I feel it is somewhat sad in this show that Derek really gets the short end of the stick quite a bit.
He can be an utter asshole, but at the same time he tries to do what's best for everyone but it always seems to backfire.
I recently re-watched the seasons and there's a strangely large amount of compassion hidden underneath his douche exterior: like, coming to find his sister (who he loves, clearly), teaching Scott how to survive (although he does a terrible job of it) - he even protects others from Scott harming them (such as Allison & Jackson in the car in S1).
He bit Mama Argent while trying to rescue Scott - because she was killing Scott - literally.
It seems a little unfair, in retrospect, that everyone seemed to want Derek dead after that (or at least Allison) yet the fact that she was injured in the line of killing a teenage boy who happened to be sleeping with her daughter (umm, overreaction, much?) seemed to be swept under the rug.
If you want to go back even farther, Grandpa Argent seemed to be blaming Derek for the Alpha's killing spree in S1 - yet Derek is the one who killed Peter!
Logical? “Nay” I say!
Even his ass-kicking training methods were all trying to prepare his pack the best way he knew how - and I feel he chose the ones that were damaged b/c he, too, is damaged and was giving them what he saw as a gift.
That, and they were easy emotional prey. But regardless, his pursuit of the Kanima, even though we all (questionably) love Jackson, albeit misguided in its intense focus on killing him as a solution, was also due to his wanting to protect people and his pack.
So I ask... why all the hate on Derek?
Can this guy catch a break in S3?
I sure hope so. Poor thing can't win for losing.