Finale Live-Blogging

[trinityvixen]

-"What do you want?"
"Breakfast?"

The reason Sylar and Mohinder broke up: Mo loves 'em and leaves 'em.

-Hah! Maya is too dumb for words. However, I wouldn't mind if she killed Molly. Sylar, please knock the bitch out.

-Hi, Nathan! Welcome back!

-Heeee!! Matt and Nathan totally shared a "Let's roll," head bob. This was roughly translated by me as, "Okay, I'm willing to play sky taxi." "Yes, let's make with the flying."

-Well done, Hiro. You jumped around right, but you let Peter talk too fucking much. Everyone fucking lets Peter talk to fucking much.

Commercial Commentary: FUCK NO, NICK LACHEY ISN'T A MUSICAL HOT-SHOT ANYTHING!

-Yeah, Claire, way to blow cover. Exactly what Daddy didn't want. And damn right, Mrs. Bennet: if Mr. B couldn't do it, no one can.

-And now she's crying. And so am I. FUCK YOU, CLAIRE. You made Daddy die and Mommy cry.

-Wow, Bob is a dick.

-Hah ha! Mr. Bennet is back in jail. I presume he'll mastermind yet another genius escape. I enjoy his fucking with Elle's head. Mr. Bennet is made of WIN.

-A virus does not "have side effects." It causes symptoms. Come on, show.

-Ugh, does Peter really have to love Caitlin? Can't he just feel really bad about abandoning her to Outbreak-land?

-Mohinder and Sylar, sittin' in a tree...

-Heh, Elle is internet porn-spying on Sylar. We have so much in common!!

-GAH! Gratuitous use of the word "hero" really starting to grate on my nerves goddamnit.

-Why does anyone question Micah's ability any more? Can anyone else explain how they have their powers any better?

-HEH!!!!! Nathan and Matt's rough landing!

-Oh West is back. Time for drama, is it?

-Oh Maya is back. Time for crap, is it? Molly, please tell her he is dead and let's get this over with and back to the Mohinder and Sylar hotness.

-ABOUT GODDAMN TIME!!! However, killing Maya without giving Sylar her abilities means that, much like Nikki and Paulo on LOST, all time spent on those two was A WASTE OF MY FUCKING TIME.

-I'll save you, Sylar. I'll save you three times in one night, if you know what I mean.

-Mr. B!!! NO!!!!! FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIXITFIXITFIXIT!!

-Peter, you are dumber than a box of very dull rocks.

-MATT YOU ROCK SO MUCH! FUCKING KILL PETER WITH YOUR BRAIN! Argh. This is why I hate Peter's powers so much. THERE NEED TO BE LIMITATIONS, DAMN IT.

-HAH! What the F is with Nathan's hair? I guess he was flying a lot. He needs to get a hat. It worked for the Rocketeer. Ooh, can that be Nathan's superhero name?

-Awww, Nathan said it! And his love has the power to un-dumbify Peter. GREATEST POWER EVER.

-Mm, melty virus. Gratuitous use of the helix, though.

-HAH! Elle gots shot at some more! She deserves it.

-It says something that Sylar is still able to whoop ass without any powers.

-Niki doesn't need powers; she has a mighty groin kick without them.

-Another heroic death? I think so. Way to go, Micah. Mommy's prize can go on the shelf next to Daddy's. No parents, but lots of decorative chotchkes.

-Hiro is HARD CORE. FUCK.

-No, Elle, I'm going to kill you. You not only saved Molly, you saved Maya and Mohinder, too, by not letting Hiro kill them.

-More accurate version of Nathan's speech to Peter, "You're such a fuck-up. If it weren't for the fact I am fucking you, I'd totally have you whacked. I'm Italian, you know."

-Hey, what did happen to Caitlin now?

-Nathan's coming out kind of pre-empts Claire's rebellion. Does this mean...

...oh noes. Um, linaerys is never watching this show again. Neither am I, I think.

-Okay, I will be watching, but under protest!

Comments

[dandycat.livejournal.com]

Even Superman has limits - kryptonite, magic, the unwillingness to kill when necessary...

Peter's a godpowered Gary Stu. I think his stupidity is not a limitation per se. It's what makes him most dangerous. I don't know who is worse - him or Sylar. In both cases it was Peter who almost destroys everything.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

Kyptonite is blocked by anything that blocks radiation. Magic affects Superman as it would affect any other person. Even more amusing is that I read mention that gravity based powers do a number on Superman as well. It still doesn't change the fact that each of those have very simple remedies that allow him to continue functioning within 90% of normal. Really Superman is the poster-boy for "Power without significant limitation".

If you consider "unwillingness to kill" a limitation then Peter's stupidity is a major limitation. Fact of the matter is that Peter has power but does a piss poor job of using them effectively. Sylar at least experiments and practices his abilities. Peter usually just reacts and goes "Hey, I didn't know I could do that in that way". A well coordinated team attacking Peter at once can easily take him down.

Another thing to consider is that both Peter's and Sylar's abilities are front loaded. Exposure is key for either of their abilities to kick in. Even then they are limited to the constraints of those who they emulate. Confinement can easily moderate their abilities.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

All those "counters" to the limitations on the big S's powers are hardly easy to just come by when Superman is being attacked with kryptonite or magic. The fact there is conveniently lead everywhere is about as ridiculous as it gets, but the point is that they should be reasonably hard to find. And magic does not affect Superman the same as human beings. I believe that he is firmly susceptible to it at all times, whereas humans are more or less susceptible depending on the person. My knowledge of Supes is that just about any spell knocks him on his ass.

Peter's stupidity is only a limitation in his taking over the world with his powers. As far as acquiring them, it doesn't slow him down. Nothing does! That's why he's hopped up Gary Stu and completely unlikeable. There should be LIMITS, damn it.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

Ok let me clarify my statement: "Magic affects Superman like it would affect any normal human being". It's not that it's a true weakness, it's just that Sups resistance based abilities don't work against it. However one point I've heard made is that Sups can move fast enough to make targeting him nearly impossible. So if you are willing to blow up a city in order to make sure you hit Superman, then yeah it's an effective weakness. In reality though it doesn't give you all that much of an advantage.

As for the lead issue, you are looking too narrowly. There have been countless examples of durable radiation resistant materials one could make into a suit. Superman has had many many of these over the years. Most of the time when Superman is being brought down by kryptonite it is because like a complete moron he has chosen to go out unprotected (it would be like batman running out of the cave without his belt). Really it's a weak plot device used to convince folks that Superman really isn't the all powerful pseudo-god that he is. They have pushed the fact that Superman has a brain to go with his brawn over and over again, but for some reason his plot lines seem like he doesn't like to use it.

Now as for Peter, his stupidity is why he keeps getting knocked flat on his ass all the time. Give HRG Peter's abilities for 5 minutes and the world would be at his feet. Peter's mind seems unable to focus on the true potential of what he can do at any given moment. True is that does slow him down and limit what he can do more than anything else. More clever characters seem to get the drop on Peter without putting in much effort. Let's take for example Nathan's assassination. Let us count the ways Peter could have saved him: 1) stop or rewind time and get his brother out the way of the bullets; 2) regenerative blood transfusion; 3) catching the bullets in mid flight; 4) catch the thoughts of the sniper before he pulls the trigger.......... But due to Peter's stupidity, none of these even come up. Peter has the ability but not the brain to use them. That is a limitation.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Another thing to consider is that both Peter's and Sylar's abilities are front loaded.

?

Exposure is key for either of their abilities to kick in. Even then they are limited to the constraints of those who they emulate. Confinement can easily moderate their abilities.

So what you're saying is that Peter can only be as good as the power allows. Which means he gets to be (potentially) just as strong and effective with each and every power that anyone anywhere that he runs into has ever? Yeah, and that's a limitation how!? Peter's exposure is also easier than Sylar's, as he has to be only within like a hundred feet of someone to get the powers (I can't even remember a shot where he and DL were in the same FRAME, let alone close enough for Peter to borrow his abilities). Confinement shows no real detriment to Peter's abilities--he was locked in a shipping crate on his journey to Ireland and woke up still able to zap people with Elle's ability.

Dude, Peter has NO limitations. Zero, none, and none some more. That's why he's so goddamned annoying! You can't take him out because as soon as you get within a hundred feet of him, he has your power just as good as you have it. What they needed to do was impose a serious hindrance to Peter just sponge-sucking every ability into himself. He should have only been able to hold onto so many at one time, like Mimic; or he should have had to have been close to the person who has the ability in order to use theirs, like Empath; or he should have physical or mental consequences for absorbing an ability--OR JUST HAVE MORE TROUBLE ABSORBING ONE--like Rogue. He has none of these things. He gets easily, he masters everything, and he keeps it all forever. FUCK YOU, PETER.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

LOL!!! You completely went tangent to the point I was trying to make (again =-þ ).

Ok boiled down: Peter is only as good using a power as the person was when he was exposed to him. So if someone had no real control over their ability at the time of exposure, Peter has no real control. This is very unlike Sylar who can continue to improve an ability past the levels the person he absorbed it from. Even with that limitation on Peter he doesn't quite "get it" right away. The more active one has to be to control an ability, the longer it take Peter to learn how to use it. So regeneration is easy due to it's passive nature, but Ted's radiation powers were next to impossible to learn in a timely fashion. Matt's "mind push" is a good example; where it took Peter a few hits to actually understand the new use of the TP power and push back (as seen by Peter's initial compliance to Matt's push).

The confinement issue, if Elle didn't keep visiting Peter then he wouldn't have picked up her power. Notice how Peter hasn't shown any signs of being a transmuter yet? Peter was close to the alchemist but was having his ability in check by meds. He didn't pick up his power. Confinement works so long as you don't keep giving them powers to work off of. Same went with Sylar. He was in check till you gave him something to munch on. For both Sylar and Peter, long term confinement can work so long as you put in place the proper controls in place.

MASTERS??? Tell me one ability that he has mastered on his own? Elle used shock on Peter enough times for him to figure that one out. Sylar loved to use TK on Peter whenever they met. The invisible guy had to tutor Peter in how to even switch between abilities. Peter can't master anything without tons of help.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Peter is only as good using a power as the person was when he was exposed to him. So if someone had no real control over their ability at the time of exposure, Peter has no real control.

From the example you give, you think Peter couldn't push out with telepathy until he reencountered Matt, who, by then had learned. Okay, so HOW is Peter limited again? Did he NOT immediately pick up that ability? Actually, he did. There's also no proof that only because they met after Matt improved that Peter couldn't have done it before he met Matt. He just never tried. Either way, if Peter can meet people and take their ability and then upgrade his absorbed abilities by meeting them again HE STILL HAS NO LIMITATIONS. You thought Supes was bad? Fuck.

The confinement issue, if Elle didn't keep visiting Peter then he wouldn't have picked up her power. Notice how Peter hasn't shown any signs of being a transmuter yet? Peter was close to the alchemist but was having his ability in check by meds.

Peter was on meds where the Alchemist was concerned, so that doesn't count as a limitation. The fact that you have to get Peter's permission to drug him makes drugging him almost an impossible limitation to enforce. Because he can read your thoughts (and now control them) so there's no way to get it to him WITHOUT his permission.

As for Elle? He only needed to meet her once. Peter hadn't even met Niki or DL and he had their powers in two seconds. Likewise, Peter met Sylar all of ONCE and then he had his teke. Which was also stolen and, if you wanted a limitation, right there that could've been it--that a power stolen by Sylar is not absorbable by Peter. They didn't do that.

We saw that confinement DOES NOT WORK, besides. Without the meds, Peter's fine to use all his stolen powers and run amok (or go be Adam's but buddy). Sylar had some trick to play dead and come back (another stolen ability?). He never actually got Eden's brain, so there's no "snack" of which you speak. Confinement is not a limitation specific to Peter or Sylar anyways. It does not strip them of their powers (proven), it does not hurt them (literally keeping them in a box does not physically injure them or affect their abilities).

Tell me one ability that he has mastered on his own?

Flight. Nathan hadn't gotten anywhere near as good (he didn't know he had it, for Christ's sake!) when Peter absorbed it. But who really even knows? By your system, you can never be sure when or where or how Peter improves or is just given something improved. By the by, I AM STILL PISSED ABOUT HIM BEING ABLE TO ABSORB "UPGRADES." That's even LESS of a limitation than the other. If he absorbed all the potential of an ability but had to spend, like the supers he copied, serious time working each one out and the limitations of each, then I would be less annoyed. But you say he can just meet them again once they've done the hard stuff and use the ability they've trained without doing a damned thing? HAAAATE.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

Ok first flight. Peter and Nathan were in such close contact for most of season one you can't say for sure that Peter improve before Nathan. Quite frankly there were signs that Nathan was practicing while off screen (look how natural he looked getting away from HRG and the Haitian). Peter showed flight first in screen time, but remember that he was seeing through Nathan's eyes when Nathan flew out of the car with his wife still in it. Nathan flew first in regards to the time line.

If you check the sniper test (see my LJ) Peter still score low enough not to be overpowered (wolverine scored higher on that scale). The season finale proves it. Supes on the other hand is still very very silly. Since Peter can get sniped easily, drugging him isn't a problem. Like you said, once drugged he can't really do much. So HRG can still kick Peter's butt any time he wanted (I'm not so sure the same can be said with Sylar). The Haitian, he can take both Sylar and Peter while laughing about it.

Yeah Peter is still limited. So far people have been dumb in how they handled him, luckily Peter is dumber then they are. Now if Peter ever gets a clue, then I might take another look to see if he really is overpowered.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Even Superman has limits - kryptonite, magic, the unwillingness to kill when necessary...


Thank you! I defend Sylar if only because his obvious psychosis is a weakness--he's supposed to go crazier the more powers he gets--whereas Peter picks up stuff and just keeps on picking it up. He's like a super-powered Katamari.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

he's supposed to go crazier the more powers he gets

I would point out Peter has gotten more Emo the more powers he picks up. Emo can be considered a form of insanity =-þ

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It's a form of pissing-me-off.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

I would point out that Peter's power is by definition EMO ^_^