Heroes: Six Months Ago
Show: Heroes
Claire Bennett is at home reading when the cheer leading captain walk in with a uniform and informs Claire that another cheerleader dropped out and the spot is hers if she wants it. Hiro Nakamura has traveled back in time to the Texas diner but realize he can't after she tells him she has a terminal disease. Nathan Petrelli and Peter Petrelli are preparing to take down their dad D.L. Hawkins and Niki Sanders are newly weds. Chandra Suresh has come to America to find and contact the people he thinks have taken an evolutionarily step. Sylar is the first but doesn't appear to have extraordinarily powers but then has the power to move things with his mind after he invites and kill another person on Chandra's list and then goes back to Chandra |
Commentary/Review
Finally!!! Some answers. But, I’m feeling even more confused about the mythology behind this show. First off, Hiro goes six months in the past to save “Charlie” played so wonderfully, tragically by Jayma Mays. So any episode with Hiro in it rates well for me. He’s by far, my favorite character. He’s unabashedly, geeky, and just in awe of his power and his calling. Masi Oka is wonderful as Hiro. In this episode Hiro learns that his powers do have limits. Even though he has gone back in time to save the girl, he falls in love with; he learns he can’t save everybody. Poor Hiro.
That said, they made Charlie, the John Travolta character from Phenomenon, George Malley. Basically, she gets extraordinary learning abilities from a brain tumor crushing her brain. So despite Sylar’s brain theft, she would have been dead in a few months anyway (did I say, poor Hiro). Anyway, that’s a rip-off and just a damn, piss poor power. Yeah, yeah, not all mutations happen successfully; after all the professors daughter died as well from her mutation. But still, I feel like they should only be called a hero if the power takes without killing them. That’s just my position, and I’m standing by it.
So, from six months in the past, we learn that Peter Petrelli just became a nurse (really, because he seemed to have been with that dying black guy played by Shaft— I mean Richard Roundtree) for quite some time?!). Another leak in the shaky mythology of Heroes? I guess will see. We also learn that his brother, Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) is a lawyer. Which brings me to another, shaky mythology issue—how in the hell does one go from being a lawyer with no notable senatorial ambition to running for the United States Senate within six months. Especially, while taking care of a wife, who has just been paralyzed in the car accident in which you discover you can fly from, oh, and the funeral arrangements and grieving for your recently deceased father. Makes perfect sense to start a project that isn’t too time consuming, like getting elected.
We also learn, that Niki’s character had a sister, Jessica who died; and that Niki’s alter ego is Jessica. WHAT!!!! Let me repeat! Niki’s alter ego (whom I was considering kind of Hulk-like) is her dead sister (who may have also been her twin). But let’s not just screw-up with her Hulk-like powers, let’s also decimate a bit more of the mythology to date—because Niki’s alter-ego Jessica has been protecting her from her father for years. Yes, years. That means, what ever unidentified time bomb, that started releasing this set of Heroes powers, sometime six months ago, wasn’t what triggered Niki’s transformation (at least not in its entirety). Because, our girl Niki, has suffered a world of child abuse, and possible sexual assault at the hands of her father, and she doesn’t remember any of it. Why? Because Jessica, knocked her out, put the pinch on her, and took the abuse for her. So Jessica’s been looking out for Niki for years. Which also means, oh hulk-like powers may more closely resemble a spiritual haunting by her dead, but still overly protective, twin sister. (And can I say, slightly off topic: Oh, miss twin sister, I protect Niki, why in the hell did you shove trying to repent, bad, bad father’s check down his throat? You can kill for her, but you can’t accept a $10-$20,000 payoff. Great! So long as your priorities straight.
Hehe, he… did anyone else find it funny, that “whispering girl” sent Greg Grunberg’s character off to eat some donuts. I’m sorry Eric Weisss (Grunberg’s Alias character) and Matt Parkman, that was just funny.
Okay, so I spent the better part of two hours trying to figure out where I’ve seen the actor that plays Sylar before. Finally, I gave in and went surfing IMDB to get the skinny. And it’s Zachary Quinto (yeah, meant nothing to me either). But then, I realized I recognized him Adam Kaufman from Season Two (I think) of 24. You know the guy that was so pissy/prissy to my girl, Chloe O’Brien. But then, also he was on one of my guilty pleasure show’s “So noTORIous”. Yes, the Tori Spelling show, but it was very funny.
This show, needs far more rapid character development. They need to hire Drew Goddard. He’s not as great a writer as Joss Whedon, but he’s damn near close. In fact, his my second favorite writer from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (also Firefly, Angel, Alias, and Lost), and that’s pretty impressive, since he joined Buffy pretty late in the game. But Drew’s great at rapid and intense understanding of who each character on a show is, and being able to write dialog and situations that expound on the character while still shifting the show forward. That’s what someone needs to do for Heroes, and soon. It’s taking way too long, and entirely too much effort to get to some pretty basic character information. And while, I do love the show; it’s a shame to often be thinking, “Wow! Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. could have taking care of those tidbits in 5-10 lines, 1-2 scenes, and we could have actually had something happen in this episode.
Rating
Other Details
Genre:
Categories:
Viewed: 1804
Comments: 0
Permalink: http://www.wide-eyed.org/television/article/six_months_ago/
Comments
-
Sorry, no comments right now; but you could be the first.