Like most people, I was pretty critical of the second season of Heroes. And I’ve also been outspoken about the lack of significant and long-term character development. As such, I think it’s fair to say that I’m not just some blind Heroes fan that will compliment the show no matter how silly or nonsensical it may get. I issue that forewarning because I’m going to make a rather bold statement, which is that this season’s finale was damn near flawless.
In my opinion, this was actually one of the best Volumes yet (and that includes “Genesis”). All of the character traits that irritated me – Peter’s gullibility and helplessness, Claire’s whining, and Hiro’s general stupidity – were more or less absent, as were the weak plot devices (the same conflicts between characters and characters at a standstill/stalling for several consecutive episodes) and inconsistent writing (overall issues with continuity). Perhaps it is because it was only a handful of episodes long, but this Volume was exceptionally focused. It has been my observation that the writers typically know where they want to start and where they want to end, but always seem to falter on filling in the gap. I didn’t get that impression this time. It really did feel like they knew where each character had to be at any given time. The only character I really had any trouble with was Nathan, only because I didn’t buy his explanation for why he initiated this seizure, nor did I quite understand what ultimately made him see the light. But I also enjoyed his character throughout the season, and I appreciated the effort of his arc, so in the end I was willing to overlook that.
Speaking of Nathan, while I’m tempted to make a comment about how he has now “died” three finales in a row, I must admit that I thought they handled his death very cleverly. I think the prospect of the real Nathan being dead, but having Sylar unknowingly take over his existence (with only Angela, Parkman, and HRG aware) is pretty neat. The scene at the end, with Angela realizing that no matter what, a piece of Sylar will always exist deep within “Nathan,” was quite powerful. If nothing else, this is at least something we haven’t seen before. And while some fans may complain that it was a cop out (actually killing a main character, only to have the character essentially return), at least it didn’t completely dilute the concept of death on this series (in my opinion, anyway).
There is one thing I would have done differently, though. The scene in which Parkman “turns” Sylar into Nathan would have been that much cooler had the Haitian been there. This scene was tailor made for him! How great would it have been if HRG had said, “I know somebody who might be able to help” and in comes the Haitian? He then erases all of Sylar’s “Sylar” memories while Parkman plants the thought into his head that he’s actually Nathan (this would have also allowed the technical crew to create a cool looking effect that shows what it’s like to have your memories erased, while new memories are being processed). This would have also shown that HRG knew where the Haitian was the entire time, but didn’t nab him out of a sense of loyalty.
Going back to two earlier points I made about continuity and tempering the threat of death, in last week’s column I criticized the writers for even further crapping on the “rules” of Claire’s healing ability. I now completely take that back, as a perfectly adequate explanation was provided: Using his shapeshifting capabilities, Sylar “moved” the killswitch. There’s still a “spot” that if punctured can kill him, but now nobody knows where it is.
For that matter, I really enjoyed Sylar throughout the entire episode. He helped bring a certain amount of symmetry to the season/Volume. Season three began with an intense confrontation between Sylar and Claire. Rather than being explicitly violent, their encounter was mostly psychological, with Sylar remarking about their similarities. This episode began much the same way. Along with that, this Volume kicked off with all of our heroes coming together and uniting for a common cause, a surprising rarity for this show. Likewise, the closing moments of the Volume saw all of the characters that have survived standing together as they cremated “Sylar,” bringing an end to this nightmare before all going their separate ways to heal from the physical, emotional, and mental trauma they had sustained.
If I were to make one tiny criticism about this Volume, it would be that they flip flopped a bit too much about who THE villain is. It started with Nathan and then drifted to the Hunter before settling on Sylar. There’s nothing wrong with that, I suppose, it’s just that it didn’t feel like everybody received their proper comeuppance. I mean, the Hunter hunted down all of the people we were supposed to be rooting for – quite ruthlessly, mind you – and turned against all of the characters we like but aren’t necessarily rooting for. And what does he get? Tranquilized? That doesn’t really sound like a fitting punishment.
I will preemptively come to the show’s defense about one thing, though. Heroes has a bit of a reputation for not coming through on those climatic battles (mostly due to a special effects budget, I imagine). I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who are disappointed with the fact that we only saw flashing lights against Claire’s face instead of the super exciting clash between Sylar and Peter and Nathan. That’s a fair argument, and I initially agreed. But as the scene played out, I really did see it as a Jaws-type thing. I think this may be an instance where our imaginations can create something far more impressive than what we would have seen (and I do think they showed us enough to give us an image). They also used the “blindness” to their advantage, with Claire finally storming in and discovering that the room was left in shambles. Initially, nobody could be seen. Where was Sylar? Nathan? Peter? Was anybody killed? We then found Peter, who reported that Nathan and Sylar flew off. How did that scene play out? Since we weren’t going to get an epic movie level special effects, this was a practical and effective alternative.
I mentioned earlier how the character traits that annoyed me weren’t apparent this season, and I stand by that. Perhaps the greatest illustration of how these characters have grown was a (pun alert!) throwaway scene. I’m referring to when Nathan and Peter went to stop Sylar, only to be met by Claire flying through the door and hitting the wall. After hitting the ground hard, Peter and Nathan just…..looked at her. They didn’t rush to her aid. They didn’t coddle her. And Claire didn’t ask for that nurturing, either. She simply told them, “GO!” with this “what are you waiting for?” facial expression. And even as Peter and Nathan walked down the walkway, they were strategizing before exchanging their brotherly love. This was a very far cry from their parking lot encounter in the season one finale, with Peter whining that he’s scared, and Nathan submitting to doing a dastardly deed.
Even Hiro’s enthusiasm towards being a super hero seemed more adult than usual. His use of power, despite the danger, truly did seem like it was for the greater good, and not a case of him saying, “Hey, I’m bored, this should spice things up.”
I reluctantly have high hopes for next season. As noted earlier, I enjoyed the discomfort created when Mama Petrelli realized that Sylar still lurks within the depths of Nathan’s body and soul. The feeling of foreboding continued at the cremation, when the viewer came to understand that despite their huge strides, growth, and maturity, HRG is still forced to lie to Claire. How do I see things playing out? First off, I hope that they don’t screw the pooch with the Nathan/Sylar reveal. They’re going to be extremely tempted to have Sylar return for the finale, but I hope they don’t. Historically, this show hasn’t been very good at milking things, but if done right, they can hold that off until season five.
I think this is also a good time to take a page from Lost‘s book. Say to some of the actors, “listen, we don’t need to use your character this season, but he’ll be back next year” like Lost did with Claire. Have Parkman run off with his ex-wife and son, and have Mohinder go on some sort of spirit quest to learn more about what his father did before he was born. I’m even tempted to suggest that Hiro and Ando take a Volume off as well, but I don’t see that happening.
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.
