HEROES 3x07 "Eris Quod Sum" Discuss and Grade

[zenophite]

evil Sylar turning into nice Gabriel is anakin turning into vader in reverse.
I think this whole sylar is a petrelli thing has gone too far.

I bet the special one, the bringer of light or whatever they mentioned earlier this season winds up being sylar.

robert forster is good and I hope they don't waste his character

parkman's dad...yeah you can tell when they don't know what to do with a character.

Daphne - why do they even bother? we already know that she's sweet on matt and that she won't go bad - this sort of stuff is cliche already.

Peter losing powers - mixed feelings on that...I like the idea that peter is "the best of them all" as the old guy in season 1 said and sort of the pureheart character but he was way too powerful. at the very least they should have had his power of absorption have limits like only being able to have 5 powers or maybe they wear out after a while.

I also don't like the fact that the writers tend to ignore the specials whose power would completely kill the drama - i.e. the Haitian. Where's he at? He could cancel everyone out and let noah cap all the baddies...oops but then we'd have to end more quickly. Speaking of which...


...isn't this villains thing supposed to be only half of the season?


P.S. seems like they got rid of maya permanently and looks like kristen bell is out too. wooooohooooo!

 

[Guy Gardener]

Did Kring ask advice of the Smallville Producers? "Yeah dude, we always get a fabulous bump in the ratings when Jor-El strips Clark of his powers, because then he has to spend at least an episode pretending he';s batman, because, y'know Batman is so much cooler than Superman but they wouldn't let me do a show about L'll Brucie."

If they were twins... What if Angela drowneded the wrong baby kicking it to the curb... or did she love him so much that she neeed to get the hell away from the rest of the psychopaths in their nuclear family?

Because Sylars power is not to figure out how powers work, but how everything works... And from the correct perspective his powers must be telling him that this is how he should be treating his "family" because that's how family works. If his powers were truly cosmic, he might be fates bitch when he isn't eating brains?

 

[Sheep]

I'm ten minutes into the new Heroes and I just emotively conigated the most unprecedented and unexpected expressence..

"Go Lyle!"

Anyone can beat Elle by getting her wet. That's her weakness.

I am not going to say anything disgusting.

Disgusting? That's the hottest thing I've ever read on these boards. I'd love the chance to make Elle wet.

As for the episode, it was pointless and rambling. Heroes somehow managed to fall off my appointment viewing schedule despite being there its first two seasons (yes, even last season).

 

[zenophite]

Because Sylars power is not to figure out how powers work, but how everything works... And from the correct perspective his powers must be telling him that this is how he should be treating his "family" because that's how family works. If his powers were truly cosmic, he might be fates bitch when he isn't eating brains?

yeah that's a good point...if his power is to figure out how anything works then where's the limit? wouldn't he be able to figure out how the entire universe works?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If they were twins... What if Angela drowneded the wrong baby kicking it to the curb... or did she love him so much that she neeed to get the hell away from the rest of the psychopaths in their nuclear family?

Supposedly the producers have said

Spoiler: whether Gabe and Peter are twins

they're not twins, which is ok by me, because they don't look the same age even tho the actors are.

I still think Arthur is lying. Angela had a dream that Arthur would rule the world bwahahaha via the power that Gabriel would give him, and that Gabe would turn out just like daddy personality-wise (certainly moreso than Nathan or Peter did) and would be more likely to do his bidding. So she arranged for him to be adopted in a way that would foil even Arthur's attempts to find him (which means the Company probably was involved even if the adoptive parents were clueless.)

She hid him partly out of concern for his future - being a nonentity watchmaker would be better than the alternative - and partly out of concern for the damage he would do if he knew his own abilities. Based on what Angela said when she visited Gabe in the dream, we haven't seen the extent of those abilities yet.

And maybe I shouldn't complain about the way Mo is being characterized because if my theory about Gabriel is right, it was Chandra Suresh who screwed things up by being too nosy and poking into a situation better left alone. Dangerous curiosity runs in the Suresh family.

Because Sylars power is not to figure out how powers work, but how everything works...

That must be what Angela was talking about. The reason he hasn't expanded his curiosity beyond brains is because that was being driven by his frustration at not being special. Now that that's no longer an issue, he can start to think about other applications - and that was also what Peter was after when he got the ability from Future Gabe.

if his power is to figure out how anything works then where's the limit? wouldn't he be able to figure out how the entire universe works?

Yes. But the limit has already been established - his sanity. Even a "small" application of the seeing ability, just looking at brains, made him a murderous psychopath. The cost for expanding the ability would be much greater and he'd end up in a straightjacket.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Did you see how Sylar taught Peter what his powers were? How his brain had to work to trip that switch and make his powers activate?

Horology.

If Gabe was never a watchmaker, then he never would have been able to access his abilities. He was put into that life for a reason because he had a destiny, no matter the bloody first steps he'd have to take to get there.

I.E.: Angela is a bitch.

 

[melancholymecha]

The characters like Nathan or Matt or even a genuinely flawed character like Isaac were more interesting

Isaac. Yeah, I miss Isaac.

just want to briefly mention 2 other things: I actually like the Matt/Daphne pairing. and I also like Nathan/Tracy(odd b/c I was indifferent to Nathan/Nikki).

 

[darthraidr]

Below average. but hey, i am not a fan of this show at all. it's premise is interesting, people with super powers, but it's execution has always been off.

i liked parkman's mind trick... that was about it... unless this episode had hiro getting knocked out twice... i liked that bit even though i thought he could stop time (which should make him super powerful and able to avoid most any dangerous situations if he has time to react).

 

[Guy Gardener]

The characters like Nathan or Matt or even a genuinely flawed character like Isaac were more interesting

Isaac. Yeah, I miss Isaac.

just want to briefly mention 2 other things: I actually like the Matt/Daphne pairing. and I also like Nathan/Tracy(odd b/c I was indifferent to Nathan/Nikki).

And aren't you just itching for a good look at the incumbent whirlwind love affair between Babs and Nathan once something goes horribly wrong and possibly terminal with Tracy?

Triplets.

Nathan is treating them like a fuck phalanx.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yknow what's wrong with this show? They are so frightened by the ratings that they've sped up the pace of events to such an extent that the emotional impacts of events are not getting through to the audience. Instead of all the sound and fury keeping people from picking up the zapper, it's left the audience frustrated by the emotional hollowness of inadequately explained events and character twists.

If people are confused why Sylar is "acting nice" now, it's because the writers haven't had Sylar actually TELL the audience, "my whole problem, really, was feeling insignificant. Remember when I told Dr. Suresh that? You don't? Well okay, it was two years ago, but take my word for it. So now that I know my real family, my mood has improved enough that now I can fully address the fact that I have been a very bad boy and I kinda feel rotten about that. But my self-image is so totally dependent on Mommy's approval that I also feel obligated to follow her orders blindly. Plus, I'm not sure if I should be transferring my loyalty to Daddy at this point, so I'm going to play a waiting game and not act up towards anyone right now. Also, let's not forget that while all these emotionally confusing events are occurring, I still have to suppress that 'hunger' thing, which is new for me at this point so you'd think I wouldn't be much good at it, but the writers haven't even had time yet to deal with this and explain why I haven't eaten anyone's braaaains lately."

Or Peter's oddly charitable stance towards Sylar: "Sure, he tried to kill me or did kill me several times, and until just now, I thought he'd murdered my beloved cheerleader niece, and he's committed a whole lot of other hideous murders, and even though I'm a bleeding heart sap, I also have a nasty, vengeful streak when it comes to satisfying my own personal sense of justice. But let's not forget how patheticly I behave when Nathan smacks me around, so is it really that difficult to believe that I'd transfer this masochistic behavior to a brand new brother? Plus that little episode I had with the 'hunger' has made it crystal clear that I would have acted no better in his place. But mainly I'm hoping I can latch onto Gabe and make Nathan insanely jealous..."

That would be a whole lot of exposition to portray in some non-clunky manner and it's probably impossible to shoehorn it all in, but they could have tried a little harder to explain WHY these people are doing what they're doing. S1 benefitted from having scenes where people hang around the kitchen and just chat about things. This season is too blindingly fast.

The dialogue is so sparse that it could just as well be haiku. Gabe's "I'm watching out for you, that's what brothers do," really means, "I am so fucking grateful to realize my family wasn't a bunch of humiliating nonentities, plus I have a Mommy fixation and Mommy said to save you, plus I have always been a needy, clingy person seeking the approval of some group who makes me feel like I belong and have a purpose, plus I feel guilty about trying to murder you on several occasions when actually you're not a bad kid, just kind of annoying and pathetic, and I'm really invested in making this familial relationship work, inasumuch as it's kind of my last chance for anything resembling a human existence, that of course I'm watching out for you, way, way, way beyond what a normal brother would bother with."

The statement that made it into the episode doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what Gabriel meant, but saying more than two sentences at a time means you're risking the audience getting bored and zapping over to Dancing with the Stars. Heroes is being written for an ADD audience. The problem is, they're losing the non-ADD audience that actually wants some kind of solid dramatic explanation and doesn't want to have to do all the filling-in-the-blanks work.

 

[stj]

The characters like Nathan or Matt or even a genuinely flawed character like Isaac were more interesting

Isaac. Yeah, I miss Isaac.

just want to briefly mention 2 other things: I actually like the Matt/Daphne pairing. and I also like Nathan/Tracy(odd b/c I was indifferent to Nathan/Nikki).

My irony detector is dinging. Have to check the batteries.

Face it, folks, Isaac was far more interesting than African rock painter! Doesn't that make the degradation of the writing quality painfully clear?

 

[melancholymecha]

not irony! I actually liked Isaac & wish he hadnt been killed off. He was better than a bunch of the newer characters introduced in the 2nd & 3rd season.

And aren't you just itching for a good look at the incumbent whirlwind love affair between Babs and Nathan once something goes horribly wrong and possibly terminal with Tracy?

Triplets.

Nathan is treating them like a fuck phalanx.

Nathan's eventual role on Heroes- fly around a bit & bang Sanders sisters. Sigh.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Exactly. It's fortunate Micah turned out to be a lad.

Maybe it's hardwired into his DNA like Sylar's hunger?

 

[stj]

not irony! I actually liked Isaac & wish he hadnt been killed off. He was better than a bunch of the newer characters introduced in the 2nd & 3rd season.

Isaac wasn't one of my favorites, but I too wished he hadn't been killed off. Drug addiction made him genuinely flawed, too ordinary and imperfect.
Emo Boy's unempathetic contempt initially appeared to be designed as ironic characterization. Then it became obvious the audience was supposed to share Peter's disdain and indifference. And the rock painter replacement is not a character at all.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Issac was too pretty. I'm totally Mirror Mirror when it comes to beauties who outclass me on such a scale.

Translation on Eris quod sum is something like "I am what you will be."

Which is some thing pretty awesome to say, even if the conjugating or spelling is off that it's actually Eris quad sum according to a latin phrase book I found, which the translation page i also found said mean "I am the Dinner table". Whic isn't altogether off base since these people seem to be devouring each other not altogether metaphorically.

Sic transit Vir means "Here comes the Man."

I went years without knowing that.

It's amazing the depth of this shite that can escape one just because of that god bloke smacking the tower at bable.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Thanks for the translation. I was wondering.

This all ties into my theory that Arthur Petrelli is Peter from the future. Talk about Oepidal! I can't even begin to untangle that one.

Which is some thing pretty awesome to say, even if the conjugating or spelling is off that it's actually Eris quad sum according to a latin phrase book I found, which the translation page i also found said mean "I am the Dinner table". Whic isn't altogether off base since these people seem to be devouring each other not altogether metaphorically.

This series essentially boils down to one hellacious Thanksgiving Dinner with the relatives, their exes, their exes' exes, their illegitimate or otherwise discarded spawn and the spawn's adoptive parents plus assorted socially inept coworkers and friends who have no place else to go, where everyone has way too much to drink and it all devolves into turkey leg throwing and recriminations. So the dinner table translation is probably accurate.

 

[Guy Gardener]

You're describing the last episode of the Sopranos too.

 

[Captain Intrepid]

This all ties into my theory that Arthur Petrelli is Peter from the future. Talk about Oepidal! I can't even begin to untangle that one.

//blinks//

Woah.

 

[Guy Gardener]

They mentioned heroes on True Blood last week, in the same breath as compliments about drugs and big gay fang banging sex. claimed that's all which made Mondays especially excellent.

Stephen Root even!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

This all ties into my theory that Arthur Petrelli is Peter from the future. Talk about Oepidal! I can't even begin to untangle that one.

//blinks//

Woah.

...'course Milo Ventimiglia and Robert Forster don't look quite enough like each other for them to pull it off.

But what they could pull off: Arthur could be one of Nathan's two sons or even more mindblowingly - Noah!

You're describing the last episode of the Sopranos too.

Hey spoiler! I haven't seen The Sopranos yet. And I thought the last episode was just One Big Aggravating Cheat.