See, here's why I'm not worried.

[cruiscin_lan]

A little bit ranty here, I suppose, but I tried my best to stay coherent. So here are my thoughts on "The Eclipse, Part 2."

Elle dying - not a worst case scenario for me. Yeah, I know; I love the actress, I love the character, and I would probably ship her with a lamp-post if she had any significant screentime with a lamp-post because she really has chemistry with just about anyone she's run into thus far.

Then can we have some Elle/Sandra fics please?

I'll think about it. But more importantly, back to the topic at hand. I'm not worried that Elle has just died for a few reasons. Firstly, this is Heroes, and so far no one has done fake-death better. And by "better" I mean "more often." Heroes means never having to reach the Pearly Gates, because there will always be one reason or another to bring you back - you're not really dead, you're in a flashback, you're a hallucination created to further someone's nefarious plot, etc.

And that's all just this season.

I know, right? Crazy shit happens on Mondays at nine, I swear. Besides that, there's the now-infamous spoiler pic of Elle with a Sylar haircut, but interestingly enough, her skullcap's still in place. While he might have refrained from popping her top because he already has her power, it doesn't make sense that he'd kill her that way and not, say, slice her throat, like he was about to do to HRG. Maybe he wanted to get in her head for, like, secrets or something, and then thought the better of it partway through.

So, seeing as this is Heroes, there's both a chance that Elle's not really dead, and that even if she is, this isn't the last time we'll be seeing her. But even if she's really, truly done-yuns, I'd rather that than any of the following scenarios. I wouldn't these past any of the writers, but I think they are all bad ideas.

Sylar/Gabriel lobotomizes Elle to "fix" her. He just told her that they'd never change. Plus, we like Elle for her mind... her fucked-up, crazy-ass, sociopathic mind. If he removes the "damaged" parts, how is that any different than what the Haitian could do? And didn't we already find out that that's mind-fuckery in the worst way?

Sylar/Gabriel/the viewers all think Elle's dead, only to have her show up later with a baby. I hate this trope. I feel that it reduces the ladyfolk to beasts of breeding that only serve the development of plot and other characters - never their own. Now, don't get me wrong, I love babies (I just can't ever finish a whole one in one sitting). I think that throwing babies into the mix can be an opportunity for depth and exploration and themes and issues and all that shiz when done properly. I do want to see how Sylar becomes Waffles!Gabriel in the future, but I'd like to see how his baby-mamma develops as well. Would she become Waffles!Elle or would she be Sociopath!Elle or would she be an !Elle we wouldn't see coming?

Okay so stop it with the exclamation points, it's really obnoxious.

Sorry. I got carried away. I was just saying that, by pushing a character off-screen only to bring her back with a baby-on-board, you're sacrificing all sorts of character development for the sake of furthering the plot (most likely nefarious in nature). The worst case scenario that I see right now is not that Elle gets "Sylarized" but rather she gets "Meg Manninged" into a coma while gestating, because I hate it when characters are turned into fetal incubators.

If Elle is really, truly, dead as a doornail, with no hope for her to come back ever, I just hope that we get to see the way other characters discover and react to it. From the looks of the aforementioned spoiler promo, Sylar is doing his best to cover his tracks, but I'd still like to see him deal with killing her. I don't want him to feel guilty, per se, especially if he's back to being a psycho, but does he relish it? Does he use it to show that he's not afraid to kill those close to him? How would Claire react, seeing as Elle has been set up to be her foil all along (even when it comes to being fucked by Sylar - one in the literal sense, and one in the "total mindfuck" sense, with an extra dose of violation on top)? What about Bennet, does he give a shit one way or another?

I could go on and on with rhetorical questions, but I'd like to end this little mental meandering on a more positive thought. And that is - Adrian Pasdar in handcuffs. Please and thank you.

ETA: Another reason I don't want Elle dead - the sex-leads-to-death trope is also totally played out.

And now here's a more important question to ponder: What is Mr. Muggles' first name?

Comments

[dragynflies.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything you said.

I don't even think the writers know what kind of !Elle their !Elle is anymore. I see more fucking continuity on ff.net.

My vote for Mr. Muggles first name is Magoo.

[catyuy.livejournal.com]

What about Haunting Elle.
If Sylar has gone completely PSYCHO could he have crazy visions of Elle.
I could live with that, kinda.

[faded-facade.livejournal.com]

While, some characters rarely stay dead on Heroes, others have not been heard of again. Simone, Eden, Charlie, Isaac, DL, etc.

You know, I've actually had the same thought you did with your second theory. Like she'd show up at the end of Volume 4 or something visibly pregnant. But even that seems too soap opera for Heroes. And Adrian Pasdar speaking French and in handcuffs was pretty awesome.

I feel like fic writers know how to write Elle and Sylar better than the writers of the show. They've been so all over the place, it's ridiculous.

Mr. Muggles' first name is clearly Mister. Anything else is not dignified enough for him.

[liz-will-ow.livejournal.com]

Agree with everything except this:

"While he might have refrained from popping her top because he already has her power, it doesn't make sense that he'd kill her that way and not, say, slice her throat, like he was about to do to HRG."

Maybe Sylar wanted to slice HRG's throat because HRG slashed his throat--eye for an eye.

"Sylar/Gabriel/the viewers all think Elle's dead, only to have her show up later with a baby. I hate this trope. I feel that it reduces the ladyfolk to beasts of breeding that only serve the development of plot and other characters - never their own."--Agreed. This would suck and be so completely demeaning.

[killbot.livejournal.com]

Now, don't get me wrong, I love babies (I just can't ever finish a whole one in one sitting).

OH GOD I SNORTED WHEN I LAUGHED

[ayalecia.livejournal.com]

Aww, and I was all mopey for them killing my favorite ship.
You've restored my faith in...well...Kring's plot holes.
:D

[samanthamt.livejournal.com]

Okay, ideally (to me) this is how I think the whole thing should play out... granted that she's NOT dead. We see her survive Sylar's attack (and what looks to be attempted incineration). We see her character develop separately from Sylar... (at least 'til she and the audience knows she has a bun in the oven). Yeah, I said separately... it kills me to keep these crazy kids apart, but I think if it's going to work... he shouldn't automatically find out she's alive. *Whew* ANYWAY, Elle comes back into the fray... and say she does cross paths with Syler. There are several scenarios; Elle comes and frys his ass... then mid fight, there's the baby reveal. Or, they wait a little longer 'til a 'bulge' develops... then THAT would be a shocker. Guh, I don't know... There's so many possibilities, yet only a couple that they could convincingly pull off (in my opinion.)

But I like what you said... it took me a while to get over the shock that she could possibly be dead. Anyway, they said a blonde would die... and Claire 'technically' died. I don't know... wishful thinking?

xoxo

[di-elle.livejournal.com]

she is dead, and in the infamous pic we see her skullcap in place because this is a live photo, and we don't see the visual effects. (like sylar's promo pic from 3.10, he was testing elle's power, but we don't see it).

[candlewaxdreams.livejournal.com]

See, Sylar/Elle was my only reason for watching this mess anymore because the rest of the show bores me to tears. And if she really is dead, I won't be watching anymore. It means that Sylar's "redemption" arc and character development were all for nothing and he'll go back to being the one-dimensional villian he used to be. Bleh.