Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Heroes Wednesday: Five Years Gone

(Image from Heroeswiki)

OK. Major fanboy geek out moment coming up... now. OMG so freakin' fantastic! Did you see...?! and then when he....?!? And at the end when they...?! BEST. EPISODE. EVAH!!!!!!

Ahem.

Having got that out of the way, let's get analytical and do some deep geeking.

I won't go into my theory of Newtonian time travel about having to travel through space and time because of the Earth being in a different place in its orbit around the sun, mainly because it's been proven that Hiro can travel though space and time. I will say that I have always loved time travel stories and the paradoxes and possibilities. Back to the Future came out when I was in middle school (does it scare anyone else that we're only 8 years from the year depicted in BTTF2?), and I loved figuring it all out. For instance, at one point in 1955, there were 4 Deloreans in Hill Valley.

Anyway, I want to think about the timelines we've seen in Heroes so far, before we get to the actual story that we saw last night.

Timeline 1: This is the timeline before FutureHiro goes back in time to visit Peter on the subway. In this one, it seems that Sylar kills Claire, becomes the bomb, and destroys New York.

Timeline 2: This is the future we saw Monday night. FutureHiro has altered the world with the Save the Cheerleader, Save the World missive to Peter, but now Peter became the bomb, even though the world thought Sylar had.

Timeline 3: This is the future that we'll see now that Hiro has come back to his regular time with Ando.

I love it. Of course, the trick with time travel is to not think about all the paradoxes that come out of this. Just roll with it. This is when stuff gets really really good.

So, onto the plotlines which intertwine almost as much as string in a particular loft....
  • Hiro and Ando - After a lot of the season where their plot line just dragged and dragged, it really came into its own with this episode. I loved Hiro kept his joy, even in the midst of such a dystopian reality. Yes, his situation was bad, especially while he was in Parkman's grasp, but I loved when they got back to present and he was ready to get out and save New York. Ando was particularly great, and James Kyson Lee has done a great job portraying him. He seemed to accept the case of his death fairly well considering everything. I've had Ando marked down for death for a while and in the middle of the season, it wouldn't have bothered me that much, but now, I would really, really miss his character.
  • FutureHiro - We knew FutureHiro was pretty cool, just from the little we saw of him back in Hiros. And we really saw it last night. Ando's death in the bomb changed FutureHiro in a major way. I think Peter said he became harder. He really, really did. He became very hardcore and a terrorist, although that seemed to be a matter of perspective. I was said to see him go at the end.
  • Parkman - Wow. Parkman as a bad guy? Not just a bad guy but taking out FutureHiro and Bennett? I thought this was so well done and he was so hate-able. I really really wonder what happened to him in this timeline to make him go that bad. Perhaps it was a slow burn and once he got there, he was already committed to his actions. Also, nice little political commentary making Homeland Security into the stormtrooper arm for the Petrelli Administration.
  • Bennett - Running an underground railroad for "specials," but also selling out the "terrorists" to Parkman, who then kills him when he gets the information about Claire. I felt incredibly bad for Bennett, particularly because even in his dying moments, he couldn't protect his daughter.
  • Claire - So she was brunette to protect her identity while living in a town close to where her dad lived. Um.... ok. And she was hooking up with the blond dunce of a boyfriend. Yeah, not really happy with this deal, until Parkman showed up and said, "I don't know. What's good, Claire?" Plus going to see her "dad" in NYC... which we'll get to later...
  • Niki - So apparently, Niki becomes dominant and Jessica becomes her stage name. Stripping is a natural progression for her to continue on, but did any one else get the impression that she owned the bar? She was obviously broken by DL and Micah's deaths, but seemed to think that Peter Petrelli was hot enough to latch onto. We never did get answers about whether the super strength is the power or the split personality.
  • Mohinder - Important to this episode, but ancillary at the same time. Nice choice on taking out the Haitian Sensation. The hair still scared me.
And now for the really, really fun stuff.
  • Peter - Hi. I'll be your Neo for this episode. Which would seem really derivative, but going from Emo-Peter to Bad-A.. Peter was such a cool transition, especially about how comfortable he was with his powers. Watching him just do his thing was fun and I wouldn't mind revisiting him at some point. I do wonder how he got the scar if he has Claire's regenerative power. Did it come from being the bomb?
  • Nathan/Sylar - For the first part of this episode, I thought the power of being President had gotten to him. And maybe it did. Sylar mentioned that Nathan had already turned his back at the time he'd killed Nathan, but I've got to tell you that the reveal of Sylar using Candice's power to be Nathan was one of the coolest reveals that I've ever seen on TV. Ever. I was so glad for TiVo to be able to go back and watch that again immediately. Although it was really bad for Claire. Interesting that he started at the back of her head. I wonder if that was to negate her regenerative powers. And the ending battle with Peter, which we just got little shots of, was really amazing: Sylar busting out the freeze power we saw in the second episode and Peter getting out the radioactive power. I think that battle would have gone on for a long, long time, since both had Claire's regenerative power.
All in all, it's an episode that just did so much right and just made me kind of point and laugh at Lost. It's an episode that a new watcher would come in and not have a clue about it because so much of the back story is working there. But for those who have been fans from the first few episodes, this was almost like a "Thank You" to the fans. The next three weeks should be really fun.

btw, a prediction. Neither Peter or Sylar will be the bomb. Ted will be the bomb and will die protecting something, but still blowing up New York.

Speaking of the next episode...



I'm not going to do a shot by shot breakdown of the preview, but it seems like there's a lot going on. Claire and HRG reuniting, Sylar seeing his mom (yawn), and Hiro getting the sword ready to take Sylar out. Plus, Molly Walker?!? From the second episode?!? Just, wow.

So, where did you come down on it? Best episode ever? Merely ok?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Best episode ever, yes.

But you are still a geek. :D

Karen said...

Best. Episode. Evah. My thoughts exactly. Gah, I didn't even remember Molly Walker! Cannot wait to see what that's about. The writers of this show are absolute geniuses.

I will be getting the DVD of this season as soon as it is available.

Unknown said...

Badass. Totally Badass.

Only thing I didn't like was that they took the opportunity to kill so many heroes. No consequences to the later story meant they could just shoot HRG, for instance, for no actual reason.

Anonymous said...

I didn't remember Molly from the beginning either and that's the fault of network for taking so many frikkin' long breaks during the season! No cohesiveness!

Anonymous said...

Ok, don't bash me, I'm a loyal fan and haven't missed an episode but who is HRG and I don't remember Molly????

Phil said...

No bashing at all.

HRG is the geek code name for Bennett. Since he wears Horn Rimmed Glasses, it's abbreviated to HRG. Or in "5 Years Gone," No Rimmed Glasses or NRG. I usually just try to call him Bennett.

Molly was the little girl whose voice Matt Parkman heard in the second episode of the series. Sylar had killed her parents and she hid in the little closet beneath the stairs. No indication of what her power is, but Thompson thinks she's the only one who can stop Sylar. Of course, Thompson works for the Organization Without Initials (OWI), so we really don't know how much we can trust his word.

Unknown said...

You say yawn at Sylar's mom, but remember what Linderman said about there being others he worked with previously. I think they might be setting up a Petrelli mom and Linderman thingie with maybe Sylar's mom thrown in for good measure.

I thought it was interesting that FutureHiro had no clue Claire was alive, it was like parallel co-existent timelines....not sure how that works....Bennett knew about Claire being saved within the timeline FutureHiro (and everyone else for that matter [eg. Parkman]) was in where Sylar had killed Claire?

Rob Cox said...

So, did you like the episode?

jk

Have you figured out if it was Sylar or Peter yelling in the hall as Hiro goes back to the present?

Phil said...

Rob, I still couldn't tell, listening to it again. Oh, well, I'm not sure it matters a ton, since that timeline isn't going to happen presumably.

btw, I've got a theory on Mama Petrelli's power...

She's precognitive. Peter was having dreams about flying before he actually flew. Plus dreaming about Nathan's accident.

We know that his power is absorbing others' powers. And no one else that we've come across was that way except for Isaac who he hadn't been around. Plus, when Isaac was precog, he painted, which Peter did.

So the precog dreams are most probably from Mama Petrelli. That's just my theory.

Clarissa said...

Oh, yeah, babay!

Elizabeth said...

Best episode ever!!! Sylar using Candace's power....shocking, amazing, and perfect! Can't wait til next week.

Jeff said...

Ok, Phil. I had TiVo'd this episode and didn't get to it until Fri. night. So, this post may be a little outdated. Sorry for being late to the party (and for taking up a lot of space - I've got a lot to throw out).

First - yes, best episode ever, which I think is primarily due to how they revealed the Nathan/Sylar storyline. Wow. I know this is close to blasphemy, but that was up there with "Luke, I am your father" on the surprise meter. I'm hoping I'm not the only one that didn't see that coming. I did the exact same thing and rewound the TiVo to watch it a few times. They have done a great job developing Nathan into this "want to be a good hero" but power hungry politician that it just seemed Linderman (of the Linderman Act...did you hear that part?) got full ownership of him. I wonder how Sylar actually killed off Nathan...in that timeline...which I guess isn't going to happen now, so forget it.

I am with you on Mama Petrelli's power being precog, but it almost seems like the precognitions are never complete. Remember the scenes that Peter sees, they only reveal part of the true future (whereas Isaac's always seemed to be pretty dead on, Hiro and the dinosaur excluded). For instance, when he saw himself flying it was really him falling off the building, and he didn't see Nathan rescuing him. And the future scene he kept seeing with everyone in New York running away from him and then starting to blow up as the bomb. I also think Ted will end up being the bomb, and I guess to make that and the scene Peter sees merge is that Peter is able to control it and doesn't fully blow up?

Question - do we know what Molly's power is that supposedly can stop Sylar? I was under the influence of some painkillers when I watched the first six episodes (did I get your tape back, Phil?), so I'm fuzzy on them.

Finally, I have to ask you politely to get off of Lost. Yes, it has faltered, but it has gotten really good recently. I know you've past on it for now, but the next couple of episodes should reveal most of the questions about Dharma, the island, etc. And, as I've said before, Heroes is setting itself up for a Lost-like letdown second or third season. I equate Hiro killing Sylar and the bomb going off to Lost's version of "what's down the hatch?" IF Hiro has to kill Sylar in this timeline and then the bomb goes off as the finale, then what do they do? I have to say that Sylar, as one of the best bad guys ever on tv, is part of what makes the show. If Kring and his writers can pull it off, I'll be impressed.

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