Wednesday Season 2 confirmed Isaac Night's secret identity and ties to the Addams Family. The Netflix show's sophomore run began with the unexpected revival of a zombie named Slurp, who became Pugsley's wannabe pet and friend. However, this innocent zombie gradually became violent after he targeted the brains of his victims. By consuming brains, Slurp eventually regenerated his mental state while improving his physical features along the way.
Wednesday Season 2, Part 1's penultimate episode showed Slurp being taken to Willow Hill after his zombie rampage in Camp Jericho. The finale shed some more light on Slurp's backstory after it confirmed that he knew Nevermore's renowned professor, Augustus Stonehearst, by calling him his "old friend" right before he killed him by eating his brains.
This notable exchange between Slurp and Stonehearts confirmed that he is more than just a zombie. Instead, he had ties to Nevermore that Wednesday Season 2, Part 2 explored even further.
Who Is Isaac Night In Wednesday Season 2? Backstory Explained
Wednesday Season 2, Episode 6 pulled back the curtain on Slurp's real name, and his identity is none other than Isaac Night.
As one of the DaVincis of Nevermore (Outcasts who have telekinesis), Isaac is a genius scientist and a star student, who was highly praised by his peers and professors. Dr. August Stonehearst served as his mentor, helping him build his secret lab in Iago Tower to conduct his complex experiments.
While some viewed him as a saint, others claimed that he was a danger to Nevermore. Professor Orloff noted that he "didn't care about people, but he loved to play God."
Another shocking revelation about Isaac Night in Wednesday Season 2, Part 2 is the fact that he is Francoise Galpin's brother (she is Tyler's mother, who also has ties to the Addams family due to her friendship with Morticia). Episode 6 showed the heartfelt reunion between the two siblings, and it also unpacked his lifelong goal of using his machine to get rid of her sister's Hyde persona to save her life.
Isaac tried to eliminate Francoise's Hyde abilities 30 years ago when he manipulated Gomez Addams into becoming a power source for his machine. However, it backfired after Morticia broke the machine, and Gomez lost his powers forever. It was Gomez's price to pay due to Isaac's betrayal.
Perhaps the biggest twist involving Isaac Night came during Episode 8 when it revealed that Thing was his original right hand. A flashback showed Morticia chopping off Isaac's hand before he died, leading to the birth of Thing. Gomez pointed out that all of Isaac's goodness flowed through Thing, which explains why the reanimated hand became a loyal ally of the Addams Family.
Isaac's desperation in the present day to prolong his sister's life led him to abduct Pugsley to replicate the experiment he did decades ago. While he managed to reunite Thing with his body, the reanimated hand's loyalty to the Addams proved his downfall. Isaac was eventually defeated due to the combined might of Wednesday, Thing, and Morticia (read more about why Morticia Addams looked different in Wednesday Season 2).
How Did Isaac Night Become a Zombie Known as Slurp?
Isaac's peak intellect capacity turned heads in Nevermore, particularly his mentor, Dr. August Stonehearst, who saw him "as the key to unlocking the secrets of Outcast abilities."
While Gomez tried to protect his best friend from being exploited for his genius, it was clear that Isaac had sinister plans for him since he only wanted to fulfill his promise to Francoise, reiterating that it was the only thing he cared about.
This is why Isaac went to great lengths to betray a young Gomez Addams and use him as a pawn for his grand scheme. While his plan failed after his lab exploded, leading to his untimely death, Pugsley accidentally brought him back to life in Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 as a zombie named Slurp.
Although he began as a mindless zombie, his intellect eventually took over as he consumed many brains throughout Part 1, which led to him regaining his memories and killing Stonehearst in Willow Hill. After he sought revenge against his mentor, this led to his straightforward revenge plot against the Addams Family to "pay for their sins" against him.
In a shocking twist, it was revealed that Gomez and Morticia were actually the ones who buried Isaac's body under the Skull Tree in the first place because Stonehearst blackmailed them into doing so, or they would be framed for his death.
With the revelation, it seemed that Isaac's turning into a zombie was inadvertently set up by Gomez and Morticia's actions, which were simply triggered by Pugsley's electrical powers.
Who Plays Isaac? Actor Details In Wednesday Season 2 Part 2
Owen Painter brought Slurp to life (literally) in Wednesday Season 2, and he later portrayed a much more menacing version of Isaac Night in Part 2.
Speaking with TUDUM, Owen Painter opened up about portraying such a complex character like Isaac Night in Wednesday Season 2, noting that it is an "interesting, complicated, and physically challenging" journey:
"I felt like I had a real blessing. The role is interesting, complicated, and physically challenging. It was a lot of stuff that I’d never really done before.The role provided a real sense of opportunity. It felt like a gift. So much of this job can be ‘Just stand there and say your line.’"
In the same interview, Wednesday executive producer and director Tim Burton offered high praise to Painter's performance as Slurp, pointing out that "there's something off-kilter and offbeat about him:"
"Luckily Owen is good and talented. I felt confident that even under that makeup, he knew where he was going with the role. Like other great horror movie actors, you can’t really put your finger on it, but there’s a power to him — there’s something off-kilter and offbeat about him."
Before his scene-stealing performance as Isaac Night in the Netflix series, Painter stole the hearts of viewers as young Lucas in Hulu's Tiny Beautiful Things. He joined a cast of stellar actors led by Kathryn Hahn, Sarah Pidgeon, Tanzyn Crawford, Quentin Plair, Merritt Wever, and Johnny Berchtold.
The actor made his on-screen debut as Jaden in a lone episode of The Handmaid's Tale in 2022.
Painter hails from West Hartford, Connecticut, and he began acting when he was young, taking on roles in high school productions such as Hairspray and plays by William Shakespeare.
