Heroes - 3.25, 24 - 7.20
Heroes, 3.25
While the rest of the fandom explodes, implodes, and generally has a conniption fit (save for those who don't give a shit about Nathan or the Petrellis), I'm actually pretty happy with this. Excited, even, which I haven't been about Heroes for a long long time. Which scares me, because I don't wanna throw any hopes into this show after getting burned so bad. But this? This could be AWESOME.
When the episode ended, I was a little conflicted. Nathan is dead. I LOVE Nathan. Dearly. But a lot of the conflict waned fairly quickly for me, and I'm left with dayum. Because this is a goldmine. As much as I love Nathan, his character really should've died at Kirby Plaza. I've said this so many times. His arc ended there. Dragging him back was a waste of Pasdar's talent and a disservice to the character. Honestly, for me, Nathan has pretty much dead-ended. Have they resolved everything for him? Well, no. Of course not. But he got his moment of self-awareness, kind of. He accepted and admitted to who he was, came out, got in his "I love you" to Peter. And that's really all he needs.
Now we've got this HUGE goldmine, for the writers and for the actors, and DEAR FUCKING GOD, do NOT fuck this up. Pasdar is hugely talented, and they've been wasting him. Imagine the range of stuff he can do now with Sylar!Nathan. The story can go into an exploration of identity, which has always been the core of the show. Or what SHOULD be the core of the show. A lot of people seems to be pissed that next season is entitled "Redemption" and that may mean Sylar's redemption. I see it as a possibility for both him and Nathan. Because Nathan? Not redeemed by getting his ass killed. I would find it HUGELY fascinating to see the possibility of Nathan's various issues getting played out through Sylar.
On a larger scale, I've always been intrigued by predestination in the Heroes-verse. It harkens back to S1. Certain things are, apparently, inevitable. We've been seeing a slow and steady progression into the 5YG-verse. Angela pretty much NAILED it: "I cannot change what I dreamed, but I can help direct its outcome." We're not gonna get 5YG, because that was a result of certain events, which have now been averted, redirected, or possibly delayed. But certain things STILL HAPPEN ANYWAY. It's like... it's like there is always going to be an explosion in NYC, but it's just a matter of the scale. That Sylar would always come to gain Claire's power. That Nathan would turn against his own kind. That he would die by the hands of Sylar. 5YG: "When I killed Nathan, he had already turned against his own kind."
That shit? Totally kills me. So. Urgh. I find myself kinda looking forward to next season. Pasdar owns my soul, so I was gonna watch as long as he's still on. But now it's like, wow, this actually sounds pretty cool.
24, 7.20
Oh, Tony. Off the motherfucking rails. Talk about crazy hardcore stone cold killer. Jack is right. The Tony we know and love is dead. This guy is... something else altogether. I'm more connected to Jack's and Chloe's heartbreak, for obvious reasons, since they're feeling, whereas Tony is, you know, STONE COLD KILLER. Chloe breaks my heart, to see her struggling with the idea that Tony has turned.
I FLIPPED. MY. SHIT. when Jack loses himself and says "President David Palmer." TWICE. I was like !!!!!!!!!! and dear god, Kiefer fucking OWNED. I mean, he owns ALL the time, but sometimes he owns even more than usual. I fear for what's in store for him. al;dfjalfdj;alfjalfd.
PIERCE! I <3 Pierce. That scene with Olivia is kinda messed up. The LOOK on his FACE when she was like, "I want Hodges dead zomg." And speaking of Olivia. Dear god, she's gonna fuck up HUGE. Also: sup, Leland Orser. Nice to see you again.
WILL PATTON. Srsly you guys srsly. You have no idea how TICKLED I am to see him on 24. NGH. I LOVE that he's THE MAN. The other people are like *rabble rabble rabble* but after he weighs in, they all follow him. <3333333333333 I hope he doesn't get killerated. :( I wanna see more of him.
Okay, onto the thematic portion: I yakked a little bit over at catch22girl's journal, and of course, with Beth, about the last few episodes. I've mentioned before that this season has been very much about the triangle foils. Hodges/Tony/Jack has been on my mind these last couple of eps. This last one comes in STRONG with the Hodges versus Jack. I like the spectrum they've got going. All men who gave their all for their country. But used, abused, then discarded, just like Hodges says. Where Hodges and Tony crumble and compromise, Jack remains firm. But it never fails to fascinate me on a meta level, because Jack is only right because Jack Is Always Right. Hodges is the clear-cut deluded villain, but I was telling catch22girl that Tony is the human side of the equation. He's Jack without them narrative breaks. Jack can spend a year and a half getting tortured in a Chinese prison and never break, while Tony spent seven months in federal prison, and I totally think something broke in him that never really got put back together, later compounded by, you know, Michelle's death.
But back on a purely story level, it's interesting, too, the idea of betrayal. These are all patriotic, dutiful men who served their country with pride and honor. As much as Hodges is a raving lunatic, they make a point of saying that his work, at one point, was good. Good and helpful to the country. But there was a breaking point. And the breaking point came OUT of that service. Hodges and Tony betrayed their country because they felt betrayed first, by the very government that they had sworn their duty to. No, it doesn't excuse what they do, but I find that interesting. In a sense, Tony gave and gave and gave until he had nothing left. This is what an empty man looks like. This is what an empty man is capable of.
While the rest of the fandom explodes, implodes, and generally has a conniption fit (save for those who don't give a shit about Nathan or the Petrellis), I'm actually pretty happy with this. Excited, even, which I haven't been about Heroes for a long long time. Which scares me, because I don't wanna throw any hopes into this show after getting burned so bad. But this? This could be AWESOME.
When the episode ended, I was a little conflicted. Nathan is dead. I LOVE Nathan. Dearly. But a lot of the conflict waned fairly quickly for me, and I'm left with dayum. Because this is a goldmine. As much as I love Nathan, his character really should've died at Kirby Plaza. I've said this so many times. His arc ended there. Dragging him back was a waste of Pasdar's talent and a disservice to the character. Honestly, for me, Nathan has pretty much dead-ended. Have they resolved everything for him? Well, no. Of course not. But he got his moment of self-awareness, kind of. He accepted and admitted to who he was, came out, got in his "I love you" to Peter. And that's really all he needs.
Now we've got this HUGE goldmine, for the writers and for the actors, and DEAR FUCKING GOD, do NOT fuck this up. Pasdar is hugely talented, and they've been wasting him. Imagine the range of stuff he can do now with Sylar!Nathan. The story can go into an exploration of identity, which has always been the core of the show. Or what SHOULD be the core of the show. A lot of people seems to be pissed that next season is entitled "Redemption" and that may mean Sylar's redemption. I see it as a possibility for both him and Nathan. Because Nathan? Not redeemed by getting his ass killed. I would find it HUGELY fascinating to see the possibility of Nathan's various issues getting played out through Sylar.
On a larger scale, I've always been intrigued by predestination in the Heroes-verse. It harkens back to S1. Certain things are, apparently, inevitable. We've been seeing a slow and steady progression into the 5YG-verse. Angela pretty much NAILED it: "I cannot change what I dreamed, but I can help direct its outcome." We're not gonna get 5YG, because that was a result of certain events, which have now been averted, redirected, or possibly delayed. But certain things STILL HAPPEN ANYWAY. It's like... it's like there is always going to be an explosion in NYC, but it's just a matter of the scale. That Sylar would always come to gain Claire's power. That Nathan would turn against his own kind. That he would die by the hands of Sylar. 5YG: "When I killed Nathan, he had already turned against his own kind."
That shit? Totally kills me. So. Urgh. I find myself kinda looking forward to next season. Pasdar owns my soul, so I was gonna watch as long as he's still on. But now it's like, wow, this actually sounds pretty cool.
24, 7.20
Oh, Tony. Off the motherfucking rails. Talk about crazy hardcore stone cold killer. Jack is right. The Tony we know and love is dead. This guy is... something else altogether. I'm more connected to Jack's and Chloe's heartbreak, for obvious reasons, since they're feeling, whereas Tony is, you know, STONE COLD KILLER. Chloe breaks my heart, to see her struggling with the idea that Tony has turned.
I FLIPPED. MY. SHIT. when Jack loses himself and says "President David Palmer." TWICE. I was like !!!!!!!!!! and dear god, Kiefer fucking OWNED. I mean, he owns ALL the time, but sometimes he owns even more than usual. I fear for what's in store for him. al;dfjalfdj;alfjalfd.
PIERCE! I <3 Pierce. That scene with Olivia is kinda messed up. The LOOK on his FACE when she was like, "I want Hodges dead zomg." And speaking of Olivia. Dear god, she's gonna fuck up HUGE. Also: sup, Leland Orser. Nice to see you again.
WILL PATTON. Srsly you guys srsly. You have no idea how TICKLED I am to see him on 24. NGH. I LOVE that he's THE MAN. The other people are like *rabble rabble rabble* but after he weighs in, they all follow him. <3333333333333 I hope he doesn't get killerated. :( I wanna see more of him.
Okay, onto the thematic portion: I yakked a little bit over at catch22girl's journal, and of course, with Beth, about the last few episodes. I've mentioned before that this season has been very much about the triangle foils. Hodges/Tony/Jack has been on my mind these last couple of eps. This last one comes in STRONG with the Hodges versus Jack. I like the spectrum they've got going. All men who gave their all for their country. But used, abused, then discarded, just like Hodges says. Where Hodges and Tony crumble and compromise, Jack remains firm. But it never fails to fascinate me on a meta level, because Jack is only right because Jack Is Always Right. Hodges is the clear-cut deluded villain, but I was telling catch22girl that Tony is the human side of the equation. He's Jack without them narrative breaks. Jack can spend a year and a half getting tortured in a Chinese prison and never break, while Tony spent seven months in federal prison, and I totally think something broke in him that never really got put back together, later compounded by, you know, Michelle's death.
But back on a purely story level, it's interesting, too, the idea of betrayal. These are all patriotic, dutiful men who served their country with pride and honor. As much as Hodges is a raving lunatic, they make a point of saying that his work, at one point, was good. Good and helpful to the country. But there was a breaking point. And the breaking point came OUT of that service. Hodges and Tony betrayed their country because they felt betrayed first, by the very government that they had sworn their duty to. No, it doesn't excuse what they do, but I find that interesting. In a sense, Tony gave and gave and gave until he had nothing left. This is what an empty man looks like. This is what an empty man is capable of.