Last Week in Pop Culture #20

Around the Web
One review from me up on Sound on Sight this week, covering the still-not-as-fun-as-it-should-be next chapter in IDW's X-Files Conspiracy crossover, this time featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy hit the internet this week, and if you haven't checked it out, do so. As I said on Twitter, I'm an easy mark when it comes to trailers, but this got me even more excited for the movie, especially for Chris Pratt's take on Starlord. This movie will be a tough sell, even to the millions who have embraced stuff like Iron Man and the Avengers, but the trailer seems to suggest the filmmakers are aware of this, and doing their best to make sure everyone knows what to expect from the movie. 

Also, in perhaps the most WTF news of late, NBC announced that it is rebooting Heroes as a 13-episode "event series" in 2015. Alan Sepinwall does a good job laying out just why this seems like such a bad idea here, though he overlooks one key component: in addition to all its other problems, Heroes under Tim Kring was pathologically incapable of showing any exciting action sequences, at one point literally confining a fight that was the climax of a season to a locked room and showing the audience a character watching the fight through a keyhole rather than the fight itself.

All of which is to say that while a Heroes reboot in and of itself may not be a terrible idea (in terms of doing something with the concept of "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities" while trying to get some juice from the brand name), putting Kring back in charge seems especially stupid. That said, I'll probably still watch it, just to see how awful it is (what the kids these days call "hate watching").

One Sentence Reviews

Well, aside from my St. Valentine's day post, it's been a while. My Vikings blog plus my own laziness has kept me from posting. But I should be more active now...maybe. But I'll start out with some light-weight lifting. In other words, it's time for some one sentence reviews!

A Few Thoughts about Heroes

Frankly, I don't think I have the energy to do a weekly "Heroes" post this season. I still watch the show, but I find a hard time caring about it much, especially since it's become clear that the producers want to create a show drastically different from the one I want to watch: they're creating a show about ordinary people trying to live a normal life despite having super powers, whereas I'd rather watch a show about ordinary people realistically figuring out how to live a life with super powers. It's a subtle distinction, sure. But, for example, in my show, the characters would be using their powers more instead of pretending they're an addiction that needs to be controlled.

That said, last night's two hour premiere of the fifth volume, "Redemption", did spark a few thoughts and opinions I'd like to share.

Heroes 3x25: An Invisible Thread

Harrison Ford: Danko's survival
I'm glad that Danko seemingly survived. For the main villain of the volume, he was terribly underdeveloped, and I'd love to see him come back in some capacity (especially since it would give us a recurring villain not namedSylar).

Harrison Ford: Nathan coming out
The moment when Nathan corrected "one of them" to "one of us" and proceeded to hover in front of his old buddy was very cool; it went further towards redeeming the character than his sacrifice in battle withSylar.

Harrison Ford: Peter and Nathan's walk down the hall
Even though we knew the payoff would be a disappointment, Mrs. Teebore and I thought the scene of Nathan and Peter walking down the hall to confront Sylar, discussing strategy then affirming their love for one another, was pretty badass.

Wesley Snipes: Sylar vs. Peter and Nathan
Of course, as is sadly the norm on "Heroes," the payoff to the badass pre-fight scene is a hidden and implied battle royale instead of the real thing. Look, I get that this is a TV show and there are budget constraints and whatnot, but come on, this is your big season finale. You can't squirrel away some funds to actually show the super powered showdown between Sylar, Nathan and Peter to which the last several episodes have been building? Here's an idea: cut out a few scenes of emo Sylar shifting into his dead step mom from the previous episode and use that money on your finale.

It was one thing when they pulled this crap in the first season (Sylar vs. Peter in the future, the underwhelming showdown at Kirby Plaza) but three seasons and four volumes in and it seems ridiculous that we have yet to see two people with super powers use those powers to fight one another for an extended period of time. Sadly, I think it's just never going to happen.

You know what's cool? Watching two people with superpowers fight. You know what's not cool? Watching someone watch two people with superpowers fight.

Harrison Ford: Badass Peter
Mrs. Teebore squeed with delight when President Worf morphed into Peter and stabbed Sylar with the tranquilizer. It was pretty awesome. If this volume accomplished anything, it managed to effectively shift Peter from a whinyEmo to a quietly badass hero.

Wesley Snipes: The President's DNA
Despite being a cool scene, the moment when the President reveals himself as Peter was a little confusing: why did Sylar start to freak out and begin shifting into all those different people? Was it because he was trying to copy President Worf, and then Peter started shifting in the middle of the process? If a shapeshifter takes on the DNA of his subject (which the show has established is the case) then wouldn't Sylar have just gotten President Worf's DNA when he shook Peter-as-the-President's hand? Or is that why his power started freaking out: because he was trying to copy a copy? Whatever the answer, it was a bit unclear.

Wesley Snipes: Why don't they use Claire's blood to heal Nathan?
Remember back when Mohinder shot Noah in the head, he died, and then a transfusion of Claire's blood brought him back to life? Why didn't they do that for Nathan, especially since Noah himself was part of the group that decided what to do about Nathan's death. They could have even used Peter's blood, since he took the healing ability fromSylar.

What's that? The Mohinder-shooting-Bennet plot was from Season Two? Oh no! The Heroes Hired Goons are breaking down my door for daring to remember something from a season the Heroes writers have inexplicably blacklisted from their own recollection, and demand that we do the same. Run!

Wesley Snipes: Why doesn't Peter just pretend to be Nathan?
First of all, on paper, I like the idea of Sylar-as-Nathan. It's a neat way to keep the villain around but (hopefully) move him into the background for a bit, sparing us more boring stories where he hunts down relatives beforerejoining the main narrative, and there is tons of dramatic potential for a lot of different characters.

And I'm willing to accept that Ma Petrelli is right about needing Nathan to smooth things over with the President (although, arguably, the death of US Senator at the ends of a Special could probably be used to motivate PresidentWorf away from hunting them all down too: "Look what we can do-you need us to police our own."). I'm even willing to admit, in light of all her dialogue about a mother sparing her children pain, that she'd be willing to Parkman-whammySylar into pretending to be Nathan in order to spare Peter and Claire the pain of knowing Nathan died. The woman likes her potentially explosive secrets, after all.

But why in God's name does Bennet go along with it, keeping alive this monster that's terrorized and torn apart his family, when there's a perfectly safe and sane alternative: have Peter pretend to be Nathan.

He could probably do as good a job as a Sylar without using his "read objects' histories" power, and even if he couldn't, he has that power now. Sure, it'd kind of be tough for Peter to live as Nathan and Peter for an extended period of time, but Superman and Clark Kent manage it okay. Theoretically, once "Nathan" does smooth things over, they could fake his death in some non Specials-related death and let Peter go back to being just Peter full time. Either way, it'd be much safer for everyone.

I know why the writers want Sylar to be Nathan: that's obvious. But damn it, for a plot this potentially dangerous to so many people, they needed to establish SOME reason, in the show, why Bennet would ever go along with it.

Harrison Ford: Seven Minutes to Midnight
A little Lost-esque Easter Egg: when Sylar-as-Nathan adjust the clock in his office at the very end of the teaser, he changes it to 11:53 AM, which looks on the clock face like seven minutes to midnight.

Heroes 3x24: I Am Sylar

Wesley Snipes*: Agent Taub
Heroes, of late, as been in the disquieting habit of inserting scenes cut from previous episodes into the "Previously On" segment preceding a new episode, but never has it been more egregious than in this episode, in which the entire plot point upon which this episode hangs (Sylar is having identity issues while masquerading as one of Danko's agents), not to mention the implication that Danko is "feeding" his own agents to Sylar and all that entails for Danko's character, is introduced in the "Previously..." segment. Wow. That's just...wow. Talk about telling and not showing: "Oh, and Sylar's been pretending to be another agent for awhile now, and it's causing him some problems. It was never important enough to establish before now, but it's important now. Trust us."

Harrison Ford: Shapeshifting
I was all ready to flame the show for having Sylar impersonate Nathan despite the heavy implication in previous episodes that shapeshifting requires physical contact with a subject, and Nathan and Sylar never met after Sylar acquired that power, but the show sidestepped my criticism by not only confirming how the power works, but by making Sylar's acquisition of Nathan's DNA a plot point. Kudos.

Wesley Snipes: Shapeshifting
Of course, the show then squanders that goodwill by showing Sylar's clothes change when he shifts to another person, despite the fact that in previous episodes this wasn't the case. And by having Sylar talk about how the power changes his DNA, despite the fact that when the original shapeshifter died with Sylar's form, he possessed his own DNA, not Sylar's. And the confirmation that physical contact is required to assume someone's form begs the question of when the original shapeshifter had contact with Sylar in order to impersonate him.

Wesley Snipes: Hiro and Ando
Their constant bickering about Ando's power and the nature of their relationship (partnership vs. mentor and sidekick) is becoming as tired as the Claire-Noah "I love him-I hate him-I love him" merry-go-round. Enough already.

Wesley Snipes: Hiro's glasses
Seriously, it took THAT long for one of the agents to realize one of his team members was wearing glasses when he never has before?

Wesley Snipes: GPS
Based on Hiro's ability to use an agent's GPS device to locate Building 26, are we to assume that every agent has the location of their secret headquarters programmed into their GPS units? That seems pretty sloppy.

Furthermore, didn't Hiro inject Ando and himself with GPS tracking chips? Meaning Hiro wouldn't have had to tag along in the van with Ando to keep dibs on him and track him to Building 26?

Harrison Ford: Danko's Watch
I enjoyed the scene between Sylar and Danko, in which Sylar studied Danko's watch and knew the make/model and how off it was. It was a nice throwback to Sylar's origins.

Harrison Ford: "I Am Sylar"
Similarily, Sylar writing "I am Sylar" in blood on the wall of Clint Howard's apartment was a nice nod to his mysterious, pre-Zachary Qunito season 1 days.

Wesley Snipes: "I am Sylar"
Yet at the same time, that bloody scrawl didn't make any of the non-Danko agents suspicious that Sylar was alive? No questions along the lines of "if Sylar is dead, why is someone killing using his MO and proclaiming themselves to be Sylar via blood on the wall?" It seems like they just shrugged and moved on.

Wesley Snipes: Rebel's operation
Mrs. Teebore wondered how Danko was suddenly able to locate Micah when they hadn't been able to do so before. My answer was that since the show has yet to show us how Micah operates as Rebel beyond the vague implication of "he can talk to machines, that's how," it's difficult to ascertain how those methods might have led Danko to his location.

Also, assuming that's the last we'll see of Rebel in this volume, I should add that, overall, I was dissappointed in the Rebel subplot. I LOVE that they brought Micah back (now, where's his cousin?) but it seems far-fetched that he was running an entire counter operation by himself, even with his power. It sure seemed like the show was setting up "Rebel" as a network of agents, including Micah, some of which had access to future info (suggested when Hiro and Ando were in India-Rebel knew they'd be there before they arrived). It's mildly disappointing that in the end, it was Micah and Micah alone.

Wesley Snipes: Parkman and Janice
I get that Matt wants to be a part of his child's life, and that's fine. I have no problem with him attempting to work things out with Janice to make that happen, and going out of his way to protect them both. But yeesh, Matt, you're already talking about romantically getting back together with Janice? Already? Is Daphne's body even cold yet?

Wesley Snipes: Sylar's meeting with the President
So Sylar can enter Clint Howard's apartment, pour himself some hot chocolate and sit down on the couch, all without making a sound or otherwise making his presence known? Fine, I'll grant some artistic license in the name of making the villain creepy and whatnot. But then, shouldn't Sylar be able to similarly sneak undetected into the President's office, nab some DNA and take his shape, all without having to perpetuate the entire "pretend to be Nathan and force the President to meet with me" ruse?

*Key:
Harrison Ford: Things I liked about the episode.
Wesley Snipes: Things I did not like about the episode
Tommy Lee Jones: Questions, comments or other non-qualitative items about the episode.

Heroes 3X23: 1961

Harrison Ford*: Mythology
This episode was good. You know why? Mythology. Want to hear that again, Writers? Mythology. Back story.

For the first time since the second season, we got some background on the world of Heroes, and I'll take that anytime over boring BS about Sylar's dad and spending time on not-nearly-as-clever-as-the-writers-think metaphors for characters' personalities.

And there's still plenty more mythology to explore: how did the original Coyote Sands group of four expand to include the other Company founders? How did they find other Specials? How did long-lived Adam and the Kensei symbol get involved? Where did the "one of us, one of them" rule come from? At what point did the founders decide to operate as a de facto Justice League, and what, exactly, led them to stop? What motivated the creation of the synthetic powers formula, and what ramifications did it have on the founders? What led to the various factions within the Company, with Linderman and Angela deciding on the "blow up New York" plot from the first season?

Any one of those questions could spawn multiple episodes, and any one of those episodes will be better than anything involving Parkman's ex-wife or another round of the Claire/Bennet "I love him/I hate him!" cycle.

Wesley Snipes: No zombie Specials
Gentlemen of Leisure reader Joseph and I were speculating after the last episode that perhaps Angela was having everyone dig up the graves because they were planning on creating an army of zombie Specials. Sadly, this turned out to not be the case.

Tommy Lee Jones: Angela's explanation for digging
On the one hand, Angela's stated explanation for the digging (looking for some evidence of her sister) was pretty lame (I mean seriously, what did she expect to find after all those years?).

On the other hand, any explanation for a character's behavior is better than no explanation.

Wesley Snipes: Angela's melodrama
Most of Angela's cryptic present-day dialogue pertaining to what happened at Coyote Sands wasn't, once the whole story had been told, equal to what actually happened.

Harrison Ford: Communists vs. Terrorists
I liked how in the 60s young Angela asserted that people with powers weren't "communists" just as characters in the present day often say that having powers doesn't automatically make someone a "terrorist." How the times change, yet don't...

Tommy Lee Jones: Lost
Anyone else think:

Coyote Sands=Dharma barracks
Crazy Alice=Crazy Rousseau

Wesley Snipes: No Aerial dogfight
When Peter flew off in a huff and Nathan went after him, Mrs. Teebore and I both exclaimed "cool, maybe we'll see them fighting in mid-air."

Needless to say, before the words had even passed our lips, we realized what we were saying and that we were watching Heroes, which meant that wasn't going to happen.

Harrison Ford: Self-reflection
It was nice to see the show acknowledge both Mohinder's questionable behavior in the last volume and Claire's ping-ponging desires throughout the show in their dialogues with Peter, Nathan and Bennet, respectively.

Wesley Snipes: More at Coyote Sands
I would have liked for the implicit events at Coyote Sands to have been a little more explicit. If Coyote Sands was a place where Mengle-esque experiments were being done on Specials, as was implied by several characters, then I would have liked for that to be more clear. Not that I need gruesome details, just some confirmation that the implication is correct.

Also, the final fate of Coyote Sands could have used a few more minutes of screen time. As I understand it, after Alice lost control of her power and the shooting started, things escalated to some kind of Specials vs. Army confrontation in which all the Specials in the camp were killed and dumped in the graves the Petrelli's were digging up. Assuming that's the case, I would have liked for that scenario to be confirmed more explicitly somehow.

Tommy Lee Jones: Sylar's shapeshifting power
In the first episode with the shapeshifter, it was suggested that a physical connection must be made between the shapeshifter and the person he wished to impersonate (for example, the shapeshifter seemed to go out of his way to shake Danko's hand).

However, Sylar is now impersonating Nathan, and I don't believe the two of them have ever interacted, let alone at any point since Sylar acquired the shapeshifting power. Should we then assume that physical contact with a subject is NOT required for the shapeshifter to take that form? In which case, why create the impression that contact is needed?

Tommy Lee Jones: Easter Eggs
After the Coyote Sands riot started, Alice hid underneath Building 26: simply a nod at Danko's headquarters, or a hint towards a relationship between Coyote Sands and the current Building 26 operation?

Also, young Dr. Suresh mentioned Dr. Zimmerman, the person responsible for giving Ali Larter's triplet characters their powers. Combined with "Project Icarus," the name of the project Dr. Suresh was working on at Coyote Sands, it seems that the work the Elder Heroes did with synthetic powers originated from the government's similar work in the 60s.

*Key:
Harrison Ford: Things I liked about the episode.
Wesley Snipes: Things I did not like about the episode
Tommy Lee Jones: Questions, comments or other non-qualitative items about the episode.

Heroes 3X22: Turn and Face the Strange

Harrison Ford: Sylar's survival
So Sylar survived Claire's attack last season because the glass piece she jammed into his head melted in the fire. Answers to questions like that, however delayed, are always appreciated.

Harrison Ford: Sylar's "performances"
In general, I thought all the actors playing Sylar playing themselves (or in Bennet's case, playing Bennet playing Sylar playing Bennet) did a good job of emulating Sylar's mannerisms. It must have been a blast for them to do so.

Wesley Snipes: Matt's vendetta
I'm fine with Matt lacking the cajones to actually shoot Danko's girlfriend, but he could have shot Danko instead. Or, at least, not dropped the gun.

Wesley Snipes: Hiro's arrival
Overlooking Hiro arriving at just the right time to save Matt (as that's a pretty standard TV device), how the hell did Hiro know where Danko lives, let alone that Matt would be there?

Wesley Snipes: Mohinder's apartment
All that time spent following up on his dad's work, and Mohinder never thought to check the apartment's storage space for the files he's apparently seeing for the first time? That's awfully convenient. And dumb. And while I appreciate the dialogue establishing that the apartment isn't under surveillance, how dumb is Danko's group for NOT having it under surveillance?

Harrison Ford: Other missions
Mentioning that Sylar was working on a team that had been racking up kills was a nice little glimpse into how the operation works: it's nice knowing that it's not just Danko and Bennet going after people.

Wesley Snipes: Digging
Really Ma Petrelli? You're making Peter and Nathan dig up graves, just so they know people are buried there? Couldn't you just tell them, and not make them dig?

Wesley Snipes: Resources
I'm reluctant to bring this up, but after Peter's little speech at the beginning of the volume about how the fugitives need to operate "off the grid", so to speak, where, exactly, did Matt and Mohinder getting the money to rent a hotel room in DC?

Another episode that's par for the course: solid, but not without its flaws. As we drive towards the finale, I fear that next week's flashback episode will give us background we don't want (some new plot) instead of the background we do want (the Elder Heroes and the origins of Primatech). We shall see.

Heroes 3X21: Into Asylum

Wesley Snipes: It was kind of boring
This wasn't a bad episode of Heroes. From an artistic standpoint, it was probably a fairly good one, with all kinds of interesting themes bouncing around and parallel narratives and complex symbolism. But all that stuff only takes me so far on a show like this, and I like it to be encased in a candy-coated shell of excitement. As well constructed as this episode was, aside from Sylar's shenanigans, not a whole lot happened, either in terms of action or plot development.

Wesley Snipes: Danko's jurisdiction
Nathan claims Danko's influence doesn't reach into Mexico, so they're safe. But Danko was able to abduct Hiro from Japan? So he can violate the rights of a Japanese citizen without Japan caring, but can't go after American fugitives in Mexico?

Tommy Lee Jones: Now we know where Peter gets it
The majority of Angela's dialogue while in the church made me realize that Peter must have absorbed his emo-ness from his mom at some point.

Harrison Ford: Angela's Power
The little detail that Angela's dream power doesn't work when she takes sleeping pills was a nice touch, a "that's how the power works" kind of detail Heroes gives us rather reluctantly.

(However, let's just hope that her further insistence that she must "earn" her dreams was Angela being metaphoric and not literal, because that would be very lame, and with this show, you just never know...)

Tommy Lee Jones: The Danko/Sylar partnership
I can buy that Danko, now solely responsible for the entire operation and hurting for a win, is desperate enough to break his own principle and seeming hatred of Supers to ally with Sylar. I just would have liked to see that desperation a little bit more, and a little bit sooner. I think we needed an episode showing Danko struggling for results and to prove his leadership before his partnership with Sylar.

Harrison Ford: Sylar the Serial Killer
It's taken almost two seasons, but Sylar is back to how he works best: a serial killer hunter Supers. He's not an anti-hero, he's not a wishy-washy Momma's boy, he's not conflicted. He's just a villain. It's refreshing, even if it does make most of last two seasons' worth of stories more or less irrelevant.

Hmm...that's about it. Not a lot to say about this one: it was neither terrible enough to savage nor good enough to praise. It just kind of...was, with some tight writing but not a lot happening. Hopefully things ramp up a bit next week as we draw closer to the endgame of the volume.

Heroes 3X20: Cold Snap

Wesley Snipes: Apocalyptic Painting
I completely overlooked this one last week: when Nathan and Matt managed to defuse the bomb with which Danko had saddled Parkman, it averted the future Matt had painted of Washington blowing up. So apparently, if a future painting shows Hiro's frickin' "destiny," that future is unavoidable, but if a painting shows a main character blowing up, than the future can be changed.

Wesley Snipes: Tracy's escape
Um, why didn't she (or at least Mohinder and Parkman) wake up more of the people in Danko's prison? Extra people would have it made it easier for everyone to escape, and it wouldn't have made the three of them seem like selfish dicks.

Harrison Ford: Janice
Hey, that appearance wasn't so bad after all. There's still plenty of things I'd rather see brought back before Janice, but as long as Daphne's death doesn't lead Parkman back to her, that was fine.

Tommy Lee Jones: The Eclipse
Mentioning that Baby Parkman started using his power after the last eclipse has me divided: on the one hand, I appreciate the show making a point of reminding us about this fairly critical piece of show mythology.

On the other hand, I really don't want to be reminded of that pointless two-parter from the last volume and the way it managed to completely waste any opportunity to explore that mythology.

Harrison Ford: Hiro's power
Say what you will about Baby Touch And Go's power (personally, I liked it until I started to think about it for a moment, at which point I realized it made very little sense and is terribly hard to quantify) but I appreciate the fact that when Hiro regained his power, the writers made it immediately clear how and in what capacity he did so, instead of leaving it unexplained except through some vague emotional babbling (ala Sylar's empathy powers last season, or his ability to hang onto telekinesis after his original power set was otherwise wiped out).

Tommy Lee Jones: Comedic Hiro
I hate that Hiro has basically devolved solely into comic relief. His antics at the beginning of the episode, especially considering they directly followed the reveal of Danko's "prison," did not amuse me at all.

Yet at the same time, I couldn't help but laugh when Hiro stopped time, suited up the baby and carried Ando 12 miles in a wheelbarrow to the bus station. I hated myself for laughing, but I did.

Harrison Ford: Peter rescuing his mom
Mrs. Teebore said she likes Peter best when he manages to strike the right balance between an emo nurse who helped a dying old man and a badass, and the scene in which he came to his mom's rescue was exactly that: Peter, the badass momma's boy. At first, I figured it was Nathan, and which point I wouldn't have been too impressed (considering it's his fault she's in this predicament). When it turned out to be Peter, I just went "aw..."

Wesley Snipes: Peter rescuing his mom
At the same time, why, exactly, did Peter wait until the doors opened, revealing himself, to scoop her up and fly away? And how did he get into the elevator shaft? Normally, I'd chalk it up to dramatic license and roll with it (and I still might; I DID really like that scene) but Heroes seems to ask us to do that a lot more than other shows.

Wesley Snipes: The winking eye
Wait, so is Tracy going to somehow pull her shattered, frozen pieces back together, like the T-1000? Cuz I don't think her power should work that way. If not, why show her frozen eye winking? I know that Ali Larter isn't "off" the show, but the other triplet, Barbara, is still out there somewhere, so maybe she'll simply be playing another character from now on? Once again, Heroes leaves us wondering not if a character is alive or dead, but rather whether we're supposed to be wondering at all. And leaving out that winking eye would have solved the problem: without it, we assume Tracy's dead. If it turns out she isn't, so be it, but at least we'd know we're supposed to THINK she's dead. Right now, I don't know what to think.

Harrison Ford: Daphne's death
Unlike her perceived death in the second episode of the volume, this time it was clear that Daphne is, in fact, dead. Furthermore, she was given a touching sendoff, the likes of which no other dead character on this show has ever received (remember when Nikki died at the hands of murderous comic book thieves?). One has to wonder why she was brought back just to die, but at least that death was well done.

Wesley Snipes: Daphne's dead
Of course, the sendoff would have been more touching if I hadn't been so pissed they were actually killing Daphne off. Seriously, Show? Not only is she the most attractive character on the show, she's the only one who seems to enjoy using her power instead of whining and being emo about it (well, her and Hiro, but he's got his own problems). Frankly, the show needs more characters like her, characters that react to their powers positively and realistically, and it shouldn't be killing off the few it has.

Tommy Lee Jones: Bryan Fuller's return
This episode marked Bryan Fuller's much ballyhooed return to Heroes as a writer. The episode itself was certainly no "Company Man" or even much of a game changer, but it wasn't terrible, either. Rather, it fit right in with the other episodes so far this volume: steadily improving (and much better than last volume's muddled mess on the whole) but still not without its flaws.

Finally, an addendum to one of my comments regarding last week's episode. I griped a bit (and believe me, compared to some on the Internet, my gripes were fairly benign) about the stereotypical portrayal of customers in the comic shop at which Claire gained employment, based largely on the fact that, while I agree those stereotypes do exist, I have yet to encounter them in the comic shop I frequent.

Well, after speaking with two of the employees at that shop last week about that episode, it turns out I need to do my shopping on new comic book Wednesdays, as they are out in full force then, even at my clean, bright, well-organized and well-staffed comic shop. Or I need to shop whenever one of the female employees is working, so I can see the men either shy away from her in fear or overspend in an attempt to impress her.

Either way, while I still bristle a bit about how the stereotype suggests we're all like that, that is the inherent nature of all stereotypes, and it turns out that not even my shop is immune to it, so perhaps I was a bit too hard on the show in that regard.

Heroes 3X19: Shades of Gray

Tommy Lee Jones: Parkman the human bomb
That resolved itself rather...quickly, didn't it? I haven't decided if that's a good thing or bad thing; I guess, in the end, the point of it all was the serve as the breaking point in the relationship between Danko and Nathan, and that was interesting in this episode, and should continue to be in future ones.

Wesley Snipes: Claire's interview at the comic shop.
Can I just say I'm getting very sick of how this show always defaults to the stereotype when it comes to portraying comic book fans? I'm not denying there aren't fans like what we see on the show, drooling over the presence of that most fabled of creatures (a girl) in their comic shop, but frankly, the majority of comic book fans nowadays are jaded twenty- or thirty-somethings with some social skills if not families of their own. I've been in my comic shop on Wednesdays, and nobody's jaw hits the floor the moment a woman walks in.

Frankly, if I could be bothered to get really worked up about it, you could even say the idea that Claire got her job simply because she's a girl and thus will be able to sell anything to the anti-social spazzes that apparently frequent this shop is insulting to both comic book aficionados and women.

Wesley Snipes: Sylar's dad
Seriously? That's it? Sylar's plotline this entire volume has been leading up to this, and all it amounts to is a conversation with his dad, confirmation that his ability to acquire powers, in general if not specifically, is hereditary and a resolution to...kill...people more...worthy...of it? Frankly, the whole "hunt bigger game" metaphor was lost on me, but perhaps my head just wasn't in it.

Props, however, to Lionel Sylar's mention of the Hunger, which, along with the destruction of the Primatech facility, is a rare throwback to volume three that managed to slip through the writers' apparent "scorched earth" policy regarding "Villains."

Also, if Sylar's quest for his dad results in him getting squarely back in the main narrative (which, given his presence in Danko's apartment at the end of the episode seems to be the case) I won't complain, too much.

Wesley Snipes: Matt Parkman, Junior.
Remember Hiro?

Frankly, I forget all about him until after last week's episode, at which point I realized he hadn't appeared in two full episodes and I didn't notice (or care) at the time. His brief appearance in this episode seems to be setting him up for another "comedic" side plot removed from the main narrative, and one that heralds the return of a character no one could care less about.

When things were going off the rails towards the end of the last volume, and it became clear that the fans weren't happy, the Heroes producers did their best to drum up support for this volume, citing a number of intended improvements, including an increased focus on characterization (which, for the most part, has improved this volume, if for no other reason than it forces the episodes themselves to be a bit more focused) and the return of writer/producer Bryan Fuller, a chief architect of volume one and the writer of "Company Man," considered theshow's best episode (Fuller's involvement in this volume is due to be seen very shortly, I believe).

One of the things Fuller mentioned was a return of some old characters, chief among them Matt's ex-wife, Janice. With the reveal this week that Hiro and Ando need to save an infant Matt Parkman, JUNIOR, it seems her teased appearance is nigh at hand.

At the time of that Fuller interview, both Dr. Bitz and I agreed that on our list of characters or plotlines we'd like to see returned to, explored and/or deepened on the show, Matt's skanky and boring ex-wife and their relationship were pretty much last on that list.

The origins (and goals) of the Company? The relationship amongst the Elder Heroes? Adam's role as the immortal progenitor of the Powers? Charles Deveaux, his powers and the issue of why he hovers in the backstory of so many characters (beyond his role as a Company founder)? Claude, the invisible man, and his motivation for training Peter in season one? The overall mythology of the show, going back to the first episode, including the significance of the eclipse and the Lost-esque occurrence of the number 9? Caitlin, Peter's forgotten Irish girlfriend, left behind in alternate future that no longer exists? The contents of and meaning behind the assorted items alongside the virus vial in the Company vault in the Odessa facility? What, exactly, Arthur's plan was last volume, why it was so evil, and why it led to the cracking in half of the world (as depicted in numerous paintings)? These are all people and plotlines we'd like to see returned to and reexamined long, long before we come back around to freakin' Janice.

Yet here are.

(And yes, I should probably hold off on calling the show on this until she actually appears, but I can see where this is going, and I couldn't care less.)

Harrison Ford: The Danko/Nathan fallout
The tension between Nathan and his "contain" policy and Danko and his "exterminate" policy regarding Powers has been gradually building since the second episode of the volume, helping make the payoff we got in this episode seem bigger. Danko's method of proving Nathan had an ability was neat, as well, and certainly in character (considering that if Danko was wrong, he'd have just killed a highly-regarded US Senator).

I also enjoyed the conversation between Dank and Ma Petrelli as well, especially Danko's comments about powers being hereditary, considering that with Nathan, power really did skip a generation, as his power was synthetically granted (or am I not supposed to remember that tidbit from the last volume?).

Also, it wasn't very clear in this episode if Nathan is truly out and Danko fully in (though the revocation of Claire's "free pass" and her rescue by Nathan seems to suggest it) but for now I'm hoping that next episode clears it up quickly.

Wesley Snipes: Return of the Mohinder Voiceover
It really hadn't been missed...

Harrison Ford: Nathan rescuing Claire
Putting aside the fact that she only needed saving in the first place because of what Nathan did, it was a sweet moment when Nathan retrieved Claire before she could get nabbed, and a cool final shot as they hovered outside her window while the agents swept her room.

Tommy Lee Jones: Rebel watch
Put me firmly in the Angela/Micah camp now. I still think Angela is orchestrating things, but with all the computer trickery that Rebel's been up to, Micah has to be involved. Especially after this episode, in which Rebel sent Tracy (Micah's aunt and a doppelganger of his mother) a message that was nothing more than an attempt to lift her spirits.

Heroes 3x18: Exposed

Harrison Ford: Sandra rocks
It seems anytime Claire's mom gets some significant screen time, she knocks it out of the park. From not falling for Claire's lame "secret boyfriend" ruse (I chuckled when Mr. Muggles came up with the sandwich from under the bed), to helping Aquaboy get away despite her anger at Claire for lying to her again, to showing how she's learned a few tricks from her husband but has a few of her own, this episode reminded us again that Claire is probably the third-most interesting Bennet.

Wesley Snipes: Claire's relationship issues/philosophies towards such
Two words: bored now.

Tommy Lee Jones: Peter's tactical thinking
On the one hand, Peter's snap decision to take Parkman's power on the way into Building 26, thus wiping out his flying power and their escape plan, was pretty stupid, tactically speaking.

On the other hand, it was pretty cool to see the two of them put the telepathic whammy on everyone, and I'll take this volume's coolly decisive Peter over previous volumes' wish-washy Peter any day.

Harrison Ford: Bennet's experience
It's always appreciated when we're reminded of how Bennet, lacking any super-powers, managed to be an all-star hunter of people with super powers. His tactics on countering Parkman's telepathy and then using that telepathy to warn Peter without blowing his cover were fun to watch.

Wesley Snipes: Aquaboy's hunters
Do the agents assigned to watch Claire and find Aquaboy not know what his power is? Because seriously, you're hunting a kid who can breath underwater and you don't take a closer look at the pool you're standing by?

Wesley Snipes: Sylar's psychometry
The impression I got from the scene with Sylar and the toy car in the damaged diner was that he was using his ability to "read" an objects past via touch that he acquired back in the beginning of volume three (the woman Angela "fed" to Sylar while he was imprisoned had that power). Unfortunately, the only reason I got that impression was because I read a "Behind the Eclipse" Q&A online with two of the Heroes writers in which it was said that Sylar would soon be seen using that power. So I put two and two together. But I shouldn't have to do that math myself. And if you watched that scene without reading that Q&A, you'd have just assumed Sylar was unlocking some hidden memory. So a special effect of some kind would have been nice, and frankly, required.

Tommy Lee Jones: Sylar's protege
Is it too much to hope this is the end of Sylar's little buddy?

Harrison Ford: Nathan dropping the ball
With Danko wiring Matt up as a human bomb and the video of Nathan's Super Round Up hitting the news, it's great watching Nathan struggle to maintain control over the beast he's created. Having his flawed good intentions blow up in his face, with one side insisting he's gone too far while the other says he isn't going far enough and he desperately tries to straddle a constantly-shifting middle ground makes the character far more interesting than merely keeping him locked in a "I'm doing evil but I believe it's good" role.

Harrison Ford: Peter chumping Nathan
For once, Peter came out on the winning side of a Petrelli Hug by pulling a Half-Arthur on Nathan. That still makes him 1 for 3 lifetime in Petrelli Hugs, but combined with his new-found resolve and decisiveness, it's hopefully a sign that a stronger and more interesting Peter is here to stay.

Harrison Ford: Fulfilling the painting's prophecy
As much as I hated seeing yet another "tragedy we must avert" painting, it's redeemed a bit by having Danko set Matt up as the bomber in order to sway public opinion against the Supers in the wake of the leaked footage. It also shows how, in his own way, Danko can be as sneaky and manipulative as Bennet.

Harrison Ford: The return of Doyle
Look, if the writers want me to forget all about volume three, fine; I won't ask how Doyle can be alive, considering it seemed pretty clear that Sylar killed him, and I won't ask how, if Sylar didn't kill him, he escaped the burning wreckage of the Primatech facility as Meredith exploded. Instead I'll just enjoy the fact that, in the coda of an episode which showed us exactly how good Meredith and Claire can be at shepherding a hunted Super to safety, Rebel seems intent on setting up Claire as the Super's Harriet Tubman and the first person Rebel sends is the one Super both Claire and Meredith are least likely to want to help.

Heroes 3x17: Cold Wars

Harrison Ford: Primatech's demise
While this episode didn't offer any additional background regarding the Company, as I naively hoped it would, I did appreciate the effort was made to clarify that the Company was shutdown at Angela's insistence, not simply because one of its offices burned down.

Harrison Ford: Peter's a badass
How sad is it that Peter, with one power (and a relatively lame one at that, offensively speaking) is more effective than Peter with two dozen powers? Still, it was fun to see Peter use his power creatively and effectively throughout the episode.


Harrison Ford: Containment vs. Extermination
While Nathan could have avoided the whole issue entirely by keeping his yap shut about people with super powers, setting him up as a lesser evil to Danko's (and presumably, members of the government's) desire to simply exterminate everyone with an ability makes Nathan's role as the villain of the volume far more intriguing than previously established.

Harrison Ford: Angela and Bennet
The final scene between Angela and Bennet on the park bench was beautifully shot. I particularly liked how Angela was wearing white (marking her as the "good" against Nathan and Danko's "evil" with the morally gray Bennet caught between them) with black gloves (because while Angela might be the White Hat in this scenario, her hands aren't clean). And having Noah give her back his retirement watch was a subtle way to show the audience that Bennet is ultimately working for her (well, subtle for this show...).

Harrison Ford: Focus
The episode benefitted greatly from its focus: no side trips into Claireland, no adventures of Hiro and Ando, the Bumbling Duo, and no updates on the Sylar road trip. It had a story to tell, and it told it. I'm not saying I'd like EVERY Heroes episode to be like this, but a little narrative focus now and then helps a lot.

Tommie Lee Jones: Daphne losing her power
I'll reserve judgement until we see the final outcome, but it looks like we're heading in a direction wherein Daphne becomes the first person to receive the "cure" Nathan is trying to get Mohinder to create. The tragedy for Daphne, should this happen, of course, is that her power keeps her healthy. And the tragedy for us would be the loss of power for one of the few characters on the show who seems to genuinely enjoy having one and can use it without hours of soul searching.

Wesley Snipes: Another Apocalyptic Portrait
I hate to end on a low note, especially since this was one of the better episodes we've had in a good long while, but seriously, another picture of foreboding doom? They still haven't managed to explain last volume's apocalyptic portrait (how, exactly, did Arthur's plan to give everyone super powers result in the world splitting in two, as was painted all over the place?). I thought this season was moving away from the whole "we have to save the world from being destroyed in the future" plot. Do they not know anything else to do with these characters? The idea of people being on the run from the government and trying to find a way to survive/fight back can carry the story of the volume without introducing yet another "avert the future" plot.

And seriously, Matt and Peter go back to Isaac's Loft/Mohinder's lab? Because no one would think to look for them there? Because Danko doesn't have cameras trained on a location central to numerous fugitives' recent lives?

Heroes 3x16: Building 26

Tommy Lee Jones: Waffles
The Bennet Family is, of course, eating waffles for breakfast.

Harrison Ford: The attack on Sylar
Sylar's quest for his father is dangerously close to slipping into Hiro in Japan/Matt in Africa-esque irrelevance by being entirely too removed from the main narrative of the volume. However, having the government continue to attempt to apprehend him helps keep the story from straying too far.

Wesley Snipes: Sylar's return
While I was a bit irked that Sylar took the damn kid along with him after going back for the agents' laptop, I was too busy being confused at the staging of the scene in which he did so to care too much. The way the scene was setup, with the truck suddenly stopping, shaking and then Sylar emerging dressed as a goon, suggested that Sylar somehow snuck along with the Goons in disguise and waited until that moment to attack. But we saw him drive away, which means Sylar should have just caught up with the Goon Squad in his car and took them out. So why did he emerge from inside the van, dressed as a goon?



Wesley Snipes: The Indian Picture
Maybe this is just me being dense again, but where in Matt's drawing was it made clear that Hiro had to stop a wedding? All I saw was Hiro, clearly in India, standing between a fallen man and a woman. Yet somehow, Hiro and Ando look at the same painting and somehow know they are intended to stop a wedding.

Tommy Lee Jones: Hiro and Ando's Indian Adventure
On the one hand, I appreciate that Hiro and Ando's jaunt to India wrapped up quickly (as compared to their numerous side trips in the overly-revered first season) and didn't involve too much slapsticky bumbling on the part of either.

On the other hand, it seemed like a colossal waste of time to hammer home the point for Hiro that he can be a hero without powers. A little sidekick envy is fine, but a little goes a long way. The impression I got from the volume's premiere, with Hiro all setup to be Alfred for Ando, was that Hiro was comfortable with his new status, which makes the conclusion reached here all the more a waste of time.

Wesley Snipes: Claire's emotional rollercoaster
I am beyond tired of the emotional rollercoaster Claire rides seemingly every episode: I hate my dad, I love my dad, I hate my dad, I love my dad. Pick one and stick with it for awhile, girl.

Wesley Snipes: HRG's Motivation
As enjoyable a character as Bennet is, it's long past time his motivation for doing evil extends beyond "protecting Claire." Even lying to Sandra is nonsensical at this point. It seemed clear to me that by now, Bennet was done lying to his family. Sandra knows about Claire and what Bennet has done in the name of protecting her. While I could understand if he didn't go into details with Sandra (such as the fact that he's helping to round up ALL Specials, not just dangerous ones) it doesn't make a whole lot of sense that he wouldn't at least tell her that yes, he's hunting Specials for the government now. Except that the plot needed him to leave home so that Peter and Co. could pull a pseudo-Haitian Whammy on him (which, granted, was a fun ironic moment).

Tommy Lee Jones: Gill Man
I have a pet peeve that carries over to multiple stories: why is that whenever a character discovers an extraordinary ability, no matter what it is, their initial reaction is to assume they're a freak and keep it hidden? If I discovered I had a super power, even a relatively lame one like breathing underwater, I'd talk to my friends about it, show it off, try to figure out how I got it.

And for that matter, why is the government wasting its time hunting down this kid? Seriously, if I was that DHS overseer woman, my first question to Nathan would be "why are you wasting resources capturing Aquaman-lite when far more powerful and potentially dangerous people are running around?"

Wesley Snipes: Tracy's escape
The idea was well conceived: Tracy thinking Nathan set her free to prove his point to the DHS overseer only for us to find out it was actually the Hunter who remorselessly did it. The execution of that idea, however, suffered from major plot-hammering. Why, exactly, did Tracy freeze and kill her hostage, when keeping him alive was her only leverage towards escaping, except for the fact that the plot needed her to kill him in order for the point to be made to the DHS gal? A well-crafted idea that needed better execution to work.


Tommy Lee Jones: Rebel's identity
Rebel either has to be Angela at this point, or a new character. Sending the fax to Hiro and Ando made it clear that Rebel is operating on a scale larger than just texting Claire, and the message that they needed to save Matt Parkman suggests Rebel is, or has access to, a precog, as we see Parkman at roughly the same time as Hiro and Ando read the fax and he isn't in need of saving. Angela, of course, could have dreamt Parkman's upcoming need for help and also dreamt when Hiro and Ando would be India, enabling her to send the fax at the right time.

Heroes 3x15: Trust and Blood

So Dr. Bitz was the only one to offer any format suggestions for this volume's posts. While I think his "innocent/guilty" idea is the best, he's right; in honor of the Quintessons, everything would have to be "innocent," and frankly, I don't think enough people would get the joke. So instead, I'll go with his second best suggestion:
Harrison Ford: these are good things about the episode, things I liked, because Harrison Ford starred in the good Fugitive movie.
Wesley Snipes: these are the bad things, the things I didn't like, because Wesley Snipes was in the bad Fugitive movie.
I'm also going to add Tommy Lee Jones, for those things that are neither good nor bad about the episode, but are rather observations, musings or questions on my part.

Harrison Ford: Peter's Power
While it was apparently clear to some people how Peter's power worked last episode, it wasn't to me, so I certainly appreciated the brief exchange between Peter and Tracy that established the extent of his new ability (granted, it would have been nice to have found a way to work that into the last episode...). Frankly, the show needs to do things like that more often.

Wesley Snipes: Precog Painting
Okay, I'm calling BS on it now. I'd still like to know how "telepathy" translates to "painting the future." But that aside, this whole "character paints the future" schtick is getting tiresome, and frankly, I think the writers are all the lazier for using it still, since they can't seem to come up with some other way to, for example, motivate Hiro to go to India. And seriously, if Parkman's going to paint the future, wouldn't it be more helpful if he painted things that were happening further in the future? Other than Hiro's trip to India, it seems like he's painting the "almost present" moreso than the future.


Tommy Lee Jones: Sylar's power
I realized last night that despite all the crap they've put Sylar through, I'm glad he's still around simply because he's the only character on the entire show who uses his powers casually. He doesn't use them reluctantly or as a last resort, he just uses them to help him do what he wants to do (that what he wants to do is usually categorically evil or confusing is irrelevant to this point; I'm just glad SOMEONE on this show uses their power the way a normal person would, without tons of soul searching or denial beforehand).


Wesley Snipes: Daphne's Death??
Again, my problem isn't so much that she's dead, but whether or not we're supposed to know if she's dead (though, for the record, I'll be very disappointed if she is dead). Parkman clearly believes she is, but all we saw was her getting shot. Where's the body? Why didn't we see Nathan's goon retrieve it? Before I can complain about them killing Daphne off, I need to know if she really is.


Harrison Ford: Showdown on the hill
The "fight" on the cliff that (maybe) resulted in Daphne's death was another glimmer of what I've wanted to see all along: a group of people using their powers in a concerted effort against bad guys. Granted, it was a small moment, but at this point, I'll take what I can get. Parkman turning the goons against each other was a particularly neat offensive trick, and the brief shot of the Hunter taking out the guy Parkman was controlling helped inform that character.

Wesley Snipes: Returning to the crash site
Dr. Bitz mentioned to me that by his estimation, the point the characters reached by the end of the episode could have been reached about fifteen minutes into the episode simply by cutting out a lot of the extraneous running around everyone was doing. I didn't notice it at the time, but he's definitely right. I did think that with the way Claire, Peter, Parkman etc. were able to come and go so freely, penetrating the perimeter around the crash site throughout the episode, I was wondering if the Hunter's agents used to work for CTU.

Harrison Ford: Dissension in the ranks
Nathan can't act unilaterally in this operation, and seems to be desperately seeking approval from SOMEONE that he's doing the right thing. Meanwhile, the Hunter is fed up with Nathan's perceived "kid gloves" approach to the fugitives. This kind of conflict within the villains makes things much more interesting than the "evil because the writers said so" approach of Arthur in the last volume.

Tommy Lee Jones: Angela's role
Angela remains one of the most interesting characters on the show, despite any decent exploration of her past or goals. With the reveal in this episode that while she isn't directly working to oppose Nathan she doesn't necessarily agree with him either, I'm hoping (perhaps naively) that we'll finally be given a proper exploration of what makes Angela tick and why she does the things she does. And if along the way we finally get a little backstory on Primatech and the Elder Heroes, all the better.

Tommy Lee Jones: Rebel's identity
If Rebel is West, I'll throw my shoe at the TV. Not because I'd mind the show acknowledging something else from season two, but because there's no way that wet blanket of a kid has the presence to be any kind of interesting rebel.

Heroes 3x14: A Clear And Present Danger

So in the midst of battling one of the worst bouts of stomach flu I've ever had, Heroes came back after a short winter hiatus, once again promising that the start of a new volume would address the shortcomings of the previous volume. What the creators of Heroes don't seem to realize, as Dr. Bitz put it, is that our problem with the show isn't in the concept, but in the execution.

When fans cried foul at the slow build to season two and the introduction of lame characters like the Dunder Twins, the show responded with the breakneck action and (sometimes) nonsensical plotting of "Villains" at the cost of consistent characterization. After we complained again, the show promised us that the unfurling "Fugitives" arc would slow things down, reign in the time travel and other extreme plot devices and focus once again on character and the "ordinary" part of "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities."

Well, we'll see what happens. But I'm afraid that once again, the creators missed the mark, and in attempting to fix the wrong thing are breaking something else. But this episode wasn't bad, at least not outright. It wasn't awesome, and it wasn't a fix-all, but it was solid. Call me "cautiously and perhaps naively optimisitc" so far.

In the meantime, I'm torn as to how to categorize my analysis of this volume's episodes. The hero/villain didactic doesn't seem appropriate, as we're leaving behind the comic book trappings of those labels in "Fugitives." Similarily, "Hunter/Prey" doesn't seem quite right. So I leave it you, dear reader, to decide how we should best proceed. Let me know in the comments. In the meantime, I'll just do this:

Things I Liked:

The episode WAS more focused and well-assembled than some of the more sprawling ones from the last volume, with a clear narrative (Claire attempting to help Peter and Parkman) and a few subplots that didn't distract from it, along with a palpable sense of dread and "what next" as everyone was getting nabbed.

Claire is as stubborn and bull-headed as usual, but at least she did something useful as a result of it. Also, the casual mention of her receiving her GED is, I think, an attempt to make it clear that as far as the show is concerned, she's an adult now and that hopefully means all the going-to-high-school, trying-to-be-normal stories are behind us now.


The scene with Peter and Mohinder in the cab was clearly an attempt by the creators to say to the audience "hey, we remember the first season too! We'll try to make the show more like that-remember how you liked that?" but the scene worked for me regardless.

While Ando certainly has a point about his relative uselessness without other super powers around, I loved that Hiro had setup an entire crime fighting unit for him, complete with costume. It was probably the most sensible thing Hiro's ever done in the service of the plot (and I appreciated that he wasn't all whiny about losing his own powers).


On the subject of Hiro, I'm glad Nathan nabbed him, too. Not only did it show that Nathan's goals extend beyond the country, but it was a nice nod to continutity, since Nathan wouldn't know Hiro is powerless now.


Similarly, the snow globe at Sylar's alleged-birth dad's house was nice touch.

Is it naively optimistic of me to think, with Nathan clearly trying to create the concentration camp/police state that Future Peter originally traveled back in time to stop at the beginning of volume three, that this volume might actually connect back somewhat to what's come before and that the creators aren't approaching "Villains" with the same scorched earth, forget-all-about-it policy they apply to season two?

The previews for next week/the rest of the volume suggest that finally, the characters will work together and rely on another to some degree throughout the course of the volume. I hate the way the show goes out of its way to compartmentalize so many of the characters into little groups in specific areas.

Things I Didn't Like:

Remember when characters on this show used their powers? That was awesome. I was excited when Sylar fought off the goons just because SOMEONE was finally fighting back with their powers (okay, fine, Mohinder used his power a little too).

This attitude some characters have, especially Parkman, that they'd be better off without powers, seriously irritates me. Having a super power would be AWESOME, and the only person who seems to realize that is Hiro (well, and Daphne). This is one of those places where I just don't think the creators get it...I watch Heroes to see how telepathy would affect how an otherwise normal cop would do his job. I don't watch Heroes to see how a cop with telepathy wouldn't use his power to be a normal cop. If that's what I wanted to see, I'd watch Law and Order or something. Those cops never use telepathy.


(Incidentally, I'm tempted to call BS on this whole "prophet" thing, especially since we'll probably never get a proper explanation as to how Matt can be telepathic AND precognitive, but clearly there's more to come regarding this story point, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now).


We see that Peter must now absorbs abilities through contact but the show failed to make it clear whether or not he can only store one power at a time. This may seem like a minor nitpick, but by failing to clarify this point, it makes the cliffhanger decidedly less dramatic when I'm thinking "um, what's the big deal? Peter can fly." If the sequence in the plane, when Peter gained Mohinder's strength followed by Tracy's cryokinesis, was meant to make it clear that he only gets one power at a time and it's the last one he absorbed, then that sequence failed in that regard because it wasn't clear to me at all.

I'm waiting to pass judgment on Bennet as a bad guy until his role in this whole thing is explored more. To work with Nathan to this end in return for Claire being removed from Nathan's plans is certainly in character, even if it would be more exciting to watch him work against Nathan, shepharding the fugitives to safety and facing off against Nathan's own HRG, that lead Hunter guy.

Heroes 3x13: Duel

Villain: Where'd Meredith come from?
I'm not one to begrudge a Meredith appearance, but just like her disappearance a few episodes ago, her reappearance here had me paying more attention to questions like "where'd she come from?/where has she been?/how does she know what's going on?" instead of the episode itself.

Hero: Knox and Flint changing sides
It made sense that not all of Arthur's goons were on board with the whole "save the world by giving everyone a power" plan (especially Flint), and that with Arthur (and his power) removed from the scene, they would finally be able to act upon their opposition.

(Of course, it would have been nice if Knox and Flint's objections to Arthur's plan was foreshadowed in some way beyond their hallway-glowering last episode, and it also begs the question of why, when the eclipse had robbed everyone of their powers, Knox and Flint, two strong and healthy men, didn't use the opportunity to move against Arthur, a frail and elderly man).

Hero: Knox snapping the marine's neck
Don't ask me why, but I chortled with glee when Knox nonchalantly snapped Nathan's gung-ho, super-strong GI Joe's neck.

Hero: HRG thinking his way out of Sylar's trap
Mrs. Teebore thinks he should have come up with it sooner, but it was cool to see Bennet think his way out Sylar's "no-win" situation by using the resources available to him.

Back in the first season, Dr. Bitz and I thought it would be cool if Mohinder became a sort of powerless Professor X to the characters, showing them how to best use their powers. Obviously, that didn't happen, and probably never will (what with Mohinder being a moron and the writers determined to NOT have the characters work together for any length of time) but this scene had me thinking that Bennet would make a pretty cool mentor along those lines to some of the characters as well.

Hero: Hiro (slightly) redeems himself
After starting this whole mess by stupidly opening the safe he was specifically instructed not to open and allowing his half of the formula to get stolen, and continuing to bumble his way through the rest of the story, culminating in his losing the catalyst without putting up much of a fight, a powerless Hiro resolves to make amends. Kudos to the writers for at least realizing the character SHOULD feel like he's screwed up. And it was pretty funny when he layed out Tracy with one punch to the nose and absconded with the formula.

(One has to wonder if no one at Pinehearst thought to ever make a copy of the formula, making Hiro's tearing it up kinda pointless, but considering the catalyst died with Arthur, thus making the paper formula kinda messy to use, and the the fact that the writers seem to already be treating Volume 3 like they do Season 2 (that is, completely denying its existence and attempting to wipe any vestiges of it off the map), I'm going to guess we're just supposed to think that, yes, everyone at Pinehearst was a moron or too busy Xeroxing their asses to make a copy of the formula, and we'll never see or hear from it again).

Hero: Claire taking out Sylar
Sylar stalking Claire and her extended family in an attempt to make Claire like him was a nifty parallel to the first episode of the volume, in which Sylar stalked Claire in her house in an attempt to make himself more like her. Which made the reversal of that episode's outcome in this episode, when Claire uses her own vulnerable spot against Sylar, all the more enjoyable.

I'm sure the writers view that event as a culmination of Claire's character development over the course of the volume (going from scared victim to capable defender) but it's really not; like many characters this volume, Claire rode the character development merry-go-round far too often to experience any definitive development in the course of the story. But I hold out hope that the character work suggested by this event will be on display in the next volume, even if it was never properly shored up in this one.

Villain: Meredith's death
I have nothing against Meredith dying, in principle, but it was lacking in execution. Mainly because the moment when Claire declares her love for her birth mom wasn't nearly as heartfelt or meaninful as I'm sure it was intended to be.

We know so little about Meredith and her relationship with Claire, we're left wondering whether or not Meredith even cared about Claire's declaration. Was that something Meredith had been longing to hear? Did she die pleased that she had an opportunity to reconnect with the daughter she thought she'd lost? Or was protecting Claire this volume just another job for her (remember, back in season one she used Claire's reappearance in her life to get more hush money out of Nathan)?

The answers to those questions provide the context necessary to make Meredith's last moments in any way meaningful; instead, we're just left thinking another character was killed because this is the end of a story arc and its expected. And, with Meredith's death, we're also left wondering whether those questions will ever get answered, or if, while running from the government next volume, Claire will ever be given the opportunity to deal with this loss and decide what her birth mom meant to her.

Villain: The companies burning
Burning the headquarters of both Primatech and Pinehearst in the final episode of the volume was a blatant symbol that, as far as the creators are concerned, next volume is a whole new ballgame. Which, in theory, is fine, except that I'm worried that many of the answers to questions pertaining to Primatech and the Elder Heroes, questions gone unanswered too long that are vital to the show's mythology, may have gone up in smoke along with Primatech itself. Hopefully the critical backstory of the show won't get thrown out in volume four as the writers desperately try to deliver on their promises of improvement.

Villain: No big battle
Once again, Heroes fails to deliver on its inherent promise of showing us super-powered good guys wailing on super-powered bad guys for the fate of the world. Implicitly suggested by this volume's premise of two super-powered companies facing off and explicitly promised in the episode "It's Coming," the showdown between Primatech and Pinehearst never really happened. What little powers-on-powers action we got in the finale was limited to minor skirmishes between two characters (for example, Knox throwing Nathan around before getting frozen from behind by Tracy wasn't the battle royale for which I was hoping).

Villain: Some really dodgy effects work
Usually I don't pay much attention to the effects. When they work, I enjoy them and when they don't, I tend to subconsciously overlook all but the most obvious strings in today's effects. It usually takes both really obvious and really bad effects work to make me notice the man behind the curtain. Every episode of Heroes features a TON of effects and for the most part, they are seamless and well done.

However, for whatever reason, something was off this episode. First, when Claire dove through the window of the cell where Bennet and Meredith were, it almost looked like the image skipped a bit at the point where the prop glass was removed and the CGI glass was inserted. Later, when Bennet and Claire were fleeing Primatech as it exploded, the shot of the hallway exploding behind them was B-movie laughable.

Villain: Nathan's motivation
I know the ending with Nathan ousting his family and friends to President Worf was merely a teaser to setup the next volume, but hopefully some time will be spent exploring the motivation behind Nathan's shift from "I want to make the world a better place by creating a super-powered army" to "I want to make the world a better place by locking up anyone with a super power in a concentration camp." I get that the formula is gone, and with it the means to enact his former plan, but I don't follow how that automatically leads him to the second one.


In the end, this was an enjoyable yet unspectacular and disappointing end to a volume characterized by a series of cool moments strung together by a plot suffering from a lack of focus and explanation along with wildly inconsistent characters. I am excited for the next volume, simply because it does look different.

This volume it became apparent that the show the writers want to write (how people deal with having powers) is vastly different from the show the audience wants to see (people with powers, you know, using their powers to fight other people). If the writers don't want to write that kind of show, fine, but thus far they've been incapable of coming up with a plot that doesn't demand some kind of overt conflict to resolve itself, a conflict they've always failed to deliver, even back in the rose-colored first season (remember how crappy the final fight in Kirby Plaza actually was?).

Fugitives, at least from what I've heard, is at least different from the "good guys try to stop the bad guys from destroying the world" plots the writers seem unwilling or incapable of executing properly. It may very well fall short too, but at least it won't fall short for failing to deliver something inherently promised by its premise.

Of course, everything is in the execution; no matter how good the idea, if executed poorly, it won't be very good. If the writers simply move on to the next volume and bring along the plot holes, characters inexplicably behaving differently from one episode to the next, and general lack of focus on display in this volume, it won't matter how fresh and different the plot of Fugitives is: it will simply be more of the same.

Heroes has a ton of potential to be a truly awesome show, and much of my frustration with it stems from the fact that it seems so easy to realize that potential that I can't fathom why it isn't awesome already. However, I remain hopeful that Fugitives will be a step in the right direction, and address some of this volume's wrongs. Perhaps my hope is foolish; after all, the Heroes creative team's plaintive assurances that they'll get it right in the next volume are starting to sound a bit like the boy who cried wolf.

Heroes 3x12: Our Father

Hero: Elle's funeral
I like that the writers took the time to confirm that Sylar killed Elle, even showing us the body. Whether you loved that she was killed or hated it, at least we can all agree she is, indeed dead, and that the only way she'll be back is in flashbacks or alternate timelines (or a full-on, deliberate resurrection).


Hero: No time lost on Peter and the Haitian's journey
Having Peter and the Haitian just show up in Ma Petrelli's office, saving the audience a belabored sequence in which they go to the embassy, get put on a plane, etc., was much appreciated. Sometimes its okay to just let us connect the dots ourselves.

Villain: Ma Petrelli's causal discussion of attempting to murder Arthur
This is a minor nitpick, as the line was clearly written to remind the, in the writers' minds, apparently, numerous idiot-viewers that Ma Petrelli tried to kill Arthur, but the casual way she shared that info with Peter bothered me. It should have been new info to Peter since, as far as I can recall, she's never told him that before so a bit of reaction from him would have been nice. Also, considering that Arthur believed that info was so dangerous he had to wipe it from Hiro's memory, perhaps Ma Petrelli shouldn't be flinging it around so casually.

Hero: Sylar's new power
While it was ridiculously convenient that Sylar had the name and location of a person with the specific power he needed on his cell phone, I'll give the show a pass on that since, with all the lying that goes on, this was definitely a power Sylar needed to acquire.

I still haven't decided how I feel about Sylar's return to his serial killer ways. On the one hand, I enjoyed seeing him back in season one form, as I've always believed he works best as a villain. On the other hand, I'm still pissed that, however misconceived it was, the entire "redemption" arc was a great big waste of time, especially since Sylar NOT being a Petrelli makes a lot of dialogue earlier in the volume almost nonsensical.

I guess I'm witholding my final verdict until Sylar hooks Ma Petrelli up to his new lie detector; after all, he knows Arthur isn't his father, but that doesn't mean Angela couldn't still be his mother. She was something of a randy minx back in the day, as at the very least we know she had an affair with Kaito.

Villain: Yet another quest
Much like Peter and the Haitian's journey, I'm glad Matt and CO's quest to find Isaac's last sketchbook was relatively abbreivated. Yet once again, they accomplish one goal just to set off on another RPG-like quest. Find Hiro-Find Daphne-Get our powers back-Find Isaac's Last Sketchbook-Find the Formula. Enough already!

Hero: Hiro's mom
The scene in which ten-year old Hiro is healed by his mother and confirms for her that her faith in him is manifested in the man he's become that she never go to know was brilliant. It was easily the best scene Hiro has been in all season. It is another deeply affecting moment for the character (like the deaths of Charlie and his father and his defeat of Adam) that makes the buffoonish attempts at comic relief the writers usually put him through all the more sad and pathetic.


Villain: Arthur's visit to the past
Unlike Peter and the Haitian, here's a place where I would have preferred the show connect the dots for me. I can easily surmise that Arthur drew a sketch that showed him Claire and Hiro in the past mucking around with the catalyst (after all, Isaac drew it with his powers) but a brief scene showing the audience that would have been better than my surmising. Also, if Arthur's had time traveling abilities this whole time...yeesh. That just opens up a whole can of worms. I don't even want to think about it.

Villain: Hiro biffs it again
It would have been nice if Hiro could have put up more of a fight against Arthur. I'm getting really sick of Hiro getting pwned every time his story seems to be on the right track. After getting his memory back, sharing a powerful moment with his mom in which he proved her faith in him and receiving the catalyst, he's back to being a chump moments later. In the span of one scene he goes from quiet gravitas as he emerges onto the roof to comically crying for help as he dangles from a pole.


Hero: Peter took the shot
He took his sweet-ass time doing it, but I'm glad Peter finally did shoot Arthur, especially since I would have bet cash money he'd wuss out at the last minute. The jury is still out regarding how I feel about Arthur's death, however (see below).


Villain: Still no clarification regarding the formula or how it destroys the world
On the one hand, Arthur was WAY too powerful a villain for this show where the Heroes so rarely work together (especially if he could time travel on top of everything else) so I'm not shedding any tears over his loss.

On the other hand, the main villain of the volume is dead, presumably, and we don't know a DAMN THING ABOUT HIM, HIS PLANS OR HIS MOTIVATIONS. We know he's evil (he wanted his son killed) but we also know he tells people he's making the world better by using the formula.

But is that his ultimate plan? Or does he want to cause the apocalypse? Is he an evil man doing good? Or an evil man PRETENDING to do good? He believes a super-powered army will save the world? Okay, how exactly? The Heroes believe his super-powered army will destroy the world. Again, how exactly?

And how does the formula work? Do they have any control over the type of power the subject gets? Is this the same formula that gave Nathan, Tracy and other synthetics their powers, or is this a better one?

We're now one episode removed from the end of the volume, and we still don't know the specifics of the villain's plan, both in terms of intention and execution, the volume's Macguffin, or the very threat the heroes are trying to prevent. It's possible all that will be revealed in the last episode, but I doubt it, especially with the orchestrator of that plan dead.


Villain: Lame cliffhanger
Again, a minor nitpick, but when my DVR recording stopped and I had to switch to my recording of My Own Worst Enemy to catch the last few moments of Heroes because it ran long, I was excited, because I figured there had to be one more good cliffhanger-y moment after the scene with the earnest GI Joe getting his power. After all, the penultimate episode of the volume wouldn't end with as lame a cliffhanger as "look, the still-vague formula works in a still-unexplained way! It gave some dude we just met super-strength!" Needless to say, I figured wrong.

Hero: Thematic focus
This episode was a marked improvement over the last couple. Why? As Dr. Bitz said, focus. For all the disparate plot elements and time periods, the focus of this episode was the relationship between children and their parents. Sylar's determination to learn the truth of his parentage, Nathan joining his father, Peter trying to kill him, Claire saving herself by inspiring her father's first act of rebellion against the company, Hiro getting healed by his mother and sharing a moment they never had. Everything else that happened in the episode happened in service of those plots, which were all connected by the common theme. A little focus goes a long way towards making the episode seem whole, and not just a jumble of random events.

All in all, this was better. Really. Not great...but...good. An improvement on last episode's catastrophe, at least. As an episode, it was strong, and the major flaws within it were endemic to the entire volume (Sylar's on again/off again redemption, a lack of clarity regarding the formula, Arthur's motivations and how exactly his scheme leads to apocalypse, the constant humbling of Hiro and the need to push various characters off on constant RPG-like quests). The strength of this episode offers hope that while the volume as a whole is weak sauce, it will at least go out with a bang and a strong finish next week.