Devin Wells

Character
Name:	Devin Wells
Occupation:
Relationships:
Fandom:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Other:
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Devin Wells is a character on Beauty and the Beast (TV).

from Tunnels of Love #2, Susan Perry-Lewis (1990), reprinted in Snowbound, A Path Not Taken, and The Swan (1997)

He was prominent in the episode "Promises of Someday." In that episode, Wells returns to the tunnels from a 20-year long absence. It turns out that Wells is Father's biological son, and therefore Vincent Wells' adoptive brother.

Devin Wells appears as a character in some fanworks, most prominently in the Vincent's World anthology series.

Devin Wells and Elliot Burch often look very similar in fanart; one clue that the character portrayed is Devin are scratch marks on his face, reflecting an incident in canon.

The Complicated Real-Life Thing

The character and characterization in fandom is complicated by the fact that Wells was portrayed by Linda Hamilton's then real-life husband. Abbott and Hamilton had a child together; this was one reason the actress left the show, something that led to great strife in the fandom, and ultimately the end of the show itself.

Hamilton and Abbot divorced in 1989.

Fanworks with Devin Wells and Catherine Chandler, because of this real-life cross-pollination, are a vague sort of RPF.

Fanworks

Fanfic

• several stories in issues of A Secret Place (1988-92)
• several stories in issues of Destiny (1988-90)
• several stories in issues of Possibilities (1990-94)
• stories in Intertwined #3 (1990)
• Fortress on a Tranquil Beach (1991)
• Yesterday's Shadows (1994)
• Swallow on the Wing (2000)
• many more

Fan Art

1989

• 
  from Light and Cloudshadows#4 (portrays Devin Wells and some Tunnel children)
• 
  from Light and Cloudshadows #5, artist is Barbara Gipson (portrays Father (Beauty and the Beast), Vincent Wells and Devin Wells)

1990

• 
  artist is Phyllis Berwick, from The Memory Flame #1, portrays Diana Bennett and Devin
• 
  from Wildheart, artist is Beth Blighton, portrays Devin and Vincent Wells

1991

• 
  from Yesterday, a Child, artist is Anna Deavers (1990)
• 
  from South of Oz, artist is Phyllis Berwick, portrays Devin and Vincent Wells
• 
  from Reflection's #3, artist is Sandy Chandler Shelton
• 
  from Reflection's #3, artist is Sandy Chandler Shelton
• 
  from Where Dreams Are Born, artist is Teri Milliman, portrays Devin and Vincent Wells
• 
  from Daydreams and Fantasies #2, artist is Cat, portrays Devin and Vincent Wells
• 
  from The Spiral Staircase #3, artist is artist is Sandra Parker
• 
  from Vincent's World #4, T. Mazzola portrays Devin and Vincent Wells
• 
  from Vincent's World #6, Shirley Leonard portrays Allegra (original character) and Devin, note Allegra's bunny slippers
• 
  from Vincent's World #5, Shirley Leonard Allegra (original character) and Devin Wells
• 
  from Only with Love #1, portrays Devin and Paracelsus, artist is Lynn Simpson

1992

• 
  from Within the Crystal Rose #5, artist is Amy Bechtel
• 
  from Vincent's World #8, Shirley Leonard portrays Vincent, Catherine, Allegra (original character), and Devin Wells

1993

• 
  from The Mirror of Our Dreams, Diana Bennett and Devin, artist is Jan Durr

1995

• 
  from Chatterbox 5A, artist is Renate Haller

1997

• 
  from Helper's Network UK (Beauty and the Beast newsletter) 31 (May 1997), a signed photo of Bruce Abbot who portrayed Devin Wells. It was VERY likely signed much earlier than 1997

1999

• 
  from A Kingdom by the Sea , artist is Pam Tuck

Comments About "Promises of Someday"

It’s a rich story, and one that really doesn’t reflect well on Father. Devin (Bruce Abbott, Linda Hamilton’s real-life husband at the time) has been playing proto-Pretender since he fled Below, hopping from identity to identity His hurt stems from Father’s clear favoritism for Vincent and an adolescent spat that left Devin with three small claw marks along his jaw. He was Vincent’s protector and best friend, and he finally gets a shock when it’s revealed he’s no mere tunnel orphan but Father’s biological son.

That particular revelation needed a bit more fallout than we get here (though Devin does return in a second season episode), as it underlines Father’s character as someone who has an image of himself as a virtuous leader but is just as much a weak human being as anyone else. His excuses for never acknowledging Devin as his child are guff, and inadvertently or not the viewer gets the much stronger sense he wanted an heir—and no dark-haired bastard would do when there was a golden, special lion-boy right there.

Meta

• Review: Beauty and the Beast “Temptation” and “Promises of Someday”, ^{Archived version} (October 2012)