rewatch notes on Heroes S1: 1x10 - 1x18
I'd hoped to get all these posted before the new season started. Which... is looking unlikely, but here we go...
Disclaimers and requests:
Claire and her daddy and the bears - aww. I know there's a lot else to say about this ep, but that's about all I got. Oh wait - one other thing: seeing Niki at that AA meeting made me really proud of her. She has been trying so hard to get her shit together, and she is managing to do it.
1x11 Fallout
Tiny continuity yay: in the kitchen, Claire's dad pours them both chocolate milk (mentioned as her favorite drink by the Brody the rapist/quarterback back at the very beginning of the season).
Nathan: You're not a fighter. But that's okay - the world needs nurses too.
- I'm not a fan of Nathan's condescension here, but I think he's genuinely trying to express his respect for Peter and his choices. Plus I like that the show reminds us here of Peter's career; we only see him being a nurse fairly briefly at the beginning of the show, but we keep getting little reminders throughout the season.
1x12 Godsend
Oh man - I had completely forgotten that Nathan is the one who teaches Hiro how to pronounce "villain." Ouch.
Simone's snap in this episode (You're Hiro! Isaac really can paint the future! The world is crazy! I'm rollin' with it!) is hilarious. Oh, Simone. How I wish you'd had more moments like this, moments where you come across as an independent character with your own motives and thought processes.
What's the deal with Peter's ability, anyway? Sometimes it seems that others' abilities don't affect him, as with Claude, or Hiro's coming to him in the subway; other times they do but there's interference or a feedback loop, as when Matt tries to read his thoughts; but Sylar appears to be able to use telekinesis on him with no problem. I really want to see what happens when he interacts with Bob The Haitian; my hopes are high for S2...
1x13 The Fix
Zach: You may still have a real family out there! Maybe an aunt, or a rich eccentric uncle.
Claire: Great, an uncle.
- hee!
1x14 Distractions
"The manatee is a very noble creature!" Oh, Claire, honey. I love you.
"Waffles are very good. You would like them." Oh, Hiro, honey. I love you.
"I always imagined my parents would live in a penthouse in New York City." Way to whack us with the foreshadowing stick, there, guys.
"The people I love are not distractions." Oh, Peter, honey, I love you, even if I think Claude is right about your adolescent lifestyle and your floppy emo hair. (Of course, having spent my twenties prolonging my adolescence via graduate school, I also empathize like whoa.)
What I love about the rooftop scene with Claude is that they're both right: Peter does need to get himself under control and take responsibility for his powers, and Claude is a cynical hermit who's afraid of the world. I do occasionally wish for the show's dialogue to be not quite so on-the-nose, but its heart is so firmly in the right place that it seems churlish to object too strenuously.
1x15 Run!
"More than anything, a hero must have hope." The fact that Hiro says this - Hiro who, along with Claire, is one of our least ambiguous, least morally compromised, most sympathetic heroes - gives much more weight to its being said by Deveaux in the finale.
1x16 Unexpected
Diamonds in the sock drawer? Seriously, Matt, could you be dumber? But oddly, the whole thing really makes me like Janice, because her reaction later in the ep, when she finds out about the ring and he shows her the diamonds (talking again! yay!), is so sensible and right-on. "What were you thinking?" is exactly the reaction to have to his little stunt.
When Peter stops the stun gun darts, it's presumably with telekinesis (like with the stick), but - is it just me, or does the sound effect suggest stopping time? As does the fact that Bennet and Bob the Haitian don't immediately rush him, although that could be telekinesis too. Huh. Not that this is a big thing, just... interesting.
So... if Bennet & co. are injecting the specials with something to make them trackable, why'd they think Claude was dead? Can't they track him? Or what's the point of those little scars?
"People like her shouldn't have to know about people like him." But on this show, knowledge, though scary, is better than secrets.
"All I wanna do is run away, but I can't." - Claire's situation is of course reversed in the finale, when she's told to go away but wants to stay and help.
Why is Isaac's painting of Hiro and the dinosaur in his studio when Simone sent it with Hiro and his dad tore it up? Oh, continuity checkers, please get on the ball.
Simone dies because Isaac couldn't let the relationship be over (she still had the key, which he kept insisting she keep) and of course because Peter was taunting him. Bennet helped Isaac - he's clean - but he's also destroyed so many lives with his meddling...
1x17 Company Man
wee!Hiro may be the cutest thing in the history of the entire world. The glasses! the handheld video game! ::clutches heart::
Thompson thinks the Haitian is mute, or at least tells Bennet he's mute; but by the present day, Bennet knows he can talk. Interesting.
Bob the Haitan: I answer to someone whose instructions supercede yours.
Bennet: In this company?
Bob the Haitan: In your daughter's life.
- so... does Bennet know about the Petrelli connection? He knows the mom was a firestarter, but does he know that Claire is Nathan's child? And does he know that the Haitian is working for Mama Petrelli?
Who IS the one that Claude was hiding? I do hope the answer has some relevance in S2...
Okay, so Bennet knows that a tranquilizer works on an exploding man... and so, from extremely personal experience, does Claire. Which just makes the finale that much more headsmackingly annoying. It's really my only problem with this ep: it's so good that the finale looks amateurish next to it. The way the finale sweeps not only logic but precedent within the show under the rug for the sake of a particular resolution to the plot... but, okay, we'll get there.
Interesting the way the end of this ep sets up "Five Years Gone": Thompson imagines Parkman working for them, using Matt to keep Bennet honest...
"There's gotta be another way." - oh Claire. Part of the reason this ep works is that you're actually kinda right - at least I don't see an easy way out. And the Haitian says "this is the best way", not "only way".
"Turn around; cover your ears." - Bennet, still trying to protect his little girl... ::sobs::
The end of this ep made me cry WHILE CLIPPING. No sound, not even watching in realtime, just scrubbing through it. Wow.
1x18 Parasite
Thompson's conversation with Bennet suggests that the company gave Claire to Bennet precisely because they assumed he wouldn't take an interest - not just because he was a "company man" but because they assumed he wouldn't put Claire's welfare above everything; and they're right, at least as of seven years ago, because he shoots Claude. But between seven and three years ago (the scene with the glasses), something happens to him; and we don't know whether it's Claude's incisive analysis of the situation (that Bennet is afraid to get close to her, holds her at arm's length) or what, but it does change.
And the fact that Hiro's dad says that having children changes you... I wonder whether he knew what Thompson could not: that Bennet WOULD come to protect Claire.
(What is Thompson's role in the organization anyway?)
"What they will do, not even you can recover from." This is pretty scary, especially because the Haitian is so matter of fact about it. The stuff he must have seen - the mind boggles.
I do love that Nathan brought in the FBI re: Linderman; it's a nice gesture back to the start of the season, and it does complicate him a bit. I'd forgotten all about it.
"Hope is great; we need caffeine." Oh, Mohinder. Occasionally I am very fond of you. I do wonder where you got that IV drip setup, though.
Nathan and Hiro - both trying to go it alone in order to protect people...
"You pretend you don't care about anybody because you care too much." I'm not sure I buy Hiro's explanation of Nathan, esp. because Nathan frequently seems to pretend to care about people much more than he does. Peter is one of the few people who pierces that shell. One gets the sense that Heidi used to be another one, but Nathan now seems to feel at least as much guilt as affection where she's concerned.
Candice really is a sadistic little girl, isn't she. She gets too much of a kick out of other people's hurt. (And yet, as we discover later, she's weirdly devoted to Linderman.)
The tuning fork is completely WTF, yet terrific. Also: "I want to hear you say it!" makes an interesting bookend to the defiant "My name is Sylar!" when Bennet refers to him as Gabriel Gray.
"I knew you'd set off an alarm eventually." Oh, Ando, I love you.
I can't believe Bennet didn't notice that the cell ring wasn't dogs. Oh, Bennet. You picked the wrong minute to be trusting guy.
Niki is remarkably steely in this ep when she tells Nathan to knock her out. "You want this gun? Do it." Nathan throws the punch, but Niki's calling the shots.
Is it bad that one of my primary reactions to the final scene was "Wow, Sylar's been watching Supernatural"? Seriously, the dead-on-the-ceiling thing is so 2006. I am suddenly extra-glad Sylar never met Claire's firestarter mom. Yikes.
Disclaimers and requests:
- Because I have in fact watched the entire first season, this post may contain spoilers for everything up to and including the finale of S1.
- However, I am completely unspoiled for S2, aside from one casting spoiler, and I would like to remain that way, so while I welcome discussion of S1 and speculation about or hopes for S2, please do not mention any S2 rumors or spoilers in this LJ.
- I like all the characters on the show, even (and sometimes especially) the ones who do dumb things or spend time trapped in unsatisfying storylines. So while I'm happy to discuss (and if necessary to share frustrations about) the writers' choices for particular characters, I must insist: no character bashing in my LJ. If you don't like some or all of the characters, hey, I get it, I've been there, I support your right to vent and complain and whatever; all I ask is that you do it in your own LJ.
Claire and her daddy and the bears - aww. I know there's a lot else to say about this ep, but that's about all I got. Oh wait - one other thing: seeing Niki at that AA meeting made me really proud of her. She has been trying so hard to get her shit together, and she is managing to do it.
1x11 Fallout
Tiny continuity yay: in the kitchen, Claire's dad pours them both chocolate milk (mentioned as her favorite drink by the Brody the rapist/quarterback back at the very beginning of the season).
Nathan: You're not a fighter. But that's okay - the world needs nurses too.
- I'm not a fan of Nathan's condescension here, but I think he's genuinely trying to express his respect for Peter and his choices. Plus I like that the show reminds us here of Peter's career; we only see him being a nurse fairly briefly at the beginning of the show, but we keep getting little reminders throughout the season.
1x12 Godsend
Oh man - I had completely forgotten that Nathan is the one who teaches Hiro how to pronounce "villain." Ouch.
Simone's snap in this episode (You're Hiro! Isaac really can paint the future! The world is crazy! I'm rollin' with it!) is hilarious. Oh, Simone. How I wish you'd had more moments like this, moments where you come across as an independent character with your own motives and thought processes.
What's the deal with Peter's ability, anyway? Sometimes it seems that others' abilities don't affect him, as with Claude, or Hiro's coming to him in the subway; other times they do but there's interference or a feedback loop, as when Matt tries to read his thoughts; but Sylar appears to be able to use telekinesis on him with no problem. I really want to see what happens when he interacts with Bob The Haitian; my hopes are high for S2...
1x13 The Fix
Zach: You may still have a real family out there! Maybe an aunt, or a rich eccentric uncle.
Claire: Great, an uncle.
- hee!
1x14 Distractions
"The manatee is a very noble creature!" Oh, Claire, honey. I love you.
"Waffles are very good. You would like them." Oh, Hiro, honey. I love you.
"I always imagined my parents would live in a penthouse in New York City." Way to whack us with the foreshadowing stick, there, guys.
"The people I love are not distractions." Oh, Peter, honey, I love you, even if I think Claude is right about your adolescent lifestyle and your floppy emo hair. (Of course, having spent my twenties prolonging my adolescence via graduate school, I also empathize like whoa.)
What I love about the rooftop scene with Claude is that they're both right: Peter does need to get himself under control and take responsibility for his powers, and Claude is a cynical hermit who's afraid of the world. I do occasionally wish for the show's dialogue to be not quite so on-the-nose, but its heart is so firmly in the right place that it seems churlish to object too strenuously.
1x15 Run!
"More than anything, a hero must have hope." The fact that Hiro says this - Hiro who, along with Claire, is one of our least ambiguous, least morally compromised, most sympathetic heroes - gives much more weight to its being said by Deveaux in the finale.
1x16 Unexpected
Diamonds in the sock drawer? Seriously, Matt, could you be dumber? But oddly, the whole thing really makes me like Janice, because her reaction later in the ep, when she finds out about the ring and he shows her the diamonds (talking again! yay!), is so sensible and right-on. "What were you thinking?" is exactly the reaction to have to his little stunt.
When Peter stops the stun gun darts, it's presumably with telekinesis (like with the stick), but - is it just me, or does the sound effect suggest stopping time? As does the fact that Bennet and Bob the Haitian don't immediately rush him, although that could be telekinesis too. Huh. Not that this is a big thing, just... interesting.
So... if Bennet & co. are injecting the specials with something to make them trackable, why'd they think Claude was dead? Can't they track him? Or what's the point of those little scars?
"People like her shouldn't have to know about people like him." But on this show, knowledge, though scary, is better than secrets.
"All I wanna do is run away, but I can't." - Claire's situation is of course reversed in the finale, when she's told to go away but wants to stay and help.
Why is Isaac's painting of Hiro and the dinosaur in his studio when Simone sent it with Hiro and his dad tore it up? Oh, continuity checkers, please get on the ball.
Simone dies because Isaac couldn't let the relationship be over (she still had the key, which he kept insisting she keep) and of course because Peter was taunting him. Bennet helped Isaac - he's clean - but he's also destroyed so many lives with his meddling...
1x17 Company Man
wee!Hiro may be the cutest thing in the history of the entire world. The glasses! the handheld video game! ::clutches heart::
Thompson thinks the Haitian is mute, or at least tells Bennet he's mute; but by the present day, Bennet knows he can talk. Interesting.
Bob the Haitan: I answer to someone whose instructions supercede yours.
Bennet: In this company?
Bob the Haitan: In your daughter's life.
- so... does Bennet know about the Petrelli connection? He knows the mom was a firestarter, but does he know that Claire is Nathan's child? And does he know that the Haitian is working for Mama Petrelli?
Who IS the one that Claude was hiding? I do hope the answer has some relevance in S2...
Okay, so Bennet knows that a tranquilizer works on an exploding man... and so, from extremely personal experience, does Claire. Which just makes the finale that much more headsmackingly annoying. It's really my only problem with this ep: it's so good that the finale looks amateurish next to it. The way the finale sweeps not only logic but precedent within the show under the rug for the sake of a particular resolution to the plot... but, okay, we'll get there.
Interesting the way the end of this ep sets up "Five Years Gone": Thompson imagines Parkman working for them, using Matt to keep Bennet honest...
"There's gotta be another way." - oh Claire. Part of the reason this ep works is that you're actually kinda right - at least I don't see an easy way out. And the Haitian says "this is the best way", not "only way".
"Turn around; cover your ears." - Bennet, still trying to protect his little girl... ::sobs::
The end of this ep made me cry WHILE CLIPPING. No sound, not even watching in realtime, just scrubbing through it. Wow.
1x18 Parasite
Thompson's conversation with Bennet suggests that the company gave Claire to Bennet precisely because they assumed he wouldn't take an interest - not just because he was a "company man" but because they assumed he wouldn't put Claire's welfare above everything; and they're right, at least as of seven years ago, because he shoots Claude. But between seven and three years ago (the scene with the glasses), something happens to him; and we don't know whether it's Claude's incisive analysis of the situation (that Bennet is afraid to get close to her, holds her at arm's length) or what, but it does change.
And the fact that Hiro's dad says that having children changes you... I wonder whether he knew what Thompson could not: that Bennet WOULD come to protect Claire.
(What is Thompson's role in the organization anyway?)
"What they will do, not even you can recover from." This is pretty scary, especially because the Haitian is so matter of fact about it. The stuff he must have seen - the mind boggles.
I do love that Nathan brought in the FBI re: Linderman; it's a nice gesture back to the start of the season, and it does complicate him a bit. I'd forgotten all about it.
"Hope is great; we need caffeine." Oh, Mohinder. Occasionally I am very fond of you. I do wonder where you got that IV drip setup, though.
Nathan and Hiro - both trying to go it alone in order to protect people...
"You pretend you don't care about anybody because you care too much." I'm not sure I buy Hiro's explanation of Nathan, esp. because Nathan frequently seems to pretend to care about people much more than he does. Peter is one of the few people who pierces that shell. One gets the sense that Heidi used to be another one, but Nathan now seems to feel at least as much guilt as affection where she's concerned.
Candice really is a sadistic little girl, isn't she. She gets too much of a kick out of other people's hurt. (And yet, as we discover later, she's weirdly devoted to Linderman.)
The tuning fork is completely WTF, yet terrific. Also: "I want to hear you say it!" makes an interesting bookend to the defiant "My name is Sylar!" when Bennet refers to him as Gabriel Gray.
"I knew you'd set off an alarm eventually." Oh, Ando, I love you.
I can't believe Bennet didn't notice that the cell ring wasn't dogs. Oh, Bennet. You picked the wrong minute to be trusting guy.
Niki is remarkably steely in this ep when she tells Nathan to knock her out. "You want this gun? Do it." Nathan throws the punch, but Niki's calling the shots.
Is it bad that one of my primary reactions to the final scene was "Wow, Sylar's been watching Supernatural"? Seriously, the dead-on-the-ceiling thing is so 2006. I am suddenly extra-glad Sylar never met Claire's firestarter mom. Yikes.