Before I get into this episode of Heroes, let me go on a bit of a rant about the many, many people who evidently can’t think for themselves. You don’t know how many people I’ve talked to who completely gave up on this show, yet if you ask them why they don’t watch anymore, they’ll mention – practically verbatim – exactly what some television critic said in their last column. Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely okay to abandon a television show. Sometimes a series seems like it may have an interesting premise, but ultimately you just don’t relate to the characters. Or you don’t feel engaged by the story. And you also don’t need to watch a series to know it now sucks. I mean, I see a Grey’s Anatomy commercial and it gives ME a brain aneurism. And that’s certainly not to say that you shouldn’t read and enjoy recaps and reviews (such as this one!) Sometimes the writer can point out some observations that you may not have noticed. Or maybe they can find a way to express what you’re thinking.
What irks me, to a great extent, is when people allow these critics to completely sway their own opinions. It amazes me how many people are utterly convinced that Heroes will be canceled, because they saw the cover of Entertainment Weekly stating that it’s a “show in crisis.” This, of course, totally disregards the fact that magazines are notorious for draping their covers with sensationalistic headlines in order to grab your attention (and yes, I do realize that people can make the same exact argument against me – that I’m utterly convinced it WON’T be canceled).
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some blind Heroes apologist. I recognize that season two was, in hindsight, pretty dreadful. And while the “Villains” volume started off really, really strong and finished off satisfactorily, the middle really lacked direction. And because of that, the volume was doomed. I would assume that a lot of the audience that watches Heroes also watches Lost. And for the past two years, Lost has been focused like a laser. The bar has been set really high, and Heroes came up short.
Nevertheless, I honestly don’t think that this show has fallen from glory. The truth is, season one had many of the same faults that we’ve seen the past two seasons. Rewatch the first year, and you’ll see that there’s a lot of stalling, a lot of inconsistent character behavior, and pretty much everything related to Ali Larter is downright boring. The only real difference is that, despite the faults, the characters were likeable and the story was, for the most part, focused.
So, no, this show isn’t for everybody. You don’t have to like it. But please, I implore you, base that decision on your personal tastes, and not on what some writer publishes.
Anyway, like I said in my introduction/lecture, while I thoroughly enjoyed “Villains,” its biggest fault was that it lacked focus. They spent the entire volume trying to make us guess whether these characters were heroes or villains that, ultimately, it became difficult to root for anybody. And it all seemed like a waste since, in the end, everybody was back where they started. Claire, Peter, Hiro, and Parkman were good. Sylar was bad. And Nathan was ambiguous. Were there really any shockers there?
I thought this volume kicked off to a fantastic start. To be fair, I said the same thing about “Villains,” but this episode immediately got to the crux of the story. They didn’t needlessly stretch out the capture of each character over the course of several episodes. Instead, within the first few minutes we understood the premise: Nathan is attempting to apprehend anybody with abilities, using a hunter who has the proper weaponry to combat the individual’s powers. We also got a clear sense of what has happened to each character since the conclusion of the last volume, and where they plan to go from there (had this whole fugitive thing not gotten in the way). By the end of the episode, all of the central characters were captured (with the exceptions being Ando and Sylar), and the whole idea of them on the run was started.
Of course, they were also smart enough to not give us everything at once. I know this is giving the writers some credit that they may not deserve, but I’m really interested in finding out what motivations HRG has for working with Nathan. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s working “undercover,” but what is it that he hopes to accomplish? Although I have to admit, I do hope we don’t have to spend TOO much time on the Claire/HRG daddy/trust issues. Been there, done that. Way too many times.
It was a fantastic decision to show the characters attempting to mesh into a normal existence, with varying success. About halfway through “Villains,” I began to question if Claire was even going to school anymore. And what exactly Peter was doing with his life. And what Parkman, whose family isn’t nearly as wealthy, was doing with his life. But, again, I appreciate that they didn’t harp on this for too long. We don’t need 5 episodes to understand that Parkman is now a bodyguard, but resists the urge to use his abilities for an unfair advantage. Sometimes a throwaway line is suffice.
While I enjoyed the first interaction between Peter and Mohinder, I was a bit shocked at how chummy they were acting. That being said, their illusions to the pilot episode more than made up for that. Including the mysterious villain getting into Mohinder’s cab once Peter exited. And while it’s always somewhat disappointing when HRG acts all sinister, Mohinder had it coming for completely dicking him around during the second season.
Peter may as well get the award for “best conversations,” because his two talks with Nathan were awesome as well. Confident, bold Peter is far superior to whiny, unsure, “I need my brother!” Peter. His strength and poise really shined when he confronted Nathan, and I’m so glad that he called him out on his hypocrisy. Although I do wish he took it a little further, asking him if he’ll have the courage to turn himself in, since he’s rounding up everybody else with abilities. I’m sure that point will be brought up, though.
Speaking of Peter, I love how they handled the reveal of what his abilities are now. When he first took the injection and flew, people wondered if THAT was his ability, or if he had retained his old powers and simply absorbed Nathan’s. And if that’s the case, was he back to square one, or did he reacquire all of the abilities he had before they were drained? It seems he does have the power to acquire other people’s powers, but now he has to make physical contact with them (whereas before he merely needed to be in their presence).
Another cool scene: The attempted capture of Sylar. But I have to wonder, did he, like, forget that his hand works as a gun? That was evidently one of the first abilities he acquired, even though we’ve never once seen him use it. Despite the fact that it’s a pretty damn handy weapon. I do hope that they explain why he didn’t die, though, because they seem to be VERY inconsistent with the regeneration ability as it relates to death.
I have to admit: I absolutely cringed when I heard the word “future” during Parkman’s discussion with the prophet. Did we learn nothing over the past three years? At least we were only talking thirty seconds in the future, though.
By the way, I do have to note that I’m glad they didn’t go the cartoon villainy route with Nathan, as he clearly did try his hardest to protect Peter and Claire.
The final sequence was really neat. I’m not sure why Peter was so desperate to avoid falling out of the plane. Can’t he fly? And since, to my knowledge, he doesn’t have his healing abilities, wouldn’t flying in the open sky be far superior to enduring a terrible plane crash? Nevertheless, the slow motion and music was very cool, and having Mohinder grab Peter’s hand at the end was actually really nice. ALMOST makes me forget about the fact that he’s been a complete d-bag for the past two seasons.
Overall, honestly, I thought this was a really cool episode. And it was certainly a strong way to kick off the next volume. It truly did feel like a fresh start, reminding me much more of the first season than the past two volumes. More than anything else, this series deserves a chance. There are so many people out there who have condemned it do death that they won’t even consider watching it again. I think that’s a mistake. Honestly, it’s still much better than most shows out there.
But writers: Don’t drop the damn ball again.
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.
