I also managed to forget how this show fills me with so much glee I have a hard time analyzing it rationally. But let me give it a shot.
I feel you. It was hard pulling my thoughts together for my own post because all I wanted to say was, "Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!! My show is back! My show is back!! Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!" but that would have gotten old for ten paragraphs.
then Mr. Bennett is of course the good father, protecting Claire at his own expense and acting rather paternalistically to Matt and Ted. True, he's trying to effect his own escape as well, and searching for allies, but I do feel he was being deliberately contrasted against Lindermann as a good paternal figure in this episode.
Oh, I agree. Bennet guided Matt and Ted to safety and he gave Ted a very specific kind of encouragement that made it possible for Ted to eventually understand that his powerful doesn't necessarily have to always be destructive. I loved watching him win them over, especially because he was using truth to do it.
If Linderman was encouraging his charges to act on the worst of their impulses, Bennet was encouraging Matt and Ted to act on the better of their impulses; that's how I think they were contrasted, if that makes sense.
And ITA with you on how awesome Linderman is. This is easily Malcolm McDowell's best role in years and he's playing it to the stylish, fantastic hilt.
we have a pair of mothers, in Jessica and Mama Petrelli. Both of them will sacrifice a lot to protect their children, though surprisingly Jessica seems to be the one most likely to look out for her son's true interests. I was pretty impressed, actually, that Jessica stood up to Lindermann to protect Micah, because even though she's exhibited protectiveness toward him in the past, we hadn't, I don't think, seen any self-sacrifice in that protectiveness before.
I loved the conversation between D.L. and Jessica because you could see D.L.'s words sinking in to her and then she acted on that when she went to see Linderman. She 'got' what D.L. was saying to her: it's one thing if she wants to remain entangled in Linderman's dealings, but pulling Micah into it/letting Micah be pulled into it is another story entirely. I really enjoyed seeing the thread of that conversation carried out in Jessica's actions later on.
And well, let's just say that Linderman's henchmen are in for a world of hurt when Jessica figures out what happened.
So parenthood, good and bad, was a big theme in this episode, but the other huge theme was the fixity of the future: can the future really be changed, or is it predetermined?
That was definitely the big question of the evening and I like the ambiguity of it. I mean, Isaac's death could arguably have been averted had Sylar remained in Primatech custody, but Mr. Bennet's focus on Claire got in the way of that because Sylar got free when Bennet sent the Haitian to wipe Claire, Lyle and Zach's minds. So, it's like: how much of this is pre-determined and how much of it is a function of intervenining decisions made by the characters themselves? Or are those decisions fated to be made no matter what? Definitely something to chew on as as the remainder of the season unfolded.
no subject
I feel you. It was hard pulling my thoughts together for my own post because all I wanted to say was, "Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!! My show is back! My show is back!! Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!" but that would have gotten old for ten paragraphs.
then Mr. Bennett is of course the good father, protecting Claire at his own expense and acting rather paternalistically to Matt and Ted. True, he's trying to effect his own escape as well, and searching for allies, but I do feel he was being deliberately contrasted against Lindermann as a good paternal figure in this episode.
Oh, I agree. Bennet guided Matt and Ted to safety and he gave Ted a very specific kind of encouragement that made it possible for Ted to eventually understand that his powerful doesn't necessarily have to always be destructive. I loved watching him win them over, especially because he was using truth to do it.
If Linderman was encouraging his charges to act on the worst of their impulses, Bennet was encouraging Matt and Ted to act on the better of their impulses; that's how I think they were contrasted, if that makes sense.
And ITA with you on how awesome Linderman is. This is easily Malcolm McDowell's best role in years and he's playing it to the stylish, fantastic hilt.
we have a pair of mothers, in Jessica and Mama Petrelli. Both of them will sacrifice a lot to protect their children, though surprisingly Jessica seems to be the one most likely to look out for her son's true interests. I was pretty impressed, actually, that Jessica stood up to Lindermann to protect Micah, because even though she's exhibited protectiveness toward him in the past, we hadn't, I don't think, seen any self-sacrifice in that protectiveness before.
I loved the conversation between D.L. and Jessica because you could see D.L.'s words sinking in to her and then she acted on that when she went to see Linderman. She 'got' what D.L. was saying to her: it's one thing if she wants to remain entangled in Linderman's dealings, but pulling Micah into it/letting Micah be pulled into it is another story entirely. I really enjoyed seeing the thread of that conversation carried out in Jessica's actions later on.
And well, let's just say that Linderman's henchmen are in for a world of hurt when Jessica figures out what happened.
So parenthood, good and bad, was a big theme in this episode, but the other huge theme was the fixity of the future: can the future really be changed, or is it predetermined?
That was definitely the big question of the evening and I like the ambiguity of it. I mean, Isaac's death could arguably have been averted had Sylar remained in Primatech custody, but Mr. Bennet's focus on Claire got in the way of that because Sylar got free when Bennet sent the Haitian to wipe Claire, Lyle and Zach's minds. So, it's like: how much of this is pre-determined and how much of it is a function of intervenining decisions made by the characters themselves? Or are those decisions fated to be made no matter what? Definitely something to chew on as as the remainder of the season unfolded.