Without a doubt, this was the best episode of the season, although I have a feeling it might be trumped by next week’s revealing installment. Anybody who argues that the show doesn’t have direction at this point is just looking for something to criticize and will never be satisfied.
Once again, Nathan was a real highlight for me. His awkward look when he came face to face with Niki at the beginning of the episode, only to be the person to calm her during her rampage near the conclusion, was a really nice touch as well as a helpful reminder for those who may have forgotten about their brief rendezvous last season. This is just the latest example of Nathan attempting to redeem himself.
Like I’ve said in previous columns, so much of last season was about portraying Nathan as self-centered and ambitious to a fault. Along with showing his more humorous side, this season has also allowed us to see Nathan’s more compassionate side. Despite the fact that he repeatedly used Peter last year, we can now see that under no uncertain terms, Nathan did/does care for Peter very deeply. I really liked it when Nathan told Bob, “if you’re going to talk about my brother, you better choose your next few words carefully.” Peter always defended Nathan (notably to their mother), stating that they were always close. However, most of the compassion came from Peter. We’re now seeing how dearly Nathan regarded Peter. I’m genuinely looking forward to when these brothers reunite, and Nathan’s season finale line of “you saved the cheerleader, so we could save the world” still gives me chills.
Mohinder, Mohinder, Mohinder, you stupid, stupid man. It was already established last season that The Company, as a whole, aren’t very good people, and that those with abilities (including Mohinder’s little houseguest. Both of them) will never be safe as long as they remain intact. So why exactly is Mohinder so shocked and appalled to discover that Bennet had killed his former mentor, who presumably still has ties to The Company? Hell, he witnessed Bennet do the same exact thing in last year’s finale when he shot Eric Roberts, point blank, in the head.
Along with that, what “good” did Bob and The Company do to make Mohinder decide to switch sides? I mean, Mohinder admitted at the start of the episode that Niki was only his partner so that she could monitor him. On top of that, he was ordered on more than one occasion to inject the virus into somebody with abilities, including an innocent girl, which we now know can be a death sentence. Along with that, Bob was willing to kill Maury in order to protect himself, yet Bennet cannot kill Ivan in order to protect his daughter (and lets not also forget that Mohinder was willing to kill Sylar to avenge his father)? One thing that did bother me, though, was how Bennet is able to conclude that The Company would realize that Ivan’s memory is missing, and through that they would realize that the Haitian took his memory, and in turn they’d realize he was responsible…..but it didn’t occur to him that his fingerprints might, ya’ know, provide them with a little hint.
Of course, we may learn that this little revelation was part of the ruse all along, but for the time being, Mohinder is a moron.
Speaking of Bob, he actually played a very crucial role this episode, as he helped provide the audience with some information on some hazy subjects. He revealed the back-story on the previous generation of heroes and Adam Monroe in particular, that Peter was in their captivity for some time after he detonated, and the specifics of Parkman’s ability, amongst other things. Considering the criticism that the show receives for not providing answers, this was a refreshing change of pace.
Another thing that didn’t get much recognition from the characters is the fact that Claire, who is now being targeted by The Company (again) has two fathers. Of course, Bennet won’t give up his Claire Bear without a fight, but methinks that Nathan isn’t exactly going to just sit back and watch from the sidelines, especially considering his continued attempts for redemption. This adds another interesting dimension to the various alliances: Nathan and Parkman are together, Parkman and Mohinder are together, but Nathan and Mohinder may now be at odds with each other.
I still find Parkman pretty whiny, but he had a positive showing this week. I like the way that the writers have expanded his ability, and (like I said earlier), I appreciate Bob “dumbing it down” and explaining exactly how his power works. As Bob explained, the mind controls all of the senses, and Parkman has the ability to read and control the mind. Ergo…
Another highlight of this episode was the glimpse of the future. What I find particularly interesting is Angela Petrelli, who apparently not only survived the ongoing onslaught of Kensei and Maury, but the virus outbreak as well (the virus that evidently took Peter’s life as well, despite his super healing ability). It’s been suggested numerous times that she possesses an ability, so what might that ability be? Did her ability help Peter regain some of his memories? Or was he merely reading her thoughts and, essentially, “stealing” her memories?
So Hiro’s long, drawn out story arc in feudal Japan has FINALLY come to an end. I’m not sure if I genuinely enjoyed the way it concluded, or if I was just so pleased to end, but I was satisfied with the finish. Last week I challenged the writers to come up with a suitable explanation for how the future has not altered despite all of the interference Hiro had created, and they did just that. Basically, the princess’ love for Hiro was so strong that she wanted to ensure that he’d grow up listening to the stories of Kensei, ensuring that he becomes the man she fell in love with. Along with that, Kensei essentially did fight the battles he was legendary for, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch. What I don’t understand, however, is if Hiro has so much control over his abilities that he can return to a given time and place (like, say, Ando’s office in Japan in 2007), why would he return four months after the point that he had initially time traveled from?
By the way, I love the symmetry of Kensei killing Hiro’s father (the very person who told Hiro the Kensei stories as a young boy).
While on the subject, the revelation that Kensei is alive and well in the present day wasn’t terribly surprising, since most people had already predicted it. But you know what? Sometimes a predictable revelation is merely the sign of the best possible storytelling.
You know, something occurred to me last night regarding Hiro’s ability and it really got me thinking. In the pilot episode, Hiro bends the time/space continuum, sending himself a few months into the future so that he can see the destruction of New York City. When he calls Ando (not yet aware that he had teleported himself to the future), he reveals that Hiro had been missing all this time. But why? If Hiro sent himself to the future, shouldn’t there have been a “future Hiro” that exists as if he never teleported in the first place? The fact that Hiro “disappeared” seems to suggest that if he ever bends the time/space continuum, he, so to speak, removes himself from the timeline. However, in last season’s Five Years Gone episode, Hiro and Ando go five years in the future only to be confronted by Future Hiro. If he removed himself from the timeline, Future Hiro shouldn’t have existed. On the other hand, if the timeline remains intact when he goes to the future, his future self shouldn’t have been missing in the premiere.
Then again, I haven’t seen the pilot since this summer, so I may not be remembering things correctly.
