In my columns, I often discuss the similarities between Heroes and The 4400. One giant comparison has escaped me, but I came to recognize it the other day. The whole premise of The 4400 is that they are attempting to save the future. These 4,400 individuals were “abducted” by the future, and specifically given abilities in order to change the course of time, hopefully preventing the very grim future that we are on a path towards. It occurred to me that this is also the central story arc to every season of Heroes. Every year, inevitably, a character goes to future, discovers something apocalyptic, and returns to the past hoping to prevent it. Hiro did it in season one, Peter did it in season two, and now both of them will have done it in season three. While this is not a criticism, per se, I think it does reveal the writers’ weakness to rely on a certain formula (and they are not the only series guilty of this. How many times have the characters of Smallville discovered Clark’s powers — for the sake of a single episode’s storyline — only to get stricken with some form of amnesia in which the ONLY thing they seem to forget is Clark’s abilities?)
The title of this volume is “Villains,” and so far I think they’ve done an admirable job of (a) introducing intriguing villains, and (b) revealing new sides of old characters, making us second guess where they might fall in the Heroes vs. Villains war. I must admit that it’s somewhat discouraging to see that the writers are seemingly unable to create an interesting story without resorting to their “lets have them time travel!” mentality. I do admit that this story arc has given Hiro a purpose, and it has helped introduce the interesting and adorable Daphne, but still.
Naturally, the absolute highlight of this episode were the scenes shared between HRG and Sylar (and of course, who didn’t expect that?) I positively loved how each of them came to the other’s rescue (Sylar saved HRG when he was getting triple teamed by the villains, and HRG saved Sylar when he had his telepathic hands full), yet when push came to shove, they both resorted to their natural instincts. Sylar still murdered somebody for their ability, and HRG revealed that he’s simply using Sylar so that he can eventually find the means to kill him. It’s like that old adage: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
As some others have already noted, it was genuinely fun seeing a more playful, charismatic side of Sylar. We’re so used to hearing him speak in that soft, grating voice, that it was refreshing seeing him use his rarely seen charm and quick wit in order to get what he wants. And for some reason, I LOVED his simple, “You drink decaf, right, Noah?” line. Although it does occur to me that Sylar now has both the ability of super hearing and the capability of releasing a super sonic sound. That’s gotta suck….
I’m not sure what to make of Sylar’s relationship with Angela Petrelli. To tell you the truth, I hope she’s NOT his mother. I really enjoy the familial aspect of the series, but I think this might border on overkill. And while the idea of Sylar and Peter actually being brothers would add an interesting dynamic to their rivalry, I find the prospect of Angela manipulating Sylar far more intriguing. I like the idea that, despite his immense power, Sylar is still ultimately putty in the hands of those much less capable. He essentially fell into HRG’s trap of coming to his rescue, and he’s (seemingly) completely at Angela’s whim.
A lot of people are down on Claire’s dark turn, but I’m actually enjoying it. I really like Claire, and I think Hayden Panettiere is supremely talented, but she was one of the weakest characters of the much-criticized volume two. Frankly, following an incredible turn in the first season, Claire didn’t show any growth whatsoever in season two, and virtually everything we saw from her was either inconsistent or much of the same. Say what you will, but this arc is at least something different, and it is an example of character development. And it’s paving the way quite nicely towards helping us understand why she’s a brunette ice queen in four years.
Actually, come to think of it, this episode had a lot of subtle (or perhaps not so subtle) Star Wars references, which was a bit unusual considering the writers seem down with the Trek. Sylar’s fight scene, in which he strangled people without actually making physical contact with them is very reminiscent of Darth Vader using The Force. And Claire’s desire to gain revenge — leading to her perhaps becoming a villain later in life — echoes the whole idea of the Dark Side: That your inner rage and anger can eventually consume and overcome you, resulting in a life of evil villainy.
I haven’t quite decided how I feel about the tension between Hiro and Ando. Between Sylar’s hinted face turn, and Claire’s possible heel turn (lets use some rasslin’ phrases here!), I am SLIGHTLY concerned that the writers are being a bit too forceful by attempting to shock us with twists as to who will be revealed as a hero and who be will revealed as a villain. I worry somewhat that some fans may feel that it comes off as contrived (at the moment I personally do not, but I could foresee this being an issue with the more skeptical and negative fans). That being said, I do appreciate that the writers have taken the time to properly set up the notion that one of them could potentially turn on the other (which, obviously, was foreshadowed in the future-jumping premiere), and they’ve pretty logically provided each character with a believable motive. Hiro saw the future and knows that, in that future anyway, Ando kills him. Therefore, you can understand why he’d be hesitant to trust his long-time best friend. On the other hand, Ando has been a loyal friend through and through. He’s put himself in peril for the sake of Hiro, which is incredibly admirable when you consider that he doesn’t have any special abilities. You can sympathize with the fact that he’s being punished for something he hasn’t even done yet. And I’m sure there are many that can relate to his feelings of inadequacy (which sets up why he would want to take the serum later on).
And, of course, these two had some great quotes (as they always do). Mostly from Ando, actually. His “I’m being awesome!” line was especially humorous. And, while predictable, it was pretty funny seeing Hiro vanish from the scene just as Ando was stating that they’d always be at each other’s side.
I do have to wonder this, though: Since Hiro and Ando already know that Daphne’s motives are purely financial, why not just make her a better offer? Hiro already stated that he has more money than he knows what to do with. Why not use that fortune to his advantage? I’m surprised this wasn’t touched upon, at the very least.
I’m especially unsure of how I feel about Parkman and the man who has visions exclusively about him. Considering that Parkman is perhaps the weakest character on the show, I have to say that I feel bad for that African fellow. What a boring ability, constantly having visions of Parkman being mopey and making idiotic decisions. That must get old, fast. I am intrigued by the fact that Parkman was evidently able to “catch” that power, so to speak. Is this permanent? Will he now have that ability? If he does, I’d like at least a bit of an explanation as to how exactly he gained it. I will note, though, that I liked how the African guy and Isaac have different ways of initiating their ability. Isaac took drugs, while the African guy (I’m sorry, I didn’t catch his name) goes on a vision quest.
I’ve been pretty hard on anything involving Ali Larter and this series, but I actually really, really enjoyed the scenes with Tracy/Niki/Micah. I like how, pretty much from the get go, we got confirmation that Niki and Tracy are NOT one in the same (this is a good thing, as this really needed to be explained, and there’s no reason to put off the explanation). We also learned of Niki’s fate — that she was killed in the finale. I was a bit confused as to why her service was so empty, though. Didn’t she have a pretty large family? And by the end of season two, she seemed to be on good terms with pretty much everybody. I will also say that while I’ve never been a huge Micah fan, I thought he was marvelous this episode. I loved how, upon staring at Tracy for a few moments, he was able to decipher that it wasn’t her (much like he could often tell the difference between Niki and Jessica). I also thought Tracy was great, as well, recognizing how damaging this likely is to the young boy’s psyche. The first two episodes portrayed Tracy as a bit underhanded and cold (no pun intended). This episode did a nice job of softening her image.
By the way, there are a few people out there who believe that Tracy is actually Niki’s not-so-dead sister Jessica. I didn’t see it that way. I always understood Jessica to be Niki’s OLDER sister. Tracy, on the other hand, must be Niki’s twin. In regards to the doctor’s comment that he “created” Tracy, I imagine that perhaps Tracy and Niki were test tube babies, of sorts. I don’t believe Tracy is a clone, otherwise wouldn’t she have the same ability as Niki?
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, Heroes, Prison Break, and Smallville. You can visit his blog at A Case of the Blog.</
