I haven't seen a topic dedicated to it, so I started this one. I'm sure it's discussed somewhere else, but this has been bothering me for the past week.

I haven't rewatched this episode, but Sylar beats Knox down pretty well. I don't know if he had super strength before, though that would lead into the ever-so-popular argument of why exactly Sylar has his old abilities back (which is a moot point in a future that no longer exists). (If this is so, you can probably ignore this topic, but for the sake of more discussion, you can also read on.)

The way I understood it, though, is that Sylar understood Knox's power without slicing him open and was therefore able to use it (possibly by evolution in his power, by taking Peter's power and combining it with his own, or by some other means that can lead down more roads of speculation). Is this an incorrect observation? If he was able to obtain Knox's powers without killing him, then it would make a lot more sense that he managed to gather up other powers without killing them. It would also give good reason for him no longer being a killer, as he doesn't need to kill to satiate his power to know more.

Thanks.