Heroes (TV series)/Headscratchers/Noah

Noah having his mentor's memory wiped seems suspicious, true. But DOESN'T PUTTING A BULLET IN HIS SKULL SEEM MORE SUSPICIOUS?

Authorities probably would shrug or scratch their heads over a man with a spotty memory but a murder would only attract their attention. Also, if Noah was going to kill Ivan anyway, why bother with the whole "erase his memories of his wife" schtick at all?

• One more thing. Is it just me, or is Noah inching closer and closer to the not-so-coveted "World's Worst Father" award? Whenever Claire does something incredibly stupid or rebellious all he can do is give that stupid, sterile glare of his. Whatever happened to discipline?
  • How do you punish an immortal? Ground them? They can just jump out the window, no ladder or rope or climbing skills needed. Take something away? They can take it back, and no matter how hard you fight, they'll get it. Sure, you can then ground them, but we already covered that. There's no way to punish someone who is immortal unless they want to be punished.
• The reason he did the erase his memories bit was very simple: Torture. Threatening Ivan with death accomplishes little; threatening him with emotional agony is far more effective in getting answers. And as for why he shot Ivan- had Ivan simply had his memories wiped, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb and the Haitian's association with Noah would have been obvious. With Noah simply murdering Ivan it appears more as if he's gone rogue.
• Easy: he's not trying to avoid the authorities, he's trying to dodge the Company. If Ivan is dead, there are a number of people who could have killed him, from an ordinary burglar to any of the people he "bagged and tagged" over the years. If Ivan is mind-wiped, the Company will trace it back to the Haitian and Noah will become the obvious suspect. This isn't to say the plan was especially effective, since Noah left fingerprints and the Company knew it was him anyway, but the reasoning was sound.
  • But Bob already deduced (correctly) that Noah killed Ivan.
  • Also note that The Company probably has no clue about the Haitian. Noah protects him by looking incompetent. And while the memory erasing ability of the Haitian is useful at times, his power-dampening ability is amongst the most powerful ones - even more so for No-Powers Noah.

Why is it that everyone refers to Noah Bennett as 'The Man with the Horn Rimmed Glasses' and the like, when he doesn't actually wear horn rimmed glasses?

• The nickname came from Television Without Pity (as far as I know) when he didn't have a name yet.
  • The nickname has stuck to the extent that the actual episode summaries on the season 1 UK DVD boxes refer to him as "H.R.G."
  • What bugs me is that everyone who meets Noah without knowing his name independently decides to call him "The Man In The Horn-Rimmed Glasses". Some of the characters might have picked up the nickname from each other, but that doesn't let West off the hook. Why are the glasses the only feature anyone notices, and why has it not occurred to anyone that this is an inadequate description for any practical purpose? Nobody ever describes him as "white guy, forty or fifty, X tall, brown hair"; it's always just "man in horn-rimmed glasses". (Come to think of it, this could be related to Clark Kenting. If Noah took off his glasses, would anyone recognize him?)
    • Who, in the show, called him that before West did?
      • I'd have to check, but I think Matt, Ted, and Hana called him that when they met up.
  • To be fair, they are similar enough in appearance that the average person would most likely mistake them for horn rimmend glasses, at least initially. I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought he really did wear horn rimmed glasses until someone told me they were actually browline glasses.
  • A minor point, but, well, It Just Bugs Me: When Noah is sitting in the cell bouncing the little rubber ball and Elle comes to talk to him, he's wearing his glasses, but we saw very clearly that he was shot through one of the lenses. Why would the Company bother to have his glasses repaired at all, let alone give them back to him while he's in prison? And where did he get that little rubber ball?
    • Professional courtesy? They healed his very traumatic (to say the least) wound, so giving him glasses so he can see seems pretty minor a kindness in comparison. As to getting his prescription so quick, he may have had spares lying around somewhere. I assumed the ball was just a kindness as well, as they wouldn't expect him to be a threat with it or anything.
      • Someone at The Company must just be a Great Escape fan and saw the opportunity to do an homage.
    • Or Noah Bennet's glasses are superpowered like the spandex outfits of four-color superheroes that mirror the heroes' health status, and no matter how ripped up always mend themselves between scenes as soon as the superhero has recovered from his wounds . ;-)
• Why did they even think the name was necessary in the first place? We've known his name since the second episode. We can stop calling him by that (fairly stupid in the first place) nickname. This is not The X-Files. He is not the Cigarette Smoking Man, whose nickname only worked because there was nothing else to call him.

Where are Noah and Meredith?

• They were in the meeting in Peter's apartment. Than Claire stayed behind but they went. Now the teams have been formed but they're nowhere to be found. I've seen until the end of "It's Coming".
  • The first part of "The Eclipse" shows that, for some reason, he was locked up in Level 5 right alongside Doyle. And one of the online comics shows that Meredith and Noah went after the metal homeless man Meredith took down in "Villains", and afterward Meredith just drove away because the mission left a bad taste in her mouth for some reason. Or something.

How long was Mr. Bennet watching Elle and Sylar?

At the end of Eclipse pt 1 we see Sylar and Elle making out. Then the camera pulls back and we see Mr. Bennet taking aim with his sniper rifle. The next time we see Elle and Sylar they're cuddling on the floor discussing the future, and that's when Bennet shoots. So was he (Bennet) watching through the sniper rifle's scope the whole time... but "waited 'til the show was over" before he tried to kill Sylar?

• On the one hand, ridiculous and a bit pervy. On the other hand, he got to see Kristen Bell in the buff. So there's that.
• And how did no one working on the show catch this?
  • I'm sure they would have fixed this problem if only their pesky dominant hands weren't otherwise occupied. ;)

Why is Noah working with Nathan?

I'm assuming he agreed to help with running (possibly training) Nathan's black-ops group, partly because Nathan was willing to let Claire stay hidden and partly because it gave him a shot at containing/killing Sylar. But practical as Noah is - and especially given his recent experiences with The Company abusing its self-appointed authority - it just seems to be WAY out of character for him to suddenly decide that throwing all the decent people who didn't abuse their powers (and, in some cases, went out of their way to use them to help people) under the bus is acceptable. After all, he was actively trying to bring down The Company in the end of Season 1 and throughout Season 2 because of all the lives they had ruined. And the only reason he started working for Angela in Season 3 was because his sense of responsibility demanded he do something about the Level 5 escapees.

• On the other hand, it is possible he's playing double agent and is planning to bring down Nathan's group from within. He definitely didn't look happy about tasering Peter. And playing along for now WOULD allow him to bring together all the people he trusts who have a grudge against Nathan/The Company in a place he controlled.
  • As of Trust and Blood, it looks like this is the case with Noah promising Claire that he'll do what he can to help the people like Matt, Peter and Hiro who were actively trying to help people with their powers and Noah having threatened to out Nathan as a mutant if things get out of control.
• Apparently the fourth episode will explain this, this troper's money is on 'bringing them down from the inside', although that might be more blind hope than anything else.
  • The fourth episode, Cold Wars, DID explain it. And Noah is definitely working to bring Nathan's group down from the inside now, even if that wasn't his original plan.

Why, in the name of all that is Good And Plenty, did Noah and Angela forget the lesson of this Chapter RE: lying to their loved ones?

Noah almost certainly has alienated everyone in his family but Claire because of his double-life, chronic lying and paranoia. Angela almost destroyed her family completely because of all of the secrets and treachery she had kept hidden for fifty years. So why are they now blowing the last of whatever goodwill they have left by keeping the fact that they turned Sylar into Nathan a secret from their friends and family? Even if you ignore the fact that not two episodes ago, Angela was lamenting the way secrets nearly destroyed her family and Noah's reaction to probably losing Sandra forever, it doesn't make any sense if for no other reason than so they'll all be ready if/when Sylar's programming breaks down and he remembers the truth? Do they really think that Peter or Claire might not figure things out, even by accident?

Noah and Angela's plan is brick-stupid, breaks the characters, and ignores far more sane options.

• As noted above, keeping Sylar alive is absolutely insane. He's a nigh-unkillable psychopath, and this might be their last chance ever to get the upper hand on him. They give two reasons. First, they cannot allow the world to know that Nathan was murdered by a mutant. Even ignoring the healing power of Claire (and Sylar's) blood, Peter is a shapeshifter now! Simple, "Nathan" survives the incident, and two weeks later show him getting into a car with Claire in front of TV cameras. Peter absorbs Claire's power, stage a car wreck and bam, dead Nathan with no way to blame it on Sylar. Second, Angela gives a Hand Wave Ass Pull about needing her son, and how if Matt's son were dead he'd go to any length to bring him back. But she's * not* bringing her son back, she's dressing his murderer in a Nathan-shaped flesh suit. Perhaps that sort of irrationality can be expected from Angela, who's just found Nathan's body, but from Noah? He should know better. Finally, even if Sylar has moved his Achilles' Brainstem, have Matt find it or compel Sylar to tell them where it is. I expected better from two of the series' premier Chessmasters.
  • The more I think about, the dumber it looks. The show has already showed us that super-healing is a passive power, which means that Sylar should still have it no matter who he thinks he is. The first time "Nathan" cuts himself, the whole thing is blown. Couple that with the fact that Sylar is immortal, and he'll figure it out eventually no matter what happens. Not only is the plan likely to fail, it is guaranteed to fail, and could potentially happen long after any of the Supers (save useless Claire) even remember who Sylar is.
    • I'm assuming that all the other powers must have been turned off. Otherwise we've got a man deeply involved in US Senate politics with the power of lie detection. Hmmm...
  • Matt could've easily "turned off" the part of the brain which controls healing, telekinesis and all of Sylar's Non-Nathan powers. He wouldn't be able to camoflague Sylar's natural ability which is why he can still see how things work. Obviously due to the show's rather silly "IF WE GET RID OF SYLAR THEN THE FANS WILL STOP WATCHING!!!" mentality all these powers wont be removed, but buried under layers of telepathic barrier just waiting to be released when Tracey attacks Sylar/Nathan. Another mystery solved by the fact than Matt can control everyone and everything.
    • Yes, because it's so much better that they go out of their way to depower Peter and Hiro because their powers SHOULD allow them to solve all the conflicts in five minutes but now they are using the Marvel Comics Telepaths Are Invincible rules in relation to Matt's powers work to the point where he now has Isaac and The Haitian's powers in addition to mind-reading and mind-control.
    • "Anything the brain controls, you control."

Noah's plan to keep Claire and Peter out of the way while Matt does the mind-swap between Nathan and Sylar...

Buy time by sending Claire and Peter after Nathan? Why? Sylar is out cold, so Nathan's out of danger on that score. Danko and the rest of the Hunters are out of commission thanks to Hiro and Ando. Nathan's not in any danger to require anyone going after him. And it's not like Claire or Peter could keep up with Nathan if he was flying and on-the-run.

Further, it's hard to believe that either Peter or Claire - after everything Sylar has done to both of them personally - wouldn't want to be there as matters are settled once and for all. Even if they trusted Noah to take care of "doing the deed", you'd think they'd still want to be there to witness it. Particularly since, powers wise, they're the only two who have a hope in hell of doing anything to stop Sylar if he wakes up early.

• That's not how the scene played out. By the time Matt, Noah, and Angela were discussing their Sylar gambit, Nathan was already dead. Peter and Claire didn't know he was dead, so Noah sent them on a wild goose chase. The point was that Angela, Noah, and Matt would be the only ones to know about the switch, that's why they made a big show of burning "Sylar's" body in the desert (it was the dead shapeshifter).
  • Yes, I know that Nathan was already dead. My points are that a) it didn't make sense for Peter and Claire to go out looking for Nathan (if he WERE alive) because given Nathan's mobility relative to theirs, there's no way they'd be able to catch him unless they just happened to stumble across him and b) I find it hard to believe that neither Peter nor Claire wouldn't want to stick around to keep an eye on Sylar; both for reasons of personal justice and because if Sylar threw off the effects of the sedative faster than he should have (something he's been able to do in the past) they would be the only ones to have even a fighting chance of dealing with him.

The whole subplot with Noah and the affair in Once Upon A Time in Texas.

All it did was take up space. It didn't change anything. It didn't give us any new information. In fact, all it did was make Noah Bennet look like a total jerk by presenting a scenario that flies in the face of everything we know about the character - first, that the ultimate family man would ever cheat on his wife and second, that he would be doing so at a time when his daughter's life was in danger!

• But he didn't cheat. He was tempted, and he chose Sandra. It's possible that his partner might re-appear in the present timeline, since I don't recall ever seeing her before or learning her ultimate fate. In the present, Noah is single again and this woman has no memory of previously striking out with him.
  • ... Except that the partner outright said that what she and Noah had was love and "more than casual sex". That, to me at least, implies that they have done this before.
    • Are you sure that's right? Because the way I remember that scene, she was talking about their more-than-casual flirting. That's why giving him the hotel room key was such a big deal, because it was taking the next step.
      • She was talking about the less-than-casual flirting. As said above, he never cheated; he was just tempted during a stressful time in his life when none of his family would have been able to understand what he was going through. Also, the plot does give us more information - it introduces the character of Lauren, who shows up again only two episodes later.

The moral dissonance surrounding Noah Bennet.

Because "morally gray" is such an annoying weaselly cop-out. He isn't a Magnificent Bastard, he's just an asshole who manages to dodge the Idiot Ball more frequently than other characters. Obsessing about "my FAMILY!" while kidnapping other people's children, engaging in suicidal levels of Poor Communication Kills with Claire and Mohinder, very creepily violating his wife's mind over and over without her knowledge or consent ("for her own protection" - except that it's still an incredibly creepy and paternalistic way for a husband to treat his wife). The Fan Dumb who acts like he walks on water doesn't help. Frankly I thought Mohinder was justified in shooting him.

• • Noah is one of the only characters on the show who has a clue, so I can see why people would latch onto him. For me, I found him interesting because he was the only one who saw Sylar for what he was: an irredeemable, unstoppable psychopath (even if Noah was somewhat responsible for pushing him down that path), and actually tried to do something about it instead of Wangsting. Which is why his getting hit with the Idiot Boulder at the end of Volume 4 was so much worse.
  • You can't just label Moral Ambiguity as 'weasel cop out' when you don't like it. Noah is an Papa Wolf who has clearly reasons for his actions. The viewers are free to see him as a Badass Normal who will do anything for his family. While many other viewers (include this troper) see him as a self righteous idiotic asshole with a big brother complex. Either way the show allows both view points.

Why didn't Bennett just shoot Danko?

• A recently fired disgruntled ex-employee has just pulled a gun on your boss and proceeded to throw him out a 30-story window. Said ex-employee is also a dangerous maniac that has tried to have your daughter killed and who you really want to get rid of. Now would be the perfect time to just shoot him in the head and claim justification. You're certainly cold-blooded enough to do so. So why don't you? It would certainly save everyone a lot of trouble, considering that he seems all but certain to be shaping up to be Volume 4's Big Bad, provided he survives his upcoming face-off with Sylar.
  • Danko's a trained soldier and already had his gun drawn. If Bennett had gone for his own weapon, Danko could have shot him before he got the gun from his holster.
• I'm more curious as to the failure to help Danko out the window by the two of them. The entire scenario apparently runs on Danko pushing Nathan out of a 20+ story window, and if he dies, accept murder charges, and if he lives, unleash hell upon the supers. But it's all based on Danko's word as to what happened during the fall (assuming there is no body), since there is no camera outside. Sure, the moment Nathan goes through the window he's done for politically, but at least by taking Danko out with him, he still has options. Options like: "My brother caught us, dropped him, then held me hostage for days and made demands in exchange for my release."

Why didn't he send the Haitian in to save his house and family?

• In season one When Ted is holding hostages in the Bennett house, the Haitian walks in and takes the mom and teenage boy outside. All he would have to do is stand close to Ted and there would be no crisis at all. Then, Ted wouldn't be able to start to overload, there would be no house fire, and Claire wouldn't have had to half melt in order to sedate Ted. Also, since there wouldn't have been a fire, the company wouldn't have to worry about a couple dozen neighbors watching Claire spontaneously regenerate from extreme burns to perfect health in the span of 10 seconds or so. Personally, when I saw the Haitian walk in, I thought 'Well, there ya go, crisis averted' and was stunned to see him leave.