Note I didn't have the time to watch the second part of last night's 2 hour premier, so any opinion of the season opener is based off of the first chapter. Since this blog was on a long hiatus I guess it's best to break things down into two parts anyway so I have more to write about.
First things first - I was underwhelmed. Where was the big bang, the "POW" from the season opener last year? The second part of last season was even more tremendous - all people with powers being hunted and everyone on the run from The Man. This season started off very slow. Normally a season opener will 1.) identify the villain and 2.) unveil their evil plan. Ok, so #1 was established - we think...All we know right now is the Carnies are probably villains. We're supposed to think that because of the dark, brooding evilish music in the background. And they killed Denko - which may or may not be a bad thing. Oh, and the main Carnie leader has evil hair and dark eye makeup, so that probably makes him a villain. But yeah, I don't think it's going too far to say the Carnies are the bad guys. Only thing is based off of the first part of the premier - we don't know what the hell they want. Sylar wanted your brains. Arthur Petrelli wanted to build a force of super humans (they never really fleshed that out though). The Gov'ment/Denko wanted to round up all people with abilities. Like I said, there was a lot of BANG! POW! to these openers. They're supposed to set the table for the rest of the season.
What do we know so far?
Ali Larter is immortal: That is, she will always be on this show. Her name may not be Nikki, it may not be Jessica, it may not even be Tracey - but she'll always be a character on this show in some way. She wasn't rather annoying to me in this opener, but alas, the season is young. I'll give her time.
Mohinder is gone: ...for now. Normally season openers will show what all the characters are up to, but Mohinder was nowhere to be found. There wasn't even the normal narrative voiceover that starts and ends the show. I think a different person does the narrating if you look at the credits - but it sounds like Mohinder so I always pretended it was him. Anyway - all gone. I'm sure the writers have him stashed away to bring out at some other opportune time (ie, when it's convenient to them after they've written themselves into a corner) but for now the show seems to be Mohinder-free.
The Hiro & Ando Comedy Group: Officially have crossed over into comic-relief. The show even *unnecessarily* has that whimsical music everytime they're on the screen. At one point when Ando was on the roof saving the cat and he fell I swear there was a Benny Hill sound effect. Almost like a Fozzie Bear "whocka whocka" or bicycle horn. What the hell is going on? And now Hiro was considering going back into the past so he wouldn't meet a fortune teller who set him on the path to wanting to be a hero? Ummm, don't you think that would mess up the storylines of the previous seasons??? Without Future Hiro to give Peter the "save the cheerleader, save the world" order then Sylar gets Claire's power in season 1 and chaos ensues. Although Sylar wound up getting Claire's power eventually, which kinda negated the tension from season 1. Granted, Hiro inadvertently has some as much harm as good with his time travelling - if he goes back in time to prevent all that who knows what winds up happening. Why did Ando not bring that up? Why did he not say "Hellooooo? If you go back in time you'll mess everything up by altering the timelines!". Also, we get it already - you don't want Hiro timetravelling all over the place so you devised this contrived scenario so that he has a built-in weakness/deterrent for using that power. Hiro's power is cool, but the character himself isn't. If this is the best you can muster then kill him off and let us remember him fondly. I sighed during the scene when Hiro/Ando were talking to the little girl. Cringe-worthy, I think some would describe it.
Carnies, small hands...smell like cabbage: From the first episode we don't know much other than the lead Carnie must really be a sweat talker as he apparently convinced that Tattoo Chick she needs to be topless when she uses her power.
Lead Carnie Guy: "Ok, I need you to take your top off so you can show me a face."
Tattoo Chick: "Is this really necessary, I can easily make the face appear on my shoulder or something."
Lead Carnie Guy: "DAMMIT JUST DO IT!"
Also not sure why he had to inject his cohort with ink to do that cool tattoo hand choking the throat trick - he's able to move dirt so he obviously has a similar telekinesis power as Sylar.
Parkman: The most powerful hero on the show (now that Sylar is out of commission for the time being) isn't interested in being a hero any longer. So let me get this straight - Angela Petrelli tells you the person you helped lock in someone else's body is now starting to manifest himself and you need to fix it before it's too late. You're reply is "it's not my problem anymore"? Granted towards the end of the show Sylar mentally threatens Parkman so I only have reason to believe he'll come around. But it's just weird someone who's now a parent wouldn't be totally gung-ho to make the world as safe a place as possible for his young. He's morphed into my defacto favorite character due to being so powerful, I hope the writers tread carefully here. I don't want another Hiro on my hands.
Peter: Completely useless once again. Just leave him like this, guys, he does more harm than good. He's more suited to be a super-paramedic than a super hero. He's perfect in his current role. Of course he's not going to go an entire season like this, but I'll enjoy this new Peter (insignificant, not crucial to the storyline) for as long as I can.
Claire: The writers listened to me. They put her back in school. It's where she belonged for the last season and a half. Glad they've seen it my way. I still don't know why they showed a scene of her playing Guitar Hero, unless that was a poor stab at product placement. Sure the song being played was ominous - "very supersticious...writing on the wall" - but unneeded. I think her geeky friend has a power, she commented something along the lines of "I'm learning this quickly every second", which I took to be a hint of some kind of ability. Her murdered roommate was going to really be a downer on the show if they gave her more airtime, I'm glad she was quickly disposed of. But anyway Claire belongs in school, back to being a special person who just wants to be normal. Crime-fighter Claire was a bomb. Not "the" bomb - "a" bomb. A failure.
I'm going to assume last night's premiere kinda needed to be watched in its two-hour entirety. The first part was just too "bleh", perhaps they saved the fireworks for the second part.
Showing posts with label Hiro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hiro. Show all posts
September 22, 2009
April 21, 2009
I Am Sylar (and other tidbits)
Taking a brief hiatus from the blog I'm back. I'll admit it's much easier to have opinion and criticisms on the show when the writing sucks. With the improved writing and stellar storylines, well, I'd be a fool if I just turned this into a nitpicking blog. Applause for the writers for making me shut my mouth.
That having been said, let's review and compare notes and what's gone on since I last wrote:
Sylar: Let's just get right into it. I'm liking the character, but after his latest Norman Bates impression in the most recent "I Am Sylar" episode, ummm, whatever? What's this all about? The guy goes from wanting to redeem himself/becoming a good guy, reverting back to form, teaming up with Danko (and we all knew that was going to be a temporary partnership), now he's trying to "find himself". Jeez, pick a Sylar and run with it, guys. Sylar and Nathan are two of the most inconsistent characters in this series. Remember last volume when Nathan was all over the place? Same thing goes for Sylar. Every three episodes it's a new thing. Speaking of Nathan, what the hell was he thinking going to face Sylar by himself? The same Sylar who survived an exploding building at the end of the last volume.
Peter: Um, wow, what a fall from grace. The character goes from being the main guy on the show to getting like 10 minutes - if that - of screentime per episode. Wow. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I think he's had his time in the sun, running around and playing God. Nice to be able to take a step back and say "the second volume of season three was when Peter Petrelli went back to being just one of the characters instead of the focal point of the show". There's nothing really to write about Peter. He's been such a small factor, his most notable (and I'll admit, probably coolest) contribution in the last few episodes was showing up in the elevator to whisk his mother away while agents were poised to apprehend her. This was the volume where characters like Peter and Hiro took a step back and characters like Matt Parkman and Nathan to an extent were allowed to sit at the big boys table. The show is much better for it, Parkman is a much better written character, more consistent and he was allowed to evolve slowly. The episode where Parkman's dad said to him (paraphrasing) "You don't even know what you're capable of, what you'll be able to do with your power. You can do so much more than read minds..." as his turning point. That's the seed and from there he's blossomed into someone exciting to watch and someone who can affect the storyline.
Future Timelines: I don't know, for a while it seems like several of the events in the future timelines were not going to come true. But lately it seems there's a possibility that Sylar will assume Nathan's identity and eventually become President like he did in the future timeline in season 1. Hiro/Ando keep bickering a bit too much for the Hiro vs. Ando future event to have been totally eradicated. Also Nathan probably dies at some point since Sylar has his identity. HRG was some type of underground rebel and with him being apprehended at the end of the latest episode I think his days as a Government Agent/consultant are over. I'm just saying, we've seen *just* enough these past few episodes that we can't completely write off some of the future storylines, and trust me, I was the first to proclaim "all those future storylines are done and probably moot".
Hiro: Ok, I'll admit, I don't know where the show is going with him. I thought he was back, as in back back, but I don't know what his latest problem is (bleeding from the nose, power not working). My early estimate is maybe Baby Matt Parkman's power is temporary, in the sense that after he turns something "on" it won't stay "on indefinitely if he's not around. Baby Matt Parkman and the Human Lie Detector Woman are tied for two of the most "convenient" characters on the show. They were created for a very specific purpose. Like, it's so convenient that Hiro bumps into the one character that can turn his power back on. See how everything fits into the box so neatly? That kind of writing makes you roll your eyes a bit, but I guess it was a necessary evil just to get Hiro his powers back (temporarily?).
Season Finale: If there is someone reading this who does not think this season finale isn't going to be top 2 in this series, let that person state their case. I think a major character is going to die - that's how big I think it's going to be. (And I think that character is going to be Nathan who winds up dying to save someone in the ultimate act of selflessness which would be a rarity for that character). I don't know where the series goes after this episode as far as future storylines go, that's how important this upcoming week is. Everything hinges on this one episode. In the preview for next week they showed us Nathan and Peter walking, with Nathan saying "I love you, Pete," and Peter replied "I love you, too", the same words they said to each other in the last episode of season 1 as Nathan flew nuclear Peter away. Based off of that one brief exchange I think that's meant to be probably the last words they say to each other. Much like how in Episode 3 of Star Wars when they showed Obi Wan and Anakin's last words to each other before Anakin officially became a Sith - it was a poignant moment. I don't know, if I'm a writer that to me is a perfect time for a "famous last words" moment, you know, a calm before the storm afterwhich nothing will ever be the same again.
You know the upcoming episode is gonna be big cuz I had one of my rare "oh snap, next week's show is gonna be big!" moments after the preview. Bet the house on it (if it hasn't been foreclosed yet).
That having been said, let's review and compare notes and what's gone on since I last wrote:
Sylar: Let's just get right into it. I'm liking the character, but after his latest Norman Bates impression in the most recent "I Am Sylar" episode, ummm, whatever? What's this all about? The guy goes from wanting to redeem himself/becoming a good guy, reverting back to form, teaming up with Danko (and we all knew that was going to be a temporary partnership), now he's trying to "find himself". Jeez, pick a Sylar and run with it, guys. Sylar and Nathan are two of the most inconsistent characters in this series. Remember last volume when Nathan was all over the place? Same thing goes for Sylar. Every three episodes it's a new thing. Speaking of Nathan, what the hell was he thinking going to face Sylar by himself? The same Sylar who survived an exploding building at the end of the last volume.
Peter: Um, wow, what a fall from grace. The character goes from being the main guy on the show to getting like 10 minutes - if that - of screentime per episode. Wow. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I think he's had his time in the sun, running around and playing God. Nice to be able to take a step back and say "the second volume of season three was when Peter Petrelli went back to being just one of the characters instead of the focal point of the show". There's nothing really to write about Peter. He's been such a small factor, his most notable (and I'll admit, probably coolest) contribution in the last few episodes was showing up in the elevator to whisk his mother away while agents were poised to apprehend her. This was the volume where characters like Peter and Hiro took a step back and characters like Matt Parkman and Nathan to an extent were allowed to sit at the big boys table. The show is much better for it, Parkman is a much better written character, more consistent and he was allowed to evolve slowly. The episode where Parkman's dad said to him (paraphrasing) "You don't even know what you're capable of, what you'll be able to do with your power. You can do so much more than read minds..." as his turning point. That's the seed and from there he's blossomed into someone exciting to watch and someone who can affect the storyline.
Future Timelines: I don't know, for a while it seems like several of the events in the future timelines were not going to come true. But lately it seems there's a possibility that Sylar will assume Nathan's identity and eventually become President like he did in the future timeline in season 1. Hiro/Ando keep bickering a bit too much for the Hiro vs. Ando future event to have been totally eradicated. Also Nathan probably dies at some point since Sylar has his identity. HRG was some type of underground rebel and with him being apprehended at the end of the latest episode I think his days as a Government Agent/consultant are over. I'm just saying, we've seen *just* enough these past few episodes that we can't completely write off some of the future storylines, and trust me, I was the first to proclaim "all those future storylines are done and probably moot".
Hiro: Ok, I'll admit, I don't know where the show is going with him. I thought he was back, as in back back, but I don't know what his latest problem is (bleeding from the nose, power not working). My early estimate is maybe Baby Matt Parkman's power is temporary, in the sense that after he turns something "on" it won't stay "on indefinitely if he's not around. Baby Matt Parkman and the Human Lie Detector Woman are tied for two of the most "convenient" characters on the show. They were created for a very specific purpose. Like, it's so convenient that Hiro bumps into the one character that can turn his power back on. See how everything fits into the box so neatly? That kind of writing makes you roll your eyes a bit, but I guess it was a necessary evil just to get Hiro his powers back (temporarily?).
Season Finale: If there is someone reading this who does not think this season finale isn't going to be top 2 in this series, let that person state their case. I think a major character is going to die - that's how big I think it's going to be. (And I think that character is going to be Nathan who winds up dying to save someone in the ultimate act of selflessness which would be a rarity for that character). I don't know where the series goes after this episode as far as future storylines go, that's how important this upcoming week is. Everything hinges on this one episode. In the preview for next week they showed us Nathan and Peter walking, with Nathan saying "I love you, Pete," and Peter replied "I love you, too", the same words they said to each other in the last episode of season 1 as Nathan flew nuclear Peter away. Based off of that one brief exchange I think that's meant to be probably the last words they say to each other. Much like how in Episode 3 of Star Wars when they showed Obi Wan and Anakin's last words to each other before Anakin officially became a Sith - it was a poignant moment. I don't know, if I'm a writer that to me is a perfect time for a "famous last words" moment, you know, a calm before the storm afterwhich nothing will ever be the same again.
You know the upcoming episode is gonna be big cuz I had one of my rare "oh snap, next week's show is gonna be big!" moments after the preview. Bet the house on it (if it hasn't been foreclosed yet).
March 25, 2009
WOW...I'm Good At This Stuff
All right, before I get started let me just say - congrats to the writers. This past episode was the best episode in this series since season 1. We're talking top 3 Heroes episode of all time. I rank the Heroes episodes in the following:
#1: 2nd to last episode in season 1. (Where Future Sylar and Future Peter battle in...uh, the future. The first and probably best major hero vs. major villain action in the series.)
#2: The last episode of season 1.
#3: The latest episode of the current season. (I think it's Chapter 7 of the 2nd volume of season 3, if that makes any sense HAHAHA)
And congratulations to Matt Parkman. You're officially one of the coolest characters on the show. Three seasons and a half is a long time, many characters have come and gone but you stuck in the sidelines waiting and now your time in the sun has come. There was a little spark of what was to come this current volume, and your potential was showcased a few episodes ago when Peter and yourself walked in, literally, to a fortified government compound and you held them all hostage for a while. But now it's been hammered home in this latest episode. You are officially the 2nd most powerful character in the show (behind Sylar, of course). Bravo. And since we're throwing out congrats, I'm going to give some to Ali Larter in what was her best performance in this series ever. The coolest episode involving the Tracey/Jessica/Niki character. I wouldn't write her off as being dead just yet, as I'm sure everyone caught the fact that the block of ice where her face was happened to blink. The writers LOVE Ali Larter so I thoroughly believe she's not completely done on the show.
Unlike Daphne. Hey, someone needs to be the sacrificial lamb. Can't go all this time without one or two people dying.
Nothing was left on the table. This one had it ALL. I am thoroughly and completely back on the bus with this show. Season 2 was a hiccup. Hey, not even Babe Ruth hit a homerun every at-bat. It's back. I just had to get that out of the way.
Ok, I know a broken clock is right twice a day, but I hit a grand glam out of the park:
Rebel = Micah
Now, I'm sure as this chapter has gone on Micah being the Rebel became more and more apparent (at least to me), but I called this a while ago. Like, the 2nd episode or so of this chapter. 2+2=4. That's all there was to it. Kudos to the writers for not making a complete random, newly created character the Rebel, as it's been fun to play the "who is the Rebel?" game. As soon as HRG said to Tracey "lead us to the Rebel and you can walk away" I knew Micah was it. I knew it because it seemed so obvious at that point the writers wouldn't make it so easy for Tracey to walk away. She was gonna have to have some type of moral dilemna. And as soon as Tracey got the free money from the ATM I knew it as well (of course Micah was revealed like a minute after that). Free ATM money is an old Micah trick.
I also will credit myself with Hiro and the return of his power. My point in the "The Hiro Conundrum" entry was that he had spent a considerable amount of time being powerless and the writers would have to, sooner rather than later, do something about it. Well, Hiro's back. What I nailed was that when he got his power back there'd be limitations, like how they conveniently limited Peter's ability so that he can only have one power at a time. (And speaking of that, why is it most of all the cool scenes with someone flying has involved Peter? You'd think Nathan, the resident fly-guy, would have all the scenes but Peter has completely OWNED that ability. Just saying). So I called it correctly - Hiro got his ability back but he isn't the master of all time/space like he used to be. So he can't teleport. Fine. No more bouncing around back and forth and ruining the space/time continuum. This is how it should've been from the beginning but that's neither here nor there. Hiro and Ando are now major players again. Who knows exactly what Ando can do to Hiro now that he can supercharge Hiro's ability? I was thisclose to writing them off when they were found in Baby Matt Parkman's closet trying to pose as stuffed animals. I groaned. But they quickly came back from that silliness. Big things ahead for those two I'm thinking in terms of possibilities.
You want another prediction? Fine. Matt Parkman gets back with his wife Janice. Hiro and Ando find Parkman, reunite him with Baby Matt Parkman and then Matt Parkman goes on a mission to rescue Janice and in the process they wind up falling for each other again.
I'm going to give you another predicition. This has been nagging me for a bit so I'm going to announce it cuz I think I've seen enough clues to feel safe in making it public.
The Hunter has an ability.
There. I said it.
I liken this to a guy who acts like such a homophobe just to hide the fact that he is, in fact, a closeted homosexual. You know, the kind that is really into sports and makes public displays of how much they dig the ladies, just to put up a good enough screen to hide the truth. Why exactly is he so anti-powers? Being the uber-government military guy you'd think he'd want to capture and have tests done on these people to try to harness their abilities for super soldiers (like what Nathan originally attempted). Why does he want to basically just kill them? I'm going to give a run-down as to the little tidbits I've come across that made me this he has a power:
1. The aforementioned extreme aversion to people with powers just to serve as smoke and mirrors to avoid detection. Shit, even HRG doesn't have a fondness for people with powers but he knows they have their uses and he doesnt' have a problem using them as pawns to serve his needs. He doesn't go around trying to eliminate them no questions asked.
2. It was revealed that he was part of a failed military mission in which essentially everyone underneath him got killed and he was the only one to walk away. Same thing happened to Bruce Willis in the movie "Unbreakable", where he was the only survivor in a huge train crash and, oh yeah, he had powers in that movie, too.
3. The shock value factor. The only way you can surprise and shock viewers is if you have them looking one way and then pull the rug out from under their feet. The potential for a shocking revelation here is too great and tempting for the writers not to go that route.
4. In the previews they showed a clip of The Hunter talking with Sylar - I suppose they wind up forming an alliance of sorts - saying (paraphrasing here) "I guess the benefit to you is that you wind up being the only one with powers" to which Sylar replied (paraphrasing again) "something like that". It could be The Hunter wants people with powers to die just so he eliminates the competition in the same vein of Sylar. I'm sure the Hunter will attempt to turn on Sylar at the right moment, although that's stating the obvious.
There you have it, one immense episode. Welcome back.
#1: 2nd to last episode in season 1. (Where Future Sylar and Future Peter battle in...uh, the future. The first and probably best major hero vs. major villain action in the series.)
#2: The last episode of season 1.
#3: The latest episode of the current season. (I think it's Chapter 7 of the 2nd volume of season 3, if that makes any sense HAHAHA)
And congratulations to Matt Parkman. You're officially one of the coolest characters on the show. Three seasons and a half is a long time, many characters have come and gone but you stuck in the sidelines waiting and now your time in the sun has come. There was a little spark of what was to come this current volume, and your potential was showcased a few episodes ago when Peter and yourself walked in, literally, to a fortified government compound and you held them all hostage for a while. But now it's been hammered home in this latest episode. You are officially the 2nd most powerful character in the show (behind Sylar, of course). Bravo. And since we're throwing out congrats, I'm going to give some to Ali Larter in what was her best performance in this series ever. The coolest episode involving the Tracey/Jessica/Niki character. I wouldn't write her off as being dead just yet, as I'm sure everyone caught the fact that the block of ice where her face was happened to blink. The writers LOVE Ali Larter so I thoroughly believe she's not completely done on the show.
Unlike Daphne. Hey, someone needs to be the sacrificial lamb. Can't go all this time without one or two people dying.
Nothing was left on the table. This one had it ALL. I am thoroughly and completely back on the bus with this show. Season 2 was a hiccup. Hey, not even Babe Ruth hit a homerun every at-bat. It's back. I just had to get that out of the way.
Ok, I know a broken clock is right twice a day, but I hit a grand glam out of the park:
Rebel = Micah
Now, I'm sure as this chapter has gone on Micah being the Rebel became more and more apparent (at least to me), but I called this a while ago. Like, the 2nd episode or so of this chapter. 2+2=4. That's all there was to it. Kudos to the writers for not making a complete random, newly created character the Rebel, as it's been fun to play the "who is the Rebel?" game. As soon as HRG said to Tracey "lead us to the Rebel and you can walk away" I knew Micah was it. I knew it because it seemed so obvious at that point the writers wouldn't make it so easy for Tracey to walk away. She was gonna have to have some type of moral dilemna. And as soon as Tracey got the free money from the ATM I knew it as well (of course Micah was revealed like a minute after that). Free ATM money is an old Micah trick.
I also will credit myself with Hiro and the return of his power. My point in the "The Hiro Conundrum" entry was that he had spent a considerable amount of time being powerless and the writers would have to, sooner rather than later, do something about it. Well, Hiro's back. What I nailed was that when he got his power back there'd be limitations, like how they conveniently limited Peter's ability so that he can only have one power at a time. (And speaking of that, why is it most of all the cool scenes with someone flying has involved Peter? You'd think Nathan, the resident fly-guy, would have all the scenes but Peter has completely OWNED that ability. Just saying). So I called it correctly - Hiro got his ability back but he isn't the master of all time/space like he used to be. So he can't teleport. Fine. No more bouncing around back and forth and ruining the space/time continuum. This is how it should've been from the beginning but that's neither here nor there. Hiro and Ando are now major players again. Who knows exactly what Ando can do to Hiro now that he can supercharge Hiro's ability? I was thisclose to writing them off when they were found in Baby Matt Parkman's closet trying to pose as stuffed animals. I groaned. But they quickly came back from that silliness. Big things ahead for those two I'm thinking in terms of possibilities.
You want another prediction? Fine. Matt Parkman gets back with his wife Janice. Hiro and Ando find Parkman, reunite him with Baby Matt Parkman and then Matt Parkman goes on a mission to rescue Janice and in the process they wind up falling for each other again.
I'm going to give you another predicition. This has been nagging me for a bit so I'm going to announce it cuz I think I've seen enough clues to feel safe in making it public.
The Hunter has an ability.
There. I said it.
I liken this to a guy who acts like such a homophobe just to hide the fact that he is, in fact, a closeted homosexual. You know, the kind that is really into sports and makes public displays of how much they dig the ladies, just to put up a good enough screen to hide the truth. Why exactly is he so anti-powers? Being the uber-government military guy you'd think he'd want to capture and have tests done on these people to try to harness their abilities for super soldiers (like what Nathan originally attempted). Why does he want to basically just kill them? I'm going to give a run-down as to the little tidbits I've come across that made me this he has a power:
1. The aforementioned extreme aversion to people with powers just to serve as smoke and mirrors to avoid detection. Shit, even HRG doesn't have a fondness for people with powers but he knows they have their uses and he doesnt' have a problem using them as pawns to serve his needs. He doesn't go around trying to eliminate them no questions asked.
2. It was revealed that he was part of a failed military mission in which essentially everyone underneath him got killed and he was the only one to walk away. Same thing happened to Bruce Willis in the movie "Unbreakable", where he was the only survivor in a huge train crash and, oh yeah, he had powers in that movie, too.
3. The shock value factor. The only way you can surprise and shock viewers is if you have them looking one way and then pull the rug out from under their feet. The potential for a shocking revelation here is too great and tempting for the writers not to go that route.
4. In the previews they showed a clip of The Hunter talking with Sylar - I suppose they wind up forming an alliance of sorts - saying (paraphrasing here) "I guess the benefit to you is that you wind up being the only one with powers" to which Sylar replied (paraphrasing again) "something like that". It could be The Hunter wants people with powers to die just so he eliminates the competition in the same vein of Sylar. I'm sure the Hunter will attempt to turn on Sylar at the right moment, although that's stating the obvious.
There you have it, one immense episode. Welcome back.
December 18, 2008
Episode 13: Dual
We made it.
Final episode of the year and of this current volume.
An end to one of the most up and down seasons for not only this series, but in probably all of tv-dom in recent memory. Has any series really had a season that combined some of it's lowest points with some memorable scenes? Any season in recent memory where one character has gone from bad, to good, back to evil again? Mind you, this was done over the course of only 13 episodes.
I'm going to go light on the criticism this time. I think by now everyone knows the cat is out of the bag, the show has writing and consistency problems and it isn't new or shocking to be the one to try to reveal "hey, this show isn't gold, it does have it's weak point". Besides, I'm not one to pull out a magnifying glass to look for anything to make fun of. No show is perfect. Let's review this last episode for what it was - the tv show equivalent of a basketball team that was down for most of the game hitting a key 3 pointer to tie the game up right as the buzzer sounded. Now we're at half-time, all tied up, all the mistakes and whatnot have been erased (but not forgotten) and you leave the crowd eager and excited for the 2nd half. That was episode 13. The preview for the upcoming volume couldn't have been any better. I literally said out loud "wow".
Can you not imagine the voiceover for the upcoming season:
"Heroes - they've saved the world....now they must...save...themselves. "
I look forward for a Heroes volume that doesn't involve the end of the world and/or mankind. There are some certainties that ruin the suspense of a show like Heroes. We know the world isn't going to end. There's no tension in that. Mankind is not going to be wiped out. A show like Heroes is like watching a Mission Impossible episode - you know the good guys are going to win, it's just a matter of how. We also like to see who is going to die (and stay dead). So for a season to be about Heroes being hunted like Jedi - who knows where that's going to go? This is unchartered territory. I like it.
Back to episode 13. We had some people die, to put it bluntly. Arthur we already knew was dead, but we weren't sure if he'd stay dead. It certainly seems that way, unless the writers want to completely remove any credibility and have the show become a parody of itself by constantly killing off characters and bringing them back. Arthur was odd - what was his ultimate vision? What was he ultimately trying to do? We only know he was a villain because he stopped at nothing to accomplish his goal, but that in and of itself doesn't a villain make. How exactly was he a threat to humanity, if anything he wanted to improve humanity by giving everyone a power. The writers didn't flesh that out too much. How was he anymore a villain than Angela, who was also manipulative. And the whole Arthur and Angela are Sylar's parents was handled so poorly, that was a pretty big revelation and the payoff was near nil.
Speaking of Sylar, it sure looks as if he's dead. Of course, this will be the 3rd time he's been down this road. This is the problem with not keeping characters dead - when you cry wolf so many times people tune you out that one time a wolf is actual at your door. Sylar "dying" just didn't hold that much weight. No one is convinced he's actually dead. It's not conceivable how he could be alive, but I think everyone won't bat an eyelash when the writers bring him back using some hokey nonsense excuse. But he certainly made a good villain in this last episode. I sort of wished he would have mindfucked everyone further, maybe had a major battle between 3 of the escaped convict villains at one time. His fight with the Puppet Master could've had more chutzpah.
That Fear Guy died out of nowhere. That's one guy I think we all agree will actually stay dead. I'm not convinced Arthur is completely out of the picture and certainly am not buying Sylar is dead, so that leaves one out of three. Classic sacrificial lamb scenario - someone has to die and stay definitely dead.
Funny thing happened at the end of the episode. Suresh got into a car being driven by Tracey. The only thought in my mind was "now that the two characters that annoy me the most are in the same car - couldn't the writers just have it blow up right now and kill two birds with one stone??". Further proof to back up my claim that NBC just wants to keep Ali Larter employed. I simply don't know what future hijinks they're going to put her in for the upcoming volume, and apparently she has a partner for whatever it's going to be. With Suresh's sly grin as he got into the car I'm going to assume he's going to play up his evil scientist role. And apparently the recipe for surviving exploding labs is to get covered in oodles of power-goo. Certainly seems like he's become just a tad more powerful.
Speaking of becoming just a tad more powerful, looks like Peter finally got his groove back. Only question remains is did he get his original power back - and was able to fly since he absorbed Nathan's ability - or did he just aquire the same weak flying ability as Nathan by coincidence. I'm going to bet he got his original power back, I'm sure the writers feel Milo V. suffered enough all season. Not cool enough to pull off being powerless like HRG can do. And was I the only one who put his head in his hands as Peter made a weak attempt to point the gun at Nathan trying to stop him? Did anyone think Peter was going to pull the trigger? I didn't think so. No tension at all there. Flint had the fastest flip-flopping in the series, btw. He went from going to beat up Peter/Suresh to teaming up with Peter to trash the lab to turning on Peter again in the end. In the same episode. Again, I'm not here to nitpick and criticize in this entry, just pointing things out.
This episode was too big to be contained to just one entry, I'm going to stop now and continue in a new entry to be released shortly or else my thoughts will be all over the place. We still have Hiro/Ando and a little bit of Claire to talk about.
Final episode of the year and of this current volume.
An end to one of the most up and down seasons for not only this series, but in probably all of tv-dom in recent memory. Has any series really had a season that combined some of it's lowest points with some memorable scenes? Any season in recent memory where one character has gone from bad, to good, back to evil again? Mind you, this was done over the course of only 13 episodes.
I'm going to go light on the criticism this time. I think by now everyone knows the cat is out of the bag, the show has writing and consistency problems and it isn't new or shocking to be the one to try to reveal "hey, this show isn't gold, it does have it's weak point". Besides, I'm not one to pull out a magnifying glass to look for anything to make fun of. No show is perfect. Let's review this last episode for what it was - the tv show equivalent of a basketball team that was down for most of the game hitting a key 3 pointer to tie the game up right as the buzzer sounded. Now we're at half-time, all tied up, all the mistakes and whatnot have been erased (but not forgotten) and you leave the crowd eager and excited for the 2nd half. That was episode 13. The preview for the upcoming volume couldn't have been any better. I literally said out loud "wow".
Can you not imagine the voiceover for the upcoming season:
"Heroes - they've saved the world....now they must...save...themselves. "
I look forward for a Heroes volume that doesn't involve the end of the world and/or mankind. There are some certainties that ruin the suspense of a show like Heroes. We know the world isn't going to end. There's no tension in that. Mankind is not going to be wiped out. A show like Heroes is like watching a Mission Impossible episode - you know the good guys are going to win, it's just a matter of how. We also like to see who is going to die (and stay dead). So for a season to be about Heroes being hunted like Jedi - who knows where that's going to go? This is unchartered territory. I like it.
Back to episode 13. We had some people die, to put it bluntly. Arthur we already knew was dead, but we weren't sure if he'd stay dead. It certainly seems that way, unless the writers want to completely remove any credibility and have the show become a parody of itself by constantly killing off characters and bringing them back. Arthur was odd - what was his ultimate vision? What was he ultimately trying to do? We only know he was a villain because he stopped at nothing to accomplish his goal, but that in and of itself doesn't a villain make. How exactly was he a threat to humanity, if anything he wanted to improve humanity by giving everyone a power. The writers didn't flesh that out too much. How was he anymore a villain than Angela, who was also manipulative. And the whole Arthur and Angela are Sylar's parents was handled so poorly, that was a pretty big revelation and the payoff was near nil.
Speaking of Sylar, it sure looks as if he's dead. Of course, this will be the 3rd time he's been down this road. This is the problem with not keeping characters dead - when you cry wolf so many times people tune you out that one time a wolf is actual at your door. Sylar "dying" just didn't hold that much weight. No one is convinced he's actually dead. It's not conceivable how he could be alive, but I think everyone won't bat an eyelash when the writers bring him back using some hokey nonsense excuse. But he certainly made a good villain in this last episode. I sort of wished he would have mindfucked everyone further, maybe had a major battle between 3 of the escaped convict villains at one time. His fight with the Puppet Master could've had more chutzpah.
That Fear Guy died out of nowhere. That's one guy I think we all agree will actually stay dead. I'm not convinced Arthur is completely out of the picture and certainly am not buying Sylar is dead, so that leaves one out of three. Classic sacrificial lamb scenario - someone has to die and stay definitely dead.
Funny thing happened at the end of the episode. Suresh got into a car being driven by Tracey. The only thought in my mind was "now that the two characters that annoy me the most are in the same car - couldn't the writers just have it blow up right now and kill two birds with one stone??". Further proof to back up my claim that NBC just wants to keep Ali Larter employed. I simply don't know what future hijinks they're going to put her in for the upcoming volume, and apparently she has a partner for whatever it's going to be. With Suresh's sly grin as he got into the car I'm going to assume he's going to play up his evil scientist role. And apparently the recipe for surviving exploding labs is to get covered in oodles of power-goo. Certainly seems like he's become just a tad more powerful.
Speaking of becoming just a tad more powerful, looks like Peter finally got his groove back. Only question remains is did he get his original power back - and was able to fly since he absorbed Nathan's ability - or did he just aquire the same weak flying ability as Nathan by coincidence. I'm going to bet he got his original power back, I'm sure the writers feel Milo V. suffered enough all season. Not cool enough to pull off being powerless like HRG can do. And was I the only one who put his head in his hands as Peter made a weak attempt to point the gun at Nathan trying to stop him? Did anyone think Peter was going to pull the trigger? I didn't think so. No tension at all there. Flint had the fastest flip-flopping in the series, btw. He went from going to beat up Peter/Suresh to teaming up with Peter to trash the lab to turning on Peter again in the end. In the same episode. Again, I'm not here to nitpick and criticize in this entry, just pointing things out.
This episode was too big to be contained to just one entry, I'm going to stop now and continue in a new entry to be released shortly or else my thoughts will be all over the place. We still have Hiro/Ando and a little bit of Claire to talk about.
December 9, 2008
Episode 12: "Our Father"
I have to say one thing about this latest episode - finally.
Finally the show delivered. Sure, I have some nitpicky items to complain about but overall it was a supremely done episode. If I was scoring at home I think there was about 5 minutes total of people using powers - the rest was all good dialogue and brisk pacing of the plot. Great scenes, the two that stick out mostly were present-day Claire pleading with HRG-from-the-past and Hiro's scene with his mother. Both Past-HRG and Hiro's mom took huge leaps of faith (Hiro's mom encounters a stranger who claims to be her son from the future and she believes him just like that), but with only one more episode for this volume to go we really didn't have a lot of time to nuture those storylines so it's understandable. Hey, I'm firm but fair.
I applaud the writers for throwing us the curveball of Hiro losing his powers and getting stuck in the past so soon after having his memory restored. No one saw that coming at all and this is what the series needs - unpredictability. It doesn't make sense that The Company had 2 healers in the group - Linderman and now Hiro's mom. Rather redundant, wouldn't you say? But that's for another debate. It was a gripping scene that went beyond people simply using powers. And again, the same applied to the Claire/HRG scene. This latest episode also showed us how Ando winds up getting that power that Future Ando displayed against Future Hiro. So obviously Ando goes to Pinehearst soon, attempts to get a time travelling power and winds up with that ability to shoot blasts of energy/fire/laser/whatever. Also after the Marine was injected with a power and got that super strength he seemed to exhibit some aggressiveness - possible side effect perhaps? Is that what causes Future Ando to turn on Hiro? Suresh surely became overly aggressive after injecting himself with his failed prototype serum. Kinda all would make sense.
Ok, you don't come here for rave reviews and for glowing praise, you want nitpicking. Here we go:
Sylar, pick a damn side! So what are you now - a villain again but you kill only bad guys (like Showtime's Dexter)? A rogue villain, so to speak? Don't get me wrong, Sylar stepping in and being the one to kill Arthur instead of the completely useless and inept Peter makes complete sense here, it's just what is his motive now? Kill the people on that phone list who have powers? So basically Sylar has come full circle, I see. So we've spent an entire season jumping through hoops just to come back to the same point - Sylar is a villain and hungers for other people's powers. Much of the early season plot regarding Sylar was made moot and irrevelent - his brief relationship with Elle (glad to see she's really dead, that's 2 dead people, zero people coming back to life for those scoring at home); the whole Sylar is a Petrelli farce; Sylar wanting to redeem himself and let's not forget the most important: Sylar not having to kill people to get their powers. What what the point of Arthur showing Sylar that he could use empathy to take other people's powers? And I want to add I'm really tired of the show inventing these temporary characters who have abilities to serve as a way for Sylar to get a power to complete a certain task. So the girl with the retarded human lie detector ability was created SOLELY for the purpose to serve as a sacrificial lamb to Sylar so he could ask Arthur one question. Quite a reach there, eh?
Tracey - completely useless. Her whole thing recently was to plot behind Nathan's back to manipulate him into joining his dad. Which he did.....ON HIS OWN. What did she accomplish! I am aggravated at this character. And was it just my tv or was Ali Larter wearing the most unnecessarily *bright* red dress you've ever scene? That dress' red was so loud my ears are still ringing. Talk about popping right off the screen. Anyway, she is utterly useless and has always been, whether her name is Niki, Jessica, Tracey or Hilda The One Eyed Sea Hag. She's part of the my triumverate of hated characters - Peter, Tracey and Suresh. Ugh.
I spent the entire scene where Peter was struggling to pull the trigger on his dad with my head in my hand, peeking out through my fingers. That is, I was completely annoyed and flabbergasted in the lunacy that is the Peter Petrelli character, but I didn't want to miss the scene. It's official - I hate Peter Petrelli. I'm also not liking how they put a limitation on the Haitian's ability. Listen - either he shuts off your powers or he doesn't. Yes, Arthur was immensely powerful (one power he apparently had was the nifty ability to always know where Hiro was), but if the Haitian shut off his powers then there shouldn't have been anything Arthur could do. The Haitian doesn't even need to be concentrating for his power to be used - in season 1 when Parkman followed HRG to Primatech he was spying on HRG and couldn't read HRG's mind, unbeknownst to him it was because the Haitian was somewhere in the vicinity, even though Parkman was hiding. So if the Haitian can affect your powers without even knowing you're there then one can only assume what happens when he has his full concentration on you. Writers - you created this universe on Heroes...stick to the rules you create. Don't change things as you see fit.
But yeah, this is just minor stuff. Great episode overall. Apparently the next episode is going to be chock full o' action, with it being the last episode of this year and volume. I saw the preview and Hiro has his samurai sword. Looks like you can take the power out of a man - but you can't take away his ABILITY TO REGULATE, SON.
Finally the show delivered. Sure, I have some nitpicky items to complain about but overall it was a supremely done episode. If I was scoring at home I think there was about 5 minutes total of people using powers - the rest was all good dialogue and brisk pacing of the plot. Great scenes, the two that stick out mostly were present-day Claire pleading with HRG-from-the-past and Hiro's scene with his mother. Both Past-HRG and Hiro's mom took huge leaps of faith (Hiro's mom encounters a stranger who claims to be her son from the future and she believes him just like that), but with only one more episode for this volume to go we really didn't have a lot of time to nuture those storylines so it's understandable. Hey, I'm firm but fair.
I applaud the writers for throwing us the curveball of Hiro losing his powers and getting stuck in the past so soon after having his memory restored. No one saw that coming at all and this is what the series needs - unpredictability. It doesn't make sense that The Company had 2 healers in the group - Linderman and now Hiro's mom. Rather redundant, wouldn't you say? But that's for another debate. It was a gripping scene that went beyond people simply using powers. And again, the same applied to the Claire/HRG scene. This latest episode also showed us how Ando winds up getting that power that Future Ando displayed against Future Hiro. So obviously Ando goes to Pinehearst soon, attempts to get a time travelling power and winds up with that ability to shoot blasts of energy/fire/laser/whatever. Also after the Marine was injected with a power and got that super strength he seemed to exhibit some aggressiveness - possible side effect perhaps? Is that what causes Future Ando to turn on Hiro? Suresh surely became overly aggressive after injecting himself with his failed prototype serum. Kinda all would make sense.
Ok, you don't come here for rave reviews and for glowing praise, you want nitpicking. Here we go:
Sylar, pick a damn side! So what are you now - a villain again but you kill only bad guys (like Showtime's Dexter)? A rogue villain, so to speak? Don't get me wrong, Sylar stepping in and being the one to kill Arthur instead of the completely useless and inept Peter makes complete sense here, it's just what is his motive now? Kill the people on that phone list who have powers? So basically Sylar has come full circle, I see. So we've spent an entire season jumping through hoops just to come back to the same point - Sylar is a villain and hungers for other people's powers. Much of the early season plot regarding Sylar was made moot and irrevelent - his brief relationship with Elle (glad to see she's really dead, that's 2 dead people, zero people coming back to life for those scoring at home); the whole Sylar is a Petrelli farce; Sylar wanting to redeem himself and let's not forget the most important: Sylar not having to kill people to get their powers. What what the point of Arthur showing Sylar that he could use empathy to take other people's powers? And I want to add I'm really tired of the show inventing these temporary characters who have abilities to serve as a way for Sylar to get a power to complete a certain task. So the girl with the retarded human lie detector ability was created SOLELY for the purpose to serve as a sacrificial lamb to Sylar so he could ask Arthur one question. Quite a reach there, eh?
Tracey - completely useless. Her whole thing recently was to plot behind Nathan's back to manipulate him into joining his dad. Which he did.....ON HIS OWN. What did she accomplish! I am aggravated at this character. And was it just my tv or was Ali Larter wearing the most unnecessarily *bright* red dress you've ever scene? That dress' red was so loud my ears are still ringing. Talk about popping right off the screen. Anyway, she is utterly useless and has always been, whether her name is Niki, Jessica, Tracey or Hilda The One Eyed Sea Hag. She's part of the my triumverate of hated characters - Peter, Tracey and Suresh. Ugh.
I spent the entire scene where Peter was struggling to pull the trigger on his dad with my head in my hand, peeking out through my fingers. That is, I was completely annoyed and flabbergasted in the lunacy that is the Peter Petrelli character, but I didn't want to miss the scene. It's official - I hate Peter Petrelli. I'm also not liking how they put a limitation on the Haitian's ability. Listen - either he shuts off your powers or he doesn't. Yes, Arthur was immensely powerful (one power he apparently had was the nifty ability to always know where Hiro was), but if the Haitian shut off his powers then there shouldn't have been anything Arthur could do. The Haitian doesn't even need to be concentrating for his power to be used - in season 1 when Parkman followed HRG to Primatech he was spying on HRG and couldn't read HRG's mind, unbeknownst to him it was because the Haitian was somewhere in the vicinity, even though Parkman was hiding. So if the Haitian can affect your powers without even knowing you're there then one can only assume what happens when he has his full concentration on you. Writers - you created this universe on Heroes...stick to the rules you create. Don't change things as you see fit.
But yeah, this is just minor stuff. Great episode overall. Apparently the next episode is going to be chock full o' action, with it being the last episode of this year and volume. I saw the preview and Hiro has his samurai sword. Looks like you can take the power out of a man - but you can't take away his ABILITY TO REGULATE, SON.
December 4, 2008
Episode 10 - Eclipse, Part Two (Part 1)
Do it.
Just do it already.
This is what I said to the tv - to HRG specifically - as he held a boxcutter to Sylar's throat. Do it - just kill Sylar. Telling the writers to finally grow a scrotum and revolutionize this series with a jawdropping turn of events. And yes, HRG did kill Sylar. For a short while it seemed this show was throwing out all conventional wisdom and doing something out of left field. But alas, the writers lacked the balls to stick to their guns and as the eclipse faded away and Sylar reemereged, it was all back to the same old, same old. Old friends coming and going, and coming back again. The Heroes way of doing things. Imagine all the internet buzz had Sylar was really killed off? All the positive chatter and hype and hoopla returning to this series that hasn't seen positive chatter, hype and hoopla since season 1. Don't get me wrong - Sylar is my favorite character on the show. Absolutely love him. But I love the show more than I love Sylar and killing him off would've pumped new blood and electricity into this series that's in rapid viewership decline. Let's face it, by all standards Heroes is still a hit series but a show can only bleed viewers for so long until it gets the axe. It won't happen this season, nor next. But suddenly a world without Heroes isn't so hard to imagine these days. Sure looks like Elle is done for, but that's not really shocking all that much and if she really has died (and at this point you can't assume people are dead for long anymore) it was a cheap consolation. The show needed Sylar to be dead. They indeed pulled the trigger and shot him, but once more the gun was loaded with blanks.
Ok, with that out of the way let's continue.
HRG, welcome back. I can hardly think of a better episode you've been in than this past episode. Manipulating people. Hunting suckers down. Killing. All in a day's work for a badass. I also want to thank him for finally laying down to rest the whole "Sylar is a Petrelli" farce. I've already pointed out why that didn't make any sense. Seemed kinda anti-climatic to reveal it that way, though, I was expecting Arthur to doublecross Sylar at an opportune time and with Arthur stating the truth, almost like a reverse Empire Strikes Back moment ("Luke, I am *not* your father"). One thing that is growing increasingly annoying is the fact that Sylar - tv's best villain - is so easy to manipulate. Evil Sylar becomes Good Gabriel because Angela Petrelli tells him she's his mother. Now because a person thisclose to dying reveals to him that he isn't a Petrelli and all of a sudden Sylar is a villain again? Really? Just like that? I understand a season can't go on forever, so unlike a novel the writers don't have an awful lot of time to gradually build things up, but this is lunacy. Sylar has gone from villain to a good guy looking to redeem himself to back to a villain in - get this - half of a season. We're still in the same volume that started back in September. Just 10 episodes in. How can you have a character flipflop like that, willy nilly? I shake my head in disappointment, writers, tisk tisk.
*sigh*
Anyway, one other thing this episode brought was possibly the best Hiro moment thus far. The whole Hiro arriving just in time to save HRG from Sylar by teleporting "Bad man" out of the house - awesome. That's one thing I didn't see coming and it's nice to be surprised. I don't know why Hiro brought Elle to the same place Sylar was, but we'll chalk that up to the mistake of a 10 year old mind. Also, I'm glad we've reached the end of the line with the 9th Wonders comic book (save for Isaac Mendez's unpublished final copy that apparently is going to come into play very soon). The show has several tools, or tricks, in their arsenal they've utilized one too many times - people dying then coming back to life through miracle blood; time travellers altering past/present/future; trotting out HRG at opportune times as the answer to a particular problem, etc - but one recurring trick has been the use of the 9th Wonders comic books as a way to move the story along. Characters in a bind had this apparent book of knowledge that would reveal the future and help explain what their next move should be. It's nice that the writers have answered a question that was growing in internet message board - how many comic books did Isaac Mendez write that a character killed off in season 1 can still be affecting events 2 seasons later by way of his comic books??. The answer is he wrote 2 seasons worth of comic books and now the well has run dry at last (finally!). You mean people will have to figure out things by themselves ? Yes! I'm happy the writers decided to do away with that crutch. The problem with a show about heroes is it gives the writers all these fictional avenues to help write themselves out of jams when they reach a dead end.
Time to see what other tricks the writers have up their sleeves. And if one of those tricks involve a person with the ability to cause eclipses, thereby flicking a switch and turning people's powers on and off - then I will simply end this blog and watch something educational.
Just do it already.
This is what I said to the tv - to HRG specifically - as he held a boxcutter to Sylar's throat. Do it - just kill Sylar. Telling the writers to finally grow a scrotum and revolutionize this series with a jawdropping turn of events. And yes, HRG did kill Sylar. For a short while it seemed this show was throwing out all conventional wisdom and doing something out of left field. But alas, the writers lacked the balls to stick to their guns and as the eclipse faded away and Sylar reemereged, it was all back to the same old, same old. Old friends coming and going, and coming back again. The Heroes way of doing things. Imagine all the internet buzz had Sylar was really killed off? All the positive chatter and hype and hoopla returning to this series that hasn't seen positive chatter, hype and hoopla since season 1. Don't get me wrong - Sylar is my favorite character on the show. Absolutely love him. But I love the show more than I love Sylar and killing him off would've pumped new blood and electricity into this series that's in rapid viewership decline. Let's face it, by all standards Heroes is still a hit series but a show can only bleed viewers for so long until it gets the axe. It won't happen this season, nor next. But suddenly a world without Heroes isn't so hard to imagine these days. Sure looks like Elle is done for, but that's not really shocking all that much and if she really has died (and at this point you can't assume people are dead for long anymore) it was a cheap consolation. The show needed Sylar to be dead. They indeed pulled the trigger and shot him, but once more the gun was loaded with blanks.
Ok, with that out of the way let's continue.
HRG, welcome back. I can hardly think of a better episode you've been in than this past episode. Manipulating people. Hunting suckers down. Killing. All in a day's work for a badass. I also want to thank him for finally laying down to rest the whole "Sylar is a Petrelli" farce. I've already pointed out why that didn't make any sense. Seemed kinda anti-climatic to reveal it that way, though, I was expecting Arthur to doublecross Sylar at an opportune time and with Arthur stating the truth, almost like a reverse Empire Strikes Back moment ("Luke, I am *not* your father"). One thing that is growing increasingly annoying is the fact that Sylar - tv's best villain - is so easy to manipulate. Evil Sylar becomes Good Gabriel because Angela Petrelli tells him she's his mother. Now because a person thisclose to dying reveals to him that he isn't a Petrelli and all of a sudden Sylar is a villain again? Really? Just like that? I understand a season can't go on forever, so unlike a novel the writers don't have an awful lot of time to gradually build things up, but this is lunacy. Sylar has gone from villain to a good guy looking to redeem himself to back to a villain in - get this - half of a season. We're still in the same volume that started back in September. Just 10 episodes in. How can you have a character flipflop like that, willy nilly? I shake my head in disappointment, writers, tisk tisk.
*sigh*
Anyway, one other thing this episode brought was possibly the best Hiro moment thus far. The whole Hiro arriving just in time to save HRG from Sylar by teleporting "Bad man" out of the house - awesome. That's one thing I didn't see coming and it's nice to be surprised. I don't know why Hiro brought Elle to the same place Sylar was, but we'll chalk that up to the mistake of a 10 year old mind. Also, I'm glad we've reached the end of the line with the 9th Wonders comic book (save for Isaac Mendez's unpublished final copy that apparently is going to come into play very soon). The show has several tools, or tricks, in their arsenal they've utilized one too many times - people dying then coming back to life through miracle blood; time travellers altering past/present/future; trotting out HRG at opportune times as the answer to a particular problem, etc - but one recurring trick has been the use of the 9th Wonders comic books as a way to move the story along. Characters in a bind had this apparent book of knowledge that would reveal the future and help explain what their next move should be. It's nice that the writers have answered a question that was growing in internet message board - how many comic books did Isaac Mendez write that a character killed off in season 1 can still be affecting events 2 seasons later by way of his comic books??. The answer is he wrote 2 seasons worth of comic books and now the well has run dry at last (finally!). You mean people will have to figure out things by themselves ? Yes! I'm happy the writers decided to do away with that crutch. The problem with a show about heroes is it gives the writers all these fictional avenues to help write themselves out of jams when they reach a dead end.
Time to see what other tricks the writers have up their sleeves. And if one of those tricks involve a person with the ability to cause eclipses, thereby flicking a switch and turning people's powers on and off - then I will simply end this blog and watch something educational.
November 24, 2008
Crystal Ball
Before episode 9 is aired tonight I thought it'd be nice to take a look at some of my theories/predictions to see how they've panned out. Note - I routinely edit past posts to clear up typographical errors or to clarify a sentence that was poorly worded - but I don't touch predictions. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, if I'm right I don't win any prizes anyway. But it's always fun to take a look at the past and review how correct you were in your theories or how off-base you turned out to be.
1. "If I had to wager some poker chips I'm going to say something interupts Papa Petrelli from fully taking Hiro's power. First bet is Ando does something."
Ando did indeed interrupt Arthur's stealing of Hiro's power. Some conversation with a reader of the blog drew into question as to what exactly was going on with Arthur and Hiro in that scene. Past scenes where Arthur has put his hands on someone shown he was stealing their power. I was correct that Hiro wouldn't lose his power due to someone knocking Arthur off him, but since Hiro now has the mind of a 10 year old it's questionable as to what Arthur was doing to him. Arthur doesn't need to touch you to put thoughts in your mind. Common internet chatter suggests Arthur didn't need Hiro's power since he already has it thanks to Peter Petrelli, so Arthur just wanted to erase Hiro's mind. The writer's did a poor job of explaining what was going on. Obviously Arthur has some other power he aquired that allows him to steal abilities, it hasn't been revealed yet how he got that ability - his main power is mind manipulation. Considering he was the defense attorney for Linderman that actually was a *very* useful ability to have in a courtroom. But anyway, this was a correct prediction on my part.
2. "If I had to bet on this I would say [Daphne's] playing Pinehurst, afterall if she was truly going to doublecross Parkman he could've read her mind."
Daphne turned out to doublecross Pinehurst afterall. I still like how the writer's cast just enough doubt in that one scene. Again, as I pointed out, the future in which Daphne dies while trying to capture Sylar/Peter doesn't seem likely to pan out because there's been several Butterfly Effect instances in our present timeline, so it's not like we have to follow that path anymore. But when you think about it, that future is starting to come into fruition more and more. We have Sylar quicking morphing into the Gabriel the peace-loving father. Certainly seems Parkman and Daphne are gonna be an item. That future isn't entirely out of the question.
3. "Also - why did [Adam] whither into dust when Papa Petrelli took his power - but Peter didn't?"
Duh, genious, isn't it obvious! I should've known, as found out in various Heroes message board discussions, that Adam's power was what was keeping him alive all those centuries. Without that power he would've turned into dust a loooong time ago. Peter, while naive and gullible, is still a healthy under-30 year old, powers or no powers.
It remains to be seen how Peter/Nathan don't remember having Sylar as a brother and if the Haitian erased anyone's memories, but I'm sure we'll find out soon cuz sweeps are coming up.
Before I end this I want to put this next theory of mine out there:
Peter's scar that Future Peter has on his face is going to be related to Peter fighting his dad. Think about it - he had Claire's regeneration ability, so the only way that Peter could get scarred facially is if he didn't have that power. It just so happens he's in that very predicament right now, so look for the battle that brings about that wicked scar to happen sometime soon. If I were to be so bold and look for bonus points, I'm going to say when Arthur dies in this future battle is when Peter gets his abilities back. But I'm not feeling adventerous today, it's a Monday afterall.
1. "If I had to wager some poker chips I'm going to say something interupts Papa Petrelli from fully taking Hiro's power. First bet is Ando does something."
Ando did indeed interrupt Arthur's stealing of Hiro's power. Some conversation with a reader of the blog drew into question as to what exactly was going on with Arthur and Hiro in that scene. Past scenes where Arthur has put his hands on someone shown he was stealing their power. I was correct that Hiro wouldn't lose his power due to someone knocking Arthur off him, but since Hiro now has the mind of a 10 year old it's questionable as to what Arthur was doing to him. Arthur doesn't need to touch you to put thoughts in your mind. Common internet chatter suggests Arthur didn't need Hiro's power since he already has it thanks to Peter Petrelli, so Arthur just wanted to erase Hiro's mind. The writer's did a poor job of explaining what was going on. Obviously Arthur has some other power he aquired that allows him to steal abilities, it hasn't been revealed yet how he got that ability - his main power is mind manipulation. Considering he was the defense attorney for Linderman that actually was a *very* useful ability to have in a courtroom. But anyway, this was a correct prediction on my part.
2. "If I had to bet on this I would say [Daphne's] playing Pinehurst, afterall if she was truly going to doublecross Parkman he could've read her mind."
Daphne turned out to doublecross Pinehurst afterall. I still like how the writer's cast just enough doubt in that one scene. Again, as I pointed out, the future in which Daphne dies while trying to capture Sylar/Peter doesn't seem likely to pan out because there's been several Butterfly Effect instances in our present timeline, so it's not like we have to follow that path anymore. But when you think about it, that future is starting to come into fruition more and more. We have Sylar quicking morphing into the Gabriel the peace-loving father. Certainly seems Parkman and Daphne are gonna be an item. That future isn't entirely out of the question.
3. "Also - why did [Adam] whither into dust when Papa Petrelli took his power - but Peter didn't?"
Duh, genious, isn't it obvious! I should've known, as found out in various Heroes message board discussions, that Adam's power was what was keeping him alive all those centuries. Without that power he would've turned into dust a loooong time ago. Peter, while naive and gullible, is still a healthy under-30 year old, powers or no powers.
It remains to be seen how Peter/Nathan don't remember having Sylar as a brother and if the Haitian erased anyone's memories, but I'm sure we'll find out soon cuz sweeps are coming up.
Before I end this I want to put this next theory of mine out there:
Peter's scar that Future Peter has on his face is going to be related to Peter fighting his dad. Think about it - he had Claire's regeneration ability, so the only way that Peter could get scarred facially is if he didn't have that power. It just so happens he's in that very predicament right now, so look for the battle that brings about that wicked scar to happen sometime soon. If I were to be so bold and look for bonus points, I'm going to say when Arthur dies in this future battle is when Peter gets his abilities back. But I'm not feeling adventerous today, it's a Monday afterall.
November 19, 2008
Episode 9 - "It's Coming"
I got the feeling of being a hamster in a wheel while watching this episode. You know, you're a hamster, you're running, you're thinking this is the greatest thing ever and you're really going places - but actually not much is happening. That was episode 9.
Let's look at the major developments that happened (trust me, it borders on "more of the same" and "not much"):
1. Ok, Sylar doesn't have to kill anymore to get people's powers. The only way the writer's could have hammered home the fact that "Sylar is not a monster anymore" is if they personally emailed all the viewers of the show. I'll give this to you - this is somewhat big. What the show gains in a real powerful hero that everyone can root for, performed by a really talented actor, the show loses in one of the best television villains of our generation. The gods giveth, and they taketh away. I personally have liked Gabriel more than Sylar so I have no probs with this development.
2. The two sides have been chosen. Good vs. Evil. Ma Petrelli vs. Arthur (Papa Petrelli). Son vs. Father. We all know wherever this is leading the good side (Ma Petrelli side) is going to prevail, but on paper the Arthur side should wipe their dirty assholes on the Ma Petrelli side. Look who's on the Arthur side - Arthur himself. Apparently Sylar (so far). As they say: "'nuff said". You got Elle. You got your Flint and Fear Guy. Tracey. Let's take a look at who's in Ma's posse: a person who can see into the future (Ma); a powerless Peter Petrelli. A teenager who can feel no pain and regenerate herself when she inevitably gets dominated. Someone who can fly. A powerful hero who thinks he's 10 years old. Ok, Parkman and the speedy Daphne obviously have some good offensive powers. The only thing that saves the Ma Petrelli side is the inevitable defection of Sylar (and his new friggin caliente piece of ass - Elle) to their side. That's it. Unless the writers can create a hero who is the opposite of Arthur/the Haitian and has the power to restore people's abilities, thereby swinging the advantage considerably to the Ma Petrelli side (Peter with his powers back+Sylar=win).
Let's switch gears quickly and point out what was wrong:
3. Hiro didn't lose his powers. Unfortunately he now thinks he's 10. This is poor writing only in the sense of what the hell did Papa Petrelli do, or more importantly "how did he do it"? What does making someone think they're 10 years old have to do with the power to take people's powers away? Obviously Ando interrupting the power stealing of Arthur affected the outcome, but you would think the end result would be Hiro having only limited powers since the power stealing started but was never completed. If you illegally download music files (what, like you don't?) and the transfer gets interrupted - yeah, you can't play the music file but if you look in your hard drive somewhere you'll find the music file (albeit an unplayable music file). You don't find a Word doc or something completely unrelated. I pride myself on being able to see all the angles but I'm helpless against poorly thought out writing. Also poorly thought out was Ando being able to activate Hiro's power for him while in Africa with Arthur coming after them by closing Hiro's eyes, but in the bowling alley Hiro showed he had to *really* concentrate to get his power to work. But that's the little things, and we try not to break out the angry townfolk with their pitchforks and torches for the little things. I just want the writers to know I'm watching and they need to sharpen up a little bit.
4. Tracey (Ali Larter) has an evil agenda. This is a very natural and logical plot development. I mean, it was only 2 or 3 episodes ago that she was ready to kill herself, now she's running on all pistons and is looking to get in on the ground floor of an evil plot by manipulating the very person who saved her life. Very logical. Nevermind the fact that the person who saved her life flat out stated he doesn't trust his father, no, it's better to assume you know the score and can start brokering deals. This show tries very hard to keep Ali Larter relevant and employed. They were grasping at straws the 1st two seasons with those awful DL/Micah storylines that had minimal (and I'm being polite here) impact on the overall plot. Now they "resurrect" Nikki/Jessica by renaming the character "Tracey" and hatching up some hooey about her getting her powers in a science lab. Oh yeah, remember that? That's the supposedly huge plot development from a few weeks ago where it was revealed she wasn't born with powers, rather Tracey and her sisters were tested on and injected with powers. She hunts down the doctor that did it, kills him, finds out the truth and....Yeah, that's all that happened. This was supposed to be a great (or at least interesting) turn of events. You mean not everyone on the show was born with abilities? You mean there could be others who were tested on? I'm sure the writers will go back to that before season's end but I just don't agree with this sudden getting off track. Finding out more info on the whole "creating powers in a lab and injecting them into babies" was supposed to be Tracey's story arc this season. Now she's done with that and is moving on to evil plots to take over the world. Naturally.
5. Claire, its ok for you to refer to Ma Petrelli and Arthur as "Grandma" and "Grandpa". They're the parents of your biological father, making them, yes, you're correct - your grandparents. Btw, as soon as Arthur was told the catalyst was "someone" and not "something", who really didn't know the catalyst was going to be Claire? We all saw that coming a mile away as soon as that catalyst info was revealed. If you're scoring at home, this episode marks the 1,000th time that Claire has decided to stand up to/fight villains only to be (quickly) beat. This is bordering on lunacy. She is so inept as a hero that a powerless Peter was able to stop Flint/Fear Guy. And listen writers - we know Milo V. and Hayden P. are a couple in real life, please don't dilute the show with unnecessary air-time with them in scenes together.
6. One last flub (or maybe I'm reading too much into this). Arthur mentioned to Sylar essentially "you were always the strongest of my sons". Really? After Sylar mentioned in the same episode his mother - the one he killed, not Ma Petrelli - messed him up for always making him think he had to be special when he was a kid. So how is this possible? Something's off with the timeline here. Did Arthur mean when Sylar was an infant he showed himself to be the strongest (a time that maybe Sylar can't remember)? How could Sylar have been raised by both his fake mom and have a long lost dad that he not only doesn't remember, but a long lost dad that apparently was around him enough to be able to ascertain that Sylar was the strongest? We know Nathan is older than Peter. It doesn't seem likely he's younger than Sylar, which would mean Nathan *should* remember Sylar. Why hasn't this been discussed more? Why hasn't Peter asked Nathan or his mom yet about this? I will give you the answer to the mystery - I can see this coming over the horizon. And, yes, you heard it here first because I can add 2 + 2. The Haitian erased Sylar's memory.
Bam.
I just said it. Watch, by the end of the season we're going to see a flashback like in episode 8 with the Haitian erasing Sylar's mind, and the mind's of Peter and Nathan to make them forget having known Sylar.
This makes so much sense I have nothing more to say about episode 9. I'm going to rest my feet up and declare today a win for me.
Let's look at the major developments that happened (trust me, it borders on "more of the same" and "not much"):
1. Ok, Sylar doesn't have to kill anymore to get people's powers. The only way the writer's could have hammered home the fact that "Sylar is not a monster anymore" is if they personally emailed all the viewers of the show. I'll give this to you - this is somewhat big. What the show gains in a real powerful hero that everyone can root for, performed by a really talented actor, the show loses in one of the best television villains of our generation. The gods giveth, and they taketh away. I personally have liked Gabriel more than Sylar so I have no probs with this development.
2. The two sides have been chosen. Good vs. Evil. Ma Petrelli vs. Arthur (Papa Petrelli). Son vs. Father. We all know wherever this is leading the good side (Ma Petrelli side) is going to prevail, but on paper the Arthur side should wipe their dirty assholes on the Ma Petrelli side. Look who's on the Arthur side - Arthur himself. Apparently Sylar (so far). As they say: "'nuff said". You got Elle. You got your Flint and Fear Guy. Tracey. Let's take a look at who's in Ma's posse: a person who can see into the future (Ma); a powerless Peter Petrelli. A teenager who can feel no pain and regenerate herself when she inevitably gets dominated. Someone who can fly. A powerful hero who thinks he's 10 years old. Ok, Parkman and the speedy Daphne obviously have some good offensive powers. The only thing that saves the Ma Petrelli side is the inevitable defection of Sylar (and his new friggin caliente piece of ass - Elle) to their side. That's it. Unless the writers can create a hero who is the opposite of Arthur/the Haitian and has the power to restore people's abilities, thereby swinging the advantage considerably to the Ma Petrelli side (Peter with his powers back+Sylar=win).
Let's switch gears quickly and point out what was wrong:
3. Hiro didn't lose his powers. Unfortunately he now thinks he's 10. This is poor writing only in the sense of what the hell did Papa Petrelli do, or more importantly "how did he do it"? What does making someone think they're 10 years old have to do with the power to take people's powers away? Obviously Ando interrupting the power stealing of Arthur affected the outcome, but you would think the end result would be Hiro having only limited powers since the power stealing started but was never completed. If you illegally download music files (what, like you don't?) and the transfer gets interrupted - yeah, you can't play the music file but if you look in your hard drive somewhere you'll find the music file (albeit an unplayable music file). You don't find a Word doc or something completely unrelated. I pride myself on being able to see all the angles but I'm helpless against poorly thought out writing. Also poorly thought out was Ando being able to activate Hiro's power for him while in Africa with Arthur coming after them by closing Hiro's eyes, but in the bowling alley Hiro showed he had to *really* concentrate to get his power to work. But that's the little things, and we try not to break out the angry townfolk with their pitchforks and torches for the little things. I just want the writers to know I'm watching and they need to sharpen up a little bit.
4. Tracey (Ali Larter) has an evil agenda. This is a very natural and logical plot development. I mean, it was only 2 or 3 episodes ago that she was ready to kill herself, now she's running on all pistons and is looking to get in on the ground floor of an evil plot by manipulating the very person who saved her life. Very logical. Nevermind the fact that the person who saved her life flat out stated he doesn't trust his father, no, it's better to assume you know the score and can start brokering deals. This show tries very hard to keep Ali Larter relevant and employed. They were grasping at straws the 1st two seasons with those awful DL/Micah storylines that had minimal (and I'm being polite here) impact on the overall plot. Now they "resurrect" Nikki/Jessica by renaming the character "Tracey" and hatching up some hooey about her getting her powers in a science lab. Oh yeah, remember that? That's the supposedly huge plot development from a few weeks ago where it was revealed she wasn't born with powers, rather Tracey and her sisters were tested on and injected with powers. She hunts down the doctor that did it, kills him, finds out the truth and....Yeah, that's all that happened. This was supposed to be a great (or at least interesting) turn of events. You mean not everyone on the show was born with abilities? You mean there could be others who were tested on? I'm sure the writers will go back to that before season's end but I just don't agree with this sudden getting off track. Finding out more info on the whole "creating powers in a lab and injecting them into babies" was supposed to be Tracey's story arc this season. Now she's done with that and is moving on to evil plots to take over the world. Naturally.
5. Claire, its ok for you to refer to Ma Petrelli and Arthur as "Grandma" and "Grandpa". They're the parents of your biological father, making them, yes, you're correct - your grandparents. Btw, as soon as Arthur was told the catalyst was "someone" and not "something", who really didn't know the catalyst was going to be Claire? We all saw that coming a mile away as soon as that catalyst info was revealed. If you're scoring at home, this episode marks the 1,000th time that Claire has decided to stand up to/fight villains only to be (quickly) beat. This is bordering on lunacy. She is so inept as a hero that a powerless Peter was able to stop Flint/Fear Guy. And listen writers - we know Milo V. and Hayden P. are a couple in real life, please don't dilute the show with unnecessary air-time with them in scenes together.
6. One last flub (or maybe I'm reading too much into this). Arthur mentioned to Sylar essentially "you were always the strongest of my sons". Really? After Sylar mentioned in the same episode his mother - the one he killed, not Ma Petrelli - messed him up for always making him think he had to be special when he was a kid. So how is this possible? Something's off with the timeline here. Did Arthur mean when Sylar was an infant he showed himself to be the strongest (a time that maybe Sylar can't remember)? How could Sylar have been raised by both his fake mom and have a long lost dad that he not only doesn't remember, but a long lost dad that apparently was around him enough to be able to ascertain that Sylar was the strongest? We know Nathan is older than Peter. It doesn't seem likely he's younger than Sylar, which would mean Nathan *should* remember Sylar. Why hasn't this been discussed more? Why hasn't Peter asked Nathan or his mom yet about this? I will give you the answer to the mystery - I can see this coming over the horizon. And, yes, you heard it here first because I can add 2 + 2. The Haitian erased Sylar's memory.
Bam.
I just said it. Watch, by the end of the season we're going to see a flashback like in episode 8 with the Haitian erasing Sylar's mind, and the mind's of Peter and Nathan to make them forget having known Sylar.
This makes so much sense I have nothing more to say about episode 9. I'm going to rest my feet up and declare today a win for me.
November 13, 2008
Episode 8 - "Villains"
Ok, now it seems things are back to normal.
There's been a shakeup with the writing staff, but I'm pretty sure this episode isn't part of the new regime. Episode 8 revealed what the backbone of this show is - the people who can actually act. It featured the people on the show with actual talent. We had Nathan. We had Papa Petrelli. Zach Quinto. Malcolm McDowell (Linderman). Ma Petrelli at her finest moment to date. I'm interested and I want more. What it didn't have was the constantly brooding, one-dimensional Milo V. or the two-man comic act known as "Hiro and Ando". Don't get me wrong, I love my Hiro (who doesn't), but this show was quickly morphing into the Peter & Hiro Show. Also getting minimal screentime was Suresh, I think the writers have been reading my blog.
The only bad note about this latest episode is how the writer's seem to want to have everything fit together in a nice gift-wrapped box. It wasn't enough to have Flint (the blue flame power guy) on the show - now he has to be related to one of the central characters as well (apparently he's Claire's uncle). Necessary? Not at all. Also, this episode revealed that Sylar and Elle have a previous history together (Elle as HRG's partner trying to manipulate a mentally fragile Gabriel into resuming his hero-killing). I have to go back and rewatch the episode where the Villains escape Level 5. They escaped because Sylar was trying to take Elle's power and she short circuited the entire complex. Did Sylar give any indication that he knew Elle? Did he acknowledge her in anyway that would suggest he knew her from a previous time? Based off of memory I'm thinking no, at least I would've recalled such an exchange between the two former lovebirds. If this is the case - that's really bad, writers. You should be ashamed of yourselves. I think we all know where this is going anyway - Elle is going to be the one he impregnates and that's the mother of Future Sylar's son. They'll probably keep her around long enough to give birth to Sylar's son. It doesn't seem the show has long term plans for Kristen Bell because she's still listed as "guest starring" on the show, as in she's not considered a main character.
So, apparently Hiro loses his powers. I don't know where I stand on this. On one hand it just goes to show just how badass Papa Petrelli is. On the other hand that would leave Sylar as the only person strong enough to take him down. On the other hand (if you were a three armed person) next week's episode throws in the wild card of another eclipse happening which will be a mystery as to how that plays a role on everyone's powers. Nevermind that another lunar eclipse so soon after season 1's eclipse is scientifically impossible. The things that the show doesn't show you are as important as the things that are shown. We didn't see Hiro lose his powers. We saw him in the process of losing his powers. If I had to wager some poker chips I'm going to say something interupts Papa Petrelli from fully taking Hiro's power. First bet is Ando does something. Second bet is the Speedster saving Hiro. Of course this is all contingent on Hiro not losing his powers. One thing that certainly makes no sense is how the African Future Seeing Guy could predict Hiro sneaking up on him several times (which he thwarted by knocking Hiro out with a shovel) but he didn't see in any of his visions of the future...oh...someone cutting his fucking head off! I also would like to know (and this is going back several episodes) how African Future Seeing Guy had a copy of "9th Wonders" - Isaac Mendez's comic book - in his hut. I guess it's another example of the writers trying to get too cute in showing how everyone in the show is somehow connected.
Anyway, enough of my nitpicking. The show delivered and seems headed back in the right direction. I just hope that direction involves more of the actors who have actual acting skill and less of Peter Petrelli/Claire/Suresh.
There's been a shakeup with the writing staff, but I'm pretty sure this episode isn't part of the new regime. Episode 8 revealed what the backbone of this show is - the people who can actually act. It featured the people on the show with actual talent. We had Nathan. We had Papa Petrelli. Zach Quinto. Malcolm McDowell (Linderman). Ma Petrelli at her finest moment to date. I'm interested and I want more. What it didn't have was the constantly brooding, one-dimensional Milo V. or the two-man comic act known as "Hiro and Ando". Don't get me wrong, I love my Hiro (who doesn't), but this show was quickly morphing into the Peter & Hiro Show. Also getting minimal screentime was Suresh, I think the writers have been reading my blog.
The only bad note about this latest episode is how the writer's seem to want to have everything fit together in a nice gift-wrapped box. It wasn't enough to have Flint (the blue flame power guy) on the show - now he has to be related to one of the central characters as well (apparently he's Claire's uncle). Necessary? Not at all. Also, this episode revealed that Sylar and Elle have a previous history together (Elle as HRG's partner trying to manipulate a mentally fragile Gabriel into resuming his hero-killing). I have to go back and rewatch the episode where the Villains escape Level 5. They escaped because Sylar was trying to take Elle's power and she short circuited the entire complex. Did Sylar give any indication that he knew Elle? Did he acknowledge her in anyway that would suggest he knew her from a previous time? Based off of memory I'm thinking no, at least I would've recalled such an exchange between the two former lovebirds. If this is the case - that's really bad, writers. You should be ashamed of yourselves. I think we all know where this is going anyway - Elle is going to be the one he impregnates and that's the mother of Future Sylar's son. They'll probably keep her around long enough to give birth to Sylar's son. It doesn't seem the show has long term plans for Kristen Bell because she's still listed as "guest starring" on the show, as in she's not considered a main character.
So, apparently Hiro loses his powers. I don't know where I stand on this. On one hand it just goes to show just how badass Papa Petrelli is. On the other hand that would leave Sylar as the only person strong enough to take him down. On the other hand (if you were a three armed person) next week's episode throws in the wild card of another eclipse happening which will be a mystery as to how that plays a role on everyone's powers. Nevermind that another lunar eclipse so soon after season 1's eclipse is scientifically impossible. The things that the show doesn't show you are as important as the things that are shown. We didn't see Hiro lose his powers. We saw him in the process of losing his powers. If I had to wager some poker chips I'm going to say something interupts Papa Petrelli from fully taking Hiro's power. First bet is Ando does something. Second bet is the Speedster saving Hiro. Of course this is all contingent on Hiro not losing his powers. One thing that certainly makes no sense is how the African Future Seeing Guy could predict Hiro sneaking up on him several times (which he thwarted by knocking Hiro out with a shovel) but he didn't see in any of his visions of the future...oh...someone cutting his fucking head off! I also would like to know (and this is going back several episodes) how African Future Seeing Guy had a copy of "9th Wonders" - Isaac Mendez's comic book - in his hut. I guess it's another example of the writers trying to get too cute in showing how everyone in the show is somehow connected.
Anyway, enough of my nitpicking. The show delivered and seems headed back in the right direction. I just hope that direction involves more of the actors who have actual acting skill and less of Peter Petrelli/Claire/Suresh.
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