Heroes - ep 3x04
Overall, this definitely wasn't my favorite ep of the season, but I still liked it, and there were some bits that I loved, so it's all good. I had the pleasure of watching this ep with my brother and two of his friends - I've got to say, Heroes is extra awesome when you watch it in a room full of nerds. :D Although I was a little peeved with my brother, because he forgot it was Heroes night - fortunately the friends he had over were fine with watching it. Lol, and when I arrived and was all "TURN IT ON IMMEDIATETLY, FAIL!BROTHER. >:(", he turned to his friends and calmly explained, "Heroes is Sera's crack, you see," which is so very, very true. :D
Okay, onto my reactions:
Hiro and Ando - Cute, but like my comrade said, could have waited 'til next ep. I would have preferred to have the episode be split between the future and Nathan and Tracy's storyline.
Nathan and Tracy - OMG LOVE, SO MUCH LOVE. It's like they FINALLY figured out how to best utilize Ali. I loved Niki and Jessica and miss them, but Ali is taking to this role so well that I'm more okay with them not being around anymore. Ali and Pasdar have incredible chemistry. I'm still confused about her origins, but I think we're supposed to be? IDK, I missed a bit of the beginning, so I'll to watch it again. LOL moment - during their last scene together, we were all talking about the incestuousness of the show and how everyone is a Petrelli until proven otherwise, so when Nathan kissed Tracy, my brother's friend yelled: "WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!" :D (and lol, I loved her Jackie O glasses in the future. XD)
Future!Peter and Regular!Peter - Ahahaha, they were like the Doublemint Twins - double your failure, double your fun! I find it hysterical that basically, everything is Peter's fault. I love Peter best when he's failing, so I'm extremely tickled by his storyline this season. Although that first scene was...not Milo's best work. He was seriously kind of crap, especially as Future!Peter. He does not do badass very well (although I did like him in 5YG, but he played that more ~*tortured soul*~ than badass until the end of the ep, which is why I think it worked better). Milo is an actor who does pretty well when he's in a scene with a stronger actor (Pasdar, Hayden, etc.), but on his own, he flails a bit, so this was just extra bad since he was playing off no one. But don't worry, Milo - I still love you and your pecs of awesome. ♥ And speaking of hot, his last scene with Sylar - OMG SCORCHING HOT. They were both all half naked and fighting and beginning their very special Petrelli brotherly bonding. XD
Future!Claire: HOTT. And oh Heroes - incestuous S&M? That is awesome - keep up the good work!
Sylar - OMG SYLAR *flails* That nearly ENDED me, I was lol'ing so hard. Fucking AMAZING, and A++++ acting from ZQ. And yay, I'm currently writing an epic, post-apocalyptic Mylar fic (premiering tomorrow - tell your friends!), which features DisturbinglyDomestic!Sylar, which I was afraid would be a little too OOC, but it's canon now, bitches! (Actually, my Sylar remains way more of a sociopath than the Sylar in this ep, I think.)
I know some people are thinking that this development doesn't make a lot of sense, given what we've seen of him so far, but I actually think it works. I read somewhere someone making a comparison with Dexter from the Showtime program (amazing show - if you haven't seen it, you really ought to - you will love it, I swear). I initially didn't think the comparison was very apt, but this episode convinced me otherwise. Like Dexter, I think Sylar might have initially started to play nice to fit in and draw suspicion away from himself, but like with Dexter, the lies he was telling himself and others started to actually be true. Dexter tells us he actually can't feel any normal emotions - all he has is his hunger to kill. He initially dates his girlfriend Rita as a cover to appear as normal as possible, but as time goes on, he starts to really care for her, and appears to care for her children even more (maybe because children have an inherent innocence and honesty that makes them easier to deal with than the more complicated interactions between adults?). I can imagine a similar situation happening with Sylar. (And lol, Sylar's talk about getting control of his ~hunger~ reminded me so much of Dexter's brief foray into Narcotics Anonymous to try to beat his unusual addiction!)
Sylar and Dexter are still very different characters - for one, Sylar has an obsession with being "special," while Dexter appears to want normalcy more. Another obvious difference is Dexter's refusal to kill innocent people (although his distinction between innocence and guilt is more artificially installed in him by his father rather than a result of true introspection on his part, I think), whereas Sylar definitely doesn't have any qualms about killing as long as he gets what he wants. Still, I think the comparison works. And speaking of which, here is an incredibly awesome vid showcasing the similarities between Dexter and Sylar (spoilers for both shows). Seriously, it's amazingly well done and great food for thought on both of their characters - check it out. (Plus, ZQ and Michael C Hall are smoking hot! :P)
(*whew* That turned out longer than I expected!)
Mohinder and Maya - I just want to forget the Maya/Mohinder scene ever happened. It was so gross. I have tried to make peace with his storyline, but the writers are really dropping the ball here. Mohinder was a dick and Maya was a nag. It was like an episode of The Honeymooners, only no lols ("Bam, Zoom, straight to the moon, Maya!" Ew). I was intrigued a bit by his
scenes with the wifebeater, and I like the idea of Mohinder going dark side through the best of intentions. (LOL moment from my brother's friend: MOHINDER: The rash is spreading!!! DDDDDD: FRIEND: It's herpes, Mohinder. Get some Valtrex.)
However! I really loved future!Mohinder, who was gross in an awesome way. I felt so bad for him (although given what a jerk he's being in the present, I think he had it coming). I'm very intrigued by the parallels they're drawing between Sylar and Mohinder (since he's most definitely a cockroach, I think), and how their positions have been completely reversed in the future, with Sylar being an upstanding citizen and Mohinder being a monster.) I would really, REALLY love a scene in the present with Sylar and Mohinder - that would be so amazing. One final note about Future!Mohinder - I think that the fact that we see him so messed up in the future actually bodes well for his fate. The future eps are very much Things That Will Never Be, so I think that they will turn Mohinder back to normal by the end of the season.
And one more thought re: Maya - You know what would have been awesome? If, instead of sticking with Mohinder after he told her he wasn't going to help her, she went to the Company. (Also, I think that would have been a fantastic way to develop her character, and could have her confronting Sylar but still having to deal with him, much like Noah. I think that that would fit in really well with my idea for an alternate M3 verison of Season 3, but the last thing I need right now is another epic on my hands! /o\ Maybe later.)
Matt and Daphne: That was weird and random. Probably the best thing about the alternate future eps of Heroes is seeing familiar characters act in completely different, but plausible, ways. It provides great insight into the characters' personalities and how different they could be if events played out in a different way. But we don't even know Daphne, and what we've seen of her is such a complete 180 from how she is in the future. If we knew her better, it would have been great to see another facet of her, but as it is, it just felt schizo and out of the blue. Peter and Niki in 5YG worked for me because I could totally see how their characters could be drawn to one another, despite the fact that they hadn't met in the present. But again, I don't know Daphne, and what I do know of her gives zero indication that she and Matt would get along, let alone fall in love.
It was a relief to see that they haven't forgot about Molly, although why the hell are they living in Mohinder's apartment? And poor Mohinder - he's obviously has been demoted from "co-dad" to "creepy uncle." Aww. :(
All righty, I think that's it for me for now. I've got to go put the finishing touches on my fic - it's called "If You Were the Last Man on Earth" (well, the first part of it, anyway). If you like Mylar, lolz, DisturbinglyDomestic!Sylar and Mohinder torture, you should check it out!