Eden McCain

Eden McCain
Portrayed by	Nora Zehetner
First appearance	Don't Look Back
In-story stats
Known ability	Persuasion
Formal name	Sarah Ellis
Gender
Date of death	12 October 2006 (by suicide)
Home	New York, NY, formerly Utah and Los Angeles, CA
Residence	Eden McCain's home
Occupations	agent of the Company, bookshop employee (cover), former criminal
Parents	Mr. Ellis (father), unnamed stepmother (deceased)

Sarah Ellis was an evolved human with the power of persuasion who went by the alias Eden McCain.

Character History

Don't Look Back

Eden saves Mohinder.

Eden runs into Chandra's son Mohinder Suresh after his encounter with the phony exterminator in the hallway outside of Chandra's apartment in Brooklyn. Eden is eager to assist Mohinder with investigating his father's theories, and the two of them become friends.

Eden discovers the portable hard drive containing the algorithm in the lizard Mohinder's terrarium.

One Giant Leap

Eden continues to help Mohinder with his research while he stays in his father's old apartment. After Mohinder discovers his father's hidden journal, the two of them travel to an apartment listed under the name Sylar. They are shocked at what they find, and even more shocked when they return with police and find the place deserted.

Collision

Eden brings Chandra's ashes to Mohinder in his apartment.

Better Halves

When Mohinder decides to go back to Madras, India to scatter his father's ashes and return to his old life, Eden kisses him in an effort to convince him to return.

Shortly after Mohinder leaves, Eden calls Noah Bennet to update him on what she has learned, that Peter Petrelli may have the power of flight, and that there may also be "somebody who can stop time". When she asks what to do about the "precog", Mr. Bennet tells her to "bring him in", and Eden later shows up at Isaac's studio.

Seven Minutes to Midnight‎

Eden enters a room with Isaac sitting in a hospital bed. She comforts him, letting him know that she is here to help, and that she had gone through the same thing herself. She tells him that together they will stop his vision from occurring. Afterwards, she walks through a makeshift gallery of Isaac's paintings, focusing on a recent painting of Charlie.

Later, Isaac's rehabilitation is not proceeding as fast as Mr. Bennet desires. Mr. Bennet tells Eden that she must use force Isaac to take drugs so he can paint a picture showing the location of Sylar. They argue, and Eden says she was told she'd never have to "do it" again. Mr. Bennet asks Eden if she even remembers what she was when he found her. He gives Eden a needle and tells her that she's the easy way and that they both know what the hard way is. Eden enters Isaac's room and appears to be trying to convince him to take the drugs, but Isaac resists. Eden whispers into his ear and Isaac takes the needle.

Graphic Novel:Isaac's First Time

Eden sits with Isaac at Primatech Paper Co. and asks him to remember his first time painting the future.

Homecoming

Eden and The Haitian team up to stop Sylar.

Mr. Bennet examines Isaac's latest painting which appears to be a vague red figure reaching out. He tells Eden that the painting is useless. Eden explains that Isaac's a person, not a device solely for telling the future. He accuses Eden of letting her emotions get in the way. She counters that she's not the only one letting emotion interfere. He tells Eden to have Isaac paint another painting once he wakes up. Eden refuses and Mr. Bennet shows her pictures of Sylar's victims. He tells her that Sylar wants to do the same thing to his daughter and that he'll do whatever he has to do to stop him. He tells Eden to go to the high school and use paintings as a guide to find Sylar. He tells her when the time is right to neutralize him. He explains that he'll keep Claire at home despite it being Homecoming.

At the top of the hill, Eden is leaning against a tree, waiting for Sylar. Upon seeing her he pauses momentarily before raising his hand. Using her power of persuasion, Eden tells Sylar that he doesn't want to hurt her and that they need to talk. She tells him to tell her all about himself, but first he needs to sleep. The Haitian surprises Sylar and covers his eyes. Sylar quickly falls to the ground.

Graphic Novel:Life Before Eden

As a child, Sarah Ellis is abandoned by her father and left in the care of her alcoholic stepmother. She's downtrodden and quiet for many years, until a confrontation with her stepmother, when she tells her, "I wish you would just die!" Her stepmother drops dead and her cigarette causes the house to start burning. Walking away from the house, she's picked up by a motorist. She decides on her new name, Eden, and uses her power to tell the motorist to take her west.

Six Months Ago

A long-haired Eden is pulled over by Matt during a traffic stop. When he asks for her license and registration, she replies that it's not her car; she stole it. Matt sees a half-empty bottle of liquor (Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey) in the passenger seat, and asks her to step out of the car. Eden refuses, telling him to go back to his car and eat some donuts, since that's what all cops do. Matt asks again, and she repeats her response, altering her tone of voice. Stunned, Matt walks back to his car. As Eden prepares to drive off, she sees The Haitian standing in front of her car.

Mr. Bennet is talking to a bound Eden, who has a piece of tape over her mouth. After going over her record of grand theft auto, arson, and a possible murder, he tells her that her power can be very useful. When he removes the gag, she spits in his face, and tells him to let her go. When Mr. Bennet does not follow the command, she sees that the Haitian is blocking her.

Mr. Bennet again asks Eden for her help, telling her that she can either go free and end up dead in a week or she can change, embrace her power, and help him. She asks what she can do, and he tells her to find Chandra Suresh and remove Claire's name from his list of evolved humans.

Fallout

Eden, in order to prevent Sylar from stealing her power, decides to commit suicide and destroy her brain.

After Mr. Bennet interviews Sylar and tells Eden that their organization is being ordered to keep him alive, she says that she should tell Sylar to kill himself, and no one would have to know. She tells Mr. Bennet that he knows she is right, and if the Haitian could speak, he would say the same thing.

Eden talks to Isaac, who has continued trying to create precognitive images, though he says he has had no success. She reassures him and tells him that his paintings saved Claire's life. She wishes him luck with his gift and tells him that she is going "off the reservation." When he asks how they can change the future, she tells him to change it, placing a cell phone in his hands.

When Mohinder returns to his apartment in Brooklyn, he finds a note from Eden saying she knew he'd be back from India. Eden calls Mohinder, confessing that she lied to him about her identity and promising to kill the man who murdered his father. She enters Sylar's cell, and he asks if he knows her. She says that she was Suresh's neighbor, and he says he knew of her power of persuasion. In her suggestive tone, she says that she will put the gun in the slot, and he will take it and shoot himself. Unaffected, he pulls her through the glass, shattering it, and tells her that she helped him by not stopping him, though she knew the threat he presented. After he tells her he will consume her power, she uses the gun to kill herself before he gets the opportunity.

Graphic Novel:Fathers & Daughters

Mr. Bennet delivers news of Eden's death to her father. The estranged father doesn't have a high opinion of his daughter, thinking of her as a promiscuous "cheap whore". Mr. Bennet views Eden's death a heroic sacrifice.

Godsend

An FBI agent shows Mohinder a mug shot of Sarah Ellis, aka Eden McCain.

An FBI agent visits Mohinder at his apartment. He informs Mohinder that the FBI searched for Sarah Ellis; Mohinder searched in Los Angeles, but there was no one at the previous addresses. Mohinder tells the agent that he has never met Ellis, but is shocked to see a mug shot of the woman — she is Eden. Though Mohinder assumed she had been missing, he is informed that her body was found in Lake Ramsey. It was reported as a suicide.

The Hard Part

Mohinder reminds Thompson that the Company planted Eden as a spy.

Graphic Novel:Elle's First Assignment, Part 1

At the Bennets' house, Elle is caught spying on Claire. Eden arrives and beats Elle to the ground, mentioning that she will do it with no powers. Eventually, Noah tells her to stop, and when Elle runs off, Elle says that when she comes to power she will be just as nice to Noah as Eden was to her.

Graphic Novel:The Kill Squad, Part 1

On a Company mission in West Virginia, Sean Fallon, leader of a Company support team, remembers the many operations he has carried out for the Company over the years, some of which are "definitely illegal". Eden is shown, dead, floating on Lake Ramsey, with the support team commenting that they are "just supposed to leave her here", as instructed by the Company. Fallon's colleague Tom adds that Eden was his "ticket to special agent", as he was supposed to be her next partner after the Suresh wire tap job.

Graphic Novel:Doyle

Michael relates the story of Eden's demise to Eric Doyle and blames Noah Bennet for letting Sylar kill her.

Graphic Novel:Viewpoints

Sylar visits the Company's gallery, where her portrait is hung in remembrance among those of other deceased agents.

Graphic Novel:The Natural Order of Things

Eden is remembered as a victim of Sylar.

Evolved Human Abilities

Eden had the special ability of vocal persuasion. In her conversation with Mr. Bennet (Better Halves), Mr. Bennet implied that she could have used her ability on Mohinder to convince him to stay in New York City. Later, she used her ability on Isaac to convince him to take drugs to accelerate his precognition ability and paint the future. She also used her voice at a distance of about twenty feet to stop Sylar from attacking her. She then approached him and suggested he sleep, which dazed him enough for the Haitian to capture him.

Life Before Eden has severe implications for Eden's power. Eden could cause physical change in the subject, as she did with her stepmother in the graphic novel.

Memorable Quotes

"Well, this is macaroni and cheese. It's what Americans eat when they want to commit suicide slowly."

- Eden (to Mohinder) (One Giant Leap)

"Well, what about the program on your dad's computer? Didn't you say he cracked some code?"

"I thought he had. But the algorithm... it's gibberish."

"Know anybody who speaks gibberish?"

- Eden (to Mohinder) (One Giant Leap)

"Suresh just left for India."

"Then stop him."

"I tried."

"We both know you can try harder."

- Eden, Mr. Bennet (Better Halves)

Notes

• Eden comes in direct contact with Peter Petrelli (Collision), however Peter never used or even discovered Eden's power of persuasion.
• Eden calls Chandra Suresh "Papa Suresh" due to her inability to properly pronounce his name.
• Eden tells Isaac that she can help him paint the future without drugs because she has been through it herself. It is not made explicit whether Eden means drug abuse or learning to use her powers, but her conversation with Mr. Bennet makes the former seem the more likely.
• "Eden McCain" is not the character's given name. She assumed it after leaving her former life behind (Life Before Eden). On the list, she was included under her original name, Sarah Ellis (Godsend).
• Eden's power of persuasion is the subject of a possible plot inconsistency. When Eden commands Sylar to kill himself, he is able to resist her power (Fallout), even though he had succumbed to it the night before during his capture (Homecoming). This is not explainable by the possible proximity of the Haitian at the later meeting because Sylar is apparently still able to use his telekinetic ability. It is possible that the wording of her command--making Sylar's action contingent on her placing the gun in the food slot--allowed Sylar to act before the command took effect.
• In an interview, Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski explain that, although unusual vocal effects were used for both Sylar (Distractions) and Peter Petrelli (Unexpected), both were for "coolness factor", and were not an indication that either was using persuasion. They later reiterated the point in reference to Sylar's voice in .07%.

Trivia

• In the Bible, the Garden of Eden was a place of new beginning where life originated. It was the paradise where the first humans, Adam and Eve, resided. One of their first two sons was Cain, who became the world's first murderer when he killed his brother, Abel. It was also in the Garden of Eden that the serpent persuaded Eve to disobey God.
• "Sarah" is a Hebrew name that is translated to "princess" or "goddess".
• "Eden" is a Hebrew name meaning "pleasure".

See Also

• For other uses of Eden, see Eden (disambig).
• For other members of the Ellis family, see Ellis (disambig).

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Eden McCain for fan-created theories and other speculation.