New Season: "Heroes"
Posted September 24th, 2007 by Rich Heldenfels
Returned tonight. Notes from the telecast after the jump, so wait until you have watched …
(No big hint here. I just like Ando.)
A lot of stuff in tonight's episode, a lot of jumping among characters (and back in time, thanks to Hiro's trip to the 17th century), a lot of threats (the Company is still out there, and Sylar was in the promo for coming episodes), a few new characters, a good bit of mystery and at least one of those "Heroes" scenes where you think, "I must come back next week."
There were times early on when I thought how annoying it is that I'm going to have to wait all the way until June to see this all play out, only to realize later that was a mixed emotion — I wanted resolution, but that also means I wasn't feeling all that patient with the pace of the storytelling in the first. Yes, it moved fast, but in a jumpy way; "Heroes" has so many characters to cover, and it didn't even get to everyone this week, and yet it felt frantic.
Good stuff: Hiro's illusion-shattering view of the past. The evolution riff in Claire's science class. Suresh's talk about a heroes-killing virus that — when the splendid Stephen Tobolowsky mentions it possibly spreading to gen pop — raises the specter of AIDS, and the heroes as gay metaphor; in fact, that was especially strong in the second-season premiere because of Claire and family having to be in the closet. Peter's whereabouts, especially after Nathan in the mirror, which suggested that Nathan was in fact Peter shape-shifted. Hiro's dad. Molly. Suresh Is The Mole!
Not so great: Parkman's hostage situation looked like a training exercise from the moment he began shooting. The attempts at Irish accents; very Lucky Charms. The limited lingering over individual characters. I know this is a season premiere, and plots must be set in motion, but the loyally returning viewers probably wanted to know more about what everyone has been up to. I sure do. Claire's new hero friend; we knew something more was up with him than just teen alienation, so the reveal wasn't all that exciting.
Points for further consideration: New hero Maya. Too soon to tell what she's up to, although I'm guessing the doctor she's trying to reach is Suresh.
Question: If Hiro has screwed up the past by delaying Kensei, how immediately should we see an effect in the present day? Especially if he has made a huge change in the history of Japan?
Another question: Is there any show that loves subtitles as much as "Heroes"?
And your thoughts?
September 25th, 2007 at 9:23 am
This has spoilers for future episodes in it. Well, just a name.
I loved the reveal that Kensei was … british. Not expecting to see David Anders under that mask. (I had seen his name in the credits, and since I was such a huge Alias fan, I was excited, but never ever expected him to turn out to be… him. Great.) I also loved that Hiro has to convince him to be a hero. Anders played it very well, in my opinion.
I loved Ando's loyalty to Hiro by staying with his father.
I wonder who the masked figure was. Seemed very small, and Hiro's dad seemed to know who he/she/it was. And is Mrs Patrelli next? If he couldn't even make it to the airport to get out of NY, is it on its way to kill her?
Peter can shoot lightning now? Isnt that what power Kristen Bell is intended to have? Has he been in contact with her character? How did he get to Ireland? Why doesn't he have any memory? And I agree, the accents were AWFUL.
And why does Nathan see himself as a burn victim? And he needs to loose the beard, he looked tragic. Is he really burned and he's changing how other percieve him, or did he heal himself? Or is it just his mind playing tricks on him, because he feels guilty that he didn't believe his brother till it was too late?
So both Nathan and Matt are wife-less now? What about the children? And does Matt have custody of Molly?
I'm so glad Heroes is back.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Yes, there will be lots to talk about as the show goes on. Here's another question: Did we know before last night that Mrs. Petrelli's first name is Angela? I thought it was an interesting choice because, as I believe I've mentioned before, the character is so close to Angela Lansbury's in "The Manchurian Candidate."