Heroes meta

[charlieblue]

I've just finished watching the first season of Heroes (yes, I jumped on the bandwagon late) and scribbled down some random thoughts on Sylar, his place as predator to the human race, along with a little Peter.

Sylar is not a parasite, he is a predator.

That is why he is so terrifying, and such a hypnotic, disturbing villain. It is a recurring motif. Any truly horrific creation in art, anything truly disturbing to an audience, be it viewing, reading etc. is always something that treats humanity like nothing more than prey, something lower on the foodchain.

We are so unused to being threatened that the very idea of something higher in the foodchain than us - of a predator - holds a deep, terrifying sway over the imagination. Sylar holds no regard for his prey, and treats it as his god-given (using the phrase figuratively) right to consume them. He is ruthless, because his morals tell him that he is deserving of this, that he is superior, and it is this complete lack of empathy on his part, his utter commitment to the role of the predator that makes him so compelling.

I’ve heard many people comment that the more evil Sylar gets, the more attractive they find him. As the show, or at least the first season progressed, Sylar became more and more powerful, grew ever more confident. It is this that makes him so much more appealing as a character than he was when he was just a weak, sick guy who ate the brains of innocent people. As he becomes more powerful, his cause, despite it being completely selfish, becomes more appealing because he is succeeding. And nothing is more attractive to the human race than success.

The cockroach is, throughout the show, commonly associated with Sylar. At the very beginning of the first episode, Mohinder talks about how the cockroach is the superior lifeform on the planet, that God himself has the form of a cockroach, due to the ‘roach’s impeccable powers of survival. This introduction of the cockroach as superior, and its subsequent association with Sylar supports his own notion of superiority to other humans, even the ones with powers.

His moments of doubt, his peculiar forms and instances of regret, are constantly superseded by his actions, which begs the philosophical question, is it our thoughts, words or actions that indicate our true natures? Are those encroachments on his predator-mentality merely the remnants of social conditioning?

Looking at Peter in comparison - as his powers tend most often to be mirrored to Sylar’s - is not a parasite, rather, he is symbiotic. His powers really are the most passive, despite their effects being the most impressive and influential. He has no control over what he absorbs, is completely unaware of the process until he attempts to use that power or is shocked into it.

Of all the characters with powers, Peter is the most impotent when it comes to his own personal power. Perhaps it is this, that total unconscious surrender of the control of his power, the ability of that power to have free reign that makes its eventual effects so devastatingly incredible.

Comments

[eriksselest.livejournal.com]

I like what you have going here. A lot of food for though. :D

Just a few things:

- We don't know yet that Sy actually munches on the brains, but that's besides the point. XD

"And nothing is more attractive to the human race than success."
- I absolutely love this. It's so true.

I really like what you've written and it even extends through Season 2! :D I definitely think you've hit on Sy and his motives. Although, I must say that there are people who love him as just Gabriel, without extraordinary powers. ;)

Cheers!
~Sel^.+

[charlie-d-blue.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for the comment! It's good to hear that my current ideas on Sylar are not made completely redundant!

Although it is curious - what it is he might really be doing with those brains...

Charlie