So this was a very Sylar-heavy episode. And while this has the potential to be a good thing, the problem with Sylar is that he’s been so inconsistent and uneven that I find it difficult – perhaps even impossible – to become emotionally invested in his plights and inner turmoil. I can’t even wrap my head around some of the inconceivable actions and decisions he made last volume. Angela manipulated him into becoming a “hero” because of his well-established mommy issues. Fair enough. But then, like, two episodes later he disregards her and decides to side with fake papa Arthur, who somehow, someway knew that Angela was lying to Sylar about being his real parents.
Meanwhile, a flashback reveals that Sylar actually never wanted to hurt anybody, despite the fact that the first season showed us that he was leaving Mohinder’s dad creepy phone messages where he’d brag about the murders he’d committed. These same flashbacks revealed that the self-professed sociopath Elle was actually a Company agent with the heart of gold. She was all guilt-ridden, you see, so she decided to help Sylar see the light and become a good guy. That is until they decided to rent a car. Then they both kinda abruptly pulled a 180. I’m still scratching my head over that whole thing.
If I want to give the writers the benefit of the doubt, I’d say that they were attempting to illustrate that Sylar’s killing spree is an active decision. It’s not because of hunger or power or anything else. Fine and dandy, except for the fact that this episode seemingly wanted to show us that he is struggling with his inner demons. He feels tremendous remorse for killing his mother and he had mercy on Mikah (twice, actually). Allow HRG to be your complex character. Just let Sylar be the scary killer.
And that final scene was just plain odd. It’s like, hey, let’s needlessly crap on the rules of Claire’s ability even more. It was obvious that the alliance between Sylar and the Hunter was going to crumble, but I figured it would be Sylar who turned on the Hunter (after realizing that the Hunter was merely using him and concluding that the Hunter no longer needed).
So Parkman got over Daphne awfully quickly, didn’t he? I was also under the impression that he was well aware that his wife was pregnant with his child. I know that he knew this in the first season episode where they were five years in the future, but I seem to recall him having this knowledge in the “real” world as well. Am I just not remembering things correctly?
By the way, take advantage of this opportunity to write Parkman off of the show. Have him do something heroic and run off into the sunset with his ex-wife and son. Give him a happy ending. This show’s greatest weakness is its inability to part ways with its original characters/actors.
I actually found Ando and Hiro pretty inoffensive this week. Would they ever really kill off Hiro? I highly, HIGHLY doubt it. He’s perceived as being far too lovable. Not sure why his nose is bleeding, though.
I’m not sure if expectations are necessarily high for the finale, but I do believe a lot is riding on it. In my opinion, this entire volume has been enjoyable and impressive. The last few episodes in particular have been strong. If they manage to wrap it up with a bang, they could win back some of those former viewers (and honestly, nothing extremely catastrophic happened, meaning they won’t be completely lost should they return). I hope the writers are up to the task.
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.
