meta: 4.18: "The Art of Deception"
"The Art of Deception" would have made a better title for the last episode than "Pass/Fail", IMHO... but hey, I don't run the show. And thank God! I'd be dead in a gutter with a heroin needle sticking out of one arm, a bottle of rotgut clutched in the other hand, and a note pinned to my bloody torso that read "All I wanted was to make you happy... blame Zucker..."
This is more of a meta post instead of a liveblog: but it's a little of both. It's not like my liveblogs are keeping the earth spinning on its axis. (if that's the case, we'll find out in a couple of weeks. Two more episodes to go!)
HRG gets the previously. Petrellis in this one! Woot!
Samuel does his best Dirty Dracula impression with the help of a filthy blanket standing in for a cape. He looks all strung out. Lydia, naturally, looks luscious. Samuel's just now figuring out that he's the villain. Keep up, Samuel.
Planet Kring! It's a grim, dark place.
Emma, in Peters dream, is playing with bloody fingers. Ouch. And ew. Peter wakes up and all my common sense flies out the window. He's all moist. Then Angela calls him - and we don't see, right away, what next. I'm sure it's no good. I'd so block her number.
Sylar at Matt's! Matt's shitting a brick, and Sylar is trying to be all sensible and reasonable in that home-invasion way he has. And how nice, Janice made them lunch! If it's waffles, I'll plotz.
Claire and Gretchen are on a mission to tell HRG what Sylar done did this time. They hold hands. Awwwww. Claire is so hitting that. They briefly discuss how complicated Claire's storyline is this season, and Claire goes to stink-eye her dad. Not her bio-dad, her real dad. Her bio-dad is DEAD. Lauren's over at HRG's, but he's not, and it's awkward. More awkward is Claire seeing how detailed the plans for the carnival raid are. Lauren shows Claire the giant sinkhole that Samuel made, and tells Claire of the extent of the damage. Claire bails, snottily. Of course.
Matt and Janice and Sylar, havin' lunch! There's a dusty basement at the Parkmans', and Sylar and Matt go down into it so Sylar can lecture Matt. Or, better yet, beg him to penetrate him deeply once more. Uh. His mind. Sylar can't live with himself anymore, and wants his powers taken away. The QuintoBrows are really spectacularly well groomed this week. Matt protests, but a little "shall I kill the wife and kid" blackmail takes care of that.
Angela has brought unpleasant ideas; this time, Nathan's headstone. HE'S DEAD. WE GET IT. Mostly Angela just wanted to check on her boy, and tell him that Sylar's no good just because he's saving Emma in a vision. And bring Peter a new picture of Nathan for both of them to moon over. God, Peter's beautiful, and he keeps kissing his mom. Awwww. And huh? And hmmm.
GirlSchool. Claire tries to tell Gretchen that the carnival's in danger; Gretchen insists on sensibility. Claire feels betrayed, and she doesn't want to go to class, either. God, she is such a truant. And a lame friend who always borrows the car.
HRG and Lauren decide to move on out against the carnival. I haven't much to say about that scene but that I covet her sweater.
Claire goes to the carnival and encounters Lydia, communicating through touch. Yeah, I would too. Samuel shows up just in time to express some fake remorse and have a monologue about Joseph. Claire is unmoved, and tells him to think about his carnie family. Samuel actually seems to be listening. Meanwhile, on the ridge, HRG and Lauren have some sniper rifles, taking aim. But Claire calls and has a conversation with HRG, counseling caution, that Samuel wants to surrender. HRG believes her. Lauren offers to be the one to meet Samuel and walk him in while HRG keeps a bead on Samuel. Oh dear. This is not going to end well, especially since HRG does nothing but fuck up these days.
Anyway, Samuel has to monologue first, talking to his carnie brethren, and outs Claire as the source of his surrender. She rolls her eyes, having obviously thought she could keep it on the DL, but this is Samuel we're talking about. Eric Doyle looks pale and scared (and that's kind of a first, really; Doyle doesn't do scared. But David Lawrence nails it, because he's the man.) And then a shot rings out and clips Samuel in the chest. And Claire in the NECK. Popcorn everywhere. Carnies run and scream. Claire and Samuel, hiding behind a platform, trade a "WTF?" look.
And - scene!
The fact that THE WOLFMAN is coming out in February, and not summer, does not make me optimistic. I hope that means that it's just too freaky and awesome for the gen pop to really dig.
Sylar in Matt's basement! OK, let's see this. Well, it seems to hurt Matt, and he jumps away and stands there panting. Then Janice comes in and asks what's up, so Sylar slams her against a wall and holds her there. Oh no, not Janice! Matt screams for mercy, and Sylar layers on the evil pretty thick. Oh. No.
The shots that rang out were not, of course, from HRG, but from the Stash! One of the bullets hits Lauren and she falls to the ground; when HRG tries to shoot the Stash; he dissolves. Uh oh. Meanwhile, Claire digs the bullets out of her neck, and Samuel is taken over to where Lydia lies al shot and bleeding. Yeah, thanks for the spoiler, Ms. Oliveri. Also meanswhile, Lauren tries to sit up and fire her weapon, but she's too weak.
Oh no, not Lydia! She is so out of here. Then Samuel kisses her and she shrieks and makes a face like he's really bad tasting. "You - did - this?" she sobs. "They needed a villain worse than me," he explains, and kisses her and she dies really expertly. Some of her tattoos disappear, too. Dawn Oliveri, ladies and gentlemen! A round of applause for a beautiful lady!
But what was up with that last shot of the scene? What was the purpose of that? Did the editor fall asleep and let it go on a full four seconds too long? What? WHAT? C'mon, show. That's the kind of professional sloppiness that drives me nuts. Those moments are few and far between on this show (visually, I mean; there's plenty of sloppiness elsewhere, of course). Oh show, I hate you for making me love you. Bad, abusive boyfriend! Bad! And not enough Petrelli! Bad!
FUCK OFF LENO
Claire's on the phone, calling HRG for answers. There are none; he doesn't pick up, anyway. Instead, the Stash has dragged HRG into the center of the carnival; HRG gasps to Claire that he didn't do it. But - ever try to reason with a bunch of angry carnies? Samuel has them take HRG to the house of mirrors; Claire to Samuel's trailer. Claire struggles and screams.
Sylar is still holding Janice; Matt is still begging for mercy. Matt tries a little self-esteem counseling. It works; Sylar lets Janice go. Maatt and Janice talk; Janice advocates for total annihilation. God she's so right. Anyway, she leaves, and Matt tries again. And - clip show of Sylar's greatest hits! Afterward, Sylar doesn't feel any different. Matt tells Sylar to try something; when he can't, Sylar is overjoyed. Sylar's abilities are buried! Yay! And Matt took a little extra, too - trapping Sylar inside his own mind, in the Parkman's house! Oh, my. Anyway, in the real world, Matt gets busy bricking Sylar up in the basement. Hey, do you like Edgar Allen Poe? OBVIOUSLY NOT.
A knock comes at the door! It's Interference Peter! And Matt goes upstairs, leaving the bricking job half done. OH GREAT WORK GENIUS.
And once again, thanks for nothin', Peter.
Carnival. Emma's there. Sure is quiet! Doyle intercepts her, and brings her in through the carnival to medically assist Samuel. That fucker; he is OFF my Xmas card list. Emma's like "WTF", but she frequently is; but more than anything, she's a doctor. Oh dear.
Interference Peter! He and Matt shake hands. Peter now knows everything because Matt's not so very... informed. Peter busts into the house, in search of Sylar, and wants to take Sylar with him. And bring him back to full ability. (Why for? Are you NUTS?) So he does. THANKS PETE. Ooh, and suddenly, he's out on the street, Peter is all isolated with no one around... WAY TO GO, EINSTEIN.
Lauren calls Tracy!
Lydia is dead. Edgar is pissed. He knows she's in heaven having wild monkey sex with Angel Nathan. Samuel tells Edgar that "normal people" did this; Edgar is too devastated to respond. Samuel walks out and stands in a circle of carnies, trying to explain what happened in his evil Satan total lies way. Claire watches, hating life. Samuel tells the carnies that it's time to bust out and take over some shit.
To. Be. Continued...
In the previews for next week; havoc, and Peter and Sylar are both not alone in the landscape of their minds, but alone TOGETHER. And there you have it, slash fans; another perfect pairing come to fruition, but at what cost, and with such bitterness with the sweet!
My verdict: a perfectly good-to-adequate setup episode that, as always, demands rewatching. I shall now try to gird my loins for the nasty reactions, for which this, as all of the episodes, richly deserves, though it hurts me in my heart no less. Be gentle with me. I know I'm emotionally overinvolved; you know I'm emotionally overinvolved. And yet there's really not much I can do. The patient is terminal and it shows.
This is more of a meta post instead of a liveblog: but it's a little of both. It's not like my liveblogs are keeping the earth spinning on its axis. (if that's the case, we'll find out in a couple of weeks. Two more episodes to go!)
HRG gets the previously. Petrellis in this one! Woot!
Samuel does his best Dirty Dracula impression with the help of a filthy blanket standing in for a cape. He looks all strung out. Lydia, naturally, looks luscious. Samuel's just now figuring out that he's the villain. Keep up, Samuel.
Planet Kring! It's a grim, dark place.
Emma, in Peters dream, is playing with bloody fingers. Ouch. And ew. Peter wakes up and all my common sense flies out the window. He's all moist. Then Angela calls him - and we don't see, right away, what next. I'm sure it's no good. I'd so block her number.
Sylar at Matt's! Matt's shitting a brick, and Sylar is trying to be all sensible and reasonable in that home-invasion way he has. And how nice, Janice made them lunch! If it's waffles, I'll plotz.
Claire and Gretchen are on a mission to tell HRG what Sylar done did this time. They hold hands. Awwwww. Claire is so hitting that. They briefly discuss how complicated Claire's storyline is this season, and Claire goes to stink-eye her dad. Not her bio-dad, her real dad. Her bio-dad is DEAD. Lauren's over at HRG's, but he's not, and it's awkward. More awkward is Claire seeing how detailed the plans for the carnival raid are. Lauren shows Claire the giant sinkhole that Samuel made, and tells Claire of the extent of the damage. Claire bails, snottily. Of course.
Matt and Janice and Sylar, havin' lunch! There's a dusty basement at the Parkmans', and Sylar and Matt go down into it so Sylar can lecture Matt. Or, better yet, beg him to penetrate him deeply once more. Uh. His mind. Sylar can't live with himself anymore, and wants his powers taken away. The QuintoBrows are really spectacularly well groomed this week. Matt protests, but a little "shall I kill the wife and kid" blackmail takes care of that.
Angela has brought unpleasant ideas; this time, Nathan's headstone. HE'S DEAD. WE GET IT. Mostly Angela just wanted to check on her boy, and tell him that Sylar's no good just because he's saving Emma in a vision. And bring Peter a new picture of Nathan for both of them to moon over. God, Peter's beautiful, and he keeps kissing his mom. Awwww. And huh? And hmmm.
GirlSchool. Claire tries to tell Gretchen that the carnival's in danger; Gretchen insists on sensibility. Claire feels betrayed, and she doesn't want to go to class, either. God, she is such a truant. And a lame friend who always borrows the car.
HRG and Lauren decide to move on out against the carnival. I haven't much to say about that scene but that I covet her sweater.
Claire goes to the carnival and encounters Lydia, communicating through touch. Yeah, I would too. Samuel shows up just in time to express some fake remorse and have a monologue about Joseph. Claire is unmoved, and tells him to think about his carnie family. Samuel actually seems to be listening. Meanwhile, on the ridge, HRG and Lauren have some sniper rifles, taking aim. But Claire calls and has a conversation with HRG, counseling caution, that Samuel wants to surrender. HRG believes her. Lauren offers to be the one to meet Samuel and walk him in while HRG keeps a bead on Samuel. Oh dear. This is not going to end well, especially since HRG does nothing but fuck up these days.
Anyway, Samuel has to monologue first, talking to his carnie brethren, and outs Claire as the source of his surrender. She rolls her eyes, having obviously thought she could keep it on the DL, but this is Samuel we're talking about. Eric Doyle looks pale and scared (and that's kind of a first, really; Doyle doesn't do scared. But David Lawrence nails it, because he's the man.) And then a shot rings out and clips Samuel in the chest. And Claire in the NECK. Popcorn everywhere. Carnies run and scream. Claire and Samuel, hiding behind a platform, trade a "WTF?" look.
And - scene!
The fact that THE WOLFMAN is coming out in February, and not summer, does not make me optimistic. I hope that means that it's just too freaky and awesome for the gen pop to really dig.
Sylar in Matt's basement! OK, let's see this. Well, it seems to hurt Matt, and he jumps away and stands there panting. Then Janice comes in and asks what's up, so Sylar slams her against a wall and holds her there. Oh no, not Janice! Matt screams for mercy, and Sylar layers on the evil pretty thick. Oh. No.
The shots that rang out were not, of course, from HRG, but from the Stash! One of the bullets hits Lauren and she falls to the ground; when HRG tries to shoot the Stash; he dissolves. Uh oh. Meanwhile, Claire digs the bullets out of her neck, and Samuel is taken over to where Lydia lies al shot and bleeding. Yeah, thanks for the spoiler, Ms. Oliveri. Also meanswhile, Lauren tries to sit up and fire her weapon, but she's too weak.
Oh no, not Lydia! She is so out of here. Then Samuel kisses her and she shrieks and makes a face like he's really bad tasting. "You - did - this?" she sobs. "They needed a villain worse than me," he explains, and kisses her and she dies really expertly. Some of her tattoos disappear, too. Dawn Oliveri, ladies and gentlemen! A round of applause for a beautiful lady!
But what was up with that last shot of the scene? What was the purpose of that? Did the editor fall asleep and let it go on a full four seconds too long? What? WHAT? C'mon, show. That's the kind of professional sloppiness that drives me nuts. Those moments are few and far between on this show (visually, I mean; there's plenty of sloppiness elsewhere, of course). Oh show, I hate you for making me love you. Bad, abusive boyfriend! Bad! And not enough Petrelli! Bad!
FUCK OFF LENO
Claire's on the phone, calling HRG for answers. There are none; he doesn't pick up, anyway. Instead, the Stash has dragged HRG into the center of the carnival; HRG gasps to Claire that he didn't do it. But - ever try to reason with a bunch of angry carnies? Samuel has them take HRG to the house of mirrors; Claire to Samuel's trailer. Claire struggles and screams.
Sylar is still holding Janice; Matt is still begging for mercy. Matt tries a little self-esteem counseling. It works; Sylar lets Janice go. Maatt and Janice talk; Janice advocates for total annihilation. God she's so right. Anyway, she leaves, and Matt tries again. And - clip show of Sylar's greatest hits! Afterward, Sylar doesn't feel any different. Matt tells Sylar to try something; when he can't, Sylar is overjoyed. Sylar's abilities are buried! Yay! And Matt took a little extra, too - trapping Sylar inside his own mind, in the Parkman's house! Oh, my. Anyway, in the real world, Matt gets busy bricking Sylar up in the basement. Hey, do you like Edgar Allen Poe? OBVIOUSLY NOT.
A knock comes at the door! It's Interference Peter! And Matt goes upstairs, leaving the bricking job half done. OH GREAT WORK GENIUS.
And once again, thanks for nothin', Peter.
Carnival. Emma's there. Sure is quiet! Doyle intercepts her, and brings her in through the carnival to medically assist Samuel. That fucker; he is OFF my Xmas card list. Emma's like "WTF", but she frequently is; but more than anything, she's a doctor. Oh dear.
Interference Peter! He and Matt shake hands. Peter now knows everything because Matt's not so very... informed. Peter busts into the house, in search of Sylar, and wants to take Sylar with him. And bring him back to full ability. (Why for? Are you NUTS?) So he does. THANKS PETE. Ooh, and suddenly, he's out on the street, Peter is all isolated with no one around... WAY TO GO, EINSTEIN.
Lauren calls Tracy!
Lydia is dead. Edgar is pissed. He knows she's in heaven having wild monkey sex with Angel Nathan. Samuel tells Edgar that "normal people" did this; Edgar is too devastated to respond. Samuel walks out and stands in a circle of carnies, trying to explain what happened in his evil Satan total lies way. Claire watches, hating life. Samuel tells the carnies that it's time to bust out and take over some shit.
To. Be. Continued...
In the previews for next week; havoc, and Peter and Sylar are both not alone in the landscape of their minds, but alone TOGETHER. And there you have it, slash fans; another perfect pairing come to fruition, but at what cost, and with such bitterness with the sweet!
My verdict: a perfectly good-to-adequate setup episode that, as always, demands rewatching. I shall now try to gird my loins for the nasty reactions, for which this, as all of the episodes, richly deserves, though it hurts me in my heart no less. Be gentle with me. I know I'm emotionally overinvolved; you know I'm emotionally overinvolved. And yet there's really not much I can do. The patient is terminal and it shows.