posted
I knew that Kensai would be a recurring character as soon as his 'gift' was revealed. I didn't guess he would be a primary character until they revealed this 'Adam' behind the scenes as the primary mover and shaker. The puppeteering immortal is not an uncommon theme in comics, after all.
quote:They had Kensai locked up for years. What can they possibly get from Claire that they couldn't have gotten from him during that time?
Perhaps he has more than one ability. It wouldn't be the first time, after all. His former colleagues might even have thought his ability was simply not dying or getting sick, not necessarily Wolverine style healing.
quote:Mr Bennet's complete reluctance to communicate has just crossed into the point where it's absolutely absurd.
I don't know, Claire has (in the second season) proven herself entirely self-centered, foolish, and completely unreliable. That's not the most frustrating thing about the Bennet storyline, though: it's that this Season 2 Stupid Claire is quite different from Season 1 Scared-but-Capable Claire.
Now? The little blonde bimbo only starts getting suspicious of her stalkerish boyfriend when he appears unannounced at her family-on-the-run's home. She calms down, though, when he "shows her something": that being the idiotic prank they pulled has just put her and her family back in danger.
See, Nakamura Hiro's blunders I don't mind: that's his character and it has been from the start. Idealistic, well-meaning, pretty nerdy, and prone to impulsiveness on occasion. So when he does something stupid such as screwing up major events in Japanese history, well, you kind of expect it. When Claire does it? Well, you just have to think, "Hm, did her new team of writers not get the complete biography on her when they started, or what?"
quote:No twins or Sylar.
I liked that part! Of course, I'd like it more if they were included and they did something with them, but absence is better than the past few weeks.
And why hasn't anyone used Molly to track him down, again? And say, why wasn't he tagged like the others?
quote:I really really liked Matt in this episode. He's such a good guy with amazing potential that he's actually realizing in a believable manner.
I agree, he has always been one of my favorites. Nathan, too. Honestly I'm less interested in Peter, since he's just too powerful. He's Superman, and that's boring.
quote:I do hope Mr. Bennett dies, though. I don't like him. He's not a nice person.
Oh, Noah is definitely not a nice person. That's why he's interesting! The ones who are interesting to me are the guys who are idealists but screw up and aren't shining examples of awesomeness, such as Hiro. Or guys who live in the real world and try to do the best they can, such as Nathan and currently Noah.
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quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold: Question:
Did any of Isaac's paintings fail to come true? ... Same thing for Claire. She was on the steps that night, but the shadow was either Peter's or Noah's, I can't remember.
Didn't one of the paintings show her with her head cut open?
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quote:Didn't one of the paintings show her with her head cut open?
Didn't Sylar cut Claire's obnoxious cheerleader ex-friends head open?
As for nuking New York, it did appear that Peter "blew up," just at high altitude so no damage was done. I'm just wondering if the rules of the paintings is that they have to come true, just not in the way we expect them to.
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quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold: Did any of Isaac's paintings fail to come true?
I think the fact that New York didn't get nuked in the sequence portrayed in the painting should be enough to quell the speculation that the stuff in the paintings can't be changed. Claire wasn't killed, Peter didn't die and even if you can rationalize your way out of those, the New York thing is pretty unarguable.
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quote:As for nuking New York, it did appear that Peter "blew up," just at high altitude so no damage was done. I'm just wondering if the rules of the paintings is that they have to come true, just not in the way we expect them to.
The huge painting on the floor of Isaac's studio showed New York leveled by the bomb. That image never happened!! What's more we've seen Hiro transport to a future that will never happen because New York wasn't leveled by the bomb.
Give it up. The major central painting showing New York being leveled didn't come true so not all paintings happen. Period.
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I'm sad that Micah and the girl who can mimic movements weren't in this episode, but I'm sure they'll appear again.
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Mimic girl I find very interesting, and I think I see her as an urban hero for NOLA. Who wants to guess how many episode it'll take for her to make herself some sort of costume (probably after watching some sort of sewing show)?
Micah I could do without.
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
The future prtelled in the paintings can be prevented, its like in a Christmas Carol, the visions showed were only what the future may be not what is absolutely is.
In Stargate SG-1 the only way to accurately predict the future is to know the relative volicities and positions of every subatomic particle in the universe, blown out of the water by the Uncertainty Principle because the more we try to predict it the more we make it harder to determine.
The pictures are only a rough guideline, a possible future like quantum suicide.
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Actually, all the paintings the guy painted came true, and all the paintings Sylar made came true.
But they occured in different timelines.
Hiro got the comic book from the future, the one that Isaac had made and which was distributed later. It patently did not occur during that timeline, but it occured when Hiro changed the timeline.
And if you noticed, Sylar painted himself in the place of President. Which is what ended up happening.
In the sort of quantum sense that time travel tends to ellicit, both sets of prophecies occured, and each were equally valid. But due to the duelling oracles painting contradictory predictions, time... split. Sylar's future came to pass in one timeline, Isaac's in another.
Or something. But that's the impression I got, as soon as I saw Sylar painting the future seen in Hiro's dark future.
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posted
It's hard for me to say this, but in defense of West, he had no idea how serious the situation was. It's very likely that he thought he could win over Claire's father, and i mean, after meeting Claire's mother, well, she certainly didn't help anything, being as nice as she is.
That said, I feel Claire has made a lot of mistakes, and I don't feel she's been written in a realistic way, or even a way that holds true to her character from last season.
Her previous almost love interest was much wiser, and much more likable. After some searching, I have discovered that his name is Zach. Zach would not not like West or West's way of thinking and handling problems. Zach was calmer and actually understood what it meant to be a social outcast, and he was fine with being one, and Claire was becoming a strong enough person that she could handle it as well. That last sentence is important. The influence that Zach had on her, the strength he had given her and the understanding she gained from being his friend has completely vanished this season.
It's strange to me, that Claire should develop feelings for two people who are so different. Zach was always looking out for Claire and genuinely trying to help her, and West seems selfish. I don't think West respects Claire either, as evidenced by spying on her.
It's also very strange to me that, seeing as how Zach meant a lot to her, she would never wonder, "What would Zach say about this?"
*sigh* I just wish her actions were, you know, believable and fit with her character from last season.
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quote:It's hard for me to say this, but in defense of West, he had no idea how serious the situation was. It's very likely that he thought he could win over Claire's father, and i mean, after meeting Claire's mother, well, she certainly didn't help anything, being as nice as she is.
That's a pretty bad defense, IMO. He's only known her for a very short time. They're in the initial stages of their relationship, and she asks him to do one thing that's clearly very important to her. Not only does he not do as she asked, he doesn't do it in the worst way possible: popping over uninvited early in the morning! Short of introducing himself to Claire's parents at the stroke of midnight, it's difficult to imagine more awkward methods.
quote:That said, I feel Claire has made a lot of mistakes, and I don't feel she's been written in a realistic way, or even a way that holds true to her character from last season.
It's that second part that is most frustrating. Perhaps it will be explained next episode. Creative use of the Haitian might explain things.
quote:I don't think West respects Claire either, as evidenced by spying on her.
This is one of the things that induces eye-rolling with me. Now, I can understand an average girl in high school maybe not quite recognizing some creepy-guy signs, but Claire is a fugitive on the run from people who'd love to strap her down to a table and cut on her for the rest of her life, and that's the good alternative. Why isn't she more wary of people she doesn't already trust?
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posted
I think West is immature, but so is Claire. I have a feeling that both will be doing some growing up soon -- especially West. Sooner or later he's going to have to think things through and realize that THEY didn't come after HIM, it was the other way around.
And I still like him, despite the fact that he's a 16-year-old boy, or maybe because of it. He's one of the more realistic characters in the show.
And I think lightening girl is Bob's daughter.
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quote:Originally posted by Carrie: Wasn't Zach gay? I thought he was the former-friend-recognized instead of the potential-love-interest character.
No bet on the Elle-as-Adam's-daughter theory.
It was my understanding that Zach was gay, he said something along the lines of, "I'm not afraid of who I am, neither should you."
West is not that much of a stalker, if you had that kind of ability and suddenly you came across somebody who also had a strange ability, you'd breach a few standard protocols in the interest getting to know that person.
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quote:West is not that much of a stalker, if you had that kind of ability and suddenly you came across somebody who also had a strange ability, you'd breach a few standard protocols in the interest getting to know that person.
You do remember how he found out about Claire's abilities, right? He used his flight to spy on her from a window (or maybe he didn't: anyway, he was spying on her) outside a window, and saw her try her little toe experiment.
As for Zach, that's not much to go on him being homosexual, but it's a possibility. I think I remember him being pretty awkward about helping her in a strictly friendly way, though, that led me to think he had a non-platonic thing for her.
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: It was my understanding that Zach was gay, he said something along the lines of, "I'm not afraid of who I am, neither should you."
They had intended to make Zach gay. Hence that line. But the actor's agent made them change it, because he's going to be playing John Connor in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles", and they thought it would be bad to associate him with being gay.
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posted
Interesting. I'm not sure whether or not it would've been better or worse if he were gay, actually. There are many dramatic tension possibilities if he were gay. But as it turns out, this once-central figure in Claire's life is now a never-was in season 2.
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quote:West is not that much of a stalker, if you had that kind of ability and suddenly you came across somebody who also had a strange ability, you'd breach a few standard protocols in the interest getting to know that person.
You do remember how he found out about Claire's abilities, right? He used his flight to spy on her from a window (or maybe he didn't: anyway, he was spying on her) outside a window, and saw her try her little toe experiment.
That confirmed it for him, but he suspected her from the moment she ran out in front of his car so I'd say no -- that's not how he found out.
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quote:That confirmed it for him, but he suspected her from the moment she ran out in front of his car so I'd say no -- that's not how he found out.
Huh? That's when he noticed her, but I'm thinking back and not remembering anything about that that would give him a clue she had superhuman abilities. Unless he suspects everyone he nearly runs over...
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quote:That confirmed it for him, but he suspected her from the moment she ran out in front of his car so I'd say no -- that's not how he found out.
Huh? That's when he noticed her, but I'm thinking back and not remembering anything about that that would give him a clue she had superhuman abilities. Unless he suspects everyone he nearly runs over...
You might want to rewatch the first episode. The questions he asked her, about being special and about hiding who she wsa, clearly indicated to me that he knew or at least suspected.
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posted
Well, I'm glad the writer has realized his mistakes but I guess the thing that still strikes me is that season 1 wasn't any better. I mean, yeah, once the characters were established and their powers discovered, it was a mistake to go back to a slow build of intrigue. But I didn't think the slow buildup worked last year, either.
He also notes that new characters should be introduced through the old characters, which I completely agree with, but I note that last year we also had far-flung characters that didn't seem to fit together.
True, last season he brought in the bigger story earlier, and he should have done it this year, but the bigger story failed last year because it took too long for the characters to feel connected to it and to one another. I never felt as if Nikki was connected to it, even in the climax. She just happened to be there.
And I still don't have a problem with West. But I may be in a minority on that one, so I suppose I couldn't blame the writers for catering to their audience. I do hope they don't give up on romance entirely just because they need more practice. It brings a human element in that can be lacking in stories like this if you're not careful.
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quote:You might want to rewatch the first episode. The questions he asked her, about being special and about hiding who she wsa, clearly indicated to me that he knew or at least suspected.
It seems much more likely that those were lines he was using on the new, attractive girl sitting next to him, and that she became more appealing as he realized that she was hiding something.
It's a major stretch to imagine that because he nearly ran her over in the school parking lot that he thought, "Hey, I wonder if she has super powers...I'll start testing her and then spy on her!"
He's still a sleaze, I'm afraid, and he and Claire are behaving with staggering stupidity. I wouldn't remind the romance if they hadn't dropped Claire's IQ into the double digits from season one to do it.
quote:It brings a human element in that can be lacking in stories like this if you're not careful.
Season 1 had romance involved without being surprisingly dumb.
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quote:It brings a human element in that can be lacking in stories like this if you're not careful.
Season 1 had romance involved without being surprisingly dumb.
I must have missed that. The only romance I can remember is the three-way between Peter, Isaac, and the chick that died. I never really liked that one.
Ohhh...the one with Hiro and the waitress was nice...tragic, but nice.
posted
I was thinking of Hiro and...Charlie, I think her name was. And between Matt and his wife, though that ended badly. And then there was Isaac, Peter, and...dangit, what was her name, she died as well.
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posted
If West is so proud of his flying ability, why was he driving an SUV?
Add me to the "west is a creepy stalker" crowd. He seems to have a pathological need to do whatever Claire tells him not to do. And I liked Zach too.
quote:Give it up. The major central painting showing New York being leveled didn't come true so not all paintings happen. Period.
I'm not making predictions, I'm asking questions. What are the rules of the paintings? 0Megabyte gave some suggestions. Also, your comment "not all paintings happen" strikes me as important. Are there any paintings that aren't relevent? Did Isaac ever paint the future of someone who is not interacting with one of the "heroes?" Did Isaac paint anything where the entire situation was averted before the entire painting became relevent? (or Peter)
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posted
I think of all the new characters, Monica comes off as the most likeable and the coolest. I think the twins and West aren't going to make it past the end of this half season.
Here's my question: When is the last time you saw a show's leader writer and producer step up and publicly berate himself and critique his own show? I think that's pretty damned cool. And he seems to have hit the nail on the head from the complaints that I've heard.
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posted
Well, I for one liked the Hiro-in-Japan storyline, though I know what he means. Two or three episodes had virtually no Hiro-in-Japan content, and he got the reason perfectly right.
But they could have always just, had the adventures last a little longer, the friendship grow a bit more, instead of skipping them all for a couple episodes.
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posted
Am I the only one who doesn't find Monica all that interesting? Sure, her power is interesting, but I don't think she is.
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posted
I really liked the idea behind Hiro's story arch this season, but the execution was lacking. I liked the idea of telling it more as a fairytale, but they really only went halfway with it.
Having Hiro write the story to Ando and put it in the sword was very clever, and a good story telling device, IMO. Using that more could have helped to add to the fairytale feel. I would have preferred it if the entire story had taken place through Ando reading scrolls.
I'm not clear as to what abilities Adam has. When Bob is telling Nathan about Adam, he shows him the "snow Falls on Miami" article, and says that it could have just as easily been a tsunami, hinting pretty strongly at someone who can control the weather.
Yet from what we've seen, he can only regenerate. Claude (the invisible man) called Peter an empath, and implied that he had met empaths in the past. Perhaps Adam is also an empath.
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Here's my question: When is the last time you saw a show's leader writer and producer step up and publicly berate himself and critique his own show? I think that's pretty damned cool. And he seems to have hit the nail on the head from the complaints that I've heard.
It seems like he really cares. Like he's geek enough himself to get what the problem is.
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quote:Originally posted by DevilDreamt: I'm not clear as to what abilities Adam has. When Bob is telling Nathan about Adam, he shows him the "snow Falls on Miami" article, and says that it could have just as easily been a tsunami, hinting pretty strongly at someone who can control the weather.
Yet from what we've seen, he can only regenerate. Claude (the invisible man) called Peter an empath, and implied that he had met empaths in the past. Perhaps Adam is also an empath.
The weather thing only means that someone in their group might have weather control powers, or psycho/telekenesis. I vote for Angela or Kaito, since we don't know what their powers are, and I think we've seen everyone else in the group picture.
Speaking of which, does anyone know if there's a screen capture up of the group photo? I'd like to take another look at it.
If Adam was an empath, he might have figured out that Hiro was in love with his princess a bit earlier.
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posted
Matt Parkman? I think you misunderstand what "empath" means in this context. It refers to people like Peter who can absorb others' abilities.
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posted
The reason that he implied that Peter had met empaths (Matt) in the past was because THAT implied that Peter could now read minds. Claude was trying to teach Peter how to use the powers that he had absorbed, when the person he had absorbed it from was no longer present.
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posted
Hmm... Claude gave powers nicknames. He called Claire's mom a fire-bug, and when Peter told him that he can do what other's can, Claude said "Oh great, you're an empath!"
He was obviously familiar with how Peter's power works, so the company must have knowledge of people like Peter, and with Claude's in depth knowledge I think it follows that he's met someone with Peter's ability before. For example, knowing that Peter's power first manifests itself as a reflex, and knowing that he can learn to control it. I don't think Claude was guessing wildly about the nature of Peter's power, he knew, most likely from first hand experience with someone like Peter, how it worked.
Lisa, I think you're right about what Bob said, it is likely that someone else on the team can control the weather. It just seemed odd to me that when Nathan asks "Who is Adam?" Bob responds with, "Let me show you this. Snow Falls in Miami." As if that explained something about Adam. In the general sense, I guess it did say that Adam is like a force of nature that's going to alter the world... still, it strikes me as an odd response to the question.
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quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: Am I the only one who doesn't find Monica all that interesting? Sure, her power is interesting, but I don't think she is.
I like her. A motivated teenager who wants to go as far in the world no matter what obstacles get in her way appeals to me. The fact she is African American is refreshing as well, I'm sick of the stereotype that African Americans are either felons, athletes, have lower incomes, or bums.
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quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: Am I the only one who doesn't find Monica all that interesting? Sure, her power is interesting, but I don't think she is.
I completely agree with you, but I think she has potential. I hope they develop her a bit more.
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quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold: The reason that he implied that Peter had met empaths (Matt) in the past was because THAT implied that Peter could now read minds.
I don't follow you. I believe Claude made it clear that he, not Peter, had known at least one empath before. Why do you think Matt is an empath too? All we've ever seen him do is telepathy and now his dad's nightmare-world stuff, but his dad made it clear that it was just another dimension of the telepathy.
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