Aww, Peter Rabbit
Who came up with that, actually? I remember someone referring to him like that in a comment but...anyway. Because I did a whole Claude-centric post...and I'm in that kind of mood...I feel like doing one of all Peter, all the time. In deference to the fact that Claude is about 100x more awesome, he got an entire post with...several...pictures from the one episode he was in without Peter. Whereas Peter gets one for all the moments I found him vaguely tolerable during the whole season before Claude showed up. Which are not, unfortunately, that many. Sorry Milo.
Episode 1: Genesis (Or "In His Own Image", according to StripedWall)
Right after the vaguely Star Wars-esque scroll of white on black text all about evolution and crap, we've got exciting music and:
Mohinder Narration: Blah blah blah destiny blah human heart blah.
Certain Percentage of Demographic Probably Not Drawn In By Superhero Angle: OMG, HOTTT!!!1!!
visiblemarket: Is that Jess?
The beginning of the martyr imagery. Peter does not, in my opinion, make a very good Jesus, for reasons I'll go into later, but there we go, about five minutes in.
And if that wasn't enough, we've got cape imagery. So, sacrilege to two equally obsessive segments of society: the super religious, and comic book fans.
Of course, this being five minutes into the very first episode, we can't have it get too exciting all at once, so clearly, it was all a dream.
A dream, I must point out, he was having while on the job, taking care of Charles Deveaux. And for all that the writers try to tell us, with the help of Simone, that Peter's oh-so-good at his job, he was freakin' asleep. Not that anyone calls him on it. Not that he even seems to notice why this was a problem; he just goes into his own little thing about how awesome his dreams are. This will become a pattern.
Anyway: we're not really supposed to think about that, because look, pretty:
And I'll just say, for all the problems people might have with her, Simone is a beautiful woman. And actually, I think, a pretty cool one; it's a shame Tawny Cypress wasn't actually given anything worthwhile to do, because I sure did enjoy looking at her sometimes. Her clothes were the best.
Back to Peter: not only did he just fall asleep on the job, taking care of her dying father, he also manages to ask her out while she's talking about her dying father and how close he actually is to dying. Oh, Peter. In his defense, I have to say, I'm pretty sure he does it accidentally: he's got such a crush on her, and he sees a bit of an opening with the "like a son to him", and goes for it, without thinking through just how inappropriate that is.
Also in his defense, Simone doesn't really seem to mind. Of course, she's got a boyfriend, which gives us probably one my favorite Peter reactions to anything:
I don't think the cap really captures it, but it's this awesome expression of "Smooth move, Ex-Lax," or whatever the equivalent is in Peter vernacular. Kudos to Milo there, because it's both hilarious and very, very real.
And then there's this, which is just creepily hilarious:
*cough* Despite Peter's weird stalker eyes, Simone's probably not entirely immune to his charms:
Totally checking him out. Well, who could blame her?
Moving right along:
Another dream bit. I'm just realizing, Peter sure does a lot of sleeping during the day. Makes you wonder what he's been getting up to at night, hmm?
(Also: Peter sure does take cabs a lot. Which...well, those things are expensive, right? Most New Yorkers, especially those who aren't, you know, rich, would probably be taking the subway.) Never mind. Because:
iPetrelli! Here's a writerly exercise for you: what's on Peter's On the Go playlist?
Anyway, campaign headquarters, Petrelli brothers do their regular we're-brothers-we-have-inappropriate-chemistry -and-we're-all-over-each-other dance (with the priceless "You think you can fly? Go jump off the Brooklyn Bridge"..."I think I should start with something lower, first", exchange, where you can tell Peter probably thought he was serious).
And from there to Mama Petrelli, that sock-stealing fiend:
And for however we're supposed to feel about Angela later on (because you get the feeling that this Angela isn't quite the same one as the one that developed with the realization that Christine Rose is a great actress and could handle much bigger storylines), here she's incredibly sympathetic, and she and Peter are very sweet together.
And it's here that we first get Peter being a little more combative towards Nathan, telling him to go take care of his image while he deals with their mother. Plus, this:
Is just beyond adorable.
Also, rather hilariously for me, Peter goes on to say, all grumpy-like, that "Nathan only cares about himself." Because, ha. He's not the only one, babe.
We get the usual "Tell, don't show" in terms of Peter's character with Angela here, of course, going on about his selflessness: "When you put everyone else first, you end up last". Which is true, probably, but Peter...doesn't exactly do that. Then we get the requisite, "How are you going to live on what you make, working as a hospice nurse?" (paraphrased) with another one of my favorite Peter lines, "Maybe I'll shoplift my socks." And some talk of the Peter/Nathan relationship, which, again, basically unnecessary, because we just saw that. We don't need to have it explained to us.
And then we see it again, with another trip back to Campaign Headquarters: more stuff about how good with people Peter is, blah blah blah, and then a bit of exposition that's a bit more subtle then most: "The dreamy kid, sitting in the back of the classroom, staring out the window." And that's really Peter for me: idealistic and dreamy to the point of obliviousness, where he doesn't mean to be selfish but just kind of is.
Now back to the pictures:
...yeah, Peter. You really do need to put on your sunglasses to hail a cab. Really. And as much as I want to make a "Future so bright you gotta wear shades" joke (oh, wait) I'm pretty sure it's only done to be able to give us this shot of the eclipse:
Which, I'll admit, is pretty darn cool. So I'll let that one slide.
And then a moment of taking with uber-accented Mohinder. Hee. And, as per usual, having gotten into a cab with a random stranger, he gets all grandiose and wanting to talk about being special. Because it's all about him. 'Course, Mohinder throws him a bone with his little "destiny" talk, and there it begins.
However, we also get (another) unusually subtle moment:
Of Peter literally being the dreamy kid, sitting in the back of the classroom the cab, staring out the window. Also? Neck porn! And...is that a freckle?
And then there's the beginning of the Peter/Simone/Isaac triangle. *snore*, for the most part, but...
Peter painting. And:
Peter, gobsmacked at Peter painting. And:
Isaac, dying of an overdoes, as Simone, the woman Peter (supposedly) loves panics, and Peter...still staring. Gobsmacked. Which is a very human reaction to seeing your dreams on a canvas, painted by someone you've never met. But it's not the reaction of a super-self-less and all out wonderful empathetic nurse. It's a very humanizing moment for Peter, but it's not one that makes me all that fond of him.
Of course, I will get over that, as the episode ends and we get:
Flying Petrelli's, and a bit of a twist, and we're left intrigued as to whether Peter has a power or not and we're not thinking too closely at just what kind of person he really is. But we'll come back to that.
Just a quick little review of the first episode: realizing how many storylines they had to introduce, how many characters, I understand why the writers fell back on the "tell, don't show" when it came to Peter and Nathan and Angela; they were a bit more subtle with the Bennets and the Sanders/Hawkins clan, not so much with Hiro. But a consequence of all those characters needing to be introduced was, for me, that Peter came off as a bit...flat. It's clear what the writers think of him: sweet, kind, good guy overall. But what comes off the screen is not quite that, and the commentary over the un-aired pilot mentions how they had to cut a scene or two of him interacting with Charles Deveaux, that really made him look better, and that, at least, tells me that the director was aware of the problem. Which is always nice, and one of the things I've always liked about the Heroes creators.
But on with the episodes:
Episode 2: Don't Look Back
Not one of my favorite episodes ever, but it really picks up towards the end, when Angela shows up at Peter's hospital room:
It's there, in the midst of showing him the new shirts she's presumably bought for him (and it's a little subtle character quirk that's kind of forgotten about, but you get the feeling that when she's nervous, Mama Petrelli does what a lot of mothers do: goes shopping), that she breaks the news that his father committed suicide. Which...well, "Here, son, I bought you shirt. By the way, your dad was suicidal, and his suicidal tendencies were preceded by delusions of grandeur and thoughts that he was invincible."
And so you've got Peter, trying to figure out if this amazing thing he thought he could do (or at least, that his brother could do) is real or a product of a possible mental disorder, after his brother has denied what he was sure had happened, and it's troubling. An Milo...well, I've had my issues with him as an actor, but here, he's not...terrible.
Angela tells him he's always been her favorite. The connotations of that, knowing what we know of what comes after, are tricky: even here, she had to have known that for her plan of world domination improvement to work, he had to explode. And had no way of being sure that he wouldn't be killed in the process, or even if she did: if she knows her son as well as she should, what with him being her favorite, she should know that he wouldn't be able to handle being responsible for killing that many people. (It's also at this moment that I can really buy them as mother and son; the two really do look a lot a like, especially their eyes.) And yet she seems genuinely concerned; and we'll see later, that she really does love both of her sons, a lot more than she feels she can show, given her station.
And this has kind of gotten off the tracks of being so much about Peter, but it does matter, because of what it suggests about Peter's upbringing: why is he so childish, idealistic, and unwittingly selfish? Because he was probably spoiled, a great deal, because his mother (and possibly father, but we don't really know for sure) knew exactly what his "destiny" was and felt guilty enough for it to let him get away with what he wanted. (And for any of my fellow Reaper fans: it's very similar to how Sam's parents treated him; pushing his brother to be smart, go to a good school, etc, while letting him get out of college because "it made him sleepy.")
But we return, once again, to emo!pouty!Peter:
Which I'm a little more willing to forgive, given just how much he's doubting himself right then. Going, in the space of maybe two days, from being so sure that he could fly, to realizing that it was his brother, who's always been the better one, that could, to being told by his brother that it was all in his imagination, to being told by his mother that his imagination could, possibly, be a result of him being crazy like his suicidal father...well, I'd be kind of emo and pouty too.
(But there's a little glimmer of self-awareness and manipulation, when he starts telling Nathan that he'll jump if he doesn't tell him the truth, without, I think, even really planning to.)
But then he hovers, and there's a hug:
As always, and...well, I can see why things got resolved as quickly as they did (because it's stupid for us to watch Peter think he doesn't have powers when we know, he probably does) but...well. I kind of liked him doubting a little more. It shows that he's actually thinking, which...we need more of it.
And now we'll skip over a couple of more boring episodes, to:
Episode 7: Nothing to Hide
A whole lot goes on in this episode, right from the very beginning: we've got Peter, talking to and having inappropriate chemistry with Charles Deveaux, but even before that:
Talk of the eclipse. So we know, this is in the past.
Well, conclusive evidence that Peter, can, at least, read. Which is great. But the whole conversation here is actually pretty good:
PETER: M-Core's holding steady, but Yamagato -- Yamagato is down to 215 and an eighth. I think that's a good bargain.
CHARLES DEVEAUX: Oh, really? And what do you know?
PETER: You saying I couldn't pick a stock?
CHARLES DEVEAUX: Ah, Darwinian. Look at your sorry ass. Barely able to make minimum wage. Now you look at me living in a penthouse. Central Park West.
PETER: Correction. It's dying in a penthouse in Central Park West.
(Charles chuckles and coughs. Peter gets up and walks around the bed with his stethoscope.)
CHARLES DEVEAUX: Right you are, my boy. Right you are.
PETER: Teach you to mess with me. Take a breath.
(Peter listens to Charles’ heart.)
CHARLES DEVEAUX: In the end, all that matters is love. I love you, Peter.
PETER: I love you too, Charles.
CHARLES DEVEAUX: You speak your mind. You know who you are. You know what you want. That's your power. That's your strength.
Aww...not terribly subtle, but...aww. But look: right off the bat, mentions of Yamagato (which, I believe, is Hiro's dad's business, right) and Darwin (who Claude will bring up). And also love, which Claude will also bring up.
This is the scene which, as mentioned, was cut from the pilot; I really like Peter in it, I have to say. He's a whole lot smarter and more capable in it, that's for sure. And, as per usual, that inappropriate chemistry with older men:
Yeah, not flirtatious at all. Of course, once again, it was all a dream, which sets us up for:
Half-naked, bed-head Peter. Yum. And also, mixed-signal Simone, but we won't really go into that except to say: they go to Isaac's apartment, Simone is upset that he isn't there, and says that it seems like everyone's leaving her, and Peter says that he's "Not going anywhere". Except, apparently, to Texas within the next two episodes.
Moving right along, to Sunday Brunch:
I have to say, it's one of my other favorite Heroes scenes: one of the funniest, probably, as well. Even with them cutting the hilarious exchange between Angela and Heidi and one of the Petrelli youths about strawberries. But coming back, as we must, to Peter:
Well, Heidi, first, because a) I kind of like her and b) she's the only one who actually seems happy to see him. I get the feeling that Heidi (and this is off of a deleted scene where it's mentioned that she was a "townie" in Annapolis whose father ran a hardware store, if I remember correctly) isn't really liked by Angela and probably wasn't really liked by Arthur. But you just know Peter's probably really nice to her, so they're friendly. Anyway: she's the only one who seems happy to see him.
And I'm pretty sure she's who he's looking at there, like, "What the hell is this "brunch" business?" I really love his expression, though. He looks so confused.
As for the obligatory Petrellicest moment:
There we go. That's out of the way. Now we can get on with Peter being manipulative and strong and mocking:
His, "I'm just trying to stay grounded"? Not exactly the wittiest thing ever, but damn, the expression it gets out of Nathan? So funny. And the rest of his little barbed comments:
Heidi's just about to burst out laughing, even though she probably isn't quite sure what's going on, and Nathan looks so very pissed.
Man, I love that scene. It's also rather well shot: going around the table, as Dennison brings up the Las Vegas trip, the camera pushes in on individual reactions, building up the tension, and it's pretty darn classy. Steals a bit from 12 Angry Men, but still, classy.
And then when Dennison brings up the other woman, and Peter does what he can to save his brother's reputation:
(for all that Heidi's not convinced, and neither is, probably, Dennison), Peter actually manages to look and act like an adult for almost an entire scene. A manipulative, even vaguely snarky, adult. I do so love those moments.
And then we're back to idealistic, naive Peter, when Nathan shows up at his apartment later:
(Of course, this whole scene is when Nathan's got the slimiest politician aura ever)
This pose does make me smile, though. He's just such an overgrown teenager.
Episode 9: Homecoming
A notable episode, for me, for about four reasons:
1) This outfit:
Mmm, eye-candy. But seriously, Peter, those jeans? Are...quite tight. I'm not complaining, or anything, but if you're worried that people are going to think your relationship with your brother/Mohinder/any male in proximity is questionable...well, not helping your case, here. Because, mmm, to paraphrase 30 Rock: those pants are definitely bicurious.
2) Claire being the most tolerable:
And her whole nerd constituency (check out the Battlestar Galactica t-shirt on that guy). Not the most original of high school homecoming storylines, but still, Zack is really sweet in it.
3) This scene of Peter and Ando:
(Part of me wonders, did he take that cab all the way from NYC? It wouldn't surprise me. Oh, Peter.)
But more importantly, him talking to Ando about his ability, and how, by himself, he's "not really anything":
Which, awww. But he seems really genuine about it; not at all resentful, not at all ambitious. Unlike some people I could name, like certain watchmakers, for instance. Just that is what his power is, and the only real worry is that it's not going to be enough to save Claire, but he still has to try. He's not a coward, our Peter. Not the smartest guy in the world, but not a coward.
4) Finally, this scene:
Which...well, it's a very sweet moment.
"It gets better. Life after high school, it gets a lot better."
Which, for me, is the moment where I actually did fall in love with Peter just a little bit. Because it's here that he actually seems like the guy the writers tried, mostly unsuccessful, to make us think he is: he picked up on how alienated Claire felt (which is kind of false, really, on her part, because she says that she "Doesn't win any popularity contests" after being voted Homecoming Queen, and just realizing "who her real friends are". But I'll let it go, because she's really very cute in this scene), was very genuinely, kindly, and unselfishly comforting about it (even though he doesn't need to be; some random girl he doesn't even know, and he's got to go cheerleader-saving in a few minutes, and still, he stops to be nice), and it speaks to a whole backstory in regards to his time in high school, where for whatever reason, he probably wasn't all that popular himself. It's a good moment, and, for once, very subtly done. Kudos, Heroes writers. Although now you've made me expects so much more from you.
Which I really won't get until Claude shows up again. So now, for some closing thoughts:
I really do like Peter. I like MV as well; he's a decent enough actor, and he's very good looking (to me), and I do like watching him. As a character, Peter has a lot potential: I mean, on paper, he's fascinating: the youngest son of a prominent, wealthy family, who chooses to leave the family fold and make his way on his own, with integrity, being noble and good and all that crap. And he tries so hard to be a good guy, but there's an ingrained sense of entitlement that shows up sometimes, where he thinks that because he chose to be poor and noble, he's something all out amazing, and he doesn't seem to realize how self-righteous it is. And that's actually one of my favorite things about Peter: that he's not as perfect and admirable as the characters around him seem to think he is. I just wish more people actually called him on that. Which is, of course, where Claude will come in. But that's for another huge, picture filled post.
So, for now, I'll just leave off with a quote: "He wasn't born nice but he tries to be nice," (cf. William de Worde in The Truth", which I mention because it's a favorite and that's the right way to portray that kind of character).
And now, for the Plaude: Godsend (1.12)
*
Episode 1: Genesis (Or "In His Own Image", according to StripedWall)
Right after the vaguely Star Wars-esque scroll of white on black text all about evolution and crap, we've got exciting music and:
Mohinder Narration: Blah blah blah destiny blah human heart blah.
Certain Percentage of Demographic Probably Not Drawn In By Superhero Angle: OMG, HOTTT!!!1!!
visiblemarket: Is that Jess?
The beginning of the martyr imagery. Peter does not, in my opinion, make a very good Jesus, for reasons I'll go into later, but there we go, about five minutes in.
And if that wasn't enough, we've got cape imagery. So, sacrilege to two equally obsessive segments of society: the super religious, and comic book fans.
Of course, this being five minutes into the very first episode, we can't have it get too exciting all at once, so clearly, it was all a dream.
A dream, I must point out, he was having while on the job, taking care of Charles Deveaux. And for all that the writers try to tell us, with the help of Simone, that Peter's oh-so-good at his job, he was freakin' asleep. Not that anyone calls him on it. Not that he even seems to notice why this was a problem; he just goes into his own little thing about how awesome his dreams are. This will become a pattern.
Anyway: we're not really supposed to think about that, because look, pretty:
And I'll just say, for all the problems people might have with her, Simone is a beautiful woman. And actually, I think, a pretty cool one; it's a shame Tawny Cypress wasn't actually given anything worthwhile to do, because I sure did enjoy looking at her sometimes. Her clothes were the best.
Back to Peter: not only did he just fall asleep on the job, taking care of her dying father, he also manages to ask her out while she's talking about her dying father and how close he actually is to dying. Oh, Peter. In his defense, I have to say, I'm pretty sure he does it accidentally: he's got such a crush on her, and he sees a bit of an opening with the "like a son to him", and goes for it, without thinking through just how inappropriate that is.
Also in his defense, Simone doesn't really seem to mind. Of course, she's got a boyfriend, which gives us probably one my favorite Peter reactions to anything:
I don't think the cap really captures it, but it's this awesome expression of "Smooth move, Ex-Lax," or whatever the equivalent is in Peter vernacular. Kudos to Milo there, because it's both hilarious and very, very real.
And then there's this, which is just creepily hilarious:
*cough* Despite Peter's weird stalker eyes, Simone's probably not entirely immune to his charms:
Totally checking him out. Well, who could blame her?
Moving right along:
Another dream bit. I'm just realizing, Peter sure does a lot of sleeping during the day. Makes you wonder what he's been getting up to at night, hmm?
(Also: Peter sure does take cabs a lot. Which...well, those things are expensive, right? Most New Yorkers, especially those who aren't, you know, rich, would probably be taking the subway.) Never mind. Because:
iPetrelli! Here's a writerly exercise for you: what's on Peter's On the Go playlist?
Anyway, campaign headquarters, Petrelli brothers do their regular we're-brothers-we-have-inappropriate-chemistry -and-we're-all-over-each-other dance (with the priceless "You think you can fly? Go jump off the Brooklyn Bridge"..."I think I should start with something lower, first", exchange, where you can tell Peter probably thought he was serious).
And from there to Mama Petrelli, that sock-stealing fiend:
And for however we're supposed to feel about Angela later on (because you get the feeling that this Angela isn't quite the same one as the one that developed with the realization that Christine Rose is a great actress and could handle much bigger storylines), here she's incredibly sympathetic, and she and Peter are very sweet together.
And it's here that we first get Peter being a little more combative towards Nathan, telling him to go take care of his image while he deals with their mother. Plus, this:
Is just beyond adorable.
Also, rather hilariously for me, Peter goes on to say, all grumpy-like, that "Nathan only cares about himself." Because, ha. He's not the only one, babe.
We get the usual "Tell, don't show" in terms of Peter's character with Angela here, of course, going on about his selflessness: "When you put everyone else first, you end up last". Which is true, probably, but Peter...doesn't exactly do that. Then we get the requisite, "How are you going to live on what you make, working as a hospice nurse?" (paraphrased) with another one of my favorite Peter lines, "Maybe I'll shoplift my socks." And some talk of the Peter/Nathan relationship, which, again, basically unnecessary, because we just saw that. We don't need to have it explained to us.
And then we see it again, with another trip back to Campaign Headquarters: more stuff about how good with people Peter is, blah blah blah, and then a bit of exposition that's a bit more subtle then most: "The dreamy kid, sitting in the back of the classroom, staring out the window." And that's really Peter for me: idealistic and dreamy to the point of obliviousness, where he doesn't mean to be selfish but just kind of is.
Now back to the pictures:
...yeah, Peter. You really do need to put on your sunglasses to hail a cab. Really. And as much as I want to make a "Future so bright you gotta wear shades" joke (oh, wait) I'm pretty sure it's only done to be able to give us this shot of the eclipse:
Which, I'll admit, is pretty darn cool. So I'll let that one slide.
And then a moment of taking with uber-accented Mohinder. Hee. And, as per usual, having gotten into a cab with a random stranger, he gets all grandiose and wanting to talk about being special. Because it's all about him. 'Course, Mohinder throws him a bone with his little "destiny" talk, and there it begins.
However, we also get (another) unusually subtle moment:
Of Peter literally being the dreamy kid, sitting in the back of the classroom the cab, staring out the window. Also? Neck porn! And...is that a freckle?
And then there's the beginning of the Peter/Simone/Isaac triangle. *snore*, for the most part, but...
Peter painting. And:
Peter, gobsmacked at Peter painting. And:
Isaac, dying of an overdoes, as Simone, the woman Peter (supposedly) loves panics, and Peter...still staring. Gobsmacked. Which is a very human reaction to seeing your dreams on a canvas, painted by someone you've never met. But it's not the reaction of a super-self-less and all out wonderful empathetic nurse. It's a very humanizing moment for Peter, but it's not one that makes me all that fond of him.
Of course, I will get over that, as the episode ends and we get:
Flying Petrelli's, and a bit of a twist, and we're left intrigued as to whether Peter has a power or not and we're not thinking too closely at just what kind of person he really is. But we'll come back to that.
Just a quick little review of the first episode: realizing how many storylines they had to introduce, how many characters, I understand why the writers fell back on the "tell, don't show" when it came to Peter and Nathan and Angela; they were a bit more subtle with the Bennets and the Sanders/Hawkins clan, not so much with Hiro. But a consequence of all those characters needing to be introduced was, for me, that Peter came off as a bit...flat. It's clear what the writers think of him: sweet, kind, good guy overall. But what comes off the screen is not quite that, and the commentary over the un-aired pilot mentions how they had to cut a scene or two of him interacting with Charles Deveaux, that really made him look better, and that, at least, tells me that the director was aware of the problem. Which is always nice, and one of the things I've always liked about the Heroes creators.
But on with the episodes:
Episode 2: Don't Look Back
Not one of my favorite episodes ever, but it really picks up towards the end, when Angela shows up at Peter's hospital room:
It's there, in the midst of showing him the new shirts she's presumably bought for him (and it's a little subtle character quirk that's kind of forgotten about, but you get the feeling that when she's nervous, Mama Petrelli does what a lot of mothers do: goes shopping), that she breaks the news that his father committed suicide. Which...well, "Here, son, I bought you shirt. By the way, your dad was suicidal, and his suicidal tendencies were preceded by delusions of grandeur and thoughts that he was invincible."
And so you've got Peter, trying to figure out if this amazing thing he thought he could do (or at least, that his brother could do) is real or a product of a possible mental disorder, after his brother has denied what he was sure had happened, and it's troubling. An Milo...well, I've had my issues with him as an actor, but here, he's not...terrible.
Angela tells him he's always been her favorite. The connotations of that, knowing what we know of what comes after, are tricky: even here, she had to have known that for her plan of world domination improvement to work, he had to explode. And had no way of being sure that he wouldn't be killed in the process, or even if she did: if she knows her son as well as she should, what with him being her favorite, she should know that he wouldn't be able to handle being responsible for killing that many people. (It's also at this moment that I can really buy them as mother and son; the two really do look a lot a like, especially their eyes.) And yet she seems genuinely concerned; and we'll see later, that she really does love both of her sons, a lot more than she feels she can show, given her station.
And this has kind of gotten off the tracks of being so much about Peter, but it does matter, because of what it suggests about Peter's upbringing: why is he so childish, idealistic, and unwittingly selfish? Because he was probably spoiled, a great deal, because his mother (and possibly father, but we don't really know for sure) knew exactly what his "destiny" was and felt guilty enough for it to let him get away with what he wanted. (And for any of my fellow Reaper fans: it's very similar to how Sam's parents treated him; pushing his brother to be smart, go to a good school, etc, while letting him get out of college because "it made him sleepy.")
But we return, once again, to emo!pouty!Peter:
Which I'm a little more willing to forgive, given just how much he's doubting himself right then. Going, in the space of maybe two days, from being so sure that he could fly, to realizing that it was his brother, who's always been the better one, that could, to being told by his brother that it was all in his imagination, to being told by his mother that his imagination could, possibly, be a result of him being crazy like his suicidal father...well, I'd be kind of emo and pouty too.
(But there's a little glimmer of self-awareness and manipulation, when he starts telling Nathan that he'll jump if he doesn't tell him the truth, without, I think, even really planning to.)
But then he hovers, and there's a hug:
As always, and...well, I can see why things got resolved as quickly as they did (because it's stupid for us to watch Peter think he doesn't have powers when we know, he probably does) but...well. I kind of liked him doubting a little more. It shows that he's actually thinking, which...we need more of it.
And now we'll skip over a couple of more boring episodes, to:
Episode 7: Nothing to Hide
A whole lot goes on in this episode, right from the very beginning: we've got Peter, talking to and having inappropriate chemistry with Charles Deveaux, but even before that:
Talk of the eclipse. So we know, this is in the past.
Well, conclusive evidence that Peter, can, at least, read. Which is great. But the whole conversation here is actually pretty good:
PETER: M-Core's holding steady, but Yamagato -- Yamagato is down to 215 and an eighth. I think that's a good bargain.
CHARLES DEVEAUX: Oh, really? And what do you know?
PETER: You saying I couldn't pick a stock?
CHARLES DEVEAUX: Ah, Darwinian. Look at your sorry ass. Barely able to make minimum wage. Now you look at me living in a penthouse. Central Park West.
PETER: Correction. It's dying in a penthouse in Central Park West.
(Charles chuckles and coughs. Peter gets up and walks around the bed with his stethoscope.)
CHARLES DEVEAUX: Right you are, my boy. Right you are.
PETER: Teach you to mess with me. Take a breath.
(Peter listens to Charles’ heart.)
CHARLES DEVEAUX: In the end, all that matters is love. I love you, Peter.
PETER: I love you too, Charles.
CHARLES DEVEAUX: You speak your mind. You know who you are. You know what you want. That's your power. That's your strength.
Aww...not terribly subtle, but...aww. But look: right off the bat, mentions of Yamagato (which, I believe, is Hiro's dad's business, right) and Darwin (who Claude will bring up). And also love, which Claude will also bring up.
This is the scene which, as mentioned, was cut from the pilot; I really like Peter in it, I have to say. He's a whole lot smarter and more capable in it, that's for sure. And, as per usual, that inappropriate chemistry with older men:
Yeah, not flirtatious at all. Of course, once again, it was all a dream, which sets us up for:
Half-naked, bed-head Peter. Yum. And also, mixed-signal Simone, but we won't really go into that except to say: they go to Isaac's apartment, Simone is upset that he isn't there, and says that it seems like everyone's leaving her, and Peter says that he's "Not going anywhere". Except, apparently, to Texas within the next two episodes.
Moving right along, to Sunday Brunch:
I have to say, it's one of my other favorite Heroes scenes: one of the funniest, probably, as well. Even with them cutting the hilarious exchange between Angela and Heidi and one of the Petrelli youths about strawberries. But coming back, as we must, to Peter:
Well, Heidi, first, because a) I kind of like her and b) she's the only one who actually seems happy to see him. I get the feeling that Heidi (and this is off of a deleted scene where it's mentioned that she was a "townie" in Annapolis whose father ran a hardware store, if I remember correctly) isn't really liked by Angela and probably wasn't really liked by Arthur. But you just know Peter's probably really nice to her, so they're friendly. Anyway: she's the only one who seems happy to see him.
And I'm pretty sure she's who he's looking at there, like, "What the hell is this "brunch" business?" I really love his expression, though. He looks so confused.
As for the obligatory Petrellicest moment:
There we go. That's out of the way. Now we can get on with Peter being manipulative and strong and mocking:
His, "I'm just trying to stay grounded"? Not exactly the wittiest thing ever, but damn, the expression it gets out of Nathan? So funny. And the rest of his little barbed comments:
Heidi's just about to burst out laughing, even though she probably isn't quite sure what's going on, and Nathan looks so very pissed.
Man, I love that scene. It's also rather well shot: going around the table, as Dennison brings up the Las Vegas trip, the camera pushes in on individual reactions, building up the tension, and it's pretty darn classy. Steals a bit from 12 Angry Men, but still, classy.
And then when Dennison brings up the other woman, and Peter does what he can to save his brother's reputation:
(for all that Heidi's not convinced, and neither is, probably, Dennison), Peter actually manages to look and act like an adult for almost an entire scene. A manipulative, even vaguely snarky, adult. I do so love those moments.
And then we're back to idealistic, naive Peter, when Nathan shows up at his apartment later:
(Of course, this whole scene is when Nathan's got the slimiest politician aura ever)
This pose does make me smile, though. He's just such an overgrown teenager.
Episode 9: Homecoming
A notable episode, for me, for about four reasons:
1) This outfit:
Mmm, eye-candy. But seriously, Peter, those jeans? Are...quite tight. I'm not complaining, or anything, but if you're worried that people are going to think your relationship with your brother/Mohinder/any male in proximity is questionable...well, not helping your case, here. Because, mmm, to paraphrase 30 Rock: those pants are definitely bicurious.
2) Claire being the most tolerable:
And her whole nerd constituency (check out the Battlestar Galactica t-shirt on that guy). Not the most original of high school homecoming storylines, but still, Zack is really sweet in it.
3) This scene of Peter and Ando:
(Part of me wonders, did he take that cab all the way from NYC? It wouldn't surprise me. Oh, Peter.)
But more importantly, him talking to Ando about his ability, and how, by himself, he's "not really anything":
Which, awww. But he seems really genuine about it; not at all resentful, not at all ambitious. Unlike some people I could name, like certain watchmakers, for instance. Just that is what his power is, and the only real worry is that it's not going to be enough to save Claire, but he still has to try. He's not a coward, our Peter. Not the smartest guy in the world, but not a coward.
4) Finally, this scene:
Which...well, it's a very sweet moment.
"It gets better. Life after high school, it gets a lot better."
Which, for me, is the moment where I actually did fall in love with Peter just a little bit. Because it's here that he actually seems like the guy the writers tried, mostly unsuccessful, to make us think he is: he picked up on how alienated Claire felt (which is kind of false, really, on her part, because she says that she "Doesn't win any popularity contests" after being voted Homecoming Queen, and just realizing "who her real friends are". But I'll let it go, because she's really very cute in this scene), was very genuinely, kindly, and unselfishly comforting about it (even though he doesn't need to be; some random girl he doesn't even know, and he's got to go cheerleader-saving in a few minutes, and still, he stops to be nice), and it speaks to a whole backstory in regards to his time in high school, where for whatever reason, he probably wasn't all that popular himself. It's a good moment, and, for once, very subtly done. Kudos, Heroes writers. Although now you've made me expects so much more from you.
Which I really won't get until Claude shows up again. So now, for some closing thoughts:
I really do like Peter. I like MV as well; he's a decent enough actor, and he's very good looking (to me), and I do like watching him. As a character, Peter has a lot potential: I mean, on paper, he's fascinating: the youngest son of a prominent, wealthy family, who chooses to leave the family fold and make his way on his own, with integrity, being noble and good and all that crap. And he tries so hard to be a good guy, but there's an ingrained sense of entitlement that shows up sometimes, where he thinks that because he chose to be poor and noble, he's something all out amazing, and he doesn't seem to realize how self-righteous it is. And that's actually one of my favorite things about Peter: that he's not as perfect and admirable as the characters around him seem to think he is. I just wish more people actually called him on that. Which is, of course, where Claude will come in. But that's for another huge, picture filled post.
So, for now, I'll just leave off with a quote: "He wasn't born nice but he tries to be nice," (cf. William de Worde in The Truth", which I mention because it's a favorite and that's the right way to portray that kind of character).
And now, for the Plaude: Godsend (1.12)
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