Punch In The Face Index: S2E8

[bryant]

This is the eight PITF Index for Season 2 of Heroes, the superhero TV show where punching people in the face is not always successful.

Face-punch count: 1, plus an attempted face-punch. Can’t punch what you literally can’t hit.

PITF Index after the cut.

But first a quick recap of the rules. Being evil does not mean you need to be punched in the face. Being punched in the face is a direct result of being snarky, useless, whiny, smarmy, petulant, emo, or Mohinder. People not appearing in the episode are not eligible for being punched in the face, except in extreme circumstances like we run out of people to punch. Dead people are immune, probably, unless they appear in flashback or something. Previous performance does influence current placement.

This week, our list looks like this.

1. Elle, who may be a product of her circumstances but that’s kind of a convenient excuse and she’s creepy.
2. Bob, for being pretty damned manipulative for four months straight. Come on, tell Niki she’s gonna die, and maybe don’t let the virus out into the wild, OK?
3. Angela, for placing the secret of superpowers above Nathan and Heidi’s marriage.
4. Oh god enough with the siblings already. They didn’t even do anything horrible — accidental destruction of a village, turning in your dangerous sister, both fairly understandable all things considered. It’s not like there’s a manual on how to handle the sudden manifestation of incredibly dangerous superpowers. So we won’t punch them for that: we’ll punch them for being BORING. (Also, because Maya mooned at Sylar in the last shot or so.)
5. Niki, for failing to take the proper care of herself. A hard decision, but when you have a super-strong psychotic personality you need to sometimes make the hard decisions, and if she’d either gone into the program or taken the pills D.L. wouldn’t be dead.

There has been some discussion on the siblings, but I hate them so much. Full of hate. Niki is also a marginal case and we’re sorry there’s not anyone who deserves punching more. Susan says “That’s because this episode didn’t have Mohinder.” It’s true. We’re lost without our MVPunch.

It is as yet unclear whether or not Adam/Kensei (does he have a cutesy fan name yet?) is eeeeeeevil and manipulative. He’s had a long time to learn his lesson! Maybe he’s a good guy. We also wonder when Peter’s going to realize that he’s gonna live to be 400, and how someone’s going to break similar news to Claire.

Originally published at Imaginary Vestibule.

Comments

[kallan.livejournal.com]

Televisionwithoutpity has not come up with a Tensei/Adam nickname yet. Though they call Bob - Tobby and the Haitian the 'Haitian Sensation' or if you go by the forums The Haitian Sensation that's Sweeping the Nation.

[touchofwinter.livejournal.com]

I am waiting for one person, JUST ONE PERSON, to turn to the Haitian and say, "Hey, just for the record, what the fuck is your name? Even if you don't talk, can you write it down so we don't have to keep calling you THE HAITIAN and pretend you aren't in the room with us when we do it? Thanks."

[head58.livejournal.com]

I loved that Parkman (I think it was) was calling him "The Haitian" before even having had word one with him. So how do you KNOW he's from Haiti and not, say Rochester NY?

[kodi]

Is "You punched me, therefore I must shoot you" dude not eligible? Because he beats out Niki in my book, and in my opinion beats Kensei for the disproportionate response to getting spurned.

Plus, I have a hard time being too upset with Niki because what she did was so alarmingly realistic. It was kind of shocking, really, to see someone other than Parkman behaving like a real human being.

[shiffer.livejournal.com]

"You punched me, therefore I must shoot you" dude is a no-name mook. Can mooks make the list? I'm tending toward "no", but I could be swayed.

[bryant]

We put the copy store manager on the list once, but he had a couple of scenes. Also I had high hopes that he would become a recurring character. I shoot you guy was just not around very long.

[touchofwinter.livejournal.com]

Mook doesn't get punched. He was a nameless NPC who will never appear in the series again - and most likely coked up out of his mind. I'm guessin'.

[shiffer.livejournal.com]

I refer to Adam/Kensei as Mr. Sark. I see no reason to stop doing so.

I think you missed the person most deserving of being punched - the writers, for the continues horrible treatment of all female characters. They're all either lying manipulators, dangerous psychotics, irresponsibly getting their loved ones hurt, or whiny and useless.

[bryant]

We have that exact same discussion every week and I'm stubborn about not getting meta. Possibly it's time to include a weekly disclaimer to that effect, cause it's really, really getting annoying.

[head58.livejournal.com]

I haven't been watching this season at all, but I didn't see the men faring much better. I think you could apply all the same descriptions to them. I guess it's all about seeing what you want to see to further your agenda.

[bryant]

Hey, give me some credit. If you wanna say I'm wrong, go ahead, but accusing me of self-filtering in order to support my agenda is a bit harsh.

[head58.livejournal.com]

I wasn't directing that at you. Sorry. Pent up frustration at seeing this accusation being lobbed about by others in other boards who do self-filter.

[bryant]

Fair 'nuff.

[touchofwinter.livejournal.com]

The muscle mimic seems to have her act together. Or at least better than most on the show.

[bryant]

She's got potential. She hasn't actually exercised much initiative beyond the first power manifestation -- putty in the hands of the Company, wouldn't tell the cop who the thug was, etc. But I count her as being potentially together and so on. She gets points for looking a little suspicious of the iPod.

Caitlyn's the other decent new female character. She's currently stuck in the damsel in distress role, trapped in the future. This may change, I dunno.

[aelfsciene.livejournal.com]

I keep hoping against hope that the twins and Sylar will take each other out in some grand horrible mess, but it's much more likely that Maya will go full-on evil (she's used her power on purpose for the first time, now, and left them dead) and be Sylar's Black Queen or somesuch. Which annoys the hell out of me because I hate them SO MUCH, but what're you gonna do?

And I hadn't really noticed it consciously, but you're totally right about the women--there's not a one I actually like, and most I just want to punch in the head more often than not. Annoying, whiny, psycho, manipulative, useless...across the board. Not that, admittedly, the guys are much better, but there's at least one male character (Hiro) I adore whole-heartedly, and it's sad there's not a female equivalent.

How many more episodes until we have the enforced break? Is that at 11?

[bryant]

I like a couple. Monica may work out well, although as I just noted, she's been very passive so far. I liked Claire better the first season, when she was an active participant in the plot, as opposed to now when she's been reduced to teen rebel against her dad in a quasi-Oedipal plotline. ("If you date someone, you're fated to kill me." Um.)

I liked Clea DuVall's character a /lot/. What happened to her?

[death-by-monkey.livejournal.com]

Ah, that's a great point about Clea DuVall - aka Agent Hanson. She -was- a good female character. Maybe that's why we haven't seen her in a long time.

[death-by-monkey.livejournal.com]

Hm. Okay, I watched the episode on my lunchbreak. My list is pretty similar with the exception of Bob. He's pretty manipulative, but what would Niki have been like without any pills at all? How quickly would she have bailed on Micah and D.L.? I think he's a dick, but I don't think he deserves a PiTF.

And since that leaves me with one less person for the list, that means I'd need to add one more. I like the suggestion of "I must shoot you" guy for the list, but my vote for 5th place goes to Micah's annoying cousin for really just not getting it when a loved one passes away.

I'd also like to make a motion that you add "being Maya" to your list of why you should be punched in the face. There hasn't been a scene with her yet that I haven't wanted her decked. I think she belongs to be there as much as Mohinder does. And much as shiffer wants to refer to Adam as Mr. Sark, I continue to want to call Alejandro and Maya "Paulo and Nikki". Not to mention the fact that the chemistry between the two of them doesn't really feel like siblings. It feels creepier than that.

Three other things -
1) I'd like to recognize D.L. for being the most heroic Hero of the episode. Excellent use of his power in a workplace situation.

2) Now that Peter's been around the Haitian, that means he can use the Haitian's powers right? Seems to me that could be awfully useful in the future.

3) I'm not sure what makes Caitlyn that different from other damsels in distress. She's got a tough Irish accent, but that alone doesn't get you far in my book. Seems to me she's just another girlfriend in the refrigerator.

[bryant]

I'm sorta hitting Bob for his activities in the past, too, but I hear what you're saying.

Yeah. I want Caitlyn to be cool but she is a plot adjunct at the moment.