Monday September 21, 2009
402
Claire discovers her roommate has been killed. HRG asks Peter to help him and ends up in a difficult situation. Hiro tries to undo his wrongdoing from the past and Matt finally decides to use his powers again.
A very strong first and second episode. hide show
I saw the first two as one episode so I'm only doing one review:
It's greatly promising that the first episode of the season goes back to the show's roots. It's beautifully done too, the voiceover with the clips. Always a pleasure to see Robert Knepper and the accent is very pleasant and fitting.
Samuel's crew are interesting – one can apparently get the info related to Samuel's tattoos. Samuel seems to be able to affect the earth, but also to control tattoos – using Lydia to see them, then there's the compass that reacts to people with powers. He's one of the rare ones who has more than one power. His hitman has super speed like Daphne but likes blades.
"Dial a Hero" – Oh dear God! This is so Hiro and Ando! I suppose even superheroes have to start somewhere – they start with rescuing a cat. After the glitches in his powers, Hiro shouldn't be using his powers at all. The nosebleeds seemed a definite indication something was wrong and now we know it's true.
Peter's back to being a paramedic. Keeping a record of the people he saves. But why is he avoiding Nathan?
Angela knows about Tracy going on a killing spree, and Bennet's back on her payroll. Of all people, Danko saved him, I actually liked him.
Angela's dream seems to be indicating that we're going to have a problem with 'Nathan' sooner than anyone thought. Sylar's resurfacing and so are his powers - Nathan doesn't have telekinesis and he knows it. The more he tries to access his other powers, the faster his reversion will happen.
Matt's having visions – and Sylar's trying to make contact. Seems that Nathan's got his powers and body but his 'soul' is inside Matt's head.
Peter's new power is agility, pretty impressive. He seems very contained though – his apartment worries me, very Spartan. Seems this is his way of regaining control of his life – make it simple with simple goals. The two powers we've seen so far are very cool to start with.
Claire's roommate was seriously freaky but didn't deserve to die. I have a bad feeling about Gretchen – what do you want to bet she killed Annie? Gretchen already seems fixated on Claire, I feel an obsession brewing. It's so typical of Claire to do something as reckless as jump out of a window.
Matt's using the excuse that he was doing drugs? to get himself back on the police force. I liked Sylar showing up at the meeting. Sylar's right – you can't have that kind of power and not use it, especially when he's a cop and telepathy makes his job so much easier. He didn't give in for his job but did to get rid of Janice's new 'boyfriend'.
New romance brewing – Noah and Tracy?! Who saw that coming?
Samuel's got some sort of agenda – his time-traveller is too old so wants Hiro as a replacement and is now targeting Sylar, Claire, Peter.
No Mohinder = already off to a good start hide show
There is something to be said about how fresh every new season of Heroes feels. For some reason, as disappointing as the season prior was, I always give the show the benefit of the doubt and I get excited for the start of the next volume. Admittedly, I thought the start of "Villains" was damn entertaining. I may have been too kind...
But if Heroes is making the same mistakes, then so am I, because I thought this 2-part premiere was very, VERY good- Like, Season 1 good...
First and foremost is the show is going back to getting grounded in reality. No more exhibitions of cool powers. Ordinary people, extraordinary abilities. How about that? This is as simple a move as just giving our heroes NORMAL supporting players to interact with. Claire has started college and she's dealing with a new roommate. Peter is back to his medical duties, and has another EMT he works with. Even Hiro and Ando have started a 'superhero business', but they have to deal with Hiro's sister. It's amazing how regular people can keep a show about superheroes rooted (instead of everyone we meet having a power). It's nice getting our leads back to dealing with the every-day. That's why Spiderman works. The plot really begins to move forward when a family of carnies sends one of their own to retrieve a special compass (LOST) and in the process, kill Danko. (If Heroes wants to stay good, he'll stay dead) and Nik- sorry, Tracy and HRG are on the case. I won't really miss the Danko character, as the more we wash our hands of Season 3, the better off we'll be. Tracy begins to develop a relationship with Noah after he, too is attacked by Darth Maul. Note: Ray Park is such an amazing martial artist, I wish we could see him work without all the flashy FX- He's a speedster like Daphne. I don't mind the potential romance because a) they're taking their time and letting it play out, and b) Ali Larter is still the hottest chick on the show. Noah's divorce is sort of heartbreaking, and I think we can understand his aimlessness right now.
One critique I have is they are already playing the Sylar-emerging-from-Nathan card. (They jumped at this at the end of last volume's teaser). This is way too soon. It's as if the writers can't function without Sylar or something. Give us a break from him, using him sparingly, and when he does show up, it will have 10x more impact. But another notable difference is it seems the characters are acknowledging their past mistakes- and getting smarter for it. I liked that Matt Parkman regrets how he used his power in the finale (and his continued insecurities about his family). I liked that Peter declined to go on another 'hunt' with Noah. And I liked Claire's new roomate's call-back to the high school massacre. Nice twist with revealing the old roomate did commit suicide. It looked like the beginning of another long investigation, but Nope. No big mystery. (her new roommate is kind of annoying, though. Why is she so obsessed with death?)
The carnies themselves are an unknown factor. Their leader has some sort of painting/foresight ability (like Isaac and the African dude), so that keeps Tim Sale's art on the show. But this time the twist is tattoos. None of this was really exciting or interesting, but I'm going to wait to see how it all plays out. Overall, I was impressed by how little I was annoyed by this premiere, and the best thing about the eps was it seems Peter might get back to being a badass again. Using his powers to help others on his own,at the sacrifice of having a life is fascinating. Batman-like. Lovin' it. Speaking of that, will we ever see future Hiro come to pass? I don't mind his new mission of changing the past (this will only lead to trouble, you idiot) but I am weary of the lovable geek. It's time to slick the hair back! And finally, I didn't miss Mohinder at all.
This is an improvement on 'Orientation' but it still doesn't feel like Heroes is really trying hard enough. hide show
With 'Jump, Push, Fall', the season four premiere continues to perch its foot delicately on the accelerator, taking care not to go too wild and, you know, actually do something surprising with the plot. Adam Armus and Kay Foster take a leaf out of Tim Kring's book and cling to the brakes, making sure they maintain the rather depressing averageness that plagued 'Orientation.' The run-of-the-mill plots, predictable tropes and blasé character beats are still mostly present and correct, ensuring that Heroes continues to feel like a watered down version of its own second season. On the up side, however, a number of narrative threads begin to move the show's characters in rather more interesting directions, suggesting that there may be promise for the future success of the volume.
Frustratingly, Claire's Creek: The College Years isn't one of them. Following the most barefaced product placement sequence in the history of television, in which the words 'guitar' and 'hero' are uttered 6,732 times and we actually waste precious screen time watching Claire and Gretchen attempt to play some Jimi Hendrix, Armus and Foster bump off the irritatingly smug and self-serving roommate stereotype in a plotline straight out of Murder, She Wrote. Oh wait, that's too generous… Diagnosis Murder, yeah, that's it. So, what happened to the poor algebra-loving, trajectory-obsessed girl, huh? Well, she simply had to go, otherwise we wouldn't be able to service the burgeoning friendship between our budding heroine and the awkward flares-wearer. Just look at the two of them now, bonding over conspiracy theories and cod-psychoanalysis, conspiring to steal crash test dummies and throw them out of Ms Bennet's window. That's the kind of storyline that really gets the ratings soaring. Who cares about what actually happened to Little Miss Overconfident when we get to see Gretchen realising that Claire, shock of shocks, has healing powers? Well fancy that! Who would've thunk? Sigh. It really feels like the entire 'mysterious death' trope exists solely for the purpose of creating this moment of discovery and frankly, it's lame. You would think that after having been caught in the act so many times in the last four seasons, Claire would just stick to her new-found mantra and come straight out with the truth the moment she meets anyone new; ah, but then the production crew wouldn't be given the opportunity to gross us all out with shots of Claire's disfigured body being shunted back into place (props to the effects guys here, by the way, that was truly sickening), so no, tiresome predictability it is. And it's hard to decide whether or not this moment is satisfactory in terms of the 'murder mystery' too; Claire's dialogue suggests that perhaps her roommate did commit suicide, although you suspect that this is something of a red herring. However, it would probably be a darn sight more interesting if this were the case, since it would give the character an additional dimension; she would cease being a cipher, and develop a complexity to which we weren't previously privy. On the other hand, it would also draw this narrative to a close and we'd be forced to watch Gretchen and Claire playing BFFs for the next three or four weeks, until the other heroes required the (ex) cheerleader's services. So perhaps it's better if the enigma continues and the two play Scooby Doo for a while, although the jury's out on whether this will be any more engaging than the codswallop we've had to endure for the last two episodes.
Hiro and Ando's narrative generates a similar degree of ambivalence. After an episode of dancing around, we finally get to the heart of their story and it's certainly refreshing: having our comedic, ever-reliable protagonist knocking at death's door, resigned to his fate, is a marvellous conceit that gives Masi Oka a chance to demonstrate that he's more than just a catchphrase machine. He's particularly good when he's forced to be aggressive, as in his conversation with Ando about the morality of time travel. It's also good to see the Carnival weaving its way into the wheels of the central narrative, even if it is a little convenient that it just so happens to be the place where Hiro's mission to be a superhero started, so the writers have an easy route into connecting the two apparently disparate strands. Still, we can forgive this since Robert Knepper continues to be just about the best thing in the show at the moment, beguiling you with his refusal to be pigeonholed into black or white, good or bad, and he and Oka have an instantaneous chemistry that bodes well for the future, since it appears that the writers are throwing them together in a sort of dysfunctional 'master/pupil' relationship that will undoubtedly have disastrous consequences. It's nice to see Hiro making decisions that are human rather than moral, thinking with his heart instead of his head, and, on the face of it, his new-found Quantum Leap-esque mission to 'right the wrongs' of his past seems promising. Unfortunately, it also relies on a frustratingly paradoxical interpretation of time travel that, while consistent with the show's representation of the trope from as far back as season one, still doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The idea that Hiro is 'out of time', that he somehow exists outside of causality and is aware of the myriad changes and redundant timelines that he has produced, contradicts the fundamental physics of the process: if Hiro goes back in time and alters the past so that Ando and his sister fall in love, then this is what will always have happened, and Hiro will remember it as such. Here, while everyone else acts like nothing has changed, Nakamura remembers the redundant timeline, which, frankly, is preposterous. Now, to be fair, we could discuss the concept of time travel all day and never reach a satisfactory conclusion about its minutiae since it's all speculative, but this sort of thing just demonstrates why it's probably best to stay away from it, or at the very least to avoid using it to adversely affect the lives of the central characters.
Elsewhere, we get a not-entirely-subtle delineation of the parallels between loner Peter and, um, loner Noah as they work together to retrieve the Carnival's missing compass, and while the idea is sound, the execution falters somewhat. The occasional flashes of Bennet's home life are a nicely underplayed touch and his phone call to Sandra is genuinely heartbreaking, but when he starts waxing poetic to Peter about the need to surround yourself with people and the counterproductive nature of isolation, it comes across as rather forced and heavy-handed. Armus and Foster would've done better to illustrate the analogy rather than make it explicit, as the dialogue feels grafted on when it should be organic. There are other problems too: Noah acquires the key far too quickly; in fact, it's almost as if he knows where to look, which certainly doesn't seem to be the intended reading. In fact, his analysis of the body – that the nature of the wounds suggest it was not a vengeance killing – is dubious enough without this little slice of convenience, so it ends up smacking of lazy writing. Would it really hurt to have it take a little longer, for them to have popped down to a medical lab to give Danko an X-ray or something? Oh wait, yeah, that would've intruded on the Guitar Hero product placement time… sorry, my bad, stick to the deux et machinas. Peter's need to extract himself from what he sees as the 'destructive' nature of the heroes, while fairly mature in concept, is rather frustrating in practise: we all know that the gang is going to come bounding back together within the space of a few weeks because it always happens, so these feel more like backward steps than logical progression (come on, would he really leave Noah with the compass after having been confronted by knife-wielding maniac? That's just plain malicious!) And then there's Tracey Strauss, who has magically transformed from ruthless, revenge-obsessed killing machine to caring, sharing, Noah-comforting sweet pea in the space of eighty minutes. She ends the episode by the bedside of the man she tried to drown meagre hours ago, and is she strangling him while he sleeps? Stuffing his mouth with the fluids he may or may not have been fed intravenously? No, she's keeping him company, making sure he isn't alone, and offering glances that can only be described as 'suggestive.' (Don't think it couldn't happen… remember Matt and Daphne?) Now call me reactionary if you like, but I don't really think this sort of antithetical character swerve can believably occur overnight. It's just silly, and it betrays the simple fact that the writers really don't know what to do with Ali Larter's somewhat redundant character. Here guys, I've got an idea: make a bold decision and actually keep her dead! No? Oh well.
Speaking of characters that refuse to snuff it, Zachary Quinto's Sylar has more of a role in this one although, refreshingly, the writers manage to do something a little creative with him. Armus and Foster play to the actor's strengths and pitch the character as Matt's self-deprecating conscience, delivering cuttingly insightful and vindictive dialogue that really gets to the heart of Sylar's malice. This is the sort of thing that made him such a potent menace in Heroes' first season, that gave viewers throughout the globe the opportunity to love such a loathsome individual; instead of being bombastic and over-the-top, Gabriel is cutting and heartless, psychoanalysing instead of proselytising. Greg Grunberg plays well off him too, demonstrating Parkman's inner turmoil with suitable aplomb, and never veering too far into the excessive. The only lamentable element of this storyline is the inclusion of Roy; while Armus and Foster clearly need something to cause Matt to finally break, the 'jealous lover' trope is so hopelessly over-used in televisual narratives that its essential beats (misinterpretation, over-reaction, discovery, impasse, rift) frustrate rather than engage. Here's hoping we don't see any more of the long-haired plumber from… um, somewhere other than Liverpool (see what I tried to do there? No? Okay…) and that Janis never finds out about Matt's little indiscretion; I just can't cope with playing the cycle of martial strife any longer.
'Jump, Push, Fall' steps up a little from the lethargic pace of the season opener, but the series still feels like it's running on auto-pilot. The narrative progression remains fairly slow and this hinders the episode's success. Armus and Foster do attempt to introduce some fresh conceits and some of them are quite engaging – Sylar's game of wits with Matt Parkman is superbly handled and Hiro's dalliances with the Carnival give his character refreshingly new dimensions – but unfortunately, a great many problems remain. Claire's narrative continues to be about as interesting as watching paint dry, relying on the sort of beats that were out-dated when they tried them in season two, and the Peter/Noah/Tracey storyline is fraught with problems and inconsistencies, not the least of which is Strauss's sudden about turn which is frankly risible. This is an improvement on 'Orientation' but it still doesn't feel like Heroes is really trying hard enough, and when your show is on as icy ground as this one, that really isn't a good sign.
A little bit slow, very comical, and good little twists. hide show
The second part started off slow, but it was fun to watch. I like it toned down a little bit from season 3 when it was all over the place. When Hiro was at the Carnival he was religious about changing time, until he has literally pushed into doing so. Ando and Kimiko are now together which is what I wanted from season 1. I wonder by doing that if it changed other factors besides Ando and Kimiko being together. It seems like it would have changed everything. I have a good feeling where this would lead in future episodes. The Matt and Sylar bits were funny. To everyone Matt looks completely insane. He starts talking to Sylar and people are like "what the heck is he doing" The Claire bits were boring. Peter figured out if he tries to do something something always bad happens, so he like "Heck no, I don't want to see what will happen" It's slow but it's better. I finally get to see character development and more unpredictable story lines. I am curious about episode 3 because those don't fare to well from the past 2 seasons.
Better than the premiere because the plot is advancing and some ideas are starting to pay off slowly. hide show
Presentation Phase -» (7/10) The idea to make someone powers to play with him was used before, the last time was Sylar and his shape shifting powers, but in Matt´s case it plays well and is a nice way to keep Sylar around
Complication Phase - » (7/10) Hiro part was interesting this time, even if he was played, I thought that time travel was done in heroes, but it appears that this season could be the last, so it make sense using time travel to make things right, maybe this is how Sylar will be killed and Nathan revived
Matt´s part was the best, his illusions with Sylar was very interesting, Claire parts didn´t help, but was better than the season premiere was nothing bad either, could be more interesting, but at least it was not boring.
Climax Phase - » (7/10) Matt part was one more time very good, Peter fight could be better, but it is ok too
Ending - » (8/10) what make the ending great was Matt last action, Peter decision it is consistent with is behavior and Claire made another stupid thing, as usual. Hiro idea put things in another level and can be interesting to follow.
Details/Progress (To point A to B) -» (8/10) not the greatest progression, but at least, some plots advanced like Matt and Hiro, Peter and Claire status, if you had missed this episode, you would missed a few things
Time and Scene Management - » (7/10) better than the last episode, but Claire situation seems pure filler to me and continues to be boring sometimes if not all the times,
Plot Details/Holes- » (6/10) It didn´t make sense to me how Peter suddenly knew how to fight with knifes/Katana, it seems that when he absorbs one power, this absorption come with a automatic instructions easy to follow and put in practice, Tracy suddenly hooking up with HRG, doesn´t make sense, since she tried to kill him a while ago. Why HRG wasn´t killed?
Storyline -» (7/10) the only storyline that failed here was Claire and Tracy, the rest is cool for now. Matt part was the best
Suspense/Tension - » (6/10) Peter fight wasn´t filled with spectacular tension, could be better, the rest wasn´t something that could create good tension
Drama - » (8/10) Matt drama is the best here, the rest depend in how much you like the characters
Better than the premiere because the plot is advancing and some ideas are starting to pay off slowly.
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grailwolf
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