Theo Raeken

Theo Raeken (played by Cody Christian) is a major character and antagonist-turned-antihero in the television series Teen Wolf. • Physical Build: Athletic, lean, and conventionally attractive young man. • Hair and Eyes: Dark hair and expressive eyes (which glow yellow/blue or change traits as a werewolf/coyote chimera). • Style: Often wears casual modern teen clothing, school jackets, or fitted casual wear that projects a neat, approachable, and non-threatening facade.

Theo is a very attractive young man who has tan skin, green eyes, and light brown hair that he wears tousled with gel. He has also been seen with some stubble on occasion. He is on the shorter end of average height with a lean, athletic build; in fact, Malia Tate once stated that Theo had a "perfect body," and Theo seems to agree with this sentiment, since he has no problem stripping nude in front of others and claims he has nothing to hide. Theo is usually seen wearing trendy clothes, such as designer slim-fit jeans, solid-colored v-neck t-shirts, and hoodies, vests, or jackets in neutral colors. Personality

• Master Manipulator: Charming, charismatic, and deceptive, easily faking sincerity to gain the trust of Scott McCall’s pack. • Sociopathic and Ruthless: Coldly calculated enough to murder his own sister, Tara, as a child to steal her heart for a life-saving transplant, and willing to betray anyone to achieve his goals. • Insecure and Power-Hungry: Beneath his calm and confident exterior lies a deep inferiority complex, a desperate fear of being alone or weak, and a burning obsession with acquiring power and a pack of his own. • Redemption Arc: In Season 6, his character shifts from a primary villain to a reluctant ally and antihero who fights alongside the McCall pack against mutual threats, showing moments of genuine loyalty, sacrifice, and dry banter.

Theo is an intelligent and charming young man who has demonstrated an exceptional ability to use his cunning to manipulate others around him, as evidenced by the fact that he was able to convince everyone in the McCall Pack, as well as their allies such as Sheriff Stilinski, that he was a kind, compassionate person who simply wanted entry into the pack. Despite his compassionate and caring persona, he has shown himself to be ruthless in his pursuit of power, much like Peter Hale, and is willing to sacrifice anyone's life if he believes it will help him achieve his goals. Despite this personality trait, Theo has shown an uncharacteristic level of care and concern toward Malia Tate, who is a Werecoyote like him and who he seems to genuinely like, though that has not stopped him from hurting her physically and emotionally in order to get what he wants.

Throughout the fifth season, Theo's main drive in life was his desire to become a true Werewolf and an Alpha, which he believed would make him immensely powerful, especially if he became the Alpha of the McCall Pack, who are exceptionally powerful individually and would boost his potential power as well. To achieve this goal, he showed that he is capable of making elaborate plans to manipulate those around him, putting wedges between Scott and his packmates to drive them apart in hopes that, once Theo had stolen Scott's powers and had become an Alpha Werewolf himself, they would be willing to accept him as their new Alpha.

This plan also revealed that he is extremely good at reading people, and knows exactly what to do or say to manipulate them into reacting how he wants, whether it's proving himself to be trusted by saving the lives of the McCall Pack, making Stiles Stilinski feel better about killing Donovan Donati so he was more willing to accept his darker nature, or turning Liam against Scott by pointing out that taking his Alpha powers would allow him to save girlfriend Hayden's life, among many other examples. However, though Theo made it clear that he wanted all of the members of the McCall Pack to be his subordinates, he was perfectly willing to sacrifice many of them if it meant getting the others. For example, Theo wanted Liam in his pack due to his immense strength and anger issues (the latter of which Theo believed could lead Liam to develop the killer instincts that Theo valued most in his associates) but was ultimately willing to kill Liam in the case that Liam was able to successfully kill Scott, since Liam, as the only Beta Scott had bitten and turned at that point, was the only person who could steal the Alpha powers Theo wanted from him, allowing Theo to thereby steal the Alpha spark from Liam by killing him.

In the same vein, Theo also wanted Lydia in his pack, as he knew her Banshee powers would be a valuable asset in predicting any threats against him, but when it became clear that he would be unable to turn Lydia against Scott, he believed he had no choice but to take Lydia out of the equation entirely, deciding instead to use her to find the location of the Nemeton by forcibly reading her memories; the fact that he referred to Lydia's resulting catatonia as "collateral damage" demonstrates just how much he used to base his value of other people on how much they could or could not help him get what he wants. Theo has demonstrated traits of a sociopath from a young age, as evidenced by flashbacks to when he was around ten years old, in which he watched from the bridge in the Beacon Hills Preserve while his sister Tara pleaded for his help and did nothing to aid her until she died of hypothermia, as he wanted her heart so the Dread Doctors could turn him into a Chimera. This was also proven by Theo's impulsive behavior; though he was able to trick the McCall Pack into thinking that he was a good person and genuinely wanted to help them in order to get close enough to Scott and the others to steal Scott's powers, he was so upset when his plans failed that he impulsively killed Scott himself despite knowing that doing so would ruin his chances of taking Scott's Alpha powers for himself through Liam. He was also shown to be very knowledgeable regarding how to inflict the maximum amount of pain on others when he was instructing Donovan Donati on how to best get back at Sheriff Stilinski for what was done to him and his father.

Though he seems to have no issue with physically or psychologically harming people, he has also demonstrated a slightly masochistic enjoyment in others causing him pain as well, much like Ethan and Aiden. This was demonstrated when he intentionally encouraged both Stiles and Malia to beat him up and was pleased when Malia broke his arm in a fight, though this was likely due in part to Theo wanting the two to embrace their darker inner nature by engaging in violence regardless of the identity of their target. He has also shown behavioral similarities to Peter Hale and the Nogitsune in terms of his long-term plans and manipulation of others using their weaknesses against them. In addition to these personality and behavioral traits, Theo has also shown that he is a foil to Scott McCall; where Scott brings out the best in everyone around him due to his belief that everyone has the potential to be good, Theo wanted everyone around him to be as evil as he was and gained enjoyment in bringing out the darker nature in those around him; this was evidenced by his attempts to tempt Stiles Stilinski and Malia Tate into embracing their inner dark side to be more like him, as he deemed them among the members of the pack with the best chances of turning to his side. Likewise, while Scott gains the loyalty of his packmates and allies by treating them as equals and going out of his way to care for, protect, and defend them, Theo treated his packmates and allies, such as Deucalion, as pawns to be used as he saw fit to gain the power he craved. Theo's inability to pass up an opportunity to stab his allies in the back in exchange for power or other benefits ultimately became his downfall, as the fact that he did nothing to earn their loyalty led all of his allies who weren't killed by Theo himself to switch sides in the final battle.

After his imprisonment for a few months in the mystical prison, and his release, Theo's personality has changed. He has no longer shown any sign of his power hungry nature, seemingly content in simply living to survive in freedom. This change has also shown a somewhat selfless side to Theo's nature, in particular his actions towards Liam, as he saved Liam's life twice when they were facing the Ghost Riders, even allowing Liam to escape while he was the "bait” and protecting Liam when they were hiding from the hunters in the Zoo, even trying to help Liam talk through what was triggering him. This selflessness and caring is a new trait that even Theo himself seems to be conflicted about, as he still makes himself out to be the emotionless, power-hungry person he used to be while acting in ways that demonstrate the opposite.

One of the only traits of his that has not changed is his continued desire to be a real Werewolf in a real pack, which was shown when he tried to declare himself part of the McCall Pack during the fight with Garrett Douglas and the Ghost Riders, only to be rebuffed by Malia Tate. However, despite Malia's hesitance in believing in Theo's redemption, Scott spent Season 6B giving Theo chances to earn his trust, opportunities that Theo took in order to show that, despite his past behaviors, he is trying to be a better person.

Theo would continue to show his selfless side months later, suggesting he has come to genuinely start to care about the McCall pack, particularly Liam. Demonstrated when he continuously saved Liam from losing control and did his best to prevent him from killing, as well as in continuing to aid the pack in their battle against the Anuk-ite and Monroe’s army. This ultimately led to Scott entrusting Theo to find and protect Liam, his mother, Mason Hewitt, and Corey Bryant.

However, he has shown that he is still ruthless to a degree, as he left Schrader to be electrocuted in the Argent Arms International armory as payback for the fact that he had captured and tortured himself and the orphaned Werewolves Jiang, and Tierney.

Theo's newfound selflessness eventually led to a great development in his empathic side. He was initially unable to take Mason's pain after they were attacked by the Anuk-ite because, in Mason's words "You can't take pain if you don't care." However, Theo rose to the occasion and successfully took Gabe's pain in his final moments of life, even despite the fact that Gabe and the other Hunters in Monroe's Army were trying to kill them just seconds earlier.

At the end of the series, Theo is shown as one of two redeemed antagonists (along with Peter Hale) who had earned themselves positions as the McCall Pack's strongest allies, highlighting Theo's work to make up for what he's done wrong in the past.

Evolved Chimera Physiology: As a Chimera, Theo possesses the common powers of an Omega-level Werewolf and Werecoyote, however at a somewhat lower level. Though he has been shown to be the strongest, as well as the most skilled with his powers of the ‘failed’ Chimeras, he was still inferior in strength to true werecreatures, as evidenced by Theo's comment that Chimeras are like "cheap knockoffs" of real shapeshifters. Notably, he was also the only Chimera who was able to shapeshift into a true Wolf, something that is rare even amongst true Werewolves. After Deucalion taught him how to take the powers of others, Theo gained additional abilities that were unique to those of packmates Josh Diaz and Tracy Stewart, which meant he briefly had the power to produce Kanima Venom, and control electromagnetic energy. As of Season 6, Theo has lost these extra abilities and has reverted to his "original" self. Initially Theo struggled to absorb someones pain for its traditional use, due to his lack of empathy, though he was able to successfully take Gabe's pain in the season finale.

Abilities Advanced Combat Skills: Theo has shown himself to be a skilled fighter, making use of his Werewolf-Werecoyote instincts as well as his pseudo-supernatural abilities to great effect and what appears to be a degree of formal close quarters combat training. He was able to beat both Belasko and Josh, though he had initially taken them by surprise. His combat skills also allowed him to temporarily hold his own against the Dread Doctors, and survive multiple fights with the Ghost Riders.. Skilled Manipulator: Theo is shown to be extremely good at manipulation people, as he was able to fool and manipulate the McCall pack into believing he was a regular Werewolf who just wanted to join the pack for weeks. He was also able to manipulate the members of his own pack into doing what he wanted them to.