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RSS'Heroes': Like Coyote Sands through the hourglass ...
Tonight's very talky installment of "Heroes" sort of hit the pause button on the forward momentum -- but it also filled in a fair amount of information about the past. It was hardly the show's best effort this season, but the flashbacks gave "1961" some extra oomph.
The entire episode took place at the Coyote Sands complex where the Petrelli-Bennet clan ended up at the end of last week's episode. Through some very nice-looking black-and-white flashbacks, we learn (or rather, confirm -- this wasn't all that hard to figure out) that it was a sort of internment camp for people with abilities, and Angela, her younger sister Alice and her parents were brought there in early 1961.
Also there? Dr. Chandra Suresh, who's supervising the scientific work going on at the camp, and fellow internees Charles Deveaux, Daniel Linderman and Bobby Bishop. Everyone's a Kennedy-era optimist to start, despite the armed guards, but it soon becomes clear to Deveaux, at least, that things are not as happy and cheerful as they seem. Because crappily built huts in the middle of the desert always mean fun.
We never quite learn what exactly the elder Suresh and the government was doing -- the implication was that he was trying to "cure" people with abilities -- but as we learned last week, it all went sideways, and now there's a mass grave in the desert floor. Angela has been dreaming about the place, and she's convinced she needs to dig up the bodies in order to find Alice. Except: In the dreams, Alice is alive, but Angela's convinced there's no way she could have survived.
You know what's coming, right? Alice is alive, if not entirely well, and has been living in the Coyote Sands fallout shelter lo these many years -- because Angela told her to wait there, that she'd be back and that everything would be OK. It's not quite the heart-warming reunion Angela may have been hoping for, as Alice -- who can make weather a la "X-Men's" Storm -- doesn't take the news that Angela lied to her way back when all that well, stirring up some lightning and wind and then disappearing into the desert.
But that's not important, because the real purpose of the Coyote Sands family reunion was to Learn a Lesson about how people with abilities should be treated. Angela's all for returning to the Company way -- it was formed by Coyote Sands alumni, after all, and it served its purpose of keeping supers hidden from the world for many years.
Now, it's not hard to see why the Company's founders would want to be so hush-hush -- none of them wanted a repeat of what happened to them as teenagers. But having seen the corruption and downright evil that the Company eventually became, Peter and Claire want no part of that. Peter eventually proposes that they act as a family, acknowledging that he's willing to forgive Nathan in order to make it happen. Nathan, in turn, agrees to go back to Washington and man up about the Danko-headed monster he's created.
Too late, though: The episode ends with Sylar-as-Nathan apparently announcing a run for president, promising to bring "real purpose back to the White House."
"Heroes" has two episodes left before the "Fugitives" volume concludes. Suresh is still at Coyote Sands, looking for an explanation of what his father did there, and Hiro, Ando and the two Matt Parkmans were last seen leaving Washington. It's going to take quite a bit of fancy footwork to get everyone in place for a finale in that short amount of time.
Other thoughts from "1961":
- Aside from the muddled explanation about the nature of Chandra Suresh's work at Coyote Sands, the thing that's nagging me the most is the idea that Alice somehow caused a massacre with her storm-starting power. The guard shooting the guy who shockwaved Dr. Suresh away, I can see. But the subsequent and systematic killing of some 200 more people, just to cover up tracks? That's one awfully huge leap.
- Is the show taking place in 2011? Angela makes several references to things at the camp having happened "50 years ago," and while she may have just forgotten to put an "almost" in front of those statements, it sure seemed to me that we're meant to believe the story is a couple years ahead of our time.
- I enjoyed the revelation of Deveaux's Jedi mind trick-like power. It seems appropriately badass for a character who would grow up to be played by Shaft.
- In case you didn't pick up on the history-repeating-itself theme, the show drove it home with all the subtlety of a shotgun blast by showing that the lab at Coyote Sands was in Building 26.
- If the goal is now, as Peter stated at episode's end, to go back underground, how does that square with the show's ongoing theme of identity? For most of the past three seasons, "Heroes" has been at least partly about people trying to come to terms with their abilities. Denying they exist doesn't seem like the best way to do that.
What did you think of "Heroes" this week? Did the flashbacks work for you -- and did the present-day material live up to what we saw of the past?
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
The last few episodes have given me hope for the series. This episode was pretty solid but felt unnecessarily stretched out. Sure, we learned about Primatech's origin and the sister but that could have taken 20 min.
After this season, I think their needs to be a trimming of the cast. The Petrelli's have become annoying. I'm not sure if I can take another season of Peter's endless brooding. Suresh was best as enthusiastic and niave detective type but has become useless as yet another moody hero. The stars, for me, are Noah, Ando and Hiro. Keep the good characters and introduce new ones to capture the magic of the first season.
While there were some really key moments in the episode, like Claire saying "yeah, I am kind of an idiot", I must agree with Peter. It could have just taken place in a diner.
I want REBEL BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting episode, especially since Ma Petrelli had the spotlight but I thought the effort was average overall ... neither a hit or a miss.
Along the lines of a poster mentioning trimming the cast: I've been in favor of this for quite a while, honestly. The guys at "Lost" have never been shy about cutting loose characters that have served their purpose. And "MI-5" (aka "Spooks" outside the US) is so ruthless that you never know whether a regular character is going to make it through an episode, never mind an entire season!
These strategies help keep the shows fresh by constantly cycling in new characters and storylines. "Heroes" though has become so enamored of certain characters that they are repeatedly shoehorned into storylines even when the characters themselves hardly seem relevant anymore.
Claire, Peter, Mohinder, Ando, Hiro have pretty much run their course for me. On the fence about Parkman. Nathan, Angela, HRG and Sylar are still intriguing, although Sylar should be used sparingly, imo.
Looking forward to the season finale, let's hope Heroes mainatins enough viewership to justify another season.
Like you, I felt the sudden m***acre made no sense at all. Neither does the fact that this was at the height of the Cold War, and the government would have been interested in harnessing those powers, certainly not hindering them.
The teenage heroes escaping from the internment camp and then deciding to hang out in a local diner didn't make sense to me either. Angela's off-screen attempt to convince the police about the camp's real purpose seems really lame, especially when you consider her best bud from the camp has mind-controlling abilities. Finally, I didn't understand how seeing all your people - the heroes - murdered by the government would put you on a mission to hush up the heroes and capture the "bad" ones. If the government kills my family, then any "company" I set up would be devoted to destroying the government, not hindering and muting my own kind.
Kind of a tedious and unbelievable ep for me. Did really like that Sylar has taken over Nathan's life. Now THAT makes perfect sense. He has power, status, and he must be driving Nathan crazy. What shape-shifter would p*** that up?
The flashbacks were kind of cool, but I really didn't see much point to the whole episode. Why bother introducing such an improbable character as Alice just to have her run away at the end of the episode? And was the ending really any great revelation? All that for "we need to act like a family?" Weak effort, and even the Sylar reveal at the end just hearkens back to the far superior episode 'Five Years Gone' from season 1.
It loathes me to say something bad about Heroes since that seems to be the in thing to do, but this episode was a dud. First of all, it was pure filler. Aside from learning why Angela steals socks, I really don't see what we learned from it. Second, it has a huge continuity flaw in it. How did Sylar impersonate Nathan when he never touched him? I'm curious to see them explain that away. Lastly, are we really supposed to believe that Angela's sister lived like that all by herself for almost 50 years? Sorry, I just didn't buy this episode. It's unfortunate because the show had really turned a corner once Fuller arrived. This was definitely a step back. No worries. It looks like next week will be bad***.
this episode sucked!!!!!! it was so boring. plus the storm rip off reaked of desparation
Sigh, I hate really saying anything bad about Heroes...first thing first please oh please do something with Claire's hair...that wig *smh*. Ok now to the show, the best part of the episode was of course FINALLY knowing Charles(ultra cool) abilty. It is a little far fetched that because of 1 zap to a guard....the ENTIRE operation had to go down. I mean really if people now have super cool abilities, why didn't they try and save everyone? Angela's Dad had a cool one(which he did try to use). Mohinher needs to grow some(sheesh) whine whine my Father blah blah blah. Nathan needs to go, Claire needs to go...Save the Cheerleader,Save the World she is no longer a cheerleader and her talking thru gritted teeth(argh). I wish the show would have been more on how the company was started, more than *in far away voice* 4 young people decided to go on a journey....and it begins*booooo*. Wait....who healed Angela when she had the wound and if the guy( I know not Adam Monroe) could do that....why did he heal some of the victims? And sorry to burst anyone's bubble but its not really all that plausible for Alice to be a reoccurring character....do you realize how easy EVERY fight scene could be won. I have vented I love Heroes.....but well had to get it off my chest
Poor episode. Early on, I said to myself that I hoped it didn't turn out that Angela's sister was still alive and living in that camp after all these years. That would be incredibly stupid. Of course, that's exactly what happened. Her reason for staying was equally unbelievable and lame.
This show doesn't know where it's going or what it wants to say. That said, the young woman they hired as teen Angela was very good, and an excellent match for "old" Angela. It was striking how similar they were, despite the 50 year age difference. Excellent job by the Casting Department.