MovieChat Forums > Eureka (2006) Discussion > Zoe, from 'a norm' to 'super genius'... ...

Zoe, from 'a norm' to 'super genius'... how?

posted 12 years ago by electroaddict
13 replies | jump to latest

I'm currently watching "Eureka" for the first time (streaming through Netflix), and I just got into season 4.

I'm wondering if I skipped over an episode by accident... one where Zoe gets zapped with a "smart beam" or something. How did her character become a super smart super nerd like everyone else in Eureka? When she first arrived in town she was just a bratty delinquent. In an episode revolving around her school, it's made perfectly clear that she's what the other kids call "a norm", because she's just a normal person ("stupid" by Eureka standards). But now she's going to Harvard and speaking like total genius. Is there a reason for this?

[–] deejer 12 years ago

I was always disappointed with the change. I felt when they moved her in that direction they lost a lot of her charisma. It would have been nice to show someone with average smarts could be just as good or successful as someone with a high IQ. Instead, the writers came up with her being a genius all along and an all expense paid trip through college.

[–] zabbree 12 years ago

They did that with the Sheriff Carter character everday. They didn't exactly "change" Zoe's character. She had never been tested prior to coming to Eureka.

[–] DrWhen 12 years ago

They established her IQ as 157 in Season 2 Episode 5.

[–] poem 9 years ago

Um, its 154, but yes, thats what the test says.

Since IQs beyond 150 are commonly seen as "not measureable" she's a genius. At least according to IQ tests.

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A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.

[–] hka-3 12 years ago

As I've said on here I can identify with Zoe because I went through something similar. I worked my way from being almost last in Science class, to being tied for first place (tied with the future Valedictorian) in a very short time. Zoe didn't "apply herself" prior to arriving in Eureka, but it didn't mean she wasn't capable of it.

Cheese fries...next time.

[–] cla1015 12 years ago

I thought "norm" meant that the student's parents had an average IQ not the student. Plus its possible to be a delinquent and a genius. Part of the agreement when she moved in was that the delinquent behavior would stop and in an environment like Tesla High most people would rise to their highest potential. One last thing, her mother Abbey's IQ was never established. She has a PHD.

[–] DanPhx 12 years ago

Plus its possible to be a delinquent and a genius.

hka has it spot on. Zoe is the don't judge a book by its cover lesson. Apparently this message missed the mark for some in the audience.

Plus, the OP exaggerates the super genius label.

[–] p_pizor 12 years ago

This, exactly. In fact, it is quite *common* to be a genius and also a delinquent - if kids with high IQs are not challenged, they actually tend to fail out (hell, Einstein failed in school!), get a bunch of pent-up energy with no way to dissipate it, usually end up frustrated and angry... Her whole plotline makes PERFECT sense. Her mom has a PhD, so clearly she has some good intelligence genes in there, and as we saw in season 2, she has an IQ of 157. She lied when she told her dad it was 112, probably because she loves him and didn't want him to feel bad/inadequate/etc. Genius IQ is defined as 145 and over, so Zoe legitimately is a genius.

[–] mamonoshow 11 years ago

While you're right about being a genius and a delinquent, please tell me that you are not still believing the myth about Einstein being bad in school. He had very good grades, especially in the sciences. The grading system of Switzerland (where he went to school) is reversed from the norm with 6 being the best grade instead of the usual 1 in neighbouring countries. He had 5s and 6s all the way through. This is one of the worst myths to ever float around and is constantly used to excuse bad grades...

[–] eisphoenix-655-672150 9 years ago

Actually, Einstein was mediocre to bad in school, atleast when he was visiting the Luipold-Gymnasium in Munich, which he left before reaching the Abitur (the highest school diploma in Germany), because he didn't like the authoritarian system there and had problems with many of his teachers. He then wanted to study at the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule in Zurich, Switzerland, but because he didn't have the Abitur he had to take an entry exam, which he failed (great grades in math and physics, bad grades in some of the other subjects). He then decided to go to a Swiss school for another year. He also had some mediocre grades there too, because he didn't want to learn something he wasn't interested in, on his Maturitätszeugnis his worst grade was a 3 in French, with some 4s in arts and geography and so on. Swiss grades are 6=Excellent, 5=Good, 4= Acceptable, 3=Weak, 2=Very Weak and 1=Unfit.
There is, however, a rumor about Albert Einstein having to repeat a year in school, which is not true.

[–] poem 9 years ago

hell, Einstein failed in school!

Whow, how come you still believe in that urban myth ? I was under the delusion everybody knows thats not true.

Einstein got all 5 and 6 in his school certificate. Which is the second highest and highest possible rating.

The only confusing stems from the fact than in most other areas in german speaking countries, 1 and 2 are the good ratings and 5 and 6 are the bad ones. But it was simply reversed in the area Einstein lived.

How would he haved entered university without top marks, anyway ?

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A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.

[–] spoiled_browneyes 9 years ago

Exactly. In the episode Duck Duck Goose from season 2 (S2, E5), a norm was described as a student coming from non-genius parents. With Sheriff Carter having a 111 IQ (same episode), Zoe would have been considered a norm regardless of her own IQ, and hers was quite high even then.

[–] rsaotome12 12 years ago

I think Zoe was always genius level, but never got to express it in an average school environment and rocky home life (parents divorce, Carter almost an absentee dad).

Even in the pilot, at 15-16, she got from LA to Oregon by impersonating a flight attendant, which I think is meant to tell the viewers something. When motivated, Zoe is exceptionally bright and resourceful.