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'Heroes' does the time warp. Again.
Say this for Monday's Heroes: At least it didn't repeat the "Several Months Ago" structure of the back story-revealing flashback episodes from seasons one and two. And we got to see a few previously unknown connections between some of the characters. But what, exactly, are we supposed to take away from "Villains"?
These spoilers go well with peach pie.
We knew Arthur Petrelli was a bad guy already. We've been learning that Sylar's thirst for new powers is as much addiction as eeevilness. And we knew that Meredith harbors some resentment toward Primatech because of Claire. Why we needed to have that reiterated to us in an hour of flashbacks -- courtesy of Hiro's spirit walk -- escapes me a little bit.
Some of the episode's details were mildly interesting: Arthur Petrelli "died" because Angela poisoned him after discovering that part of his plan involved killing Nathan. Bad-guy firestarter Flint is Meredith's brother, and the poor sucker thought he was being recruited when Company agent Thompson (a returning Eric Roberts) captured him -- apparently with Claude's help (Flint says something about an invisible man tackling him outside the store he and Meredith were robbing). HRG and Elle used to work together, and apparently Elle used to be kind of nice.
But I really felt like the episode was just showing us things Heroes has already shown us this fall (clever title cards aside), and other than the filling in of those details, nothing much was accomplished. We're no closer to understanding, for instance, why it is that Arthur wants to give everyone powers and why that will then bring about the end of the world, which is kind of the point of this arc. There has to be a way for this show to do flashbacks that doesn't kill whatever momentum had been building in prior episodes.
Enough of my bellyaching. Onto the specifics...
Petrelli family: The chyron informs us that the Petrelli-related flashbacks take place "18 months ago," which is good they depict events we saw in season one's "Six Months Ago" -- i.e., six months before the events of the pilot -- and the other stories, set "one year ago," show events from the pilot. So at least the chronology makes sense.
At a party for Arthur and Angela's 41st anniversary, we learn that the Petrelli-Linderman plot to blow up New York involves killing Nathan (so I guess the part where Nathan becomes president in an alternate future was an audible Linderman called after Arthur's non-death). It was Arthur, we learn, who sicced the goons on Nathan and his wife, causing the accident that paralyzed her.
Angela learns all this and is justifiably horrified, but Arthur wipes her mind. Linderman, allowing that he still has some scrap of decency left in him, heals the scar tissue that Arthur's handiwork leaves on her brain, and the memory comes flooding back. Uh-oh. One poisoned bowl of lentil soup (and one Haitian) later, Arthur is presumed dead. And, of course, knowing what we know now, we know that the doctor who pronounces him is really just Arthur's mind-manipulated puppet. The good doctor does inform Arthur, though, that the poison Angela gave him affected his nervous system in such a way that his paralysis is likely permanent.
(Side note: I guess we're to think that Arthur just happened to have the mind-reading power on his own, rather than taking it from Maury Parkman. Because as we've seen, when Arthur takes a power it stays took, and Maury was using his on Daphne and Nathan earlier this season.)
Sylar and Elle: Six months have passed between Gabriel Gray killed telekinetic Brian Davis. He apparently hasn't killed again, but the thought of what he did to Brian is consuming him. He tries to hang himself, but Elle walks in and zaps the rope in two.
Elle, it turns out, is working with HRG to track and observe Gabriel (he wasn't quite Sylar yet) to see how he's able to transfer abilities from someone else to himself. HRG is going all Marlin Perkins on the assignment, talking about the need to observe Gabriel "in the wild" to get a real glimpse of what he does. Elle is less enthused, arguing that Gabriel can be stopped from killing again and really, he's just a nice guy in a bad situation. Aww, she likes him.
Fine, but how is Elle this sweet and well-adjusted? She's been humanized a bit in the past few present-day episodes of the show, but the picture we see of her here doesn't jibe with the unhinged, gleefully malevolent bad girl we first met last season. I don't think watching Gabriel/Sylar get pushed into killing finger-gunning Trevor (lamest power ever?) was really enough to send her over the edge. Oh, and HRG got in Suresh's cab right after Peter got out. Mmm, continuity.
Meredith: We find her with brother Flint, robbing a convenience store (does this woman run with a tough crowd or what?) in Memphis, until the Company's Thompson shows up. Flint, unaware of what's going on, makes a run for it, but Meredith just gets a resigned look on her face like she was kind of expecting to get caught.
Thompson offers her a choice: sit in a fireproof cell for a really long time, or join up with the Company. Meredith wants to make sure her brother will be safe, but Thompson reminds her that she's not really bargaining from a position of power. So join she does, and her first assignment goes swimmingly as she helps Thompson bring in a guy who can turn his fist into metal (a way cooler ability than finger-gun boy).
But then she finds Flint cooped up in a cell, and although he's under the impression that he, too, will be joining the Company ranks, Meredith knows better (sort of; Thompson seemed open to the idea of training him) and busts him out. Thompson tracks the siblings to a train, and a firefight ensues, and boom goes the boxcar. And wouldn't you know, the train derails in just the spot where Claire-of-the-pilot can run in and save the firefighter, while up on the overpass above Thompson and Meredith are talking about her.
He lets Meredith go -- an action that, again, doesn't quite fit with the cold-blooded guy we saw in his season one arc. More to the point, though, why did we need to spend a third of the episode on this?
After all the flashbacking, Hiro wakes up from his spirit walk and is all fired up to go warn the Petrellis that Arthur is alive. Until he and Ando hear a scream, and find spirit guide Usutu has literally lost his head (eww). It's the very much alive Arthur Petrelli, who lays his hands on Hiro's head and says, "I understand you've been dreaming about me." Hiro screams, and it's "To Be Continued" time.
Maybe the "continued" will get us a little closer to explaining Arthur's plans.
Did tonight's Heroes flashbacks provide you with big information, or did it just feel like the show was spinning its wheels a little?
Once again, tonights Heroes was just crap. Utter Crap. And the 'new' showrunners can't come fast enough, too bad it wont be till May till we get 'new' material from them.
Ron | Nov 10, 2008 9:54:27 PM | #Eh... it was enjoyable, but yes, what point did this have?
Too bad Heroes does not really have a definite plan.
Heather | Nov 10, 2008 10:14:56 PM | #if it lasts til May....
| Nov 10, 2008 11:39:44 PM | #Meh, I've always enjoyed the "flashback/flashforward" episodes, because they attempt to show where us where our favorite characters came from and where they're going if things don't change. And with tonight's episode, it was fun to watch the connections even if they were a bit ludicrous sometimes (Claire rescuing the firefighter from the train wreck her mom caused? Sure...)
To be fair though, this episode did seem a little bit like it was pandering to us, and stalling for time. They've been doing that alot for the past two seasons; it's like "Hey, the show has been so terrible let's show you elements of Season 1 to remind you about how good we once were!"
God help me, I still love this show. But its flaws are becoming harder to ignore, and excrement will hit the fan if they kill off a favorite character for shock value (especially if it's Hiro).
Sean | Nov 11, 2008 2:48:54 AM | #While not perfect, especially the lame ending, to me this episode was probably the best of season so far. While not learning much new info, we did get to spend some time with our heroes/villains instead of jumping from lame plot line to lame plot line. Maybe I liked this episode more b/c it reminded me of Lost and it's interweaving of characters.
wa | Nov 11, 2008 5:27:46 AM | #I couldn't stop laughing through this God-forsaken And Ridiculous
Baffling Abominable Gratuitous Episode.
Heroes problem is that it's viewers are stupid. What was the point of the episode? Okay, let me spell it out for you. The point of this episode was to 1)show you that Arthur was the one behind Heidi's accident (something we thought Linderman did) 2)Show how Sylar turned into the power craving murderer that he is (Thanks, HRG!) and 3)Show you how Angela turned into a cold hearted witch (finding out that your husband of 40 yrs tried to kill your son will do that to a person.
I know that this is pick on Heroes month, but if you are going to watch the show, try to at least SEE what's going on, especially if you are being paid to review it. Geez!
i liked the show and i like the season so far. I know that puts me in a small minority, but i don't nitpick the show to death. I just roll with it and enjoy it for what it is, a comic book brought to TV.
steve | Nov 11, 2008 7:16:29 AM | #Please bring back Andrea to review Heroes. I enjoy her recap a whole heck of lot more than this Mr. Whiner. I think this was yet another good episode and i really enjoyed how they filled in the background of what we knew and next week looks to be another good one. If you hate the show this much, stop doing the recaps and let Andrea do them since she actually enjoys the show.
steve | Nov 11, 2008 7:19:20 AM | #Why didn't Hiro just stop time when he saw Usuta had his head cut off? Instead he just stands there like an idiot.
I preferred when Sylar was evil because he enjoyed being evil and actually used the people's powers he stole. Now he's super villain-lite with too much time spent on him trying to not be interesting.
They need to stop making family connections to Claire, by the time the shows over everyone will be related to everyone. The soap opera "Passions" made more sense.
Holy, take it easy. It's a TV show.
Jenna | Nov 11, 2008 7:26:13 AM | #i thought the episode was awesome---i love merideth too so it was great that she got lots of airtime.
tim | Nov 11, 2008 8:03:04 AM | #Absolutely agree with TMZ... this was a fantastic episode, and seeing the scenes from season 1 in a new light was great. The two best lines came from Angela:
1. I'm sentimental because I don't want to kill my son?
2. I lied, it's not your mother's recipe.
Sure, this has been a disappointing season before this episode, but people need to give this a chance.
I think they forget some stuff from season 1. First once the show had started, Sylar was evil and had the FBI on his butt for being a serial killer. Here he was still shy Gabriel that was still a novice killer. Also I thought Papa Petrelli had been dead for a while when the show started (perhaps I'm wrong).
Okay, so Linderman had no problem in season 1 killing anyone in his way and plans to nuke NY City, but killing Nathan was a little too much for him??
When did Elle become nice, she was a B!+(H on wheels for all of last season, now she's a nice person a year ago.
| Nov 11, 2008 8:36:05 AM | #Sigh.
Best by relativity.
The episode was nice, but as Rick Porter pointed out, doesn't fit with the first season well.
The highlight was probably Hiro screaming and the Heroes/NBC chime commercial, though time-travel will always break any series.
pakopako | Nov 11, 2008 9:23:21 AM | #I for one enjoyed the episode. I'd liked how they crossed thing over. Sit back, relax and stop taking this show so seriously.
It has it flaws, but find me a show that doesn't.
And as for all the complaining, you guys will be here next week doing the same.
JC | Nov 11, 2008 10:09:25 AM | #Didn't Angela say Arthur committed suicide in Season one?
| Nov 11, 2008 10:10:20 AM | #This show has forgotten a lot of it's own past and therefore happens to contradict itself often.
1) Sylar was on a nation wide killing spree at the time of the pilot not contemplating killing himself or trying to be nice for Elle.
2) Only Peter thought his father had a heart attack, we later found out that he "committed suicide". Why would Nathan have told Peter the "truth" about their father's suicide if it actually appeared to Nathan to be a heart attack?
3.) I still don't understand how Claire could have killed Future Peter.
This show had such potential, but without knowing where they're going or paying attention to where they've been, all they're doing is turning the show into a joke.
Josh Man | Nov 11, 2008 10:24:31 AM | #I actually do feel bad for fans of the show ..its sinking really fast..I personally have given up on the show a few weeks back..and i'm happy for doing so..i just think its a very poorly written, acted and directed show // - watch Smallville and you'll see the show 'Heroes' should be .. - biggest problem..NO HEART..none.. the show is sloppy, uneven and just a mess..with sinking ratings - last night..less than 8 mil..NBC was massacred by ABC and CBS... -
Sooo..either NBC moves it..makes it watchable ..or frankly..just cancel it and send my regards to 'The Bionic Woman' cause this show is steadily falling into that territory..
Great news for BIG BANG THEORY though!..10mil !..woo hoo..
Steve
Steve | Nov 11, 2008 10:53:25 AM | #They are starting to fumble the ball like LOST has done. Trying to make too many connections and stall the initial story line. I'm sure they have a goal in mind for each season and the end all result, but they are having a ton of trouble finding a way there.
Zoot | Nov 11, 2008 10:58:25 AM | #Okay, so, here's my little rant.
1)Sylar was on a killing spree, this we all know, but the timeline still fits I think. I can see how it was the company that created Sylar, and made him into the murderer he is. We all saw it, also, knowing what we know about the company, can you really put it past them not to have him set up and chased. Also, remember that S1 stretched 5-weeks. A week is plenty of time to get the 2 or 3 more powers Sylar had at the start of the series.
2)Nathan and his mother in S1 were trying to keep peter from discovering their abilities. Nathan had an idea, from his incident with assassination attempt of his own. We know very well how manipulative Angela can been, she could easily convince Nathan to tell Peter he was a suicidal man, to justify Peter's own instanity at that point. (If you thought you coudl really fly, and had no proof, you'd probably think you were insane too.)
3)As for Linderman. I still think the guy is a creep. What if he already had Mr. Issac's painting of him being president? And then he found out Arthur had tried to kill Nathan w/o Linderman knowing. Linderman would know how Angela would react, so he brought back her memory, let her do the dirty work, and then let her know the details. Remember, It appeared to me that Angela had no part in the plan to blow up NYC before Linderman healed her. Linderman could have brought her in to replace Arthur. Linderman in a way revolted, manipulated Angela because of her feelings for Nathan, and got Arthur out of the way with his own wife. Seeing as how it appeared Arthur was really the one in control.
4)Looked like a head-shot for starters. When things are lodged in their head, they can't regen. (Example is the glass Claire had to remove from peter in S1) Also, wasn't the haitin there? He stops powers, so IDK.
Again, just a moron ranting.
Moron Man | Nov 11, 2008 11:02:32 AM | #OOPS:Future painter didn't see that one coming.
| Nov 11, 2008 12:02:56 PM | #Linderman didn't reveal the truth to Angela out of compassion, he did it in order to usurp the power from Arthur, who was clearly calling the shots over Linderman at that time.
I really enjoyed this episode. The character development and the new information we got. The best line was Angela's "I lied. It wasn't your mother's recipe."
Jason | Nov 11, 2008 12:33:38 PM | #And no one has mentioned that Elle is clearly going to be future-Gabriel's baby mama!
Jason | Nov 11, 2008 12:43:17 PM | #The writers strike messed everything up and so many show got off track with plots and ratings.
Thank you writers for messing everything up. Now get back to business of writing quality scripts worth viewing so fans can return to watching their favorite shows.
JC NYC | Nov 11, 2008 12:47:17 PM | #
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