more characters at Camp Flog Gnaw that change the shape of the story forever. Tyler meets Sam, Wolf, and Salem. Sam is an aggressive asshole who does not like anyone besides his girlfriend Salem and he makes this very clear to Tyler and Wolf. Wolf is the person Tyler wants to be, which he confirms in Goblin. Goblin also tells us that Sam and Wolf are not physical beings but merely different personalities living/fighting in Tyler's head, which is why he is struggling so much mentally. In my in-depth explanation of the storyline, I will go track by track, but to summarize: at the end of Wolf, Tyler is taken back to Doctor TC's office for starting riots and basically destroying the whole camp. Tyler opens up to TC and tells him about the problems he's been having recently, especially with processing his grandma's death. Tyler indicates that he wants to kill himself again so TC sends Tyler to an asylum, which is how Goblin starts. Bastard's creepy tone returns yet again on Goblin. The album starts with a conversation between TC and Tyler following up with Tyler about his suicidal thoughts. This conclusion is what convinces me about the order the albums should be listened to. In Goblin it is confirmed that Wolf, Sam, and Tyler are all the same person, and that Tyler is dealing with balancing all these different personalities. "Tron Cat" is one of the most important songs on Goblin because we meet the alter ego that is forcing Tyler into psychosis and depression -- Tron cat. If you haven't put the pieces of the puzzle together yet, The "TC" in Doctor TC stands for Tron Cat as well as Tyler's Conscious. It is revealed to us at the end of Goblin that none of the villainous activities Tyler did actually happened, Doctor TC (Tron Cat) just made him believe that he was crazy. Finally in the "Sam Is Dead" music video, Tyler shoots all three of his alter egos, ending the cycle of insanity. Although the Trilogy is an insanely complicated storyline, the three albums all together are used to display Tyler's unstable mental health, which is followed up on in Cherry Bomb (but that's a discussion for another time). If you are curious about the storyline and want to read more specific examples, keep reading!

An In-Depth Analysis of the WOLF trilogy

The in-depth summary will be divided by the three albums in the order that follows:

BASTARD -> WOLF -> GOBLIN -> SAM IS DEAD (music video)

please note not every song will be used in this explanation. some of them are filler songs in the storyline and don't have as much value.

Bastard themes: angry, daddy issues, therapy, misguided

The album starts off with a very dark tone with the song Bastard, the first track on the album. In the first track we meet Doctor TC, Tyler's new therapist. We learn from this song that the entirety of the Bastard album takes place in Dr. TCs office in a span of three sessions ("It's gonna be three sessions, today, tomorrow, Wednesday"). It is not quite clear in this song why Tyler was sent to Doctor TC; TC says, "I'm guessing your teachers sent you here to talk cause you were misbehaving," however, we later learn Tron Cat made him spike a girl's drink. In this track, Tyler discusses his life and how most of his anger stems from his absent father ("My father's dead, well I don't know, we'll never fucking meet").

The next track, Seven, is very similar to Bastard. Tyler once again extensively rants about his deadbeat father (which is valid, fuck the guy!). There's not much else to this track besides the sheer anger in Tyler's voice, lyrics, and even beat of the song. This track highlights how mentally unstable Tyler really is.

In the songs Sarah and VCR, Tyler's aggressiveness, sometimes even violence, towards women is shown profusely ("Bitch, you tried to play me like a dummy. Now you stuck up in my motherfucking basement all bloody"). These two songs can definitely be hard to listen to, especially for the female audience, but they are vital in understanding not only the trilogy, but also where Tyler is in terms of his personal journey outside of his music. It is obvious that Tyler has a history with internalized homophobia, which he is finally able to overcome it in his studio album Flower Boy (again, a topic for another time). This internalized homophobia has led Tyler through a lot of hard times and and forces him to act toxically masculine, which offers some explanation for (but certainly does not excuse) some of the misogynistic lyrics in his earlier songs.

With Bastard, Tyler begins to confront his prejudices and starts the journey of eventually coming to terms with his identity in Flower Boy . The internalized homophobia has impacted Tyler and seems to be another thing he is discussing in therapy with Doctor TC. At the very end of the album, in the song Inglorious, Doctor TC says "Well, Tyler, it's about that time. You're a good kid, just misguided. So, is there anything else you wanna say before we end this?" TC deems Tyler a misguided kid but not crazy, but almost immediately after TC comes to his conclusion, Tyler goes insane. For the rest of the song, he repeatedly suggests he wants to kill himself. In the outro, Tyler says, "Fuck that, I ain't deserve this, I'm over it," then the song and album abruptly conclude with a literal bang, leaving the audience hanging onto nothing but the sound of a gunshot. Tyler's story of what happened after his suicide attempt is told in the next album, Wolf.

Wolf Themes: War, love triangle, anger

Although Wolf was released after Goblin, it is without a doubt the album that comes after Bastard in the storyline. Wolf starts off with Tyler being welcomed to Camp Flog Gnaw, a place for troubled youth to regain their sense of self. Here, he meets the characters Sam and Wolf. We learn from the first track on the album that Sam HATES Wolf, and he is seen verbally abusing him when they all first meet. Sam represents the part of Tyler's brain that he is not proud of. Sam's entire personality is angry, jealous, and violent, which we know Tyler was struggling with at the time due to his father's absence and his identity struggle. Wolf, however, is the person Tyler aspires to be; he is calm, cool, and mostly collected. The entire album rotates between tracks sung by Tyler himself and his two alter egos, Sam and Wolf. It is important to remember that these characters are not real and just apart of Tyler's mind which will be revealed in Goblin and "Sam Is Dead" (MV) when he kills all of his alter egos.

The track Cowboy is very important for describing Sam's character. In this track we see that Sam likes to be in control and have a gang backing him up, which is shown in the rowdy backing vocals. In this song, we are also introduced to Salem -- Sam, Wolf, and Tyler's love interest. Salem is actually Sam's girlfriend, but Wolf has an interest in her, which is shown in later tracks on the album(we will get there be patient).

In the song Awkward, Sam and Salem hookup and, you guessed it... it was awkward as fuck. This song is the first song Sam shows actual emotion besides anger, which indicates Tyler's personalities fighting with each other about what to actually feel after his experience with a girl. Domo23 and Answer are both Tyler tracks where he raps about his dad and his career confirming the stress and success of being a celebrity "Hey Dad, it's me, um...oh, I'm Tyler, I think I'd be your son").

The following track Slater is another Sam track where he raps about riding around town with Salem on his bike ("My bitch is on the handle bars, hair blowing in the wind, her freckles look like candy bars"). This song is very important to the storyline because it shows a shift in character when, at the end of the song, Frank Ocean makes fun of Sam and he does not respond aggressively, as was his way in the past (Frank Ocean: "You're talking to a fucking bike, loser"). 48 is another Sam track in which he tells us about his experiences as a drug lord in 48 states. This song is one of the most important songs in the storyline and most people miss the reason why. In 48, we learn that the first time we actually met Sam was in Bastard, and it is also confirmed that his illegal activities are part of why he is at Camp Flog Gnaw. In the song "Pigs Fly" on Bastard, Sam talks about selling drugs in 48 states and shows a direct connection between the two albums ("I'm so damn illegal that I need to be arrest"). Sam's presence in Bastard symbolizes that Tyler's feelings of anger and hopelessness at the world began during his younger years, when he would have been going to school.

Colossus is another Tyler track where he once again raps about the stresses of fame and how frustrating it is to no longer be able to do normal things without being noticed (aka, the shit that went down at Six Flags). I keep mentioning Tyler's mounting disillusionment with fame because the theory suggests it's a major contributor to his constantly declining mental health.

Next on the album is a three part song, PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer. PartyIsntOver includes Wolf trying to flirt with Salem and telling her to meet him by the lake to hook up ("The party isn't over. We could still dance, but I don't have no rhythm. So fuck it, take a chance with me"). Campfire is all of Tyler's alter egos sitting by the fire at Camp flog gnaw and talking ("We're making s'mores by the campfire. Camp Flog Gnaw, Golf Wang Summer"). Finally, Bimmer details the story of Wolf and Salem hooking up at the lake in Wolf's car. At the end of the song, Sam finds out about this betrayal ("Hey, have you seen Salem? Oh, she with that new dude, Wolf, or Darnell -- whatever his name is"). Out of all three songs, Bimmer is the most important because it sets up the plot line for the war that is about to happen.

IFHY is another Sam track where he contemplates how he feels about Salem and contradicts himself the entire song ("I fucking hate you, but I love you"). At the very end of IFHY, Salem gives us some background on Sam: "He isn't such a badass actually. He's only here because he ran away, because some shit happened back home. He's actually a dweeb." Wolf asks Salem what happened to Sam, which transitions into the next track, Pigs. This song explains that the real reason that Sam is at Camp Flog Gnaw is for shooting his bullies ("Grab a couple friends, start a couple riots...Then gather all the bullies, crush them motherfuckers"). Through its title and content, this song also acts as another callback to "Pigs Fly" from Bastard.

In the song Parking Lot, Sam raps over an aggressive beat and sings about going to war with Wolf over Salem. Keep in mind, because Wolf and Sam don't actually exist, this "war" is more of a metaphor for the conflict occurring in Tyler's mind between the person Tyler is but doesn't want to be (Sam) and the person Tyler wants to become (Wolf). This song shows us Sam gathering Loiter Squad (members of Tyler's rap group Odd Future) so they can help him fight Wolf. The song ends with someone warning Wolf about Sam's plans: "He found out that you and Salem been hanging out. He said he gonna kill you." The track ends with Wolf vowing to go after Sam, which transitions into Rusty. This song is the exact same concept as "Parking Lot" except from Wolfs POV. We can hear both Wolf and Sam preparing for the war, and the track ends with Sam looking for Wolf and officially starting the war by yelling, "Salem was mine, bitch. Was that good enough, you fucking pussy?" In the song Trashwang, the two gangs battle to the death. This song is literally just a badass battle track and very chaotic. It ends with a gunshot and someone asking, "What the fuck was that?"

After a lot of fighting, Tyler is sent back to Doctor TC in the song Lone where he discusses again the struggles of fame and having to put on Wolf as a fake persona so that he seems as great as everyone thinks he is ("Your boy seem happy as fuck, but truthfully, your boy is lonely....Life's a bitch, bruh, but from the third floor, man, she's gorgeous.") Tyler also tells TC about his family issues, especially having to face his grandma's death. the fight and also how much he hates Sam. TC brings up Sam as someone for Tyler to reach out to and asks him if they've seen each other. Tyler then says that he is going to kill Sam if he ever sees him again. Doctor TC loses it on Tyler and throw him in an asylum, which leads us to the last album in the trilogy story, Goblin.

Goblin themes: broken, psychopath, plot twist of the century

Bringing the trilogy story to a close, Goblin is the final album of the story and has the most insane plot twist of any album storyline I've ever heard. The entire of Goblin takes place in an asylum, which later turns out to just be Tyler imprisoned in his own mind. The album starts off with the track Goblin, which proves the order of the albums in the trilogy when doctor TC follows up with Tyler, saying, “You wouldn't do that, Tyler. Kill yourself or anyone, you don't even have the balls to begin with." It is now obvious that Goblin comes after Wolf in the story, as this conversation continues the one in "Lone" where Tyler wants to kill Sam, aka himself. In this album, it becomes even more obvious that all of the characters introduced in Wolf were just his alter egos. This is shown in the following track Yonkers when Tyler goes back and forth between Wolf and himself. Wolf is seen on the track in lyrics, “I'm Wolf, Tyler put this fucking knife in my hand," Tyler confirms that these characters are only living inside of his mind with the lyrics "I'm a fucking walking paradox." Speaking of paradox, the whole song is chockfull of contradictions, which further proves it's just a massive brain argument between Tyler and Wolf, the version of Tyler he wants to be, or perhaps just the version of himself he thinks he HAS to be because fame has made people see him that way (Wolf: "Green money, gold teeth, pregnant golden retrievers [are] all I want." Tyler: "Fuck money, diamonds, and bitches, don't need 'em"). In Bastard, we saw Tyler begin his struggle to come to terms with his sexuality, and then, more broadly speaking, on the track "Lone" from Wolf and now again on "Yonkers" from Goblin, we see Tyler arguing with himself about who he truly is as a person.

The next song Radicals is a Sam track... its literally just a track that repeats "Kill people, burn shit, fuck school" over and over again. It also ties back to "Pigs Fly" and "Pigs" from earlier albums because Tyler, as Sam, rails against police officers, moral/societal correctness, religion, and the law. She is a song that connects back to Salem and shows mourning as she has always been unattainable ("Ain't no man allowed in your bedroom, you're sleeping alone in your bed"). Nightmare is another Tyler track about how he's his mom's worst nightmare because of his mental health. This song goes to show that Tyler has not completely lost it and still has remorse.

Tron Cat is my favorite song on Goblin due to its sheer importance in this storyline. We learn from this song that Tron Cat is yet another ego living in Tyler's mind and he has been giving Tyler intrusive thoughts since bastard. Lyrics that show this are "Atta boy" when Tron Cat talks to Tyler and congratulates him for doing something bad. The negative presence of Tron Cat in Tyler's head is also earlier confirmed in "Nightmare" when Tyler says, "[In] the other ear I got Tron Cat, asking where the bullets and the bombs at." The importance of this track is fully revealed at the very end and is possibly the best plot twist of any album.

Her is a track about Salem again and goes back to the song "Awkward" in Wolf when Tyler says "her name is my password," this is a repeated lyric from "Awkward." Sam appears on the next track Sandwitches, which then transitions into Fish where we learn that Tyler was sent to therapy for being influenced to spike a drink by Tron Cat ("Don't know what to think, cause the last time I attempted this shit, the judge ordered me to see a shrink"). Analog is another song about Salem meeting Wolf by the lake and is a core memory Tyler is reflecting back on. I think the point in Tyler repeatedly coming back to Salem is because it marks a significant point on his journey in terms of his sexuality and also because he was getting slightly better at camp until he hooked up with Salem, and his alter egos Sam and Wolf decided to duke it out over her, effectively sending him back to square one.

The next song, Bitch Suck Dick is just Tyler shit talking with his fellow Odd Future members and friends Jasper and Taco. However, at the very end, Tron Cat tells Tyler to kill Jasper and Taco, and he shoots them both. In Window, Doctor TC can see Tyler at his breaking point, so he calls in his friends. However, Tron Cat tells Tyler to kill the rest of his friends, which he does. Immediately after, Tyler begins freaking out, saying he has no idea why he did that, all the while Doctor TC interrupts Tyler ("Tyler: "You were supposed to fucking help me!" Doctor TC: "I'm here to help. I'm your friend").

This all leads up to the final track Golden. In this song, Tyler rants about the way his life is turning out, especially his mental health issues, how fame has turned something he loved doing into stressful work, and his issues with his family and friends. Doctors TC tries to reassure Tyler, but all of Tyler's actions are beginning to catch up with him, and he blames TC. They end up arguing back and forth, until eventually rebels against Doctor TC, and their voices mash together while doctor TC calls security and tells Tyler to back up (Doctor TC: "Get security in here!" Tyler: "I'm not even human, I'm a body-shaped demon"). The only way to describe Tyler on this track is that he is going batshit crazy while nurses and security are trying to sedate him. He says nobody gives a fuck about him, and then Doctor TC says, “The person that gave a fuck was me...I'm your best friend, Tyler...I know everything about you. You've been helping yourself this whole time....See, Tyler, I'm your conscience. I'm Tron Cat, I'm Ace, I'm Wolf Haley, I'm me." I get goosebumps every time I listen to these lyrics as they tie the storyline together explaining that all three of these albums take place inside of Tyler's mind while he battles with his mental health issues. If you didn't get it yet, Doctor TC stands for Tron Cat and Tyler's Conscience, bringing everything to a close.

"Sam Is Dead" music video: closure

Finally in the Sam is dead music video Tyler shoots and kills all three of his alter egos putting an end to his Tyler's detrimental cycle of insanity and the trilogy as a whole.

my final thoughts:

Thank you again to everyone who read my article on the trilogy. If you don't already listen to Tyler, I hope that my explanation has maybe made you more interested in his music :). Let me know what you think in the comments below and leave a like, if you don't mind! If you'd like to read more articles like this, sign up to get email updates of when new articles come out every Monday!