Symbolic symbol is symbolic. Thank you, oh writers of hit-us-over-the-head-with-your-crazy-subtleties. But uh... I love the Petrelli petting, canon or no. It's like reading a poorly researched but delicious fanfic. Perhaps that's how I will justify the show's inadequacies from now on; I'll pretend it was canceled after Season 2, and I'm now just experiencing some fan projects that don't quite respect canon enough. Problem solved.