Author: Will Harris (Page 189 of 261)

Q: Where do you begin with an episode like this week’s “Heroes”?

A: You start with, “No, wait, I’m okay!”

Wow, what an anticlimatic opening few seconds to the next-to-last episode of the season. I mean, not that I wanted them to drag the scene out – I think we were all pretty sure that Peter wasn’t actually going to explode – but, still, to have a moment that’s been foretold for half the year end be over so quickly…it was like, “OMIGOD, I’M HAVING A HEART ATTActually, hang on, sorry, it’s just gas.”

Fortunately, the moment was quickly forgotten. One reason was because of that way that Hiro shifts from utter uncertainty to having the steadfast convinction to offer the perfect delivery of a line like, “The fate of the world is in your hands.” (No pressure.) Following that, however, the end of the pre-credits sequence – specifically, Sylar’s one-liner – was one of those “Heroes” moments where I thought, “This really is a comic book come to life.” Lots of shows (not to mention movies) have tried to capture the feel of the printed page, but it takes just the right touch to pull off a melodramatic line and have the reaction be “YES!” rather than “Gimme a BREAK.”

So Linderman isn’t Mr. Petrelli…well, unless it’s an Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader kind of thing, which I wouldn’t put past this show. He did, however, heal Nathan’s wife (I think many folks probably saw that coming; it definitely occurred to me that it could happen), which makes it even harder for Nathan to back away from Linderman’s promises of the future. Also, Linderman was some kind of shady, huh? Preying on Micah’s desire to live happily ever with his parents. Dang, that’s slack. Of course, we had another theory confirmed: that Micah’s ability to manipulate all things mechanical would involve rigging the computerized voting machines. I think, however, that the fact that Linderman has underestimated Micha’s abilities is going to come back to bite his plans in the ass…

“Don’t they know we have a sword to mend?!?” Poor Hiro; he’s so naive. (Reminds me a lot of me, actually, which might be why I’m so sympathetic to his tendency to hope for the best.) Nathan all but broke his heart…but, by God, George Takei was there to put it all back together again! Didn’t you love that look on Mr. Nakamura’s face when he swung around with the blade? There’s definitely something being set up for a story arc that takes place in the past, given the way Mr. Nakamura touched on the fact that he was once part of a group of Heroes. The same one as Linderman? I’m sure we’ll find out eventually. I loved Hiro’s comment about how Ando wasn’t going to have to die after all. “He will be so relieved!” The bit with Matt Parkman and the porn-hoarding security guard was topped only by Nikica getting a funny line for a change: “Didn’t I throw you out a window?”

But what tops that line…?

HRG saying, “Your last thought.”

Officially the BEST LINE EVER.

I still figured Molly wasn’t gonna buy it, but since there’s no such thing as a bad Mexican standoff, I still enjoyed the Mohinder / HRG confrontation. I also didn’t really believe that “Jessica” was going to kill Linderman…but I was surprised by D.L. being shot…and I was DEFINITELY surprised by his fist going right into the back of Linderman’s skull and pulling out his fucking brain! CRIMINEY!!! But the question is, since he can heal others, does his body heal itself? Even so, that’s a lot to grow back!

So it’s cliffhangers a go go to set the stage for next week. Like I even need to say it: I can’t wait.

Sylar and Nathan as sympathetic characters…? Come on.

In a series where every other scene requires a serious suspension of disbelief, that initial phone conversation between Sylar and Mohinder might’ve been the hardest bit to swallow in all of “Heroes,” especially given that, minutes later, his tone as he approached the hiding Hiro and Ando – after hearing Ando gulp! – was back to sounding like good ol’ homicidal Sylar. Fortunately, however, we weren’t provided with the opportunity to see if he’d really follow through on killing them. (By the way, when Hiro was trying to bail on following Sylar because he’s not supposed to kill Sylar for two days, I laughed out loud at Ando’s incredulous reply: “You want to hang around? Catch a show?”) And, yet, despite my skepticism at the beginning of the episode, that scene where Sylar put his mother in her very own snow globe actually started out feeling sweet before he eased into his usual psychotic behavior…though, to be fair, he looked like it was the use of his power which was actually driving him mad, given his sudden expression of regret when, upon seeing his mom’s blood, he abruptly stopped using his abilities. I’m not really surprised that Hiro wussed out when it came time to kill Sylar, but I still felt bad for him.

Fake Nikica: Why don’t you like Mr. Linderman?
Micah: I don’t know. He smells funny.

Wow. Seeing how much Linderman knows about the Heroes…well, Jessica and D.L., anyway, but you have to figure he knows everything about every single one of them…was really disconcerting, but it certainly confirmed definitively that he’s all but omniscient. (Dunno what to say about poor Micah, except that the paintings don’t exactly make his fate look promising.)

It was awful the way Thompson played on Mohinder’s memories of his sister to get him to help save Molly, but, damn, I sure hope he succeeds. If we actually have to endure Molly dying, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Like it wasn’t bad enough when Charlie bought it, I don’t think I can handle losing that cute little girl. She’s right up there with Dakota Fanning for cuteness; you just want to give her a hug. Or maybe that’s just because I’ve got a daughter. (Lately, I find myself feeling protective of every little girl in the world.) Still, it’s a fascinating power she has; I just hope she lives to use it more than a few more times!

A small but great moment: Nathan’s eyerolling when Claire asks, “You can fly?” Man, from week to week, you just never know who’s the biggest prick on the show…but Nathan’s leading the pack after playing the narc on Claire’s revelation about the possible bomb boy. And to team with Thompson? Ugh. Poor Claire. But, suddenly, Nathan’s having second thoughts and you think for one moment he might do the right thing…until, of all people, Mama Petrelli convinces him to play along with Linderman’s plan. Oh, excuse me, it’s not just Linderman’s plan; it’s her plan, too! Paging “The Manchurian Candidate”!(Side note: I know my good friend David saw Mama show up during the last five minutes and said, “YES! We’re finally going to find out what her power is!” DENIED!!!)

So now we’re left wondering which future is going to come to pass. Tick, tock, tick, tock…