Mohinder's surely gotten the Stupid tag for a reason, right? Let's look at what he's done to earn this.

1) Initially refuses to believe Peter about superpowers and returns to India. Here he has prophetic dreams telling him of his sister, which eventually leads to him finding the cure for her disease. Not a smart move, but it puts him in a position to be smart later.

2) Seems to believe Eden is just the girl next door. OK, this is just gullible.

3) Unwittingly teams up with Sylar for a road trip. Really, it bothers me that people still consider Mohinder stupid for this. He caught onto Sylar's act in less than a day, smoothly and cunningly drew Sylar into a trap, and almost single-handedly killed him. That's damn impressive for a college professor with no superpowers.

4) Appears to blow off Sylar when Sylar calls him about the bomb. OK, this was kind of stupid in retrospect. But I guarantee people would be yelling about Mohinder's stupidity if he'd said "Gosh, that's upsetting, Sylar. Why don't we meet for coffee and talk about it?" So I put this in the "no win" column.

5) Joins up with President Sylar in "Five Years Gone." Also stupid. But he was the only person to figure out Future Hiro's timeline, and made the right decision at the end.

6) Joins up with the Company at the end of S1. Ends up discovering a cure for a rare and deadly virus, saves Molly's life and eventually helps create a loving home for her. Walks away from the Company without a scratch.

7) Appears to join the Company yet again at the beginning of S2. Revealed to be secretly working with HRG. Bob seems to fall for the "clueless professor" act, just as Sylar did. Saves the Haitian's life and gives Bennet his old partner back.

8) Goes looking for Isaac Mendez's paintings despite heavy security. Apparently does not get caught. (Remember the cries of "You're so STUPID!" this was met with?) HRG would have no idea his death was coming if Mohinder hadn't taken this risk. What reward does Mo get? HRG goes off the deep end and becomes a completely unreliable ally.

9) Takes Molly to the Company. Stupid, but possibly kept her alive long enough for Parkman to get in touch with his awesome side and confront his dad. Also brought her, Parkman and Bob together - and it was Bob who gave Parkman the kick in the butt he needed to confront his father.

10) Confesses everything to Bob. Oy VEY. All right, I admit I smacked my head on the table at this one.

So basically, I think Mohinder's alleged stupidity often has a lot of payoff, it's just extremely delayed. People remember the "stupid" deeds but not how usually they pay off a couple of episodes down the line. I honestly don't believe he's any dumber than any other character on the show. His fans are going to smack me for saying this, but so far the dumbest thing on that list is Mohinder's decision to team up with HRG.

Thanks for the list.

I posted this over at the Television Without Pity boards and figured I'd add it here...

I have no problem admitting that when it comes to this show being a Mohinder fan can really test one’s patience. I am aware there are a select few of us who don’t think the guy is a moron, but rather someone flawed who is attempting to make sense of the confusing and messed up situations he finds himself in.

My first reaction to him telling Bob about Bennet was that it was a stupid move, but the more I think about I’m not so sure (and if season one is any indication, the times when Mohinder seems the least aware are actually the times when he is most on game – I’m thinking about the reveal that he had figured out Zane was really Sylar and then tried to take him down).

So…I’m going to attempt to throw to very basic ideas out as to why Mohinder would do what he did.

1. Mohinder is completely aware that he cannot trust Bob (he makes that clear in his discussion with Niki). However, he has also been left in the lurch by Bennet who is not keeping him in the loop…from Bennet’s perspective that may be totally logical, he understands how The Company works etc, but for Mohinder he’s pretty much lost and trying to figure things out as he goes along.

Add to this that he sees Matt and Nathan show up to save Bob and I think Mohinder might have thought that the best he could do right now is to throw his temporary trust behind the people he is currently with. Bennet is not around. I don’t think this means he trusts Bob, he just trusts him for now. Especially with a Big Bad who can do some serious damage.

OR

2. Mohinder’s confession seemed very…obvious? Is it possible this is part of the plan; particularly if he’s worried that TC is keeping close tabs on him and may suspect his working with Bennet?

When Bob puts the gun in front of Mohinder he recalls the conversation with Bennet, when Bennet asks him if he has been issued a gun yet. Maybe Mohinder “confesses” everything to make it look like he has fallen out with Bennet and is instead willing to be loyal to Bob and TC?

I just think there’s more to this than Mohinder is an idiot.

deleted

Thank you! It can be so frustrating being a Mohinder girl. Everyone keeps bashing him for being stupid, when most of the times I can understand his logic and why he did what he did. Teaming up with Bennet proved to be the wrong move- Mohinder was in over his head and Bennet only cares about his own family. I mean he was willing to kill poor little Molly! I'm not sure how I feel about Mohinder confessing to Bob. I was half expecting Bob to say "I know" but instead he seemed just as baffled as I was "why are you telling me this?" I hope it pays off in the end, but I'm worried about Mohinder putting his faith in the Company. He might be playing them, I dunno. But I'm worried.

Mohinder is more naive then he is a moron. He'll just act, just do something, without really thinking it out. Or rather he doesn't have enough information to think something out all the way. Turning Bennet into Bob wasn't some cunning ploy (IMO, ofcourse I can't know for sure), he was freaked out by his whole situation, and became putty in Bob's hands.

He has alllwaassyy been that naive Mohinder, even way back when, when it was just reading his father's book without permission. He wanted to jump right in, thought he had a hold on all of it. After his father's death, nothing stopped him. When things got a bit to crazy, he ran back to India for answers.

Thats the Mohinder we know, love, and want to strangle. The Mohinder who jumps into something, and then will grab on to the first person or idea who seems to know something, or offers a way out. Unfortuantly, that thing has been the Company more then once.

I agree. I think there are times Mohinder has earned it, but I really don't understand why people are so quick to rake him over the coals for doing things that really actually sorta make sense.

Its not even so much the actions, its that he isn't careful enough, even trusts these people to a certain extent.

Example, after he made a feeble attempt to trap Sylar, and got Peter (And Isaac in a way) killed in doing so, he turned to the company. Okay, you know what, obviously he was emotional...and these people had to have soommmee idea as to what the heck was going on. But then right away he just jumps right into Thompson's lap, and does his every bidding. Yes, the bidding involved saving Molly, which was good, but what would they have asked of him next?

And mind you, his trusted Thompson, who he had never met before. Trusting HRG would have been bad enough, but at least he had met HRG before. And this was RIGHT AFTER he had trusted a serial killer on word alone, and led the man to kill four people! He didn't wait a single day before he went around with another stranger! And this one didn't even have a neat power as bait!

I STRONGLY dispute anyone who says Mohinder doesn't have a super power. DUMB LUCK.

Somehow this guy always acts like a bonehead, but it ends up (conveniently...) being the right choice. I'm kind of getting sick of his happenstance stupidity that somehow leads to a positive outcome. It's almost as unbelievable as Sylar's multiple convenient escapes from everyone and their mother (and apparent immunity to katanas).

But... he didn't. I don't understand this criticism at all. Mohinder told Thompson to his face "you are a pack of untrustworthy gundas," and skipped out of the Company with Molly at his first opportunity.

And bulletin boards



Yeah..it was easy for him to be all "Thompson..I don't trust you. Now what?! Huh?!" but his actions are what we are going by here. He did everything Thompson asked..and why? He wanted Molly to find Sylar for him. SYLAR CALLED YOU YOU FOOL! HE CALLED YOU AND YOU HUNG UP! If you wanted to find him why not press REDIAL?!?
*cough*
*collects self*
Anyway, yeah.. He trust Thompson to a level, trusts Bob to a level..though at llleeasstt he didn't inject Monica. He's getting a tad better I suppose. But not much.

It's my belief that Moho is really just that stupid and naive. If it turns out that everything he is doing has an ulterior motive, then I believe that the writers are doing a double cross on us in regards to his character. All his clean sweeps have been because of sheer chance and not his own design. I get that he is supposed to be this "everyman" non-powered person trying to find his way amongst the superpowered, getting involved in plots conceived by those who have powers he is desperately trying to understand, and getting used by people in superior positions of authority; all the time trying to hatch plots of his own and acting under his own misguided sense of justice and rightousness. In my mind, it just doesn't sell, and I'm not buying.

What was he supposed to do, refuse to cure a helpless eight year old girl?



LOL! Fair enough. Although I don't think Mohinder merely wanted to "find" Sylar, he also wanted to kill or incapacitate him, and he already knows what happened the last time he tried to do that on his own. I'd call that learning from his mistakes.

If he had learned so much from his mistakes, why call 911? Really, what the hell was the New York Police Department going to do to Sylar?

Why can't it be both? In some situations Mohinder clearly is just naive and gullible (getting tricked by Eden, for example). In others he lets other people think he is stupid and uses it to his advantage (he's played this trick on Sylar twice - once in "Parasite" and once in "Five Years Gone," and also tricked Bob when he "accidentally" let the Haitian get away).

Well, except for saving Hiro's life, saving the Haitian's life, saving Molly's life, and saving Matt Parkman's life.



What other backup could he have called? I doubt he knew the Company's phone number by heart at that point.

I also think you are holding Mohinder to an impossible standard - a guy who just pinned you to the ceiling and murdered Peter Petrelli in front of you calls you out of the blue? And you've got a split second to figure out how to handle it? You could do a lot worse than talking fast to keep him on the line and trying to call for help. Would Peter have handled it any better? Claire? Niki? Nothing against those characters, I just think everyone has made bad decisions but don't get raked over hot coals for it the way Mo does.

I'll give you Hiro, thought Tex has a point. He didn't know that by saving Hiro he'd save the world. A thought poped into his head, he saw a page of a comic, and he went for it and killed a man.

He was sent to save the Haitian's life, but okay, he has a good heart, made the Haitian want to live again. Molly was a fluke. If his blood hadn't been the cure, he wouldn't have been able to save her. When did he save Parkman's life? By holding bandages to his chest after he got shot? He just happened to be there.

Why call backup at all? Why not stay on the line for a second to find out something. Like, hey, kill millions of people..what do you mmmeaaan Sylar budddyy? How ya gunna do that? Where are you? Isaac! I know that guy! Ha ho!

Anything...he could have gotten a bit of information, called The Company with it, and had a direction. But oh wait...the Company wanted New York to explode...right. So yeah, they wouldn't have done anything about it. Infact, Thompson was probably gunna let Molly and Mohinder die. Shucks.

So... even when Mohinder has about two clues, puts them together and gets it exactly right, he's being stupid? Good grief.



But if he's as "stupid" as everyone says he is, he shouldn't have even been able to figure out his own blood was the cure. The point isn't the result - the point is that he figured it out.


He performed first aid on Parkman (and also on D.L.), who was more or less a stranger to him. They'd known each other for all of two hours. I'll grant this is getting away from "intelligence" and more into "morality," although I'd like to think that counts for something.



So Mohinder's biggest crime is not being omniscient?

Look, don't get me wrong. I love Mohinder. He has a big heart, and intends to always do the right thing, which is a lot more then most. But his issue is that very often he does something without thinking of the other options. This is why people get on his case. He'll just trust some stranger off the street...its not as much stupid as it is naive.

You also have to factor in the characters he will be in situations with. We as an audiance have a huge bond with HRG. We have seen him rise up against his "Company Man" status on more then one occasion..he is our flawed Hero. We don't want to see him as evil any more. So Mohinder turning him in..it'd be like Peter turing Parkman in. You'd be all "Peter...why the *hell* did you have to do that?!"

In other instances...the whole Sylar saga. The only time I have screamed "SHOOT HIM!" louder and more times in a single moment was at the end of the new Halloween...and I'm a big Sylar fan. He just does things..or doesn't do things...and you just want him to make the right choice. I guess the problem is he always works himself into situations where there *isn't* one right choice and one wrong one. Everythings a guess, every moment is a chance he is taking.

See, and I think that's fair. In my very first post I got on Mo's case for trusting Eden, and for some other dumb choices. What I don't think is fair is when people get on Mohinder's case for stuff that actually isn't dumb. Like going on the road trip with Sylar, or sneaking off to take pictures of Isaac's paintings.

Even things like taking Molly to the Company were not fantastic moves, but it pretty much worked out in the end. Mohinder faced a tough situation, took a risk, and it paid off. It's not necessarily "smart" but I can't find fault with it either. No harm, no foul.



Whoa, wait - Mohinder did not turn HRG in. Bob already knew HRG was working against the Company (because of the fingerprints Bennet was "stupid" enough to leave behind in the Ukraine - boy, can you imagine what the reaction would be if Mohinder had done that?). So the only person Mohinder turned in was himself. Which might have been a very stupid move, I'll be the first to say that. But I also remember thinking he was stupid right up until the moment Sylar drank the chai last season, and being proven wrong. So I'm willing to wait and see.

Second - I know that HRG is a fan favorite and everyone is rooting for him not to die (including me), but I also think HRG is in many ways putting in motion the events that will lead to his own death. HRG sent Mohinder in to bring down the Company; Mohinder, being a good sneaky operative, sent HRG the death picture; HRG has grown so paranoid about the picture that he's basically thrown Mohinder under the bus, the very person who may end up killing him. I consider it an almost literary tragedy being set in motion, much like Oedipus Rex, where every action they took to avert the prophecy only brought it closer to fulfillment.

I say all this NOT to bash HRG or to say that I want him to die. Quite the opposite - I think it does a disservice to HRG's complexity to pin all the hate squarely on Mohinder, when it is so much more psychologically rich and interesting to consider how the very things that make HRG a great character - his secrecy, his ruthlessness, his devotion to his family - will also be the very things that cause his downfall. Or, so it seems for now.

Heh! I actually think that would be a cool twist - I like it when good characters do bad things. It's more psychologically interesting to me.



Yeah, I'm with you. I was actually afraid Mo wouldn't pull the trigger at all, so it was a pleasant surprise when he finally did. I found that very psychologically real, though - he's a college professor, not a hit man, and it is not easy to ACTUALLY murder someone.



Well, and that's where I feel the writers sometimes don't know what they're doing with the character. Some moments he kicks ****** (in fact, I thought we were seeing a new Kickass Mohinder at the start of this season, but apparently not), and other times he really, really does not. So I'm feeling you on that. For me the positive moments have outweighed the bad ones, but I can see how that might not be the case for everybody.

Great discussion, this is fun

Wow, this is a really fascinating discussion. I just caught up now.

I was going to write this big thing...but I realize that Marzipan has basically said everything I would have.

I will add that given the character progression in the first season and how Mohinder was in the first few eps of this season I think his "confession" to Bob may be more calculated. I just can't see how the writers would take all these steps forward with Mohinder only to pull him back to square one in one move. It makes no sense unless they don't know what they're doing with the character.

deleted

Thank you for your post Marzipan! You made me like Mohinder again!

I'm just jumping into this discussion, so I know I'll be repeating stuff, but I figured I'd throw my 2 cents in. (And I'm confident I'm not the first to repeat stuff in a thread.)


I don't agree that it always ends up being the right choice. He didn't kill Sylar when he could have, which is one of the big criticisms. That definitely wasn't the right choice. (Though it does leave us with a favorite villain around.) I think often it's that he changes his mind in the middle of it when he sees something new/different, not that his original decision was the right one. With Thompson, it's not that his helping out was the right choice, just that he changed sides when he saw things differently. Same thing with teaming up with HRG.


Generally I agree that when things suddenly turn around and don't seem to fit with a character or the history we've seen, but they just throw it out there, it's annoying (a double cross, as you call it - that's what I think when some say HRG is Elle's dad; it doesn't fit). But that being said, I think there's a big difference between stupid and naive. He knows quite a bit. But he jumped into a situation thinking he could join along with others when he had no super powers, no millionaire financing his efforts, no team backing him up. He entered a world alone where others had many advantages. Thinking he could do so successfully with relative ease was naive. He wants to be on the right side, on the moral side, but he has trouble figuring out which side that is. Instead of sitting back and evaluating the situation to determine who's on the "good" side, which might take far too long and sometimes he doesn't have that luxury (when guns are drawn, for example), he jumps in evaluating things as they appear at that given moment. With our benefit of seeing other things he doesn't, that often seems stupid. But even with our view of so much more than he has, we can't seem to figure out who the good guys are. So I don't think it's that stupid for him to not be too sure and change sides.


That's the "stupid" v. "naive" distinction. He may be naive, but I think calling him stupid is, well, stupid.


I don't know, I think he has trouble seeing other options as the right ones. It's not easy trying to figure out who's good and who's bad. As I mentioned, we can't seem to figure it out and we see what all the characters do. He doesn't have tons of time to make decisions. It's a fast moving world out there. Sometimes he has to trust strangers, if they seem to present evidence. He does so with skepticism. He wasn't totally on board with Thompson, he just went along, didn't do anything bad or wrong, until that didn't work out. (Thompson's death helped that to "not work out" of course.) He was just helping Molly. By taking Molly to the Company this season, what is the alternative option? He could have taken her to a hospital, but might have problems explaining exactly what happened, and how would a hospital know how to deal with this type of situation? It's not like anything was wrong with her. I know it seemed like a dumb decision, but we are only basing that on an assumption that the Company is bad, that Mo knows everything the Company has done, and that HRG is right.


Yeah, well, that was naive of him to think that what he knew of the science world might apply to the world of heroes. He thought he had Sylar incapacitated, and he was basing that in real science, not realizing that you can't trust real science with Sylar. The Company did that stuff too; they didn't kill Sylar when they had him. They wanted to use him as their science experiment, just like Mo.


Yes, Sylar called Mo, then Sylar hung up after hearing Mo dial 911, so redial would not have worked. But he could probably see the number on the phone, assuming it wasn't blocked, and called right back. I'm not sure what good that would have done, though.

I agree. I think Mohinder is slightly naive and might make rash decision. I think Mohinder led a very sheltered life until he came to the States, so it took him a while to realize there were spies, goons with guns and that people aren't who they say they are. I do think Mohinder grew quite a bit and we see in season two that he's not as clueless as he seems and that he doesn't automatically trust anyone (HRG or the Company). Most of the times Mohinder doesn't have all the information we do and he has to make quick decisions based on the little he knows. Sometimes it's not the best decision, but I can always understand why he made a certain choice.

Yes I wanted him to shoot Sylar- but let's face it, Mo isn't a cold blooded killer. He needed to get himself worked up first. And afterwards, he didn't 'finish the job' with Sylar, cause he saw what he was capable of and realized he could either risk Sylar waking up and killing both he and Peter, or he could destroy the research and get Peter's body to his family. I think he did the right and smart thing.

Now with the phone call- a serial killer that killed a friend right in front of your eyes calls you and tells you he's gonna kill lots of people. I think I would have been speechless and not be able to string coherent thoughts together. He kept Sylar on the line and called the police- yes the police are no match for Sylar, but he didn't really have time to think about what he could do.

He told Thompson straight up that he doesn't trust him. He was using them as much as they were using him. Now we're in season 2 and Mohinder is a double agent (stupid decision HRG- Mohinder isn't fit for the job and he's too moral). Now based on how the Company have been treating him and not forcing him to do evil things (they didn't inject Monica in the end and Bob apologized for that later) and HRG's pretty much proved that you can't trust him, it's no wonder Mohinder is conflicted. I'm hoping he confessed to Bob cause he realized they probably suspected he's a double agent (Bob didn't seem surprised) so he decided to try and win their trust. I don't think he trusts them 100%, but he's a bit over his head and he's trying to stay in the game. I'm just hoping Mohinder doesn't get into trouble or turns darkside... *is worried*

I love HRG, so I'm really hoping Mohinder doesn't kill him (and that no one else does, but if someone has to, don't make it Mo) and doesn't fully join the Company. As long as he's feeling out both sides, it's ok. But I'm hoping he learned enough from last season to know not to trust them completely. I hope either the Company is on the good side this season (trying to stop the virus) or Mohinder gets out when he can.

You know, and I'm kind of wondering if that's a source of the different opinions. Part of what I really enjoy about Mohinder is that he's pretty much been winging it from day one. I love the characters who are really calculating and in-control, like HRG and Sylar, but it also just makes my heart sing when seemingly powerless characters step up and get it right. Like Ando coldcocking that security guard in "Parasite," or Micah with the elevator in HTSAEM.

I'm with you on that Marzipan, I loved it when Ando came to the rescue, or when Future!Mohinder saved Hiro and bought him enough time to go back to the past. People tend to underestimate these characters, so it's always nice to see them getting it right.

That being said, I'm really worried about Mohinder. I hope he's not trusting the Company (or that there's a twist and they're the good guys this season) because: 1) I don't want him to kill HRG. 2) I don't want him to turn darkside. Now since the paintings seem to indicate that it's Mohinder doing the shooting, I'm hoping it's a red herring, and that the scene means something else. Cause if Mohinder kills HRG, a fan favorite, it won't be long before they kill him off the show.

I sorta posted something similar to this on another board but the thing with Mohinder in my view is that he is the only really normal non-special character on the show. I think that maybe he is written the way he is because if you were in the situation he was in wouldn't you seem stupid and naive with all the stuff that was happening? I like Mohinder because he is the most relatable character, well apart from the fact I'm not Indian, a genetics professor or live in New York but I hope you know what I mean.

Need we add shooting Noah in the eye? Stupid? Prolly, but what was really stupid was his rationale. I need to take Claire's blood to help Niki. How was shooting HRG s'posed to help?

Well to me it seemed more like Bob insisted that Mohinder starting thinking like that. It seemed like Mo really wanted to avoid that as much as he could, even though he did come close to it in the first half of the ep. I think that when it came down to it, he chose the side that would help Niki and others instead of it just being a matter of saving Niki.

IICR, the exchange would have gone fine if Elle didn't lose it and zap West out of the sky. She started off the chain of events that led to Noah aiming at Bob at point-blank range.

HRG said, "This all ends with you", to Bob. Mohinder knows that Noah is right, and if Bob dies then things at TC would start to unravel, which could lea to The Virus spreading. I'm not calling Bob a good guy and I appreciate that Noah wants to protect his family, but a LOT of people fail to see that Mohinder made a judgement call, and he had to do it fast: he did the wrong thing for the greater good. This of course throws him into greyer territory, and he could have just shot Bennet in the arm instead; however, I'll refer back to Marzipan on why HRG's death played out like that.



I completely agree with this, and then some. Mohinder was never cut out to be a spy or a "BAMF" like Noah, but he reacted very realistically to everything that was happening to him. His alliance with HRG fell apart, mostly because of HRG's mistakes, and now Mohinder is paying for it: both with his own obvious guilt and the eruption of fan hate towards him.

And it pains me knowing that, even though HRG came back to life and Mo's murder was kind of canceled out, the general contempt and disgust for Mohinder probably won't go away for a long, long time, at least it won't for a bunch of other Heroes fans.

I could not disagree with the above poster any more vehemently. In no way does Mohinder's shooting of HRG arise as a result of events put into motion by HRG. Mohinder chose, once again, to think he knows what is going on with events around him, and is poised to interpret events correctly and apply that rationale to forming his opinion about the right thing to do in his situation.

He cannot see, or will not see that the Company is using him for their own ends. He is choosing to believe his understanding of how the Company functions, granted, he's been employed with them for no longer than a few days to weeks; over the understanding of someone who has been deeply involved with all the Company's machinations, even to the extent of being the Company bag man; for SIXTEEN YEARS. And he is able to understand that the Company is doing things for the greater good? What a tool. His alliance to HRG did NOT fall apart because of HRG's lies, it fell apart because Mohinder strayed from their original premise. It was Mohinder's failure that caused HRG's death, NOT the other way around.

So, I continue to hate this character. Not because of the fact that he shot my favorite character, but for the reasons why he shot him. I still cannot understand exactly who this character is supposed to be portraying. Is he supposed to be the man who will do anything for the people around him in whom he cares deeply? Is he supposed to be the Company tough guy? Is he supposed to have all the answers to be able to take down this evil corporation? Oh, wait, we already have that character, and his presentation has not wavered since his character's inception, AND MOHINDER SHOT HIM! So, is Moho now taking over HRG's role? I think it's fairly obvious that isn't the case. Who exactly is Mohinder? What purpose does his character provide, other than being the foil for those characters who advance the story? Hoe many times do we have to hear him say "You will do this my way or no way!" and see that the Company manipulates him into doing it their way anyways? The story of Peter and the wolf, anyone? I'm sick of seeing his face on the screen, hearing his voice overly the story, and seeing his character continue to move along without any progression.

I give all the Mohinder apologists out there the opportunity to change my mind. Show me that I don't know what I'm talking about. Give me an argument that his character means anything to this show other than the doofus that he is portraying and why he should continue. I look forward to any cogent, rational discussions, but as of right now, Moho means nothing more to me than a stain on a Persian rug, a chip on a Ming vase; completely detracting from the beauty of the object to which it is attached.

deleted

Only if Mohinder believes that HRG is telling the truth. He has no direct evidence of the Company's "evil doings" except through the words of HRG (which are cryptic, mysterious, and piece-meal - hardly confidence-building). In fact, all his direct interaction proves otherwise. From the care of Molly (and allowing her to leave), to the backing-down of Bob regarding Monica, to the sworn testimony of Niki that the Company helped her. It should be noted that he does not know about the bomb plot (which may only involve a few rogue members of the Company) or Peter's incarceration.

Furthermore, their alleged goal is his, the development of a way to control super-powers (gen-mod Shanti virus). He has always wanted to help mutants and disabling their power is one way. This is OK in his view because his blood can reverse this effect (before the virus mutated). So the effect is only temporary. This may perhaps give them a chance to control their power. He may have some misgivings because of Elle and some disquieting statements from Bob but they do not constitute definite proof.

So it comes down to Mohinder asking himself: "Is what HRG telling me about the Company true?" His trust in HRG was probably never 100% because of the way HRG refuses to tell him details. It got shakier when HRG dismisses Molly's problem. And it shattered when he found out that HRG murdered a man in cold blood. Mohinder probably thought to himself: "My God! This is a man who has probably killed many times before and without regret. Everything he has told me could be a lie. At the very least, the only thing he's looking out for is number one."

Mohinder's suspicions about HRG were amply "proven" when he was a second away from being killed by HRG. HRG may not have done it in the end, but Mohinder knows Bennet had, even for only a few second, decided to shoot him dead. Even if Mohinder's middle name is Pollyanna, there's bound to be some "trust issues" cropping up!

Now, an unarmed man (Bob) is about to murdered. Some of his behaviour is a little bit suspicious but is that enough to condemn himn to summary execution? And who's holding the gun? HRG! Someone who thought about killing Mohinder. Who's had blood on his hands from his shady past. Who's not exactly trustworthy, probably a psychopathic loose cannon. What's a reluctant scientist to do?

Shoot away and hope to wound and disarm HRG. It was pure bad luck that it was a one in a million shot. Unless, of course, you think Mohinder is good enough to shoot someone in the eye.

Anyway, that's my take on things. I wanted to put in writing a "In Defense of Mohinder" tract. I thought about posting in the "I Hate Dumb-arse Mohinder. Die. Die. Die" thread but I prefer my Thanksgiving free of flames - except for flame-broiled turkey. (Arse but not ******, how about that. )

Here's how the chain of events went, if you look beyond the surface.

HRG told Mohinder to find the painting, even though he was already under careful scrutiny. This subtle coersion became more and more apparent when HRG kept calling Mohinder, only when he felt like it, telling what he should and should not do, and left Mohinder in the dark.

HRG saw his death, hid it from his family, and told Claire that she was supposed to lie low and not date anyone or try out for cheerleading, the ONLY two things that she had the opportunity and desire to do. He didn't want her to end up in the cheerleading outfit or kissing/being consoled by a boy in the painting, which is logical reasoning, except that she couldn't see things from his point of view because he didn't explain them to her. Instead of obeying his rules, she became wrapped up in West, found out that HRG abducted him years ago, and his increasing amount of lies and deceit to her further served to push her away from him. She decided to rebel against him and her prank with West ended up in the papers.

Noah went to Russia to find out about the paintings. He left his fingerprints, he was "getting sloppy". His fixation on his death was causing him to lose his cool, and his desperation was effecting both Mohinder and Claire, the two catalysts to the events that led up to his death.

If HRG never found the painting of Mohinder, then he wouldn't have panicked, called Mohinder, and in the heat of the moment insinuated that he considered Mohinder expendable. Mohinder took that very seriously, as anyone would, and I'd like to add here that when he went to Bob and told him about his plan with Noah, Bob didn't seem surprised in the least, and Mohinder was obviously distraught about what to do; he didn't know who to trust anymore. (Niki coming down with an incurable strain of The Virus was another factor added to the mix.) Bob was aware that HRG had gone rogue and was out there somewhere, but if he hadn't seen seen the newspaper (indirectly caused by Bennet) or found out about Ivan's murder (directly caused by Bennet), then he wouldn't have put two and two together so quickly and told Mohinder his plan to get Claire.

Mohinder listened to Bob, but I know that he didn't trust him completely. He chose The Company over HRG because he needed to continue his work on the Virus.

If you look at things from Mohinder's perspective, you'd see things a lot differently than just him following the Company without questioning them. Bob provided him with the resources he needed, Mohinder got to cure the Haitian on Company time, Bob listened to Mohinder when he refused to inject Monica, and finally, The Company released Molly after she woke up from her coma. Mohinder had always been naive about the inner workings of TC and can be easily influenced. Bob knew this, and used it to his advantage in order to get Mohinder on his side.

I do think that Mohinder made a grave error and that he's crossed the line in killing someone. However, HRG is just as much to blame as Mohinder or Bob are, and I place much of the blame on HRG himself. He even realized that he had a hand in everything later on, (after Claire turned her back on him(, that he screwed up and should have been more forthcoming with his secrets. Claire has become pretty self-centered lately, but she's a teenager, and HRG should have understood that and carefully laid out everything to her so that she could see why she needed to listen to him.


If I add"Noah" to that sentence, it would be more realistic. Noah is not innocent in all of this just because he was shot in the eye. I refuse to blindly hero-worship him and gloss over his mistakes, while bashing Mohinder for every mistake he made and call him the foolish one.

Not anything. He wasn't willing to let Bob inject Monica with the Virus, and he wasn't about to stop his spy work because Matt was against it. I have stated above why Mohinder switched sides; it wasn't simply a matter of turning against his former partner (which is what Noah did, three times I believe it was.)

Mohinder cares deepy for Molly and yes, I think he'd do just about anything for her. Same with Noah and Claire. These are the traits I admire in both of the characters.



I... What?

Mohinder wasn't the mastermind of the plan to take down the Company, so all the blame should fall on him? Bennet, with all his planning and expertise on The Company, who hesitates in shooting BOTH Mohinder and Bob (wavering presentation to me), gets off scot free because he was shot? I know I'm repeating what I and some others have already stated, but I feel like a lot of Bennet fans can't understand or don't have the desire to see past "stupid, gullible Mohinder shot the awesome and amazing Noah Bennet."

I don't think he's specifically or immediately taking over Noah's role, but that he's going through the same issues that Bennet did when he first joined up with the Company. It's not a matter of replacing, its a character device called mirroring.


That first question is a good one, and Mohinder is probably asking himself that right now. I think that was the point in the whole situation: for Mohinder to realize that he's gone so much farther than he originally intended. All he's ever wanted to do is help people, and instead he's managed to inadvertantly lead Sylar to kill a couple of people (Dale and Isaac), and more importantly, he winded up directly killing someone, something he never wanted to do.

I don't agree with the second question so much; you could ask the same thing of Noah. He was too busy wrapped up in finding out how his own death was going to happen, to focus on his original plan in taking down TC. His actions have an effect on Claire, who we found out is central to the storyline because of her blood, but all Bennet has really done this season is find Isaac's paintings, become increasingly unhinged, shoot someone, and then die. Oh, and then come back to life.


I don't think of myself as a Mohinder apologist, I think of myself as a fan of Mohinder. I don't get why fans can rehash and criticize the mistakes Mohinder has made or his character, when they simultaneously place Bennet on a pedestal. Bennet, who captured people without hesitation and led them to their tortures or deaths, who has made his own set of mistakes throughout the course of the show, and who might only serve to keep killing or kicking people around because the majority of fans think that that's cool.

You're certainly entitled to your own opinion and I'm obviously not trying to convince you to start liking Mohinder. However, you asked for someone to help you understand what Mohinder's purpose on the show is, and why he should still be around.

Think about how many lives Mohinder has saved during the course of the series, and how many lives Bennet has saved. Bennet is alive, and if Mohinder saved him then he's already trying to atone for his sin. Mohinder will continue to keep saving people who might contract the Virus without hesitation (or people who are otherwise in need of help), people he doesn't know. Mohinder is altruistic at nature, and his sinking into the grey has further developed his character and made him less one-dimensional. I'm definitely more pleased that the writers have given him more dimensions and given him more things to say than "My father's research". OTOH, Bennet will continue to protect his family in any way he needs to, and he may continue to serve his part by successfully taking down the Company, with its shady practices and twisted morals. They both have as much right to continue to be in the show, if you ask me.

I really didn't mean for this to be a novel... Again, I apologize if I've repeated anyone, or myself.

How was that smart? What was the NYPD going to do to Sylar? Throw insults at him, give him directions maybe? And wants the police get involved, assuming they don't take Mohinder in on drug charges after he explains his situation to them, now you have everyone knowing about people with powers. You saw what happened in 5YG.

If anything, he could have called the company. Instead he called...911. Its almost funny in a sad way.

I don't define the word "hero" by someone who is perfect in anyway. Its based on the actions and choices a character makes. Their motives. Thats why I said "Flawed Hero" He is human. He does bad things. But he has a good heart.



Sylar hung up after he heart Mohinder dialing 911. He turned to Mohinder for help, and Mohinder turned his back on him and called the police.

It doesn't matter either way, Mohinder is dead to me as of last episode. *shrug*

And yet it mattered enough for you to write a long reply. I think you and all the people who thinks that "Mohinder is dead to me" (Do people actually talk like this in real life? Do you have to squint manfully and have a 2 day stubble when saying this? Perhaps with a cigarette or toothpick dangling from your mouth?) should start a huge petition to get Tim Kring kill off Mohinder ... possibly in some gruesome fashion. Think about the immense satisfaction you'll feel if you succeed. Best. Fan Petition. Ever.

The minute Mohinder shot HRG, my second thought (my first one was NOOOOO!) was "now people are going to hate Mohinder even more". I love both Mohinder and Bennet, so it broke my heart to see Mohinder shooting him in the eye. Mohinder was so torn and trying to do the right thing, it hurts me to see him trading down the path HRG paved years ago. I'm hoping it was Mohinder who brought HRG back and that there's more to the whole thing than we know.

deleted

Thank you berlinstory for your well thought out and articulate argument. I appreciate the time you spend defending your position. I highlited only this segment as one of the cores of my argument. The truth is, I can't look at things from Mohinder's perspective because I can't, for the life of me, understand what that perspective is. I see him as a holier than thou moral crusader who disregards others' intuition and judgement, especially one who knows more about the Company than does he; one who he trusted at the outset of their plan, but then completely disregarded all that; threw caution to the wind, and threw his partner under the bus. Yes, Bennet was not telling him all, but when has Bennet ever revealed the totality of his plan to anyone? Mohinder is acting in his best interest, which he interprets as society's best interst, and therefore the aplogists here construe that intent as justifiable for any of his actions. I disagree totally and utterly.

One more issue I would like to bring up. Most of the people who are defending Mohinder are using a contralateral argument condemming Bennet for the same things that we are condemming Moninder for; and asking how we can praise one and disregard the other. This is not a Bennet vs. Mohinder argument. Yes, Bennet is not truthful; Yes, Bennet is not a nice guy; Yes, Bennet has blood on his hands; but when have we ever doubted that Bennet's actions on screen are out of character for him? That's the difference here. Moho is wishy-washy, uncertain, bumbling around, but still steaming ahead with whatever plan he has formulated on a whim, and thinking he will prevail because his motivation is pure. Sorry, not good enough. I can't believe in this type of character, because it's poor characterization, and cliched. And when he swoops in and saves the day (which I'm sure that the writers are setting up for him), many people will cheer for the saving of the fallen hero, but I will groan even louder.

The writers setup Mohinder as a chinese finger trap (along with everythingelse), and you fellas can't get your fingers out, don't put them in there in the first place.

throwing a chair into that glass cabinet of "virus" was pretty dumb. especially for a professor.
and i dont get why he didn't let HRG kill Bob

So... Is Mohinder redeemed?

He is for me. He brought Bennet back and is convincing Bob to destroy every last virus. Now why the hell is he holding HRG captive is beyond me, but I'll let it go for now. Oh an if Mohinder and Claire team up they can treat/stop the virus- her blood and his antibodies apparently take out this new strain. Mohinder is back in my good book, how about you guys?

I agree. Though I love his character, Mohinder is pretty stupid for an academic. I mean, why the HELL did he give Sylar Claire's blood in the end? Sylar would never have gotten the idea that Mohinder had it right there! Mo should have stalled for time and everything would have been resolved somehow. But NO! He has to do the most stupid thing he could come up with on such short notice and arm the ultimate enemy with unlimited powers again!

Unlike a bunch of nitpickers on this site, I never considered Mohinder stupid or an idiot moron. The only thing he's done that has made me *facepalm* is blow the whole Company infiltration thing by telling Bob.

Hmm. Let's see. In two hours, he's managed to put the past two seasons to shame in stupid moves.

1. He comes up with a formula to give powers to anyone . . . and for some reason thinks this is a good thing.

2. He injects himself with said formula despite having no idea what the results could be.

3. He starts to re-enact the entire second act of The Fly without noticing that anything's wrong.

In all fairness...

1. Mohinder is a dreamer, some dreamers may see the potential of helping the world through abilities. He could have thought this new serum would be good in the right hands.

2. He's a scientist therefor extremely curious. I can't say that I wouldn't inject myself on the chance of gaining an ability, especially when I don't have much to lose like him.

3. Well now they just wanted to give us some more ceiling!Mohinder so that's fine! With bonus shirtless and muscles this time...

Nothing wrong with BrundleMo,
That's why Sylar loves him so.

He could have thought that... incorrectly. But it sounds like his motivation was mostly selfish: "There are quantum leaps in science that one dreams of being a part of." (Read: "There are quantum leaps in science that I NEED TO BE A PART OF RIGHT NOW!1")



Curiosity killed the cat. (Or cockroach. Or lizard.)



Maybe it's because I'm of the male persuasion, but I didn't get the appeal, especially since a lot of it was devoted to his romance with Maya (who went from smooching with Sylar to making out with Mohinder in like three episodes' time).

Agreed. Although I'd change that to "completely" selfish.
He didn't care about helping Maya. He didn't care about "advancing science."
He just wants payback against Sylar.



Yeah, I didn't exactly find shirtless Moh all that interesting. What I did find interesting is the almost animalistic way he went after Maya. He went from barely being able to look at her to being extremely creepy and disturbing.
I'm almost positive he's got some weird pheremone/hormone thing going on with that change.

Me too, it's not exactly a romance between them. Mohinder seemed under the influence of the serum and Maya... Some people said she looked dazed and that it might have been a phermone affect on her as well.

I personally can't stand Mohinder.

It's not that he's stupid, it's that his stupid choices always conveniently end up working out for the better. His entire story is so CONTRIVED.

Now his meddling will somehow throw the world into peril but have no fear! The idiot professor always finds some way to patch up his mistakes and suffer 0 consequences!

I hope the 'darker' season somehow scars Mohinder and teaches him a lesson. Too many times he's played with fire and not gotten burnt by sheer luck, and it's led him to this latest mistake.

When?