Character Analysis
Desperado
As the official creepy crawly bad guy in The Raven Boys, Barrington Whelk is dangerous… and incredibly desperate. He's the dude who went looking for the ley lines a long time ago, and even killed his best friend Noah Czerny as a sacrifice. His attempt to wake the ley lines failed, but that doesn't mean that he's ready to give up. Nope, Whelk sees the ley lines as his quest in life, and he's not going to let anyone else steal his glory:
If no one knew about St. Mark's Day, truly no one knew about ley lines. Certainly no one in Henrietta, Virginia. Certainly not one of Aglionby's richest pupils. Definitely not in conjunction with St. Mark's Day. This was Whelk's quest, Whelk's treasure, Whelk's teen years. (5.20)
Whelk is so miserable in his life as a high school Latin teacher that he's willing to do anything to change his circumstances. He misses his former wealth and glory (from when he was an Aglionby student and his family had lots of money), and he's willing to cheat, lie, and kill in order to reverse his fall from glory. When he finds out that the raven boys are looking for the same ley lines, he sets his sight on them… and in doing so, puts them in great danger. After all, Whelk is an unpredictable man, and he's already killed once.
Whelk's greedy ways catch up to him, though, and he winds up trampled by a horde of magical creatures. Is he gone for good now? It certainly seems like it. But since magic is totally real in this series, we won't be too surprised if he makes a reappearance in future volumes.