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Heroes: Company Man
Spoilers behind the cut
BEST. EPISODE. EVER. But before I get to the squeeing part of this review, which will be lengthy, I want to make a record of what we learned in this episode/ how it positions the story for significant changes:
Information and questions relating to the overall story
--So we know Mr. Bennett has been working at Primatech for 15 years; his initial partner was Claude, whom he shot because Claude was protecting someone and he was still a company man then; that he's not the ultimate authority, but answers to a superior as well as to Mr. Nakamura; that Primatech can't alter people's genes or fix the mutations; and that they kill people to silence them
--The Haitian has been playing a huge part in Primatech's cover-up scheme. Now that he's no longer a company man, are they going to be able to erase the memories of the abductions, when they abduct heroes? I think that protecting Claire is going to have a very high cost for all the heroes, in the long run. Since they can no longer erase Matt's memory, for example, will the choice be work with Primatech or be killed?
--We learned that Nakamura is associated with Primatech and that he encouraged Mr. Bennett to adopt Claire, which means he might have adopted Hiro. So apparently he, like Mr. Bennett, has been protecting his child (or is perhaps in denial of his son's abilities so Hiro won't be taken?)
--If the Haitian "goes deep" enough to really protect Claire, and robs Mr. Bennett of his knowledge of Claire's abilities--or at least his actions in protecting Claire--is he going to become more of a company man than ever?
--If Matt does end up becoming Mr. Bennett's new partner, how is his knowledge about Peter Petrelli going to play into Peter acquiring Ted's power? And to what extent will Matt reveal to Mr. Bennett about the information the Haitian took from him? And how does the Israeli woman, who is apparently a Primatech plant, play into all of this?
--It's interesting that the fire that "killed" Claire's mom was apparently on the roof of Isaac's building. I thought the newspaper reports Claire looked up said she died in Texas. Or am I misremembering?
--Who was Claude protecting? Is it someone we've already met, or a new character who hasn't been introduced?
General character squee, often descending into incoherent flailing
Ok, since this is the very first episode that I ever liked Matt in, let me start with him. I'm so glad the ep started a little earlier than the last one ended, because I really was having a hard time understanding how Matt, who is basically a sympathetic character, would take the Bennetts hostage. I really felt this story redeemed him for me, and if they end up making him Mr. Bennett's partner he will actually be interesting. I loved the way he was balancing keeping Ted calm enough not to blow and his quest for knowledge.
Another character I often have mixed feelings about that I ended up loving was Mrs. Bennett. I loved that she was heroic in her own way, even with her lack of knowledge--her protectiveness of Claire was completely made of win, but I also really loved that she continued to have faith in her husband and to forgive him even when she found out what he had done. It will be interesting if she ends up knowing more about Claire than he does, now that the Haitian has wiped Mr. Bennett's memory.
Claire was fantastic, as always. I liked the fact that in the beginning, even though she was furious at her dad and still blaming him, she still lied to Matt and Ted to help protect him. I also loved that she stepped up to protect her mom and brother. Though logistically, Claire, cut the ankle ties FIRST so people can move--you can untie their hands later!!! Visually, my favorite Claire scene was when she came out all irradiated and gradually healed, but I loved that she went back for her dad in the first place. And OH, the scene in the car, where you think (and maybe she thinks?) Mr. Bennett is taking her to Primatech, but she's being all stoic, and then when she finds out what her dad was going to do for her--and the flashback, "you look like my dad"--oh, at that point I was sobbing so hard I could barely see the screen.
And finally, Mr. Bennett. God, I could not love him more. I really like that he's driven by duty, because the duty v. love thing is one of my absolute favorite character dynamics, and now that we realize exactly what the stakes have been for him all this time, and how he's really been trying as much as possible to live up to all his loyalties--GOD. I just--insert flaily arms here. I have no words. Yes, what he's been doing to his wife borders on abuse, but he really was trying to protect her, and Claire, and.... ::Flails arms again:: And he's so damn SMART, blaming the Haitian (though I fear that will lead to bad things) and getting his memory wiped (ditto), but it's so wonderfully karmically appropriate that he's the one getting his memory wiped now, and risking his life, and DAMN.
Yeah. Really, no words for how much I completely love him now.
That is all.
BEST. EPISODE. EVER. But before I get to the squeeing part of this review, which will be lengthy, I want to make a record of what we learned in this episode/ how it positions the story for significant changes:
Information and questions relating to the overall story
--So we know Mr. Bennett has been working at Primatech for 15 years; his initial partner was Claude, whom he shot because Claude was protecting someone and he was still a company man then; that he's not the ultimate authority, but answers to a superior as well as to Mr. Nakamura; that Primatech can't alter people's genes or fix the mutations; and that they kill people to silence them
--The Haitian has been playing a huge part in Primatech's cover-up scheme. Now that he's no longer a company man, are they going to be able to erase the memories of the abductions, when they abduct heroes? I think that protecting Claire is going to have a very high cost for all the heroes, in the long run. Since they can no longer erase Matt's memory, for example, will the choice be work with Primatech or be killed?
--We learned that Nakamura is associated with Primatech and that he encouraged Mr. Bennett to adopt Claire, which means he might have adopted Hiro. So apparently he, like Mr. Bennett, has been protecting his child (or is perhaps in denial of his son's abilities so Hiro won't be taken?)
--If the Haitian "goes deep" enough to really protect Claire, and robs Mr. Bennett of his knowledge of Claire's abilities--or at least his actions in protecting Claire--is he going to become more of a company man than ever?
--If Matt does end up becoming Mr. Bennett's new partner, how is his knowledge about Peter Petrelli going to play into Peter acquiring Ted's power? And to what extent will Matt reveal to Mr. Bennett about the information the Haitian took from him? And how does the Israeli woman, who is apparently a Primatech plant, play into all of this?
--It's interesting that the fire that "killed" Claire's mom was apparently on the roof of Isaac's building. I thought the newspaper reports Claire looked up said she died in Texas. Or am I misremembering?
--Who was Claude protecting? Is it someone we've already met, or a new character who hasn't been introduced?
General character squee, often descending into incoherent flailing
Ok, since this is the very first episode that I ever liked Matt in, let me start with him. I'm so glad the ep started a little earlier than the last one ended, because I really was having a hard time understanding how Matt, who is basically a sympathetic character, would take the Bennetts hostage. I really felt this story redeemed him for me, and if they end up making him Mr. Bennett's partner he will actually be interesting. I loved the way he was balancing keeping Ted calm enough not to blow and his quest for knowledge.
Another character I often have mixed feelings about that I ended up loving was Mrs. Bennett. I loved that she was heroic in her own way, even with her lack of knowledge--her protectiveness of Claire was completely made of win, but I also really loved that she continued to have faith in her husband and to forgive him even when she found out what he had done. It will be interesting if she ends up knowing more about Claire than he does, now that the Haitian has wiped Mr. Bennett's memory.
Claire was fantastic, as always. I liked the fact that in the beginning, even though she was furious at her dad and still blaming him, she still lied to Matt and Ted to help protect him. I also loved that she stepped up to protect her mom and brother. Though logistically, Claire, cut the ankle ties FIRST so people can move--you can untie their hands later!!! Visually, my favorite Claire scene was when she came out all irradiated and gradually healed, but I loved that she went back for her dad in the first place. And OH, the scene in the car, where you think (and maybe she thinks?) Mr. Bennett is taking her to Primatech, but she's being all stoic, and then when she finds out what her dad was going to do for her--and the flashback, "you look like my dad"--oh, at that point I was sobbing so hard I could barely see the screen.
And finally, Mr. Bennett. God, I could not love him more. I really like that he's driven by duty, because the duty v. love thing is one of my absolute favorite character dynamics, and now that we realize exactly what the stakes have been for him all this time, and how he's really been trying as much as possible to live up to all his loyalties--GOD. I just--insert flaily arms here. I have no words. Yes, what he's been doing to his wife borders on abuse, but he really was trying to protect her, and Claire, and.... ::Flails arms again:: And he's so damn SMART, blaming the Haitian (though I fear that will lead to bad things) and getting his memory wiped (ditto), but it's so wonderfully karmically appropriate that he's the one getting his memory wiped now, and risking his life, and DAMN.
Yeah. Really, no words for how much I completely love him now.
That is all.
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I'm confused about Mr. Bennett, too. My impression was that he was going to go into hiding himself--especially in light of Claire's question about whether or not she'd see him again.
I've always loved Parkman, but I love Greg Grumberg (sp?) ALWAYS, so... ;-) Yeah--he'll totally have to work in sekrit for Primatech or DIE. I wonder if he and the wife will have to move to Texas?
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I thought Mr. Bennett's speech to Claire was suggesting that she wouldn't see him again because she'd be on the run, or else he'd be dead (or both).
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(Anonymous) 2007-03-04 04:09 am (UTC)(link)--Jessica
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This was definitely one of the slickest episodes we've had so far; I love that the entire thing was focused around one story and that every single character in it became cooler and more interesting. I was actually impressed with the writing for once! And finding out so much about Mr Bennet was AWESOMESAUCE. They really did his character justice here. *applauds*
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I think they should do more episodes looking deeply at individual characters, though I suppose it might turn off viewers who only like one or two of the characters.
I have to make a Mr. Bennett icon soon, because I agree. AWESOMESAUCE.
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I'm still a little unsure on how they got Parkman back to Primatech. I feel like I missed something between him standing outside of the house watching Claire come out (with LOTS of witnesses) and then seeing him laid out on the table.
Eric Roberts looks like he's had some baaad plastic surgery, but he's a great addition to the cast since he is creepy as hell. Star80, anyone? *shudders*
I was crying during both of the daddy/daughter scenes. Omg.. especially that last one. I'm with you on the HRG total love now. I think he started out as kind of a bastard since he signed up to do this whole nazi-like extermination of people who are different, but his love for Claire totally brought him around.
And YES to Mrs. Bennett finally being more than just a crazy dog lady! It really drove home to me the fact that, even though Claire is a HERO and an amazing one at that, she is also a teenage girl who can still benefit from her mother's advice. I just adore the depth they give these characters.
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And I agree with you about the depth. I'm in love with Mr. and Mrs. Bennett now. They're so amazing.
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(Anonymous) 2007-02-27 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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Claire has the BEST DADS EVER!!
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motorcycle drive-by
I'm unspoiled but for my money? It's Mama Petrelli whose orders superceded Mr. Bennet's in terms of Claire not getting mind-wiped. That woman knows more than she's let on so far, including, IMO, good and well who her granddaughter is and where she's been. 'Cause the Haitian's answer to Mr. B. was "someone whose orders supercede yours ... in your daughter's life." To me, that response only makes sense within the context of the revelations we've gotten about Claire's biological origins and right now, Mama Petrelli is the only biological relative Claire's got who'd not only know about her, but would also be powerfully-enough connected (like, say, through Mr. Linderman) to countermand Bennet's orders. Now, I'm not sure how this fits in with her discouraging Nathan from connecting with Claire, but she's honestly the only person who makes any kind of sense to me within the context of how the Haitian answered that question.
The other thing I think we learned, to go along with the first half of your post, is why saving the cheerleader saves the world. Not only was Claire's handling of Ted incredibly heroic and moving and bad-ass, but it essentially established as canonical fact what many people have long suspected: she can withstand clearly lethal levels of radiation in order to neutralize the person giving them off -- whether that person is Ted or Peter.
Finally, the woman overseeing Matt's 'treatment' at the end of the episode isn't Hannah (Wireless). I don't know what the character's name is yet, but the actress was Missy Peregrym (Molly Griggs of Smallville's "Delete"), not Stana Katic (who plays Hannah).
Re: motorcycle drive-by
I'm really intrigued by your theory that Mama Petrelli is giving orders to the Haitian. Because you're right, she's definitely the type of woman who would know exactly what her sons had been up to at all times, and keeping track of/covering up the consequences of their actions. Maybe she doesn't want Nathan to bond with Claire because she has other plans for her? Or is worried this will mess up the election? Now I am speculating like crazy about her role in the Linderman/Nakamura cabal.
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