Heroes Commentary 4x15 - Close To You
Holy Smokes! Logic made its way into the plot!
Lydia and her daughter discuss who might lead the family. She claims Samuel says it will be a compassionate man (why?), and the scene cuts to Peter. Well, I’ll grant you Peter has compassion. However, he’s wishy-washy, doesn’t know the first damn thing about the carnies, and hasn’t shown himself to have the forceful personality that would be needed to lead and guide such a disseparate group of specials. And he’s Peter. Samuel is oddly blind when it comes to finding a good leader, because Lydia would kick ass.
Lydia, for reasons unknown and exhibiting powers unnumbered, reactivates Peter’s compass tattoo, starting the poor lad out of the first sound sleep he’s probably had in a dog’s age. Lydia, couldn’t you have at least waited until breakfast time? Because waking someone up is just rude!
Noah Bennet starts out with the opening monologue. Well, this can’t be a good sign.
Prop!Fail on the show’s part. Noah is seen crumpling a picture of Samuel while moaning that he and Lauren can’t find him. And then in the next second, Lauren pulls up that exact same picture, now un-cropped and showing Vanessa. Sigh.
Noah calls Vanessa and barrels ahead full force with one of the most direct and least subtle demands for help that he’s done outside of using his fists. WTH, Noah? I know you can be subtle; I’ve seen you do it before!
Matt has finally gotten fired from the force. Sad for him, but I’m actually glad to see some form of consequences happen from his highly erratic and illegal behavior pre-Sylar removal. However, I’m more than a little surprised that Janice took him back without insisting he get counseling or something. Because he was acting pretty much batshit insane, full stop. I wish there would actually be more of a passage of time between some of these character transitional breaks so their emotional and physical recovery time would be more realistic. Not everything in the world has to happen in a 6-week period!
Matt as Mr. Mom was actually really nice. I’m a little torn, as I do hold to the Ben Parker philosophy of “With great power comes great responsibility,” but it’s incredibly refreshing seeing Matt really make an effort to patch up his relationship and contribute to the house.
Not to mention the hilarity of smacking down Noah Bennet’s avoidance issues when he calls on Matt for help. “Hey, talk to your daughter instead of trying to bash some dude’s head in. Try it for once. And using my son as a pressure point for me is low, dude. Very low.”
Damn, Matt. I guess he really, really wanted to get that ratatouille done on time, because he doesn’t pause for the slightest bit of finesse when changing Vanessa’s mind for her. I mean, she goes from almost running away to wanting to spill her deepest secrets. That’s… expedient but really kind of callous. Sorry, messing with someone’s fundamental beliefs and reactions that deeply is wrong. I worry about you Matt. Stay away from the lure of the Dark Side!
I really, really hope Vanessa knows about abilities, otherwise some of her conversations with Samuel must have been really awkward. Because if you didn’t know about powers, what would you say if your bad boy boyfriend snuck into your room and wanted to talk to you about “how his ability had grown.” Because that just sounds like a drunk, late-night booty call. Srsly.
Samuel is now in full paranoia mode when visiting Vanessa, and brings along all the Elis for fun. Also up for fun is wrecking public roads, deceiving ex-government officials, kidnapping, and making Noah Bennet all dusty. So… apparently the carnival is in some kind of pocket dimension. How the FUCK do these people get revenue if nobody can find them? Seriously, it’s getting kind of distracting.
Noah is sent back to D.C. with a family lecture from Matt. He feebly attempts to mend fences with Claire, and backs down awfully fast when she says she’s late for something. Yeah, I know he wanted to give her space, but he downshifted pretty quickly for a man on a mission. Probably because he knew he had hot blonde Lauren lurking around his apartment.
Janice raves about Matt’s cooking, and inadvertently rips off his balls and feeds them to her husband when she says that keeping house is all he’s good for. Don’t get me wrong, being a stay-at-home dad is an honorable and worthy thing, but considering what Matt’s been involved with the last year or so, Janice’s choice of words leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Janice, sweetie (love the new haircut, BTW), you have to build up Matt’s confidence. You have to coax him into this new part of his life, not dismiss everything he was doing before with trying to save the world and all. Because that shit was intense, and even if it didn’t turn out great, it’s not something one can forget. Think before you speak, or Matt is going to go off into la-la land and you’re never going to see him sane again!
Vanessa thinks Samuel is crazypants. Samuel does little to dissuade her, as he babbles on about all the pretty things he’s going to show her. But I thought Sylar already left-. Oh, wait, I think he meant the Hidden Valley Ian made for the carnies’ new homeland. Not the attractive serial killer Samuel attempted to tame. Pity. I would have laughed my ample ass off if Vanessa had fallen for Sylar.
Emma practices her power, and calls Peter to her door for some lip-locking, hopefully to be followed by a few more body parts in close contact. I adore her joy at using her ability, and Peter’s cute confusion at hearing her just made my day. What probably didn’t make Emma’s day was Peter going into full detective mode, comparing notes about Samuel Sullivan/William Hooper, the compass, and some newspaper pictures. Peter, sweetie, Emma lured you to her apartment with the possibilities of hot sex (or at least cuddletimes) on the table. Priority FAIL on Peter’s part!
Angela won’t share her specifics of snubbing Peter’s girlfriend like she’s one of the help. Peter calls her on her bullshit of not sharing the specifics of her dream. And he uses a logical argument to do it, “Half this family is dead. Why can’t we just talk to each other?” Angela, having never seen logic employed successfully against her, turns to flee the scene. Peter says, “I don’t think so, you crazy broad,” and takes her power to see what this horrific fate is for himself. Oh Peter, logic! Thank you for using your logic!
While I appreciate Peter’s expediency in trying to avert Emma’s fate by destroying the cello, his methods leave something to be desired. Charging in like a crazy, controlled ex-boyfriend and crushing one of Emma’s prized possessions does not get you a gold star, you silly rabbit! However, I will give Peter a pass, as I can safely assume seeing Sylar in the dream basically gave him a knee-jerk reaction to be sure Peter saved Emma before the crazy serial killer did.
But! If Peter had his brain operating at a slightly higher capacity, this is how the cello-breaking scene might have gone:
Emma: “Peter, what’s wrong?”
Peter: “Emma, you know how I can use other people’s powers? How I borrowed yours, and then that healing power?”
Emma: “Yes, I remember. You never really got around to explaining that to me, but I have eyes, and I’ve seen you with a few different powers, so ok, I can accept that.”
Peter: “That’s my ability; I use other people’s abilities. Everyone in my family has -had- them, including my mother. She dreams the future. She dreamt about you, and told me something terrible was coming, and that you would kill thousands of people.”
Emma: “I wouldn’t do that! How could she think that? She doesn’t even know me!”
Peter: “She’s seen all of her dreams come true, in one way or another. That’s why she was so cold to you. She told me to stay away from you, but she wouldn’t tell me exactly what she saw. So I borrowed her power so I could see what she wasn’t telling me.”
Emma: “What did you see? You don’t look so good.”
Peter: “You were in a hall of mirrors I think, like at a carnival or something. You were playing your cello, and you looked both very angry and very, very sad. You were crying, and there were screams outside, like you were calling people in and something terrible was happening to them. You just played and played, crying, the screams getting louder and louder. And then Sylar showed up. You don’t know him, but he’s a killer. He kills people for their abilities; he killed my brother… And he said that he could save you, but he looked very smug and cruel. I’ve seen him do that before, right before he’s hurt people. And you looked so relieved to see him…”
Emma: “So you think that if I keep playing the cello, I’m going to go crazy, kill a bunch of people, and then let myself die?”
Peter: “I’m so sorry, but yeah, I think that’s what the dream was trying to tell me. I never want to see you that sad, and I never want anyone to hurt you. Please, if I destroy the cello, the dream might never come true.”
Emma: “Well, Samuel said the cello used to belong to someone else, so how about you put it in a safe deposit box or storage facility or something?”
Peter: “You really believe me?”
Emma: “I have no idea who else is out there, or what could happen to me if I’m not careful. This is really new to me. But I could always get a different instrument or something, if I want to practice, right?”
Peter: “Yeah. Thanks for letting me do this… Emma, I like you, and I just want to help.”
Ya see? It doesn’t have to be that hard to explain yourself so your girlfriend doesn’t hate you, Peter! But again, I give Peter a pass because Sylar showed up in the dream. If Peter didn’t have a violent, knee-jerk reaction to Sylar’s appearance, I’d be very worried about him.
But, as things fell out, Emma thinks Peter is batshit insane and a control freak. Thusly driving him away from her. This, my friends, is called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Hiro and Ando show, the Great Escape Edition! Their plan wasn’t the worst I’ve ever heard of, and certainly not the worst that’s ever been on this show. Not exactly the best ever, but at least they had some contingency plans they could put in action and were able to think on their feet. That’s more than some other people I could name…
However, Ando’s power, which started out as supercharging other specials’ powers, is now like red electricity, capable of opening electronic locks or doing electro shock therapy. Logic dust may have been sprinkled over this episode, but the Continuity Fairy is still lounging on a beach somewhere in the South Seas. Has been for years. Most of this show, actually.
Hiro’s rather hilarious instructions to Mohinder to go all Hulk on his straight jacket and cell were choice, as was his very swift “To Be Continued” in response to Mohinder grabbing for a clue with both hands once he realizes what’s happened to him. Mohinder’s running commentary about his rescuers is delightfully choice. He must have had plenty of time to think up clever rejoinders while under sedation.
“I killed Hiro with red lightning!” “Was it in Florida?” LOLOLOLOL, oh Mohinder! You got a dose of logic dust too! High time.
Noah and Lauren exchange a few words of wisdom gained at the end of the episode, and realize they can possibly have the beginnings of a closer relationship. They lean close. He runs his fingers through her hair. They kiss tenderly. Then three dirty, sweaty men teleport into Noah’s apartment.
Does it make me a bad person that when Noah said casually, “Hello, boys,” that I wanted him to add, “You’re just in time. Want to join in?” Because ending the episode with an orgy would NOT have been a bad thing.
Lydia and her daughter discuss who might lead the family. She claims Samuel says it will be a compassionate man (why?), and the scene cuts to Peter. Well, I’ll grant you Peter has compassion. However, he’s wishy-washy, doesn’t know the first damn thing about the carnies, and hasn’t shown himself to have the forceful personality that would be needed to lead and guide such a disseparate group of specials. And he’s Peter. Samuel is oddly blind when it comes to finding a good leader, because Lydia would kick ass.
Lydia, for reasons unknown and exhibiting powers unnumbered, reactivates Peter’s compass tattoo, starting the poor lad out of the first sound sleep he’s probably had in a dog’s age. Lydia, couldn’t you have at least waited until breakfast time? Because waking someone up is just rude!
Noah Bennet starts out with the opening monologue. Well, this can’t be a good sign.
Prop!Fail on the show’s part. Noah is seen crumpling a picture of Samuel while moaning that he and Lauren can’t find him. And then in the next second, Lauren pulls up that exact same picture, now un-cropped and showing Vanessa. Sigh.
Noah calls Vanessa and barrels ahead full force with one of the most direct and least subtle demands for help that he’s done outside of using his fists. WTH, Noah? I know you can be subtle; I’ve seen you do it before!
Matt has finally gotten fired from the force. Sad for him, but I’m actually glad to see some form of consequences happen from his highly erratic and illegal behavior pre-Sylar removal. However, I’m more than a little surprised that Janice took him back without insisting he get counseling or something. Because he was acting pretty much batshit insane, full stop. I wish there would actually be more of a passage of time between some of these character transitional breaks so their emotional and physical recovery time would be more realistic. Not everything in the world has to happen in a 6-week period!
Matt as Mr. Mom was actually really nice. I’m a little torn, as I do hold to the Ben Parker philosophy of “With great power comes great responsibility,” but it’s incredibly refreshing seeing Matt really make an effort to patch up his relationship and contribute to the house.
Not to mention the hilarity of smacking down Noah Bennet’s avoidance issues when he calls on Matt for help. “Hey, talk to your daughter instead of trying to bash some dude’s head in. Try it for once. And using my son as a pressure point for me is low, dude. Very low.”
Damn, Matt. I guess he really, really wanted to get that ratatouille done on time, because he doesn’t pause for the slightest bit of finesse when changing Vanessa’s mind for her. I mean, she goes from almost running away to wanting to spill her deepest secrets. That’s… expedient but really kind of callous. Sorry, messing with someone’s fundamental beliefs and reactions that deeply is wrong. I worry about you Matt. Stay away from the lure of the Dark Side!
I really, really hope Vanessa knows about abilities, otherwise some of her conversations with Samuel must have been really awkward. Because if you didn’t know about powers, what would you say if your bad boy boyfriend snuck into your room and wanted to talk to you about “how his ability had grown.” Because that just sounds like a drunk, late-night booty call. Srsly.
Samuel is now in full paranoia mode when visiting Vanessa, and brings along all the Elis for fun. Also up for fun is wrecking public roads, deceiving ex-government officials, kidnapping, and making Noah Bennet all dusty. So… apparently the carnival is in some kind of pocket dimension. How the FUCK do these people get revenue if nobody can find them? Seriously, it’s getting kind of distracting.
Noah is sent back to D.C. with a family lecture from Matt. He feebly attempts to mend fences with Claire, and backs down awfully fast when she says she’s late for something. Yeah, I know he wanted to give her space, but he downshifted pretty quickly for a man on a mission. Probably because he knew he had hot blonde Lauren lurking around his apartment.
Janice raves about Matt’s cooking, and inadvertently rips off his balls and feeds them to her husband when she says that keeping house is all he’s good for. Don’t get me wrong, being a stay-at-home dad is an honorable and worthy thing, but considering what Matt’s been involved with the last year or so, Janice’s choice of words leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Janice, sweetie (love the new haircut, BTW), you have to build up Matt’s confidence. You have to coax him into this new part of his life, not dismiss everything he was doing before with trying to save the world and all. Because that shit was intense, and even if it didn’t turn out great, it’s not something one can forget. Think before you speak, or Matt is going to go off into la-la land and you’re never going to see him sane again!
Vanessa thinks Samuel is crazypants. Samuel does little to dissuade her, as he babbles on about all the pretty things he’s going to show her. But I thought Sylar already left-. Oh, wait, I think he meant the Hidden Valley Ian made for the carnies’ new homeland. Not the attractive serial killer Samuel attempted to tame. Pity. I would have laughed my ample ass off if Vanessa had fallen for Sylar.
Emma practices her power, and calls Peter to her door for some lip-locking, hopefully to be followed by a few more body parts in close contact. I adore her joy at using her ability, and Peter’s cute confusion at hearing her just made my day. What probably didn’t make Emma’s day was Peter going into full detective mode, comparing notes about Samuel Sullivan/William Hooper, the compass, and some newspaper pictures. Peter, sweetie, Emma lured you to her apartment with the possibilities of hot sex (or at least cuddletimes) on the table. Priority FAIL on Peter’s part!
Angela won’t share her specifics of snubbing Peter’s girlfriend like she’s one of the help. Peter calls her on her bullshit of not sharing the specifics of her dream. And he uses a logical argument to do it, “Half this family is dead. Why can’t we just talk to each other?” Angela, having never seen logic employed successfully against her, turns to flee the scene. Peter says, “I don’t think so, you crazy broad,” and takes her power to see what this horrific fate is for himself. Oh Peter, logic! Thank you for using your logic!
While I appreciate Peter’s expediency in trying to avert Emma’s fate by destroying the cello, his methods leave something to be desired. Charging in like a crazy, controlled ex-boyfriend and crushing one of Emma’s prized possessions does not get you a gold star, you silly rabbit! However, I will give Peter a pass, as I can safely assume seeing Sylar in the dream basically gave him a knee-jerk reaction to be sure Peter saved Emma before the crazy serial killer did.
But! If Peter had his brain operating at a slightly higher capacity, this is how the cello-breaking scene might have gone:
Emma: “Peter, what’s wrong?”
Peter: “Emma, you know how I can use other people’s powers? How I borrowed yours, and then that healing power?”
Emma: “Yes, I remember. You never really got around to explaining that to me, but I have eyes, and I’ve seen you with a few different powers, so ok, I can accept that.”
Peter: “That’s my ability; I use other people’s abilities. Everyone in my family has -had- them, including my mother. She dreams the future. She dreamt about you, and told me something terrible was coming, and that you would kill thousands of people.”
Emma: “I wouldn’t do that! How could she think that? She doesn’t even know me!”
Peter: “She’s seen all of her dreams come true, in one way or another. That’s why she was so cold to you. She told me to stay away from you, but she wouldn’t tell me exactly what she saw. So I borrowed her power so I could see what she wasn’t telling me.”
Emma: “What did you see? You don’t look so good.”
Peter: “You were in a hall of mirrors I think, like at a carnival or something. You were playing your cello, and you looked both very angry and very, very sad. You were crying, and there were screams outside, like you were calling people in and something terrible was happening to them. You just played and played, crying, the screams getting louder and louder. And then Sylar showed up. You don’t know him, but he’s a killer. He kills people for their abilities; he killed my brother… And he said that he could save you, but he looked very smug and cruel. I’ve seen him do that before, right before he’s hurt people. And you looked so relieved to see him…”
Emma: “So you think that if I keep playing the cello, I’m going to go crazy, kill a bunch of people, and then let myself die?”
Peter: “I’m so sorry, but yeah, I think that’s what the dream was trying to tell me. I never want to see you that sad, and I never want anyone to hurt you. Please, if I destroy the cello, the dream might never come true.”
Emma: “Well, Samuel said the cello used to belong to someone else, so how about you put it in a safe deposit box or storage facility or something?”
Peter: “You really believe me?”
Emma: “I have no idea who else is out there, or what could happen to me if I’m not careful. This is really new to me. But I could always get a different instrument or something, if I want to practice, right?”
Peter: “Yeah. Thanks for letting me do this… Emma, I like you, and I just want to help.”
Ya see? It doesn’t have to be that hard to explain yourself so your girlfriend doesn’t hate you, Peter! But again, I give Peter a pass because Sylar showed up in the dream. If Peter didn’t have a violent, knee-jerk reaction to Sylar’s appearance, I’d be very worried about him.
But, as things fell out, Emma thinks Peter is batshit insane and a control freak. Thusly driving him away from her. This, my friends, is called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Hiro and Ando show, the Great Escape Edition! Their plan wasn’t the worst I’ve ever heard of, and certainly not the worst that’s ever been on this show. Not exactly the best ever, but at least they had some contingency plans they could put in action and were able to think on their feet. That’s more than some other people I could name…
However, Ando’s power, which started out as supercharging other specials’ powers, is now like red electricity, capable of opening electronic locks or doing electro shock therapy. Logic dust may have been sprinkled over this episode, but the Continuity Fairy is still lounging on a beach somewhere in the South Seas. Has been for years. Most of this show, actually.
Hiro’s rather hilarious instructions to Mohinder to go all Hulk on his straight jacket and cell were choice, as was his very swift “To Be Continued” in response to Mohinder grabbing for a clue with both hands once he realizes what’s happened to him. Mohinder’s running commentary about his rescuers is delightfully choice. He must have had plenty of time to think up clever rejoinders while under sedation.
“I killed Hiro with red lightning!” “Was it in Florida?” LOLOLOLOL, oh Mohinder! You got a dose of logic dust too! High time.
Noah and Lauren exchange a few words of wisdom gained at the end of the episode, and realize they can possibly have the beginnings of a closer relationship. They lean close. He runs his fingers through her hair. They kiss tenderly. Then three dirty, sweaty men teleport into Noah’s apartment.
Does it make me a bad person that when Noah said casually, “Hello, boys,” that I wanted him to add, “You’re just in time. Want to join in?” Because ending the episode with an orgy would NOT have been a bad thing.