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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!
