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The Empath: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[Psychic Powers]] on television generally come in three flavors. You can [[Mind Over Matter|shoot mindbullets and toss cars by thinking hard at them]]. You can see [[Blipvert|poorly shot and edited clips]] from the past or future. Or you can [[Mind Probe|read minds]]. If you're fortunate (and the writer feels confident about being able to handle this), you get to actually [[Telepathy|read and transmit thoughts]]. Unfortunately, and especially if you're female, you more often end up with [[The Empath]] instead. [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|Being able to tell how people are secretly feeling is okay too, right? Right?...]] While this does sometimes make for an impressive combat power (see below), it does make the empath an excellent [[The Confidant|Confidant]] for her teammates... one who knows all of their secrets, and can use them against them.
Although it's become common to undermine supernatural abilities nowadays, writers mostly treat [[The Empath]] completely straight. Empaths' dialog sounds stilted and unnatural compared to anyone else, especially since there are apparently no synonyms for "I sense". They will be useful by relaying their findings to the rest of the cast in [[Cryptic Conversation|the most vague manner possible]].
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The oldest version of this trope (the Soothsayer) tends to make this characteristic work, as they're openly presented as slightly creepy, imposing ancients. Sadly, [[The Empath]] is mostly used to insert quick expositions or reveal to the other characters things not allowed by the time constraints of the program. Any other uses will be avoided by having characters who can [[Psychic Block Defense|'shield' themselves from mind reading]]. Occasionally, [[The Empath]] gets such a strong reading that he can't describe it except as a headache; apparently [[That Makes Me Feel Angry|the guy threatening to blow up the building is angry]]. The Empath may also be downgraded to [[Captain Obvious]], as most people have the ability to sense emotions by ''reading facial expressions''. Thus, the Empath will turn her powers on a person who is crying hysterically and proudly explain to her comrades that "I sense this person is sad". However, empaths with a knack for [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulation]] and [[Mind Over Manners|flexible ethics]] can combine both talents to move people like [[The Chessmaster|chess pieces.]]
If this sounds a bit [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|lame]], it's no wonder [[Superhero|Super Heroes]] with such powers generally get upgraded to mind bullets. However, this may be used as a variant of [[Combat Clairvoyance]].
If [[The Chick]] (from the [[Five-Man Band]]) gets a superpower, it's often this. In fact, this ability is most associated with women, usually with a [[Women Are Wiser|gender-biased notion that they're "more in tune with emotions"]]. Plus, it allows the woman in the cast to do all the fainting and emoting associated with powerful visions. Men with telepathic powers get cooler stuff, like mind control, though [[The Chick]] might get these two as well.
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* Lorne on ''[[Angel]]'', whose empathic abilities came out when people sang.
** Also the demon Barney in "Parting Gifts".
* In ''[[
{{quote| '''The Doctor:''' Can't you sense it?<br />
'''Jack:''' Sense what?<br />
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== Web Originals ==
* At [[Super
** Plus the mutant whose codename is Frank. He's a boy whose only powers are receptive and projective empathy. But he's really, really powerful and he can't turn it off.
** Phobos and Deimos also have a VERY [[Blessed With Suck|sucky]] version of this, as they scare the crap out of people with their fear aura, and have to feel that fear, which makes them go a bit overboard with power...
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== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Captain Planet]]'', Ma-Ti's ring allowed him to determine the feelings of the animals and other members of the environment (which is why we all shouted "[[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]] ?").
* Galaxy from ''[[My Little Pony]]'' had empathic ability.
* Ty Lee, from [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]], says she can see a person's aura (although this may be just her teasing).
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[[Category:Emotion Tropes]]
[[Category:The Empath]]
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