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Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Heroes 2x11: Powerless

Things I liked about this episode:

Mohinder going after Sylar the moment he realizes Sylar is powerless. Of course, it’s Mohinder, so he fails completely, but still, it’s the thought that counts.

The look on Sylar’s face when Maya started freaking out about Sylar killing her brother. “Oy, I have to deal with this now.” That’s how the audience has felt too, every time she’s opened her mouth.

Elle’s continuing character growth. She is slowly becoming more than the assassin/weirdly sadistic sexpot she started out as, and I’m enjoying watching her struggle with her desire for her father’s approval while wondering if that’s something she even wants anymore. When Mohinder called her a hero, she had this look that said “huh, I kind of like the sound of that.” Also, I hope she and Bennet will
have more scenes together next season.

Speaking of Bennet, I laughed out loud when he was bouncing the ball off the wall ala Steve McQueen in the Great Escape. Loved it.

Is it wrong of me to say Nikki’s death? I mean, I feel bad for Micah, but her character has never interested me, and often aggravated me. So I won’t miss her. Unless she isn’t really dead (Mrs. Teebore pointed out that with the cutaway shot they did before the explosion, they could come back and say that her power returned in a moment of great need and she escaped out the back before it exploded, or something. Rumor has it that of the two characters who apparently died, one is definitely dead and one is definitely not).

The showdown in Texas. Hiro trying to reason with Peter, planting the seeds of doubt and exhibiting a greater control of his power than we’ve seen (less constipated squinting). Matt stepping in, trying to telepathically force Peter to stop Adam, resulting in something I’d almost call a telepathic battle. Nathan finally bringing GulliPeter to his senses, while Hiro takes care of Adam. Not exactly the slam-bang big-screen style super power throwdown I want to see, but a lot more dynamic and natural than the showdown with Sylar in Kirby Plaza last season.

Hiro’s ‘defeat’ of Adam. A clever way to deal with an immortal and largely invulnerable character without killing him.

Nathan deciding to step forward and reveal the existence of the ‘heroes’-potentially giving him a new purpose by setting him up as a political leader of the heroes while at the same time making amends for his complicity in Linderman’s scheme last year. Of course, just when the dramatic landscape of the show was about to be changed in a new and exciting way, he was shot. Hopefully, Peter will contain his grief long enough to realize that his blood can do the same thing as Adam’s and bring back his brother. And hopefully, the show doesn’t drop the “going public” thread, as I think doing so would lead to some exciting and original things.

Question I want answered in the next volume:

What’s the deal with the Company? So, it was formed by the Elder Heroes, before they split up, right? Ostensibly to track and catalogue the emerging Heroes, which it continued to do even after the Elder Heroes split up? Right? So what are they doing now? What do they really want? What does Ma Petrelli really want? For something that is essentially the overarching Big Bad of this show there are far too many unanswered questions about its purpose and motivations. “Generations” seemed to suggest we’d get more answers but really, we didn’t. So “Villains”, which makes the suggestion even louder, had better provide some.

Where does the Haitian go when he’s not with Bennet? Is the Company aware he was working with Bennet against them? Could the Haitian kill Adam/Peter/Claire by negating their healing abilities, then, you know, killing them? What’s his connection to Ma Petrelli? Why does he seem to have two powers (most people seem to only have one that is sometimes used in different, creative ways). He’s more or less a minor character so the lack of these answers hasn’t taken away from the show, but once you stop and think about it, it’s high time we got some answers about him.

Sylar: what are his powers? What really happened after Kirby Plaza? He “knows how things work.” Great. Whatever. So is he eating brains? Something else? And what happened at the end of the first season? Candice said she wasn’t working for the Company-was she? Mohinder said he was infected with the Company virus, after all. So did they abduct him, infect him, and then he was stolen away by Candice, for some reason? Again, too many mysteries still swirl around the show’s other main villain. Answers were promised in volume two, and they were few and far between. Again, calling volume three “Villains” suggests that Sylar will be front and center, which better mean some answers.

3 comments:

  1. I've got to tell you - the things you liked about the episode were the exact same things i liked as well.
    I'd say we're nerd twins, but i already have a twin.
    Were you under the impression that the parents had super powers too? If so, what's ma petrelli's power?
    Tomfoolery?

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  2. I'm guessing Ma Petrelli's power has something to do with persuasion-through-touch.

    Remember the flashback episode this season where she told Nathan's wife that Nathan had delusions of grandeur, which ran in the family? She was touching her a lot, and the camera was showing it from a bunch of weird angles.

    Plus, last season she was always very touchy feely with Nathan when he was going along with the whole "let New York blow up for the greater good thing." Then again, maybe they're just a touchy family. After all, everytime Nathan and Peter are onscreen together, they always seem moments away from making out with each other...

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  3. I'd be down with a little man on man make out. That's the way i roll baby.

    I haven't noticed the touching. I will have to pay more attention when (if) it comes back.

    -S

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