This past week’s episode, for a reason that does not quite come to mind, solidly established Heroes as my favorite new show on television. Granted, there aren’t all too many new shows I watch (Justice is pretty much the only other one that immediately comes to mind), but it’s a program that I will go out of my way to record, and then once again go out of my way to watch. Right now, the only other shows I will do that for, at all, are Lost and Smallville.
Oh, and for those wondering, no there will not be a review for last week’s Smallville episode. Lana sleeping with Lex was such a moronic move on the character’s part that the Lana Lang character is REALLY detrimental for the show’s overall enjoyment. And that’s coming from a guy who may very well be in love with Kristin Kreuk.
Where was I? Well, first off, let me apologize for my mistake last week: Claire was, in fact, naked on the autopsy table. The way her cut skin was laid over her bottom looked like her top. Also, the fact that her body was not identified gave the writers a logical reason for people to not ask “why is this girl suddenly alive?” I thought their execution of the whole “not dead” thing was done perfectly.
While on the subject of Claire, I’m really enjoying her character as she gets further developed. She’s just not some superficial pretty cheerleader. She genuinely seems to care about her nerdy friend, and doesn’t seem to think she’s any better than him due to where each of them stands on the social ladder. It also appears as if she was willing to make the attempted rape her own personal pain, but then when she found out that the guy had done the same thing to others, she knew it was something she had to stand up for. Indeed, it seems that she’s starting to fill the role of “hero” quite well.
I also enjoyed the car crash scene. I just felt that it was such an excellent portrayal of the emotions she’s experiencing, and a great way of showing that she has to make him pay for what he’s done (again, not only to her, but to others as well).
Finally, I’m exceptionally intrigued by the “save the cheerleader, save the world” message. Clearly, she plays a very crucial role in saving the world. Is it because of her relationship with her father? Or because of her healing abilities? As a fan of Hayden Panettiere, I’m glad she’s playing such a central role in this series.
We finally got some insight into Niki’s abilities, which is refreshing because I was beginning to feel like her character was dragging. Actually, I wasn’t even fully paying attention to her scenes, and had to go back and re-watch to see that she was asked to confront Nathan.
Hiro remains some great comic relief, but I must wonder why he wouldn’t use his abilities immediately once he’s put in a potentially life-threatening situation. The final scene, with his future self confronting Peter, was very interesting. It definitely seems that Peter will play the ever-important role of bringing all of the heroes together.
Peter’s character took a bit of a back seat this episode, however I found Mohinder’s behavior very inconsistent. Since the beginning of the episode he’s, almost blindly, been pursuing his father’s research. Hell, even in this very episode, he quite frantically confronted Nathan about his supposed abilities. Then Nathan’s brother approaches him, confesses he has abilities, and even brings up his father’s research, and suddenly Mohinder’s Dr. Super-Duper-Skeptical Man??? It just came off as very forced.
Also, with each passing episode, I grow more and more convinced that Eden is not who she seems, and that she will turn on Mohinder by the end of the season.
Once again, the highlight of this show is the interaction of the wide array of characters, even when they do not realize it. I liked how Hiro, Niki, Nathan, and Claire’s father all ended up in Las Vegas for seemingly different reasons.
Slowly but surely each of these characters are coming together, and I am very much enjoying the journey.
