'Heroes': Answers and questions

November 27, 11:08 PM

Interesting -- and puzzling -- Heroes this week. If the show is, in comic-book terms, something of an origin story, then Monday's episode, "Six Months Ago," was something of a pre-origin story. We gained some insight into several characters, but at the hour's close we ended up pretty much where we started.

Which is to say, where last week's episode ended, thanks to Hiro's time-hopping.

By far, the biggest reveals were about Sylar -- or Gabriel Gray, the character's birth name. Surely, his six-months-ago resemblance to Clark Kent is not accidental, but I'm not entirely sure what the show is saying here. He talked about always wanting to be different and special, hoping someone would come and tell him his family wasn't really his family. That's more or less the opposite of the Superman story, where Clark's parents eventually reveal to him that he is, in fact, special.

We also see his first kill, which comes after he drinks a little too strongly of Prof. Suresh's "evolutionary imperative" Kool-aid and then, somehow, absorbs the unfortunate Brian Davis' telekinetic ability. He thinks he's "fixing" his fellow super's brain like he fixes watches, but Brian won't be getting any more use of his instrument.

The other insights we got from the flashback weren't of the same magnitude, although it was interesting to see how many of the characters were connected before we jumped into the story. Matt stopped Eden just before the Haitian delivered her to HRG/Mr. Bennet, who spoke to Prof. Suresh just after the professor met with Sylar. Heck, Hiro even talked to himself.

Speaking of our lovelorn time-bender, let's start there with some individual bits and pieces.

Hiro: As they were two weeks ago, his scenes with Charlie were incredibly sweet. More important, though, we learned that he can't change the past. Despite his efforts to warn Charlie of her impending death -- which may have been inevitable anyway; she had a blood clot in her brain -- he jumped back to present-day Tokyo as he was trying to whisk her off to Japan. Whether that's a genuine limit on his ability, something he can't yet control or just a way to make the show's continuity easier to follow, I guess we'll find out down the line.

Niki: Well, now we know who Jessica is, or rather was: She was Niki's sister (a twin, presumably), who protected Niki from the drunken rampages of her father and died at age 11. Her consciousness or spirit (or something), though, appears to live in Niki, popping up whenever her sister feels threatened.

The Petrellis: We see the cause of Heidi's (Rena Sofer) paralysis -- a car wreck caused, presumably, by one of Linderman's people (who, it becomes clearer, is a mobster who had his hooks in Nathan and Peter's father). Nathan flies out of the car a few seconds before the impact -- whether it was on purpose or involuntary, I think, is open to our interpretation (your thoughts are welcome in the comments section). At the same time, Peter wakes from a dream grasping for air just like his brother. And didja notice, in the scene at the hospital, there was something -- a reflection from a light, maybe? -- that looked an awful lot like the eclipse from the pilot?

HRG, Eden and the Haitian: The thing that most disappointed me about the episode was that we didn't learn anything new about who HRG works for, how long he's been at it and what his connection to the Haitian is (and by the way, Jimmy Jean-Louis is giving a pretty effective performance for a character who has yet to say anything). We do know that he found Eden so he could use her persuasive powers to get Prof. Suresh to remove Claire from his list. And either he's immune to her skills, or the Haitian's presence renders her neutral.

With Hiro's return to present-day Texas, we came back right to where last week's episode ended. The cheerleader is still saved, for now, but Peter's still in jail and Jessica's bullet is still headed toward D.L. NBC is promising someone will go down next week, and a big ending to leave us hanging until 2007.

What did you take away from Monday's Heroes? Did anything surprise you? And who the hell is employing Mr. Bennet?

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Comments (58)

Comments

it seems that hiro's teleportation skills are still a bit out of control - as any young man, coming to grips with his manhood would be. all his quivering to stop time and teleport seems to make sense now. now that he's involuntarily teleporting when he's mildly aroused by the prospect of getting a first kiss. it was sad, but funny.

cris | Nov 28, 2006 12:30:21 AM | #

I personally just don't want Hiro or Claire to die. I love alot of characters but those two are the ones I'm mostly attached to and keep tuning in to see. Personally I think it's pretty early to kill of a major character period.

Brandi | Nov 28, 2006 3:24:02 AM | #

ok.. this show sucked me in like a tractor beam.

I am so connected to all the characters in the show, for one of them to die, would probably devastate me to the point of tears. I personally think that Jessica will discover alot when she tries to kill D.L. Since he can go thru walls, who says that the the bullets won't actually go through him. Ya neva' know. Oh and another thing. Charlie's b-day is the same as I... I just happen to have a photgraphic memory as well, or and healing abilities. What are the odds of that? TTYl!! :o)

Laura | Nov 28, 2006 5:48:58 AM | #

Still disappointed the Sylar isn't future peter, it still makes sooo much sense, I don't know how it isn't true.
Besides that, it was interesting to see a less jaded Nathan. Not to much of a reveal for Peter though.
I so loved Charlie and Hiro together. I just kept thinking, "say it isn't so". It was interesting to see the limitations on Hiro, but not at the expense of Charlie. So was she a super at all? Or was it just her medical condition that created her super memory?
I was some what surprised at Chandra's original intent. I thought he had a grander plan then to just let the supers know.

Mandy | Nov 28, 2006 6:40:54 AM | #

I believe the blot clot was "her" being broken (as per Sylor's way of putting it). The other heroes all "brokenly" in-commen as well, in-turn giving them their super-powers. What I find quite interesting is that Sylor didn't see Hiro nor Peter as being so-called "Broken", and Matt scared the living daylights out of Sylor... see him fly off as soon as the Matt appeared in the ally. Maybe because Hiro "isn't" broken, Peter's super power is NOT active if there are no others around that have "a" super-power and Matt is a future so-called "nucker".. someone to be intimidated by.. huh?

Laura | Nov 28, 2006 7:12:24 AM | #

I must have missed something because I got the impression that Jessica is like a split-personality that came out whenever Niki was subjected to her father's drunken rampages. As for Nathan I think his lifting out of the car just before it crashed was involuntary as he was just as surprised as his wife. If Hiro can't change the past it will be interesting to see what happens during the New York apocalypse.

Linda | Nov 28, 2006 7:19:27 AM | #

I believe that Matt can become a nucker since he can read minds, he can tap into other cerebral super-powers as well..

laura | Nov 28, 2006 7:19:51 AM | #

Does HRG have to be working for someone? I can't remember whether that's been established or not. Otherwise he could be just collecting his own group of superpowers for unknown but probably not good reasons.

Elizabeth | Nov 28, 2006 7:28:09 AM | #

Hiro might be able to change the circumstances around the "New York Apocalypse", in-turn a possible prevention. He might not be able to change something that has already happened. Although I believe that he might still be able to, he just needs to go about it a different way. For instance, maybe finding out who this Sylor is, and maybe either get to him before his evil "God" complex kicked in. That might actually stop all the killing from taking place all-together. Or maybe get to the scientist (suresh) through connected with Peter, in-turn stopping the scientist from unleashing the future "sylor" from emerging.

Laura | Nov 28, 2006 7:28:42 AM | #

I think Sylar thought he was fixing his own brain by killing Brian, not Brian's. Somehow he wired his own Brain around to gain his power.

JG | Nov 28, 2006 7:46:41 AM | #

Regarding Hiro's stated inability to change the past at the end of this episode -- doesn't this conflict with several episodes ago when "future Hiro" jumped back in time to meet Peter on the subway car to tell him that he has to "save the cheerleader?" Wouldn't that qualify as an ability to change the past? Maybe Hiro cannot change the past directly, but indirectly through others he can. I guess we'll find out more later this season ...

Fred | Nov 28, 2006 7:54:46 AM | #

If Hiro and Charlie had a friendship six months ago, why didn't she recognize him six months later when he appeared again?

Eric | Nov 28, 2006 8:59:24 AM | #

"If Hiro and Charlie had a friendship six months ago, why didn't she recognize him six months later when he appeared again?

Eric | Nov 28, 2006 8:59:24 AM | # "

-- Because Hiro hadn't decided to go back in time yet.

Laura | Nov 28, 2006 9:25:47 AM | #

Never got the "Hiro's stuck in Japan but can still take a bus to Texas" sequence. He travelled backwards, forwards, temporarily lost the ability, and still manages to get it back in the future so he can travel back (with a scabbard on his back) again. Huh?

-=PakoPako=-

pakopako | Nov 28, 2006 9:34:58 AM | #

"If Hiro and Charlie had a friendship six months ago, why didn't she recognize him six months later when he appeared again?

Eric | Nov 28, 2006 8:59:24 AM | # "

-- Because Hiro hadn't decided to go back in time yet.
Laura | Nov 28, 2006 9:25:47 AM | #

But if Charlie has the Japanese phrasebook that he gave her, wouldn't it imply that they have met? Otherwise, what would she remember from whom she got the phrasebook?

Eric | Nov 28, 2006 9:44:32 AM | #

"Never got the "Hiro's stuck in Japan but can still take a bus to Texas" sequence."

Hiro disappeared from the past with Charlie two months before our "current day". Two months is plenty of time for Hiro to travel from Japan to Texas.

Ritchie | Nov 28, 2006 11:01:46 AM | #

Welcome to the problems with time travel and changing the past. Hiro caused some issues with going back into the past and becoming friends with Charlie. To make it worse, he even talked to himself, which any SCI-FI nut knows, is a big no no. I think the reason he couldn't come back to the present time was because he was trying to hard. It seems that every time he leaps around time, he just does it without really trying too hard, but the one time he HAS to, he can't. He might not be able to change the future himself, but can tell someone, like Peter, how to change the future.

John | Nov 28, 2006 11:07:14 AM | #

After reading "The Time Traveler's Wife," it feels like Heroes is along the same path: whatever happens cannot be changed by travelling into the past. Whatever happens will happen, and will include everything that a future self does. They really should have touched on why Charlie did not recognize Hiro (maybe it's a selective memory thing: because she fell in love with him, she found a way to erase him from her memory; or maybe HRG got to her and wiped her memory). Don't forget: when Ando points to their picture in the present day, the second waitress instantly recognizes Hiro.

dre | Nov 28, 2006 11:32:28 AM | #

Okay, let's talk about time travel for a second... the concept that time is a straight line is a fallacy. Time is often called, "Time Lines" meaning that there is more than one. Case in point, the birthday picture of Charlie in the restaurant didn't have Hiro in it at first. The reason why: he hadn't gone back in time yet. His decision to go backwards created an alternate time line that we are witnessing right now. (Reference the movie, "Back to the Future II")

Secondly, we do not know where Charlie got the book--she could have found it or bought it herself. Hiro, having seen the book in the future, could have bought it for her in the past before she "technically" acquired it.

Thirdly, the past is easier to change than the future (to a time-traveler anyway) and it is clearly apparent that Hiro cannot control his powers fully--he was only supposed to go back in time for one day but instead wound up six months later. If his powers are activated by intense concentration and skill, there's no way he would be able to return exactly to that time again, given his lack of skill and emotional distress.

And lastly, as a true hero, Hiro perhaps subconciously knows that he SHOULDN'T go back to save Charlie again. Reason: there would be two (technically three) Hiros in that time frame--the one that went back to save Charlie first, the one in Japan, and the "first" Hiro. Any one of those meetings could rupture the time/space continum and destroy the very fabric of reality!

Marty! Get back into the DeLorean!

Doc Brown | Nov 28, 2006 12:37:56 PM | #

It was a sad episode:( I wanted charlie to live :( Hmm how was claire broken? One of the posts say sylar onnlykills broken heroes... Oh I guess now i see how the hate between nathan and peter began. I think (i do not know why) Eden willdie. :( I think its mostly becasue she is near sylar the most in that scene. The onyl other person that i can see dying is Ted, the radioactive man, because of his HIGHLY unstable powers.One thing i noticed in the previews is all the heroes seemed to end up in New York which is really cool because it shwos us atleast they are all in New York before they save the world. I am intrested mot in Nikki's powers; is she a hero or is she just harboring the ghost of jessica? that is to see. I sincerly hope that of the two i think are going to die it is the latter; as much as i hate to say it i prefer i hero over hte other (eden over ted)mostly because eden has been on the show longer so more motional atachment CANNOTN WAIT TILL THE NEXT EPISODE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHICH HERO WILL DIE

Tessa | Nov 28, 2006 4:48:03 PM | #

to answer some of the "why charlie did not recognize him" questions; it is because he had not time travlled to the past yet. The waitress then reognized him in the picturebecause then he had ALREADY gone to the past and have that picture taken so she could identify him. thought i should clear that up. poor charlie by the way. I think peter will die justbecause!!!;)

Augusta | Nov 28, 2006 4:53:08 PM | #

"The past is the future, the future is the present - these time/space conundrums always give me a headache"- Cmdr. Janeway - Voyager (for the few that may have watched that show). Anyways, it's like that, try not to think of it too much. If someone has to die, I also hope it's Ted, I like everyone else too much. Sylar - he seems to kill people to get their powers. The Haitian's presence seems to neutralize the powers of the Supers. About the Sylar kills broken supers theory - my first thought was also Clare, how is she broken? Can't wait till Monday

Sue | Nov 28, 2006 6:02:47 PM | #

Augusta and Doc Brown, Thanks for your posts. I understand your logic, but I just think it's inconsistent. After all, Charlie still has the phrasebook when she meets Hiro the second time, even though he hasn't gone back to the past and given it to her yet.

Eric | Nov 28, 2006 6:03:35 PM | #

Charlie has the book in the present when Hiro first meets her because someone gave it to her.

Hiro, once he realizes he is 6 months in the past, figures he should give her the book, she is going to have it anyway, so why not him being the one to give it to her.

We don't get to see any of Hiro's effects on Charlie in the present because he coudn't do anything to stop her from being killed.

John | Nov 28, 2006 8:58:01 PM | #

A dead hero? Hmmm... let's look at this logically.

It shouldn't be Nathan Petrelli. Why? When Hiro travels to New York in the future, he sees a newspaper article that says Nathan wins by a landslide. I doubt he's going to be killed.

I don't think it will be the Heroin-addicted painter either (I can't remember his name). Why? Because when Hiro traveled into the future, he found the painter dead on the floor of his apartment... apparently killed by Sylar.

I don't think it will be Hiro because he time-travels from the future to meet Peter Petrelli in the subway car. Logically, he can't do that if he's dead.

In that conversation, the future version of Hiro says that he almost didn't recognize Peter without the scar on his face. That would mean that Peter will be alive in the future as well.

So who does that leave?

- The police officer, Matt.
- The cheerleader, Claire
- The split-personality lady, Niki/Jessica
- Her son, Micah (he has powers too)
- and her husband, DL.

But let's not forget here's heroes:

- The Haitian guy who can knock people out and make them lose their memories
- Eden, the lady working with Claire's father, who has the "Witches Voice" from the movie, "Dune."
- That radioactive guy Matt was talking to in the police station who escaped
- and, of course, Sylar (who isn't technically a "hero."

Personally, I believe that it will be Micah, Niki's son. The Jessica personna is pretty evil, this might be a way to make her a "hero."

Thoughts?

XSeven | Nov 29, 2006 6:39:56 AM | #