It’s that time again! Strap yourself in to your chair as I dive right in and take apart the new Heroes episode bit by bit by bit (in a constructive way of course). I should warn all readers that there are spoilers in the review here, but as this post goes up by Wednesday I hope you’ve all seen it. Either way, if you haven’t go watch it before you read this. This episode was actually a pretty good one!
In my previous Heroes reviews, I’ve stated that the show needs to make sure it focuses on it’s new elements instead of pulling at dead threads. That’s the shows main problem: it’s a bit timid about traveling into new territory, and this leaves for boring storytelling that doesn’t enhance the mythos at all. My biggest speculation has been that the carnies could help breathe new life into the show as they bring in an entirely new element to the story, and it looks like 5 episodes in (or is that 4 due to the 2 hour premiere?) we finally get some semblance of the threads being tied together. That, my friends, is a very good thing.
As I’ve stated in the past, there are several characters I’m done with, two of them being Claire and Sylar. Sylar is a character I love, but he definitely needs a break, and now that he’s out of Nathan’s body, I was really afraid that it would be back to the old “Big Bad” routine. Fortunately, Sylar’s character, while still overused by the show, does have his own strengths in this episode. It was pretty obvious the show wouldn’t just let him be Sylar again, so for now he’s confused as to who he is and where he’s supposed to be. He’s the timid Gabriel Gray he used to be, minus the whole acknowledging his name is Gabriel Gray. He seeks help from a cop (yet another Pushing Daisies alumni brought into the show) and is generally innocent. I would have LOVED to see a longer interrogation scene with the nervous Sylar, but alas I take the little bits that I get. And finally, his story ties into the main quest for knowledge about the carnies at the end, when he’s being chased by the police and Samuel appears before him, welcoming him “home.” This is great because it opens up a new window in which to explore what exactly this family business is all about: what’s with the family? Why Sylar? Who are these people already? The intrigue on them is what really strings me along. Plus, now we know that the circus teleports. So there’s another tiny bit of information gleaned from this scene.
Meanwhile, in the world of the other character I don’t care about, Claire is being rushed into a sorority with her new friend/roommate/creepy stalker, Gretchen. Here’s the thing – as far as Gretchen and Claire go, I really don’t care. I just can’t bring myself to. I don’t care that Claire has a creepy stalker who uses crushing as an excuse to Google every possible thing about her, and then forces a kiss on Claire before saying, “Well? Say something!” with a big smile, as if admitting you’re a creepy stalker is a huge turn on for a girl who has a battered past and is looking for a new life away from drama. I may be stressing this a bit much, but Gretchen is a creepy stalker, and it’s kind of unsettling how the writing of the show handles her obsession with Claire, as if it’s “acceptable.” I can’t say I’m a fan of that. What I am a fan of, however, is that it does tie in to the big story, because at the end of the episode the girl who was rushing Claire turns out to be part of this mysterious family. AND NOW WE KNOW A BIT MORE! They can all travel at their own will to the Carnival and back, so does that mean the Carnival is on another plain of existence? They can’t all be speedsters/teleporters. And what is her connection to the family? This new character, Rebecca Taylor, seems rather sinister, so this brings in yet another element to the family: why do they commit murder in order to attempt recruit people to the cause? And what is the cause?
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Of course, then we get to Peter and Emma. This is yet another element in the show that I have a bit of a gripe with, and mainly that has to do with her power. I was stating outloud while the show was airing that I think that it’s the most useless power ever, and as we saw by the end of it it can be applied for destructive capabilities, which I suppose is neat. But while Sylar and Claire are connecting to the family slowly, Peter is growing FROM it. The initial interaction with them was a big focus of his character, but now he spends the episode making colors in the air. I’m sorry, but that’s pretty dull. I love that the show wants to remind us that these are just normal people, but they’re not going about it in a very entertaining way, and I don’t think Emma is that interesting of a new character. In fact, outside of villains and supporting cast, I’d say we don’t need new main characters. There’s enough we have to deal with, and Emma and her story isn’t something we need. They’re going about explaining her past in a great way, I must say, by showing you bits and pieces and including little dips in dialogue that present clues, but I still don’t find myself attached to her story. Especially with that power. Like I said, she does use it violently at the end, which could be interesting, but I find myself weary told the entirety of her plotline because it’s the only one not directly connected to the family in any visible way. And bringing Hiro back at the end, while it was a good move, could screw up the show’s focus again, because now Peter has to deal with Hiro and Emma while all the interesting stuff with Samuel is off happening elsewhere.
The carnival and the family are, without a doubt in my mind, an incredibly strong aspect of the show. I think, as far as I see it, if the carnival and Samuel grabbed you from the beginning, it does a good job of holding on to you. I’m sure someone out there didn’t enjoy this at all, but I know that this is repeatedly the element of the show I keep watching for, and it’s nice to see things begin to tie together slowly. That, I believe, is an aspect of good story telling and writing: seemingly non-connected plot points that slowly piece together. That’s why the first season worked so well, with everyone tying in to each other at the end when fighting Sylar. Granted, the difference between this season and that is that then we had other little elements pulling us along: “Save the cheerleader, save the world,” “Are you on the list?”, etc. With this, we just sit back and watch things slowly piece together, but I believe it still works. With the more we see of these characters, the more we begin to question their actions and become intrigued to their wants and needs, and the best part is we repeatedly see different sides, both dark and light. They’re not so good they won’t push someone out a window, but they’re not so evil that they can’t charm the socks off you very easily. It’s a great addition to the show, and as long as the show maintains a steady pull with them and their storyline, the show stands a chance to make a full comeback.
I assume that there will be a break partway through the season to help build up interest and film more episodes, so I can only hope that this carnival thing is a full 22 episode storyline and that they’ve got some good twists coming up. So far, most of the ending episode twists have been rather dull, keeping us watching but not keeping us talking. Nothing about any of these episode endings have really shocked me in any way, but as I’m a fan of the show I tune in weekly to see what’ll happen. That’s an element I believe the show really needs to revisit and work better on: the writing (big surprise, right?). This episode continued a new trend that I like, and that is it focuses on three characters rather than every character possible to work with in addition to the over arcing mysteries. When the show takes the time to focus and centralize the plot, it works much better.The thing is, the show has a lot of great ideas. I can see many different parts of the show going many different ways, and in my mind most of them are good. The problem is that, like I said, the writers seem scared, and too afraid to push the limits of what they think we as fans will take. I say, shock us! I say, turn the table upside down and throw mud in our faces! I want the show back from the first season that wasn’t so afraid to take risks and murder someone for good with a terrifying villain in the shadows! The writing is getting good again, but we need fearless direction back to really bring back the show, and we definitely need more screen time with the carnies.
Either way, this was a good episode. I can say that with confidence. Despite my general complaints and nagging, I really enjoyed this episode. Sure, I groaned occasionally, but it was the first episode since the premiere this season that I didn’t find myself getting distracted and checking my e-mail while watching. I’d like to see more episodes with build-ups like this, and mostly I’d like the show to be great again. At least it’s taking baby steps in that direction.
