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| Heroes: 1961 |
| Tuesday, 14 April 2009 | |||||
Angela searches for her dead sister among the ruins of an old government facility and reveals the tragic origins behind the Company, while everyone else plays nice and Sylar makes a bold move for more power. While Heroes has become less of a “must-see” show for me this season (and since I've been horrifically busy in my real life herding venomous Alpaca snakes in the Canary Islands), I still try my best to keep up-to-date on the show. So, as I caught up on the last two episodes last night, one thing stuck out in my mind about the season's apparent “hit and miss” strategy: they are trying. Really, really trying. Going back over the fifth volume's story arc, it's apparent that while the writers have definitely identified that there is something wrong with the show, they aren't quite sure what to do to fix that problem, and are just grasping at straws. Case in point – the reintroduction of the “explosion painting” and Hiro's abilities seemed to just infuriate fans, Sylar has been all over the map character-wise (bad guy, then good guy, then sympathetic and abandoned son, then hunter, now shape-shifting villain, etc), and no one can tell if we're supposed to like Nathan or despise him (he's presumably back on the "like him" list after last night's episode).  'Hello, and welcome to the Dharma... errr, Coyote Sands!' As the Petrelli's and Noah Bennett dig up grave after grave, Angela reveals the secret behind Coyote Sands: it was a relocation camp that the government set up to study and experiment on people with abilities led by none other than Dr. Chandra Suresh – which means that the “theories” in his book “Activating Evolution” weren't theories at all, just facts that he already knew and wanted to write about. That's like discovering the cure for cancer, and then writing a book about a theoretical way to cure cancer instead of just releasing the cure. Hence, his search for someone with abilities (the one that led to Sylar) really wasn't as self-validating as we were led to believe since Suresh already had proof that there were people with powers... but I digress. Revisionist history aside, in March of 1961 Angela Petrelli and her little sister Alice arrive at Coyote Sands and are taken to their bunk. Alice asks why the military personnel carry weapons, and Suresh assures her that it's to protect them. Rrrright, how many times has that ever worked? "Oh, those mean looking and obviously trigger-happy military guys over there just want to make sure no one hurts us. That couldn't possibly backfire!" Mmm-hmm, yeah. Suresh also introduces them to another person on the staff, Dr. Zimmerman (the one who created Nikki/Tracy/Barbara/Shemp) and the girls eventually meet three boys who also live there – Charles Deveaux, Daniel Linderman (complete with over-the-top Malcolm MacDowell impression), and “Bobby” Bishop. Angela helps her sister unpack, finding that instead of clothes all she brought with her were toys and books. Angela scolds her sister for not bringing clothing, but promises to find something for her to wear.  'Whatever you say, Dr. Venkman...' By May of 1961, Angela and the boys decided to sneak out during a guard change and find some way to rescue everyone from the camp (as well as get some socks for Alice, who apparently is STILL without clothes). Angela lies to her sister and tells her that she will be safe in the camp if she stays there, so she agrees. However, when they get out no one believes them and they stop at a diner to try to think of a way to help everyone else. While they are there, they take a moment to enjoy themselves, and Charles asks her to dance. They start to dance but are interrupted by the owner, who says she's not allowed to dance with “the colored” in his diner. We then see Charles' power when he tells them all to “forget this ever happened” and everyone in the diner goes back to their business (much like Edie, he has the power of persuasion). Suddenly, a storm warning comes over the radio and Angela realizes that something has gone very wrong. Back at the camp, Suresh brought Alice in for testing (somehow failing to notice that Angela was missing as well) but she resisted when he tried to give her a shot, which led to Alice calling up a lightning storm and blasting one of the guards. Suresh tries to calm her down, and slaps her to try to get her to snap out of it. Another superpowered camp member comes to her rescue and knocks Suresh back with a blast from his hands, and the military guards open fire on everyone. Gee, what a surprise. Alice escapes and hides under a building, while gunfire rings out all around her. Thinking she lost her sister in the battle, Angela and the boys make a solemn vow to never let that happen again, and agree to do whatever it takes to keep their existence a secret, forming the beginnings of “the Company”.  'No, I get to play the butch manly one this episode.' Noah tells Nathan about Sylar's new shape-shifting powers and how he's working with Danko now, Angela admits to Claire that she wishes she had Claire's strength when she was her age, and out of nowhere a violent sand storm kicks up. Angela is convinced it's Alice, and disappears into the storm by herself, while Mohinder arrives and corners Noah (thinking that he's still part of the government team that's after them). After they talk, Mohinder tells them about his father's papers he found and that he worked there. When he finds out about the experiments and the graves, he becomes angry at his father and blames him for their deaths, but Noah tells him not to jump to assumptions until he knows the truth. In the present, Angela wakes up in a bunker and finds Alice's copy of “Alice in Wonderland” on the floor. The doors open and a wild-haired woman enters, and Angela realizes that it's Alice and that she's still alive. Crazier than Britney in a barber shop, but alive. When she asks why Alice stayed there, she says that she stayed because Angela told her she'd be safe if she stayed in the camp. Angela tells her that to this day, whenever she feels lost or doesn't know what to do, she steals socks for Alice (aha! - going back to the very first episode and Angela's shoplifting! Nice touch).  Ohhh, so the strokemouth is genetic! Everyone packs up to go, but Mohinder tells them he won't be going with them – that he's not ready to move on just yet. Really? Is this goodbye to Mohinder? Could it be? Have the gods answered my prayers (and/or my thousands of letters to the studio)? Somehow, I get the sneaky suspicion he'll be back in a few episodes but for now it's a great way to say goodbye to his character without killing him off in some silly way like the majority of the characters so far. The Petrelli/Bennetts talk over lunch (presumably Humble Pie with a side order of crow), and Peter says that they're not a company, they're a family - one with the capacity for forgiveness. Nathan decides to grow a pair and go back to Washington to fix his colossal flub-up, but he's too late: a news conference comes over the TV showing Nathan Petrelli addressing the press live and they all realize that Sylar has taken his shape, which sends me into a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and feelings. Could it be that a version of the alternate future we saw in “Five Years Gone” could still happen? While many things are similar (Sylar taking over Nathan's identity, people with abilities labeled as terrorists, Sylar taking Claire's healing ability, Parkman's son having powers, etc), there are quite a few differences (Nikki is dead so she can't be Peter's stripper girlfriend, Ando and Micah are both alive, the explosion in Kirby plaza never occurred...).  Dark Peter says: Remember to be careful while shaving. If this really does all tie into “Five Years Gone”, then I'm particularly interested in what Peter tells Sylar - “you'll pay for what you've done, what you did in [Nathan's] name.” As we learned in that episode, Sylar used Nathan's political career to become President. In upcoming episodes (next week's “I am Sylar” and the season finale “An Invisible Thread”), we'll see a plot by Sylar to meet with the current President, so I'm guessing Sylar is going to try to kill him and take his identity and it's up to the Petrelli's to stop him.  Will Beast finally make a guest appearance? Does Sylar being President mean we get to see more of Ali Larter as a stripper? Post a comment below and let us know! Comments (4)
  manzy704 wrote...
Peter I really agree with you about this episode and was thrilled when the referred to Angela's klepto side from the first season. As her character became more of a power player, it always seemed kind of stupid to me that they had her being the crazy shoplifting granny in the first season. Now it makes sense.
I can't get past the stuff with Chandra Suresh having seen people with abilities and then writing a theory book about it 40 years later. It seemed like a lame attempt by the writers to bring Mohinder to Coyote Sands for some reason. I was hoping the reason would turn into an excuse for Alice to kill him, but oh well. I am really glad you noticed the similarities with Sylar as Nathan from the first season. If they could somehow tie this together, I think it could be quite outstanding. RIP Sarah Connor.
|| April 15, 2009
 crood wrote...
While I liked the episode on its own, it seemed an odd point for what was essentially a character piece, that had no direct bearing on the overall storyline. I think it would take a lot more than learning about 13 year old Angela's mistakes to make Peter forgive Nathan. However, since Angela is one of the few characters that hasn't been annoying at one time or another, it was nice to see her spotlighted.
I also found it a little hard to buy that in 1961 an Indian doctor would apparently be in charge of an American government sponsored "research project". Mohinder's weak personality is something I've commented on before. He always winds up following the strongest personality in the room. With the somewhat obvious revelation that Sylar is impersonating Nathan, I have one question. How does he expect to pull it off? It's one thing to impersonate Sandra Benett for five minutes. Nathan's a politician, lawyer, and former prosecutor. Presumably, he went to an Ivy League or equivalent University. He should have any number of friends and professional associates that he has history with. Many of them would be directly tied to his political career.
|| April 20, 2009
crood wrote...
Here's a prediction for how the season may end:
Remember how in the opening episode of Fugitives, Peter, as a paramedic lamented not having enough power to save one of his patients? Here's how I see it: Nathan is killed by Sylar Peter duplicates Sylar and the two go at it. Peter wins, probably with baby Matt's help. Peter assumes Nathan's ID to put things right. Nathan's power with Peter's moral compass.
|| April 20, 2009
 Peter wrote...
@crood - As it's been hinted at, Sylar is extremely good at impersonating other people (even getting into Building 26 using only a fake accent). Plus, I'm going to guess that with Danko's resources, he can learn anything he wants to about Nathan (especially since Nathan is a bit of a lone wolf and probably doesn't have any close friends) in order to fool anyone close to him.
As for the final episodes, I'm guessing that the rumors circulating about a major character dying means that Nathan is not long for this world. It would make sense, what with his turn this season of becoming a bad guy and being hated, then trying to redeem himself (and finally making some sort of fatherly effort towards Claire). I have a sneaking suspicion that Nathan (being Nathan) will try to tackle Sylar head-on without any of the other's help and it won't go so well, leaving Sylar free to continue impersonating him. As for Sylar, there have been reports that he makes a very creepy "proposal" to Claire, since neither of them will ever die and will be the only two people to live forever (you can imply what you want by that, but it's pretty obvious what he wants from her). There are set photos of a cut-up Peter Petrelli, so there will definitely be a showdown. My guess? Sylar kills Nathan, big dust-up between Peter and Sylar that ends in a stalemate. I doubt Peter would try to dupe Sylar's powers, knowing firsthand what "the thirst" does to someone, and since he can only hold one power at a time, there are probably better ones to have. I haven't seen anywhere that Matt & Hiro will cross paths with the Petrellis again this season, so I can't say that the baby will come into play. If they do cross paths (which we should know by tonight), then yeah - I'm guessing the baby is going to play a part in the final confrontation, either by giving Peter abilities, or by taking Sylar's away. There's also supposedly a twist at the end where Sylar turns into someone unexpected, and a flashforward five months where we see someone return we didn't think we'd see again. I think they fight, Sylar escapes (like he always does), he kills and becomes Micah, and in the flashforward we see Tracy again.
http://www.bleepinggeek.com || April 20, 2009
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