So what exactly did Sylar do?

[Archaeis]

When we see him examining Claire's brain, he notes several key parts and then sqeezes the one little spot and he has the power. Did he simply learn how to use the power or was there some kind of biological absorbtion/alteration to him?

[Aerilon]

I would have thought there more to it than that. We know Sylar was good at looking at, and fixing clocks. It could be that his power allows him to find and solve problems. His problem would be not having the power to do something, so he has a look around, to see what he can find. Once he finds it, he figures out how it works, and then uses it.

[AvatarIII]

i always assumed since very early on that his power is just the ability to understand how anything works, including a brain. i don't see how he got clairs powers is much of a bombshell.

[Archaeis]

There is supposed to be a biological component though. Just figuring out how my buddy shoots 3-pointers doesn't mean that I can. Just by looking at a brain doesn't mean that Sylar can replicate there biological ability.

After all, Mohinder said that the source is the same in each person, but it manifests differently depending on blood chemistry. So Sylar can imitate the blood chemistry then?

[jrd231]

They have never explained a number of things in Heroes, including how Sylar's power works. They did however, show us much more this season so far. It's always been assumed that his power is an intuitive aptitude, where he can very easily figure out how things work, and has an ability to fix things once he knows.

I assumed that by studying Claire's brain, he can figure out how it does what it does and he can then "fix" his brain so that it works like hers. If that means his brain needs to alter his blood chemistry to achieve Claire's ability, that's how it "fixes" itself in order to duplicate her power.

The one thing I can't understand though, is how he kept his telekinesis ability. He made mention that he has to start over and has lost all his gifts or powers that he has stolen, but he still has the telekinesis. Although when the company studied him, they did make mention they couldn't find a single power accept the telekinesis. Somehow that power is different.

[Myn McGeek, Third Sentinel]

It's always been assumed that his power is an intuitive aptitude, where he can very easily figure out how things work, and has an ability to fix things once he knows.

I assumed that by studying Claire's brain, he can figure out how it does what it does and he can then "fix" his brain so that it works like hers. If that means his brain needs to alter his blood chemistry to achieve Claire's ability, that's how it "fixes" itself in order to duplicate her power.

That makes sense to me. His physiology may very well take his "learning how things work" to the next level; learning how to duplicate or replicate it. It could be part of -- or an expansion of his ability.

I don't know about the telekinesis... Maybe we'll find out later this season.

[the fifth man]

I love that Sylar is a real match for Peter now. I so want to see them brawl.

[Buddhawasanancient]

I think he was looking for the Adrenal Gland like Mohinder was talking about earlier in the ep....

[Dotarian]

There is supposed to be a biological component though. Just figuring out how my buddy shoots 3-pointers doesn't mean that I can. Just by looking at a brain doesn't mean that Sylar can replicate there biological ability.

After all, Mohinder said that the source is the same in each person, but it manifests differently depending on blood chemistry. So Sylar can imitate the blood chemistry then?

It's pretty well accepted that the brain controls nearly every aspect of our bodies - regardless of whether that control is conscious or unconscious on our parts. Many people - martial artists, yoga masters, zen masters, and even behavioral scientists claim to be able to control their bodies in ways not normally accepted by us common folk.

And....the adrenal glands are directly hard-wired into the "fight or flight" reflex built into our nervous system, which - you guessed it - uses the brain as the mother of all Grand Central Stations.

If the adrenal system is the key to "Hero Powers", is it a stretch to assume that the various Heros have inadvertently (and unconsciously) learned to harness some aspect brain function to manifest their power to meet a need?

If so, is it much more of a stretch to assume that Sylar's "power" is the ability to sense how the brain of his victims is inducing the adrenals to produce the "Hero Power"?

Beyond needing direct contact with the brain to figure out how to manifest a new power, cutting off the skull and digging his fingers into someone's brain while they're awake would evoke the highest state of terror - which would cause the victim "Hero" to try and use their power to "fight or fly" - which kicks the adrenals into overdrive - which causes that part of the brain manifesting the weird adrenal overload to light up like a magnesium flare for Sylar to find - and understand.

So I think that Sylar's power is somewhat of being a "mind reader", only he can read the entire BRAIN, not just the consciousness. Such sensitivity to another person's brain functions would obviously extend to himself; he only needs to see how someone else triggers their power, and he can make his own brain duplicate the trick.

That may also be why he has to "start over". If a side affect of whatever they gave him caused brain damage or memory loss, it may be that he's "forgotten" many of the brain tricks he "learned" from other victims to duplicate their Hero powers. Or, maybe he just forgot most of them (I have a hunch that since he uses the telekinesis the most, it would be the hardest to "forget"). Beyond that, that's a good reason for him to go on the killing spree - to refill his empty tank of powers.

Finally, I would think that if he can read - and mimic - the brain patterns of other Heros, he must have some way of preventing them from directly using their powers against him while under his control. Why didn't Bob simply turn him to gold when he stuck his fingers in his brain? I think that secondary effects of power - such as Hiro's time stoppage, Peter's telekinesis, and Elle's electric discharge - are the only way to stop Sylar since his self-protection mechanism only stops a victim from directly attacking him (Elle's electric fireball was an unconscious reaction that affected everything for 5 city blocks, not just Sylar).

Whew. Just my two pennies.

Dotarian