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).
Showing posts with label Nathan Petrelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nathan Petrelli. Show all posts
April 21, 2009
November 25, 2008
Episode 10: "The Eclipse, Part 1"
My, the little kitten's got claws.
Peter Petrelli really gave it to Nathan in this episode. I'll admit I figured Milo V. had the acting ability of Natalie Portman in "Star Wars: A Phantom Menace", but that heated exchange between the Petrelli brothers in the jungle was just what Peter needed to get right back into this. When Peter proclaimed Nathan had been "a puppet your whole life, doing whatever Dad wanted you to do", you gotta admit Milo said that with some chutzpah. I approve. You get the sense that when Peter mentioned Nathan did whatever their Dad had wanted that Arthur did some mind manipulation on his own son to get him to follow the same path. Nathan alluded to the same thing in the previous episode when he encountered his dad and said (to paraphrase) "my whole life I've done whatever you wanted me to do...I went to law school. I married the girl you approved. I ran for office". Hey, anything can be said once, but when it's alluded to twice then there's gotta be more to it there. That's why I'm here, to get you to read between the lines.
Before I continue, I really just want to kick myself for not putting my initial suspicions about Daphne out there. I just knew it deep inside she used to be a cripple. The writers practically begged us to read the writing on the wall. But...I didn't say it so I don't get credit for it. I saw some silly internet Heroes website had a theory that Daphne used to be a turtle, I saw some poetic justice there but c'mon, I understand this is a live-action comic book show but let's operate with some semblence of logic here. You won't find any of those zany theories here, just so you know.
Ok, we got a nice serving of HRG. The greatest thing about him in this episode was how they showed you that with all things being equal (ie, no one having powers) HRG truly is a straight up badass. At least we know why the Primatech motto is "One of Us, One of Them", cuz when One of Them loses their powers you need someone who knows how to kick ass with his bare fucking hands. This blog must really be read by the writers, cuz HRG said to Claire the same things I've been saying: "You don't have any ability to fight bad guys". I still don't see how being able to swing a stick is going to help her in a fight with, say, Flint, but at least HRG echoed my sentiment. He could've helped her more by teaching her how to handle a gun. And before I continue, just how exactly did Elle know that Claire would be at the Vortex Guy's house? That is just zany and lazy on the part of the writers. Pure laziness.
Writer A: Ok, we got a doozy here. How are we gonna get Elle and Sylar to capture Claire? How would they know where to find her?
Writer B: That's easy...since Elle has met Claire about 4 times total and with only one of those times on friendly terms, naturally she'll know how Claire thinks and will be able to find Claire in one of the most random of places - the house of the Vortex Guy.
Writer A: But that's just stupid. Elle was never in the Vortex Guy's house. Unless she memorized the address of every Level 5 villain when she was an Agent how would she know where to find it? And even if she knew where it was, why would she think that place out of everywhere else would have any significance to Claire and how would Elle know about that significance since she wasn't aware of Claire's encounter with the Vortex Guy?
Writer B: Point taken, but since we're working on a deadline and since this is basically a comic book show we'll go with the Vortex Guy's house.
The shear lunacy of that encounter bothered my brain. It should never have even happened.
And speaking of lunacy, let's take a look at the Haitian. Bear in mind he's on of my top 5 favorite characters on this show, so I say this with love. Faced with a dilemna of stopping his brother in some remote, out of the way jungle/village OR some catastrophic calamity to all of mankind (that still hasn't been fully explained yet) the Haitian opts to....stop his brother. Essentially he said "mankind can wait, I gotta take care of some family bullshit". His priorities are impeccable.
Episode 10. It had it's moments of tension (Peter/Nathan arguement in the jungle). It had it's moments of comedy (Parkman doing the Parkman face on Daphne's doorstep). It had action (HRG kicking Sylar's ass). It had Breckin Meyer. No matter what happens someone will be able to answer the question "that Breckin Meyer, whatever happened to him? What has he done lately?"
Heroes: keeping out-of-work ex-teen movie actors employed since 2006.
Peter Petrelli really gave it to Nathan in this episode. I'll admit I figured Milo V. had the acting ability of Natalie Portman in "Star Wars: A Phantom Menace", but that heated exchange between the Petrelli brothers in the jungle was just what Peter needed to get right back into this. When Peter proclaimed Nathan had been "a puppet your whole life, doing whatever Dad wanted you to do", you gotta admit Milo said that with some chutzpah. I approve. You get the sense that when Peter mentioned Nathan did whatever their Dad had wanted that Arthur did some mind manipulation on his own son to get him to follow the same path. Nathan alluded to the same thing in the previous episode when he encountered his dad and said (to paraphrase) "my whole life I've done whatever you wanted me to do...I went to law school. I married the girl you approved. I ran for office". Hey, anything can be said once, but when it's alluded to twice then there's gotta be more to it there. That's why I'm here, to get you to read between the lines.
Before I continue, I really just want to kick myself for not putting my initial suspicions about Daphne out there. I just knew it deep inside she used to be a cripple. The writers practically begged us to read the writing on the wall. But...I didn't say it so I don't get credit for it. I saw some silly internet Heroes website had a theory that Daphne used to be a turtle, I saw some poetic justice there but c'mon, I understand this is a live-action comic book show but let's operate with some semblence of logic here. You won't find any of those zany theories here, just so you know.
Ok, we got a nice serving of HRG. The greatest thing about him in this episode was how they showed you that with all things being equal (ie, no one having powers) HRG truly is a straight up badass. At least we know why the Primatech motto is "One of Us, One of Them", cuz when One of Them loses their powers you need someone who knows how to kick ass with his bare fucking hands. This blog must really be read by the writers, cuz HRG said to Claire the same things I've been saying: "You don't have any ability to fight bad guys". I still don't see how being able to swing a stick is going to help her in a fight with, say, Flint, but at least HRG echoed my sentiment. He could've helped her more by teaching her how to handle a gun. And before I continue, just how exactly did Elle know that Claire would be at the Vortex Guy's house? That is just zany and lazy on the part of the writers. Pure laziness.
Writer A: Ok, we got a doozy here. How are we gonna get Elle and Sylar to capture Claire? How would they know where to find her?
Writer B: That's easy...since Elle has met Claire about 4 times total and with only one of those times on friendly terms, naturally she'll know how Claire thinks and will be able to find Claire in one of the most random of places - the house of the Vortex Guy.
Writer A: But that's just stupid. Elle was never in the Vortex Guy's house. Unless she memorized the address of every Level 5 villain when she was an Agent how would she know where to find it? And even if she knew where it was, why would she think that place out of everywhere else would have any significance to Claire and how would Elle know about that significance since she wasn't aware of Claire's encounter with the Vortex Guy?
Writer B: Point taken, but since we're working on a deadline and since this is basically a comic book show we'll go with the Vortex Guy's house.
The shear lunacy of that encounter bothered my brain. It should never have even happened.
And speaking of lunacy, let's take a look at the Haitian. Bear in mind he's on of my top 5 favorite characters on this show, so I say this with love. Faced with a dilemna of stopping his brother in some remote, out of the way jungle/village OR some catastrophic calamity to all of mankind (that still hasn't been fully explained yet) the Haitian opts to....stop his brother. Essentially he said "mankind can wait, I gotta take care of some family bullshit". His priorities are impeccable.
Episode 10. It had it's moments of tension (Peter/Nathan arguement in the jungle). It had it's moments of comedy (Parkman doing the Parkman face on Daphne's doorstep). It had action (HRG kicking Sylar's ass). It had Breckin Meyer. No matter what happens someone will be able to answer the question "that Breckin Meyer, whatever happened to him? What has he done lately?"
Heroes: keeping out-of-work ex-teen movie actors employed since 2006.
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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