I'm a Rutgers football fan... in 2006, we were 6-0 at this point in the season, and this year we're 1-5. We're just not very good this year, and there are serious problems to address before we can get better.
That isn't a matter of being too harsh, or remembering the "good old days". The team has changed, for the worse, and the chemistry that made them so good in 2006 is not there this year.
Heroes is the same way. Except that instead of being 1-5, they're 0-6 in my book this year. Not one episode was as good as any episode in the first half of Season One (and I've been watching them this week on DVD, so it's not a case of "better in memory")
Viewers are jumping ship, and in its present state, I don't see it making it to next season.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I have to agree that this last episode didn't "do it" for me.
That Linderman was a telepathic projection by "someone" has always been obvious. As soon as he told Daphne that Parkman can control minds, while Matt himself still more or less thinks he can read, but not control. . . . that told me it was Parkman's dad.
I don't like Hiro anymore. He's been a complete moron this entire season. Last season he wasn't always the brightest bulb, but he was still actively bettering himself. This season he's just bipping around messing things up.
Couldn't care less about Niki/Tracy, but would love it if they gave Nathan a bit more to do.
Glad they appear to have killed off Maya. Can't wait for Suresh to die too.
HRG's starting to become a bit 1-note again "It's all for you Claire-Bear!" /gag
Peter's become way to reactionary -- no longer thinks thinks trhough, jsut "does them." How is this in character for the emo guy who overthought everything? I can see him movign a bit away from overthinking, but he's been taken waaaaaaaaay too far.
We need more Haitian! LOTS more Haitian!
Posts: 1323 | Registered: Aug 2001
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What ever happened to the threat to the "Space-time continuum"?
What ever happened to beheading killing immortals?
What happened to the Irish Girl?
What happened to Sylar's super hearing?
What happened to ANY of Peter's/Sylar's other powers?
Who did Daphne steal the first half of the formula from?
What happened to the Season 1 writers, and where did they get these hacks that are writing this show now?
I think I'm done coming up with ways the characters SHOULD have acted. It's hard to write characters smarter than yourself. I'll just have to assume that the writers must be rushed to the point where they don't have time to THINK through what a rational person would do, and so just go with the first thing to come to mind.
I'll try to take a look into the convoluted mind of the current writers. Let me start by saying that I assume they have a point. They have some grand clincher that will tie all of these stray threads together. MAYBE they'll even close a few plot holes.
First, recall from October 6th's episode when they were in the future after the explosion with Clair, Nathan, etc. Nathan mentioned something about needing an Army of "specials" to prevent the apocalypse. Zoom to Monday's episode, we hear the term "Army" again from Sr. Petreli.
I think the entire crew is being split into 2 opposing factions. Most of them are probably being manipulated and don't know what they're actually fighting for. Each side obviously thinks they're in the right.
I think the story will be clearer if we can figure out who is with which faction. In light of Monday's episode, I must assume that it's Mrs. Petreli's group vs Sr. Petreli's.
By the time we get to the "Future", it seems like only Peter is left on Mrs. P's team (or maybe he's independent, but against Sr. P, I consider Mrs. P's team). I don't know when the Haitian turned over, but he obviously did. Since it would appear that Sr. P is pro-formula, I'm guessing that Ando took that side while Hiro is Mrs. P's.
On Sr. P's team (as we can see forming up from Monday's episode), we have Daphne, Parkman, Nathan, Clair, The Haitian, Nightmare Man, and Fearmonger. I'm inclined to want to like Daphne, and we all know that Parkman does whatever he THINKS is right, so I would guess that they are being manipulated on some level. Nathan probably thinks he knows what's going on, but is being led around by Sr. P (This is more apparent considering Peter's comment in the Future "You believe that you're doing the right thing, but you're wrong"). And nobody knows what the Haitian's agenda is. Clair has obviously gone psycho.
Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I think the underlying point to this season will be that villainy is subjective. If you THINK you're doing right, are you really a villain? It all depends on which side of the story you see. We've seen it before in this show. Recall the previous-future Hiro and Peter being considered Terrorists, the same as present-future Peter seems to be now. In everyone else's view, HE is the real bad guy here. HE is the one that must be stopped. Since we, the audience have seen things from his point of view, it seems that it is everyone else who has gone wayward.
I think it's an overall good point. As OCS says, Every character is the hero of their own story. Real people don't deliberately go out of their way to be "Evil". They almost always think they're doing the right/most logical thing; they think they know something that other people don't that makes THEIR choice the right one.
I think that this season is going to show the "Villains'" motives for doing the things they do, and, as such, let us empathize with them. Maybe, by the end, they'll show Peter as the one being in the wrong so they can point and say "See? He was wrong, but you cheered for him because you knew his side of the story."
At least... I HOPE this is what the message for this season is. Now if only they could make us care about the characters again... and fill in the plot holes BEFORE the series sinks.
Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Didn't Sylar lose his original set of powers in early S2 when he woke up in that cottage in South/Central America with that illusion woman? Wasn't that why he was going to find Mohinder - to get his ability to get other peoples' powers back?
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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He got them all back though. He has telekinesis. I don't see any reason he wouldn't have gotten them all back.
Posts: 1287 | Registered: Apr 2006
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I don't have S2 anymore. How could he have gotten Telekinesis back? Did he find another person with it?
Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by T:man: It's so stupid how they keep saying "you don't even wanna know..."
When I saw that Claire's mom pulled a file, talked about vortexes, then pulled another one I was sure she'd say "you don't even wanna know". Well, guess what, stupid, we DO wanna know!
quote:Originally posted by T:man: "Suresh? He's harmless"
I love that line...
That WAS great.
I guess I'm half a target for this season: I like the action, but I also have problems with the unbelievably stupid plot. The thing is, the sheer stupidity has almost made me turn off the "thinking" side of my brain, and made me more able to enjoy the rest. Not sure how long it will last though. I almost want their planet to blow up already and be done with it. Or sucked into a vortex (what the heck IS that thing?).
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: No, I thought they said he lost all those powers, like officially.
quote:I don't see any reason
That doesn't stop anything in this show!
While I wouldn't put it past them to pull something like that, where he only got some back, I'm pretty sure that he has all of the ones he absorbed prior to season 2 (although he didn't get Candace's).
Also, we saw him use Isaac and that radiation guy's powers in the future, so it's a safe bet that he has the rest. I also thought that it was implied that he was using that super hearing when Noah was trying to get him killed.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I'm taking bets on who the next actor from The Wire will be on Heroes. We've got Bubs and Marlo--now we need Stringer, one of the Barksdales, and of course--Omar Little.
Anybody with me on this?
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Originally posted by ricree101: While I wouldn't put it past them to pull something like that, where he only got some back, I'm pretty sure that he has all of the ones he absorbed prior to season 2 (although he didn't get Candace's).
They did pull that. Officially — this is confirmed — when he recovered his powers he only got telekinesis and intuitive aptitude back. It is indicated that he probably slowly recovers the other previously absorbed powers but has few now.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: It is indicated that he probably slowly recovers the other previously absorbed powers but has few now.
Oh, boy. Why do I suspect that "slowly recovers the other previously absorbed powers" ought to be read as "as convenient to the scriptwriters"?
Like they aren't getting enough conveniences treating our suspension of disbelief like a punching bag...
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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I missed last week but I read about it. This week was interesting. Things I like:
Sylar becoming a good guy. Quinto is a great actor, and I think Sylar as a bad guy has run its course, but Gabriel as a good guy has a lot of potential.
Peter I think was a stupid good guy and was starting to look like a stupid bad guy. I love that Arthur took his powers, because I think that means when he gets them back, he'll get everything except Sylar's hunger, which will get rid of that extremely annoying plot point.
Mohinder as a diabolical mad scientist is interesting. He's a weird outlier though. I think things would be better if he was totally gone, but some of the mystery in the show might be taken out if it was JUST one organization against one organization, rather than this new Pinehearst super bad guy group versus Primatech, which apparently is ACTUALLY the good guy group, but then there are some smaller individuals and groups out there that mix things up.
I like that the picture is starting to become clearer. I like that Claire has stopped whining and has started acting. I'm not entirely clear on what Arthur's power is supposed to be. He sucked the life out of Adam, but just the powers out of Peter.
I like the turn things have taken in just the last two weeks. I wasn't going to give up on the show, but my enthusiasm was waning something fierce. Now I really want to see where this is going to go, with one stipulation: No more time travel!
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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My guess is that he sucked the power out of Adam too, which caused Adam to die instantly since his natural lifespan was long over. Not that that makes logical sense, but it does make Heroes sense, I suppose.
I was pretty annoyed last week when Hiro didn't just go back in time 5 minutes and watch where Adam went.
This week, Hiro froze time, but we've already established that Daphne moves at normal speed when Hiro does that, so wouldn't she have seen him freeze time and then teleport away?
Finally, why wouldn't Peter get Sylar's ability back if he gets all of his other abilities back from Pa Petrelli? I think it's equally likely that all he'll get back from Pa Petrelli is his own ability, though of course he would then immediately absorb the rest unless Pa Petrelli was dead.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:He sucked the life out of Adam, but just the powers out of Peter.
Adam's power was life. When he lost his powers the years caught up with him. Cliche.
Interesting that Arthur holds the key to removing people's powers, which some people want, except the cost of losing your powers means you give them to a bad guy.
Also interesting that Hiro's "stupidity" is actually a plot point.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I'm not sure I get why Arthur gets all of the powers that Peter has collected along the way. Stealing his power to steal powers, sure, but the repetoire he's built up? That seemed odd, and frankly I think gives him way, way too much power.
I'd be fine with him giving Peter back just his own absorption power minus everything else. He only uses three or four of those powers on a regular basis anyway, and he can recollect them from a lot of people. Or Arthur could give him back all his other powers by using them one by one except for Sylar's hunger. Or he could maybe choose to give them all back except that one. He his Peter's father after all. He obviously doesn't want him dead, or he'd already be dead. If he wants to make him into an agent, I'd think not giving back the hunger would be a good step.
Either way, other than more time travel, this is the only plot device introduced so far that could remove Sylar's hunger from him. And that's what I'm hoping for.
Edit to add: Ah! I totally get that now about Adam's ability. I didn't realize that his powers were actively keeping him young and that losing those powers would cause his entire body to regress to ashes. It's the instant death part that got me. I figures he'd just lose his powers and then be mortal. That makes more sense now.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Does anyone else think that Adam's death was a complete and utter waste? Seriously, what screenwriter came up with that? "Hey, I know—let's bring back the biggest villain from last season, except that he won't actually do anything and then he'll get killed."
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: Does anyone else think that Adam's death was a complete and utter waste? Seriously, what screenwriter came up with that? "Hey, I know—let's bring back the biggest villain from last season, except that he won't actually do anything and then he'll get killed."
I was sad to see him sacked. Perhaps the writers were afraid they'd get bombarded with, "Hey where's Adam, is he going to be stuck in that coffin forever!?" emails until the show ends, or even further into the future than that.
This episode actually sat better with me than most this season. I wish they hadn't introduced so many heroes, I feel like they need to get rid of 4 or 5. I also think they need to stop constantly belaboring the dual nature aspect of heroes. Yes we get it, heroes like humans can be good or bad, and sometimes people do bad things for good reasons, and try to do good things for bad reasons. But PLEASE just give us one hero who is consistently good, even if that goodness is a problem in some situations. With all these broken heroes running around, just give us one who is a good example of what a person with powers can aspire to be.
edit: I mean I suppose Hiro fits that niche, but the universe is still portrayed in such a way that Hiro is like two steps away from being a villain.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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What about Parkman?
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Blayne Bradley
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He once or twice does villain like things but only in the alternate futures.
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Blayne Bradley
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Also, the reason why the Speedster couldn't be immune in that scene was because she wasn't using her powers at the time, she can only move when Hiro is doing his thing is when shes accelerated.
Though I have to wonder, what if someone trips her when shes going mach 5?
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Yeah, Parkman has been underused this season.
Even though a lot of this season has been a trainwreck, I liked how they built up some momentum. It was the first time that I've felt suspense at all.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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I'll admit, I thought it was both hilarious and a little awesome for the split second that it looked like Parkman was really reading the Turtle's mind before we saw that it was the "African Mr. Eezack." I like the new precog character, but that would've been sweet if Parkman could read animal's minds. It'd add a comical but helpful Dr. Doolittle aspect to his character.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I'm not entirely clear on what Arthur's power is supposed to be. He sucked the life out of Adam, but just the powers out of Peter.
Well, he showed us that he can use any of the powers that he sucks out, so I had just figured that at some point he acquired a "suck the life out of people" power. Or it could be what everyone else has said, and Adam's power was the only thing keeping him from dying.
posted
That makes a lot of sense—just like how Matt's dad has developed his power far beyond simple telepathy. Of course, Arthur seemed to need physical contact to steal powers, whereas Peter just needs to be near someone.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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But if he could pick up powers through proximity, then he would've gotten Adam's healing power before he touched him.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Mr Petreli's power is to steal the power from someone else. When he stole Adam's power, he had it and Adam did not. Adam's power is to regenerate, to the point that he had not died in centuries. Without that ability, a few hundred years of aging caught up with him. So Mr Petreli did not suck the life out of him at all, Adam's decay was a bi-product of sucking the power out of him.
I will also add that I was about to give up on this show (again) but once again, just in the nick of time, it got good. This was a good episode. I liked everything about it, except Mohinder, who should just die already.
The turtle is the best character. Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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The Turtle is officially my new favorite character. So far he has demonstrated a remarkable intellectual advantage over the other characters. Plus, turtles are awesome.
I *think* I liked this episode a lot, but Hulu was playing it so spaztasitically that I could barely follow some parts, and NBC.com wouldn't play it at all.
Posts: 4136 | Registered: Aug 2008
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Hiro Vs Precog African guy was the best scene this show has seen in a LONG time. Though I still think that Hiro relies too LITTLE on his power rather than too much, as the African guy would have him believe. I mean... seriously... how hard would it be to freeze time and LOOK for him for a few minutes?
I think Sr. Petrelli's power isn't as good as Peter's. Proximity > Contact. I think Sr.P is just smarter. He knows his powers and knows how to use them.
Clair + Russian roulette = predictable. Enough said. I fail to see why Mom hesitated...
Also, I don't think anyone can move during a time freeze unless Hiro LETS them. He wanted answers from Daphne during their first encounter, so he unfroze her. Did anyone else notice that in that first scene with her, she was basically like a Tornado whenever she sped by, but now you barely get a rustle out of papers and whatnot?
Death to Suresh. Long live the Turtle!!!
Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by sylvrdragon: Clair + Russian roulette = predictable. Enough said. I fail to see why Mom hesitated...
Because the whole point was to make puppet guy think Claire was dead so he wouldn't use his power on her. If her own mother had just shot her without flinching, he would have known something was up.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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quote:Originally posted by sylvrdragon: Hiro Vs Precog African guy was the best scene this show has seen in a LONG time. Though I still think that Hiro relies too LITTLE on his power rather than too much, as the African guy would have him believe. I mean... seriously... how hard would it be to freeze time and LOOK for him for a few minutes?
I think Sr. Petrelli's power isn't as good as Peter's. Proximity > Contact. I think Sr.P is just smarter. He knows his powers and knows how to use them.
Clair + Russian roulette = predictable. Enough said. I fail to see why Mom hesitated...
Also, I don't think anyone can move during a time freeze unless Hiro LETS them. He wanted answers from Daphne during their first encounter, so he unfroze her. Did anyone else notice that in that first scene with her, she was basically like a Tornado whenever she sped by, but now you barely get a rustle out of papers and whatnot?
Death to Suresh. Long live the Turtle!!!
Thats like the people still believing that the Turtle can speak, Hiro cannot freeze Daphne when shes in midstride, only when shes not using her power.
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quote:Originally posted by sylvrdragon: Clair + Russian roulette = predictable. Enough said. I fail to see why Mom hesitated...
Because the whole point was to make puppet guy think Claire was dead so he wouldn't use his power on her. If her own mother had just shot her without flinching, he would have known something was up.
I'm foggy on this point, can Claire feel pain again?
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I think Blayne's right about the Hiro/Daphne thing.
As for Peter's ability, I was under the impression that it's not proximity so much as an awareness of others' abilities that allows him to acquire them. In other words, he's already capable of using any power as long as he's aware it exists and knows how to access it.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I'd like to point out that Adam's quick decay into dust after losing his immortality makes just about as much sense as....
<SPOILER FOR THE ENDER SERIES BELOW!!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!>
....Ender's instant decomposition in the final book (so far) of the Ender series. Just because the controlling auia left his body didn't mean that all of the smaller auia's in charge of his molecules, blood vessels, etc. suddenly needed to vanish and disobey the laws set forth by chemistry, physics, etc. That scene in "Children of the Mind" always bothered.
Alternately, Miro's instant decomposition while 'outside' in "Xenocide" made perfect sense to me, since his old body was following the 'orders', so to speak, of Miro's auia. Being 'outside' meant that the old body was no longer subject to the laws of nature set forth 'inside' and succumbed to...rapid entropy in the disorderly chaos of 'outside'.
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
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