When he first joins the lab, Ryan has a difficult time with his co-workers. The team was still reeling from Speedle's death and he faced some tension when Speedle's past cases came under review. His friendship with Calleigh Duquesne started on a sour note as she was concerned initially because Wolfe's first case is a possible vehicular homicide involving her alcoholic father, lawyer Kendall "Duke" Duquesne. They came into conflict over evidence handling practices in several episodes but she comes to accept his presence. Medical examiner Alexx Woods resented him at first, telling him at one point that she "[doesn't] need any new friends." The two eventually became close and Woods becomes something of a maternal figure to the much younger Ryan. He also incurred DNA analyst Maxine Valera's wrath when he unintentionally spotted an error in her database which led to her suspension.