I never quite looked at him doing it with finesse, more subconsciously. Maybe I need to rewatch.
I think he does it as C. says by instinct, which is not exactly the same as subconsciously. Also, as opposed to Angela, you don't get the impression he plans ahead for reactions, he just improvises. For example, in this episode, I don't think he went to Nathan with more of a plan than "Linderman has the painting, Linderman sponsors Nathan's campaign now, so Nathan can get that painting for me, and I'll ask him". But once he was there, and had grasped the situation - reporter outside - he used that and knew exactly which buttons to push. And yet it was an improvisation all the way.
(There is just one occasion I can think of where you get the impression Peter planned for what he was going to say ahead of time, instead of responding immediatlely and, as I said, by instinct to a situation at hand, and that's the end of the second episode, when he tells Nathan "I want to hear you say I flew; I want to hear you say it. Or I'll jump again" - he had definitely thought about that one well ahead of time and again knew what he was doing.)
Of course, this doesn't work unfailingly, plus Peter doesn't do it all the time, as opposed to Angela - during most of their "please join me on the superpowered side of the force, Nathan!" scenes in the early episodes he definitely isn't. But in The Fix, when he doesn't want to come along with Nathan and Mohinder? That's Peter being deliberately manipulative, getting Nathan to lower his guard so he can make a getaway.
Which is scary if you think about it, because it actually doesn't just mean he is morally flexible, it means that he is more or less unable to decide for himself when something is right or wrong; he needs someone to tell him in no unclear terms.
Hm, I don't think that's quite the case. He is pretty clear on the concept of those .07% dying being mass murder, that's his word, and when Angela makes her Truman and Hiroshima comparison, he says "that was different, Ma, we were at war then". What he's NOT clear on on his own is whether or not he's capable to take advantage of such a thing; that's why he needs walking consciences like Peter, Hiro and Claire for.
Which in turn feeds my believe in Nathan getting the amnesia storyline, because it could be both character exploration and a way for him to learn how to integrate, to use an expression I otherwise connect with Niki.*g*
Re: part 2
I think he does it as C. says by instinct, which is not exactly the same as subconsciously. Also, as opposed to Angela, you don't get the impression he plans ahead for reactions, he just improvises. For example, in this episode, I don't think he went to Nathan with more of a plan than "Linderman has the painting, Linderman sponsors Nathan's campaign now, so Nathan can get that painting for me, and I'll ask him". But once he was there, and had grasped the situation - reporter outside - he used that and knew exactly which buttons to push. And yet it was an improvisation all the way.
(There is just one occasion I can think of where you get the impression Peter planned for what he was going to say ahead of time, instead of responding immediatlely and, as I said, by instinct to a situation at hand, and that's the end of the second episode, when he tells Nathan "I want to hear you say I flew; I want to hear you say it. Or I'll jump again" - he had definitely thought about that one well ahead of time and again knew what he was doing.)
Of course, this doesn't work unfailingly, plus Peter doesn't do it all the time, as opposed to Angela - during most of their "please join me on the superpowered side of the force, Nathan!" scenes in the early episodes he definitely isn't. But in The Fix, when he doesn't want to come along with Nathan and Mohinder? That's Peter being deliberately manipulative, getting Nathan to lower his guard so he can make a getaway.
Which is scary if you think about it, because it actually doesn't just mean he is morally flexible, it means that he is more or less unable to decide for himself when something is right or wrong; he needs someone to tell him in no unclear terms.
Hm, I don't think that's quite the case. He is pretty clear on the concept of those .07% dying being mass murder, that's his word, and when Angela makes her Truman and Hiroshima comparison, he says "that was different, Ma, we were at war then". What he's NOT clear on on his own is whether or not he's capable to take advantage of such a thing; that's why he needs walking consciences like Peter, Hiro and Claire for.
Which in turn feeds my believe in Nathan getting the amnesia storyline, because it could be both character exploration and a way for him to learn how to integrate, to use an expression I otherwise connect with Niki.*g*