OMG, LT WRITE

[revena]

Sometimes I forget that one of the things that I don't like about watching episodic television is the inept retconning and total plot point reintegration fail that seems to plague so many shows. And then other times I remember that. Like tonight, for example.

Some flaily whining about tonight's Heroes:

Those of y'all who care can expect to see more in-depth analysis and reaction from me about tonight's episode over on Hathor tomorrow or Wednesdayish, but the thing that is just eyestabbity annoying to me right now is OMG WTF SYLAR'S DAD CUTTING HIS MOM'S HEAD WHY.

Firstus, this whole retcon upon retcon about Sylar's family life just keeps getting stupider and less plausible. I can't even. But, to focus on one shining moment of writing fail: presumably, the writers wanted to show a connection between Sylar and his bio-dad, and this is why they flashbacked about him seeing his dad kill his mom by cutting her head open.

BUT, Sylar cuts his victim's heads open to get to their brains. It's a logical choice, not something he might have randomly started doing because he witnessed it as a child. But wait, Robyn - is there anything he does to victims that is not entirely logical? Well, yes. Household object impalement. Writers! Pay attention! That is something that he maybe might have picked up from a traumatic childhood memory, idk.

Possibly what we're going to find out about bio-dad is that he not only has telekinesis, but in fact got it the same way Sylar got his, and that his primary power is intuitive aptitude, and so he cuts skulls open for the same reasons Sylar does. Which would make the skull-slicing flashback murder of bio-mom slightly less stupid. Of course, then there'd be another guy in the world who is potentially as ridiculously overpowered as Sylar, which is another kind of stupid.

And, y'know, of course it's one kind of stupid or another. It's television sci-fi. It's just... There are a ton of interesting moments of potential character development and revelation littered throughout the past episodes, and the writers don't seem to be aware of any of them. Bah.

Comments

[brownbetty]

Didn't you tell me he doesn't have to slice people open, he just finds it quicker? Maybe it's quicker because he identifies it with his dad and insert fanwank at this point -->.

[revena.livejournal.com]

He didn't learn how to do it empath-styles until he'd been examining brains directly for a year or so, and he found out that he could copy powers from brains when he killed a dude with a crystal to the head, rather than instinctively going for the signature finger-pointing gesture which he appears to have developed somewhat later on so... But I am completely charmed by your wank-starter based entirely on stuff I've told you so that you can properly "appreciate" the porn of debatable quality that I keep linking you to. Truly, I am proud to call you friend.