Heroes 3x14, "A Clear and Present Danger"
Well, Heroes Vol. 4 has gotten off with a bang. Or should I say crash bang?
I really liked the episode a lot. Back in season one, I was really hoping the bomb would go off and lead to a story along these lines, where the special folks become national security scapegoats and must go underground. This has the potential to be a great -- maybe the best -- main story arc yet for a volume because there's such a clear conflict for everyone to pull together against, with lots of supblot possibilities. Of course it goes without saying that I think Sylar's search for his father will probably be the best subplot...or at least the most interesting to me. ;)
Now for the random thoughts about the episode:
-- Somebody needs to teach Claire how to apply her makeup! Or maybe she was most leaning toward clown college? Because that blush and that lipstick in the first scene definitely looked clown-inspired.
-- Claire seriously annoys me. For one thing, I can't stand to listen to her talk because Hayden Panettiere always sounds like she needs to blow her nose. (And is it just me, or does her phrasing sound like she's emulating William Shatner?) It also drives me nuts that with all these supposedly intelligent adult characters around, and all these people with actual offensive abilities, it's always Claire who figures everything out and ends up saving people who are evolutionarily better equipped to save the world than she is. I'm bracing myself for the plane to crash and Claire and HRG to star in Part 42 Billion of I Hate You, Dad, You're Such a Jerk, But I Love You Claire Bear, That's Why, Oh, Okay, Let's Indulge a Bit of Our Vaguely Inappropriate Chemistry.
-- However, Claire could redeem herself for me (look away, Sylar/Elle shippers) depending on where her obsession with Sylar goes. There's always been an oddly sexual element to their relationship, particularly when Sylar finally did lobotomize her. Part of me can't help but wonder if that's going to go somewhere other than Claire wanting to kill him. There have been hints: Back in 3x1 (3x2?) they made such a thing of Sylar pointing out how Claire's different from anyone else, and now he's got her ability, they're two of a kind. Last night I also thought they were making quite a bit of the fact that Claire's out of high school now -- i.e., not a kid anymore, and therefore okay to have a relationship with a significantly older character who is not her uncle? Also, and this is probably a leap, but given that the writers are dancing around their previous claim that Elle was the mother of Noah in the 3x4 future, I think Claire would be the most logical choice for a baby mama if they do revisit this someday, given the fact that Sylar and Child were living in the Bennet house...and said Child was named Noah. Claire-as-baby-mama makes a lot more sense in naming a child Noah than Elle...
So yeah, I'm sorry, but I'm basically saying that I'd ship Sylar/Claire if it happened. I can't help it. They have chemistry, and I want to see Sylar nekkid again this season.
Good Lord, did I really devote three whole points to Claire? Moving right along...
-- Don't get me wrong, I love Matt, but he is the biggest human evolutionary failure since the Neanderthals if he's not going to use his abilities to further himself. That's the whole point of evolution, to get ahead of everyone else, survive, and perpetuate your kind! He's not going to do any of that if he doesn't use his ability, especially not the last, because I think Daphne's getting a bit fed up with him...
(Oh, though I guess technically Matt's already perpetuated, though we don't know whether it's a super baby or not...)
-- Interesting how in the season one alternate future, HRG was running an underground railroad for people with abilities, but now he's helping round them up. Is that what it costs to keep Claire safe? Or does he really think they should all be put away? Or both? (Again, not looking forward to the inevitable scenes of him telling Claire Bear it's all for her, lol.)
-- Why is Peter all the sudden having to touch people to get their abilities? Is it a crappier version of his powers from the injection he gave himself? Does he keep them only temporarily?
-- The Ando-cycle! Chick-magnet, lol. And I love that Ando went to a strip club -- I'd almost forgotten that in season one he was watching Niki porn at work, lol. He's going to be such a better hero than Hiro...
-- Is the brunette on the plane going to be a new cast member, or just a red shirt (er, orange jumpsuit)? I was annoyed that we never got to see the one guy who blew out of the plane unmasked. Geeze, Claire, why do you stop after you've helped all the people you know?
-- Where's The Hatian? He would have been the easiest way for the agents to capture Sylar.
And speaking of Sylar, surely I can devote as much time to him as I did to Claire...(Although I guess technically one of my Claire points was as much about Sylar as it was about Claire.)
-- As I said before, I think the search for his father is a great story arc for Sylar this year, following up on all the parental issues dredged up in volume 3. Hopefully this will get the writing it deserves, because Zachary Quinto is capable of doing a lot with it. Loved that moment with Martin when his finger twitched and he obviously fought the urge to kill him right there for walking out on them. There's hope for him yet...
-- Is it just me, or is it amusingly and creepily appropriate that Sylar's real father would be a taxidermist? No wonder he's so adept at opening people's heads up. It has very little to do with the watchmaking at all. ;)
-- Now we know that Gray of Gray and Sons is Martin Gray and Sylar's uncle. Surprised that he's still alive, running another watch shop, not least of all because this leaves a bit of confusion as to how Sylar came into the watch-making business to begin with. According to Sylar, Martin left 27 years earlier. How old is Sylar supposed to be? 30ish? So he'd only have been about 3-4 when Martin took off. How did Sylar learn the trade? Had Gray and Sons stayed open, under other management, and eventually Sylar took over? If we don't learn anything about it, it makes for good fic fodder...
-- Speaking of things we're not likely to learn anything about, how did Sylar regenerate? There was something in the back of his head and he got burned up! Angela mentioned dental remains. Can he regenerate from teeth?? If so, I'm very impressed.
-- How cute was the picture of little!Gabriel on his tricycle in Samson's house?? Those big glasses! (Reminds me of me as a kid, lol. Only I was just dorky, not cute.) Although that begs a (frivolous) question: as Gabriel, Sylar wears glasses, and apparently it's not the reading variety if he was wearing them all the time as a kid, as the photo implies. Why doesn't Sylar need glasses? Maybe he has contacts for being badass? Or maybe he goes without, and this is why he sucks in a fist fight? (I'm just being silly here, I do not expect a serious answer. As someone who can't see the big E on the chart, or the chart at all for that matter, I'm always interested in these silly details, lol.)
-- Last but not least, it was awesome to watch Sylar kick agent ass. And kill someone, because he'd been so patient and deserved it by then. ;) I'm guessing this is where the tactical gear he's wearing in those pictures that were flying around comes from... Does he get all the info from what's-his-name and then pose as an agent to kill and steal powers from people before they can be arrested?
-- Oh, and again, I'll prove myself a terrible Sylar/Elle shipper (I do love them, y'all know I do!) by saying I wasn't the least bit bothered that he used Elle's power...Sylar killed her in cold blood, and even if some part of him feels sorry about it (and I think by now, two months later, he's probably moved on from that and disconnected person from power, as Sylar does), that's never stopped him from using someone's ability before. He felt like crap about Brian Davis, but telekinesis is Sylar's signature move. Granted, he wasn't in love with Brian, but it's not like his love for Elle came without tons of baggage or even took away that desire to punish her for her betrayal... I just think it's typical of Sylar to use a good power when he needs it. It adds to his twistedness. He is a psychotic, after all. (And I love him for it, lol.) And if we're talking about pure evolutionary prowess, Sylar's just doing what he's got to do to climb to the top of the ladder. He's the antithesis of Matt. And may yet survive to make Baby Noah...
Can't wait till next week!
I really liked the episode a lot. Back in season one, I was really hoping the bomb would go off and lead to a story along these lines, where the special folks become national security scapegoats and must go underground. This has the potential to be a great -- maybe the best -- main story arc yet for a volume because there's such a clear conflict for everyone to pull together against, with lots of supblot possibilities. Of course it goes without saying that I think Sylar's search for his father will probably be the best subplot...or at least the most interesting to me. ;)
Now for the random thoughts about the episode:
-- Somebody needs to teach Claire how to apply her makeup! Or maybe she was most leaning toward clown college? Because that blush and that lipstick in the first scene definitely looked clown-inspired.
-- Claire seriously annoys me. For one thing, I can't stand to listen to her talk because Hayden Panettiere always sounds like she needs to blow her nose. (And is it just me, or does her phrasing sound like she's emulating William Shatner?) It also drives me nuts that with all these supposedly intelligent adult characters around, and all these people with actual offensive abilities, it's always Claire who figures everything out and ends up saving people who are evolutionarily better equipped to save the world than she is. I'm bracing myself for the plane to crash and Claire and HRG to star in Part 42 Billion of I Hate You, Dad, You're Such a Jerk, But I Love You Claire Bear, That's Why, Oh, Okay, Let's Indulge a Bit of Our Vaguely Inappropriate Chemistry.
-- However, Claire could redeem herself for me (look away, Sylar/Elle shippers) depending on where her obsession with Sylar goes. There's always been an oddly sexual element to their relationship, particularly when Sylar finally did lobotomize her. Part of me can't help but wonder if that's going to go somewhere other than Claire wanting to kill him. There have been hints: Back in 3x1 (3x2?) they made such a thing of Sylar pointing out how Claire's different from anyone else, and now he's got her ability, they're two of a kind. Last night I also thought they were making quite a bit of the fact that Claire's out of high school now -- i.e., not a kid anymore, and therefore okay to have a relationship with a significantly older character who is not her uncle? Also, and this is probably a leap, but given that the writers are dancing around their previous claim that Elle was the mother of Noah in the 3x4 future, I think Claire would be the most logical choice for a baby mama if they do revisit this someday, given the fact that Sylar and Child were living in the Bennet house...and said Child was named Noah. Claire-as-baby-mama makes a lot more sense in naming a child Noah than Elle...
So yeah, I'm sorry, but I'm basically saying that I'd ship Sylar/Claire if it happened. I can't help it. They have chemistry, and I want to see Sylar nekkid again this season.
Good Lord, did I really devote three whole points to Claire? Moving right along...
-- Don't get me wrong, I love Matt, but he is the biggest human evolutionary failure since the Neanderthals if he's not going to use his abilities to further himself. That's the whole point of evolution, to get ahead of everyone else, survive, and perpetuate your kind! He's not going to do any of that if he doesn't use his ability, especially not the last, because I think Daphne's getting a bit fed up with him...
(Oh, though I guess technically Matt's already perpetuated, though we don't know whether it's a super baby or not...)
-- Interesting how in the season one alternate future, HRG was running an underground railroad for people with abilities, but now he's helping round them up. Is that what it costs to keep Claire safe? Or does he really think they should all be put away? Or both? (Again, not looking forward to the inevitable scenes of him telling Claire Bear it's all for her, lol.)
-- Why is Peter all the sudden having to touch people to get their abilities? Is it a crappier version of his powers from the injection he gave himself? Does he keep them only temporarily?
-- The Ando-cycle! Chick-magnet, lol. And I love that Ando went to a strip club -- I'd almost forgotten that in season one he was watching Niki porn at work, lol. He's going to be such a better hero than Hiro...
-- Is the brunette on the plane going to be a new cast member, or just a red shirt (er, orange jumpsuit)? I was annoyed that we never got to see the one guy who blew out of the plane unmasked. Geeze, Claire, why do you stop after you've helped all the people you know?
-- Where's The Hatian? He would have been the easiest way for the agents to capture Sylar.
And speaking of Sylar, surely I can devote as much time to him as I did to Claire...(Although I guess technically one of my Claire points was as much about Sylar as it was about Claire.)
-- As I said before, I think the search for his father is a great story arc for Sylar this year, following up on all the parental issues dredged up in volume 3. Hopefully this will get the writing it deserves, because Zachary Quinto is capable of doing a lot with it. Loved that moment with Martin when his finger twitched and he obviously fought the urge to kill him right there for walking out on them. There's hope for him yet...
-- Is it just me, or is it amusingly and creepily appropriate that Sylar's real father would be a taxidermist? No wonder he's so adept at opening people's heads up. It has very little to do with the watchmaking at all. ;)
-- Now we know that Gray of Gray and Sons is Martin Gray and Sylar's uncle. Surprised that he's still alive, running another watch shop, not least of all because this leaves a bit of confusion as to how Sylar came into the watch-making business to begin with. According to Sylar, Martin left 27 years earlier. How old is Sylar supposed to be? 30ish? So he'd only have been about 3-4 when Martin took off. How did Sylar learn the trade? Had Gray and Sons stayed open, under other management, and eventually Sylar took over? If we don't learn anything about it, it makes for good fic fodder...
-- Speaking of things we're not likely to learn anything about, how did Sylar regenerate? There was something in the back of his head and he got burned up! Angela mentioned dental remains. Can he regenerate from teeth?? If so, I'm very impressed.
-- How cute was the picture of little!Gabriel on his tricycle in Samson's house?? Those big glasses! (Reminds me of me as a kid, lol. Only I was just dorky, not cute.) Although that begs a (frivolous) question: as Gabriel, Sylar wears glasses, and apparently it's not the reading variety if he was wearing them all the time as a kid, as the photo implies. Why doesn't Sylar need glasses? Maybe he has contacts for being badass? Or maybe he goes without, and this is why he sucks in a fist fight? (I'm just being silly here, I do not expect a serious answer. As someone who can't see the big E on the chart, or the chart at all for that matter, I'm always interested in these silly details, lol.)
-- Last but not least, it was awesome to watch Sylar kick agent ass. And kill someone, because he'd been so patient and deserved it by then. ;) I'm guessing this is where the tactical gear he's wearing in those pictures that were flying around comes from... Does he get all the info from what's-his-name and then pose as an agent to kill and steal powers from people before they can be arrested?
-- Oh, and again, I'll prove myself a terrible Sylar/Elle shipper (I do love them, y'all know I do!) by saying I wasn't the least bit bothered that he used Elle's power...Sylar killed her in cold blood, and even if some part of him feels sorry about it (and I think by now, two months later, he's probably moved on from that and disconnected person from power, as Sylar does), that's never stopped him from using someone's ability before. He felt like crap about Brian Davis, but telekinesis is Sylar's signature move. Granted, he wasn't in love with Brian, but it's not like his love for Elle came without tons of baggage or even took away that desire to punish her for her betrayal... I just think it's typical of Sylar to use a good power when he needs it. It adds to his twistedness. He is a psychotic, after all. (And I love him for it, lol.) And if we're talking about pure evolutionary prowess, Sylar's just doing what he's got to do to climb to the top of the ladder. He's the antithesis of Matt. And may yet survive to make Baby Noah...
Can't wait till next week!