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Heroes: Five Years On
I was completely fooled by the Sylar-Nathan thing. I was a little stunned by exactly how dark Nathan had gone--contemplating genocide seems like something of a leap, even though I didn't find it entirely implausible, and if Nathan had indeed embraced Lindermann's perspective I could certainly see him rounding up the other heroes while protecting his own family. Still, I cheered when I realized it wasn't really him, since I'm sure we're not getting that future. Some other depressing future, possibly, but not that particular one.
I also felt vindicated in my Hiro-Ando OTPness. Without Ando, Hiro becomes embittered and obsessive. *Pets him* I'm a little afraid that Ando's going to end up dying anyway--that's my guess as to the secret future Hiro whispered to him--but I was happy to see how important he was to Hiro. And Hiro's reactions to future Hiro amused the hell out of me: I scare me! Hee!!
I hated Matt with a fiery passion, but we were supposed to, and his actions certainly seem like a logical outgrowth of the path he's on now, especially if he played any role in the transfer of Ted's powers to Peter and the explosion that blew up the city. I can definitely see him rounding up the dangerous ones, and the deal with Bennett to let the harmless ones go is very interesting indeed. (I HATED Bennett's new glasses, btw, even though I realized they were there to emphasize the passage of time. I kind of loved he was running the underground railroad up until the point I realized he was deliberately turning some of the heroes in so they'd turn a blind eye to him, and then I was very disenchanted.)
I suspected Mohinder was going to get to be the one to save the day, and I suppose it was nice that he got to be the hero for once--but mostly I was very amused at the way Sylar had been playing him the *whole* time (and possibly sleeping with him in Nathan's body? Was I the only one who went there? Because physically that does it a lot more for me, and also the mindfuck factor is just incredibly creepy and wrong and kind of hot).
And speaking of creepy and wrong and kind of hot: I notice that Peter ended up with Nathan's ex-lover, in that classic "two straight male protagonists triangulating their desire for each other symbolically by having sex with the same woman" kind of way.
I suppose, if I were to think analytically rather simply reporting my emotional responses, I'd say what this episode revealed was that after extreme loss, most of the heroes either (A) reverted to their old patterns to cope with life (so Nikki is still stripping, even though she clearly is the boss of the place she works in; Matt has returned to law enforcement and rounding up the bad guys with a vengeance; Mohinder has slipped back into the role of research scientist and consultant) or else (B)they've embraced caricatured visions of their ideal selves (Nathan, the president, protecting the world, but in this case from monsters he created himself--and I suspect Nathan did play some role in that before Sylar took over his life; Hiro as a hardened killer desparately trying to unravel the past; Peter still protecting people (Nikki) but basically a drop-out from life; Bennett still acting as protector, of Claire and others, but betraying as much as he protects.) I wonder if any of the character things we've learned here are going to end up being significant, now that the reset button has been pushed?
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I wouldn't have seen the Sylar-Nathan reveal at all except that last week, I stumbled across someone's spec, based on that snippet of preview where Nathan was all, "I'm
the Prettiest Princess everthe most special person in the world," that it would turn out to be Sylar-masquerading-as-Nathan. I thought the spec was far-fetched, but the possibility had been laid out, so I was mostly impressed that the show went there (precisely because I'd thought it was far-fetched; the show still sold it to me, if that makes sense).ANDO/HIRO FOREVER! I don't say it often that the subtext practically became text, but ... the subtext practically became text. Future!Peter's commentary on how losing Ando destroyed Hiro's very soul kind of, um, sealed the deal.
I'm a little afraid that Ando's going to end up dying anyway
So am I, especially because I feel like there is a suggestion that the future is immutable (I mean, the series could go either way, but it can't be said that the creative team has failed to lay out the possibility that the destruction of New York is inevitable). I think I won't breathe a sigh of relief over Ando until we get to the end credits of the season finale and he's still alive when they start to roll.
I hated Matt with a fiery passion, but we were supposed to, and his actions certainly seem like a logical outgrowth of the path he's on now, especially if he played any role in the transfer of Ted's powers to Peter and the explosion that blew up the city.
Oh, definitely. Part of Matt's characterization, at least in the last handful of episodes, is that he's teetering on the brink between being a good man and a good man who turns to bad because circumstances make him feel like being good nets him nothing worthwhile (I'm thinking of him taking the diamonds after failing to save his bodyguarding charge from Jessica and overhearing the criticisms of him on that point). Also Matt is easily led: if you can offer him something that's appealing or valuable to him, then you have an easier time of manipulating him or getting him to make questionable choices.
I kind of loved he was running the underground railroad up until the point I realized he was deliberately turning some of the heroes in so they'd turn a blind eye to him, and then I was very disenchanted.
I understand that reaction and I actually share it, for the most part. But the thing that still redeems future!Mr. B. for me is that he didn't have to go the extra step of trying to protect additional meta-humans. My impression was that his initial interaction with Matt may have been a one-to-one deal: protect Matt's son in exchange for Matt turning a blind eye on Bennet's harboring of Claire. Mr. B. could have stopped there, but for some reason he didn't. He went beyond merely protecting/helping Claire and that does count for something, I think, because the alternative is that no meta-humans had a chance (or a significantly lesser number of them did).
I totally went to the Sylar!Nathan/Mohinder place. Should I be at all shappalled that going there kind of made me smile? 'Cause it totally did. Sylar's kind of, um, fixated on Mohinder, what with the not being ready to kill him last week and then this week, keeping Mohinder in his pocket the whole time he was impersonating Nathan.
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That made my Ando/Hiro loving heart very, very happy.
I'm a little afraid that Ando's going to end up dying anyway
So am I, especially because I feel like there is a suggestion that the future is immutable (I mean, the series could go either way, but it can't be said that the creative team has failed to lay out the possibility that the destruction of New York is inevitable). I think I won't breathe a sigh of relief over Ando until we get to the end credits of the season finale and he's still alive when they start to roll.
Yeah--I mean, some things they seem to have been able to change (saving Claire), but some things they haven't (Isaac's death), so I am really up in the air about where they're going. I'm enjoying that, though--I felt in the first half of the season I anticipated almost every single plot twist, so I'm enjoying this half of the season a lot more since I can't always predict what's going to happen.
But the thing that still redeems future!Mr. B. for me is that he didn't have to go the extra step of trying to protect additional meta-humans. My impression was that his initial interaction with Matt may have been a one-to-one deal: protect Matt's son in exchange for Matt turning a blind eye on Bennet's harboring of Claire. Mr. B. could have stopped there, but for some reason he didn't. He went beyond merely protecting/helping Claire and that does count for something, I think, because the alternative is that no meta-humans had a chance (or a significantly lesser number of them did).
Oh, that's a really good point. I've gotten so sold on Mr. B as a character that I think I've forgotten how much he's basically just been a company and family man up until this point, so even doing that much is growth for him.
And I'm not *really* a Mohinder/Sylar shipper--Sylar pretty much creeps me out and I don't actually find him attractive--but DAMN. Keeping Mohinder in his pocket is a good way to put it.