Unofficial Heroes NBC Forum and Message Boards

Ambience 327

Ok - so we were watching "I am Become Death", and after Future Peter is shot up by Future Claire, Peter finds Mohindir, and from him figures out where Sylar is, so he can take his power (at his future-self's insistence).

When Peter reaches the old Bennett house, where Sylar is staying, he finds the psychopathic, hunger-driven villain cooking waffles for a young boy named Noah, who calls him "dad", and calls Peter "uncle". Sylar then greets Peter in a quite friendly manner, saying that if he knew Peter was coming, he would have made extra.

We all know what happens afterward - painting the future, Claire and friends showing up, Noah getting killed and Sylar going BOOM! But what I want to discuss here is, how did Sylar become the man he seemingly was in that future?

The moment he appeared on-screen, in an apron (was that the Presidential seal on the apron?), and making waffles for a young boy, my wife remarked "Hello, Betty Crocker." I couldn't help but laugh, and I'm sure we were meant to chuckle a bit at this seeming character change. We do learn later that Sylar now rejects his abilities and keeps his "hunger" under control, for little Noah's sake. He also now goes by his real name of Gabriel (and that's what I'll use below.)

Here's where the questions start:

- Who is this young boy? Is he really Gabriel's son? He seems to be a bit older than 3. (These scenes take place 4 years in the future, and a child usually gestates for ~9 months, which would make any biological child that Gabriel sired after the start of Season 3 at no older than 3 years and a few months old. This child looked more like 5-6 years old.) Is he a child that Gabriel fathered before he began his killing spree, and only later found out about / remembered? Did Gabriel adopt a child as part of a plan to straighten out his life?

- Why is he named "Noah"? We know that is the name of Mr. Bennett, aka The Man in Horn-Rimmed Glasses. Was he named in honor of Noah Bennett? Or perhaps he just happened to be named Noah, and that was part of why Gabriel took him in? (Either of these would assume that Gabriel grew to respect and/or care about Noah Bennett - not entirely out of the question, seeing as they are now working together to hunt down the Level 5 escapees.) An even crazier theory for who Noah is can be found at the end of this post.

- How does Gabriel control his "hunger". We know this must be possible, as he is doing it. This gives us hope for Peter, who now has the same "hunger", at least according to Sylar in his cell. (This was also evidenced by what he was doing to Future Nathan before he left.) Is it just his love for the little child Noah that keeps it in check, or is there more to it? Obviously, he still has his powers, as he is quite capable of using them when it becomes necessary, but he holds back until they are needed, and he seemingly doesn't want Noah to even know about them.

- Who else know where Gabriel is and what he's doing with his life? Nathan is the President of the United States, as evidenced by Claire's question about his order to her - something like "Is that an order from my Father, or my President?" Gabriel seems to be wearing the Presidential Seal on his apron. Does that mean that he is under a protection program and Nathan knows all about him, or is it a coincidence? (Unlikely...) Claire and her friends seemed to know where to find Gabriel, and she doesn't seem to like that he is living in her old house. Which brings us to...

- Why is Gabriel living in the old Bennett house in Costa Verde? Is it just a place that was available when he needed a home, or is something to be read into this?

- Why does Gabriel have Mr. Muggles? Is it just a cute reminder that the most powerful hero of them all is still alive and well four years into the future, or is something more sinister at work? Very Happy

CRAZY THEORY - WHO IS LITTLE NOAH?

Here's the really crazy theory I promised above. Perhaps little Noah is actually Noah Bennett himself, or perhaps a clone. Stick with me here - this is Heroes. The entire show is filled with "ordinary people who can do extraordinary things". What if one of those abilities included the power to cause a person to regress back to their childhood? Basically, what if somebody caused Noah Bennett to become a child, including forgetting his memories? From the most recent Graphic Novel (Chapter 106-Resistance), we know that Claire "lost her parents" - but we are never told how. Maybe they didn't die - or at least Noah didn't, and now Gabriel is taking care of his old partner, raising him as a son. This would jive particularly well with the questions of why Gabriel is living in the old Bennett house, and why Mr. Muggles is with them. (Little Noah would still technically own the place, and Mr. Muggles would have noone else to take care of him if Noah is a child and Mrs. Bennett is dead/missing/otherwise incapacitated.)

Or, like I said above, perhaps little Noah is a clone of Noah Bennett, grown in secret in the Company Labs and rescued from there by Gabriel as part of his redemption. (This one isn't quite as out-there, but still a bit of a stretch just going on what we already know.) We've already seen a character who can duplicate himself, what if he (or someone like him) "branched out" (pun intended) to the ability to clone another person...?

Ambience 327 · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject:

I really don't understand why sometimes we can edit, and sometimes we can't...?

Oh well, one more thing to add to my crazy theory:

If Noah was indeed somehow regressed to a child, then either Claire doesn't know about it, or no longer sees him as her father after whatever happened. We know she's given up on her humanity by this time, so I could see either circumstance working out. (I say this because she has no qualms about threatening the boy, and shows no remorse for what happens to him.)

BHustonM · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject:

The "presidential seal" is Obama-ish. The apron said "Hail to the Chef" and was probably used as a tongue in cheek reference to Sylar's brother, Nathan.

that's all I got for you... You do bring up some good points though.

stonegroove007 · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject:

I had EXACTLY THE SAME THOUGHT: That Little Noah was actuallly HRG regressed to a child by some as-yet-unseen power. He is Gabriel's partner... Maybe he felt it was his responsibility to care for him, or perhaps it was his fault that it happened, somehow?

Kendo · Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:16 am Post subject:

Super crazy theory:

We all know that Sylar is one of the most dangerous supers.

Someone will be introduced at some point that can put people "inside" the body of another.

What if the only way to safely contain Sylar is to put someone trustworthy "inside" his body. I know this is quite a stretch, but what if Noah is assigned to control Sylar from the inside? How often has Sylar/Gabriel worn glasses in this series? (besides watchmakers' maginification glasses in season one when he was plain old Gabriel) He wasn't only wearing glasses, but they were a little horn-rimmy, weren't they?

Since I'm going out on a limb, perhaps little Noah is Noah Jr. or even a clone.

I know it is sooooo likely not the case, as he would have had more of a reaction in seeing Claire show up at the house, but it's fun to speculate, isn't it?

jocko7 · Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:08 pm Post subject:

Hmmm - lots of good ideas about little Noah. Future Claire says to Sylar that "he took everything from her". Yet, the whole time she is consumed with finding and killing Future Peter. (rather than Sylar)

I think Claire finds out that Noah actually had a "special daughter", and that is who Sylar falls in love with. (all possible due to mind erase. Also remember, Samidi is the Haitian's brother and able to cancel his power. What if this also means he can RESTORE memories? There are so many possibilities where the writers could take this if they wanted to.

In short: Gabriel develops a respect for Noah and sees him as a true mentor. In addition, he has a child with Noah's true daughter (Elle?) and names him Noah. (Just a whacked out idea, I know.)