Analysis of Episode 5

        In the first scene Claire is in the hospital and admits to her father, Noah that she caused the accident on purpose and admits to him what happened between her and Brody. She tells him she is sorry for lying but instead of Noah consoling her it is the other way around. Why does Claire feel compelled to apologize to him? One reason may be she feels guilty about lying to her father and the assault and she is scared of retribution from him because he has more power than she does due to his position of authority over her. Claire tells her father "I can't prove anything," hence she has no legal case and in essence no punishable crime has occurred. She confides to her father that she felt compelled to seek justice not just for herself but for the others. Claire then asks her father to keep the secret. Noah says he will tell no one but I think he should be encouraging her to seek treatment. I think it is at this moment when Claire has given up her power to her father. He now has become her confidant and her protector and now he knows her secret and thus he has power over her. By keeping quiet he is also being a co-conspirator in Brody's crime. In all fairness, Noah is keeping the secret to protect his daughter's superpower and trying to keep her safe from the company who wants to exploit her power.

        A second scene from this episode really demonstrates power relations between Noah and Brody. Noah walks into the room and tells Brody he's Claire's father. Brody says he's going to sue him for the accident. This illustrates that even rapists still have rights and thus power even though he is in the wrong. Brody can say Claire is lying about the rape and defaming his character. Thus Claire looks like a liar or worse a slut but either way she loses.

        Later on in the scene, Brody calls Claire "a freak" and "not human" in the presence of her father; name calling is another way the perpetrator takes more power by reducing the victim to the status of an animal. This makes the perpetrator look better and hence not guilty of a crime.

        Noah does defend his daughter's integrity and Brody says that he doesn't really know Claire, implying that Claire is a slut. Noah says he knows "her better than even she does." This statement indicates that he has some kind of unknown power over her that she is not even aware of. Mainly who her real parents are and the source of her powers because he was hired to watch over her until she exhibited powers. Noah also says "Claire is a very special girl." This statement implies that he sees himself as her protector and that she is a defenseless girl who is weak and innocent which isn't true of Claire. Claire is a very mature and fully capable of taking care of herself except when she is physically overtaken. She took care of business by crashing the car and thus achieving her own justice, however this is overshadowed by what her father does next to Brody.     

        Noah, by erasing Brody's memory, only makes Claire suffer more. Noah's demonstration of power over the Haitian who does the mind wipe shows he has a lot of power over those around him; a clear demonstration of his masculinity. Noah is a perfect example that males have the power to do whatever they want without dealing with the consequences of those actions. Noah is justified in his actions to protect Claire, the Haitian is forgiven because he was doing his job, and Brody get his memory erased thus it is as if the crime never occurred at all. The only person who is left to deal with the consequences of the rape is Claire. By erasing Brody's memory Noah is robbing Brody of redemption. Claire is essentially raped again by her father and psychologically she is left to deal with the rape all by herself. By Noah's actions, Claire's justice is irrelevant leaving her feeling helpless, useless, and powerless.

        One of the biggest questions is why doesn't Noah erase Claire's memories of the rape when it is within his power to do so? Several possibilities present themselves. One is Noah likes having power over her and he needs to control everything around him. Perhaps he leaves her memory intact to build character and prepare her for the trials ahead of her. Thirdly, perhaps he's prohibited by someone higher up in the company not to do so. Whatever the reason for not erasing her memory, it leaves Claire left with no options but to forget the attack ever happened and move on with her life.