So was this the end of the volume? If so, talk about going out with a whimper. I don’t recall any hype leading to this finale – and if it was the last episode of this volume, with one exception, it really didn’t deliver a climatic conclusion.
That one exception, ironically enough, is the whole Sylar/Nathan story. I’ve been awfully critical of this arc, particularly with the lack of restraint exhibited by the writers, but I have to admit that they did a wonderful job of wrapping things up. It really was a genuinely heartfelt, touching, emotional, and nicely scripted character departure. They hit all the right notes, and the acting was spot on.
I believe I made reference to this last week, but I really did enjoy Nathan’s confused reaction to his utterly unique situation. He possesses all of Nathan’s memories (and by proxy his emotions) and he physically looks like Nathan, yet he knows he’s not Nathan. Despite everything he thinks and feels, he knows it’s all a lie. How does one react to that? How do you come to grips with that reality? Adrian Pasdar really nailed that rooftop scene, in my opinion.
Along with Claire and HRG, I’ve always felt that Peter and Nathan was one of the strongest relationships on the series. Most would argue that one or both of those above relationships are completely overexposed and often repetitive – which is a fair point – but I always find that even when the show as a whole is at its weakest, a great scene between these characters can really save an entire episode. And in some cases, an entire storyline.
And quite honestly, I do think this episode did a whole lot to redeem the disappointing Sylar/Nathan saga. Over the past two seasons, Peter has really grown up and become independent and strong. And he exhibited that here. While his brutal treatment of Sylar was wonderful and completely justified, I have trouble seeing Peter “going there” the first two years we knew him. Similarly, the two brothers reminiscing about their first exhibition of their abilities acted as a great contrast to their final moments together. In the past, it was Nathan who flew up to grab hold of Peter. In this episode it was Peter who let go of Nathan, releasing him so that he could face his proper fate.
Likewise, their parting words were also right on the money. For better or for worse, Nathan is the crutch that Peter has always leaned on. In fact, I do believe that every volume has ended the same way: With the brothers confronting each other and ultimately joining forces to save the world (or each other). Despite his growth, Peter has always had difficulty sealing the deal without Nathan by his side. In fairness, in season one he was talking about how scared he was and how he needed his brother. By the end of season three Nathan was merely reinforcement. Nonetheless, Peter pleading with Nathan that he needs him felt true, as did Nathan’s response that Peter can take care f himself. I’m also thrilled that Nathan mentioned watching over Claire. Does it strike it as odd to anybody else that these two were kept at a complete distance (physically and verbally) for the entire season?
And by the way, I’m glad they silently showed the embrace between Peter and his mother. It was definitely one of those scenes that was more powerful by allowing us to imagine how the conversation went down.
But honestly, they need to cool it with the Rene stuff. We found out the Haitian’s name, like, four episodes ago….and I feel like he’s being name dropped multiple times per episode ever since. I almost expected Peter to say, “Our Haitian friend….Rene!” when he explained to Sylar how he was blocking his powers.
I take real issue with this whole Claire/Carnival thing. At its core, I just don’t buy it. Out of all the characters on the show, Claire is the most outspoken about attempting to live a normal life. And even if I accept that she’s simply given up on trying to hide and wants to be around people just like her, I find it incredibly hard to swallow that her solution to this would be to join a bunch of strangers who hide in plain sight. As I noted last week, her birth father, uncle, and grandmother all possess abilities. As does somebody in her sorority. She’s also become chummy with Parkman, Tracy, and Hiro. This girl is perpetually drawn to people with abilities, many of whom she knows and loves. I’m sorry, but I find it hard to believe that she’d rather take a compass on a whim, rather than, I don’t know, saying she wants to spend her Christmas break in New York City so that she can be around her biological father’s ability-ridden family.
Along with that, the whole bit with the Minor League pitcher was just lazy, unmotivated writing. I honestly find it hard to believe that, no matter how big a jerk he is and no matter how much his ego has been bruised, that some guy would go out and get completely drunk because he lost in a carnival game. I find it even harder to believe that he would break a bottle and take a swing at a teenage girl – one that’s barely over five foot, no less. It’s completely obvious that the scene was written backwards. The writers said, “We need Samuel to look sympathetic and for Claire to come to his aid. How can we make that happen? Hey, didn’t we feature a jerky baseball pitcher a few scenes back?”
And going back to my original question – is this the end of “Redemption”? If so, talk about leaving loose ends. What about Hiro and Charlie? And for that matter, why was Hiro randomly with Mohinder (ugh) and Ando? I can understand him time traveling to rescue Mohinder, but to swing around and pick up Ando as well? Why? And what about Tracy? She was the one character that seemingly had a logistical motivation to join the circus, yet she’s nowhere to be seen (except for a brief second) in the episode that seemingly is supposed to bring them together? And despite building it up rather nicely all season long, they suddenly do a complete 180 regarding HRG’s desire to redeem himself by now protecting those with abilities? Then there’s Parkman. He escaped the hospital and went off to….ya’ know, I’m not even sure.
Anyway, there’s no indication on the Internet whether this was the finale, so I’m assuming it’s not. I hope some of the above issues are dealt with in 2010.
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, 24, Heroes, and Smallville. Be sure to visit his blog at [a case of the blog] and follow him on Twitter.
