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Peter, once more I'm right there with you. I knew that anything after last week's episode would be a let-down, but I was let WAAAAY down with this one. Were the writers trying to make us not so pissed at Mohinder by having him be the one to revive HRG? Because if so, they certainly failed, seeing as how all he did was whine, complain and be stupid the whole time they were together. And did they change the scene from the week before--remember, in the ender, HRG sat up and looked around. In this one, he just looked over and saw the IV. (Technically, that's a minor rant int he form of a rhetorical question--you don't actually have to try to come up with an answer.)

Big rant though--WTF did Joanna Cassidy ever do to anyone to get 1/2 an episode and then be shot in the back of the head??? I really like her, and that was just crappy treatment of one of the original 12 (and a damn good actress.) Please tell me she isn't really most sincerely dead!

Fantastic review Pete, as usual you share my sentiments but you totally out did yourself with the captions. Bravo. Loved all the pop culture nods too - I always think of The Dude when someone scatters ashes. I have to say that I'd rather watch Lundy's flabby bare ass than that episode again [I can't unburn that image for the life of me]

Not ever seeing the previews due to my TV procuring methods, I wouldn't be suprised if your rundown of what's to come happens to a tee and to be perfectly honest I just want it over and done with. Of course on the proviso that there's eventually a season 3. It's just too good a show at its core for it to be abandoned but then again it's happened before [oh how i miss Arrested Dev].

Nice addition to the header too ;-)

Thanks for the comments!

@Rinda - I had heard that Victoria Pratt was supposed to be a key player in upcoming seasons, so I'm guessing that the character got cut loose because of the expedited schedule. Poor Zhora. First Deckard gets the drop on her in Blade Runner, now she's been chumped by Lil' Lord Fauntleroy on Heroes.

@Tron - Why did you have to remind me about Lundy? Now I have to go scour myself again... eeewwwwwwwwwww. Also, Viva La Arrested Development!

This was one of the worst written episodes yet in my opinion. In addition to the points already made, does anyone think it a bit odd that Peter, with what one might call reasonable doubt about Adam and v. 138, would ONLY search her mind for the location... don't you think maybe he would search for something to confirm or deny her story.

How about Adam. Peter obviously didn't like when Adam killed Victoria, wouldn't you think he would do a quick scan of Adam's head to see what really happened? Are we to believe that Peter is now just a sheep of a follower to Adam and won't question his motives with a. evidence mounting that Adam isn't as he seems, and b. an EASY WAY TO READ WHAT HE'S ACTUALLY THINKING?

I was frankly unhappy with the plot holes this week.

Thanks for the comment, cleverwhatever!

Once again, you guys point out the obvious: I didn't think about it at the time, but yes, Peter definitely should have read Victoria's thoughts about Adam. After everything he's been through, I find it hard to believe that he would blindly trust anyone, especially once everyone he meets seems to be against him.

Wait a second...

Now there's a plot twist. I know this isn't going to be what happens (because we're not that lucky), but what if this whole time Pete's been playing possum? What if Peter knew Adam's intentions from the very beginning, but has been playing along so that he could get at the virus first and stop it? Even with his amnesia miraculously cured (insert dramatic soap opera music here) he still wouldn't have any leads to the virus, but he knew that Adam would (having been a high-ranking member of the Company for so long). So Peter played dumb and helped Adam so that together they could track down the virus. Peter can't let Hiro kill Adam, because he still needs him. Then, once Peter stops pretending, destroys the virus with a quick blast of either electricity or nuclear fire, Hiro comes to and hands Adam Monroe the beat-down of a lifetime, complete with teleportation jumps, ending in the final decapitation. Peter and Nathan reunite with their mother, Hiro finds peace, and Suresh dies in the same fire as Nikki, Monica, and Micah.

...at least, that's how I'd write it.

What about poor Ando? Seriously. There are at least two characters who are semi-permanently in holding pattern: Ando has been standing around all season with virtually nothing to add to the story or narration. Hiro doesn't even consider having him tag along when he pops out to meet up with Adam and Peter.

Molly spent most of this season sleeping / being sick. I thought her waking after Matt's daddy was nulified was a clever write-in, but here she is back sleeping and parked again.

Bottom line, too many characters and so none is getting his or her due. We have tag alongs all over popping in and out, and adding nothing.

Let's add to that list good ol' Sylar. It's like the writers decided we couldn't jettison this *very awesome* character from season one, despite having quite clearly died in the finale. So he has been brought back - to what end? Road trip with the Wonder Twins? Powerless but just as evil? *Sigh*.

This series is trying to do too much. Too many characters, too many target audiences. And not doing anything well right now.

I agree with you, Peter. This series needs to find those plot lines which are working, concentate on them and jettison the rest. Frankly, this writer's strike is a blessing in disguise for this series, at least: they will be able to retire this season early and have an abundance of time to clear their heads for the next. I do hope there is a next.

So, what made this episode a disappiontment? Well, we've all talked around it, but the bottom line is where there are Wonder Twins, there is sadness. Where there is Claire and West, there are tears.

(Tangent: don't you think the dramatic tension and interest in Claire's lamentaions would have been much improved if we didn't already know her dad is not truly dead? How excited would we have been to believe HRG were dead for 7 short days?)

My thoughts on what to cut away, and what to restore:

(1) West must die. Simply. A bad dream, move on. Teenage angst, first boyfriend dead. Move on.

(2) Ando and Hiro must team up again; and give Ando something interesting to do. Or kill him. Definitively. Personally, I like Ando and the actor who plays him a great deal. I enjoy his interaction with Hiro. But leaving him in purgatory is torture.

(3) Say good-bye to Nikki / Jessica / insert personality here. She's going to burn in the fire - ironically to join DL - but she's bounced around like a lost child in a bouncy castle all season. Again, I see *enormous* potential to have her assume the *bad guy* role Linderman played, and that would be a delightful twist - easily explained by the Jessica personality - but I despair.

(4) Wonder Twins - see above under "West". What a sad waste of time.

(5) Finally, I'm all for keeping Mohinder. Not once has he uttered: "I must continue my father's research", but what the hell happened to that impetus? All done? No more research? Again, he's been flailing around all season for wont of a defined role. And bring back his voice-over. Please.

The message is long, but simple: focus, people. Give us that which we enjoy, and throw in some of that *wonderous discovery* that made season one fun. As an audience, I think we can overlook plot holes and "what if" possibilities as long as we're having fun. Sylar was enormously fun in season one, because he was so dangerous and grew stronger with each horrible encounter - a real monster. The bomb was frightening because we weren't sure - to the end - what it meant or who was responsible. Virus, Shanti, lethal or otherwise, is not nearly so dangerous or dramatic.

Bring back the fun. And clean up the mess. I'm all for Tabla Rasa for Season 3.

Sorry for the length, Peter; struck a nerve.

Haha, Tom! "Molly the Sleeper".

And if there's a better place to rant about Heroes, I haven't found it. Feel free.

As for your list:

1. 100% agree. R.I.P. West.

2. I would love to see Hiro get in a bind and then bam! Ando to the rescue, sword flying! Then I'd have them show that Ando didn't sit by idly while Hiro was gone; he was actually training the whole time and could kick a little ass himself. That way Hiro would have a reason to keep Ando around, and we could have a lot of really fun "I am not your sidekick" conversations.

3. They really missed out on the Nikki character. She was interesting in the first few episodes as the webcam stripper/superpowered psycho, but then they just ran the character into the ground with the whole family/D.L. relationship.

4. Again, 100% agree.

5. I'm all for keeping Mohinder, as long as they start writing him better. Although, I disagree with the voiceover. I always thought the narrations were a little heavy handed and work better when they're only used at the beginning and end of the story (i.e. the first episode and last episode of the season).

I also think that we're seriously missing a good villain this season. The virus is such a passive threat. Even if you get it, you only die slowly and relatively painlessly. The bomb was quick, violent, scary. Adam Monroe is so bland, so non-threatening. Sylar was murderous, shadowy, intense. It seems like this season they've completely dropped the ball, horror-wise.

maybe i dont understand the strike well enough
but from wat ive learned on your sight
it seems to be all the strikes fault
that the show is eh

now having saying that
yes
the writing could be better
but all these side stories that you guys are talking about
might of occured
in the original script
and we might have seen some good stuff
and use of good characters
if only there were more time
but the season was cut way short
no??
so whos really to blame

i have more to say but must do my hw and hit the sack
but one other thing

it seems like most of the characters
have received near equal air time
is this not because they are all getting paid
could specific characters just not be used
just because of the strike
just because there were only 4 more episodes
of this season
instead of 14
???????

Av - let me clarify a bit, because I don't want any confusion on this issue:

The reason this season is so bland is because the writing sucks. It sucked before the strike, and it apparently still sucks 4 weeks into the strike.

If anything, I would say that the writers going on strike was the only thing that may have saved this season because although the dialog and actions are still dreadful, the pacing is miles and miles better. Because they had to shorten the season, they cut, reshot, or changed a lot of the last 4 episodes (the previous scripts were completed before the strike and thereby have no excuse for being so bad). I'd like to think that this involved a fair amount of a little game I like to call "what's more important". They probably went through all the stuff they had left, ditched all the so-so stuff, and whatever was left is what we're seeing.

The hidden point in that last sentence is that this is what they should be doing with every episode, all the time.

The season is faltering because it seems like the writers have totally lost touch with what made the show so fascinating and exciting in the first place. Tim Kring seems to have a good idea of what needs to happen with the show (as you can see in his interview elsewhere on this site) so I'm hopeful that after this strike is over and everyone goes back to work and cashes their larger paychecks, NBC and Tim Kring take a good hard look at their franchise and make some much-needed corrections.

Great review (as always). What bothered me the most was the whole 1970s Victoria Pratt time travel scene. If Victoria left the company so long ago, why does she look so old in the founding photo? What was up with the poorly cast younger versions of themselves?

I'm with you there, jb.

Young Victoria wasn't too terrible, but Young Kaito was a terrible choice. He looked NOTHING like George Takei. I think maybe they tried to find someone who looked like a mixture of Kaito and Hiro? I don't know. Whatever the casting director was thinking, it was wrong.

Another thing (unrelated) that bugged me upon rewatching the ep tonight was that Victoria says to Peter: "I don't know you, I only knew your parents and what they were capable of" and PETER DOESN'T EVEN ASK WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT!!!

WTF? Someone drops a loaded hint like that about your parents, and it doesn't even warrant a simple "what do you mean"? No friggin' way.

The other thing that stood out was that she said "what THEY were capable of". Did she mean it in a general Company way, or did she actually just reveal that BOTH Petrelli parents had powers?

Peter et al,
I finally got around to watching this week's episode Tivo'd 2 days ago. That's already a statement...this show was a must watch in real time last year, this years episodes linger on my DVR for a few days till I have time.

Agree wholeheartedly about the writers strike possibly saving the show. The pacing of this weeks ep was good, with the exception of the painful trip down to the Big Easy. I shudder to think of what filler nonsense we would have been subjected to if this season was 22 long. Maya and Sylar take a side trip and visit Disneyland in another product tie-in? Claire's hymen reheals at an inopportune moment and she and West joined at the hip as it were, have to visit House in a show crossover stunt? Elle realizes that all she has to do to avoid further self electrocution is to always wear rubber pant-suits? (Probably not a bad idea, note to replacement writers)

Anyway, watching the episode, I have to admit some of the plotholes didn't seem as large last night as they actually are in the cold hard (and somewhat bright) light of day. Effects of a bottle of Chardonnay, I guess.

HRG and Mohinder. Good point about the brain tissue regenerating, Peter. Although, Claire did heal from her headwound, once that spike was taken out of it. Perhaps it's not that the brain can't regenerate, it depends on if there is a retained foreign body. So, perhaps Mohinder extracted the bullet from HRG's head. Or the writers Fracked up. Also, hated the fact that next week it looks like HRG reveals himself to Claire. It would have been such a cool plot line, HRG living off the grid, declared dead, hunting down the company, protecting Claire without her knowing it, not telling her she's alive because he would be a hindrance to an invunerable girl. Well, it would need some thinking through, but it's a lot better than the status quo.

Claire and West. I have to respectfully disagree with the Westmustdie faction of this site. He provides a foil to her thoughts, and something for her to focus on besides how tragic her life is. After all, she is just a perennial victim in every storyline so far. I do like her getting a little moxie this episode and vowing to get back at the company. West isn't a great actor, but he just needs better lines to achieve a bit of interest.

Maya and Sylar. My-lar? I have to admit, she is written as an awfully weak heroine, but when she does want to throw down, it is the wrath of god. She could be an interesting supervillaness. Is that a word? Sylar has turned her to him. Wouldn't she be tons more interesting as an evil force? Also, I loved the scene where Sylar gets hot and sweaty with her at the doorway, Alehandro's body lying feet away. Very Talented Mr Ripley, I thought.

The New Orleans sinkhole. Can't agree with you more about the pointlessness of this storyline. Monica is a moron. Micah is not using his powers the way a teenager would. At least he acted like one, beating down 'OG' Haha...loved that name, Peter. I do have an idea about Nikki, though. She has a new personality this season, but with the same powers. Why not give her dozens of personalities, each with different powers and personalities? Think of the dramatic possiblities. She needs to turn to 'Beatrice' with powers over shadow and darkness, but Beatrice is also near catatonic with anxiety. Then 'Alice' with superspeed, but is an agoraphobe. That would make a hot and underused actress a suddenly really powerful and interesting character.

Your comments about Peter not using his mindreading powers on Adam are very bothersome. Seriously huge plot hole that the writers have totally blown. I do like your 'undercover' idea, but Peter would have a lot of trouble letting a woman get blown away in front of him without feeling that it was justified. He's too wussy to do that.

Agree with the 'virus' as a poor choice of threat this year. Easy way to make it real. Release it already! Kill off some small midwestern town! Have the darn thing be REAL, not some vague possiblity! Show people bleeding from their eyes, collapsing in the street!

Ok, long enough post. Thanks for the forum, Peter!

I'm really hoping these rubbish episodes are building up to one hell of a final. TK said it was going to be a shocking cliffhanger, so hopefully that will be good.

And I agree with you, young Kaito was awful. That was possibly the worst casting they have on the show so far.

@Boomer - One of my main problems with the West character is that he's written to be some kind of "rock" in Claire's tumultuous life, but the character himself seems weak and somewhat annoying. He's less of a savior and more of a lost puppy dog that's looking for a home. I don't know if it's just his acting, or if it's the writing, but something just doesn't "fit".

I like the purpose of his character, just not the stylistic execution of said character.

And yes, I suppose I was too swept up in the fact that Maya (or should I say "Mai-jha") was ready to grind down on someone she just learned murdered his own mother (which, even given the circumstances, can't be that much of a turn-on) to mention that the scene with him slowly reaching back to close the door was extremely well shot. It was genuinely cool, and shows why Sylar is the kind of villain Adam will never be.

David - I have a theory that the casting call for young Kaito was as such:

"CASTING CALL - YOUNG KAITO NAKAMURA - MUST BE ASIAN."

and that's it, because otherwise why wouldn't you take the time to hire someone with a stronger resemblance?

Just realized I hadn't commented on this review yet. I agree for the most part but still enjoyed the episode. I can't get past Peter & Adam's discovery of Victoria's location though. Just really crappy writing.

As for you Kaito...didn't we see an epiosde last season "Company Man", I think where we see Hiro as a boy (very close to the late 70s era Hiro teleoported to) and Kaito was played by George Takei.

As for the two deaths, my bets are on that it's Monica and Parkman.

Agree that West does not fit...I still think something is up w/ West. Maybe he is Company; did Elle have the marks on her neck? If so maybe he was truly freaked out by HRG but still flies the Company flag.

Could Elle and Claire (i.e. Bear) be twins? Claire’s real mom and dad weren’t too forthcoming with info, maybe there was a twin love child. They look pretty similar…to me anyway.

Alejandro, wimpiest death, ever. It was like he laid down on his own and then just waited for a stab in the chest. A high school quality scene. Just poor acting for that struggle. But hey, he's gone, so I shouldn't complain too much right.

I say Sylar’s powers are back. Maya is clueless but I think Sylar has a newly developed art of taking powers w/o braining everyone he runs into. He is the one that stopped Maya...who is the stupidest person I’ve ever seen in a show, right there with Kelly Bundy.

Lastly the virus. I think Goldfinger gave Virus 138 to Jessica, not just a “strain of the Shanti virus” but Virus 138. That is why Mo couldn’t fix it with his blood and Goldfinger Bob acted all shocked with the “oh my, it mutated so your blood doesn’t work you say? Heavens to murgatroy what will we ever do”

BTW what does Virus 138 do? Does it affect many people?

@manzy704: I believe "Company Man" was set 14 years ago from season one, which would make it somewhere between 1991-1993 (their math is a little fuzzy). Claire would have been 1-3 years old (they've never definitively stated how old she was when HRG adopted her, but she was still a little baby), making her 16-18 on the show currently (which matches up). Hiro was around 7-10, making him 22-28 on the show.

It's still 20 years after the incident at Primatech, so Kaito would have been a good deal younger, but they should have cast someone who looked even the tiniest bit like Takei (because the one they did cast did not).

@CC26 - They've already said on the show that Elle is older than Claire (HRG knew Elle long before Claire developed powers). As for Sylar, I can no longer tell if he has powers or not, or if they're just on the fritz. Traditionally, the ticking sound indicates that his powers are working, but they've been playing that sound at strange times over the season. Sometimes you hear it, sometimes you don't. My guess is that he has the Shanti virus, and it's blocking his powers. After his run-in with Mohinder in tonight's season finale, I have a feeling that Sylar will be cured again (because Mohinder only exists to screw up somehow and help the bad guy) .

As for Jessica, she does have "a strain", but it's not 138, as 138 is lethal to everyone, including non-heroes, and is an airborne pathogen, so anyone near her would get sick and die very quickly.