While I really enjoyed Heroes this season, I have to admit that I’m a bit relieved to see it go. Every Monday I’d typically watch Raw live, and would then watch 24 and Heroes back to back. If I was motivated enough, I’d then write my review for each before getting to bed around 2 in the morning. And that was after a long day of work, with another long day ahead of me. With Heroes out of the way, I can now try to get to bed at a human hour.
Anyway, it’s somewhat hard to believe that there’s only three hours left of this show. This means, if history is any indicator, that there are only two weeks left (one hour-long episode, and a two hour finale). I guess that means I’ll actually get a solid night’s sleep by the end of the month. Nevertheless, things are starting to come together, giving us a sense of how they’re going to close things out.
I suppose we can say that the big news is Hodges’ death. In my Lost column last week, I discussed Daniel’s doom-ridden comments. This week Hodges and the witness protection agent joined in on the fun. You had Hodges saying, “I don’t plan on being Tippet for long” and the agent chiming in, “I don’t plan on doing this my whole life.” Geez, could they have painted a larger target on their backs? It’s amazing the agent slipped out of the episode alive.
By the way, I’m sure anybody who knows the answer to this question won’t be able to tell me, but how do they determine the new name for somebody going into witness protection? Do they have a list of available names that haven’t been “taken” yet by real people? If so, they must have to update it relatively periodically. I mean, how many people are born every minute, worldwide? Plus they probably have to consider nationality and heritage and such. And are they ever real asses about it? Like, if an especially heinous person goes into hiding, do they give the guy a name like “Nancy Nodick”?
I also love how this show manages to make something as mundane as a bank transfer into something diabolical and dangerous. Has an online transfer EVER asked somebody to “EXECUTE” instead of the much plainer and more commonly used “Continue” or “Okay”? It’s almost as if the Options screen knew what this money would be paying for.
And for that matter, what kind of hitman does the deed before even getting paid? Unless we find out something nefarious happened here, expect a raised eyebrow from this blogger.
One of the highlights for me was the scene with Jack and the Muslim gentleman. One of the things I admire about 24 is that they’re not afraid to show the audience that their hero is exceptionally flawed. They don’t do it in the same fashion as House, where the main character’s flaws are lovable and funny. And while you could easily argue that his less-than-admirable actions are motivated by something heroic and good, you still have to respect the fact that the writers consistently plot out scenarios where Jack is in the wrong. Again, it’s often a case where the ends justify the means, and he typically redeems himself, but a lot of shows aren’t willing to take that risk with their hero.
I’m really not sure how they’re going to close up Tony’s story. I can see him getting away so that he’s available as a future villain (a la Nina), but that seems like a particularly unhappy ending. I mean, this season really has been building up to an epic Jack vs. Tony showdown. If they don’t provide that, I can see a lot of people being disappointed. But at the same time, Tony’s character has been rejuvenated. And as a long-time fan of his character, I can’t help but feel a little disheartened if they brought him back from the dead only to turn him evil and kill him again. Why tarnish his character for a one-season story? Especially when you consider he took a lengthy break in the middle.
If I were a betting man, I’d say he either gets away or he gets arrested, to be used as a Hannibal Lector like character in future seasons. But I guess we’ll see.
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.
