I think it's sort of like a combination of "I Become Death" and "I Am Death". Are you evil now? Do you become evil? Are you both (In Peter's case).

Kinda like "I Am/Become Death", except the slash doesn't look so flashy in the episode title. :]

What are your thoughts?

It's a quote from Oppenheimer when he had created the nuclear bomb.

He said "I am become death".

Quite apropos, I think for this nuclear episode.

"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" -J. Robert Oppenheimer, Father of the Atomic Bomb.


It's translated from Bhagavad Gita. Aptly titled episode, in my opinion.

EDIT: She beat me to it, and nearly said the exact same thing. Weird.

I was curious about it, so I looked it up. The line is from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita ("I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds") and was what the "Los Alamos director" J. Robert Oppenheimer said after watching the first nuclear bomb demonstration.

Seems rather fitting, doesn't it?

You are right it is a takeoff on Oppenheimer repeating an ancient hindu text. See 'Hunt for Red October'. For some reason there seems to be a lot of take-offs recently on it, I guess 'Hunt for Red October' must be a discount DVD now.

Wowsers Money! Obviously we're opperating on the same wavelength.

OMG...We're connected! WE HAVE TO SAVE THE WORLD!!

Ah I see. Thanks for doing your research, guys.

Well then what I don't understand, is that most of the time, the episode titles have had a different meaning for each character involved in the episode. This one seems to be tied to a specific event with just Sylar. :/

Also, is it just me, or did this episode not have an opening/closing narration by Momo? Is he too cockroachy to speak with a scholarly english-teacher tone?

To the Pheeny-mobile!! (Which I guess would just be KITT from the original Knightrider. Right?)




The title can go beyond just Sylar. Take Peter, for example. Now that he has Sylar's ability and the hunger that comes with it, he has essentially become a killer. Claire also showed no qualms in killing her own uncle, and then slowly torturing him. In a way she has become death as well. With his transformation, Mohinder is becoming reckless and unstable, showing little restraint with violence towards other.

It can also relate to the Tracey storyline when you consider that Dr. Zimmerman was toying with something that becomes very dangerous (namely the bestowing of powers and genetic manipulation). Kind of akin to Oppenheimer's work with the bomb...

yes nice title IMO. Also nice hotel California quote in the sig Forbis.

i read the bhagavad gita in my world religions class like last week so when i saw the title i was like "aha!" lol

didnt know it was also a quote from the creator of the nuclear bomb. makes more sense lol

Anyone interested in seeing the video about the show title go to I am become death

if you can't see that it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x39eRJA1aVU

I can see it relating to Peter just as well. He's just taken an extremely dangerous ability that might turn him into a killer.

Claire also, she has become something beyond her control.

Ooh yes, of course!

Alright, I'm glad this topic was here because I was going to ask. LOL!
And then... I was going to point out that it could also refer to Peter... seeing as now he's become like evil Sylar... but then I noticed someone else pointed that out too.
SO... I'm going to point out that it COULD also refer to MOHINDER... because he's the one that created the formula, and he's also 'become death'. I still don't get why that dude would say "I am become death" but I'm sure he was smart enough to realize it was terrible grammar. The guy invented the atomic bomb after all.
I hope no one else pointed that out. And if they have... I'd like to know why Mr. Pheeny is HRGs new side kick.
I'd watch that.
LOL

Watch the video, I think you'll get you're explanation.

It's not terrible grammar, it's archaic grammar. In keeping with English being a part of the Germanic family of languages, in which some verbs (verbs of movement and existence, like "to be" and "to become" and "to remain") don't take a form of "to have" but of "to be" as the auxiliary verb that forms the present perfect. Since English, through repeated contact with other languages (most notably Old Norse and French) lost a lot of the peculiarities that other, less mixed-up Germanic languages still have, "to have" became the only verb with which the present perfect is formed, but "to be" still pops up in archaic contexts.

well y'all have covered the oppenheimer aspect - i like the idea that its just as much to do with peter (now with sylars IA ) as it is with the costa verde blast.

theres a sylvia plath poem - cant remember the exact quote so im paraphrasing here - if you cut open the bird, to find out why its sings, you'll cut the cord that articulates song..

to my mind this directly echoes the hunger peter gets from sylars IA - why he sliced nathan - the unfortunate side affect being death - hence i am become death...

I appreciate the explination. (Although, when I said he had terrible grammer, I was kind of just kidding. LOL) It makes sense when you explain it like that though.