Heroes 3x24 review and screencaps
So I hadn't really been watching Heroes lately because truthfully, I thought the Fugitives storyline started out kind of slow and boring. But I finally caught up on the episodes I missed, and I'm really glad to see that the whole story got way more interesting.
First, a little bit about last week's episode: I thought it was kind of disappointing. Yeah, I liked the flashbacks and the glimpses into the past, and never let it be said that I don't appreciate a Petrelli-heavy episode, but this episode felt like it should have been extraordinary, an episode that defines a story arc. And it fell short of that. It was a good episode, but it was missing something that would have made it really great.
This week: I think this a great example of how to do a good Heroes episode. The balance and pacing was just about perfect. There was a focus on one character (Sylar), whose arc felt like it really moved forward because it got a significant amount of screen time. One of the main complaints about Heroes has been that it has too many characters, but I don't think that's quite the problem. There are other shows with just as many or more characters. The problem is how the writers typically handle them. Usually what happens is that every character gets shoe-horned into an episode, and since so many are in their own separate arcs, you get the situation of each character having only one or two scenes per episode. Which doesn't allow for a sense of moving forward or development because there's not much you can fit into three minutes of screen time. Which leads to the feeling of things being too stagnant and slow (season one's main problem), or to the feeling that characters are doing things without any apparent motivation or set-up (the main problem with the Villains arc earlier this season).
But sometimes they get the balance right, like with the much-lauded "Company Man" back in season one and, to a slightly lesser extent, last week's episode. And this most recent episode showed that the writers can pull off a well-balanced story without it being a special flashback episode focusing exclusively on one set of characters. Even though the episode was called "I Am Sylar" and focused a lot on him, I didn't feel like any of the characters got shafted. There was a lack of the Petrellis and Mohinder, but they got their time in the spotlight last week, so that wasn't unexpected or unwelcome. What we did get is some serious development of not only Sylar, but also Matt and his family, and the team of Hiro and Ando. I think I was more satisfied with those characters' screen time and stories than I have been all season. We get to see Matt reunited with his ex-wife and the hope of re-forming his family with her. We also get to see him decide to take that step forward to fight against the people who are hunting them.
I initially rolled my eyes at yet more sniping between Hiro and Ando, because that's getting kind of old. But I really like how their story ultimately played out in this episode, too. I liked that for once Hiro and Ando put an end to the sniping and are at least temporarily willing to work together as a team. Maybe I'm the only one, but I really don't want to see that partnership broken up or filled with excessive angst. There's plenty of that on the show already and it's nice to have something a little lighter once in a while.
Okay, I actually meant for this just to be a bullet point list of things I thought about this episode. So I'll just get back to that.
- Awesome title card this time around, yes? Check it out:
- So much good Sylar stuff in this one. For me, Sylar alternates between interesting and irritating, but he was definitely on the side of interesting in this one. His worry that by shape-shifting all the time he was losing himself? Awesome and a convenient way to limit that power, given the physical and psychological side effects. And when he was shifting between himself and his mother? That's a buttload of mommy issues you've got going on, Sylar (not like that's anything new). Plus, Crazy!Sylar is always a treat. At first I thought he was hallucinating or just imagining the conversation with her, but what he was really doing was so much more fucked up. It was fantastic.
- Speaking of side effects, looks like there's something like that going on with Hiro, too. I'm actually glad to see that there are detrimental effects for these people wielding huge amounts of power and control over the laws of physics. It just makes sense (as much as people with superpowers can make sense, anyway). So is Matt next? Back in season one he got headaches and nosebleeds, but that hasn't happened in awhile.
- I honestly thought Nathan was going to die in the scene with Sylar. Things seem to be on track to the basic scenario depicted in "Five Years Gone" back in season one. I don't know if it's something the characters can stop or significantly change or if it's something that's "destined" to happen no matter what. I hope that the writers have something more clever and less depressing (that includes NOT KILLING NATHAN) than the latter, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Please don't die, Nathan. I think everyone agrees that Nathan's "death" has been overplayed as a season-ending cliffhanger, yes? Put someone else in danger this time, please. Preferably not Matt. Or Hiro. Put Peter or Mohinder in danger. I'd be fine with that.
- Also, it looks like Matt is the only one of the Heroes not to be taken out at the end. Well, Matt and maybe Peter? I don't remember seeing Peter in the car with Bennett, Claire, and Angela when they were pulled over at the end, but I also don't remember when or why he left. Did he follow Nathan? Is he waiting in the shadows to take out Danko? He might have to fight Sylar for that chance.
- Micah and Sylar knew an awful lot about each other for two people who had never met, didn't they? How much did Micah know about Sylar to begin with? And why, when he was at Sylar's apartment, did he seem confused and surprised by Sylar's shape-shifting ability? Didn't Sylar help Micah escape by shifting into him and drawing Danko and his men away while the real Micah watched? Or did I just dream that scene? Meh, it doesn't matter.
- I'm not even going to put forward a guess about who will die next week. I haven't read any spoilers so I have no clue. Though it will probably be Nathan.
Finally, I have about 800 screencaps from this episode, which can be downloaded here at skylar_town.
First, a little bit about last week's episode: I thought it was kind of disappointing. Yeah, I liked the flashbacks and the glimpses into the past, and never let it be said that I don't appreciate a Petrelli-heavy episode, but this episode felt like it should have been extraordinary, an episode that defines a story arc. And it fell short of that. It was a good episode, but it was missing something that would have made it really great.
This week: I think this a great example of how to do a good Heroes episode. The balance and pacing was just about perfect. There was a focus on one character (Sylar), whose arc felt like it really moved forward because it got a significant amount of screen time. One of the main complaints about Heroes has been that it has too many characters, but I don't think that's quite the problem. There are other shows with just as many or more characters. The problem is how the writers typically handle them. Usually what happens is that every character gets shoe-horned into an episode, and since so many are in their own separate arcs, you get the situation of each character having only one or two scenes per episode. Which doesn't allow for a sense of moving forward or development because there's not much you can fit into three minutes of screen time. Which leads to the feeling of things being too stagnant and slow (season one's main problem), or to the feeling that characters are doing things without any apparent motivation or set-up (the main problem with the Villains arc earlier this season).
But sometimes they get the balance right, like with the much-lauded "Company Man" back in season one and, to a slightly lesser extent, last week's episode. And this most recent episode showed that the writers can pull off a well-balanced story without it being a special flashback episode focusing exclusively on one set of characters. Even though the episode was called "I Am Sylar" and focused a lot on him, I didn't feel like any of the characters got shafted. There was a lack of the Petrellis and Mohinder, but they got their time in the spotlight last week, so that wasn't unexpected or unwelcome. What we did get is some serious development of not only Sylar, but also Matt and his family, and the team of Hiro and Ando. I think I was more satisfied with those characters' screen time and stories than I have been all season. We get to see Matt reunited with his ex-wife and the hope of re-forming his family with her. We also get to see him decide to take that step forward to fight against the people who are hunting them.
I initially rolled my eyes at yet more sniping between Hiro and Ando, because that's getting kind of old. But I really like how their story ultimately played out in this episode, too. I liked that for once Hiro and Ando put an end to the sniping and are at least temporarily willing to work together as a team. Maybe I'm the only one, but I really don't want to see that partnership broken up or filled with excessive angst. There's plenty of that on the show already and it's nice to have something a little lighter once in a while.
Okay, I actually meant for this just to be a bullet point list of things I thought about this episode. So I'll just get back to that.
- Awesome title card this time around, yes? Check it out:
- So much good Sylar stuff in this one. For me, Sylar alternates between interesting and irritating, but he was definitely on the side of interesting in this one. His worry that by shape-shifting all the time he was losing himself? Awesome and a convenient way to limit that power, given the physical and psychological side effects. And when he was shifting between himself and his mother? That's a buttload of mommy issues you've got going on, Sylar (not like that's anything new). Plus, Crazy!Sylar is always a treat. At first I thought he was hallucinating or just imagining the conversation with her, but what he was really doing was so much more fucked up. It was fantastic.
- Speaking of side effects, looks like there's something like that going on with Hiro, too. I'm actually glad to see that there are detrimental effects for these people wielding huge amounts of power and control over the laws of physics. It just makes sense (as much as people with superpowers can make sense, anyway). So is Matt next? Back in season one he got headaches and nosebleeds, but that hasn't happened in awhile.
- I honestly thought Nathan was going to die in the scene with Sylar. Things seem to be on track to the basic scenario depicted in "Five Years Gone" back in season one. I don't know if it's something the characters can stop or significantly change or if it's something that's "destined" to happen no matter what. I hope that the writers have something more clever and less depressing (that includes NOT KILLING NATHAN) than the latter, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Please don't die, Nathan. I think everyone agrees that Nathan's "death" has been overplayed as a season-ending cliffhanger, yes? Put someone else in danger this time, please. Preferably not Matt. Or Hiro. Put Peter or Mohinder in danger. I'd be fine with that.
- Also, it looks like Matt is the only one of the Heroes not to be taken out at the end. Well, Matt and maybe Peter? I don't remember seeing Peter in the car with Bennett, Claire, and Angela when they were pulled over at the end, but I also don't remember when or why he left. Did he follow Nathan? Is he waiting in the shadows to take out Danko? He might have to fight Sylar for that chance.
- Micah and Sylar knew an awful lot about each other for two people who had never met, didn't they? How much did Micah know about Sylar to begin with? And why, when he was at Sylar's apartment, did he seem confused and surprised by Sylar's shape-shifting ability? Didn't Sylar help Micah escape by shifting into him and drawing Danko and his men away while the real Micah watched? Or did I just dream that scene? Meh, it doesn't matter.
- I'm not even going to put forward a guess about who will die next week. I haven't read any spoilers so I have no clue. Though it will probably be Nathan.
Finally, I have about 800 screencaps from this episode, which can be downloaded here at skylar_town.