| Heroes: Kindness of Strangers |
| Sunday, 14 October 2007 | |
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In the fourth episode of season 2, Maya and Alejandro pick up a familiar hitchhiker, and we meet Monica, a new hero with photographic reflexes (the ability to perfectly mimic any motion after seeing it). Mama Petrelli makes a shocking confession, Nathan finally shaves the ol' soupstrainer, Parkman finds out some interesting news about his family tree, and we all get just a little tired of people crying about their daddies. First off, I want to say I friggin' called it. Nyah. Glibness aside, this week was a "motivation" episode, meaning that although not much really happened, we learned a lot of new information and a chain of events has been set in motion that will fuel the action of the next set of episodes. The characters have all learned disturbing facts, tragedies have happened. Now, it's just a matter of starting their individual quests that will no doubt lead them back to each other in the end. Last season we had Hiro's search for the sword, Peter's training, and Nathan's bid for power. This season it looks like we're in for Peter's search for his identity, Hiro's quest to make Kensei a hero, Bennett's search for the paintings, and Parkman and Nathan's search for the remaining Company members. Wow this show is getting unwieldy quickly.  Oh no you dih-int. Ah, what would Heroes be without cutting socioeconomic commentary? In a word: better. Whilst traversing the Micah storyline (again, not my favorite to begin with) we meet Monica, a young black woman whose hopes and dreams were savagely crushed by Hurricane Katrina... I think. I'm not real sure. Ok, I know she kept going on and on about it but I just couldn't get past how poorly she was written and how terrible of an accent her Southern friend had. I almost expected Monica to break out a "DYNO-MITE!" now and then. Monica, who is Micah's cousin does have one of the cooler superpowers on the show: photographic reflexes. If she sees someone do something, she can do it. In tonight's episode she shows off her talents by subconsciously making a decorative rose out of a tomato after seeing it on a cooking show, and by stopping a robbery with a flying kick she saw on a wrestling show (which is ridiculous, because if she saw it on a wrestling show it couldn't possibly have actually hurt anyone). We also get some "aawwww" moments when Micah tries to fit in by stealing Pay-Per-View, and then trying to cop a feel on Monica, because he wishes he could "fix her dreams". Someone get that kid a Disney movie already. The Petrellis Back at the hospital, Mama Petrelli rolls over and confesses to the murder of Kaito Nakamura. When Parkman tries to read her mind, she warns him to let it go or it will lead them to discovering all the heroes. Nathan arrives and Parkman tries to talk some sense into him by revealing that he knows about Nathan's powers and that his mother is innocent. Nathan agrees to help.  I'll see your daddy issues, and I'll raise you a bitter divorce. Nathan finds the complete photo and it's a bombshell. We see Linderman, Mama Petrelli, Kaito Nakamura, Papa Petrelli (subtly blurred out because they haven't cast an actor for the part), Bob from the Company, and surprise, surprise: Parkman's father. This wasn't a real big shock for me because I pretty much guessed this after last episode, but I thought it would turn out to be Bob, not some new guy. There were also a couple women in the pic as well, but no one we've met yet, so I'm sure they'll pop up sometime in the future. Later, Nathan looks at pictures of Peter as a teen and swears to put things right. When he looks himself in the mirror, however, all he sees is a scarred and burnt face looking back at him. There are rumors that he's being manipulated by someone, but I think that he may just be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or something along those lines after losing his brother. The Odd Couple C'mon Heroes writers, you're making this too easy for me. Now, in the last few reviews I've hinted at (ok, ok, blatantly pointed out) that Mohinder and Parkman are a little skeezy together. But after tonights episode, I just can't bring myself to do it anymore. It's just too easy. Somebody either needs to admit it, or give one of them a female romantic interest to stop the rumors. The way they frame shots of them together, the way they argue with each other... it feels like at any moment the two of them are going to suddenly stop, look each other in the eye and start making out wildly. I've started to get emails from people saying that they weren't sure at first, but are now convinced that Mohinder and Parkman got "the forbidden love" thang going on. So aside from their bickering ala "Moonlighting" (you decide which one would be Cybil Shepard), Parkman and Mohinder try to come to terms with Molly's nightmares, which seem to be getting worse. It only further aggravates the problem when Parkman brings home the photo of his father and it's revealed that Papa Parkman is "the Nightmare Man". Molly agrees to help Parkman find him, but something goes wrong and Parkman's father locks Molly in her own mind. Yikes, I can't wait to see the tonguelashing that Mohinder gives Parkman over this screwup (Ok, ok, so I'll stop the gay jokes next review).  This is how paternity suits happen. Peter and Nathan's dad killed himself (or was killed). Mohinder's dad left his family to go to America. Nikki's father abused her and her sister Jessica. Nathan abandoned Claire when he learned about her. Sylar's hated his father for being nothing but a watchmaker. And so on and so on... so far the only good father figure we've seen is Kaito Nakamura, who was still abrasive and unloving to Hiro, but then finally came around and helped train his son to defeat Sylar. What do you guys have against dads? Is it some kind of rite of passage, you have to have daddy issues to have superpowers? C'mon guys, we can do better than that. On the Road Again Meanwhile, Maya, Alejandro, and Random American Kid #2 run into (and almost over) an old friend: Sylar. Sylar claims he was mugged and left for dead, so the trio help him to the car and take him with them, proving once again that it's perfectly fine to pick up hitchhikers and that they never kill people like they do in the movies. *cough, cough* When asked his name, Sylar says Gabriel Grey after a look at his broken watch. Obviously, Sylar no longer considers himself "special". This changes however when Maya shows him her copy of Activating Evolution (which for an unsuccessful book, seems to be everywhere and has even been translated into other languages). While stopped for a break, American Kid sees a newspaper with Maya and Alejandro's face on it, accusing them of murder and points it out to Sylar. Sylar tells the kid to call the police, then commences to follow the kid into the building and beat his head in with a rock, proving once again that you should never pick up a hitchhiker because they always kill people like they do in the movies. *cough, cough* Sylar confronts the Wonder Twins about the newspaper and Maya freaks out and they do their "infect everyone, hold hands, cure everyone" schtick. Sylar gives them some hammy dialog about knowing what it's like to be blamed for something they don't control, and then helps them escape with a sinister grin. But there's just one more thing. Did you notice it?
Sorry, this part is for members only and may contain spoilers. If you'd like to read it, please LOG IN or REGISTER. All in all, a good episode. Not a great episode, but a good solid expository episode; one that could be the springboard for the return of the classic Heroes style of action we've all been waiting for. Peter Sorensen is a part time reviewer and is willing to have daddy issues if it means he can teleport. Thoughts? Opinions? Want to tell me how your Daddy never loved you? Post a comment below and let us know! Comments (9)
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