A "Heroes" post, slightly more approving than usual
So "Heroes" Volume 4 premiered tonight, and...I actually rather liked it.
Well, well. Way to go, "Heroes"! Coming in strong for the fourth season. I thought this episode was quite well done. Still not taking a lot of pauses to really look closely at character, but now it's in such a way that I can overlook it a bit more. It's an action type series, so it's not designed to be heavy on the deep character moments; I don't have issues with that. What I did have a problem with was when it pursued action and flashy plot twists while forgoing character development (and even continuity) altogether. This episode seemed to be making a conscious effort to reconcile that.
Oh, Hiro! And Ando! They were extraordinarily cute in this episode. Hiro's so eager to save the world, despite not having powers. And how sweet was it that his password was "Ando" (a moment which I anticipated from the first mention of it)? I have to say, though, that the slashy undertones of that cannot be overlooked. I don't normally comment on that sort of thing here, but it would be wrong not to mention it in this case. I don't think they've ever been overtly slashier. As usual, at least one of them is still being stubborn and causing trouble for the other, but what with the tracking system embedded in both of them (and the Ando-cycle), they might be able to actually start saving the world, instead of just talking about it. Clearly they have resources at their disposal now. (Speaking of which, I'm assuming Hiro used his connections as executive of his dad's company to wrangle this stuff up? Because it seemed to appear out of nowhere. How did Ando not know what he was up to?)
I liked how the show made reference to the first season in this episode. And not just in the overt ways- like Peter and Mohinder quoting their conversation in the cab from Season 1 Episode 1- but in other ways too. The heroes aren't using their powers as much, and have gone back to their original jobs; Matt's a cop again, Mohinder's a taxi driver, Peter's a medical professional. (Although, it's terribly significant that he changed the sort of medical work he's doing; he's saving lives now instead of watching people die, which is not a good way to describe hospice care but is a good way to illustrate how Peter's changed as a character.) I'm 100% sure this is perfectly intentional on the part of the writers- to help the show get back on its feet, it makes sense to take it back to how it was when everything started. Now that they've gotten off to a successful start, maybe they can avoid some of the pitfalls that have occurred over the last couple years.
Another thing I enjoyed was how, instead of flashing forward to yet another dystopian future which the heroes have to avert, the problems were actually in the here and now. Aside from Matt's drawings (which, haven't we used that enough already?), everything was about what was happening in the present. This should be kept up. I really didn't like constantly going forward in time to a future which was inevitably going to be changed simply because a character had seen it. Also, by putting the heroes in genuine present danger and grouping many of them together in one place, there's a chance for some definite character development and interaction. We haven't seen much of that since each person has kind of been off on their own little trajectory, so I'm looking forward to the alliances that might develop.
Poor Nathan is awful at being friendly and sympathetic, isn't he? It really doesn't help matters when you say to your brother, "I know how hard it must be for you that I've disowned you and we haven't spoken in months." Way to give nothing emotionally, man. And tasering your own brother is just cold.
A lot of the character problems that I find annoying were lessened in this episode. Sylar had more motivation for his fluctuating between good and evil- there were times last season when he would seem to change allegiances with no outward sign of why, which I found very alienating as a viewer. All his actions seemed to be motivated by genuine character concerns here, though. Peter still goes blundering in without thinking ahead (he hears from Claire that his family is planning something nefarious, so he decides to just go ask them about it? How does that add up?), but he at least made some sort of effort to hang on to his more cautious life as a paramedic and such. He didn't have delusions about saving the world. And Mohinder didn't turn out to be allied with the bad guys in any way, which I really appreciated. There was a moment when he and Peter were talking in the taxi that I thought he might be helping Nathan, which would have really annoyed me. It's just too idiotic that he would constantly ally himself with forces that he knows to be untrustworthy. He did OK this time, though- especially by saving Peter.
Claire is the only one whose annoying trait still lingers (hers, if you recall, was complaining about being a victim and useless and then not doing anything effective about it). She did improve a tiny bit in this episode by climbing into the plane and setting some of the heroes free, but she needs to step it way up if she's going to become the character I think she can be. Claire has the potential to be a kick-ass hero if she doesn't keep letting herself be overpowered. I want to see her do that in this season.
Will say more later, I'm sure; I have to finish my Irish History reading at the moment, and my sister wants her computer back. Also, I taped "House" because I was at Club Council (the monthly meeting of campus club officers), but haven't watched it yet, so thoughts on that will follow in a couple days.
Sarah
Well, well. Way to go, "Heroes"! Coming in strong for the fourth season. I thought this episode was quite well done. Still not taking a lot of pauses to really look closely at character, but now it's in such a way that I can overlook it a bit more. It's an action type series, so it's not designed to be heavy on the deep character moments; I don't have issues with that. What I did have a problem with was when it pursued action and flashy plot twists while forgoing character development (and even continuity) altogether. This episode seemed to be making a conscious effort to reconcile that.
Oh, Hiro! And Ando! They were extraordinarily cute in this episode. Hiro's so eager to save the world, despite not having powers. And how sweet was it that his password was "Ando" (a moment which I anticipated from the first mention of it)? I have to say, though, that the slashy undertones of that cannot be overlooked. I don't normally comment on that sort of thing here, but it would be wrong not to mention it in this case. I don't think they've ever been overtly slashier. As usual, at least one of them is still being stubborn and causing trouble for the other, but what with the tracking system embedded in both of them (and the Ando-cycle), they might be able to actually start saving the world, instead of just talking about it. Clearly they have resources at their disposal now. (Speaking of which, I'm assuming Hiro used his connections as executive of his dad's company to wrangle this stuff up? Because it seemed to appear out of nowhere. How did Ando not know what he was up to?)
I liked how the show made reference to the first season in this episode. And not just in the overt ways- like Peter and Mohinder quoting their conversation in the cab from Season 1 Episode 1- but in other ways too. The heroes aren't using their powers as much, and have gone back to their original jobs; Matt's a cop again, Mohinder's a taxi driver, Peter's a medical professional. (Although, it's terribly significant that he changed the sort of medical work he's doing; he's saving lives now instead of watching people die, which is not a good way to describe hospice care but is a good way to illustrate how Peter's changed as a character.) I'm 100% sure this is perfectly intentional on the part of the writers- to help the show get back on its feet, it makes sense to take it back to how it was when everything started. Now that they've gotten off to a successful start, maybe they can avoid some of the pitfalls that have occurred over the last couple years.
Another thing I enjoyed was how, instead of flashing forward to yet another dystopian future which the heroes have to avert, the problems were actually in the here and now. Aside from Matt's drawings (which, haven't we used that enough already?), everything was about what was happening in the present. This should be kept up. I really didn't like constantly going forward in time to a future which was inevitably going to be changed simply because a character had seen it. Also, by putting the heroes in genuine present danger and grouping many of them together in one place, there's a chance for some definite character development and interaction. We haven't seen much of that since each person has kind of been off on their own little trajectory, so I'm looking forward to the alliances that might develop.
Poor Nathan is awful at being friendly and sympathetic, isn't he? It really doesn't help matters when you say to your brother, "I know how hard it must be for you that I've disowned you and we haven't spoken in months." Way to give nothing emotionally, man. And tasering your own brother is just cold.
A lot of the character problems that I find annoying were lessened in this episode. Sylar had more motivation for his fluctuating between good and evil- there were times last season when he would seem to change allegiances with no outward sign of why, which I found very alienating as a viewer. All his actions seemed to be motivated by genuine character concerns here, though. Peter still goes blundering in without thinking ahead (he hears from Claire that his family is planning something nefarious, so he decides to just go ask them about it? How does that add up?), but he at least made some sort of effort to hang on to his more cautious life as a paramedic and such. He didn't have delusions about saving the world. And Mohinder didn't turn out to be allied with the bad guys in any way, which I really appreciated. There was a moment when he and Peter were talking in the taxi that I thought he might be helping Nathan, which would have really annoyed me. It's just too idiotic that he would constantly ally himself with forces that he knows to be untrustworthy. He did OK this time, though- especially by saving Peter.
Claire is the only one whose annoying trait still lingers (hers, if you recall, was complaining about being a victim and useless and then not doing anything effective about it). She did improve a tiny bit in this episode by climbing into the plane and setting some of the heroes free, but she needs to step it way up if she's going to become the character I think she can be. Claire has the potential to be a kick-ass hero if she doesn't keep letting herself be overpowered. I want to see her do that in this season.
Will say more later, I'm sure; I have to finish my Irish History reading at the moment, and my sister wants her computer back. Also, I taped "House" because I was at Club Council (the monthly meeting of campus club officers), but haven't watched it yet, so thoughts on that will follow in a couple days.
Sarah