No superpowers required
Warning: Some major season One spoilers
Put on your stripy tights, stick on your cape and adjust your mask (if that’s your preference) and get ready to relive the rollercoaster ride that is Heroes Season 1, if you haven’t already. TV will never be the same again, and this is not an exaggeration.
Heroes is addictive genius, I can’t think of a show that’s made me go “Oh my freakin’ god!” after almost every episode. The other few endings were simply worthy of a small “Huh” “Hmm” or in other cases “WTF?”. This is a pretty crazy show and it doesn’t appear to pull the reigns on the sanity and the plotlines (a budget comparable to a movie’s helps - a lot.) Over the course of 23 spectacular instalments these characters have gone though incredible journeys.
I was slightly surprised (pleasantly however) at how the ensemble cast was dealt with, that we were following very different characters, most of which cross paths only briefly. I was expecting them all to find their way to New York and be together mid season, nevertheless this expectation was not met, which I now think was a positive aspect.
Let’s start with Peter. First impressions? Baad hair. Now to the less important issues. I think he’s a good guy, the fact Milo is gorgeous helps, not that I’m superficial. He’s really the heart of the show and it’s obvious, his power even represents that. On the other hand Peter appears to be able to bring up a power by simply thinking of it, that’s really something I don’t think can bode well, super-uber-insanely-godlike-practically-unkillable-able-to-do-almost-anything-like characters are never really interesting in my opinion unless they’re villains, he needs to have physical flaws, it makes every fight scene he’s in just more convincing and (I hesitate slightly say this as it’s going to sound a little absurd seeing as this is a sci-fi show) believable in a way, knowing there’s a minute chance that he may not come out of it alive. I just have a negative feeling about all this. It would be good if he could copy a power if the Hero (for lack of a better term) in question is in the vicinity, that would make his power more limited. I was expecting that to be the case, especially when he was with Isaac, but alas, no.
The Isaac/Simone/Peter love triangle was simple an extra jolt of drama in the show, the whole thing made me not warm to Simone as I might have done. Though I admit I was shocked when she died, mostly out of pure unexpectance than actual liking of the character, she was nice and caring, but as with many characters in this show, as it's mostly a plot-driven show it doesn't have a chance to develop the characters as much as I'd like. Poor Isaac, getting his heartbroken. Oh and he got his brain cut open as well and died, that’s also bad too. Though I didn’t really see much character in him, he was dark and brooding… but that’s pretty much it. I have to say I felt something when he was killed by Sylar, but that probably was just fuelled by my hatred of the killer. Isn’t Mendez a real comic book writer as well?
Nathan’s dark, he’s mysteriously sexy but over the course of the season I couldn’t help but think - what an ass! He just closes his emotions up and it’s as though he just cannot feel. That creepy grandma can’t have been a good influence. Eeesh. She kept on influencing him to do most of what he did. Thank goodness he seemed to redeem himself in the finale.
For me the biggest gobsmacker of the season was discovering Nathan was Claire’s father. Now I could never have seen that coming. I quite liked the whole Claire trying to find out who her real parents are storyline and it was a good way to melt her into Peter’s life. I really hope we get the chance to know Claire’s biological mother better, she seemed like an interesting character who could heat things up quite a lot ;).
Though I have to say, as explosive that plot twist was, it did make me see the Peter/Claire relationship and say - ew. At their first encounter I really saw something romantic between them, despite the age gap, just the look in their eyes, the affection. But now we find out they’re uncle and neice… That just screws it all up doesn’t it?
Now that Peter’s out of the equation for Claire (or he better damn well be!) I hope they bring back Zach. He was a lovely companion for Claire and I can tell he has a thing for her.
And Claire’s father Noah, I liked his development and how our perception of him changed over the season, at first dark and apparently a heartless villain and slowly into more of a hero in his own right. Noah… love the name as well.
Thinking of Matt now, he’s a hard worker aint he? A very good guy who doesn’t really deserve all the crap the producers throw at him.
When the show first started I was in love with Niki, she was slick, dark and had that sharp sex appeal, I loved her struggle against Jessica and her fight to protect Micah, who I have to say is adorable and thankfully not the typical annoyingly dopey kid they stick in the media. I loved when Jessica took over completely, but then after that… it all seems to blur. Is Jessica a threat to Niki anymore or what? It doesn’t appear so as the two of them seemed to work together to take down Linderman. So does that mean more co-operation between the two girls from now on? I didn’t really see much purpose in Linderman in all honesty, he seemed like a person there solely to screw with people lives, didn’t really get a chance to give him much depth as we only actually saw him for a few episodes, for the rest of the season he was shrouded in mystery. Shame they made DL “good” too quickly as well, thought his character worked well as a dark and brooding anti-hero. The way Niki and DL were holding Molly in the finale, they looked like a complete family, I just have this wild wish for Niki and DL to adopt Molly. Molly+Micah = uber adorableness.
The only time I can say I genuinely felt much for Mohinder was when he was with Molly. He’s an okay bloke but I just find him so… bleh. There aren’t even any dull words that sum up how… uninteresting the guy is. The “shadowy” voiceovers aren’t helping either. He’s quite plain and the only depth he seems to have is his issues about his sister. He adds another layer of mystery to the show but other than that…
Now how could we ever forget Hiro (a very fitting name) and Ando. Love the both of them. Couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to initially, I just assumed they’d be annoying but they just drew me in. I adore Hiro’s optimism, he adds a ray of sunshine amongst the dark gloom of the show and also the traditional Japanese aspects of his nature just makes him all the more lovable with his whole honour belief while he and Ando try to kill Sylar. Only a heartless, soulless monster couldn’t feel for Hiro, his comedy and his darker moments. I desperately hope his character doesn’t even touch 5 Years in the future!Hiro, though thankfully brave, courageous Ando didn’t die. I was simply dreading that possibility, so that version of Hiro seems like it won’t come to be. The Hiro/Ando friendship honestly has to be one of the most genuine I’ve seen on television (and after seeing a show like Buffy that’s really saying something.) The way it progressed from the average work colleague chummy acquaintance to a deep, very touching friendship was brilliant to see. Ando brings up Hiro’s morale when he’s down and wants to battle on with him, however powerless he is, his loyalty and bravery is extremely admirable. Just because he’s powerless doesn’t mean he’s not a hero too.
So glad Hiro managed to kill Sylar (and that he was the one that did it too). That man is sick. His reason for killing those innocent “heroes” (Hiro’s near girlfriend’s death had to be the worst killing in my opinion) was just absurd “they didn’t deserve their powers” - and you did? What was Sylar planning on doing with them that the rightful owners weren’t? The guy’s just a nerd gone Nazi. His hunger for power fuelled his cruelty. For any other person I may have felt sorry for them if they were in Sylar’s position when was with his mother, but for him… no. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a villain more, he’s not an identifiable villain or a villain with slight humour that I could imagine liking even a little bit (despite the evilness). That attempt to sprinkle the murderer with human depth didn’t work on me. He’s still a monster. So I guess in a way that’s congratulations to the writers for making me hate their character so much, if that was their intention that is.
With a season of twists and turns, explosive storylines (often literally) and brilliant characters I have very little on the negative front to say about Heroes. Except the way the exploding man problem was solved. I was disappointed. I was expecting, hoping, anticipating a dramatic, struggling, equally explosive (not necessarily in the literal sense) conclusion. But… Nathan just flew up and the two “exploded”. The first thing that came into my mind when I saw that was - pretty. The resolution was simply flat in my opinion and lacked the mind blowing drama I was hoping for.
The crazy of the show doesn’t stop there, I’m with Hiro when he exclaimed “@#$%”. What a quirkly, clearly insane ending to the season. Hiro in 17th century Japan. This will be interesting.
To Be Continued…
Put on your stripy tights, stick on your cape and adjust your mask (if that’s your preference) and get ready to relive the rollercoaster ride that is Heroes Season 1, if you haven’t already. TV will never be the same again, and this is not an exaggeration.
Heroes is addictive genius, I can’t think of a show that’s made me go “Oh my freakin’ god!” after almost every episode. The other few endings were simply worthy of a small “Huh” “Hmm” or in other cases “WTF?”. This is a pretty crazy show and it doesn’t appear to pull the reigns on the sanity and the plotlines (a budget comparable to a movie’s helps - a lot.) Over the course of 23 spectacular instalments these characters have gone though incredible journeys.
I was slightly surprised (pleasantly however) at how the ensemble cast was dealt with, that we were following very different characters, most of which cross paths only briefly. I was expecting them all to find their way to New York and be together mid season, nevertheless this expectation was not met, which I now think was a positive aspect.
Let’s start with Peter. First impressions? Baad hair. Now to the less important issues. I think he’s a good guy, the fact Milo is gorgeous helps, not that I’m superficial. He’s really the heart of the show and it’s obvious, his power even represents that. On the other hand Peter appears to be able to bring up a power by simply thinking of it, that’s really something I don’t think can bode well, super-uber-insanely-godlike-practically-unkillable-able-to-do-almost-anything-like characters are never really interesting in my opinion unless they’re villains, he needs to have physical flaws, it makes every fight scene he’s in just more convincing and (I hesitate slightly say this as it’s going to sound a little absurd seeing as this is a sci-fi show) believable in a way, knowing there’s a minute chance that he may not come out of it alive. I just have a negative feeling about all this. It would be good if he could copy a power if the Hero (for lack of a better term) in question is in the vicinity, that would make his power more limited. I was expecting that to be the case, especially when he was with Isaac, but alas, no.
The Isaac/Simone/Peter love triangle was simple an extra jolt of drama in the show, the whole thing made me not warm to Simone as I might have done. Though I admit I was shocked when she died, mostly out of pure unexpectance than actual liking of the character, she was nice and caring, but as with many characters in this show, as it's mostly a plot-driven show it doesn't have a chance to develop the characters as much as I'd like. Poor Isaac, getting his heartbroken. Oh and he got his brain cut open as well and died, that’s also bad too. Though I didn’t really see much character in him, he was dark and brooding… but that’s pretty much it. I have to say I felt something when he was killed by Sylar, but that probably was just fuelled by my hatred of the killer. Isn’t Mendez a real comic book writer as well?
Nathan’s dark, he’s mysteriously sexy but over the course of the season I couldn’t help but think - what an ass! He just closes his emotions up and it’s as though he just cannot feel. That creepy grandma can’t have been a good influence. Eeesh. She kept on influencing him to do most of what he did. Thank goodness he seemed to redeem himself in the finale.
For me the biggest gobsmacker of the season was discovering Nathan was Claire’s father. Now I could never have seen that coming. I quite liked the whole Claire trying to find out who her real parents are storyline and it was a good way to melt her into Peter’s life. I really hope we get the chance to know Claire’s biological mother better, she seemed like an interesting character who could heat things up quite a lot ;).
Though I have to say, as explosive that plot twist was, it did make me see the Peter/Claire relationship and say - ew. At their first encounter I really saw something romantic between them, despite the age gap, just the look in their eyes, the affection. But now we find out they’re uncle and neice… That just screws it all up doesn’t it?
Now that Peter’s out of the equation for Claire (or he better damn well be!) I hope they bring back Zach. He was a lovely companion for Claire and I can tell he has a thing for her.
And Claire’s father Noah, I liked his development and how our perception of him changed over the season, at first dark and apparently a heartless villain and slowly into more of a hero in his own right. Noah… love the name as well.
Thinking of Matt now, he’s a hard worker aint he? A very good guy who doesn’t really deserve all the crap the producers throw at him.
When the show first started I was in love with Niki, she was slick, dark and had that sharp sex appeal, I loved her struggle against Jessica and her fight to protect Micah, who I have to say is adorable and thankfully not the typical annoyingly dopey kid they stick in the media. I loved when Jessica took over completely, but then after that… it all seems to blur. Is Jessica a threat to Niki anymore or what? It doesn’t appear so as the two of them seemed to work together to take down Linderman. So does that mean more co-operation between the two girls from now on? I didn’t really see much purpose in Linderman in all honesty, he seemed like a person there solely to screw with people lives, didn’t really get a chance to give him much depth as we only actually saw him for a few episodes, for the rest of the season he was shrouded in mystery. Shame they made DL “good” too quickly as well, thought his character worked well as a dark and brooding anti-hero. The way Niki and DL were holding Molly in the finale, they looked like a complete family, I just have this wild wish for Niki and DL to adopt Molly. Molly+Micah = uber adorableness.
The only time I can say I genuinely felt much for Mohinder was when he was with Molly. He’s an okay bloke but I just find him so… bleh. There aren’t even any dull words that sum up how… uninteresting the guy is. The “shadowy” voiceovers aren’t helping either. He’s quite plain and the only depth he seems to have is his issues about his sister. He adds another layer of mystery to the show but other than that…
Now how could we ever forget Hiro (a very fitting name) and Ando. Love the both of them. Couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to initially, I just assumed they’d be annoying but they just drew me in. I adore Hiro’s optimism, he adds a ray of sunshine amongst the dark gloom of the show and also the traditional Japanese aspects of his nature just makes him all the more lovable with his whole honour belief while he and Ando try to kill Sylar. Only a heartless, soulless monster couldn’t feel for Hiro, his comedy and his darker moments. I desperately hope his character doesn’t even touch 5 Years in the future!Hiro, though thankfully brave, courageous Ando didn’t die. I was simply dreading that possibility, so that version of Hiro seems like it won’t come to be. The Hiro/Ando friendship honestly has to be one of the most genuine I’ve seen on television (and after seeing a show like Buffy that’s really saying something.) The way it progressed from the average work colleague chummy acquaintance to a deep, very touching friendship was brilliant to see. Ando brings up Hiro’s morale when he’s down and wants to battle on with him, however powerless he is, his loyalty and bravery is extremely admirable. Just because he’s powerless doesn’t mean he’s not a hero too.
So glad Hiro managed to kill Sylar (and that he was the one that did it too). That man is sick. His reason for killing those innocent “heroes” (Hiro’s near girlfriend’s death had to be the worst killing in my opinion) was just absurd “they didn’t deserve their powers” - and you did? What was Sylar planning on doing with them that the rightful owners weren’t? The guy’s just a nerd gone Nazi. His hunger for power fuelled his cruelty. For any other person I may have felt sorry for them if they were in Sylar’s position when was with his mother, but for him… no. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a villain more, he’s not an identifiable villain or a villain with slight humour that I could imagine liking even a little bit (despite the evilness). That attempt to sprinkle the murderer with human depth didn’t work on me. He’s still a monster. So I guess in a way that’s congratulations to the writers for making me hate their character so much, if that was their intention that is.
With a season of twists and turns, explosive storylines (often literally) and brilliant characters I have very little on the negative front to say about Heroes. Except the way the exploding man problem was solved. I was disappointed. I was expecting, hoping, anticipating a dramatic, struggling, equally explosive (not necessarily in the literal sense) conclusion. But… Nathan just flew up and the two “exploded”. The first thing that came into my mind when I saw that was - pretty. The resolution was simply flat in my opinion and lacked the mind blowing drama I was hoping for.
The crazy of the show doesn’t stop there, I’m with Hiro when he exclaimed “@#$%”. What a quirkly, clearly insane ending to the season. Hiro in 17th century Japan. This will be interesting.
To Be Continued…