Heroes

“Heroes” tends to tell its stories in segments. Last year it took several episodes before most of the main characters even met. By the end of the year, everything was intersecting. Now, we are starting over, which is good and bad.

As usual, everything with the Bennet family was fabulous. I especially loved Claire cutting off her toe and watching it grow back – it was gross, but an extremely cool effect. I enjoy how Claire manages to find “special” things to argue with her parents about, instead of typical teenager stuff. For instance, her talking to HRG about if she should test her powers and try to do good with them. It is things like that, transferring a universal concept (like disagreeing with your father) to this extra level that is both weird and awesome. The one thing with Claire, I am undecided on, is her classmate/love interest. He seems a little like Zach from last season, but with a power and extra aggressiveness added in. Personally, I would prefer they bring back Zach rather than shoehorn in a new “hero.”

Hiro stuck in seventeenth century Japan is still working. It doesn’t tie in with the rest of the show, but the combination of Kensei’s sarcasm and Hiro’s excitement is hysterical. It wasn’t a surprise that Hiro would fulfill some of the heroic deeds Kensei is known for, but seeing him figure it out is just plain fun television.

Other high points from last night include HRG being reunited with the Haitian and Angela Petrelli figuring out Parkman was reading her mind. I would still like to learn more about the Haitian’s true motives and loyalty. The few scenes with Mohindar pretending to get his memory erased (or actually getting it erased) were not really enough to fill anything in. However, I am pleased just to see the character again. As for Mrs. Petelli, she is a fabulous villain and the fact that she knows more about the heroes than anyone else makes her an intriguing character.

Low points from the episode include the twins from Hondorus and Peter. The twins are annoying simply because we don’t know enough about them. Yes, she has a freaky power, but at this point they fall in the category of knowing less than the viewers, which is never fun. As for Peter, he is my favorite character and his fight scene in the bar was great. However, I don’t like amnesia stories. They fall into that same category of a character of knowing less than the viewers.

Heroes: I Broke History

Last season, Heroes peaked (in both quality and excitement) before the season finale.  Based on that, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the new season – it would either be as disappointing as the finale or as good as the awesome mid-season episodes.  

I think what actually aired, was a mixture of both.  There were some great moments:  HRG's showdown with his new boss, seeing that Parkman and Mohinder are protecting Molly together, finding out Mohinder is going undercover with the company (and working with HRG), and pretty much every moment with Hiro and Kensei.   I was worried that Hiro being stuck back in time away from everyone else would be annoying, but I like how it played out.  It doesn't hurt that Kensei is played by David Anders of Alias. I actually still think of him as Sark, just on some bizarres mission.  But the two actors made the storyline work, and I am looking forward to seeing Hiro fix the history he "broke."

There was also nice set up for the rest of the year.  Molly is still having visions of a dangerous "bogyman" who can "see" her – who will presumably be the new big bad guy of the year.   Hiro's father and Mrs. Petrelli are getting death threats from some of the original Heroes, who is seemed to have formed The Company years ago.  One of the more interesting storylines of last year involved finding out about the older characters with powers and how they were connected, so I am excited to see where the writers go with this.  I do hope that Hiro's dad is not actually dead, and considering that the Peterelli brothers are alive gives me some hope.  The new characters (Maya and her brother Alejandro)didn't make a huge impression on me yet, but the fact that at least one of them seems to be infected with the same virus Molly has last year, will connect them with other characters soon enough. I am not sure I like the "virus" storyline, it seems like a cheap way to kill off characters or create drama (a mysterious illness that infects heroes without explanation?   Really?), but combined with everything else that is going on, it may work.   

Heroes also picked up four months after the events of last season, which made for some gaps in storytelling, and confusion.   Nathan is alive, but no longer married?   Peter is alive, with amnesia, and lost somewhere in Ireland?  Parkman is divorced and now a cop in NYC?  All great potential for storylines, but I'd like some more details on how exactly that came to be.   Some exposition about what happened is fine, but if they don't go back and give more details, it is just lazy storytelling.

But Heroes has never been about great continuity, it is better at focusing on the bigger picture. Regardless, I am already hooked again.