Chapter 36- “ The Butterfly Effect” – Discussion Thread 9/22/08

[mathhater]

And isn't the virus supposed to be fatal? Just because she has split personalities, that's not going to keep a disease at bay...so how is she still alive?

 

[stillanerd]

And isn't the virus supposed to be fatal? Just because she has split personalities, that's not going to keep a disease at bay...so how is she still alive?

Exactly. Niki was going to die anyway and would have been saved had MohinDUH! been able to give her the injection of Claire's blood to heal her. But she got blown up first. Ali Larter is playing a completely seperate character who looks just like Niki but has different powers than Niki and is quite possibly Niki's long lost twin sister seperated at birth. I hope they don't go the clone route because, as we all know, anytime a franchise resorts to using clones, they've offically jumped the shark.

 

[mathhater]

^ That does make sense...

 

[chaseter]

So tonight's episodes either flat out confirmed or STRONGLY supported two theories I've had since way back in the first few episodes of the show:

1. Nikki - Multiple personalities, each one having a different ability.

2. Sylar - Doesn't eat the brains. Simply looks at the brain to understand how it works. Everybody's brain has the capability of using ALL of the powers, if only they could use 100% of the brain. Unfortunately we only use about 10% of the brain. Some people just know how to use, say, the Flying part of their brain while most others can't. Kinda like how some people can wiggle their ears while others can't. It's not an ability you can explain to someone else, but if you know how to do it...you can. Sylar, by using his ability of understanding how things work just by looking at them, can look at the brain of someone else who knows how to use a particular ability...and then understands how to activate that part of his own brain.

Edit: Found my original post on the 2nd theory from February 7, 2007.

1. I agree and this presents many possibilities for Ali's charactert:
2. I never understood why people thought he ate brains. He worked on clocks...took them apart to see how they work and that was the analogy. He examines the brain to see how it works

 

[Savage]

I don't know if this was already posted, but I think this is what Suresh is turning into:

Spoiler

Hahaha. I think we're the only ones that notice he was growing scales though since everyone else is stuck on the bug thing. I think he's turning into a lizard creature.

In fact I think he's going to go through the season unnoticed by other characters until he grows huge and terrorizes Japan.

Just saying that didn't look like a bomb going off. It looked like the destruction was coming from underground and I had some Cloverfield flashbacks.

 

[Mister J]

You make some good points, stillanerd. In particular, Tracy does appear to be a long time aid to Governor.

2. I never understood why people thought he ate brains. He worked on clocks...took them apart to see how they work and that was the analogy. He examines the brain to see how it works

The first thing that went through my mind when Sylar told Claire the thought that he ate brains was disgusting was all the speculation as to such during the first season. It felt like one of the moments where the writers kinda break the fourth wall with "Yeah. We know what you guys thought."

 

[chaseter]

Hahaha. I think we're the only ones that notice he was growing scales though since everyone else is stuck on the bug thing. I think he's turning into a lizard creature.

In fact I think he's going to go through the season unnoticed by other characters until he grows huge and terrorizes Japan.

Just saying that didn't look like a bomb going off. It looked like the destruction was coming from underground and I had some Cloverfield flashbacks.

It would be terrific if Mohinder was indeed the cause of the next catastrophe and indeed that formula may be what Suresh discovered but please no Godzilla or Cloverfield monster And the OMG the world is going to end in the future we must save it plot is getting old.

 

[stillanerd]

^^^
I got the impression that MohinDUH! was indeed the cause, and that the whole "missing half of the document" plot Hiro and Ando are involved with is a smoke screen. Perhaps whoever hired Daphne the speedster to steal the formula actually wants it so he can destory it. I'm guessing--Arthur Petrelli back from the dead.

1. I agree and this presents many possibilities for Ali's charactert:

The only problem with the "Niki has different powers for different personalities" theory is that it's been well established that whatever personality Niki had, she ALWAYS, had super strength. Remember, the reason why "Jessica" exhibited super strength was because, due to childhood trauma, Niki surpressed her power, which she already had to begin with. The last episode of the first season showed this when Niki was able to use super strength against Candice (the one who made herself look like someone else and could cast illusions) with resorting to her "Jessica" personality. Likewise, when Niki developed that other personality "Gina" who also had super strength. So even if Tracy was another one of her personalities, she too would have had super strength as well.

2. I never understood why people thought he ate brains. He worked on clocks...took them apart to see how they work and that was the analogy. He examines the brain to see how it works

Exactly. But perhaps people assumed he ate brains because his victims usually had their brains missing. And given how much time he apparently needs to figure out what makes them tick (as shown when he was with Claire) then he took them for "further study" when he didn't have the time.

 

[chaseter]

^Yeah you make a good point. It will be a cop-out if Tracy is an entirely new character that just happens to look exactly like Nikki or a clone . It just shows that they want to keep Ali around and that they shouldn't have killed her off in Season 2.

I got the vibe that she knew who was in the porn tapes. She saw it looked exactly like her but just cockily threw it off. I also think she knew who Nathan was. She didn't look confused at all when he questioned who she was...she once again just threw it off to try and change the subject.

 

[The Geek Vault]

Am I the only one thinking Hiro will end up a villain? Also I want to see how Ando gets his powers/ what exactly you call that!

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Am I the only one thinking Hiro will end up a villain? Also I want to see how Ando gets his powers/ what exactly you call that!

Be funny if Hiro became a villain
''I am villin''

 

[Sentinel X]

The first thing that went through my mind when Sylar told Claire the thought that he ate brains was disgusting was all the speculation as to such during the first season. It felt like one of the moments where the writers kinda break the fourth wall with "Yeah. We know what you guys thought."

Yeah I thought that was pretty funny ...but ironically he thinks that is disgusting but ripping off someone's scalp and examining their brain isn't?

Anyway how Sylar is able to change his DNA by just "seeing" how the brain works (I guess he suddenly has microscopic vision, or some fMRI scan in his eyes ) ?
So if Mohinder or HRG could understand how the brains worked they could have superpowers too?
Its just not making sense...which is why I always thought he ate the brains. There has to be something he does that allows him to aquire the abilities because "seeing how things work." is just that, "seeing how things work" ....that doesn't mean you can change your DNA and your brain chemistry and get the powers.

 

[chaseter]

Yeah I thought that was pretty funny ...but ironically he thinks that is disgusting but ripping off someone's scalp and examining their brain isn't?

Anyway how Sylar is able to change his DNA by just "seeing" how the brain works (I guess he suddenly has microscopic vision, or some fMRI scan in his eyes ) ?
So if Mohinder or HRG could understand how the brains worked they could have superpowers too?
Its just not making sense...which is why I always thought he ate the brains. There has to be something he does that allows him to aquire the abilities because "seeing how things work." is just that, "seeing how things work" ....that doesn't mean you can change your DNA and your brain chemistry and get the powers.

Sylar's power is examine things to make them work. Why do you think he was a master clock worker? He examines the brain of his victim to make his own brain do the same...that is his power Do you not get that?

 

[The Apocalypse]

Sylar's power is examine things to make them work. Why do you think he was a master clock worker? He examines the brain of his victim to make his own brain do the same...that is his power Do you not get that?

Yeah, it's pretty original compared to other things on the show. I like the power.

 

[Sentinel X]

Sylar's power is examine things to make them work. Why do you think he was a master clock worker? He examines the brain of his victim to make his own brain do the same...that is his power Do you not get that?

Yeah, I really couldn't figure that out myself, thanks

I honestly get that he "sees how things work"...but I never saw an episode that said he can change his brain. Maybe that is how it is, maybe he has two powers but his power is(was said) to :see how things work. There was no "and"s when this was explain. It was simple and to the point

So he can see how the brain of one of his victims work and goes "Aha...so this is what happens to the brain, which triggers the superpowers"...how does that ability mean he can obtain those powers, he'd have to change his brain...so youre telling me sylar can change his brain chemistry by just thinking about it?

 

[Savage]

Yeah, I really couldn't figure that out myself, thanks

Are you sure? Because it's really pretty simple. To simplify it even more he sees what button to push to turn on the flames in someone else's brain and pushes that button in his own brain so he can use flames of his own. The point is everybody has the potential for these abilities but very few can even access one. He learns how to access them all by actually studying their brain like he would a clock. Who knows what it's like to see things through his eyes. Maybe it's on a microscopic level. Maybe he sees bright colors and lights. He just knows what he's doing and has such control over it and himself that he can actually activate these things in his own brain without opening himself up or ingesting anything.

 

[Savage]

Yeah, I really couldn't figure that out myself, thanks

I honestly get that he "sees how things work"...but I never saw an episode that said he can change his brain. Maybe that is how it is, maybe he has two powers but his power is(was said) to :see how things work. There was no "and"s when this was explain. It was simple and to the point

So he can see how the brain of one of his victims work and goes "Aha...so this is what happens to the brain, which triggers the superpowers"...how does that ability mean he can obtain those powers, he'd have to change his brain...so youre telling me sylar can change his brain chemistry by just thinking about it?

Exactly! There we go. That's exactly what he can do in a way.

 

[Sentinel X]

So I guess its that easy to just activate different parts of your brain, huh?

If he can just chose to activate parts of his brain whenever he wants then why hasn't he activated 100% of his brain like he implied with Claire...then he'd have all the superpowers.
Why does he need to see the brains and "how they work" then activate....when he can just activate the whole thing since he seems to have no problem doing so.

 

[Savage]

Just for him. That's his power.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

 

[SuperT]

but I never saw an episode that said he can change his brain.

So then how would you explain how he gets the powers then because the "eating brains" thing never made a lick of sense seeing as if he ate the brains they would just go down to his stomach and be disgested by the acids there.

 

[Savage]

That's pretty cool artwork. Gotta dig the Clark Kent-Supervillain thing he has going.

 

[Sentinel X]

Okay. So all in all sylar has TWO powers. (in a way...)
He can:
1. See how things work.
2. After seeing how something works, he can activate the part of his brain he pleases. So in a way his unconscious mind and conscious mind have meshed...since it seems that he can control something that should be so incontinent and "make it work" as he pleases....in order to actually get that power (technically that isn't a "power" per say since Mohinder says we all have these powers in our brains....but still its a very NIFTY skill to be able to randomly activate dormant parts of your brain )

Now, I'd like to just know why Sylar hasn't just activated all the dormant parts of his brain?...I would think that would be a lot easier than chasing people around.

 

[Savage]

That's a good question but I'm sure there's some that would turn him into a creature or something like Mohinder's.

 

[LadyVader]

Hate the damn speedster girl. Love the african dude.