Heroes Season 4 Episode 18

Perhaps because of the scheduling, which has involved fewer and shorter breaks, this season has seemed to be cut down to the bone. In reality, it is only a few episodes short of the average network television season. It occurs to me that the slower pace has also made it feel like the season is shorter, because in an overall sense, less ground has been covered.





The pace has been a mixed blessing. In many cases, it actually allowed for character exploration, which is one of those things that always fell short in earlier seasons. Some characters motivations have been a lot more defined as a result. On the other hand, many of the characters have already long since worn out their welcome, and what begins as deliberation can devolve into stagnation.





As the penultimate chapter for this season (and quite possibly, the series), this felt a bit like writers' room navel-gazing. For all the build-up in the previous episode, this seemed to take what could have been five minutes of a typical hour and stretched it to the breaking point. That it largely focused on everything that has been wrong with this season is both appropriate and unfortunate.





I'll start with the Sylar/Peter plot thread. It appears I was wrong about the body swap that was suggested at the end of the previous episode. Instead, the writers went for the notion that time seems to pass much more quickly in Sylar's dream-world, thus forcing the two enemies to spend years in isolation. The notion being thus: if Peter can eventually come to terms with Sylar's professed restored humanity, then Sylar can be redeemed.





In essence, it's a cheat. It's a way to skip over the actual hard part of redeeming a character. And maybe we shouldn't be surprised by that choice; the writers already played at having Sylar abandon his evil ways, and then completely undermined it in the third season. Even taking into account in internal influence of Nathan and Matt on Sylar's psychological state, Sylar's tortured character journey makes any attempt at redemption hard to swallow.





At this point, however, it's still possible for the writers to do this right. They could have Sylar make the effort to do the right thing, realize that his impulses are still overwhelming his desire to change, and sacrifice himself to take down Samuel. It wouldn't be redemption by any means, but it would give the character a chance to go out on a high note.





Though, to the eternal damnation of the writers, it would also mean that the oft-promised throwdown between Peter and Sylar would be negated by, literally, years of talking it out. And since the writers have done everything to avoid that scenario since the first season finale, the downfall of "Heroes" still traces right back to that decision to soften the ending, let Sylar live, and abandon the original intention of replacing the cast every season to keep the series fresh.





That might have long since eliminated the frustrations with Noah and Claire. Claire's character arc has been more tolerable this season, if only because it was connected to Samuel's plot arc, which has been the season's saving grace. Noah, on the other hand, has been all over the map. Did we really need to tack on more information about how he came to work with the Company? Noah has already lost his edge in several ways, and these flashbacks only serve to further water him down. Instead of a character that embraced a world that is morally gray, Noah is now someone who was led astray by his grief and anger.





Even Samuel's arc is pointing towards disappointment. I understand the argument that Samuel's "earthquake" ability, taken to the extremes allowed by focusing the energy of his "family", would probably be uncomfortable for many viewers in the wake of the tragedy in Haiti. And if the episodes were coming later in the spring, having been written after Haiti's decimation, I would agree that the changes would be understandable and perhaps even justified.





But that's not the case. These episodes were already in the can before the Haiti disaster, so it accurately reflects what the writers thought was a good resolution to the plot. They honestly felt that it would be a better payoff to replace a threat to destroy a major city by shaking it to the ground (the logical progression of Samuel's escalating instability) with the Classical Music Concert of Doom. Apparently Samuel thinks that nothing will strike fear into the hearts of New Yorkers than thousands of people dying because of out-of-tune music. (There's a joke about American Idol auditions or country/western singers in there somewhere.)





The fact that Emma was introduced very early suggests that the writers had something like this in mind from the start. So as the writers build Samuel up to be more and more powerful, and outright foreshadow that he could destroy cities in the Coyote Sands video and through his destruction of a small town, they know that they will never deliver! It's the same formula that has plagued "Heroes" in each and every volume: build up the story towards a climax, and then undercut it as severely as possible…and then complain that the criticism from genre fans is unfair.

This is my review/summary.





We start off with Peter's failed attempt to teleport out of Sylar's mind where 1 hour, equals 1 year in torment. Sylar is baffled by Peter's cooperativeness, stating that he killed his own brother and should not be trusted, he is a murderer. Peter just wants to save Emma from killing thousands. I still don't see why he going through all of this just for her, then again he is a hero.





On Claire/Samuel/Noah's part we get to see Noah's past revealed through Damian's house of mirrors. Pre-Company Noah (a used cars salesman), was once married to an attractive black woman, who reveals that she is "pregers". Excited, they suddenly face an unfamiliar Chinese-food deliverman. He uses telekinesis to pin Noah againsts a wall to steal his money. Kate (his wife) are truly confused about these powers. In an attempt to save Noah, Kate runs to the man, but he flings her into a glass coffee table, killing her. Noah is entirely confused.





Back to Sylar/Peter's storyline. They have been avoiding each other for months (possibly seconds in real time). Sylar is now content in his nightmare, but Peter resists. They soon find themselves against a large brick wall. Peter notices its the wall in Matt's basement. They have to get past it to break free.





Next, we find Lauren being healed by Emma, when Samuel walks in. Emma is all like "She said your a bad guy." Samuel is all like "No I ain't!"





At this point with Noah, you would think he joined the Company because of his wife murder, its actually kind of true. Noah was really searching for his wife's murderer killing another special in the process. A special the Company was looking for. Blah,blah,blah, Thompson from the Company finally recruits him. Later Noah and Thompson have a dinner (at the diner Sandra worked in), and Noah mentions feeling uncomfortable around the invisible Claude. Nice touch.





SURPRISE! We find that Noah and Sandra have been put into an arranged marriage. Claire is totally disappointed. Noah says that he married Sandra because he loves her... hmmm.. Claire also learns that Noah threatened Gretchen with good ole Rene.





Back to Peter and Sylar. After slege hammering the wall, they are truly ticked at each other. Sylar has been using Nathan's memories against Peter; Peter pimp slaps Sylar. Smile!





While talking to Lauren, Samuel is inturrupted


by Eli the cloning man, saying that Claire and Noah escaped. As Claire unties Noah in an old carnival trailer, Samuel totally buries them underground.





Sylar and Peter have been trapped in the city for years, Peter tosses Sylar a birthday present, a book. After years together, Sylar admits he's changed and is surprised Peter hasn't killed him. Peter doesn't want to lose the last true bit of Nathan that lives in Sylar. With a new brotherly hate/love, the two finally destroy the wall. Peter finds himself in Matt's basement, and Sylar destroys the wall that he was trapped behind. As they leave the basement, Eli surrounds them with clones. Ha! He doesn't know who he's dealing with!





The Wall ends as Noah and Claire navigate the underground.





10/10

This is what heroes is all about, i can't wait to see the show down between Sylar/Peter and Samuel.





Samuel is the perfect bad guy for them as his power grows with the more specials around him, so having Sylar and Peter close to him will make his powers Godlike and i believe he will be a bit of challenge to take down.





Always love to see more insights into Noel, i predicted everything that was going to happen except the arranged marriage thing, lol





A few mistakes that kept this episode from being perfect:





1) What the hell, Matt finished making the wall after Peter interrupted him?





2) Where the hell did Matt go?, he just left Peter in his basement and f*ked off, lol





The real Matt would of at least tried to help Peter by using his powers, i doubt Matt has turned into that much of a coward.

I don't like Peter and Sylar bonding . It's just not ment to be , those two are supposed to be nemesis since season 1. I hope that at least it leads to a final showdown with Samuel. I think that Noah's past storyline was a litte bit forced and I am not quiet sure if it fits the timeline. I don't like Heroes episodes that lack action an this was one of them , nevertheless the writers managed to create some kind of expectation for the next episde. It's not breaking news to say that Heroes finales are not the best. There is lot of expectation and then it comes down to nothing and that's what creates frustation and dissapointment with the fans. This is Heroes last chances to prove that it can come back. All the pieces are in their places , now it's time for the final showdown between specials and normal people , I hope that they do it well this time and then Heroes can have some chance of " Redemption "

Heroes is desperately trying to say something poignant with 'The Wall' but it just isn't quite sure what. The cod-psychoanalytic, metatextual yawn inducer that is Peter and Sylar's narrative irritates after about the first ten seconds since its teleology is so damn obvious. Before the teaser sequence has even finished, it's apparent that the pair are going to be stuck inside Quinto's head for the duration of the hour, and only escape once some sort of psychological milestone has been traversed or breakthrough has been made. Armus and Foster are trying so hard to be meaningful here that they simply fall flat on their faces. It's predictable, it's contrived, it's bloody boring. For all the programme effectively needs something like this in order to make Sylar's transformation believable (to 'sell it', as they say in the wrestling world), paradoxically, it's both too little and too much all at once. The progression needs to take more than simply one episode, no matter how many years are supposed to have passed for the characters, otherwise it feels too abrupt. However, equally, too much of the episode is taken up with this story; essentially, it's just the same scene written in four or five different ways until the resoundingly unspectacular epiphany is reached. For the most part, it all just feels rather redundant.





Sadly, 'The Wall's other threads aren't strong enough to disguise these flaws. At the Carnival, Samuel and Eli abandon all the dimensions that have been afforded their characters in weeks gone by and become caricatures of themselves, taking on the sort of archetypal villain roles that are borderline comic. It's hard to buy into the threat that they pose when they're spouting hyperbolic nonsense about 'making the world bow down' to their wacky and weird ways. The sudden bait and switch from measured eeriness to B-movie cliche is massively frustrating. Still, at least Claire and HRG's sojourn through black and white history is somewhat entertaining. The revelations about Noah are actually rather astute and tie into the show's mythology well. The idea that he marries Sandra initially out of requirement makes perfect sense and gives a much welcome new dimension to their relationship. It's also nice to see Eric Roberts again and the fact that Claire actually takes her father's side after all of these insights and doesn't run pouting off into the distance should certainly be applauded. It's not quite enough to patch up the episode's weaknesses but at the very least, it provides a nice momentary distraction. 'The Wall's problem, essentially, is that the plot is too thin. It touches the same beats too many times and could certainly benefit from the inclusion of some of the other players. As is, it's a bit too average to be anything to write home about.

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOSH! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! We wanted it, we wished for it and now it's here. The answer, the missing piece. That final thing that Gabriel needed to fully exist again, Peter. They spent time together, they talked. The two of them spent years getting to know one another and one another alone granted we only got to see about forty five minutes of that but does that make it any less real? It took a lot but Peter knows Gabriel now and he forgives him. I can't tell you how proud of Peter I am right now. He's always been the hero of the show in all the best wayest or to phrase it another way in all the ways that make it so hard to be a real hero and he's proving that true again. He let his wall down and let the real Gabriel again and it wasn't one sided either Gabriel let himself be Gabriel. The words may not change anything, won't take it back, they can't give Peter Nathan back but Gabriel said he was sorry and meant it. They're together now as I believe they always should have been (that sounds intense I know but if you saw the episode you get it, though I must admit it wasn't an intense as I would have wanted but it was still done good). However I am cautiously optimistic, this time feels different. It's not Gabriel showing a flicker of humanity, it's not him trying to resist and failing, it's not uncertainity riddled in self doubt. It's Gabriel, that piece of his heart that didn't stop existing when his powers appeared but is changed forever. All he ever really needed was Peter and now I believe that this time it's unchanging after all it took years (who knows how many). The promo for next weeks episode proves it too, the same goes for Gabriel's journey over the course of the series, and the last few volumes. He's changed, he's saved and I know Peter will hold true to that now all they need to do is wail on some baddies in true male bonding form and they can get on with their life together (intense I know) but I know that's the way it's supposed to be. Gabriel's the answer Peter needs, to not be alone after all this volume he was struggling with that in a round about isolationist way. He's the reminder and proof Peter needs to reassure himself that he is a hero and that he can both stay that path and overcome the obstacles. And Gabriel can find at last find companionship, freedom from his own fears of being alone. A lot of us, for a short time, thought we found that before in Elle and Gabriel being a Petrelli but those were both crutches. He needed to earn Peter's acceptance and forgiveness, he needed to earn connection through time and feeling. It won't change what he did, won't take his powers away but I think he can breath now and he's not alone. So pleased with the show for moving Sylar in this direction, it is a very complete and complex journey so far for him and brave of them to end it in the way I think some people thought it never would. Granted the show could still continue and there is plenty of impressive and wonderful things to do with Sylar but if it has to end then I think we can all say with a breath of relief that they did right by Sylar and Peter (the two strongest and beloved characters on the show).





PS did everyone catch the apartment Sylar...I mean Gabriel and Peter were in (the bloody hand print on the door), that's Gabriel's old home.

Wow. Just, wow. I don't believe it. Heroes has been holding out on us big time. Why? Why not more episodes like these? If they'd had started out this year with episodes like these, if they hadn't lost their footing for three-four episodes, Heroes wouldn't be on the disparate verge of cancellation. Perhaps that's the sad part about it, that the crew can sense a very possible end, so they decide to give it their all. I don't know. It may not matter whatever the reason. But this episode, beyond amazing. It wasn't perfect but this was the first episode in a long time that kept me glued to my seat, that had me honestly surprised, the first episode in awhile that gave my heart a little tweak or two, and after the longest time, that's good enough for me. Samuel tries one final attempt to seduce Claire, making his memory-guy pull some of Noah's darkest secrets into the light. Meanwhile, Sylar and Peter remain trapped in Sylar's mind and they need to pull together to find a way out. Rant to take care of: Even though I've come to expect it this season, Claire hogged the most attention out of everyone. Even with Noah's unwilling trips down memory-lane, it was all about Claire and how her father kept secrets from her, personal secrets he honestly had a good reason for keeping, but no, how dare he lie to her AGAIN? Sigh. Oh well. I'll just complain, feel better, and move on. At least we some surprising/emotional insights into Noah's past:


Noah was a used-car salesman? Well, that isn't surprising. His front for over twenty years was a literal paper-pusher. He had to learn the suave people skills somewhere. But, Noah. . . had a wife?!? Before Sandra? And she was carrying his child?!? Whoa. I had to take a minute to let that sink in.


Don't go thinking just yet that Claire has a backwoods relative via Tracey Strauss or Alice Shaw. The tragic backstory as to why Noah came into the company is revealed: Noah and his first wife were attacked by a telepathic burglar. He pinned Noah to a wall and when First Wife got a little too close, slammed her into the glass table. It does explain a lot of his callous indifference to heroes in the early episodes. After First Wife's murder, Noah went all vigilante, going after a hero he believed was connected to the murderer, since before the Company, he believed all heroes were in a crime rig or something. The hero didn't know anything about the murderer but panicked, firing a sonic wave, Noah killing him in self-defense. Sometime after, Thompson showed, offering Noah a place at the company. A few years later, Thompson notes that while Noah is a natural, he racked up a couple of deaths, one of them perhaps Becky's father, and still doesn't trust Claude. Thompson warns Noah to get his head on straight and "suggests" Noah find a wife to do so. Hence, Sandra.


Thompson but no Claude? :}/:{. It is good to see a familiar face but I believe I'm not the only one weeping inside that despite the perfect opportunity, Claude didn't return. Gretchen was clingy due to Noah-Apparently, Gretchen was playing the clingy girlfriend because Noah asked her to. More like threatened to erase her mind via Haitian if Gretchen didn't convince Claire to stay away from Samuel. While not shocking and a lesser offense than say, murdering people, Claire takes that one as the most personal. Priorities, priorities. Points for Claire-Samuel failed. He underestimated the love between Noah/Claire. Noah has always proven his love for Claire time and time again and Claire knows this. Nothing Noah has done or ever do will change that. Samuel tried but he couldn't rip a daughter away from her father. Claire smirks Samuel doesn't get it because no one ever loved him, even his "family" only stays out of fear. Y-ouch, one for Claire. She tags along to hear Samuel's master plan but then underestimates that Samuel will let her and Noah go free. He lets Claire go save her father but sinkholes them six feet under. Ouch. While Claire can't die, Noah's not as lucky, so they don't have much time.


Lauren-Lauren tries to persuade Emma Samuel's evil but Emma hands her over to Samuel. Lauren begs Samuel not to go through with his plan, she knows what he's fully capable of. Of course, no go, and Samuel commences Eli to get rid of her. Lauren is resourceful enough to escape, living to fight another day.


Specials: Is that the term Heroes has finally coined for its unique brand of superheroes? Specials? What's wrong with mutant? Metahuman? Superheroes? Post-human? (See Wikipedia.) Even, say, heroes. Specials seems too tacky.


Samuel-Samuel is back in business. No longer emotionally-crippled, he has his mind made up, his family in his clutches, and a delusional plan to prove to the world his worth, to make them bow to the awesomeness that is Samuel. Seems like Samuel and Sylar have more commonalities than I thought. Samuel grew up at the bottom of the social ladder, looked on and dismissed as nothing more than servant-trash. When his parents died, Joseph viewed it as his responsibility to curb Samuel's destructive abilities, derailing his potential with his power and with Vanessa, viewing Samuel as a charge, not his brother, fueling Samuel's self-worth issues. Samuel wanted to prove to everyone that he was special. He knew he was special, why couldn't everyone see it? But while Sylar at least blamed his shortcomings mostly on himself, Samuel blamed everyone else on his personal failures. His parents' employers stuck their noses down on him. Joseph was always in his way to realizing his full potential and Vanessa. Vanessa doesn't know what she's missing. Normal humans see a freak, an outsider. Samuel takes his delusional paranoia to the extreme, convincing others like him the outside world will never accept them, never see them as equals. Whoever doesn't accept him/them is an enemy. Crazy, delusional, and with an off-the-scale power, Samuel is a formidable foe. He always was but this episode cements the full exact details on how he is how he is.


Pillars of the earth-A little sidenote but this was the book Sylar held onto in his mind while he and Peter were trapped, one Peter retrieved for him in a gesture of good will. I'm sure there is some overlying symbology behind the book-choice but aside from a possible allusion to Samuel, I have no idea. Perhaps someone else will know. The best part of the episode has to be the interaction between Peter and Sylar. A large part of me wanted more (but then, what's poor Claire going to do? Actually sit back and let other heroes have a part?) but a part of me will always want more between Peter and Sylar. I don't know what it is, if a lot of it has to do with Zach and Milo's natural chemistry, or just the opposing/compelling nature of their characters, how they're in essence, each other's opposites, but Sylar and Peter always bring out the best of the worst or the worst of the best (???) in each other. Their strange, yin-yang, two-sides-of-the-same-coin relationship was one I always wished Heroes would've utilized more. As it is, I couldn't be happier with how their involvement turned out.


Sylar-Is it true? Has Sylar finally been redeemed? After four years, after all the deaths, the blood, the pain Sylar wrought on himself and others, after seeing the good side of him come out so many times, after so many false-starts and false-hopes, where Sylar looked doomed to a life of misery and loneliness, a villain that could never know love or redemption, after hoping against all odds that somehow this poor, misunderstood villain could pull through and be a true hero, is it finally here? I hope it is. Welcome to the good side, Gabriel.


Some will undoubtedly find pain letting the villain go. Some will find Sylar's transformation sudden. All I can say is this has been coming for years, only now has it finally come into fruition. The last few episodes have shown Sylar slowly but steadily regaining his humanity. He's lived out his worst nightmare for twelve-fifteen "years" (half a day by Peter's count but when you're trapped in Hell, time is relative). He has seen the error of his ways. He sees the loneliness, the pain he harbored for so long, and he realizes he doesn't want to be this way. All it took was an angel of his own to cement his salvation.


Peter-It had to be Peter. It always had to be. Only the "true" hero could save the "true" villain. Only someone who had seen Sylar as he truly is, as what he could be, could save him. Only Peter had the understanding, the patience, the heart, the capability for compassion to redeem someone everyone else dismissed as a lost cause. The redemption wasn't only for Sylar. The wall was for both of them. Only when Peter was able to forgive Sylar did both have the strength to shatter that mental wall. Sylar helped Peter finally regain the pieces of his heart he tucked away throughout most of the season, the heart that shattered when he had to let "Nathan" go, to find the strength in both his strong, courageous lionheart and his pure empathic heart. Sylar showed the way back to the powerful hero Peter always was, with or without the ability to boot, the hero he always will be.


Going in, I realized catharsis between the two was not going to be easy. Peter only wanted to save him out of necessity. Sylar was his nemesis, the one who endlessly tormented him and his loved ones, the one who murdered his best friend, a psychopath that tried blowing up New York and assassinating the President to rule over the free world, an annoying pest that happened to be useful for the moment. Indeed Sylar first behaved like an annoying, (bada@@), and snarky pain-in-the-a@@, earning a punch from Peter that wasn't undeserved. (For the worriers, a good Sylar is just as bada@@ as evil Sylar). If Sylar couldn't get them out, Peter would do it alone, no matter what the cost.


During Peter's futile attempts to break the wall, Sylar apologized for Nathan's death, knowing he couldn't ever be fully forgiven for it, knowing he robbed Peter of the most important person in his life. Sylar even flashes on Nathan's old memories over Peter, snapping back when Peter sneers he's not Peter's brother. Sylar realizes that but a part of him wishes it were true. He saw the unconditional love between Peter and Nathan, and wishes he could've had someone like Peter in his life, someone that could've stopped him before he got way too deep. Both aren't unaware of their strange connection. Both aren't unaware they share similarities; they have shared history, shared blood. Under different circumstances, they could have gotten to know each other so much better. Under different circumstances, they could have been friends. As it is, they've continually collided with each other, two supernovas smashing through of the sky, until burned out, consumed, they've come back to each other in pieces, needing the other to be whole again. It would seem as well that with Nathan's memories inside him, Sylar knows Peter better than anyone else. It makes sense Sylar could/would redeem Peter.


Peter at first brushed Sylar away, but as they bonded during the twelve "year" period, and got to know each other, as Peter got to realize Sylar as a human being, he still couldn't bring himself to let go of his hate, for he believed that's what made him hold on to Nathan. He still couldn't bring himself to let Nathan go. He realized Nathan will always be a part of him but he had to live without him. His greatest enemy gave him back his heart, his strength, made them both strong enough to shatter the wall that blocked both of them.


Has Peter grown stronger ability-wise by the experience as well? His ability is emotionally-driven. On a pragmatic scale, with the writer's godmod-phobia, I would say no. But you never know. Both Sylar and Peter have a chance to prove their skills when Eli comes to dispatch them. Samuel either thinks Sylar's still impotent or he set Eli to the lions. My geek heart squeals at the possibilities. Sylar and Peter, a formidable team, two of the strongest heroes working together, bonding together, kicking a@@ along the way. If there is a Season Five, I would hope Peter will help Sylar continue his quest for salvation, the two growing closer into not quite brothers, but friends all the same, Sylar aiding Peter in getting stronger, the two learning more about themselves from each other.


Just when I think Heroes is done, it pulls a winning card out of its sleeves. Why do you do this to me? I now hope fervently for a Season Five. Sylar's story isn't over, it's just beginning. If all goes well in the finale and there is a Season Five, I would hope it will explore Sylar's/Gabriel's path as a hero. Although he is redeemed, he's got a ways to go to make amends. If that territory can be explored, he'll be the rare villain that gets full redemption without dying. Villains who gain redemption have a habit of dying right after. Darth Vader turned back to Anakin but he died in the process. T-800 was converted to good but he had to die to save the world. With true redemption, sacrifice needs to be paid, and a lot of the converted heroes give their lives for the ultimate penance, renewed spiritually, their souls given back, forever cleansed. It would be refreshing to see a villain that actually lives to be the hero, to fight another day, to grow and learn, for that doesn't happen too often. Maybe it doesn't matter what I want. It will take a miracle and the Powers that Be at NBC to decide if Heroes deserves yet another chance. If this is the end, then, I couldn't happier with how it turned out. If another season comes, I will proudly be there.

This being the last episode before the finale, I gotta say I expected more. I'm down with the 'focused' storytelling of buckling down to only a few characters, but seriously. The end game this season doesn't feel nearly as epic as it has in the past. What role will Parkman, Hiro, Mohinder, Tracy (who they made a big deal about calling last week) all be playing in the climax? We don't know because instead of putting pieces in place, this episode takes a huge pit stop and does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to further the story.





I seriously mean this. Save for one event, we are basically in the same place we've been for the past few weeks now: Samuel is planning something...big. We don't know what it is. Or how he'll do it. But it will be...big. And everyone's gotta stop him. They can't yet. But they're about to. If they can get there in time- dun dun dun!!! Okay...





I'll start with what I liked. Claire was taken to the hall of mirrors where she was forced to watch some of Daddy's old memories. Okay, cool (nice editing and transitions here). It was mildly interesting, but ultimately pointless; This is another case of the show re-writing it's own history; turns out HRG had another wife who was pregnant before being killed by a 'special'! Oh so this is why he joined the Company and became a 'bag n tag' man. Shocker. Except the story was really more cliche than anything else, and honestly who was dying to know this? We kind of just accepted that he used to hunt these people and was formerly bias against them before adopting a daughter he would grow to love. What's more to tell? We didn't need a whole backstory about it. Again. And what's worse is the idea was to make Claire turn on her father, but (in what was the only psuedo- surprise of the plot) it didn't work. Yay. I don't know how much more "I'm mad at my Daddy" stories I can take. So I guess we're back to where we started...Claire and Noah are still trapped at the carnival. Only now they're underground. Clearly the showrunners were shooting for another Company Man-esque entry. I think they failed.





I should note that both Samuel and the storyline overall are getting more mileage out of Multiple Man than they ever did with Speedster Ray Park. (Slap your face for letting that FBI chick escape, though. If I were a villain, no insubordinate of mine should be so incompetent! lol)





As for Sylar and Peter's time trapped together in his mind- yikes. I hated pretty much all of this: Sylar's talk of reform, Peter's forgiveness, that damn wall... It was like watching a bad stage play. Scenes like this fall on the actors to sell them, and I guess neither Milo nor Zachary were really up to the task. Nothing felt believable. Sylar has lied so many times I just couldn't find him sincere about going straight. Peter, who only a few eps ago was hell bent on destroying Sylar, was now completely cordial; I didn't buy that he could even stand two feet from his brother's killer let alone work together with him. Blame the rushed storytelling- We're supposed to believe years have passed since they've been trapped together but it never feels that way. Because of this, the beat shifts are jarring. And then there's that wall...Of all the...


and of course after years of pounding away with no progress, not a one of them would think maybe we should try a different approach? Of course when Pete and Sly make their emotional 'breakthrough' that's when they can 'breakthrough' the wall! Get it? GET IT? *sigh* This was so awful... Yeah, so nothing really happened this week except that Peter got Sylar out. And Sylar might be good now. The idea of Peter needing to ally himself with his mortal enemy to stop someone even more powerful is very intriguing- to bad the execution went to sh*t.

What more is their to say? I'm completly and utterly impressed. Flashback episode! Except this time, unlike the woeful one in volume 4, it has meaning. It was nice that we found out a little bit more about HRG's reasons for joining the company. I've complained about his rubbbish role this season and the writers have responded with a vengence. And they were so close, they almost went down the hugley predictable route with Claire not trusting him. And they did in a way, but it almost seems like she's grown up. Her Dad has killed people, he's done bad things but she still loves him. And trapped underground in a caravan... only one person can erm teleport them out of there. If he's not still brain tumoured up, that is. I like Lauren too and Samuel's plans to relocate to New York are very interesting. It always happens there dosen't it? Of course, the reason why I loved this episode was Sylar and Peter. Sylar has repented in such a way that I doubt he will go back to being a monster. And the funny thing is, would this have even happened if Hiro had not changed the future? However... I hope the writers don't think that proverbial years trapped inside Manhatten is enough. Sylar was the villian for 4 seasons; he can't be all sweetness and nice from now on. Something has to give. Peter for his part kept in charactor. He can't forgive Sylar and why should he, yet it took Sylar finally realizing he'll never kill again to get them out of there. An empithany. That, right there, is the redemption for him. And a long time coming it is too. I hope Sylar isn't a whimp now... him and Peter can make an awesome and pretty indestructable team, so unless copy guy has powers we haven't seen, how can he possibly hope to take them on? They'll wipe the floor with him, which of course gets me worried thats exactly what they plan to do with Sylar. I can't wait for next week now. One hell of an ultimate show down to come. 2 episodes left. It's very exciting indeed. They BETTER not dissapoint or I do seriously think I'll be done.

Well, with the Noah flashback, the comparison with "Company man" is inevitable. But unlike last year's boring HRG flashback, this one was good, almost as good as CM. Finally, the reasons for Bennet's enlisting into the Company are revealed, and plausible - a chance Danko never had, by the way. And " I have no killer instincts " is a funny line. Heroes continues to focus on its characters, with a fine Sylar/Peter pairing, that doesn't erase Nathan's murder, but makes me buy "nice Sylar" much, much more than in volume 3 ( at least, this time there's some kind of explanation to his evolution : three years of loneliness can change a guy, right ? ) The setting in the empty city was quite creepy, and effective. What more can I say ? Samuel does his usual awesomeness, and even Claire, not my favorite character by far, has her moments to shine there.

I'm a fan of psychological episodes in any TV series, and this was definitely one of the best ones I've seen. We all knew Sylar would get out eventually, but Peter forgiving him for murdering Nathan? I'll admit I didn't see that one coming. It's good character progression for Peter and even better for Sylar, since we can finally see him as an honest to goodness hero rather than an anti-hero at best.





Even though the preview showed Sylar and Peter, I can't help but feel that Noah Bennet's subplot was a fundamentally stronger story. Seeing how HRG got started with the company and why he feels so untrusting of specials was pretty emotional. I won't spoil it, but trust me when I say it adds yet another dimension to his character, and I'm glad they did it. He's the most complex character in the series (sorry Sylar), and he's become my favorite during volume 5.





Lastly, the ending was an awesome cliffhanger for Claire and Noah. I'm not sure how they'll get out of this one, but I'm excited to find out how it happens. I'm sure Sylar and Peter's cliffhanger was supposed to be suspenseful as well, but I had to laugh when it happened. Sylar is so darn powerful that facing off with ANY other person with powers in the show has become a massacre. This won't end well for the multiple man.





If you haven't been watching Heroes this season, you're missing out on their best episodes since the initial season. While this isn't a good jumping on point, it will definitely rejuvenate your interest in the series and make you seek out the rest of Season 4 up to this point.