User:Ice Vision/Empathy
Peter has the power of empathy, the ability to connect with people on a mental level.
Episode History
Genesis
"You, in the meantime, for all your selflessness sitting with dying people ... What? You gonna retire on what you make?"
"I'm sorry if the truth hurts. I'm just saying you hero-worshiped him. And those feelings were never returned.
"You're wrong. It's biological, and I can't help it. We're ... we're connected. I never told you this, but when Nathan had his accident, I knew it."
"We all got the same call."
"No, I'm saying before the call. Like he was telling me, 300 miles away. I woke up, and I knew that he'd been hurt."
Nothing to Hide
"He was still in a coma. And then, like it was any other day, he started talking. He said he'd been flying all over the world. But that it was a world he didn't recognize. There was so many people filled with pain. Nobody looking out for each other. He worried for them. And for me. Until you told him everything would be okay."
"What do you mean I told him?"
"I know. It doesn't make any sense. But he said that you were flying with him. And you told him it was all gonna be okay. That there were people who cared, who would make a difference. That you would save the world. After that, he just put his head down and ... he was gone. Like he was falling asleep."
"I never had that conversation with your father."
"But it sounds like something you would say. Those messages you left on my answering machine. You said you wanted one of Isaac's paintings. Because it would help you save the world."
Fallout
"Had to be a hero, didn't you? Got it out of your system now?"
"I finally get it now, Nathan. I have these dreams, and when I'm around someone with an ability, I can do what they can do."
"You look like hell."
"And I was with that girl and that guy that was trying to kill that girl. And this cop, I think he was reading my mind. They were all like us."
"Dysfunctional?"
Six Months Ago
"My brother Peter, the hospice nurse. Can you believe it? It's just --"
"Oh, it's a perfect fit. He's selfless and empathic ..."
The Fix
"Peter's specific DNA allows for a blend. Like colors in a mosaic, resequencing itself to mimic the abilities of those around him."
"Like a chameleon?"
"More like a sponge. It's precisely why I've been studying him."
"Could his condition become dangerous to himself or to other people?"
"If he absorbs too much, or comes into contact with an unstable ability, then most definitely yes."
"Left the family business. I'm a nurse now."
"Nurse who's an empath, very cute."
"'Empath', what's that mean?"
"Means you're a pain in my ass, mate."
Distractions
"You know, before I hit the ground ... when I knew what was about to happen, I had this flash ... in my head, of this girl that I met in Texas. This cheerleader. She could heal herself. Oh, gosh, she's this sweet kid. Sad little smile, and she just ... You were wrong. I don't have to cut her out. I have to remember her! How -- how she made me feel! That's how I ..."
Company Man
"(Thinking) Peter Petrelli."
"Peter Petrelli? He can do what I can do. What do you know about him?"
"(Thinking) He can do what I can do."
How to Stop an Exploding Man
"I look in Peter's eye, I see compassion, empathy, but most of all, I see hope. This world won't be saved on strength. What it really needs is heart -- and that's Peter."
"You came here because you needed to. You needed to hear the truth before you could save the world."
"I save the world?"
"You've had the power all along, Peter. You just needed to learn how to use it."
"Why me?"
"Because there has to be one that's good. There always has. And your heart has the ability to love unconditionally. Like I told you, in the end, all that really matters is love."
- - Charles, Peter
Out of Time
"You need to focus. You can move objects with you mind, heal; you can paint the future."
"How do you know about that?"
"You absorb abilities from other people. You are the most powerful of us all. You're a kind, caring soul, selfless, always caring about others."
Other
If Peter has the ability to absorb other people’s powers, doesn’t that make him like Sylar?
Peter and Sylar are two halves of a similar coin. Both are able to absorb people’s powers, but in two very different ways. Peter’s is based on his empathy and his ability to connect with people and when he’s around them. Sylar actually has to take your brain and do something with it.
- - Wizard Entertainment: Interview with Tim Kring (December 29, 2006)
Which hero do you identify with most?
Kring: I'd have to say Peter, the sort of dreamer. I was certainly a late bloomer and trying to figure out who I was and what the meaning of my life was. And so I definitely relate to that character. The empathy.
- - Sci Fi Weekly: Interview with Tim Kring (January 29, 2007)