Punch In The Face Index: S2E9

[bryant]

This is the ninth PITF Index for Season 2 of Heroes, the superhero TV show where punching people in the face is the raison d’etre, full stop.

Face-punch count: 0. Apparently we’ve escalated to more serious forms of facial violence.

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.

The writers have a meta-spot at the top of the list for the nonce. They can escape this placement by a) writing better characters; b) cutting back on the women in peril while bringing back Audrey Hanson; and c) pretending the Maya plot never happened.

This week, our list looks like this.

1a. Matt, who is apparently completely unable to learn from the past. Do not be using your powers to control people, young man. Also, do not be using them to control your daughter. Also, Angela spelled out the consequences for you and you did morally repugnant things anyhow.
1b. Mohinder, who is just being really stupid. Again. Note that we’re talking 1a and 1b here, since man, it’s a hard choice between the M&Ms. They’ve both convinced themselves that their vile actions are not evil. Welcome to the road to hell, boys!
3. Bob. While he acts according to his nature and it’s acceptable to be evil, he’s also exceedingly dumb for using Claire’s real last name. This is not any way to build a global conspiracy, you know. Angela wouldn’t make that kind of mistake. Neither would Linderman. Or Kaito.
4. Elle, for using her powers in public just to show off. Cut that out. We have hopes that you can learn from the example of Claire and Noah’s relationship… oh. Well, still.
5. West, in what is probably his last appearance on the list. He was a jerk to begin with and it is inappropriate for a stalker to complain that he doesn’t trust someone. However, if he learns from Noah’s example and becomes badass, there is a ton of hope for the lad.

Matt and Mohinder, man, there’s a tough one. Mohinder’s just an idiot, albeit he thinks he’s doing the right thing. Matt’s sort of in the same boat, insofar as he’s using his powers unwisely because he’s committed to saving people. Very cop-like of him. In the end Susan and I couldn’t agree as to who was more worthy of a right hook to the kisser, so we tied them up (not like that) and moved on.

Originally published at Imaginary Vestibule.

Comments

[death-by-monkey.livejournal.com]

You know, I actually felt this episode was pretty light on characters needing a punch in the face. Mohinder, yes. Elle, yes. Matt - while I think his little exploration of mind control lacked some ethics, I don't think he necessarily fits the criteria to make the list. Frankly, when he was messing with Molly, I don't think he really thought he could do it, which is why he tried.

And yeah, while Bob's slip of the tongue was stupid, I can't blame him for that - I think that was the writers going, "How can we make him slip up?" So, for that I agree with your PitF to the writers.

As far as West goes, while he has been a particularly noxious character, I have to use a Project: Runway/Top Chef criteria and judge him based on his character's performance in this episode only and try to ignore previous episodes. Because of that, I don't know that I can give him a PitF for this episode as I thought he did some pretty cool things. The way he took out Mohinder was a definite plus.

[bryant]

Messing with Molly, OK. But turning around and messing with Angela, not OK. The problem isn't just that he's using powers, either -- it's that he's walking right down Maury's path with his eyes wide open.

Re: West --

"Previous performance does influence current placement." He's off the hook by now, though.

[death-by-monkey.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's true. And Angela called him on it, too, at least.

Doh! I forgot about the "previous performance" clause in the PitF rules - my bad.

[kodi]

I have reconsidered what motivates Parkman. I thought he was supposed to be a good guy, but he's not - he's solely concerned with being thought of as a good guy by certain people. He doesn't do anything because it's good - he does things because he thinks it will make someone proud of him. I find him less likable now that I look at him this way.

That is to say, I do not believe Parkman actually owns ethics. He just borrows them from whoever he's hanging around. It makes me feel more sorry for him, but also want to punch him in the face more.

[bryant]

Interesting. I disagree; while I don't think he's supposed to be a good guy, I don't agree on his motivations.

I think he allows saving the helpless to be his overwhelming concern no matter what the situation -- he's a cop gone way over the top. It's significant that his powers manifested when they were needed to save an innocent life. He's also consistently been shown to have pretty decent cop instincts, which he supplements with his powers.

When he's facing down with Angela, there's nobody who'd be proud of him for what he did. He pushes her because he knows there's a killer out there and he thinks that there's nothing more important than stopping the killer. It's the classic cop turned vigilante story arc.

[kodi]

That does make a good deal of sense. Maybe I'm just making this up, but it seems to me there have been times when Parkman has seemed genuinely hurt that [source of approval] didn't celebrate his actions. But maybe that's because he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't share his One True Concern with saving the helpless.

[bryant]

That'd be my read. Not that I'm saying that I think the writers are entirely consistent or anything.

[death-by-monkey.livejournal.com]

Parkman's got daddy issues, much?

That's a really interesting way of viewing it - makes total sense.