I was delayed in watching “Heroes” last night because Kath and I went to the annual SFWA get together, informally known as the “Mill and Swill,” and Ariel was good enough to record it. She also recorded “Studio 60.” Haven’t had a chance to watch that yet, but I know that for some insane reason you guys are really interested in my opinion on “Heroes,” so I’m not wasting any time. Spoilers follow:
This episode climaxes a lot of what the past weeks have been building toward: The instantly iconic “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” mantra. Shockingly having nothing to do with Buffy, this enigmatic phrase has spurred a number of our heroes to track down Cheerverine (who I still believe is going to have to save NYC from a nuclear meltdown that only she can get to because, like the climax of Star Trek II, only she has the endurance to handle unfettered radiation to get to wherever the shut-off switch is) and save her from the even more enigmatic Syler, who apparently has a thing for slicing open the tops of people’s heads that surpasses Hannibal Lecter.
The trick when building up to something as big as this episode, with all the foreshadowing, is the problem of raised expectations. That and, in the interest of full disclosure, I was tired and fighting off falling asleep. That said, it was certainly engaging enough, particularly the sequence where Syler mistakenly goes after Cheerverine’s rival, killing the wrong cheerleader. Nevertheless, the episode was lacking two things for me: Hiro, who was MIA until the final scene, and remains the most engaging character on the show; and any real suspense as to the outcome. The painting that depicted Peter dying in his battle with Syler was utterly pointless because, although granted Peter had no way of knowing he’d survive and was thus heroic in his actions, no question, as a viewer I’m going, “Well, once he’s in proximity to Claire, he’ll just absorb her Cheerverine properties and heal himself.” Any other character being sent to the rescue, there’s suspense; with Peter, not so much.
None of which deters my enthusiasm for the series, and my continued relief that it doesn’t air on Fox since it would be on at 8 PM Friday and be canceled already. Unlike other such serialized tales in which things only seem murkier as the show progresses, “Heroes” is actually coming more and more into focus. However I think it’s time for them to lose the snore-enducing opening and closing narrative. Aiming for portenous, it’s simply pretentious, adding nothing and illuminating nothing. Unless they’re going to have the observations made by Mary Alice from “Desperate Housewives,” I’m not really seeing the point.
PAD
• 
We also called it on how Petrelli would survive…
I have to agree with you on the narrative, I have zoned it out in nearly every episode. I also missed Hiro, but I can understand the absence. I can’t wait for next week.
By the way, that beginning narration by Mohinder which you don’t like — if you think it’s detrimental, then perhaps it’s a Mohindrance.
Also agree on the narration, zzzzzz….
Yes, we knew Peter would survive with Claire’s powers, but being arrested for the other girl’s murder was a nice twist.
I thought the cliffhanger with Jessica taking a sniper shot at DL was lame. Of course he will see the muzzle flash and use his Black Pryde powers to let the bullet pass through him.
(See, he’s black and has Kitty Pryde powers, so I call him Black Pryde, it’s like the Cheerverine thing:-}
“By the way, that beginning narration by Mohinder which you don’t like — if you think it’s detrimental, then perhaps it’s a Mohindrance.”
Ouch! I can’t take this punishment!
Now, will Peter use Sylar’s powers for a prison breakout? And whatever happened to Radioactive Man; is he the one that’s going to have the New York melt down? I see shades of “Don’t make me angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry.” This may be foreshadowed by the brief glimpse of the firey person glimpsed in the latest Heroinscope Painting.
Ever since last week I’ve had this crazy notion that Nathan Petrelli was Syler (or is it Cyler? Or is he one if the remaining Cylons?). I don’t know why, and I don’t really think it would make sense unless they did the whole “he has another personality” thing, but I’ve been trying to figure out why they are so keen on *not* showing his face. Yeah, I guess it’s to make it more suspenseful and him more dangerous, but it also seems like at some point there will be a reveal at a critical time, and everyone will go “Holy Crap, *that* guy is Syler?” and it will take everyone by surprise when he starts flippin’ lids. That was what I was really ready for, the Syler reveal, which I guess is next week before the break (according to the entertainment weekly).
Yes, I believe you hit the nail on the head about the absence of Hiro being a negative. The character is engaging and charming in both his determination to stick to his ethical compass and also his infectious sense of wonder as he makes his way across the US. I was really liking the interchange between him and the waitress and hope she‘ll be back.
The whole storyline with the Niki mystefies me. If she’s a villain fine, let’s get to it already. She’s racking up quite the body count so far and it doesn’t seem like it matters.
Overall, I’m enjoying the show and it has become one of those things I make sure to catch. I just hope they haven’t killed some of the suspense by giving it all away when it comes to Sylar (which is what the next episode appears to be about).
We missed Hiro too as he’s our favorite- and from the talk around the water he’s everyone’s favorite.
I think my boyfriend is the ONLY one who didn’t see Peter surviving because of meeting up with Claire coming. (Oh I thought him being arrested for the murder and interesting twist too.) Peter’s my second favorite character and can’t wait to see how he develops. My guess he’s gonna step up us leader of the Heroes soon enough.
Peter needs a new love interest. Every time he shares a scene with Simone I think, “Yeah, she’s not for you.” My guess is she’s wearing the red shirt. Expect her to die tragically to add some motivation to his character.
I’m glad Mohinderence is finally getting it together. (How sexy is he, btw?!) Perhaps he’ll eventually step up as the father figure, as PAD mentioned earlier, that every good mulit-cast show needs.
I bet the killing off of Jackie the other cheerleader, is the creaters of this show getting some digs for retribution from high school days! Wonder who the now dead Jackie was based on? Bet the creator and/or writers had a bit of fun killing her off- however sadistic it was! (Perks of being a fiction writer ay?)
So we finally get a glimpse of Sylar. I still think that he’s ultimately not the big bad in this show. Shadow government agency will probably fill those shoes.
As I suspected, the chick working with Ambiguous Dad who caught up with Sylar after the killing does indeed have the power of suggestion powers ala Professor X. What I wouldn’t give for THAT one!
Wasn’t so disappointed about not seeing Nikki/Jessica as much. For some reason I’m not as hepped up about her, although I do like DL and Smartboy. (Looks like next ep we see how her personality split- as mentioned before she’s seems to be classic MPD.)
Also didn’t miss Isaac, precog paintboy, as much. They need to keep him off the smack so they can develop his character more.
Eh that was supposed to be “talk around the water cooler”!
Oh about Sylar, rumer has it they were looking for a big name to play sylar, that’s why we didn’t see his face until now …
Black Pryde? Umm…
They really ought to spin Hiro off into his own show. I’m losing interest in the other characters except, perhaps, Peter even though he’s a little too earnest and plucky for me.
On the narrative: Yeah, I agree. It’s not horrible, it just doesn’t add much.
It reminds me of caption boxes in comics. They’re getting overdone, depending on the author. Like in the new JLA series they’re being used in every page (I think every panel) by almost every character. It’s not even really the characters’ thoughts, it’s the characters’ *reflections* about their thoughts. There’s so much introspection that the story slows to a crawl.
I actually read almost all of Identity Crisis (same author) without reading any of the captions. It sped up the book tremendously, and I really think it was a better book for it. I started doing that kind of thing when I read through the “Our Worlds at World” gigantic trade paperback collection recently. So many of those issues had quotes from famous speeches, and they didn’t add much. The action tells the story, having captions try and frame it for me again and again and again got annoying, so I just stopped reading them.
Could be SPOILERS, BEWARE!
Of course every comicbook fan knew he would survive, but if you watched, you had to have seen Peter had no idea he would. He did not know Claire’s abilities, he does not even know how or when his power kicks in. What I was watching, knowing that as long as he was near Claire he was safe, was whether he would display two absorbed powers at the same time. I see him as Synch, and if I remember, it was being built up that that character could have multiple use abilities, but no at first. Peter has a totally automatic power.
I agree that the Radiation guy is the bomb. I wonder if Syler takes his head and that makes it go BOOM. This was heavily implied in the FBI arrest scenes. I think that in the end Peter might be the one to stop the apocolypse. He might be able to use multiple powers.
What at the white “Purlpe Girl” and her demeanor. I think she has shades of Mystique. Maybe she is running her own game. She did not go after Syler until after the attack. She was ordered to go in and stop him.
Hiro was absent for this reason I think. We were suppose to watch his friend as the sidekick. I think that somehow Hiro will screw up this do over. We might even have to re-save the cheerleader. I can see the side kick (whose name I am blanking on) sacrificing himself to aid and even save Hiro (and others), there by giving Hiro the added incentive to be more serious about his powers.
I am digging the Jessica/Niki story. Love the Black Pryde tag. I see his being the criminal turned hero, but Jessica is a big question mark. And who else saw the kid having powers, raise hand. I just love this side story.
Nathan is such a heel. I think he is going to be part of the problem in days to come.
Thank you for letting me vent. I have no one to talk about this with.
I agree with you about Peter – I knew exactly how he would survive. But EVERY day I talk to people about heroes and they don’t understand Peter’s powers. I have to explain it to them slowly. “Can he fly or draw the future? Which? Both?”
So I think a lot of people who aren’t comic book fans, even after his little “I sorta…absorb other people’s powers” will be confused as to how he survived.
Oh, it’s pretty clear that Sylar is going to be small potatoes in the big scheme of things. He doesn’t have the gravitas to be a world changer and all that.
On the other hand, Sylar is very much a threat on the personal level. People can UNDERSTAND his menance on a visceral and immediate level. That’s something that might get lost if you “move to the next level” so to speak.
Okay, Peter Petrelli survived. You must be more comic-geeky than I. I thought it would play out like this: Claire learns of Peter’s power – post-mortem, from an incidental remark by his increasingly creepy Congressman brother – and suffering intense guilt for NOT being present when he died.
And need I point out, at this point, she doesn’t know why he can heal himself? Maybe she thinks he has the same power she does; he didn’t have time to tell her about his power-duplication ability. Even worse, she might somehow have the idea that SHE now has the ability to heal other people, and she may tragically attempt to do it on some normal human.
Worst of all, she is on the verge of telling Dad that she’s a freak, and his CIA masters are going to force him to wipe out her mind by Scary Black Man, or put her in the same concentration camp where all the other empowered people are being held. (You don’t build an operation as complex as this unless you’re going to have a Final Solution. And Dad DID send the artist back into addiction, which means he IS as ruthless a bášŧárd as I feared.)
Peter getting arrested was a good twist but was necessary for him to meet Matt (I think that’s his name; the police guy working for the FBI that can read thoughts).
Possible Spoiler???
I can’t help but thinking and maybe I’m crazy to think this…but maybe they were supposed to save the OTHER cheerleader (the one that died). Hiro never did actually say which cheerleader. Maybe events in last nights episode went as they had always gone? HMMM. I don’t know. It just makes you think though. This could possibly be a big spoiler and big twist… HMMM.
DF2506
” Ya, I know, I’m crazy. All the paintings were about Claire. So it would have to be her they were supposed to save…right? “
Hiro isn’t my favorite character, he’s my second favorite. The cop guy/mind reader is my favorite. This episode sorely lacked both of my favorite characters.
The unfortunate thing is that I really don’t care for Nikki/Jessica and that’s the storyline it seems the writers really love exploring right now.
the biggest difference between heroes and lost right now is that I’m entranced by every single character in lost while in heroes there’s still quite a few characters I still haven’t made that connection with. One can only hope that it’s just that I haven’t had enough time to warm up to the characters and not a deficit in the writing.
“I can’t help but thinking and maybe I’m crazy to think this…but maybe they were supposed to save the OTHER cheerleader (the one that died).”
Kathleen had the exact same notion. Hiro never specified. What if Peter actually failed in his mission?
PAD
Did they really save the Cheerleader? She is still in the clutches of her adoptive father, who’s motives and goals remain unclear. Perhaps she does need even more saveing before the season is over. While I also apreciate the joy Hiro takes at his role, I hope the writers don’t use his abilities to get them out of plot holes they may write themselves into. Otherwise, we might see a Bill and Ted like episode – “okay, I must remember to come back and drop the trashcan over Sylar’s head.”
“Black Pryde” — AWESOME!
I’ve been reading the interviews with some of the writers that CBR does, and they point out that sometimes people read too much in to what’s going on. The retcon and stetcon of Daddy Surresh was just a production hiccup, Claire’s changing school mascot was just a change in shooting location after promo pix.
Saving snobby cheerleader girl wasn’t the goal. It’s overthinking to think it could be. If Peter hadn’t shown up, Sylar kills Claire after he sees she’s the one with the powers. Peter instead shows up and distracts Sylar long enough for her to be ok.
Yes, it was obvious that Peter would survive by mimicking Claire’s powers. I thought it was also obvious that snobby cheerleader would get killed by mistake. They did everything they could to get us to really hate her by the time she buys it.
The point isn’t we know Peter would survive..it’s that he didn’t know, yet he still went to save Claire. It’s that Nathan tried to protect his brother by destroying the painting. It’s that Peter tells Ando that even though he might be killed, he has to go and try (that’s likely a REALLY important scene for Ando’s heroic journey).
In other news, George Takai has been cast as Hiro’s father.
Chris Grillo: ooooh, good theory re: Matt/Peter. I was not liking that plot development, til you mentioned that.
Am I the only why who made the connection that Claire’s powers were only how Peter was going to survive? The why was because he had to survive for Future Hiro to know him and comment on his scar.
Also, Isaac’s most recent painting isn’t the first time nuclear guy has shown up in a full meltdown. He was also on the cover of the kid’s (name is escaping me at the moment) issue of 9th Wonders.
-Rex Hondo-
>like the climax of Star Trek II, only she has the endurance to handle unfettered radiation to get to wherever the shut-off switch is
No. Hiro does, too. He just ‘steps out of time’ until he gets the job done and thus avoids harm. He was able to avoid getting hurt by the exploding gas tank that way, for example.
I’m glad the theory of the girl having powers of suggestion was shown to be so, because otherwise I was quite disappointed in the lack of reason by the scientist’s son in just accepting her in spite of knowing Evil Things Were Afoot.
About Peter … so OK, being close to Cheerverine gave him her regenerative powers. So, why weren’t they replaced with Syler’s when they were grabbing each other? Either the power he grabs stays put for a relatively fixed amount of time and can’t be overriden by another, or he can grab more than one at a time, but never thought of using Syler’s against him. For example, as I watched the confrontation in the corridor, I noted the electric sign close behind Syler. Hmmm, I thought to myself, TK the wires off it and give the jerk a good jolt of AC current. Hints have been given that Syler’s telekinetics should be strong enough to allow Peter to do that. Hiro has got to get him to read comic books so as to learn tactics to go with the abilities he can absorb.
As for DL seeing the muzzle flash, even if he does, it is VERY unlikely he could protect himself. A high powered rifle bullet travels awfully fast. By the very limited time his brain has made the connection between “flash = harm”, the slug should already be going through his braincase. More likely is that an afternoon at a shooting range won’t give her sufficient experience with an unfamiliar weapon at a live target. She’ll probably miss.
I, too, hope Hiro does save the waitress and that she joins the group. Shades of Mack Reynolds’ ‘Department H’ stories: she could be the team’s ambulatory reference library. No batteries or Internet connection required.
Starwolf:
Peter also has the ability to survive, after standing next to Claire and several others before rushing in to save the day during May Sweeps.
As you point out, Just cuz Peter might have a power, doesn’t mean he knows how to use it…or that he even knows that he has it. “Detection” doesn’t seem to be an ability he has.
Sylar has done nothing that can’t be explained by a single power, telekinesis. He used it to throw the lockers at Peter. He used it to cushion his fall, and he used it to rip open Jackie’s head. A laser would cauterize a wound…and from the blood, we can tell it wasn’t cauterized.
Peter seems to be a bit of a wild card. His name wasn’t on Suresh’s list. (We saw this when Mohinder came looking for Nathan, but not Peter, and on the computer screen, you can see Nathan listed, but Peter isn’t next to him.)
For whatever reason, Hiro isn’t able to save the waitress. We know she’s still dead. If I were to guess, Future Hiro shows up and tells him he can’t do it, that’s why he leaves. It’s crap sci-fi writing, but it’s visually and viscerally interesting.
Starwolf,
Why do you assume the D.L. is going to survive being shot at by Jessica? The guy playing him is not a regular cast member, so he doesn’t have a contract providing incentive to keep him alive. Jessica has shown that she has little to no problem with killing someone if it’s to her advantage. And the interactions between Niki and her alter-ego could get very interesting and complex if Niki knew that her other self had killed her husband. It would also toss some really interesting kinks into her relationship with Micah.
Cutting a broad stroke of let’s suppose:
Assuming DL IS going to survive the bullet, Wasn’t he and boy outside the diner where Hiro disappeared? Perhaps our erstwhile Hero Hiro will be there to push him out of the path of the bullet …
The one thing I liked about the lack of Hiro is the affect it had on Ando. I liked him saying that without Hiro, he’s nothing special. I think it sets up some growth for Ando later on. With Hiro getting 6 months of English practice in (assuming he didn’t jump forward again after the jump 6 months back), Hiro won’t even need Ando as a translater anymore.
I am a little worried that Hiro won’t be the same after his 6 months, though. I’d hate for him to mature *too* much.
When Claire was made homecoming queen, I burst out laughing, and told my wife, “The freaks and geeks elected her!” way before Claire’s friend told her how she won.
I want to know who Linderman(sic) is. Is he Claire’s father? Is he behind what might happen in NYC?
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Hiro. I think he is us; the geek who would love to have superpowers, and applies the Ben Parker Law(tm) to use them. Can’t wait for Peter and Hiro to meet again for the first time.
Agreed with everything you said, especially the part about the opening and closing narration. The guy’s got a great voice, but the words they have him reciting are so histrionic and meaningless that I don’t even pay attention anymore.
There’s a bit of an internal logic problem with Takei being cast as Hiro’s father; Hiro’s mentioned Star Trek. So does he think his father looks a *lot* like Sulu, or what? 🙂
I think the reason that so many people missed Hiro is because he’s the one character who is unabashedly excited about the notion of being a superhero, and I certainly find that enthusiasm to be very infectious.
It’s probably not too surprising that so many people on this site would have made the Peter-cheerleader-absorbing-power connection, since I assume so many of us grew up with comic books, so the Rogue/Wolverine comparison was probably an easy one to make. But I think it was the extra bits, such as Peter pulling his bones back into alignment that really made the sequence work and even gave it a bit of tension-reducing humor.
I’ve got to say, Heroes is still the series that I look forward to the most every week. And with guest stars such as George Takei and Christopher Eccleston reportedly appearing in January, the coolness factor certainly sounds as though it’s going to continue for a good long time.
“I was really liking the interchange between him and the waitress and hope she‘ll be back.”
Yes! With just one appearance, she became my favorite character, so I was pìššëd when she died, but pleased when Hiro went back to try to save her. Screw the cheerleader, save the waitress!
“The whole storyline with the Niki mystefies me.”
Agreed. Well, it doesn’t mystify me so much as bore me. Thankfully, she’s a lot more interesting and watchable as Jessica. Nikki does nothing but look harried and distressed all the time, and she bores the crap out of me. This is partly why I’ve been enjoying the series more the past few weeks — no Nikki (or at least, very little of her). After that one episode that was basically all about her, I was considering giving up on the show. I’m glad I didn’t.
Posted by: Scavenger
A laser would cauterize a wound…and from the blood, we can tell it wasn’t cauterized.
Actually, quite possibly not. A laser of sufficient power to be a reliable weapon is more likely to effectively cause the target to “explode” due to the sudden huge transfer of energy to it.
(Granted, this is “iffy” in a handgun sized unit – if one could be built that would be powerful enough at all – however, even then, the dynamics of the situation would probably result in not getting a cauterising effect.)
A truly powerful laser hit would actually be more like a a direct hit from Thor’s hammer than a flame burst from the Human Torch — in fact, a powerful lser would be a lot like Cyclops’ eyebeams have generally been portrayed, come to think.
(Another thing, given the fact that energy conversion eficiency of lasers isn’t all that great so far, handgun type weapons lasers are a way off if ever – imagine firing a gun {of any type} that loses 10% of the power used to drive the bullet or beam back at you as heat…)
I have to wonder, is Sylar’s telekinetic ability sufficiently refined to allow him to arrest molecular motion, freezing victims when he feels like it, or does he have a partner we haven’t met yet?
-Rex Hondo-
Had the same thought re: did Peter really fail? Gives the writers an extra twist down the line if they need it, I guess.
I was surprised by the bloodiness of Sylar’s attack scene. Kinda gory for network TV.
I agree with Jason Bryant. I like Hiro, but I’m also really getting to like Ando, and it was kinda poignant to see him left so rudderless this episode. It’s been a smart move to keep him around as a character after the pilot. And Hiro’s absence for most of the episode made the closing that much sweeter.
And I agree with PAD about the opening/closing narration. It’s got to start adding something to the episode, or it’s got to go.
>Peter also has the ability to survive, after standing next to Claire and several others before rushing in to save the day during May Sweeps.
Assuming he CAN grab more than one power at a time. We don’t know that. We also don’t know how long his borrowed powers last away from the source. Too many imponderables. But, yes, it just shows that Cheerverine isn’t the only one.
>Why do you assume the D.L. is going to survive being shot at by Jessica?
I’m merely replying to those who seemed to think he would. It’s not a given either way.
>Sylar has done nothing that can’t be explained by a single power, telekinesis … He used it to cushion his fall …
Depends which version of telekinetics you’re using. Most of them have levitation as a separate ability. Also, he does seem pretty good at ferreting out ‘specials’. Does he have the same mutant-finding power Caliban did in the X-Men comic? That’s not TK based.
Sylar had dealings with Mohinder’s Dad. He might not be using powers to find the other specials, he might just have a list.
You know what I’d like to see? The Cheerleader escape from a jail cell by having a fellow inmate stomp on her until she can smoosh through the bars. I’m funny that way.
Posted by: Scavenger I thought it was also obvious that snobby cheerleader would get killed by mistake. They did everything they could to get us to really hate her by the time she buys it.
Yeah, but I thought it was a great touch that even after proving to be the queen bìŧçh, her last words to Claire was to run.
Sylar had dealings with Mohinder’s Dad. He might not be using powers to find the other specials, he might just have a list.
I thought it was shown that he DID have a list…and it was more complete than the one Mohinder first had….
And if so, that doesn’t take a special power to find “heroes”, just an ability to read and put 2+2 together (which, admittedly, puts Sylar above 90% of the American populace….).
OK, missed that scene – Syler with Mohinder’s dad/list. Of course this then also begs the question of how this lunatic knew about Mohinder’s dad being in America. Did the latter look him up?
“Smartboy” does have powers…remember him fixing the phone by laying hands on it? And we’ve seen him tinker too…He is a “Forge”
I am seeing Claires father develop into some kind of Nick Fury… A secretive ruthless bášŧárd but on the angel’s side. Sort of. A really bad guy would have killed his daughter’s rapist.
And as for the nice, warm, charming “memory-waitress” I frankly hope she doesnt come back. Its too soon for Heroes to be like the Marvel Universe.
Tom: Studio 60 has the same meta-paradox problem with Jack quoting Lou Grant from MTM to Jordan, while Ed Asner plays the network ceo.
Starwolf: Going meta, if Peter can’t combine powers, than he doesn’t serve much point. There doesn’t seem to be power combos no flight +strength, claws + healing…so you have someone who can combine them (When Hiro was saving BlackPryde from the exploding car, he hints at this, I think).
Sylar doesn’t seem to have a paranormal detection power. He has a list/map. He didn’t detect Hiro…or at least go after him…in the diner, and he didn’t know that Claire was the one with powers til he saw her heal.
Niki does bore me too. Peter bores me by himself. Peter with Hiro? Gold. Peter with Claire? Gold. Peter with Niki? A black hole of boredom that will suck in NBC’s entire lineup.
El Hombre: Waitress is still dead in Ando’s time, even though Hiro had been with her 6 months ago. As I said above, I’m thinking Future Hiro stops him from saving her.
For Clare’s father, I’m currently likening him more towards Cable ala X-Force era…ruthless, ends justify the means, but generally speaking, good. As opposed to Mohinder’s more touchy feely Xavier vibe.
Memory Waitress kind of got a raw deal on powers, though. Photographic memory sounds great, I wouldn’t mind having it. It’s just not that super since we already have people with photographic memory.
Regardless, she should live for one simple reason: she’s ridiculously cute. 🙂
Robert Fuller: Screw the cheerleader, save the waitress.
I LOVE it!
The kind of photographic memory people have these days have nothing to do with MemoryWaitress’ (I kinda like the name… there’s a waitress who never lose your order). She learns languajes in minutes, so Id say shes a bit like Doug Ramsey on steroids.