This was a rather disheartening episode of Heroes for me. It didn’t really have anything to do with what happened during the episode, it was more about my enthusiasm – or lack thereof – going into it. Truth be told, I wasn’t even completely aware that a new episode was coming before I randomly saw a commercial late last week. And even as the episode approached, I didn’t really feel any level of excitement. Actually, I felt a bit inconvenienced, as I was more interested in watching the big night of wrestling.
And this does leave me saddened because Heroes is a show I legitimately would like to see flourish. There are a number of actors that I consider supremely talented or vastly underrated. And despite some shaky writing, I still find myself emotionally attached to several of the central characters. With that in mind, I hope my readers don’t misinterpret my criticisms and increasingly negative outlook. I certainly have not given up on this show. I’m still a devoted viewer, and I continue to hope that the series recaptures the acclaim it achieved in its infancy. So no, I don’t have a doom and gloom attitude regarding Heroes.
And just to prove that, I’m going to kick things off with the positives aspects of these two episodes. Years ago, I believe it was Tim Kring who said that, at its core, Heroes was about two families: The Bennets and Petrellis. I’m not entirely sure that’s still true, but I think that’s a formula they should revert back to. It seems like any time we see any combination of HRG, Claire, Peter, Nathan, and Angela, its gold. And I honestly believe that. And with those relationships, I really feel like this episode delivered.
Yes, I’ve been critical of the writers’ constant need to create tension between HRG and Claire, but it felt appropriate here. Unlike instances in the past, HRG’s half-truths didn’t seem deceptive, and Claire’s anger didn’t seem childish. In fact, I thought Claire was pretty damn mature given her unusual situation. She wasn’t outwardly cold to her father. Instead, she voiced her disapproval in a pretty rational manner, and calmly (relatively speaking) told him, straight out, that she would prefer he not come to Nathan’s wake. And for his part, instead of getting defensive or making excuses, HRG admitted that he was wrong. And when she asked for distance, HRG didn’t resist. This wasn’t a falling out – it was an argument. And that’s real.
Over the past couple of seasons we’ve also seen a severe lack of Peter/Claire interactions. I don’t know if it has anything to do with their failed romance, but I hope it doesn’t. Truth be told, I actually think the fact that they’re not together makes their on-screen relationship stronger. Seeing Claire behaving like a teenage niece, looking up to her middle aged uncle, is a little less distracting knowing that they’re not involved backstage. And they were really, really good this week. It was actually rather refreshing seeing Claire as the level headed one, while Peter was the one in need. I do have to wonder, though, why Peter didn’t take Claire’s ability BEFORE confronting the mad gunman.
Speaking of the cheerleader….Oh Claire….such a girl…..just distract her with pretty flowers. Oh, and for those of you keeping score, she is now back to wanting to feel “normal” again.
I thought Nathan’s funeral was quite touching, however given how half hearted the execution of the Sylar-is-Nathan story ended up being, I can’t help but feel like the ceremony would have been so much more powerful if they had just done it at the end of last season, when Nathan was really killed. By the way, one of the most touching moments of the episode, for me, was Peter going out of his way to gain the ability to fly, as one final way to feel close to his late brother.
If there’s one thing about the show that might drive me to madness, it’s anything to do with Sylar. Enough already with him. Just like in the first season with Hiro, this damned impotence thing just REEKS of stalling. As in, “this is where he is now, this is where he needs to be for the finale, we just don’t know what to put in between.” And that’s utterly lazy writing. So let me get this straight: He’s powerless because he’s lonely and he wants to be loved? Please. He was arguably at his moment powerful and ruthless when he begged and pleaded for his mother to save his soul. And he didn’t exactly lose his mojo when he began falling for Elle. I’m not a huge fan of Samuel, but I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing Sylar get one-upped by an opposing villain.
The stuff with Hiro wasn’t much better. Part of me thinks that they are going to kill him off, but the writers realized that they still have pages upon pages of geeky references saved up that they felt they had to blow through before the character gets written off. And honestly Ando, after some of the things you’ve said and referenced, knowing that the X-Men train in the Danger Room should be the least of your worries.
Anyway, Heroes apparently moves to 9:00 next week, which is a bit of a head scratcher. As far as I can tell, Heroes doesn’t have much direct competition at 8:00 (I could be wrong). At 9:00, they’re directly against 24 – a show I would assume shares much of the same demographic. And Heroes isn’t going to win that contest. If there’s one thing that made me worry about the future of the show, it’s this.
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.
