We're a week away from the finale of book two of Heroes (and maybe the whole season -- who knows?), which means nearly everyone got to play this week. Despite a couple cringeworthy moments, things moved along at a pretty good clip, and we seem to be set up for a decent capper to this most uneven of half-seasons.

Of course, that's what we all thought in May too.

(I'm not lying, or even shaping the truth to my own ends, when I say that spoilers are coming presently.)

Lies, truth and just what you choose to believe were the themes of Monday's episode, "Truth & Consequences." Several characters found themselves going along with the less credible (to us at home, anyway) version of events, willing to accept a shaky story because it fits with their goal. All of which means there's going to be a dustup in Odessa in seven days' time.

Suresh, never the most real world-savvy of scientists, comes right out and says he's happy he didn't do any "real damage" while he was working with HRG, whom he's now nursing back to post-bullet-in-the-eye health in a cozy Primatech bunker. "Wasn't I dead?" HRG wonders. Yes, yes you were, Suresh informs him, but we used a transfusion of Claire's blood to bring you back and ...

Oh, bad idea, Mohinder. HRG probably would have been angry enough at being locked up; knowing that his daughter is still potentially in harm's way is only going to make him that much more determined to take the company down.

Suresh is at least right to assume that the lethal strain of the Shanti virus -- No. 138 -- isn't exactly safe, pointing out to Bob that he was on the inside of the company for weeks, and only his supreme wishy-washiness kept him from really messing with things. (Seriously, who does background checks at Primatech? Do they farm that out to CTU or something?) But if he really believes Bob is going to go along with his idea to destroy every last strain of the virus, then he's even denser than he's previously been revealed to be.

Peter, too, swallowed some questionable information from Adam in his zeal to save Caitlin, who's still trapped in the future. The two men trek to Maine to see Victoria Pratt (I guess Parkman, absent this week, wasn't as quick to track her down), the scientist who stopped Adam from releasing the virus 30 years ago (an event that a time-traveling Hiro witnessed; as an aside, kudos to the Heroes casting department for finding convincing younger versions of Victoria and Kaito Nakamura).

Adam convinces Peter that, in fact, it was Victoria and the other founders who were endangering the world, which makes Peter feel less conflicted about Adam murdering her moments later. I feel kind of bad for Joanna Cassidy; her appearance was teased for weeks, thanks to her presence in the founders' photo, and here she gets a bullet in the back in her first appearance.

Having seen what went on in 1977, and having used his father's files to figure out where the virus is stored, Hiro blinks himself to the Primatech facility in Odessa ("Why is saving the world always your responsibility?" Ando wonders to the space his friend just occupied) to confront Adam, only to find Peter there with him. And apparently being a time-stopper yourself makes you immune when someone else freezes things, because he's fully ambulatory even though Adam and all the extras are stuck when Hiro arrives.

The episode ends with Hiro, Kensei's sword in hand, charging Peter, who's ready to use his Palpatine power to take out his one-time ally. I'd say I'm pumped to see that fight next week, if my expectations hadn't been dramatically lowered by the last climactic battle involving Peter. Unless that sword really is special, though, I can't say I like Hiro's chances.

The rest of the folks we saw this week were only tangentially connected to the two main Primatech stories. Claire is mourning her not-really-dead father, which causes her to get really melodramatic and say things like "I've fallen 20 stories, gotten stabbed in the head ... but this hurts more than all of that." Her confrontation with Elle was nice, though, mostly for the promise that the supers may come out of the shadows. Though I'm a little fuzzy on just what Claire hopes to accomplish here; surely there's a reason her dad has tried to keep her abilities quiet for her entire life.

Niki's reunion with Micah and Sylar's super-creepy seduction of Maya -- she has a thing for bad boys, I guess, but in a twist on the old story she thinks he can change her, rather than vice versa -- didn't give us much, other than a cliff-hanging dilemma for Suresh. Does he continue to New Orleans to give Niki the cure, or double back to try to save Molly from Sylar? Since the teaser for next week flatly stated that "two heroes will fall," the situation isn't looking great for Niki.

Who else is going down? And how are you feeling about Heroes going into next week's finale?

Comments

I forgot Matt went to look for Victoria. Maybe Adam had inside information on where she was hidden, thus letting Peter and Adam arrive before Matt. She did make it a point to keep herself away from the drama. I liked her too for shooting Adam and Peter without any hesitation (except she took a little too long to finish off Adam).

Ya, the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me too. So Claire threatened Elle by threatening to expose herself to the world in hopes of what? Seems kinda stupid especially after Claire acknowledged the fact that she was selfish when it came to matters between her dad keeping her hidden. Why would this scare off Bob and Elle?

I loved Elle's scene of her trying to start the car with her left hand! Let's try to find a better hiding place though next time Elle...

I find it hard to believe Niki will die. Only because it would seem as a huge hit for Micah, whose already suffering from the loss of his dad. But Niki has had a decrease in screen time...

My guess is Nathan will die. What has he really added to the story this season? He's increasingly somber and loses his patience quickly. That might get him into trouble.

I would love to see Peter being played down next season. He's way too focused on. He's super strong (power-wise) yet naive and ultimately annoying. This is assuming also that Heroes comes back for another season, which would be a shame if it didn't given how much potential it has. If only they would stop with the bitchin/crying and start with the action!!!

gus | Nov 26, 2007 9:08:13 PM | #

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You left out the part where Syler murders the other wonder twin. I would have thought that was pretty relevent.

Mike | Nov 27, 2007 1:58:56 AM | #

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If you step back and look at Suresh's arc this season, he's pretty much always gotten his way eventually.

I don't think Suresh is dense at all, but I think he's well aware everyone ELSE thinks he's dense and just plays along to suit his purposes.

Mary | Nov 27, 2007 5:01:03 AM | #

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I agree that Suresh is dense because he believes everything that comes out of Bob's mouth.

I was very dissapointed that we didn't get to find out what Victoria Pratt's power was. Also, she said to Adam that you are the one that killed Kaito and the rest of them...are we to just assume Adam killed the other 4 founders (who we never met)? If so, that's dissapointing as well. She did say to Peter you're a muderer just like your parents which I found interesting.

I'm really hoping the end of this chapter isn't the end of the company and the elders because I find the two concepts very interesting.

The ending was very exciting, but I agree that my expectations are low of a nice fight because of the pathetic fight at the end of last season.

This show has so much potential because its like nothing else on television and I still look forward to it every week. I get the feeling Tim Kring just writes the storyline arc by arc but doesn't really have an idea for the overall chapter and concept. The Lost writers plan everything out (it seems sometimes even seasons in advance), and I wish the Heroes writers did more of that.

Jerry | Nov 27, 2007 7:36:19 AM | #

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the "two heroes will die" is bullshit---they have yet to kill off a main character.

tim | Nov 27, 2007 7:40:06 AM | #

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I forgot about Micah decking his cousin. That was the best acting I've seen come from little Noah.

I just have to ask, what do you think Sylar was shooting himself with in the preview? Do you think Mohinder actually gave him the cure, or the mutated virus?

Denise | Nov 27, 2007 8:16:33 AM | #

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Pretty good episode, with lots of action. Suresh, really is becoming an idiot; after his talk with HRG, I was glad Sylar had Molly. And Sylar got rid of one of the wonder twins; who can call Sylar "evil".

I think we might see Joanna Cassidy back after what happened to HRG anybody can be brought back. I would like to know Pratt's, Kaito and Peter's parents powers.
Agreed about he younger actors for Victoria and Kaito both were convincing.

Also interesting was young Victoria saying that someone else helped Adam to get to the virus. Whom might have helped him was it Linderman, and Matt's Dad or someone else?

To destroy the virus will Peter go nuclear

jbw | Nov 27, 2007 8:17:32 AM | #

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why is everyone so stupid? i mean they don't tap surresh's phone and they never knew that he was working for HRG and was sleeping with Parkman.
Elle just sat there when they were dumping the ashes. the chick suresh (Victoria Pratt)couldn't manage to blow his head off. i mean she got him the first time. and why did no one else think of clare's idea of exposure. and how does Peter believe a guy who was locked with him for being dangerous over Hiro "save the cheerleader saver the world" guy.

Eric | Nov 27, 2007 8:29:38 AM | #

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The most annoying part about not only this season but the whole show is that it looks like we will never find out what the elder Heroes powers were (if they ever had any).Except for Hiro's Dad we never see any of them do anything.Bob is a glorified paper pusher and unless his power was bending spoons (is Kreskin a Hero too) then I don't think any of them were that big a deal.

EddieO | Nov 27, 2007 9:03:05 AM | #

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Bob does have a power(turning objects into gold) but it doesn't seem like a lot of the others had powers (i.e. Hiro's Dad, Victoria Pratt) or we would have seen them by now.

I think the 2 that are going to die are Nathan and Bob. Nathan's character has just started fizzling out, and i think its inevitable that Bob and the company are going down.

This season has had some good parts, but seems like mostly is was thrown together last minute. I hope the next chapter is better. I'm a big fan, but slowly starting to loose interest.

Shaggysteve | Nov 27, 2007 9:19:50 AM | #

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EddieO - We found out Bob's power when he first appeared: He can turn things into gold. It's supposedly the way that the Company has been financed for all these years.

Here's one problem I had: Back in 1977, Victoria Pratt says that she's leaving the Company due to her disagreement with them over the handling of the virus. In the present day, it's strongly implied that she's been a hermit for quite a while. Yet she's that fairly recent photo with all of the elders, looking all smiling and happy. Bad continuity...

GC | Nov 27, 2007 9:24:28 AM | #

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GC,

I agree that is bad continuity. I still love this show because of all the twists and turns it provides. But we have to keep in mind how much of the show was probably changed due to the writers strike. Tim Kring admitted that he had to change the ending for this volume for that reason alone so they're trying to wrap things up the best they can given the "not knowing" of when they will be back on the air.

Greg | Nov 27, 2007 9:33:21 AM | #

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I'm really indecisive about this season, some parts were good, some were confusing and a product of bad writing, it doesn't compare to season 1, but hopefully since Kring admitted all the problems in a recent interview they can work on season 3. It's a shame we'll have to wait a year to see b/c of the writer's strike.

eva | Nov 27, 2007 9:33:22 AM | #

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I don't think that they will kill off one of the major heroes so early in the season. My guess is that two of the less popular heroes will fall. One will be Copycat, and the other will be teenage flying dude. They can be killed off easily, and the show will go on with no trouble at all. Copycat will be killed by the thugs who threw her into the van, and Nikki will totally destroy them. She will then embrace her power. (I think that killing both of Micah's parents would be too harsh.)Teenage flying dude will be killed by Elle. That's is just my thought on the matter.

Pete | Nov 27, 2007 9:33:25 AM | #

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I think Maya might be one of the ones who gets killed. They already killed Alejandro, and Maya isn't a fan favorite. They're not going to kill Claire, Peter or Hiro, and probably not Niki, Matt or Nathan.

As to the person who said they'd 'never' kill a main character, tell that to Isaac Mendez, Simone Deveaux and D.L. Hawkins.

I'm still waiting for Nichelle Nichols to have something to do on this show.

Siansonea | Nov 27, 2007 9:55:50 AM | #

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Eric,

Right now all Peter knows about Adam is that he was locked up by the company the same company that locked him up. Adam has told him that he was locked up because he didn't agree with the company's evil ways; and Adam helping to save Nathan helped sell that idea. Peter is on a mission to destroy the virus and Adam has convinced him that is his goal also; so Peter has no choice but side with him.

jbw | Nov 27, 2007 10:04:15 AM | #

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Pete - It has already been mentioned that Copycat will have a major role in the next volume so I don't see her going anywhere.

Greg | Nov 27, 2007 10:12:14 AM | #

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I would like to think that Maya serves more purpose in the grand scheme of things than to be filler for volume 2. She's yet to do anything tied to the rest of the heroes other than rescuing Sylar, which could have been anyone. I doubt she dies.

Jason | Nov 27, 2007 10:48:43 AM | #

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I am a big fan of Heroes, but I am now about one terrible episode away from dumping it. The array of just plain stupid characters is infuriating. Tim Kring does not appear to have learned much from his mea culpa.

The scenes with Maya and Sylar were agonizing: Of course she is so easily manipulated, of course she believes right away she can now control her power, and of course she now "loves" Sylar. While it looks like he will soon kill her, I'll give big props if they turn the tables and have Maya kill Sylar once and for all!

Mohinder is so dense he is barely worth talking about. His pal HRG was actually inside the Company, so you would think Mo would realize HRG might actually know what he is talking about, but no.

I will give Peter a pass for now, given how Adam and he were locked up by the same people, and Adam also saved Nathan. BUT, the idea that Peter's primary motivation for stopping the virus is to rescue Caitlin, rather than 93% of the world's population, is laughable.

Joseph | Nov 27, 2007 10:56:08 AM | #

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Maya and Alejandro are actually going to have ties to one of the founders of the company.

Greg | Nov 27, 2007 10:57:05 AM | #

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My prediction: the last scene will be Sylar playing with his regained powers (and possibly standing over a dead hero, maybe Suresh) saying "I'm back."

Billiam | Nov 27, 2007 11:39:17 AM | #

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I loved this show last year, but the writing has gotten really bad this year. If the acting and dialogue keep going the way they have been, the show should move to a daytime soap slot. The characters just don't seem very smart. If Adam is seemingly immortal, why hasn't anybody mentioned Claire possibly being the same. If Claire's blood could cure Niki then why not Adam's? Granted he's on the run, but you'd think they'd have at least a sample of it. Maya is an awful character. Sylar isn't too great anymore either. West is awful.
Another thing, while Suresh was undercover why didn't they ever suspect him. He constantly spoke on his phone to HRG from inside the research building. His phone isn't bugged? Hopefully they don't stop the virus and the show dies.

Grant | Nov 27, 2007 11:42:34 AM | #

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Good comments by all, so I'll only add one: if all these Heroes have all these powers, then why do they seem to forget they have them at the most inconvenient of times? To wit: Micah is able to short out a street light, so why didn't he "lay hands" on the bad guys' cars and fry the engines? I understand he's still a young boy and was probably terrified, but still...he certainly wasn't afraid of beating the stuffing out of his cousin, so why did he suddenly sprout feathers and go "bock-bock" when the bad guys didn't know he was even there? Ah, well. I've lost all respect now for the writers and their pitiful little rebellion (to quote Palpatine)...most viewers with whom I've spoken are not going to be very happy with the glut of insipid "reality" programming we're all going to have endure until this idiocy is concluded, so if they have any brains amongst them, they need to get back to the table, take what deal they can get and do their damn jobs. I'm seriously thinking about writing a few episodes and sending them in just as a bleep-you to the writers. Not of this show, though...it's so convoluted that I'd have them on Gilligan's Island or something with the Harlem Globetrotters. Imagine Hiro showing up for that party..."Ya-tah!" indeed.

Dark Disciple | Nov 27, 2007 12:51:12 PM | #

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This was a terrible episode but that's nothing new this season. The scene with Elle and her slushy was the best part of the whole hour. At least Tim Kring realizes that changes need to be made. Now if they would only kill off Maya, Sylar, and West things might pick up.

Claire's plan to out the Heroes is painfully stupid. Having a boyfriend has done her no favors.

Amy Lynne | Nov 27, 2007 2:00:52 PM | #

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Claire's plan is beyond funny. HRG is a smart guy but his family is not smart. But in Heroes, being smart is not enough, one day an idiot like Mohinder can shoot you in the eye. HRG is the "Company Man", he knows everything about it. Why would Mohinder not believe a word HRG say? What does Mohinder know about the Company?

dfee | Nov 27, 2007 2:45:17 PM | #

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I agree with everyone who talked about how we never found out the elders powers or even the backstory. Some of the inconsistencies mentioned about solidify my belief that Tim Kring flies by the seat of his pants and does not plan things out. Even if the season ends now, there is no reason why they had to quickly tie up the elder and company chapter...it could have continued next year.

Jerry | Nov 27, 2007 2:54:06 PM | #

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I heard during season 1 that Tim Kring had planned out years in advance stories for Heroes.

Wouldn't it have been great if this whole time Mohinder and Bennett had actually been helping each other by pretending to be enemies? I was expecting that when it was discovered that Mohinder gave Bennett Claire's blood. Except he still did not want to trust Bennett? Moron!

gus | Nov 27, 2007 3:08:48 PM | #

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To Greg @ 9:33:22 AM - I was just thinking about the strike being a reason this season hasn't seemed as good as last. Thanks for the info.

I have one general question aren't Hero judged by their actions or are they Heroes if they have powers?

To Dark D - If you think you can write better episodes or entire season plots well than the current writers of Heroes you should do it and submit them. This would be the best time since the Writers are on strike. Hey! If it's good they may give you a contract or something. As to your anger towards the Writers it should be directed more towards the Producers & Company. They have been the ones that have stalled talks until recently. Believe me! I've had some eyebrow risen moments about this season too, but I willing to give it a chance. Hey, I returned after the So-So ending of the 1st season and the news that Syslar would be back. I guess I'm just not one of those episode to episode type fans.

Sometimes the writers come up with some gems. Ando line was great.

I don't think we know what Micah going to do about his cousin yet. As the scene ended the cousin had just been slug by one of the thugs and was being pushed in a vehicle. Maybe he'll run to get someone maybe he’ll just run to hide for cover since he was just stand on the curb. Actually this was the best cliff hanger of the night in my opinion.

As to the Peter/Hiro rumble, I doubt anything will come of it. We haven’t seen Peter or Hiro Kill anybody. Neither Peter nor Hiro have the complete piece of the puzzle as to the Virus/Adam/Company neither do we. I agree it seems like Adam set-up Victoria with the convenient release of her next to her weapon. Who would really go for a shotgun rife (that seems to have endless rounds in it) to kill two people that you’ve already tried killing that don’t die.

| Nov 27, 2007 5:26:37 PM | #

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I think it was obvious (painfully)last night that he was fast-forwarding the action to finish this arch that was intended to last for the season. I still love Heroes though. Better and more hopeful than most other shows. I need a little hope now and then.

tv | Nov 27, 2007 6:26:16 PM | #

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Whereas this season is not as compelling as last, I am still enjoying it. I was particularly gratified to have something interesting happen in the Claire/West story line. I no longer cringe when they appear on screen!

Zachary Quinto does creepy well. His depiction of Sylar makes his evil quite believable. I can't wait to see him in the next Star Trek movie to see if he is really a good actor or if he is just really creepy himself.

Regarding heroes forgetting their powers, that has bugged me also. Especially Peter. He said that he remembers everything, but the only thing he can think to do when Hiro is charging him is to electrocute his former comrade in arms? However, I am willing to give him a pass on this on the assumption that he really doesn't remember everything. He seemed to be straining to remember who Hiro was when he said Hiro's name. Also, if he really did remember everything, it seems he would have chosen another, less lethal, power to deal with Hiro (levitation, invisibility). And, it seems he would have better use of his powers (time travel to save Kaitlin) if he remembered he had them.

Another Greg | Nov 27, 2007 7:09:18 PM | #

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Rick you said "Several characters...[were] willing to accept a shaky story because it fits with their goal."

That's a little more plausible than my husband's and my theory that several characters are being really, really dumb. Well, one more week and we'll all get a break. Maybe we need it.

meggins | Nov 27, 2007 7:22:05 PM | #

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One thing I don't really get... did Alejandro possess special powers at all, or was it just his calming presence that helped Maya to rescind the death warrants of her crude oil tears?

If two will die next week, a gutsy move would be to have Sylar take out Molly... as if his powers weren't already scary enough. Maya's power wouldn't do much to help Sylar, simply because he has quite enough other ways to instantly kill.

Bob is another logical candidate, because his death could conceivably cut the company to its knees financially (unless he's got some secret Fort Knox-type stash) and that would up the ante for the surviving heroes to form the "new" company.

Goph | Nov 27, 2007 7:38:36 PM | #

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Alejandro did have powers...you can see his eyes turn white or black (can't remember) to resemble him actually absorbing her powers. I'm one of the few who misses him and wishes he didn't die. Mostly because he had the most sense in hating Sylar (like I do). He had a good heart.

Zachary Quinto's character should have died back in season 1. His facial expressions are reason enough to rid of Sylar along with his boomerang eyebrows. Snap!

gus | Nov 27, 2007 9:22:39 PM | #

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not as good as last week, but still decent. Glad Sylar killed one of the twins finally although i thought for a minute that he might be able to heal himself. Suresh really is being made out to be too stupid for words, which is a shame. I am almost certain that Niki's going to die which i hate but it seems pretty clear that she's not long for this world. Also, i'm pretty sure that Hiro gets the upper hand on Peter since we've already seen him with his sword to Peter's neck in a clip. I really hope he chops Adam's head off before its over with and they better make it a cool shot ala Underworld.

steve | Nov 28, 2007 6:27:07 AM | #

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seeing Sylar kill Maya made up for all of this seson's mistakes !!!

Brian | Dec 3, 2007 6:35:43 PM | #

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darn, maya's back,,,but at least Niki is dead, good riddance to a waste of screen time

Brian | Dec 3, 2007 6:51:30 PM | #

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god knows when they will air the third season. I guess they will revive Nathan(flying man) by injecting Claire's blood.
What do you guys think?

Uno | Dec 4, 2007 3:54:07 PM | #

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