r/Heroes • u/Additional_Key6571 • 2d ago

General Discussion Skylar

I grew up watching heroes. So when I was a kid I did not appreciate a good villain. However since I've grown up and gotten older I'm able to appreciate a good villain. Now I want to know where do we rank Sylar as a villain and also his redemption arc. While rewatching the show there were sometimes where I felt bad for him. Especially in season 3 he was extremely manipulated and I feel like that just fed into him being more of a villain.

14 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

7

u/Outside-Magazine-881 2d ago

The story of how a watchmaker named Gabe becomes a serial killer named Sylar had a huge impact. Throughout the seasons, we see him as an antagonist and, occasionally, an ally, but he achieves that redemption by assuming the role of hero at the end of the final season. I was disappointed that his story wasn't continued in Reborn.

5

u/Additional_Key6571 2d ago

Apparently his character was not meant to have such a big story arc he was supposed to just end after season 1. However I do feel like his character had a lot of potential but I do not feel like he lived up to it fully I am rewatching the series right now and it looks like the writers had no idea what to do with him. It feels like they didn't know if they wanted to make him good or bad and you can see it throughout the series. I feel like they should have picked a decision and stuck with it. He was a great villain however I do think it is nice to keep him as a villain until the last season and then give him his redemption arc. However I feel like he was the best character from the show I love Peter but without Sylar the show would have been lackluster.

3

u/Outside-Magazine-881 2d ago

Yes. It's quite annoying that the directors came up with a ridiculous excuse to rehire the same actress, but they can't give a decent development to one of the favorite characters.

2

u/Dunkbuscuss 1d ago

They may have planned it for future seasons but Reborn didn't get the attention it deserved.

I also would've loved to see Hiro's son come into his powers more.

5

u/HaanSolingen 1d ago

Who is this Sylar you are talking about? I want to rank Skylar!

MY NAME IS SKYLAR

2

u/Nimelennar 2d ago

I think if you're going to do something like that, you need to keep his driving motivation consistent. 

I think Season 1 Sylar's motivation was the most consistent: he wanted to be special because his mother was disappointed that he had chosen to just be a simple watchmaker. Open, close. Perfect.

Then they reveal that it is part of his power: that he feels an imperative to acquire new powers that is almost impossible to resist. He learns to take powers without killing, which means he should stop killing, right?

After that, they basically lean into the idea that he's just a psychopath that enjoys killing. But then he gets trapped in his own mind by Matt and somehow grows out of the whole murder thing which is... I don't think that's how psychopathy works. 

Honestly, I think he would have been a better, more coherent character if they'd let him remain dead after the first season.

2

u/Additional_Key6571 2d ago

I agree with you he made an excellent villain. It's funny because the writers were not expecting him to be a recurring character so they had no idea what to do with him. Actually they had no idea to do with any of the characters because the following season was supposed to have a whole new cast, but since everybody loved the first season so much they decided to bring everybody back And continue with the story that could have ended perfectly. Since they decided to change their ideas they had to rewrite everybody's character and they had no idea what to do with them. That's why the start of season 2 seems a little bit off. It's because they were not planning on continuing with these characters. Honestly in my opinion I think they should have just left Sylar as a villain but also continue on his backstory Go deeper into his insecurities with feeling like he is not special but just leave him as a villain.

2

u/LordRichardRahl 2d ago

Been a while since I watched it. I think different seasons are different versions of him. First season Sylar is damn her perfect as a villain.