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Heros 1.05: Hiros
You know you're in love with a show when you get up at 5 a.m. to watch it after a late meeting the night before prevented you from seeing it.
Spoilers for 1.05 behind the cut.
I think I predicted last week that this show, like Veronica Mars, was going to make me end up liking the characters I had previously hated, and I was correct. Last week I hated Nathan; this week I couldn't help but like how well he resisted getting kidnapped. I loved that he threatened his kidnappers with death, and then when he had no other choice, flew away. Damn, that was a great scene. And I was impressed at his aplomb when he had to walk into the diner wearing nothing but pajama bottoms; he's going to be a great politician. I also really liked how he turned the table son his blackmailers and made them give him more money! And his scenes with Hiro and Niki were also fabulous. I liked the fact that even though he obviously thought Hiro was nuts, he still gave him a ride back to town. And I also liked the fact that his night with Niki seemed to really mean something to him, at least before he found out about the blackmailing.
Ok, I give in. I officially like Nathan now.
And while I can't say that I actually *like* Peter yet, I am a lot less bored with his subplot than I have been lately. It's interesting that he's replacing Mohinder as the true believer. I wonder where that's going to leave Mohinder, actually, because he doesn't have a power himself, as far as we know, so if he's not coordinating the heroes, what is his role going to be?
The Hiro/Ando interaction continues to be the best part of the show, for me. I appreciated future-Hiro's warnings to Peter, which suggest some consequences for time-bending (thank goodness, because otherwise there would never be any problem he couldn't solve), but I continue to love present-day geeky Hiro most of all. His his blatant awe at Nathan's power of flight made me smile, and I thought that whole long scene in the diner--"Waffles!"--was ultra-cute. I also loved his little spat with Ando--those two are SO together, even if Ando gets all huffy and tries to meet up with his internet girlfriend instead. And wow, that was a terrific scene. From the broader storytelling perspective, I'm really glad that they made contact, but I also loved Niki explaining the facts of life to Ando.
I was intrigued by Matt's storyline this week, because it (combined with the Claire subplot) made clear that power-suppressing guy isn't actually power-suppressing guy, he's memory-sucking guy. So which of Matt's memories got suppressed? Just the ones concerning Sylar? He remembers he's working with the FBI, but he does seem kind of vague about that. If it was his memories of Sylar that got erased, that would tend to reinforce the theory that Sylar is somehow working with or for Mr. Bennett. (Why does that have to be his name, btw? Am I the only one who keeps thinking first of Pride and Prejudice and finding that reference deeply wrong?)
I read some interesting Sylar theories this weekend linked off of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ninth_wonders. My favorite (mostly since I'm not a big Peter fan) was that it was Peter, since the way Sylar was able to defeat all the other heroes was by sucking their powers. This week seems to undercut that theory, though I still think it would be cool if it did turn out to be Peter. But that leaves unresolved what Mr. Bennett is doing: working with Sylar? Working for the government? Both? Does Mr. Bennett have powers of his own? He certainly seems to be able to travel around the country very quickly--unless, as some commentary I've seen has suggested, not all of the heroes are actually in the same time frame.
And I have to say, even though I still think Mr. Bennett is evil and acting as much in his own interests as in Claire's, I did love that he had that little punk rapist's memory wiped. I thought at first he was going to kill him, but this punishment seemed better, somehow. And yet at the same time I was very glad we got to see Claire confront the rapist and try to talk to him, and recognized that her choice of revenge was wrong. (Just like Hiro recognizing that using his powers for gambling was going over to the Dark Side. Oh, Hiro, I love you SO MUCH).
Spoilers for 1.05 behind the cut.
I think I predicted last week that this show, like Veronica Mars, was going to make me end up liking the characters I had previously hated, and I was correct. Last week I hated Nathan; this week I couldn't help but like how well he resisted getting kidnapped. I loved that he threatened his kidnappers with death, and then when he had no other choice, flew away. Damn, that was a great scene. And I was impressed at his aplomb when he had to walk into the diner wearing nothing but pajama bottoms; he's going to be a great politician. I also really liked how he turned the table son his blackmailers and made them give him more money! And his scenes with Hiro and Niki were also fabulous. I liked the fact that even though he obviously thought Hiro was nuts, he still gave him a ride back to town. And I also liked the fact that his night with Niki seemed to really mean something to him, at least before he found out about the blackmailing.
Ok, I give in. I officially like Nathan now.
And while I can't say that I actually *like* Peter yet, I am a lot less bored with his subplot than I have been lately. It's interesting that he's replacing Mohinder as the true believer. I wonder where that's going to leave Mohinder, actually, because he doesn't have a power himself, as far as we know, so if he's not coordinating the heroes, what is his role going to be?
The Hiro/Ando interaction continues to be the best part of the show, for me. I appreciated future-Hiro's warnings to Peter, which suggest some consequences for time-bending (thank goodness, because otherwise there would never be any problem he couldn't solve), but I continue to love present-day geeky Hiro most of all. His his blatant awe at Nathan's power of flight made me smile, and I thought that whole long scene in the diner--"Waffles!"--was ultra-cute. I also loved his little spat with Ando--those two are SO together, even if Ando gets all huffy and tries to meet up with his internet girlfriend instead. And wow, that was a terrific scene. From the broader storytelling perspective, I'm really glad that they made contact, but I also loved Niki explaining the facts of life to Ando.
I was intrigued by Matt's storyline this week, because it (combined with the Claire subplot) made clear that power-suppressing guy isn't actually power-suppressing guy, he's memory-sucking guy. So which of Matt's memories got suppressed? Just the ones concerning Sylar? He remembers he's working with the FBI, but he does seem kind of vague about that. If it was his memories of Sylar that got erased, that would tend to reinforce the theory that Sylar is somehow working with or for Mr. Bennett. (Why does that have to be his name, btw? Am I the only one who keeps thinking first of Pride and Prejudice and finding that reference deeply wrong?)
I read some interesting Sylar theories this weekend linked off of
ninth_wonders. My favorite (mostly since I'm not a big Peter fan) was that it was Peter, since the way Sylar was able to defeat all the other heroes was by sucking their powers. This week seems to undercut that theory, though I still think it would be cool if it did turn out to be Peter. But that leaves unresolved what Mr. Bennett is doing: working with Sylar? Working for the government? Both? Does Mr. Bennett have powers of his own? He certainly seems to be able to travel around the country very quickly--unless, as some commentary I've seen has suggested, not all of the heroes are actually in the same time frame. And I have to say, even though I still think Mr. Bennett is evil and acting as much in his own interests as in Claire's, I did love that he had that little punk rapist's memory wiped. I thought at first he was going to kill him, but this punishment seemed better, somehow. And yet at the same time I was very glad we got to see Claire confront the rapist and try to talk to him, and recognized that her choice of revenge was wrong. (Just like Hiro recognizing that using his powers for gambling was going over to the Dark Side. Oh, Hiro, I love you SO MUCH).
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And while I can't say that I actually *like* Peter yet, I am a lot less bored with his subplot than I have been lately.
For me, I think it's because he's active now. He's not just standing around talking about wanting to be special/believing that he's special. He's trying to *do* something about the fact that he really believes he's got a greater destiny. This week, specifically, future!Hiro actually affirmed that for Peter and, well, Peter put his money where his mouth is: he's stepping up, and it's hard to *not* respond positively to that.
I was intrigued by Matt's storyline this week, because it (combined with the Claire subplot) made clear that power-suppressing guy isn't actually power-suppressing guy, he's memory-sucking guy.
*nod* I'd also add that upon re-watching 1x03, I realized that if Sylar's the guy who tried to kidnap the little girl at FBI headquarters, then Sylar is white (or at least he is not black).
MindSupressing!Guy is a fantastic potentially-evil minion. He's incredibly efficient and has a powerfully menacing presence. I kind of love him, even though he may be in the service of evil.
Hiro&Ando continues to be love and I'm pretty sure the only reason Brodie's still alive is because Claire didn't tell Mr. Bennett that Brodie also *KILLED HER*.
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Oh, I don't mind ruthless and morally ambiguous characters--but I have to *like* them for some reason to get into them. This is the first week I really saw why everyone has the big Adrian Pasdar love; when he is charming he is really charming.
*nod* I'd also add that upon re-watching 1x03, I realized that if Sylar's the guy who tried to kidnap the little girl at FBI headquarters, then Sylar is white (or at least he is not black).
Good to know. (I have loaned out all my Heroes tapes in an attempt to pimp the show to my friends, and I didn't realize they were marathoning Sunday or I would have taped it, because now I really want to rewatch all the episodes and see what I've missed!)
I'm pretty sure the only reason Brodie's still alive is because Claire didn't tell Mr. Bennett that Brodie also *KILLED HER*.
Yeah, I agree. I'm thinking I want Mr. Bennett to turn out to be a good guy using shady ends. (Like, what if it turns out his job is not to suppress people's powers but just to domesticate them, or something? I'm still trying to figure out what, precisely, got done to Matt and why).
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This whole show has me spellbound!
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Yes, I'm definitely loving the show!
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Ok, I give in. I officially like Nathan now.
*gloats* :-p
I'm shying clear of the Peter issue since you'll see from my review that I still have Issues with him.
that whole long scene in the diner--"Waffles!"--was ultra-cute. I also loved his little spat with Ando--those two are SO together
Yup, that scene was adorable! And I agree that Hiro and Ando are cute. Though I'm not that fond of Ando on his own.
From the broader storytelling perspective, I'm really glad that they made contact, but I also loved Niki explaining the facts of life to Ando.
Oh, you liked that scene! It didn't sit well with me at all--I guess because I expected it to play out a different way. I did like that Niki spelt things out to Ando, but I felt that scene glossed over the issues at play in that dynamic, as I mention in my review. Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong!
power-suppressing guy isn't actually power-suppressing guy, he's memory-sucking guy. So which of Matt's memories got suppressed?
Yes, it was good that that was explained. And re. Matt's memories... I don't know. I'll be interested to read speculation on that.
Why does that have to be his name, btw? Am I the only one who keeps thinking first of Pride and Prejudice and finding that reference deeply wrong?
You're not alone! I have the same reaction and am living in denial of his name for now.
I wonder where that's going to leave Mohinder, actually, because he doesn't have a power himself, as far as we know, so if he's not coordinating the heroes, what is his role going to be?
I wonder that too... *frowns* I want him to have a role, dammit!
I thought at first he was going to kill him, but this punishment seemed better, somehow.
I didn't go into this in my post, but I liked that they added some moral complexity to Mr B. in this scene. Because not only is this a better punishment than death, seen another way, it could be a liberation for that guy. He's freed of his 'bad' self and given a fresh slate. That's a fascinating idea and I can see how someone could argue that was for the best. I'm not completely comfortable with it, but it was less evil than I was expecting.
I was very glad we got to see Claire confront the rapist and try to talk to him, and recognized that her choice of revenge was wrong. (Just like Hiro recognizing that using his powers for gambling was going over to the Dark Side. Oh, Hiro, I love you SO MUCH).
*nods* Both of them were ace! :-)
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Maybe they'll give Mohinder a power? That would be cool.
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Mohinder with a power would be very cool. He needs something.