Not buying Sylar's character "development" now ..

[Ragius]

Sort of long read please bear with me:

Okay, so first be went from a blood-thirsty mutant-hunter killing every person with abilities that he could find with no remorse. Then somehow -- he became good? Okay, I can understand this he was bumped off course when he first learned of his powers and Ma Petrelli and the rest of the good guys made him realize that he is stronger than allowing the hunger get the best of him.

And then when you KNOW he is still good he saves Peter's life (his "brother") and then even Arthur teachers him how to absorb powers without killing people so you'd think now Sylar/Gabrielle = changed man.

But then all of a sudden he takes his Dad's orders to snatch Claire .. okay maybe he is still playing along? Nope he is dead serious. It's like even after that emotional moment with Elle curing his hunger (almost) he can just snap back to being old Sylar? I know he knew HRG hated him but I thought from the earlier episodes Sylar was trying to be the bigger man.

So then he probably kills that man at the store last week and tonight would invade HRG's home to steal Claire.

And then .. we all know what happened at the end of tonight's episode - and I don't buy it.

These writers need to make some of these characters pick a damn side already but Sylar's flip-flopping just doesn't make sense anymore. Or is he STILL faking it?

Can someone explain it to me?

/vent

[Dezdmona]

He got what he wanted from Elle and he didn't want her slowing him down, so he dispensed with her.
Besides, I think he believes she knew more than she was telling him about his parents.
She was a liability to his plans, pure and simple.

[Lawliet]

I sometimes prefer to take the comical approach and say, Elle was buying into Sylar's screen time, therefore she had to go

[dru-zod2501]

Sort of long read please bear with me:

Okay, so first be went from a blood-thirsty mutant-hunter killing every person with abilities that he could find with no remorse. Then somehow -- he became good? Okay, I can understand this he was bumped off course when he first learned of his powers and Ma Petrelli and the rest of the good guys made him realize that he is stronger than allowing the hunger get the best of him.

And then when you KNOW he is still good he saves Peter's life (his "brother") and then even Arthur teachers him how to absorb powers without killing people so you'd think now Sylar/Gabrielle = changed man.

But then all of a sudden he takes his Dad's orders to snatch Claire .. okay maybe he is still playing along? Nope he is dead serious. It's like even after that emotional moment with Elle curing his hunger (almost) he can just snap back to being old Sylar? I know he knew HRG hated him but I thought from the earlier episodes Sylar was trying to be the bigger man.

So then he probably kills that man at the store last week and tonight would invade HRG's home to steal Claire.

And then .. we all know what happened at the end of tonight's episode - and I don't buy it.

These writers need to make some of these characters pick a damn side already but Sylar's flip-flopping just doesn't make sense anymore. Or is he STILL faking it?

Can someone explain it to me?

/vent

I'm with you, none of the cast can decide what it wants to be. I don't know whether to be bored or confused or upset or empathetic or what?

If we're supposed to believe that Gabriel was more than just the animal he was as Sylar, that he wasn't that way from birth, then why were we given this sob story of the Company baiting him and goading him? Why give us a future glimpse of him as a good guy? why show his "parents" showing faith in him?

I could've seen Sylar remain as a tainted angel, but still on the side of the angels I'd have liked to see him as something like Wolverine; he knows he was a killer, and to a large degree still is, but at least fights for something more. It's not like the show runs out of villains without him... sigh... I miss Gabriel already

[KryptonStones]

Man, I can't really explain anything all I can do is offer my point of view with the situation.

When Sylar learned that his real mother was, indeed, Mama Petrelli, I can imagine him finally feeling accepted. We saw in season one how much of a devoted son Sylar wanted to be. Despite his desire to be special he still wanted that love and approval from the woman he loved the most. We also saw in season one, (though why this is often ignored I don't know) when Mohinder stumbled upon Sylar's place the words FORGIVE ME scribbled on his wall. This implies that Sylar had, at least at one point, felt remorse for his actions and wanted forgiveness..(whether it was from God, himself, or his mom, Idk..)

So, it implies that Sylar has always had some sort of humanity inside of him. But after his mother died he really had no one to nurture or inspire that side of him and ultimately thrived on the part of him that wanted to be "special" and "powerful."

Season three, after Sylar regains his abilities, he's back to his old tricks. I, personally, don't see any real change until AFTER Mama Petrellie reveals to Sylar that he is, in fact, his mother and a Petrelli. And Mama petrelli does so with such a soft, sweet, and motherly tone that I can imagine and believe that Sylar felt like he had someone to nurture what little piece of Gabrielle Grey he had left in him. Up until this point Sylar has only used and manipulated people. Up until this point people have only feared and hated Sylar. With Mama Petrelli, she presents a chance to be loved and cared for, the likes of which haven't been seen since his deceased mother. He also sees a chance to bond with a family (The Petrellis) that are not only connected to him by blood, but they're not the "normal and mundane" family he once grimaced at. I see the prospect of him being a Petrelli as him receiving the best of both worlds: Being loved by a family that's as special as he is. And so, content with this, he wants to prove that he's not the monster he has been in the eyes of the ones closest to him, and he truly wants a second chance at his new life.

Now, I do believe his original intention was to play double spy and pretend to be a pinehearst guy. But perhaps he also wants a chance to get to know his father and at the same time learn more about Papa Petrelli's abilities. But perhaps that later on, during his time with Elle, he realized that he had someone who cared for him too in an unconditional way. And since his father had taught Sylar how to further develop his abilities maybe Arthur had gained some of Sylar's trust. Though it's not shown on screen, it's reasonable to assume that Sylar's intentions are now conflicted at this point. He's torn between his new family. On one hand he can roll with Mama Petrelli and the Petrelli brothers, though he probably realizes that both Peter and Nathan don't trust him and it will take nothing short of a miracle to get them to trust him. On the other side he has Arthur, who hasn't harmed Sylar yet, and a wonderful woman in Elle he accepts and knows him in a way that neither of his brothers can. So, for now, he continues to play pawn in Arthur's game until he figures out what to do next.

I'm not sure if the man at the store is dead or not...but the way I see it Sylar has the same thing that Lionel Luthor in Smallville had. Lionel was trying to be this philanthropic humanitarian to make amends for his past misdeeds. But all it took was one slap in the face from Lex for Lionel to realize who he truly was....a Luthor. Perhaps the annoying heroics of that storeowner and Elle's encouraging words caused a little bit of the old Sylar to sneak out. This analysis would be a lot easier if we were shown whethe rhe killed the guy or not. If we assume he did then I just assumed that the guy reminded Sylar of what he used to be and why he did what he used to do and Elle fed him into that.

But what happened tonight, imho, made perfect sense for the character's state of mind. Sylar had a family, a new life, a new purpose, and with that family came a chance to redeem himself, and for HRG to claim it was all a facade for him to be manipulated must've completely turned his world upside down. Whether HRG was telling the truth or not, how would he trust anyone now? How could he let these people get so close to him with no defenses without feeling used? How would he live a normal life with everything he had done and the complexity of his own life? The words HRG spoke were sharp and must've CUT HIM to shreds. I can imagine him saying in his mind, "Screw the Petrellis,screw these sides, the only side I'm in is my own!" And so in order to find out the truth he reverts back to his true nature before cutting up Elle's skull in, what I think should be, an attempt to find out the truth about everything.

I mean, by following that logic and looking at Sylar's actions closely for the past three seasons I think it DOES make sense for the character in a very warped way. I don't want to say he regressed as a character, but he's simply going back to his roots.

[littlefoo20]

Sylar's refusal to kill Elle in Episode 9 makes no sense now.

[Spirit Detective]

I hate this development. Sylar's refusal to kill Elle in Episode 9 definately makes no sense now.

[number8]

Agreed. So confusing.. They keep making Sylar a good guy, bad buy, good guy, bad guy. It's really annoying me.

[ReD-SpideR]

I think its genius that people are annoyed and confused. I bilieve thats the point there trying to get across.

I'm pleased.

[hellnback]

wait....there's people here that actually feel that sylar has been flip flopping from good to evil to good and back to evil again? he might have had a moment where he thought he could be good but really as someone who has read way too many comic books, sylar has always been a villian no matter what side he claimed he was on. i don't know how many times did magneto go from being good to bad and so forth and so on and he's still considered a villian. sylar has his own agenda even with things getting in his way and confusing him. he seems to just want power, no matter how he can get it. in the end it's all about him. although i don't feel he actually killed elle. i'm hoping he didn't, i liked her character.

[Litle bit more bizarre]

I am not buying this too I think he is villain but why he attacked Elle he have her powers so why it realy makes me angry at start of the show I dont care much about him than after mama Petrelis changing i was enjoying him but now another flip make me bored of him and again just hunting for powers I think this plot is left behind at all

[cklookalike89]

Im just tired of everybody on the show flipping every freaking week. Just give Peter his powers back, and have Sylar be bad or stay whatever he was going to be. And Claire needs to just go somewhere. I have nothign against her but she just needs to dip out for a while

[<<S>>]

Agreed. So confusing.. They keep making Sylar a good guy, bad buy, good guy, bad guy. It's really annoying me.

This is why people who are starting to dislike the show have the same issues but in a broad scope. They hate the back and forth plot hole from the past to the future, and then back to the present. I still like the show but I feel like they need to slow it down and start building characters again. It's almost as if they are in a hurry and the rights have ADD with some of their story line ideas.

[Ginx]

I actually think that the writers are making us feel confused about the character because that's how the character feels. They are trying to use his confusion to show us more about the character and how he's not sure what he's supposed to do and how he doesn't trust anyone.

Not sure I like that approach because you really have no idea which is the real Sylar. I want Peter to come back because Peter is the only one that Sylar seems to have any respect for - even before he found out they were 'brothers'.

I think that Sylar really is their brother though and that HRG was just messing with Sylar's head. However, I don't think he's a natural brother and that there were some complications.

----- Added 3 Minutes later -----

Im just tired of everybody on the show flipping every freaking week. Just give Peter his powers back, and have Sylar be bad or stay whatever he was going to be. And Claire needs to just go somewhere. I have nothign against her but she just needs to dip out for a while

I do agree that it is tiring that people keep flipping. It would be much more effective if it wasn't every character every week. I agree about Claire. Every season they go out of their way to make her important to the storyline somehow - but I just don't care about the character.

[PrettySiren]

I actually think that the writers are making us feel confused about the character because that's how the character feels. They are trying to use his confusion to show us more about the character and how he's not sure what he's supposed to do and how he doesn't trust anyone.

I agree.

Also, I don't really think Elle is dead. That was just my gut reaction upon watching the episode. Something didn't seem...right. As it's already been pointed out, she didn't scream.

Aside of that, this is a show that kids are watching, and I'm sure the writers are conscious of that. And to have Sylar sleep with her, kiss her, and then kill her, all in one fell swoop? That's a bit much, really. A bit too graphic. I mean, murder is always sick, but to do that to someone you just had that connection with? And also, he lacked the motivation to really kill her. Yes, he doesn't trust anyone...but really? What was the point? Most people who kill their lovers do it out of jealousy -- fact. He wasn't jealous. Granted, Sylar isn't "most people", but all the same...it really doesn't make sense for him to kill her, no matter how sick in the head or confused he is.

Sylar and Elle are among my favorite characters, so if she is dead, I'm gonna be upset. And I really do think it's a step back for him, aside of being nonsensical. If Sylar was going to decide he's really a monster, it should've taken more time and also, there should've been something more meaningful to trigger it. I'm not saying that HRG was lying to Sylar, but it is something he would do to prey upon him. After all, Elle and his own wife pointed out HRG's a liar in this episode. Sylar is confused and vulnerable, but he's not stupid. And if it turns out that he REALLY believed HRG, then the writers are obviously telling us he's stupid, because he apparently believes EVERYTHING anyone ever says to him. Which I think we can all agree is beyond moronic and very poor writing.