Jon22: The Website of Jonathan Dobres

Have you been keeping up with Heroes this season? I intend to write something substantial about the third season soon, but for now I simply want to comment on one of tonight’s big revelations. We learned tonight that Daphne’s powers not only grant her super-speed, but also heal her from cerebral palsy. When her powers are taken away—as they were during the mysterious eclipse—she reverts, tragically, to dragging herself around on crutches and leg braces.

A fair amount of people expect me to be an expert on cerebral palsy, on account of the fact that I actually have cerebral palsy. This is, of course, a logical fallacy as ridiculous as believing that all Asians have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Qing Dynasty and steamed dumpling recipes. If you want a real expert on CP, you should get in touch with this mad genius, or at least glance at this Wikipedia entry.

But let’s get back to Daphne. I can’t really fault Heroes for an inaccurate portrayal. Cerebral palsy is a bit like a terribly unfair snowflake. Everybody’s brain is different, everybody’s particular damage is different, and so the presentation of CP in any one person is going to be unique. Daphne’s presentation as portrayed on the show is certainly within the realm of plausibility. That said, her leg braces are so ridiculous that they risk becoming funny, and I have endured a few too many comedic geniuses putting on a Southern drawl and shouting out “Run, Forrest, run!” to be comfortable with that risk.

My only other issue is that like everything else on the show, Heroes handles this bit of attempted character development with all the subtlety of an oncoming bus. An oncoming bus full of drag queens. Daphne is on crutches just long enough for Parkman to do the “I love you anyway” thing, and then the eclipse ends and her powers (and good legs) return. Eh.