(S01E22) This episode got off to a quick start picking up right where we left off last week with Peter Petrelli on the verge of combustion. Peter nearly had Claire shoot him as they had previously discussed, but fortunately, he seemed to gain control of his newly absorbed power.
Which brings me to this question: Why is it Peter can absorb powers by standing next to someone, but Sylar has to "rip your head open" to quote Claire? I'm sure someone will let me know in the comments. I'm guessing it's not just a personal preference.
Peter's involvement from this point forward was fairly limited, but we can see from the previews that all hell is going to break loose next week, and Peter and Sylar will have their much anticipated standoff.
Nathan Petrelli continues to bug me. Throughout the entire first season he's had several opportunities to be a good person and potentially avert a lot of the chaos that is destined to occur, but he always brushes those opportunities aside and continues forward. Case in point was the conversation that took place when Hiro confronted him on the streets and offered him the chance to not become a bad man.
I loved that Hiro called him out on the fact that he's already a bad man. I also liked his repeated cry of "villain, villian, VILLIAN". Nathan is a difficult character to read. There's times I think he's good but more often than not he seems a little evil. I also wonder if he's sincerely happy that his wife is newly mobile. I was surprised she didn't seem to make the connection that Linderman healed her.
Let me be the first to say that Hiro's dad is an absolute badass and you could tell Hiro loved discovering this from the cheesy grin on his face when his dad broke out the ninjitsu moves and put the sword to Hiro's throat.
I never really suspected that Hiro's dad was anything other than the CEO of a large Japanese company, but it was pretty interesting to learn that he's actually a major player in the Heroes' mythology. I would love to see an entire episode dedicated to his "allies with powers who fought to save the world but lost their way".
The entire sequence where Hiro trained with his father was riveting stuff. I'm wondering if Hiro saying "to save what is important I must be strong enough to cut out my own heart" means he will have to perform some form of the sacred Seppuku ritual in his battle with Sylar.
It was also cool to see Hiro become proficient with the sword in such a short period of time. The Kaito Nakamura Dojo is truly a center of martial arts excellence.
I enjoyed the humor the writers inject into what could otherwise be some stark subject matter. I chuckled a bit when Candace was stuffing food in her mouth and confessed to being huge hinting at the fact that she simply makes other people see her as thin and attractive. I imagine if given a poll, a good portion of the viewing audience would adore utilizing her power on a day to day basis more so than the power of any other Hero. Or maybe that's just me...
I also laughed out loud when Parkman convinced the security guard to let him through the gates by pulling the "you didn't want anyone to find out about the...porn" routine. You could see Parkman struggling to read the guard's thoughts and I found it humorous that he chose an item most guys would have some reservations revealing. Funny stuff.
In the real world are you allowed to take people, even kids, with you into a voting booth? Doesn't matter. As everyone speculated in the comments Micah was being utilized by Linderman to manipulate the votes. Just another reason we need to get rid of those stupid E-voting machines...
The three deaths in the final fifteen minutes of the episode had me reeling. Bennett breaking out the "your last thought" line was priceless, and a little unexpected. Sylar taking out Ted in typical Sylar fashion was imminent, but that didn't make it any less grotesque watching the forehead slicing.
Finally, Linderman's death was spectacular. I've always found D.L.'s power to be interesting, but a bit dull. When Linderman's eyes were bulging I was a bit confused, but then I saw the ginormous hole in the back of his skull and all became clear. Good times.
Of course, considering Linderman heals things, it's not too far a stretch to think we'll be seeing him again sometime next season.
This was an exceptional entertaining and violent episode and a great lead-in to what will probably be one of the best hours of television all year next week. I give the episode a 6.
Can't wait for the finale.
Also, next week there will be a live chat during the episode. Check in 10 minutes before the episode airs to join in and talk about the series finale with other Heroes fans.
Giveaways reminder: Office, Eli Stone, Supernatural, South Park
Giveaway Thursday: Tickets to the New York Television Festival ... all of it!
I miss the media-friendly John McCain - VIDEOS
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
5-15-2007 @ 12:26AM
Andy Grey said...
It isn't a personal preference like you said. Peter's ability is to absorb the abilities of other extraordinary persons if he is close to them. Sylar's ability is to see how anything works and then fix them. When Sylar rips off someone's head, he sees how their brain works and learns their abilities. Literally it's because of their differing powers, but if one wanted to engage in a discussion of character it has to do with their personalities and moralities.
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5-15-2007 @ 12:31AM
Andy Grey said...
Haha, I commented once after your initial question and know I have more to say after reading further. Your comment of learning more about Hiro's father and his allies brings up an interesting speculation amongst us Heroes fans. The first volume or season is titled Genesis. The second season will be called Generations. In my opinion, this means we will learn about Nathan and Peter's father and mother's back story, Hiro's father's back story, Linderman's back story and all the Heroes of old that were alluded to this season.
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5-15-2007 @ 12:36AM
la-di-dah said...
am i first? i found this episode to be the filler-before-all-hell-breaks-loose, and people dying left and right, and next week has got me worried for some of my favorite people. Also, can they really fit the all-hell-breaks-loose and tie everything together in the next episode?
by the by, sylar looked so good dark. hee. to try to answer your question: it seems to me the nature of their power is different; naturally, peter is osmosis; conversely, sylar is a figurer (not a word, i know) of how things work, and he is applying his figuring, or shall we say, his mathematics, to something a little kookoo (i would say 60 percent genetic). i am sure other posters have better ideas though.
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5-15-2007 @ 12:48AM
Bill said...
Interesting that we still don't know Hiro's father's power yet. Maybe it's teaching someone anything in the space of a single training montage?
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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5-15-2007 @ 12:56AM
robert said...
1. we have a mid season six episode spin off, "heros: origins" which hopefully will give us the "allies with powers who fought to save the world but lost their way". story
2. i thought the whole "peter was a sponge soaking up powers, while syler was able to discover how the brain worked to create the power and recreate it" concept was pretty much obvious by now.
random thought: anyone else make a connection with the "watchmaker analogy" argument for the existence of god and syler's god complex?
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5-15-2007 @ 1:00AM
Kyle Beabo said...
Yeah, I thought they would reveal Hiro's dad's power too. I guess they are saving that lil doozy for later.
I sure hope Hiro doesn't have to cut out his own heart, but I know his powers sure causes problems for the writers.
http://kylebeabo.blogspot.com/
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5-15-2007 @ 1:02AM
RedStarRevolution said...
I always hate when people do this, but i really have to criticize the commenter here. It seems like you don't really have too much of a grasp on this show for someone that should be pretty deep into it.
Did 'Company Man' not give you some clue that Mr. Nakamura was more than just a CEO, he handed Claire over to Bennett...kind of a giveaway...
And also, when Hiro means he has to 'cut his heart out', its not literal, he means he has to remove his emotions from what he does...
And the wish for the episode about the parents of the Heroes...well first off, thats all of next season, exploring the generational stories, and also, at the Up Fronts, NBC announced they would be doing a special six episode arc in the summer called Heroes: Origins, exploring their y'know...origins...
And it was 4 deaths, not 3. DL, Linderman, Ted, and Thompson.
I do hate to go off like this, but seriously, if you're going to review the show, you have to at least understand the nuances and do some research into things that are coming, not all spoilerific, but not knowing what the next season has in store or the special 6 eps in the summer, or Kaito Nakamura being more than just a CEO, in terms of research, is just plain lazy.
From what I understand, TV Squad is a paid gig, and I gotta say, JJ Hawkins, you did not earn your money today my friend...
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5-15-2007 @ 1:07AM
Brian said...
"NBC announced they would be doing a special six episode arc in the summer called Heroes: Origins, exploring their y'know...origins"
While I agree that the blogger is obviously not as in-depth a fan as many others, I find it funny that you took such a pompous tone yet were incorrect in your own statement.
"Origins" is about OTHER characters who might possibly join the cast; it's not literally the "origins" of the show's main characters.
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5-15-2007 @ 1:07AM
Anita said...
Hmm, I had always assumed it was a personal preference. Hello, he is evil after all. But evil aside I thought it originated in Sylar's desire to be unique or 'special' (but without remedial classes) as revealed in Mohinder's father's relationship with the dark S. Even if he absorbs many powers would he be all that unique if another person with dematerialization/phasing powers still existed? I just assumed he was channeling my favorite mid-90s swordbearer.
Regarding the voting booth, way back in the 80s my mother did take me into the booth with her. But, perhaps the rules have changed
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5-15-2007 @ 1:08AM
Ryan said...
I have to say I have no confidence in the reviewers of TV Squad anymore. Why are we all reading this guy's opinion when he doesn't even understand the basics of two main characters? Maybe you should pay more attention to the show if you seriously want to write about it.
Another gem in this review was calling Hiro's father "badass." Wow, like we haven't heard that one before? Maybe you could point out that that part of the show was poorly written because they simply glossed over the fact that Hiro became proficient with a sword so quickly. Instead you thought it was "cool." You know what would have been cool, if they included Hiro stopping time except for him and his father so they could train for months. Then when Hiro is truly ready, they could resume time. That would have been damn cool. But I guess if you think plotholes are "cool," I guess that's ok too.
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5-15-2007 @ 1:10AM
timik said...
RedStar, I agree. It's almost like a lot of the bloggers here might want to consider waiting 12 hours (to see what others say) or watching the show again before blogging.
as for the voting booth question, having working several elections, kids are allowed to enter voting booths with their parents. exceptions are also made for those who might be mentally-challenged.
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5-15-2007 @ 1:15AM
kbraaten said...
holy, my favorite episode to date! my personal scene favorites consist of when sylar is talking to the blonde agent, i apologize for her name slips my mind, i seemed to feel a lot of tension during that scene (the man she's been after the entire series is talking to her and she's entirely clueless). of course, hiro learning how to kick ass and the revealing of his dad's abilities were top notch. i just love the feeling of making that connection between things that not everyone notices and in the episode it occurred every scene it seemed. it also never occurred to me that parkman saved the young girl with the power to locate anyone on her mind.
i can't wait until next week because when it somehow manages to top this weeks episode, i am going to be one happy camper!
and a note to redstarrevolution, DL is not truly dead?
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5-15-2007 @ 1:17AM
Paul Little said...
RedStar said a lot of what I was going to say -- maybe not going off on the writer, but mentioning the fact that we already learned about the "allies with powers who fought to save the world but lost their way". Hiro was working with Linderman, Thompson, and the like at one point, but we found out tonight that he is no longer one of the "bad guys".
And wondering the difference between Peter and Sylar's abilities is the same as wondering why Nathan can fly but Hiro can time travel -- they're different skills and abilities, and it seems that nobody has the same ability (of yet), so why would Sylar and Peter have to be the same?
Also, "Heroes: Origins" will not be about the previous generations (that's all of next season, really) but rather telling the back stories of potential new heroes we will meet next season (to catch them up to this season's surviving characters, since we already know all about them). Fans will then get to vote for one of the six to become a Season 3 regular.
Liked the movement of the episode, but I agree that it was more of a "preparation" episode for next season.
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5-15-2007 @ 2:02AM
Michael said...
To clarify something: I can't see why anyone would think you're NOT allowed to bring your child in. What if you have dyslexia, bad eyesight, can't read at all? In my case, my mom had no opinions whatsoever, so I always went with her until I was 18 and told her what to vote for. Since then, I just fill out the sample ballot and give it to her. We're pretty close in our views, so it works out.
Now (but not in such mean a tone) I have to agree with some others here as to the author's ability to blog on this show. I would think it'd be pretty clear that the only way Sylar can get someone's powers is to cut their head open, just like all Peter has to do is be near them. I mean, if Sylar could do it the same way as Peter, we'd see him experiencing the power when meeting the person, just as Peter does.
Second, I have to agree also that I think the whole idea of Hiro learning so quickly was a bit fast. I, too, figured they would just pause time and practice. Also, I think the whole idea of Ando taking the sword and leaving to kill Sylar on his own was very out of character. He knows he has no power and the comic book shows Hiro killing Sylar...I don't think Ando's THAT courageous.
Lastly, I'm surprised you didn't mention Micah going weird after he did the vote spree. I mean, they had to have thrown that in for a reason.
On a side note, did anyone else feel it obvious that in the very last camera shot, with the back of Sylar, it was QUITE obvious he was standing in front of a picture of NYC. Not a green screen, but an actual picture.
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5-15-2007 @ 2:30AM
bgdc said...
I kinda figured he would have hiro freeze time and they'd train for days/weeks/months/years. Woulda made more sense.
Hiro's dad, by the way, surely did not bust out any Ninjitsu. Kendo maybe. But not ninjitsu.
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5-15-2007 @ 2:32AM
bgdc said...
Oh, I'm sorry but the fight between Peter and Sylar should be LAME. Peter can freeze time, go invisible, heal, teleport, read minds. And do EVERYTHING Sylar can do. There's no reason for Sylar to even stand a chance.
Seriously, the concept of them fighting is really silly and Peter's fear of the guy is the height of illogical.
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5-15-2007 @ 2:37AM
Joshua Z said...
did no one else see the analogy between the story hiro's dad was telling him and what happened during their training session?
Did no one else pay attention to hiro's dads eyes? Seriously looked different, almost dragon like. I dont think being a dragon is a power of sorts, but maybe he can breath fire or something. I could swear when they showed him looking into the sword there was a glimmer of red in his eyes.
Hmm, maybe hiro's sister will show what her powers are since it is genetic.
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5-15-2007 @ 2:41AM
jOHN said...
Candace is probably a fat comic fanboy (hence having the first issue of the Silver Surfer).
Sylar is a tinkerer. He loves to take things apart and make them work better. Ever notice that once he absorbs a power, he instantly knows how to use them? When Peter absorbs a power, he needs time to figure out how to controll them.
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5-15-2007 @ 3:47AM
nocturnus said...
I agree with most of what's been said, espacially the sword training. It took them a few hours, at most.
I think that Micah staggerd because he came across some info (he got out of the voting system and somehow reached Linderman's net, maybe?), or the amount of work he did simply overwhelmed him.
And a question: what did Nathan whisper to Hiro? I didn't catch this.
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5-15-2007 @ 3:48AM
bgdc said...
Sylar must learn how to use powers. When he killed the old lady mechanic and took her hearing he kept getting jacked up by even the slightest sound. Sheesh...you guys just make up wacky stuff.
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