(S03E13) Man, they did it again. Set up a potentially solid climactic final chapter to a "Volume" and then just kind of fizzled out. Sylar's antics bordered a bit on the ridiculous, and I don't at all buy Nathan's character path over the past three seasons as plausible. I was pleased with the continuation and ultimate resolution of Hiro's story as it involved also Ando, Matt and Daphne. As it turns out, while these are by no means the central figures in the plots for this Volume, their story was the best.
Maybe it's because there was a minimum of whining (Peter) or pouting (Claire), and quite frankly there's only so much of that crap you can take. With the end of "Volume Three" tonight, as we've done in the past, we got a sneak peek at "Volume Four: Fugitives." And as has been the case in the past, the few minutes we got on a preview of the next volume was much more compelling than the finale of this current volume. Just like real comic books, you usually get a great build up in these big stories, ultimately leading to disappointment.
I guess Nathan's back to being a dick, which I don't like. I thought his character progression made sense up to the point where he decided he agreed with his father about changing the world and was suddenly willing to let his brother die. Also, why the hell would Peter have to inject himself with the formula anyway so that he could fly and save Nathan. Flying is Nathan's thing. He could've saved himself. That one didn't make much sense.
Are we supposed to believe that Meredith died in that fire? If she's not capable of dying from her own combustion, then the only danger to her would be the collapsing building. So why was it such a bad idea to try and get her out of the building? She should have left when Claire first flew through the window. Speaking of which, one of the good moments of the episode was when Claire jammed that piece of glass into the back of Sylar's head to shut off his brain. Odds on whether or not it'll come out in the first or second episode of the new volume.
But the whole Sylar storyline iself was rather stupid. Why, out of nowhere, would he decide to play these weird psychological games? It really didn't seem his style and didn't fit well with the rest of the season so far. Actually, I'll say the whole episode didn't fit well. We never even got to see all the heroes come together. In fact, Peter destroyed the existing formula while Hiro destroyed the written formula but neither know the other did anything. There was a kind of a weird disconnect between the cast.
Other Musings
- I like the power they've given Ando, even though I'm not sure I want him to have a power. But what it does now is make me wonder how his power would impact the other people with abilities. Would it make Meredith blow up and be trapped underneath a building?
- So I'm still not clear what the Catalyst was. How did Hiro's mother get it, why is it able to be passed on like it is, what is it, what does it do, and is it destroyed now?
- Loved seeing Usutu, the African painter in the loft, but what is up with that? Was he really there or was he Memorex?
- It was cool seeing Chad Faust (The 4400) in another role, even if his flaring nostrils still distract me. Too bad he didn't last that long; I thought the idea of this new character had potential.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
12-16-2008 @ 10:10AM
ELLLS said...
This episode was not called "Duel" it was called "Dual" (with an "A")
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12-16-2008 @ 9:47PM
Phish said...
another error: Hiro did NOT destroy the formula, he ripped it into 2 pcs, which prob gave his dad the idea to separate the formula, which is why the formula was in 2 pcs in the present day. It's good that they had that kind of continuity.
however.............
If running faster than the speed of light allows you to travel back in time, then how the heck did they come back to the future??
(how stupid do they think we are, if she ran faster than the speed of light, her mass would reach infinity, like some kind of black hole which would destroy the earth. and there is no way a human body can 'run' faster than the speed of light, the joint actions, muscle contractions can never ever ever work that fast, now if she flew like peter/nathan thats different, as the action is not physical, but some kind of propulsion)
this show is really targeted at 5-10 year olds, who do they think we are?? if you're gonna do scifi, then do it right!
12-16-2008 @ 10:13AM
Michelle said...
Wow, you really didn't like this one, did you?
I thought it was a solid episode, probably one of my favorite in recent Heroes history. Ando having a super power finally showed us what Hiro saw in the future (he wasn't killing Hiro, he was trying to "supercharge" him), Peter stopped whining and did something. Sylar was awful and evil again (finally!). That whole thing was a little over the top, more so because of Claire than Sylar, but I liked it anyways.
I also like Nathan's transition. It did seem a little fast, but sometimes that has to happen to move a storyline along. I think it gives him a purpose, which has been something he has been lacking lately. Really for like 2.5 seasons. Him vs. Peter could be a cool dynamic, and it would show how Peter has transitioned to the person we keep seeing "from the future." I know that future has probably changed now from what saw earlier in the season, but I still think Peter will evolve to that type of a character, and we are getting hints to that now. Same goes for Hiro. We are getting narrative clues to how he becomes the Hiro we have seen in the future.
Okay, I will stop rambling now, but I did want to note one more thing. Jason, you asked "why the hell would Peter have to inject himself with the formula anyway so that he could fly and save Nathan." I thought he had to inject himself to save himself as well as Nathan, since he didn't have any powers, and Nathan was saying he would have only saved himself. But now Peter's powers are back, which was REALLY why he had to inject himself. That is what I thought anyways!
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12-16-2008 @ 10:17AM
superrrguy said...
So once again, nothing happened.
Just some thoughts.
*Peter killed his father, not Sylar. Sylar just stopped the bullet for a minute to give a little speech last episode, then let the bullet continue on its path.
*Nathan now wants to create a race of super humans?
*I don't think Peter can knock out anyone with one punch.
*Hero has no powers and is stuck in time 16 years ago. Why do we care? He's useless right now and we must save the world before this episode is over or else. Can't they save Hero next time.
*Suresh isn't super strong anymore? Let's destroy the lab in the slowest way possible. Let's flip over the same cabinet over and over and over and over and over.
*Claire sucks. Her super power is to jump through windows.
I give up. I don't want to keep going.
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12-19-2008 @ 1:25AM
mwm said...
is there are formula to give Claire some acting abilities?
Please Kill her off already!
12-16-2008 @ 10:18AM
Eric H said...
I lived the episode, as for Nathan's character progression, it made perfect since, remember the rest of the season where they showed us he always went with what daddy said. Do you even watch this show?
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12-16-2008 @ 10:55AM
Jason said...
1. Nathan's arc is completely unbelievable. From one minute to the next he's gone from loving brother to nemesis. Not buying it.
2. Sylar should suffer permanent brain damage as a result of his wound and be bound as a quadriplegic super genius villain-type who recruits other gifted people to do his bidding.
3. Someone give Hiro his powers back, please.
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12-16-2008 @ 11:01AM
Majikphat said...
How did Daphne and Ando travel back to the present. I understand the backwards time travel, but forwards?
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12-16-2008 @ 11:04AM
h8rain said...
Seeing Sylar acting like that tonight seemed very odd. It's like I "Saw" it somewhere else...
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12-16-2008 @ 11:09AM
conniebury said...
Sylar's storyline last night did seem like "Saw," However, he felt everyone had been playing "those weird psychological games" with him, so it seemed appropriate for him to return the favor.
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12-16-2008 @ 11:09AM
Gill Garcia said...
I like it, Nathan is heading up a government agency to round up the mutants. We have the mutants on the run from said government agency. Now all that agency has to do is build giant robots that will aid in the apprehension of said mutants and we'll have all the makings of a couple of movies that have been released already. Meredith didn't die, she became one with her flaming goodness and in the next season she'll return with powerful telekinetic abilities, but she will also be able to control the explosion into flame and resemble a giant flaming bird of myth!
An awesome set up for season 4! Fugitives! Bah! Mutant fugitives!
Hrm...where have I seen this before? ;)
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12-16-2008 @ 11:21AM
kevin said...
I agree totally. This is the biggest X-men ripoff ever.
12-16-2008 @ 11:32AM
h8rain said...
Meredith will rise from the ashes, like a phoenix. That has never been done. Oh wait.
Heroes was a great idea, but I think licensing out from Marvel would have been a cooler idea. I know I would tune in for a weekly live action X-Men. Shoot bring back the one from the 90s, I would watch that cartoon as well.
12-16-2008 @ 11:15AM
cdawg said...
actually Michelle, I think we saw Peter get his powers back at the end of the last episode when Arthur was killed. Thus he wouldn't need the shot. That confused me too.
Majikphat: Forward time travel would be the same but in reverse. If she ran across the world east, she's move forward in time, west she'd move backwards.
Totally thought of Saw as well for Sylar.
I'm just glad this whole arc is over and we can start anew. I'll forget this season ever happened.
And if the Ausiello rumors are right, we might not be seeing anything more of Hiro anymore. I really hope that's not true....
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12-16-2008 @ 2:54PM
Nacho said...
Hey cdawg, any chance you could not post potential spoilers from now on?
Some of us actually like to watch shows to find out what happens on them instead of reading about them months beforehand.
12-16-2008 @ 7:25PM
BUBBAMEISTER33 said...
I'm not an expert on time travel but just because you run in a certain direction doesn't mean you will go backward or forward in time.
12-16-2008 @ 11:21AM
Josh said...
A forgettable season, yet again. Bring on Dr. Trask er, Nathan and the Sentinels.
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12-16-2008 @ 11:41AM
Ganesh said...
This was one of the worst episodes, and that's saying a lot for Heroes. I watch now just to make fun of it.
- Nathan turning on his brother was completely unbelievable. Where did this switch happen? Where was the buildup to this? It seemed very sudden and out of character, which is the typical Heroes character development style.
- My biggest laugh was at Peter injecting himself, immediately getting his power back, immediately absorbing Nathan's power and flying out of there. Everyone else who took the formula had to wait even a handful of seconds to show some kind of power, but not Peter. Ridiculous, but really funny.
- This season's Sylar plotline was dumb. When writers have their characters make dramatic and sudden shifts, like what happened to so many Heroes characters this season, after awhile, the audience stops caring.
Until they kill of half the characters and create some believable tension, this show is great for only one thing, laughing at it.
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12-16-2008 @ 11:42AM
John Frost said...
Judging by the way the time travel happened the first time, Daphne travels back and then sort of elastically catches up with her present self in real time (she stood watching her past self until time caught up). So sixteen years must have taken forever to get back for Daphne, even though it only seemed like moments in present time.
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12-16-2008 @ 11:58AM
Elf said...
What, no love for President Worf?
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