Isaac hasn't once made an attempt to become alpha because he's comfortable being lead by someone else. When Isaac's father dies, he's labeled as a suspect and locked in the police station the night of the full moon. When Derek and Stiles come to rescue him, he attacks a man posing to be an officer and attempts to attack Stiles until Derek roars (yes, roars) at him to assert himself as the alpha and to stop Isaac from attacking Stiles. It works, and because Isaac is used to being abused, he literally cowers in fear from what Derek may do and shifts back to normal. He is seen shaking from how scared he is.
After gaining more control over his powers (sort of) he works under Derek without questioning him because he believes it's what he has to do. He's fine with trying to defeat Scott under Derek's orders, along with kidnapping Lydia without knowing the full story (besides what Derek told him). He is too clouded by the alpha's influence along with his new-found confidence in order to see the entire picture that Scott has been trying to show him. When trying to stop Jackson inside the rave, it's shown that he has no problems using his sexuality in order to trick someone. Erica is in between Jackson and Isaac until he decides to try and get closer to Jackson in order to keep him distracted and inject the Ketamine into his blood stream.
When Erica and Boyd can't take the reality of their life anymore, they decide to tell Derek that they are leaving while claiming they heard an entire pack of werewolves. Isaac is tempted to go with them and asks Scott if he's leaving, too, but when Scott says there are too many people in Beacon Hill that need him, Isaac tells him that he has nothing in Beacon Hills and says goodbye. At first, it seems like he is just going because his pack is going, but later he comes back to help Scott take down the kanima. He broke off from Erica and Boyd, showing that he can and will think for himself, along with the fact that deep down, he probably knew that Scott would need his help.
What made Isaac essentially take the bite? Derek does things for himself, and only himself in the beginning, preying on vulnerable teenagers who would do anything to change their lives. He promised Isaac that whatever was going on in his life would become better if he took the bite. Derek even (probably) used Isaac's abusive home life as a way to convince him to take it. Harder, better, faster, stronger, right? Well, that's how Isaac feels when his powers begin to come through. He ends up explaining to Scott that he feels great, despite being a fugitive. All that vulnerability that he felt before when he was defenseless had been blown away by the wind.
Isaac used to be the kid that didn't stick out. Now, he likes to shake things up. He definitely has a 'darker' side to him, enjoying making people uncomfortable (Stiles, Scott) and has a mischievousness to him that is shown quickly after the bite. He and Erica are seen walking down a school hallway together and Isaac purposefully shows his claws and scrapes them across a set of lockers as they walk, as if filing them down. He's very curious, and when he first steps foot into Dr. Deaton's office he wants to touch everything. When he reaches out to touch a glass bottle, Derek grabs his wrist and tells him to watch what he touches.
When things get personal, he gets angry. This develops more in the third season than the second, but Isaac definitely has an on/off switch when it comes to his animalistic nature. When he feels threatened or targeted (or he wants to protect someone), it's hard to keep him completely docile. He'll shift, or go after someone without thinking of the consequences. Sometimes, it's something that he can't even control which dips into his triggers. When he was locked in a closet with Allison, he felt as if he was being locked inside the old freezer again (a common tactic used by his father to punish him) and had a panic attack which turned into him shifting and attacking Allison until Scott moved the drink machine out of the way of the door and pulled Isaac off her. Another example is when he was chasing after the alpha twins after Scott told him not to, and accepting Derek's bite.
He is also described as a "ticking time bomb" by Stiles. In s3e05, after being told what is happening to Scott, he blows a fuse and starts attacking Ethan (one of the alphas) nonstop, even when being pulled away by the coach, he shoves him off and jumps right back in to punching Ethan repeatedly in the face. He can only stop when Scott yells his name at him.
Scott yelling at him proves to be a great source of 'pack leadership' and Isaac respects Scott enough to accept him as a leader, which is why Isaac obeys him. This also happens when he is locked in a closet with Allison and he is triggered by his claustrophobia. When he loses it and shifts, Scott is the only one that can bring him down by yelling Isaac's name.
Isaac doesn't talk about himself, or how he feels much, if at all. In that way, he is very introverted. Most of his emotions are processed in his own thoughts. He feels that he can take care of himself and keep everything inside, which is probably one of the reasons he acts out on a regular basis. He has only opened up to Scott (to an extent) and even then, there isn't a lot that he wants to talk about when it comes to his own emotions. When he comes to visit Scott before the big game in 2x11, he asks why the dog on the table smells funny and learns that his powers can be used for the good of others, too. Dr. Deaton places Isaac's hand on the dying dog and Isaac absorbs a bit of the dog's pain, crying when he realizes what he had just done. This is the only time we see Isaac cry. Though, even if he isn't interested in talking about himself, he is very expressive with his features and hands, though it mostly adds up to his lips, eyes, and eyebrows.
Isaac can be an asshole. It especially shows in the second season, when his ego skyrocketed after taking the Bite. He comes off as aloof, intense and cunning. When Scott and Stiles are talking in the locker room trying to figure out how to get tickets to the secret rave, Isaac asks them how they survive and tells them to wait where they are (being rather rough with Stiles, having been gripping his shirt and patting him on the chest) as he pushes past them after they witness another lacrosse player selling tickets. He beats up the boy the seller had given the ticket to and the seller (things are being smashed, Stiles and Scott are wincing) before coming back with two tickets and shoving them both into his teammates' hands.
Beneath his aloof exterior, Isaac can and does care for his friends, even if it may come off as beating someone up in order to prove a point. He is a genuine person and wants to help save people alongside Scott and Derek, even if he is still clouded by his opinions of the alpha pack. He still blames them for the deaths that are happening in Beacon Hills and claims that he will kill the twins if given the chance.
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Re: isaac lahey | teen wolf | not reserved 2/3
After gaining more control over his powers (sort of) he works under Derek without questioning him because he believes it's what he has to do. He's fine with trying to defeat Scott under Derek's orders, along with kidnapping Lydia without knowing the full story (besides what Derek told him). He is too clouded by the alpha's influence along with his new-found confidence in order to see the entire picture that Scott has been trying to show him. When trying to stop Jackson inside the rave, it's shown that he has no problems using his sexuality in order to trick someone. Erica is in between Jackson and Isaac until he decides to try and get closer to Jackson in order to keep him distracted and inject the Ketamine into his blood stream.
When Erica and Boyd can't take the reality of their life anymore, they decide to tell Derek that they are leaving while claiming they heard an entire pack of werewolves. Isaac is tempted to go with them and asks Scott if he's leaving, too, but when Scott says there are too many people in Beacon Hill that need him, Isaac tells him that he has nothing in Beacon Hills and says goodbye. At first, it seems like he is just going because his pack is going, but later he comes back to help Scott take down the kanima. He broke off from Erica and Boyd, showing that he can and will think for himself, along with the fact that deep down, he probably knew that Scott would need his help.
What made Isaac essentially take the bite? Derek does things for himself, and only himself in the beginning, preying on vulnerable teenagers who would do anything to change their lives. He promised Isaac that whatever was going on in his life would become better if he took the bite. Derek even (probably) used Isaac's abusive home life as a way to convince him to take it. Harder, better, faster, stronger, right? Well, that's how Isaac feels when his powers begin to come through. He ends up explaining to Scott that he feels great, despite being a fugitive. All that vulnerability that he felt before when he was defenseless had been blown away by the wind.
Isaac used to be the kid that didn't stick out. Now, he likes to shake things up. He definitely has a 'darker' side to him, enjoying making people uncomfortable (Stiles, Scott) and has a mischievousness to him that is shown quickly after the bite. He and Erica are seen walking down a school hallway together and Isaac purposefully shows his claws and scrapes them across a set of lockers as they walk, as if filing them down. He's very curious, and when he first steps foot into Dr. Deaton's office he wants to touch everything. When he reaches out to touch a glass bottle, Derek grabs his wrist and tells him to watch what he touches.
When things get personal, he gets angry. This develops more in the third season than the second, but Isaac definitely has an on/off switch when it comes to his animalistic nature. When he feels threatened or targeted (or he wants to protect someone), it's hard to keep him completely docile. He'll shift, or go after someone without thinking of the consequences. Sometimes, it's something that he can't even control which dips into his triggers. When he was locked in a closet with Allison, he felt as if he was being locked inside the old freezer again (a common tactic used by his father to punish him) and had a panic attack which turned into him shifting and attacking Allison until Scott moved the drink machine out of the way of the door and pulled Isaac off her. Another example is when he was chasing after the alpha twins after Scott told him not to, and accepting Derek's bite.
He is also described as a "ticking time bomb" by Stiles. In s3e05, after being told what is happening to Scott, he blows a fuse and starts attacking Ethan (one of the alphas) nonstop, even when being pulled away by the coach, he shoves him off and jumps right back in to punching Ethan repeatedly in the face. He can only stop when Scott yells his name at him.
Scott yelling at him proves to be a great source of 'pack leadership' and Isaac respects Scott enough to accept him as a leader, which is why Isaac obeys him. This also happens when he is locked in a closet with Allison and he is triggered by his claustrophobia. When he loses it and shifts, Scott is the only one that can bring him down by yelling Isaac's name.
Isaac doesn't talk about himself, or how he feels much, if at all. In that way, he is very introverted. Most of his emotions are processed in his own thoughts. He feels that he can take care of himself and keep everything inside, which is probably one of the reasons he acts out on a regular basis. He has only opened up to Scott (to an extent) and even then, there isn't a lot that he wants to talk about when it comes to his own emotions. When he comes to visit Scott before the big game in 2x11, he asks why the dog on the table smells funny and learns that his powers can be used for the good of others, too. Dr. Deaton places Isaac's hand on the dying dog and Isaac absorbs a bit of the dog's pain, crying when he realizes what he had just done. This is the only time we see Isaac cry. Though, even if he isn't interested in talking about himself, he is very expressive with his features and hands, though it mostly adds up to his lips, eyes, and eyebrows.
Isaac can be an asshole. It especially shows in the second season, when his ego skyrocketed after taking the Bite. He comes off as aloof, intense and cunning. When Scott and Stiles are talking in the locker room trying to figure out how to get tickets to the secret rave, Isaac asks them how they survive and tells them to wait where they are (being rather rough with Stiles, having been gripping his shirt and patting him on the chest) as he pushes past them after they witness another lacrosse player selling tickets. He beats up the boy the seller had given the ticket to and the seller (things are being smashed, Stiles and Scott are wincing) before coming back with two tickets and shoving them both into his teammates' hands.
Beneath his aloof exterior, Isaac can and does care for his friends, even if it may come off as beating someone up in order to prove a point. He is a genuine person and wants to help save people alongside Scott and Derek, even if he is still clouded by his opinions of the alpha pack. He still blames them for the deaths that are happening in Beacon Hills and claims that he will kill the twins if given the chance.