(S03E17) Well, the three stooges pretty much hogged up the entire episode, didn't they? In the end, it was Moe who had to come along and save the day because Larry and Curly kept bickering with each other to the point they were both captured. But who stayed captured? And what did they find out that was worth all the throwing around and breaking of mirrors? *yawn* Man, it turns out the stooges aren't nearly as fun to watch as I remembered.
The good momentum established in the first three chapters of this volume were completely squashed as the action ground to a screeching halt in this episode. We did learn that HRG is clearly a loyal lapdog to whatever cause he's behind. We know this because his memories as he sees them are in black-and-white and everyone knows dogs see in black-and-white ... yep, that's right. I just totally wasted your time with that lame-ass joke. You'll never get that time back. Hiro's lost his powers. He also lost the ability to appear in an episode, along with Ando, Claire and even Aquaman (who's still hiding in her closet, I guess).
Really, no one has yet blabbed to anyone that Nathan can fly? "How did you get here so fast?" "He flew" would have been Peter's natural response. "Oh, he didn't tell you he could do that?" Boom. Blow the lid off this whole thing so fast even Daphne couldn't keep up. But no, everybody's too busy posing and looking all dramatic and not talking to actually accomplish anything.
How about when Peter was flying off to get the hunter in the first place. HRG says "Peter!" and "Don't go!" and when that doesn't work tries "Peter!" a few more times. Can't string together a sentence there, Noah? Maybe a few words as to why he shouldn't go. Maybe a more compelling argument then saying his name. "You know, I was going to fly off half-cocked, but the way you said my name just then ... I'm really rethinking every major decision I've made in my entire life. Thanks, man." "Peter."
I actually found myself missing Claire. And what did we learn after all? We learned that Nathan went to Noah to establish his new initiative. We learned that the hunter is the guy behind the hunting. Huh, look at that. We didn't learn a damned thing that we either didn't already know or didn't already figure out because we can take off our shoes and count to 20 all by ourselves.
The confederacy of dunces did manage to only get one of their number captured. Poor super-strong Mohinder. At least he's now in the same containment facility as Daphne, who's not dead as many of you suggested when she was shot. I know, why was I so quick to sign her death warrant? Primarily because she's not from the original season one cast. It seems that anyone who's added later has to die at some point or another, and I thought that was her time. But with the bizarre noises she was making tonight, Matt might wish she'd died. I don't care what kind of pain she's in, cows don't make that kind of noise when they've broken all their legs.
Sorry, Tim Kring, you can't win them all. And I guess you're allowed a filler episode here and there. Maybe I just didn't need to know quite so much how HRG got into the position he was in that you needed to fill an entire episode with it. In fact, the only scenes we really needed were the ones where he told the hunter he was on board 100%, and the one where he told Ma Petrelli he wasn't on board with either Nathan or the hunter 100%. It was a nice watch, though.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-24-2009 @ 4:24AM
Landon said...
I thought this episode was meh at best but overall was ok. I really hope the worst is behind us.
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 2:16PM
Sahil said...
the thing i realized is heroes and lost both try to do the same thing. and you can see this by watching Ben and HRG.
Both of those characters constantly lie and are evasive. they do it so much that it keeps the audience constantly bewildered. Even when it seems like that character is forced to tell the truth by threat of death, and we are convinced they told the truth; it is later revealed they lied in order to protect something greater or to manipulate for some hidden reason. The idea? that this character is privy to a truth that is so complex and grave that he is capable of manilupating beyond the limits of manipulation in order to protect it.
the problem is that the heroes writers are so bad that HRG just seems like a paranoid tool who can't pick a side. everything he does is seen as so contrived and purposeless.
the lost writers are so good that Ben might spawn a religion (i would join) based off of his character alone. everything he does brings the audience a step closer to media induced clinical insanity.
aaadn daphne's alive. make this show go away please. its hurting the economy
and does every season have ot end with a nuclear bomb across a major capital?
2-24-2009 @ 5:20AM
superrrguy said...
Where do they get that super fast drying paint?
Also, how tiny is the hunter guy? Are we going to find out later that he has the power to grow into a real sized man?
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 1:51PM
crispy said...
Haha! I was laughing about that too. He looked like he was less than 5 feet tall standing next to HRG. Somebody call the prop department and get that little fella an apple box stat!
2-24-2009 @ 4:49PM
tracey said...
Well, the actor who plays HRG is a bit tall and the actor who plays the hunter is a bit short. According to IMDB: the actor who plays HRG is 6'2 and the actor who plays the hunter is 5'7, so you put that together and you've got a big difference in height!
Still, unless they are trying to convey something with that height difference, they should position them in a way that de-emphasizes it. I remember Barbara Feldon talking about the way they made her walk around in bare feet so she didn't tower over Don Adams in Get Smart.
2-24-2009 @ 7:09AM
MDD said...
"I actually found myself missing Claire."
Unfortunately, Claire like Hiro are becoming show suckers...zapping the life out of this show.. "Heroes"
use to be appointment viewing, what has happened?
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 7:47AM
Bob Sassone said...
I actually thought this was the best episode of the season so far. Like some of the first season eps: not a ton of storylines going on at once, a nice tight story focusing on a character's back story, some good dialogue. It's good when the show takes a breather and we're not running all around the world with various characters.
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 9:28AM
Dorv said...
Bob... I'm with you. I enjoyed this episode.
I liked the black and white, which is obviously a call back to S1's Company Man. I guess despite the fact that HRG likes morally gray, his memories are always shown to us in black and white.
2-24-2009 @ 9:40AM
Malren said...
Yeah, mee too. I Don't even get how someone could dislike it. It was...what's the word? Focused. Also, Good. See also: Well-written.
The fact that it didn't contain whiny Claire or whiny Hiro (how they made me dislike the best character on the show is beyond me) was a bonus. Also, not trying to be Lost with 37 storylines at once also helped.
I loved this ep and would watch a million more like it.
2-24-2009 @ 1:07PM
Clayton said...
You're right. This episode was probably the best of the season. But that didn't surprise me. Throughout the series my favorite episodes have been the ones where they "go back" and fill in the gaps of knowledge that you don't know.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the worst is behind us. I started the season, so I am going to finish it, I just hope that by the end of it I'll be resolved to watch the next season.
http://makeasitcom.com
2-24-2009 @ 7:52AM
Chris said...
You are one snarky reviewer. Totally ruining any reason why I used to like this website.
In my mind, TVSquad's quality as of late equates to your opinion of last night's Heroes episode -> Filler.
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 1:12PM
Dan said...
Why do you even bother writing reviews? You didn't give us any information whatsoever, and your opinions are so out of whack that there's really no need for anyone to read them. This is such a huge slide for you as a reviewer, as your old ones used to actually be decent (http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/12/04/heroes-powerless/), but now you seem incredibly lazy. If you don't like the show anymore, let a fanboy write it, but seriously, what do you bring to the table here? I used to read your reviewcaps because they gave me the details of the episode I may have missed, a poll at the end and some thought to the review. Now it's just a couple paragraphs that barely give any information on the episode and are basically just complaints. I really hope they aren't paying you for these, because your work has seriously slipped. This is pathetic.
The episode may not have been a great one (total filler like Chris said), but this article is clearly NOT what I originally came to TV Squad for. It just gets worse and worse.
2-24-2009 @ 2:07PM
Sahil said...
As far as I'm concerned when a show goes from "This might be better than LOST" in season 1 to "omg this is just as bad as Smallville", it deserves to be ripped apart in the snarkiest possibly way.
Best line: "we're the US government. we have loads of weaponss... and stuff"
Worst line: "well this isn't about ethics this is about trust"
what does that even mean... WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?!
2-24-2009 @ 4:07PM
scott said...
i thought he went easy on it.
2-24-2009 @ 8:15AM
laura said...
during the flashbacks My husband turned to me and said "theyre losing me" and i agreed. Horrible momentum killer! They couldnt explain all that in another way?
NO ONE is telling about Nathans ability, I mean the guy asks "how did you get here so fast" and peter doesnt say "dude, nathan is one of us, dimbulb" ???? I mean tracey hasnt spilled the beans? or Mohinder??? thats hard to believe. I mean the first thing we learn as children is to point the finger where blame is concerned!
ALSO the LAME music at the end? what is this Spiderman?
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 9:18AM
Jables said...
Solid review.
Compare this episode to any from Season One and try not to laugh.
I'm still hanging on until the end, but this episode made me slightly lose my grasp on the ledge.
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 2:10PM
Sahil said...
My sentiments EXACTLY! So I'm just going to copy paste what you said cos I couldn't put it any better:
Solid review.
Compare this episode to any from Season One and try not to laugh.
I'm still hanging on until the end, but this episode made me slightly lose my grasp on the ledge.
2-24-2009 @ 9:56AM
MikLamb said...
The 3 Stooges analogy was spot on. They really should have put in Matt trying to poke Mohinder in the eyes but Mohinder putting his hand up sideways to block.
Anyway, while a breath of a Claire-free episode was refreshing, they should have inserted a splash of Sylar on his Daddy-quest. Just because they want to focus on one set of heroes for an episode (which is a very good thing, in my opinion) doesn't mean we should completely forget about all of the others.
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 10:44AM
jasahl said...
Parkman's ability has allowed him to create illusions in the past - why didn't he just make the room appear empty when the thugs broke in?
That aside, this was the best episode since the season premier.
Reply
2-24-2009 @ 8:35PM
popbuzz said...
I was watching the episode with a friend and we thought the exact same thing. He didn't think of it? They had time while the hunters were going room to room. The heroes generally don't use their powers as effectively as they should. Either we're supposed to by they that they're just not that clever, or it's lazy writing.