(no subject)
May. 11th, 2007 02:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsThis is something I've been thinking about posting for a while, so naturally I am going to post it now while there are still two episodes left to totally overturn my hypothesis. Because I'm sensible like that.
Heroes: Family Drama!
One of the reasons I adore Heroes as much as I do (which, as y'all know, is an embarrassing amount) is because of the multiplicity of complex family relationships it presents. Well, naturally, this makes sense, seeing as heroic powers get passed down through generations; it would be a little silly to set that up without going into the families of each character. However, I'm going to go a step further and posit that the kind of love you're supposed to get in families - unconditional love - is pretty much the driving force of the series.
Case studies:
1. Peter and Nathan. Nathan is an asshole. This gets driven into our heads again and again. All the same, as of last episode, Peter explicitly tells Claire that he will always trust Nathan, no matter how fishy he may seem (which is very) because he is his brother. Love for the family you have: example one.
1.a. Jessiki, DL, and Micah. Jessiki pushes herself over DL's tolerance. His love is not so much unconditional (not that it's not RIGHTLY SO.) However, both DL and Jessiki go to extraordinary lengths to protect Micah; their love for him is unconditional, their main motivating factor in the storyline.
2. The Bennets. Mr. Bennet's storyline, as shown in Company Man, is clearly an arc towards gaining the kind of unconditional love for Claire that causes him to make the kind of sacrifice he does in the end. Moreover, we also get Sandra's unconditional love and trust in Bennet; he's been brainwashing her for years, and she still believes in him. Love for the family you create: example two. (Addendum, after this, Claire is constantly comparing Nathan to Bennet, and finding Nathan lacking by comparison. Bennet is willing to make the kind of sacrifices for Claire that Nathan isn't, if, uh, I may understate the case by like a million.)
4. Hiro and Ando. Ando's love for Hiro is pretty unconditional, as shown by that time when Hiro sends him home and Ando comes back, kicks ass and saves the day. (Yay Ando!) Hiro and Ando may not be technically family, but they're another example of the family you create yourself - and anyways, Hiro gets to go a step further still: Hiro has what you might call unconditional love for the whole world, which is why he gets to be the real hero when the chips are down.
Now, the counterexamples, or rather the exceptions that prove the rule:
1. Sylar. In strong contrast to, say, the Bennets or the Hawkins-Sanderses (the Mr. and Mrs. DLikis?), Sylar's mother's love for him is not unconditional. Although I still defend her reaction, it provides a pretty clear contrast to the 'good' parents on the show, which is why I think it's meant to be seen as a Very Major Factor in Sylar's issues - that unconditional love factor is so played up, as shown above, and Mama Sylar's reaction is essentially the opposite.
2. Mohinder. Mohinder's got daddy issues like no other, because, as we recently saw, his parents' love for him was nowhere near unconditional - it was contingent on something that he failed at, namely, saving his sister's life. Now, of course, we've got Molly Walker the orphan, who has literally become the blood sister of rejected Mohinder, and I'd be willing to bet money based on the themes the show plays up that that relationship is going to be a story-driving factor like Claire and Mr. Bennet's or Nathan and Peter's. And that unconditional love - the family you create yourself - is going to be part of it. (Addendum: Sylar and Mohinder are each as close to a brother as the other one has, as the show has made it clear that Papa Suresh was a father-figure for both. Aside from the obvious jokes to be made involving the Petrelli brothers and pseudoincest and Eden who tried to get it on with Mohinder by claiming to be a daughter-figure to Papa Suresh, I think that's pretty important in the Mohinder-Sylar relationship as well.)
3-sort-of. Matt and Janice's storyline, boring as it is, can be summed up as a quest to find out if their love is the kind of unconditional love the show sees families as being made of. She cheated on me; can I still love her? He read my mind; can I still love him? Note, too, that this kind of question only comes up in relationships between married couples. It plays a pretty important role in Niki/DL as well. However, romantic relationships pre-family ties the show doesn't care much about; Simone was always an afterthought, and Niki/Peter in the future was I think more of a shock-factor gimmick/handy place for exposition than anything else. It certainly wasn't anything Peter couldn't walk out on. Unlike his relationships with his family.
I want to write about Mama Petrelli in here, but I'm not sure I can one way or the other until we get her actions from last week cleared up. I like her as a cipher who doesn't fit into my neat little theory, though, so, whee!
Heroes: Family Drama!
One of the reasons I adore Heroes as much as I do (which, as y'all know, is an embarrassing amount) is because of the multiplicity of complex family relationships it presents. Well, naturally, this makes sense, seeing as heroic powers get passed down through generations; it would be a little silly to set that up without going into the families of each character. However, I'm going to go a step further and posit that the kind of love you're supposed to get in families - unconditional love - is pretty much the driving force of the series.
Case studies:
1. Peter and Nathan. Nathan is an asshole. This gets driven into our heads again and again. All the same, as of last episode, Peter explicitly tells Claire that he will always trust Nathan, no matter how fishy he may seem (which is very) because he is his brother. Love for the family you have: example one.
1.a. Jessiki, DL, and Micah. Jessiki pushes herself over DL's tolerance. His love is not so much unconditional (not that it's not RIGHTLY SO.) However, both DL and Jessiki go to extraordinary lengths to protect Micah; their love for him is unconditional, their main motivating factor in the storyline.
2. The Bennets. Mr. Bennet's storyline, as shown in Company Man, is clearly an arc towards gaining the kind of unconditional love for Claire that causes him to make the kind of sacrifice he does in the end. Moreover, we also get Sandra's unconditional love and trust in Bennet; he's been brainwashing her for years, and she still believes in him. Love for the family you create: example two. (Addendum, after this, Claire is constantly comparing Nathan to Bennet, and finding Nathan lacking by comparison. Bennet is willing to make the kind of sacrifices for Claire that Nathan isn't, if, uh, I may understate the case by like a million.)
4. Hiro and Ando. Ando's love for Hiro is pretty unconditional, as shown by that time when Hiro sends him home and Ando comes back, kicks ass and saves the day. (Yay Ando!) Hiro and Ando may not be technically family, but they're another example of the family you create yourself - and anyways, Hiro gets to go a step further still: Hiro has what you might call unconditional love for the whole world, which is why he gets to be the real hero when the chips are down.
Now, the counterexamples, or rather the exceptions that prove the rule:
1. Sylar. In strong contrast to, say, the Bennets or the Hawkins-Sanderses (the Mr. and Mrs. DLikis?), Sylar's mother's love for him is not unconditional. Although I still defend her reaction, it provides a pretty clear contrast to the 'good' parents on the show, which is why I think it's meant to be seen as a Very Major Factor in Sylar's issues - that unconditional love factor is so played up, as shown above, and Mama Sylar's reaction is essentially the opposite.
2. Mohinder. Mohinder's got daddy issues like no other, because, as we recently saw, his parents' love for him was nowhere near unconditional - it was contingent on something that he failed at, namely, saving his sister's life. Now, of course, we've got Molly Walker the orphan, who has literally become the blood sister of rejected Mohinder, and I'd be willing to bet money based on the themes the show plays up that that relationship is going to be a story-driving factor like Claire and Mr. Bennet's or Nathan and Peter's. And that unconditional love - the family you create yourself - is going to be part of it. (Addendum: Sylar and Mohinder are each as close to a brother as the other one has, as the show has made it clear that Papa Suresh was a father-figure for both. Aside from the obvious jokes to be made involving the Petrelli brothers and pseudoincest and Eden who tried to get it on with Mohinder by claiming to be a daughter-figure to Papa Suresh, I think that's pretty important in the Mohinder-Sylar relationship as well.)
3-sort-of. Matt and Janice's storyline, boring as it is, can be summed up as a quest to find out if their love is the kind of unconditional love the show sees families as being made of. She cheated on me; can I still love her? He read my mind; can I still love him? Note, too, that this kind of question only comes up in relationships between married couples. It plays a pretty important role in Niki/DL as well. However, romantic relationships pre-family ties the show doesn't care much about; Simone was always an afterthought, and Niki/Peter in the future was I think more of a shock-factor gimmick/handy place for exposition than anything else. It certainly wasn't anything Peter couldn't walk out on. Unlike his relationships with his family.
I want to write about Mama Petrelli in here, but I'm not sure I can one way or the other until we get her actions from last week cleared up. I like her as a cipher who doesn't fit into my neat little theory, though, so, whee!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 10:06 pm (UTC)He and Niki just disagreed over whether or not the risk was worth it, I think. He did it over her protests for her own good.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-12 02:09 am (UTC)But I agree it's in Peter's character to act like that. I just don't think the show cares about showing us that, as much. The purely romantic relationships really do seem to take second place (which is not something I am complaining about, so.)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 10:10 pm (UTC)Of course, for whatever reason, Mohinder still felt like he never had his father's approval, but I always saw that as more of a Mohinder issue than a Chandra issue.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 10:28 pm (UTC)Chandra is trying to protect Mohinder by cutting him out, but Mr. Bennet and Nathan try that kind of protection on Mrs. Bennet and Peter, and it doesn't work out that well for any of them.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-12 02:11 am (UTC)With Chandra that doesn't come through in any thing we see. And I think the fact that the theme is repeated with Sylar - he fails to earn Chandra's approval because he's not special enough; he fails to earn his mom's approval because he's not special enough - shows that there's something important there.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 10:38 pm (UTC)Like -- I'm sure Hiro-Ando is pretty close to unconditional (except that I do really think they would kill each other if each other turned evil and it was necessary), but that's not what I see stressed. The conditions never get that rough. Instead I see it as -- they complement each other, they need each other, they make each other stronger. Ando being alive makes Hiro a better person.
And ".07%" suggests Nathan cares more about Peter than he does half of New York City, and that is and is meant to be ominous.
I think it's the word "unconditional" that's bothering me, because I think there are relationships on the show that are conditional, but no less awesome for it. But I do think Peter's trust in Nathan will pay off, I think Claire's trust in her dad is not misplaced, I think having Ando around makes Hiro better.
I do see a lot of -- people needing to work, sometimes very hard, to maintain their family relationships, though. And that being a good thing to do. Which I think is kind of what you're saying.
I will come back to this when I'm not being kicked off the computer!
P. S. Also, the Nakamuras. I know they've only really had one episode so far, but it was an episode about family! It had THEMES!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 11:04 pm (UTC)And that's love too.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-12 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-12 02:19 am (UTC)Well, when I say 'unconditional' I don't mean 'cares more about them than about half of New York City.' I mean more - the second chances don't run out? If that makes sense. Not in the way that there are no consequences, but in the way where even with the consequences there's still the support underneath. If that makes sense? Like - yes, the willingness to work, and the trust still being there underneath it all.
I wanted to talk about the Nakamuras! But like with Mrs. Petrelli, I do not think I can talk about Hiro's dad without knowing whether or not he knows about Hiro's powers, because everything is very different if he does.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-12 05:38 am (UTC)Except I still think there are cases where people won't be given second chances, and shouldn't be. Ummm . . . but the only example I can think of is Niki and her dad, so.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-12 07:03 am (UTC)Did Niki love her dad to begin with, though? I mean, I feel like he was universally an asshole, so . . . she is rightfully 'whatever'.
The example I see, actually, is Simone and Isaac, but like I said I think the writers just don't see romantic love as that same kind of unconditional love until it becomes marriage and therefore familial. (Which is why I use the term of distinction, here.) Then again, most of what I have to base this off of is . . . Simone, so.