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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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