Well, brushing away the cobwebs on Hardison's skill is hardly making him do something he doesn't want to do.

right, but irl he would remember being hypnotized.

So you don't believe in post-hypnosis amnesia?

I have no idea if it exists, really. The only experience I have with hypnosis is stage hypnosis, where a particularly bullish friend did all the dumb shit suggested--when asked he said he wanted to do it, not because he was hypnotised to do it. He could just never explain why in hell he'd want to do all that dumb stuff.

I'm not an expert, I've just done some reading, but I'm pretty sure you can't make someone forget that they've been hypnotized.

I know the TV convention is that you can have them forget, but I know very little about real hypnosis.

On the shippery front, my heart went pitter pat when Parker cried during Hardison's solo, and when she went after him when he stormed out of the bar. I like this speed. I could go the entire season without a sex scene.

I'm not saying I want to. But I could.

On the shippery front, my heart went pitter pat when Parker cried during Hardison's solo, and when she went after him when he stormed out of the bar. I like this speed. I could go the entire season without a sex scene.

Those were both good moments. Another was the exchange that went something like:

Nate: "Can you [break into the Steranko system]?"
Hardison: "[Are you listening? It's bonkers! Impossible! Insane! No way!]"
Nate: "No, I mean, for Parker, can you do it?"

Nate's observant.

heh. he is observant, but you would have to be blind as a bat and not knowledgeable about human interactions at all to miss all the chemistry they are putting out there.

you would have to be blind as a bat and not knowledgeable about human interactions at all to miss all the chemistry they are putting out there

Go to John's blog and tell that to Anonymous! And Anonymous! Crazy people.

Someone else just complained that oh, no, now the African people have to be saved from their own government. But wasn't the guy in charge a good guy? They were making sure the bad guy didn't take over? Plus, white folk have had plenty corrupt politicking in the series so far. Hmmph.

Nate: "Can you [break into the Steranko system]?"

Hardison: "[Are you listening? It's bonkers! Impossible! Insane! No way!]"

Nate: "No, I mean, for Parker, can you do it?"

Nate's observant.

I also thought there was a nice subtext there, that, since the security system adjusts to the person breaking in, Hardison could crack it by knowing her so well and how the system would adjust.

Can you really hypnotize someone without them realizing it happened?

Nope.

Nor can you make anyone forget what has happened.

The reason hypnosis works for surgeries and post traumatic stress is that the subject goes to such a relaxed place within their consciousness (note that I did not say subconscious) that they can choose to remove all the intellectual judgment around fear and pain. The body does not retain pain, but the mind can.

Even super-suggestible people do not do things they do not choose to do in the moment. That guy in the club clucks like a chicken because he no longer cares about being judged for it.