HEROES
Fight or Flight
aka: "Veronica Mars: The Psycho Years"
by Peter Sorensen

In the fifth episode of season 2, Parkman tracks down his dad; Nathan tracks down his sense of humor; Mohinder goes looking for a backbone; Peter's still looking for his identity; Veronica Mars is looking for Peter; Ando is looking for clues about Hiro; and Hiro is looking for as little screentime as possible.

After the events of last week, Parkman decides to go after his father, but first has to book a flight on Air Petrelli. That's right, Nathan Petrelli is finally starting to kick a little ass. Parkman agrees to let him help since they can get there faster, to which Nathan replies “I'm not a cargo plane!” once again cementing my belief that all you have to do to go from stick-in-the-mud to badass is grow a huge beard and party your ass off for a few months (see Al Gore).

The hits keep on coming too! When they get to Philly, Parkman turns into a four-year old and can't do go through with it. Nathan, on the other hand, knocks on the door without a second thought and tells Parkman repeatedly to get his gun out. Classic. How is Nathan the butch one here when Parkman is the cop with the gun?

When they finally meet Papa Parkman, he looks and acts like a lovable slob and tries to convince Matt that he left him as a child for a good reason. As it turns out, he has a death card as well, and offers to show Matt something that will help him “understand” his powers better. Of course, this is all just a scam and Matt's father turns out to be just as cold-blooded and evil as Molly thought he was. Papa Parkman locks Nathan and Parkman in their own worst nightmares: Parkman is locked away and his ex accuses him of abandoning their child (apparently the baby might be his after all) just like Matt's father left him all those years ago; Nathan faces off against his burnt doppleganger atop the Devreau building in an apocalyptic New York after the explosion from last year. Wow. I've been pondering where all the special effect money went the last few episodes, and tonight, my question was answered. The scarred burnt out shell of New York that Nathan peered out into was... awesome.

Parkman's dad escapes and it's revealed that Parkman and Nathan are actually fighting each other. Parkman figures it out and uses his powers to stop it, and they find a death card of Bob in the apartment. I'm trying to think up a witty comment here, but quite frankly, this is the kind of action and twisting storyline I've been waiting for all season.

On the other hand, though, there's...

In the present, Ando has taken the ancient parchments to a scientist (I'm assuming at Nakamura Co.) who chemically treats them so that they can read them. After what they read, however, they might as well just thrown the damn things in the trash.

The secret message is... Drink Your Ovaltine? Wha?

Once again, Hiro, in a voiceover, tells us about all the really cool adventures he and Takezo had that WE NEVER GET TO SEE.

To mark that a significant amount of time has passed, they've given Takezo a skeezy batch of facial scruff. Oooh! How inventive! Or, how about this: how about we mark the passage of time by actually seeing them do something for once! How did they get past the frozen waterfall? Find the single peony? You can't just mention it in passing and expect us not to throw our hands up in frustration. You've got a guy who can teleport anywhere with a gesture and a guy who is literally invincible, both running about with swords fighting an army of opponents, and all we get is a voice-over?

Pretty weak, Heroes writers... pretty weak.

Speaking of weak...

After Parkman mans up and heads off to face his psychopathic father, Mohinder takes the opportunity to grow lady parts by turning Molly over to the Company. Oh yeah, that's a great idea. Turn the world's greatest tracking device back over to the exact same people that you took her from (bloodily, I might add) in the first place. I'm sure she'll be thrilled when she wakes up.

While at the Company's offices, Bob gives Mohinder his next assignment and a taser gun. When asked why he needs the gun, Bob simply replies “Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” Wow, and these are the people you just handed your little girl over to. Smart move, Mo.

Even more disturbing is that Nikki (or is it Jessica?) goes on a rampage through the halls and very nearly kills Bob, but luckily Mohinder stops her with the stungun. Uh-huh, “luckily” my ass. Mohinder saves Bob from an out of control Nikki by using the taser gun he “just so happened” to be given a second earlier. Hmmm. That's not suspicious at all (sarcasm).

When Nikki comes to, Mohinder tries to help her escape but is surprised when Nikki wants to stay. Apparently, the Company is helping Nikki overcome her “split personality”. Mohinder ends up taking the assignment, which is to track down and retrieve...

Whaddaya know? Everybody WAS Kung Fu Fighting...

Thankfully, the pace picks up once she arrives home and finds Micah at the piano. After only sitting for a moment, she learns the piece of music and begins playing it perfectly. Then at double speed. Then at triple speed.

Micah recognizes the ability, shows Monica his powers, and tells her about Nikki and D.L. He then shows her an issue of 9^th Wonders (how many issues did that series have?) with a character called Saint Joan who can copy any motion once she's seen it. We know better than to think that's a coincidence, right? Anyway, Micah suggests that Monica test out her new powers, and they head down to the local sports park where Monica kicks out the double dutch jams. Boooo... I was hoping for the slam dunk.

Later, after watching Dragon: The Bruce Lee story on TV, Monica picks up some sweet Kung Fu moves, including an awesome front flip. I'm glad to see that we'll finally get to see some martial arts action in the near future (I'm glaring in your direction, Hiro). And then, just when I think it's going to get good, Monica goes back to “wah-I-just-want-answers” mode just in time to greet Mohinder at the door.

And last, but not least...

Whatever caused Peter to develop amnesia must have also mucked up his eyesight. Case in point? He's trying to bone down with the homely Irish chick.

insert joke about sparks flying here...

Taste in women aside, Peter's got some problems this week. Elle, a mysterious young woman is looking for him, and surprise, surprise... she's got the electric shock powers. Patty McFourLeafClover tells Peter to lay low, and he'll “handle it”. Ok, seriously. How dumb are you?

You've seen Peter almost choke a man to death with his psychic powers and you actually think you can go up against someone who would be willingly chasing him down? Sure. Have another pint, buddy. There aren't any brain cells left to kill, especially after Elle fries him to a crisp.

Meanwhile, back at the Irish girl's place, Peter finally opens the box, but nothing in it helps him remember who he is. There's an ID, a passport, a picture of him and Nathan, and most importantly: a plane ticket to Montreal. The Irish girl just happens to be a painter, and whaddaya know? Peter goes all Isaac on one of her canvases and paints a picture of the two of them in Montreal.

They get a call and hear about Patty's death. Upon arriving at the pub and seeing his smoking carcass on the floor, Peter tells the girl it was his fault and decides to stop hiding. About friggin' time, Pete.

Finally, all the rumors and hints and veiled clues about Elle make sense:

As for the whodunit involving the older generation of Heroes, I'm still rooting for the Kensei/Kane switch, but now I'm convinced that Papa Parkman is behind the deaths. He easily could have made Kaito Nakamura see someone he knew as his assassin, just like he could have easily made Angela Petrelli attack herself in the police station. The picture of Bob in his apartment pretty much closes the book on that case. But, the real question is why? Why is he killing all of the old Heroes? Why now?

I guess we'll find out soon. See you next episode.

Comments (16)

Ash wrote...

Man what a great return to norm. Finally we see the story going somewhere reasonable! Peter finally gets rid of the rabbit in a hole mode he was working so hard to get out of last season. Wonder what we will find in Montreal? First theory is we will find Cluade Rains!!!!! (The Invisable Man for those that don't know) Second Theory is we find the aftermath of a battle in what looks like a wearhouse in the painting. Which i Agree with Peter will prob. be from Peter and Elle or Peter and Elle's mystery Dad. Again prob another screwed up one at that. I think I'm Wrong about the Kensei coming back in time with Hiro and the princess, I think she learns about Hiro and Kensei's powers during the battle and sadly to say is prob killed. In both of there grief they decide to come back together and make a difference in our time. This in turn would open up the Kensei becoming a betraying backstabber and Them forming a group for Kensei to betray. This season has def started out on a drag of story lines not going anywhere. But we are use to the closing feeling of season 1. The worst is behind us and I think the rest of the Season is gonna be the Right hook we were looking for!

|| October 23, 2007

David885 wrote...

I think the murderer still could be Takezo. I think that Takezo is 400 years old, and is Papa Petrelli. I found out, that if you look at a blurred picture of .. and compare it to the picture of of Mr Petrelli in the group of 12, they look quite alike.

This would then allow Mr Petrelli to commit the murders, because if he was Takezo he would have the spontaneous regeneration power, and so when he kills himself, people see him dead then he heals. That would be a reason why Kaito said "Of all of them, I did not think it would be you" because he thought Mr Petrelli was dead.

Another clue is that his law firm uses Kensei's Godsend logo.

Also, if he is Takezo, then its possible that the spontaneous regeneration runs in the family, because Claire has it and she is his granddaughter.

|| October 23, 2007

manzy704 wrote...

Man, your reviews seriously need more traffic, they are superbly entertaining. Let me wipe the brown stuff off my nose now...

This episode was generally a fine return to form IMHO. I'm getting seriously pissed with the Hiro storyline though. The same thing happened last season, everytime there was an opportunity for some kick ass action sequence, it got glossed over. I hope to friggin' god that they show some of their battle against the army.

My wife totally agrees with you regarding the homely irish chick. I think it is because she wants her own Peter Petrelli lovin, but we'll leave it at that.

I was very excited by the preview for next weeks episode as we apparently see Kensei attacking Hiro and Sylar telling Alejandro that he is going to kill him. Fall sweeps is coming up isn't it? I imagine we're going to see some really great episodes in the next few weeks.

|| October 23, 2007

matty_matt_matt wrote...

Nathan ALWAYS rocked!

Best episode of the season, and about time it started picking up as I was beginning to lose patience.

|| October 23, 2007

devcath wrote...

i loved this episode finally heroes is returning to normal. i was getting tired of the slow build up and the new characters. i believe that the writers should be developing the characters they already have instead of introducing new ones. but this episode didn't disappoint .and your review is of the hook, totally awesome and i look forward to the next one. i totally agree with you about the irish woman.

|| October 24, 2007

Tron wrote...

I refuse to give praise for yet another lacklustre heroes episode. I mean seriously what is going on this season?? 5 episodes and what has transpired could easily have been condensed into 2. It’s just been puffed out with erroneous dialogue and inaction from all the characters leaving me yelling at the tv (I never yell at the tv). We saw the heroes struggle to overcome what’s happening to them last season so why am I watching Peter do it all over again, the hot latino and that dude (yes I know their names but until they’re shown to have a purpose other than getting sylar to new york then that’s how they shall be known) having a whinge and killing people because they ‘don’t know what’s happening to them’, and (I’m sorry if this seems rude) the most stereotypical black characters I’ve ever seen going through the same WTF is happening to me deal. I was watching it half expecting her to blurt out ‘Daaaaamn! This shit is WACK!’ or whatever, c’mon writers, less cliché dialogue and characters please. Plus the whole choosing the jump rope thing was so lame and also wreaked of this 360 add: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6rrSc0axzU she even chimed in with the xbox tag line ‘jump in’ before doing it. WEAK.

Pete, you’re right about the budget being blown on the parkman /petrelli battle dream sequence (Which was quite well done), I can’t believe you didn’t mention the atrocious blue screen sequence with HRG and Haitian in the Ukraine or wherever they’re ‘supposed’ to be. That made the Claire and Douchebag-West fly sequence look like something from ILM. It’s like the biggest show on TV at the moment, through some freakin money at it.

I won’t go into the whole Hiro thing….. it’s too painful.

There’s just so much potential in the show it frustrates me to no end that it’s slipping into mediocrity (I stress slipping – there’s still plenty of time for the show to return to its full ass-kicking glory). The first Heroes season was much like dexter’s, it was so fresh and immediately engaging on many levels, continued to build and then blossom into a series of pure win. Season 2…. Dexter hits the ground running, heroes trips and stumbles like the fat kid at school as has continued for a few hundred meters, off balance, arms flailing wildly in the air, teetering on the edge of regaining balance or crash and burning. You can’t NOT watch.

|| October 24, 2007

Peter wrote...

Holy Crap! I turn my back for one second and the comments start gushing in!
First off, thanks to everybody for all the great comments. This is what I like to see, and the reason I do this. Tell a friend!


@Ash - I really hope you're right about seeing Claude again, because he was my favorite part of last season. Somewhere (and I can't remember where) there is a quick shot of Takezo knocking Hiro down from behind and he's still in his samurai armor, so I'm pretty sure his betrayal will happen in the past. I'm assuming that the swordsman's daughter finds out about Hiro and chooses him over Kensei, who doesn't take it so well. Hiro's also rumored to be bringing the girl back to the present with him, so I think Kensei will have a lot of time on his hands to plot revenge.

@David885 - I agree that David Anders does look somewhat similar to Papa Petrelli, and it could be him. I'm only going by what he looks like in the graphic novels (which the show may or may not follow). If anything I think it kinda looks like Matt Frewer (Max Headrom, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, etc). The law firm logo is a good clue, as well, but it seems to be prevalent in all Heroes-related items (Prof. Suresh's book, for example).

@manzy704 - I totally agree: they do need more traffic. I do what I can. As for the Hiro storyline, I should have a post up this weekend that explains how I feel about the whole thing (something I'm working on) so keep an eye out for that. I think the Heroes writers are making Milo Ventimiglia pay for requesting to have his hair cut (for those that don't know: Milo was deadset against the bangs, but the creators wouldn't let him cut his hair so when they approached him about returning this season, he only did it on one condition: hence the new shorter haircut). He can have short hair, but now he has to groove down on the homely girl when Kristen Bell is wandering around.

@Matty_matt_matt - That is one too many matts. I agree, this episode really needed to happen. Now I just hope they can pick up the pace. We only have 3 episodes left until the break, so let's hope they have some surprises for us.

@devcath - The addition of the extra cast members was a jab in the side for me. While I like the Monica storyline (just not her "oh no you didn't" acting), I think the Maya/Alejandro bit needs to go. The other thing I do like this season is that instead of ten different stories, everyone is actually connected this year. Nathan & Parkman (who need their own spinoff show), Parkman & Mohinder, Mohinder & HRG, HRG & Claire, etc etc etc. so even though they have a lot of actors, they're not wasting as much time on lame side stories.

@Tr0n - I always yell at the TV. And yeah, it's been a frustrating start but I'm ever hopeful that the producers are paying attention to the fans and will be gradually tweaking the show until it's just right. Sophomore slumps are a hard thing to work around, and even harder when the first season was as popular as Heroes was.

I truly believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that Monica and Micah are being written by some white, nerdy writer in a studio basement somewhere. That's how poorly they're written. I did like that for a moment last episode, it really seemed like they got outside their heads for a second and tried to enjoy their abilities, instead of just whining about them. Honestly, if you were 15-19 and suddenly developed super powers would you be moping around? Hell no! You'd be off using those suckers every chance you got! It's the superhero equivalent of losing your virginity: after the first time, you'd spend the rest of your life trying to do it over and over and over again. I know that if I suddenly developed the ability to fly, these reviews wouldn't get written, that's for sure. Hahaha!

I did really want to mention the horrible blue screen "Russia" sequence (or at least I think it was supposed to be Russia). I left it alone because I actually saw some of the rough footage from that scene and it was REALLY BAD. I was surprised it turned out as good as it did, really. So even though it still looked really fake, I gave it leeway.

Hiro... just... yeah. Why?

And your reference to Heroes being like the fat kid at school made me laugh out loud for a solid minute. Well done, sir. On a side note: Dexter has been AWESOME this season! Deb totally wants to get it on with Lundy though, and that's the nastiest coupling since Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi in Ghostworld.

http://www.bleepinggeek.com || October 24, 2007

tom wrote...

Peter - thanks again for an excellent summary and making us laugh out loud at the silliness. There's a consensus here that people *desperately want* this show to work, and are being *infintely patient* with it right now, but on so many levels the sense of wonder and amazement is not there.

As far as an episode, I have to agree with Tron: we are happy this is the best of what has been a very disappointing season. So although it really was average at best, it's *so much* better than what's come before that we're all happy.

Some pretty disappointing parts to this episode:

1. No Maya "my eyes are bleeding and killing people"
2. No impotent Sylar ("But I am SPOCK!!!)
3. Claire and NTW are nowhere to be seen in front of a blue screen (because her dad and the Hatian are blocking the way???)

How many people liked Ando a lot more when he was following his friend in a Nissan Versa? What's happened to daddy's company now that he's dead. Or is he?

I do agree that Nathan is a much better character this year...so far. But I do fear the one element that is missing here is impetus. I recall having a feeling throughout last season that the story was - except in the case of Jessica/Nikki - moving forward, often changing directions from episode to episode, but moving forward nonetheless. Not so much right now. And where it is moving, there is a lame, Grade 12 plot device at work: Maya needs to get to the States, for example. We can do better.

Finally, congratulations to Nichelle Nichols, whom I love dearly, on her entire *single* line of dialogue this episode. What a waste.

|| October 24, 2007

Peter wrote...

Thanks for the comment, tom!

I haven't really thought about it, but since Hiro's sister was in line to control the company, does that mean she's the boss now? And if so, when's Ando going to tap that cherry bomb?

I believe the last episode before the break is supposed to be Four Months Earlier, so it will be a flashback to the events directly after the explosion. Is this going to be when the major revelations happen? I guess I'm still waiting for that "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" moment where a direct course of action is laid out for the characters. Instead they seem to just be wandering around in their own problems.

http://www.bleepinggeek.com || October 24, 2007

Tron wrote...

that's the nastiest coupling since Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi in Ghostworld
Gold - Lundy is such a creep.

And if so, when's Ando going to tap that cherry bomb?

Pure Gold.

I have to say I'm eagerly awaiting this Hiro article you're working on.

|| October 24, 2007

Tron wrote...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Looks like the blockquote css is #747474 which seems to blend a little too well with your background image on the comment div

|| October 24, 2007

fungusmonkey wrote...

Thanks for the great catch, Tron!

As you can see, I've fixed the comment css so that quotes show up correctly now.

http://www.bleepinggeek.com || October 24, 2007

CC26 wrote...

If you are going to sneak up on somebody, wouldn't you discuss the details of your plans BEFORE you are at the fraking door!! Come on! And what was with Magoo's cold feet, knock on the damned door. I thought Nathan was bringing a 13 year old Magoo to pick up his first date with a girl, or with Mohinder. Magoo is just a wussy (incidentally, this is my first post here so i replaced the "p" with a "w").

And how did they know that Company Man Bob's name was, Bob? Did i miss that somewhere?


Was anybody else waiting for that scientist to say “WOW this is a new story about Takezo Kensei. An actual original writing in my hands…who is this Hiro guy?” Honestly, how many rare/original/antique documents come across this guy’s desk each day. L A M E

You are 100% right about the attack sequence at the company. I was thinking the same thing, testing out the new guy. This whole getting Mohinder to bring Molly into the company was one of the worst pieces of writing – and I’m not a Season 2 hater, yet. It was 20 seconds of “she’s sick, I’m bringing her to the Company”, “No don’t do it”, “dude I will, I’ll do it, I’ll bring her in” and then there they are. Poor.

(good review, i'm tired of waiting for filmfodder's, so glad i found yours)

|| October 25, 2007

Peter wrote...

Thanks and welcome to the site, CC26!

You make an excellent point: why didn't they have an actual plan? Yeah, sure it's Matt's dad and all, but they still suspected him of stealing a little girls mind. Even a sketchy "You shoot him, I'll stand here and watch" plan would have been something.

If you remember from last season, Nathan did actually agree to help Linderman and the Company. Add that to the fact that Angela Petrelli has probably filled him in a little after losing Peter, and I'm pretty sure that Nathan knows a lot more about their operations than he lets on.

As far as I understand it, in a lot of the manga stories based on Takezo he has a companion named Hiro (that was conveniently not mentioned until the graphic novel recently, in which Hiro was portrayed as a talking raccoon or panda or something). Still, the scientist (who I just remembered is the friggin' curator of the Takezo Kensei exhibition at Yamagato Fellowship) should have been a little more excited.

http://www.bleepinggeek.com || October 25, 2007

CC26 wrote...

Thanks for the info; I don't read much of the peripherals to have known that. And a raccoon or panda is a perfect fit for Hiro; I’ll go raccoon because of the glasses i.e. black mask.

I totally forgot about the “you can kill me or learn from me” encounter with Linderman…I smell future back-story (can I say that? It’s like jumbo shrimp)

|| October 25, 2007

Peter wrote...

No problem - and because I mentioned it, here is the issue of the graphic novel that I mentioned, brought to us by 9th Wonders and "Manga Classics".

It's a comic about a fictional character, brought to us by a fictional comic book company and a fictional Manga publisher. My head is swimming.


and the link:

http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/index.shtml?novel=55

http://www.bleepinggeek.com || October 26, 2007