Saturday, October 13, 2007

Kindred

Kindred continues to display Heroes who are not as they appear, even to those who know them. Claire and West continue their romance based not on appearances (though both are strong in that category) but on something more. For Catullus and Lesbia it was venustas, but for Claire and West, it is their powers. However, the painting at the end showing Claire's father's death leads you to wonder if their romance will, like that of Catullus and Lesbia, end in betrayal with West as the murderer.
As Catullus shows, wounded love can often lead to hate, either towards the lover (if they betrayed you) as in Lesbia, who became the "pessima puella" of Carmen 36, or towards the one who caused this, as in Catullus's rant against Rufus in Carmen 77, who he calls a "venenum" and a "pestis" (5-6). When Alejandro is taken by the police, Maya reveals a frightening willingness to use her ability to kill his captors in order to rescue her beloved brother. She appeared to be an innocent victim of her deadly power, but this assumption is turned on its head.
Peter cannot hide from what is inside of him, displayed by the fact that even as he gains the tatoo and entrance into a new band of brothers and begins his romance with their beautiful sister, the tatoo turns into the Heroes symbol, then disappears. Will his powers along with his fate cause him to turn Theseus and leave his Acme behind in Ireland?
The reappearance of Sylar, the major villain of last season, shows the need for something beneath the surface, though in the opposite way. He continues to have all of his malice, killing Candice, but no longer has any powers, leaving him helpless.
Finally, Hiro's love for Yaeko leaves him unable to let her go, similar to Catullus' struggle, shown through his many poems on the topic, to let Lesbia go.

1 comment:

Bob Patrick said...

Really nice work, Hope. Thoughtful, good writing, and helpful comparisons with Catullus and Lesbia.
Mr. P