Theory:Joseph's ability

Main Article Theories about Joseph's ability Main Discussion

The following fan theories are about Joseph's ability.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Joseph's ability allowed him to induce delta brain-wave activity.	None	• Delta-wave brain activity normally occurs during very deep sleep. + If a person's brain were 'forced' into delta-wave patterns, it would cause sudden fatigue, loss of focus, and unconsciousness.
Joseph had telepathy.	None	+ During Mohinder's visit he appeared to know what Mohinder was thinking and knew more about him. - He would have been able to prevent Samuel from attacking him then, and possibly make him forget. + He could have used this to knock out Eric Doyle. - Telepathy has never been used to make someone unconscious. + Actually Maury Parkman made Molly Walker unconscious using his telepathy as well as Matt later did to Maury and then to Sylar.
Joseph's power was empathic manipulation.	Samuel claims that Joseph has been emotionally manipulating him, a clear description of the power.	+ This could explain why he was able to make newcomers like Lydia feel welcome, and why everyone became uneasy when he died. He had been using his power to calm them but that evaporated when he was killed. - Joseph was a very kind man. He devoted his entire life to protecting the world from Samuel and making a place where evolved humans could live in peace. Even if he had such an ability, he would never abuse it. + Calming people down can hardly be called "abusing" an ability. However, even if he manipulated Samuel to the point where it became morally questionable, one could make the argument that by restricting Samuel's free will Joseph also kept the carnival, as well as the rest of the world, safe. + Samuel acts very apathetic and unfocused when Mohinder arrived at the carnival. This could possibly be because Joseph manipulated his emotions that way to make Samuel not want to ask questions about his past, thus making him ignorant of his true potential. - Samuel was drunk. + This might explain how he knocked out Eric Doyle, by overwhelming his emotions. - Eric didn't feel like something was wrong with his emotions, only with his power. + Possibly because he was so overwhelmed. - It's quite possible to manipulate someone emotionally without having an ability. Samuel could have referred to how Joseph kept him from achieving his 'full potential', by limiting the number of evolved humans were around him. • He didn't know his power is enhanced by presence of other evolved humans at that moment. - So, for all Samuel knew, his power could be strengthened by staying in one place, or interacting with normal humans, or any number of things. • He didn't know his power could be strengthened at all. + @Sullivan_Bros on twitter (which the NBC website lists as an official account) tweeted this: "In the same way some telepaths push thoughts, Joseph could push emotions".