Heroes: Parasite
by Erin
A Soulful Spike Society
Review
www.soulfulspike.com
"You know what the
definition of a hero is? Someone who gets other people killed."
--Zoe Washburne, Serenity
"No man is an island, entire
of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind;
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
--John Donne, Meditation
XVII
We've heard over and over
again that each of these heroes is supposed to represent the "next step" in the
evolutionary process. Interesting choice of title, then; a parasite is one who
lives off another, a lower form of evolution. (I'm talking here more of the
metaphor, and less of the science.) There is an interdependence that is good
(Hiro and Ando's teamwork), and that which is bad (Sylar and Mohinder "working"
together). The bad sort taints by the connotations of the word and what it
means in a heroic narrative; heroes must work alone. Let's stick, for the
moment on this notion of the lone hero. This is a common trope; he (or she)
must fight alone against the forces of injustice, darkness, etc. To involve
others is to endanger them and weaken yourself. That's stupid. Even Linderman
knows that you can't be the lone spider weaving webs of power; power comes from
interconnection. As we see later, five years later, to be precise, working alone
accomplishes nothing and can be actually be destructive.
At the end of "Run!" Hiro
sends Ando away out of this very notion; he must focus on being strong, he must
learn to fight on his own, and he does not wish to endanger his best friend.
"Parasite" very simply tells us that Hiro's initial decision was wrong. Although
Hiro's new "friend" Nathan offers to help him get the sword from Linderman,
Nathan has far too much to think about to really be bothered, although he
confirms Hiro's supposed wisdom in sending Ando away: "The more people you try
to help," he says, to which Hiro responds: "The more people get hurt." They are
both wrong; it is Ando's quick thinking and willingness to be patient and wait
to position himself where he could aid Hiro most that leads to Hiro completing
his quest, finally. Perhaps all that is required is that one makes the decision
to be part of the battle, superpowers or not. As for Nathan, who knew he was
playing a long game with regards to Linderman? In turn, Linderman offers to put
him in a position to "help"; of course, as we find out later, Linderman's idea
of help involves a whole lot of hurt. It was Nathan's inability to trust
anyone, even Peter, with the knowledge that he was trying to bring Linderman
down, that leaves him vulnerable to Linderrman when they finally meet face to
face.
What about our other teams?
The elder Bennets may have lost Claire, but they gained one another. Sandra
proves to be a capable team member once her husband trusts her strength; she
remembers what he forgets: a nice bit of irony considering how much he played
with her memory. Of course, introducing a shapeshifter in the form of Candace
undoes all this excellent work; because she can "be" anyone, she needs no one.
In all the teams featured in this episode: Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, Hiro and Ando,
Peter and Isaac, Mr. Bennett and Candace, Nathan and Linderman, Jessica and
Niki, Claire and the Haitian, the best teams complement each other, are strong
where the other is weak, are supportive of one another. Candace is the "I" in
team. In this way she resembles Niki and Jessica; they are "together" only in
the sense that they share the same body. Rather than empowering each other,
they end up being their own worst enemy; nothing gets accomplished because they
cannot meet halfway. This may be why the Niki/Jessica arc doesn't seem to
really go anywhere. Claire and the Haitian also part ways; neither is capable
of seeing the other's point of view. The Haitian has taken over Mr. Bennett's
role in shielding Claire from danger at the expense of her autonomy; she, in
turn, goes solo to seek out the one person who has treated her as capable and
strong. At journey's end, in New York, Mohinder finally puts the pieces
together that eluded him when he was in transit, trying to fulfill the mission
his father started with Sylar. A friend once told me that the way they used to
figure out if a child had a tapeworm was to put a plate of food in front of the
child, tempting the parasite out so it could be squashed. Mohinder does it with
a cup of chai. Yet, still he hesitates on the squashing, and again we see the
danger of working alone. Mohinder needs another there to balance his
over-reliance on his enormous squishy frontal lobes. (Which you really don't
want to emphasize when you're hanging around with a professional brain eater.)
His need for answers overtakes his survival instinct and allows Sylar to gain
the upper hand.
So how does Peter Petrelli
fit into this mix? Emo bangs or no emo bangs, he still is the most intriguing
character for me. We are first introduced to him in a "caring" profession
(hospice nurse) and throughout this first season, he tends to choose the
cooperative path over the "lone hero" path. He seeks out Nathan, he seeks out
Claude, he seeks out Isaac; not to gain power but to gain support and to help.
When one avenue of "life support" is removed, he finds another. It is when he
allows himself to play the game, to be competitive rather than cooperative, to
be the lone avenger that "people get hurt.";
Isaac, on the other hand, invested everything in one thing: Simone; when
that was taken from him by his own actions, first by being addicted to heroin,
and then by being addicted to her, he was left with nothing except the desire
to win. All he can do is call on those who have helped him before, but that too
has its cost; one must always be aware to whom you are indebted. And Peter,
seeking answers that will save the world from him, walks into a far greater
danger, the one person who takes by force (competition) what Peter gains by
cooperation.
With any luck, it will be Peter's
power, the cooperation of powers and people that will prevail against Sylar. As
we'll see in "Five Years Later," isolating themselves from one another allows
evil to flourish under the guise of good. Or, at least, the guise of not
entirely evil if morally ambiguous.
Other Observations
- Malcolm McDowell is such an excellent choice for
Linderman, making the yummy potpies while being the prime author of the
old ultraviolence. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.) Nathan, however, is too
easily seduced - in so many ways.
- Bye bye, Super Emo Bangs. You were enjoyed.
Losing the bangs, however, hardens Peter's look and is a nicely subtle
clue to his increasing "toughening." However, considering how his power is
tied in with his empathy, it is not an entirely unproblematic development.
Stay tuned for Sara's most
excellent review of .07%, which is certain to be 100% awesome!
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