The tension on this episode is increasing in notch! HEROES has worked very hard to restore it’s season 1 feel and it is absolutely working for me! The storylines keeps unfolding to keep us watching and and each episode is tight and moving fast.

 So, here’s a highlight of tonight’s episode, titled “Strange Attractors” –

• Claire is busted! Fellow pledge of her sorority now know of her powers, after an encounter with lead girl Becky (Tessa Thompson) , who attempted to kill Gretchen (Madeline Zima) while remaining invisible. Claire (Hayden Panettiere) fought back and Becky rammed her to a post with a huge nail. Unfortunately, two other girls saw Claire hanging by a nail (literally) when Gretchen pulled her down.
• Sylar traps Matt inside his own body! Desperate to get rid of Sylar (Zachary Quinto) after Sylar used Matt’s (Greg Grunberg) body to have sex with Janice (Lisa Lackey), Matt tried to intoxicate Sylar by downing alcohol till he got drunk and they both passed out. Unknown to Matt, Sylar slipped into Matt’s mind while Matt was unconscious and “took over the driver’s seat”. So now, they’ve exchanged places – Sylar has control of Matt’s body, and Matt is the schizophrenic half.
•  Noah Bennet fails and a healer dies. Thinking he can handle Jeremy’s (Mark L. Young) case and make the kid disappear from radar, Noah (Jack Coleman) asked Tracy (Ali Larter) for help in relocating the boy. Unfortunately, Samuel (Robert Knepper) got to Tracy first and casted doubts about those with abilities remaining invisible to society. When Noah and Tracy tried to get Jeremy to safety, the townsfolk tried to stop them and Jeremy used his “death-power” to kill someone on the spot. This angered some cops so much that later, secretly, he had Jeremy killed. Tracy was so heartbroken about failing to save Jeremy that she now thought of joining Samuel’s Carnival and live in the open.
• Samuel raises hell. Angered by failing to get Jeremy alive, Samuel moves the earth around the Sheriff’s office and the entire building crumbles. I doubt anyone would have survived that!

So, how did you like tonight’s episode? Let’s talk about it! I have questions to get some discussion going –

1. What should Claire do now that her secret has been exposed?
2. Matt is really in big trouble now, and I think this is more than he can handle. What should he do now?
3. I think Sylar’s powers are still limited (although it’s already so scary what he did to Matt), so he still needs to find his body. But I wonder why he just doesn’t rummage through Matt’s memory/mind for it?
4. Should Tracy take up Samuel’s offer and live in the Carnival?

Images: NBC/Adam Taylor

[This post updated to reflect missing text in the first paragraph. - October 29]

Post from: Superhero Profiles

What did you think of tonight’s episode on HEROES? I thought it was clever how of the writers to make you think one thing and then to bring out something else you didn’t expect. And “Tabula Rasa” had several of those tonight. Like Sylar/Gabriel for example. And Hiro’s illness.

OK let’s recap first and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Sylar/Gabriel in the Carnie family. So Samuel (Robert Knepper) “adopted” Gabriel (Zachary Quinto) in he knew instantly there was something wrong about Sylar’s personality. Samuel has heard of “Sylar, the most powerful among us” and the person standing in front of him felt anything but. Although Sylar displayed his powers unintentionally, he was really more confused, scared and depressed than ever. So Samuel thought he would jumpstart Sylar’s mind. Samuel asks Damian (guest star Harry Perry) to show Sylar who he really is. Inside the House of Mirrors, Sylar was shown his heinous crimes – killing his mom, taking people’s brains out. But Sylar saw himself as the monster that he has been afraid of all this time! Instead of opening his mind and embracing his identity, Gabriel was even more confused and scared. Samuel even manipulated Gabriel to kill the detective who was tracking him. Instead, Gabriel warned the man to get out of the carnival as fast as he can. Unfortunately, Edgar (Ray Park) got to the cop and killed him. At the end of the night, Samuel took Gabriel in and baptized him into the Carnival family. Edgar complained that they have a tiger in their midst who doesn’t know how to kill, but Samuel took that as an opportunity to mold this new Gabriel/Sylar into their liking.

What Samuel never realized (and of course the viewers do) is that the man inside Sylar’s body is not him – it’s Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar). When Samuel had asked him what he wants to be called, Sylar first thought of “Nathan, call me Nathan”. Sylar identified with the sounds of military planes passing by – he recalls flying an aircraft like that, and for a fleeting moment, Sylar’s face shifted to look like Nathan’s. Sylar also thought he might have been a politician before. Plus, Sylar got attracted to Lydia (Dawn Olivieri), a trait that is more Nathan than Sylar.

So this gets really interesting! Nathan’s memories are inside Sylar’s body, and yet previously when Sylar took on Nathan’s form, it felt foreign to think of Nathan’s memories as his. Weird twist but very interesting.
I was waiting for this episode to get Sylar-the-villain back, but that would have been too easy (and too early in the season). This twist gives the writers opportunity to weave Sylar and Samuel’s fates – who is the real villain. We’ll have to see who emerges out of Sylar in the end.

  Hiro, Peter and Emma and Noah. Hiro (Masi Oka) teleported to Peter’s (Milo Ventimiglia) apartment just before fainting. It’s not clear yet why Hiro went toward Peter – did Peter need help? “No.”(“Yes, really, c’mon). Maybe Peter is supposed to help a dying Hiro. So Peter absorbs Hiro’s powers and teleports to Noah’s (Jack Coleman) house to ask help from the Company man. Funny thing is, Peter ends up in the bathroom (his teleporting skills are rusty!). It just so happens that Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is in her dad’s apartment to do laundry. Peter explains Hiro’s condition and Claire volunteers her blood to heal Hiro (the same question on every fan’s mind!). Noah advises against that idea since Claire’s blood is regenerative – it will only make the tumor grow faster. Oh. But Noah knows a boy – Jeremy Greer (guest star Mark L. Young)- who can help Hiro, so Peter and Noah vanish into thin air and teleport to Georgia.

Earlier, Peter had introduced Hiro to Emma (Deanne Bray) as someone who can answer all her questions about powers and abilities and Hiro gets ingenious in teaching Emma that her abilities are not a curse but a gift to help others. Pretending to be Hiro the Magnificent, Hiro performs magic tricks in front of patients and hospital staff. He stops time to make Emma see that his powers can be about helping people. When Emma asks him how he keeps such a positive attitude, Hiro remembers Charlie, who taught him about joy in the midst of adversity. And that’s when Hiro had an epiphany!

Meanwhile, Peter and Noah arrive in Georgia and find Jeremy Greer’s house to be in shambles. Plants and animals around the house were either dead or dying. Inside, Noah and Peter find Jeremy’s parents dead in their seats. Something had happened to Jeremy’s powers so everything he touches dies! Noah tells Jeremy he has both powers – to give life and take it back. The frightened young boy has a big rifle aimed at Noah and unfortunately, it goes off and hits Peter right in the chest! Noah pleads with the young man to heal Peter – that he has it in him to do it – and Jeremy does! Whew. I thought Peter was a goner.

Peter absorbs Jeremy’s healing powers and goes back to New York (this time, the normally slow way). Noah asks to be left behind and get Jeremy’s life in order. He had bagged and tagged Jeremy four years back and erased his memories so he can’t use his powers, but Noah never thought to help the kid. Now is Noah’s chance to finally do something positive in his life.

Back in New York, Peter learns from Emma that Hiro has vanished. And the only clue left is a note from Hiro – “Save Charlie!”. The next thing we know, Charlie is in Texas, back at the Burnt toast diner and Charlie is alive.

To be continued… Next on HEROES, episode 4.07 “Strange Attractors”, next Monday October 26.

Images: NBC/Adam Taylor

Post from: Superhero Profiles

This is the story of how Sylar got his body back. But poor Nathan. He was really only trying to right some wrong. But where are my manners? Let’s start from the beginning. Tonight’s episode on HEROES is titled “Acceptance” and it centers on three major players – Sylar/Nathan, Hiro and Tracy-Noah. So let’s recap –

Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) has been telling his family that he’s had memories that don’t seem like his own, so Angela gets him some stuff to help him remember the past. Unfortunately, touching a baseball cap brings Nathan’s memories of an accidental death involving Millie’s daughter years ago in college. And Nathan sets out to right what was wrong. He tells Millie the truth, and even how his family covered up. And then of course, Millie got Nathan killed! Three times in the chest too. And then just when we thought Nathan is gone, a hand reaches up and it’s Sylar (Zachary Quinto).

This is also how Hiro (Masi Oka) accepted his fate. With his days being numbered, Hiro wanted to right all the wrongs he has done in his life, and maybe to use his powers to do good. He sees a chance to change someone’s past – to keep a man from killing himself -  but the present still kept happening. Until tired of intervening, Hiro simply accepts the man’s fate. And that’s when it changed – the man changed his mind and lived. And Hiro realized that he has to accept his own fate too. And so he finally tells his sister Kimiko that he has terminal illness. And then Hiro disappears right before her eyes!

Heeding Noah’s advice to get her life back, Tracy meets her old boss Senator Malden, and he gives her old job back – what she does best – to seduce and convince powerful men to support the senator’s cause. But Tracy realized that she didn’t want her old life back after all. Maybe she has changed, but now she wants to make a difference.

Meanwhile, Noah is back as a “Company Man”, gathering evidence about the compass tattoo that appeared on Peter’s arms – “the compass that changed the world”. Lydia senses that Noah has become interested in the Carnival, and Noah’s face appears on her tattoo.

Image: NBC/Justin Lubin

Post from: Superhero Profiles

The season four premiere was awesome! HEROES definitely brought their notch up with these two episodes. So let me get right down to what we found out last night, and then we can discuss some of the questions that I’m sure cropped up in your mind as you watched.

What did we find out last night?

• After its leader Joseph died, the Carnival’s new leader Samuel decides it’s time to gather everyone of their kind. But first, he uses Lydia to “draw” Danko into her tattoo, and he asks Edgar “one last time” to kill the Hunter for taking an old compass from him.
• Claire starts college in Arlington, VA, and she meets two interesting freshmen. Gretchen is awkward and a little pushy in attaching herself to Claire. Annie is Claire’s overachiever roommate who is found dead on the sidewalk below their room. Gretchen suggests the “Jump, Push, Fall” theory to Claire to test if Annie did kill herself. When Claire tests the theory and jumps, she finds Gretchen watching her from her window.
• Peter is on a lonely road of self-redemption, and he tries to atone for all their sins and inaction by saving people’s lives. This empath acquires Edgar’s powers when they duel!
• Noah stops Tracy’s path to revenge.
• Hiro and Ando start a business called “Dial A Hero” and Hiro reveals that his headaches and nosebleeds are signs of a terminal illness. Hiro’s nostalgia of a carnival incident 14 years ago brings him back in time when his young self got a prophesy.
• The fissure in Nathan’s persona begins to break as Sylar tries to come out, and Angela is very scared.
• Matt succumbs to the mind games that Sylar is doing and ends up controlling some innocent guy’s mind.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Why is that compass so important?
2. What is Samuel’s motive for gathering other abilities into the Carnival? We know Samuel can move earth, and ink, so that suggests some form of control, but what are his powers exactly?
3. Claire’s new friend Gretchen. I don’t trust her. She’s too coincidental!
4. Noah and Tracy, what do you think of them? Well, really, what do you think Noah is doing?
5. However way Sylar is messing up Matt’s mind, it sure is working! I wonder how long Matt will last.

So, what did you think of Monday’s premiere?

Next on HEROES, it’s the episode “Ink” and someone will mess up Peter’s lonely existence.

Image: NBC/Chris Haston

Post from: Superhero Profiles

Don’t even ask if one enjoyed Heroes tonight! NBC wasn’t kidding when the ad said it was CLASSIC. It was the BEST of the season, no question about it. Nothing defined good TV better than this episode.  Humor, suspense, twists and a romance – episode 3.20 had it all. And the icing on the cake: everything fit together beautifully. Bryan Fuller wrote this ep, folks, and he brought down the house. Greg Yaitanes’ direction was excellent, and Grunny twitters it’s only getting better from hereon!

So, what went down?

A Wheelbarrow and a Baby Bjorn

Hiro and Ando get a message from Rebel to save Matt Parkman the second. They get to Janice Parkman’s home in Los Angeles and finds the little toddler with powers of his own. The little babe can make toys and electronics run without being hooked to any source of power, earning him the moniker “Toddler Touch and Go”. Janice comes home and find little Matt with the new babysitters, who explain what the government really wants with her child. When agents barge into her house, Ando gets heroic and knocks an agent off with his amped powers. But the baby saves the day! Lil’ Matt touches Hiro and get him back his time-space control! Hiro stops time and that part of his world froze.  But uh-oh, Hiro still can’t teleport himself and Ando away from the scene, so he does the funniest thing ever! Hiro carries Ando away from Janice house on a wheelbarrow! 

Ice Queen Meets the Rebel

Tracy Strauss gets a message from Rebel to hang on tight. Rebel helps Tracy break out of the heat lamps by turning off electricity from Building 26. Tracy gets Matt, Daphne and Suresh awake from their stupor but she runs ahead when she learns that Daphne is wounded and could slow them down. Matt does his mind control and they walk out of the building like know one saw them.

HRG tracks Tracy to a department store and offers her a deal – lead him to Rebel and she can go free. Rebel helps Tracy withdraw money from an ATM and gives instructions for her to go to Union Station. And whatyaknow! Micah shows up! A little grown now and not so cute anymore, but that’s all cool. He’s perfect as Rebel!

Micah follows Tracy to Union Station and reveals his identity to her. Tracy is crushed!

She wouldn’t have taken HRG’s offer had she known it would me Micah. You’d have to love what Micah did – rub in the guilt trip! “My mom may be an ordinary American, but she was hero. You’re just a…. politician!” Oooh. That definitely worked. Just as agents traced them to a parking garage of station, Tracy laid out her cold snap routine like the Ice Queen never existed! She had Micah open all the sprinklers, told the kid to run ahead of the ice, and froze the whole garage like a mean ice storm even Tracy froze. Danko and HRG got there too late, and to spite Tracy, he pulls the trigger on her frozen body and shatters her to a million icicles. Ah, but did Danko see her eyes blink? She’s not dead yet, Hunter.

Fly Me to Paris or the Moon

Unfortunately, a true hero bit the dust tonight. Matt brought a wounded Daphne to the hospital and manages to get her a nice room under the name “Gwen Stefani” (they do look alike). Daphne wakes up to flowers, balloons and cards wishing her well. But she says goodbye to Matt, with a half-convincing lie that their relationship was just all in his head. Daphne is next seen somewhere in Paris, France and Matt shows up there as well! How’d he do it? He flew. How did she get there? She ran over water. And just like a classic Superman tale, Matt offers a grand view of Paris. Daphne places her feet over Matt’s and they float above the city of lights. The romance would have been perfect except Daphne asks Matt if he would really do anything for her, as he promised. “Let me go,” was her painful request. No regrets, Daphne knows this is all in his head. In reality, they are still in the hospital and Matt is just inside her head. A teary Matt admits he really only wants her to be happy, and she asks that he fly her to the moon. Just like the comics, he does. And then Daphne’s monitors beep, and she is lying in the hospital bed, dead in Matt’s arms. My congratulations to Brea Grant for bringing Daphne to life and making us fall in love with her.

Angela gets wet

Out in rainy Manhattan, HRG meets Angela in her car and warns her that he is about to turn her in, as a sacrificial lamb, to make the Hunter trust him more. She wants HRG to give Danko someone bigger than her, like the Rebel. With her future-telling powers, Angela is able to get one step ahead of the agents hunting her down. She gets into an elevator just as agents corner her. Peter swoops in and flies away with mommy!

The last scene shows Peter and Angela inside the head of the Statue of Liberty. Peter asks his mom” what do you want to do now?”

What’s next is episode 3.21 “Into Asylum” next Monday March 30, 2009.

Images: NBC/Chris Haston

Post from: Superhero Profiles

Monday’s “Heroes” is one of those dense episodes that packed a lot of storylines into one hour. But somehow I didn’t feel the episode were hurried up. The pacing was fast but it had enough good connection to feel that the stories were told well.

From one of last week’s surprise endings, Matt Parkman gets strapped with explosives on his chest! Danko the Hunter got the idea from Matt’s painting and decided to make it come alive, and he didn’t waste anytime! Danko brought a dugged Matt in front of the Capitol to make a statement about how dangerous people with powers are. Nathan heard about the set up and flew to DC, going out of Building 26 by way of roof access. Danko was getting suspicious about Nathan already, but I’m surprised he didn’t connect that immediately. Nathan arrived in DC and convinced Matt to use his powers to read the thoughts of bomb squad experts on how to disarm it. Danko pushed the button to activate the bomb but Rebel got through their system. Matt finally pulled the remote off his chest and the bomb failed to explode. Whew, that was a quick call. Suddenly, this puts a face to the threat that Danko wanted the public to understand, but we will have to see if Danko’s plans are going to work. 

Piece by piece, Danko uncovered the secret of Nathan Petrelli. Can he fly? Asking information from Tracy was no good, even after she squealed that Nathan is “one of us”. Cornered, Tracy denied having any knowledge of Nathan having powers. Danko got a lead from HRG to ask Angela about Nathan. So Danko goes to the matriarch and finds a match more than he can handle. Oh, that scene with Christine Rose was the best yet! Funniest scene of the evening was a fearless Angela eating an oyster!

Nathan wasn’t about to let Danko get the better of the situation, so Nathan gets permission from the US president to relieve Danko of his position. But the Hunter isn’t finished yet. He corners Nathan and pushes him through a glass window, and the flying man was forced to reveal his abilities! Does this mean it’s over for the Senator? Is Danko back to being in charge?

Meantime, another baddie is gaining his mojo back. Sylar appears at his father’s doorsteps and was surprised to find a cancer-stricken disheveled old man named Samson Gray (guest star John Glover). At first Sylar was a little disappointed at seeing how defeated the old man looked, but we soon learn that Samson gave up because the “challenge to kill” was gone. In his own words, “Your entire life is meaningless because there’s no challenge. You lived an unsatisfied life.” So either Sylar would kill him quickly, or the cancer will, so now Samson doesn’t care anymore. Did he get through to Sylar, or did the son bait the father? Sylar’s one test – to show his own proof of immortality – was the wake-up call that Samson needed and he shot Sylar through the heart. Obviously, Samson didn’t know any better, and would have had a lot to learn from his son! Sylar tricked his father into playing possum, and got the old man to reveal just what kind of man he still is. John Glover was perfect as Sylar’s dad! He gripped the viewers into believing he’s old and useless until a bait was dangled right up his nose. I just hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of Samson Gray. It would be terrible to waste such talent on one short arc of story. I want to expect that the old man has got something up his sleeve that will make Sylar know a little fear.

In Costa Verde, Eric Doyle “the Puppeteer” (guest star D.H. Lawrence XVII) appears at Claire’s home and asks her for help. Rebel has sent him a message that Claire can help him disappear and live a normal life. Doyle pleads with “Barbie” but Claire refuses to help. And just to remind the Bennet girl what he can do, the Puppeteer shuts Claire’s mouth. But as tears (crocodile?) fall from his eyes and Doyle takes back his hold on Claire, saying he’s not like that anymore. Claire is left wondering if she should have helped Doyle after all. Is this going to be her mission? Maybe her ‘free pass’ gives her the perfect role to ‘lead a double life’  – pretend to be normal, and save lives in secret. Claire talks this over with mom Sandra and decides she’s going to apply at Sam’ Comics (Alex the ‘fish’ former job) so Rebel can send people over to her there instead of endangering her family at home.

As Claire hands her application at Sam’s Comics, the manager grills her about what it means to be a hero. Does Claire really know what kind of hero she is? I didn’t think so either, since she has been on this quest for self-discovery for awhile now. But Claire gets the job – not because she fits the hero descript – but because she’s cute and every guy had been staring at her since she came in. I thought that was funny that the writers added that stereotypical portrayal of comic-geeks (I bet the writers were fellow-geeks).

At the end of the episode, new scenes and twists were being spoiled. Claire receives a warning from Rebel that agents are about to arrest her. Nathan rescues Claire just in time by flying her out the window. Did he get a text from Rebel too to save his daughter?

I’m guessing Danko placed the arrest for Claire. When Danko goes home, obviously pleased and not afraid of those with abilities, someone he wouldn’t have expected was waiting for him at home. Sylar brings along a souvenir from dad – the stuffed rabbit his father taught him to prepare.

Hiro and Ando get back from India to help “Matt Parkman”, who turns out to be Matt’s little baby from Janice. If the babysitter is a clue, this little baby is not a bundle of joy!

Two weeks from now, “Heroes” continues with Cold Snap (ep 3.20) which is Bryan Fuller’s comeback episode.

Images: NBC / Trae Patton

Post from: Superhero Profiles

Last night’s Heroes 3.16 “Building 26” had its share of action, stunts and drama, and I am liking how NBC now adds photos of the episodes from the previous night. We now have stills of a flying Sylar and of Tracy in her sizzling cell. I would have loved to see photos of Claire Bennet and the new kid Alex (guest star Justin Baldoni), too… (NBC, hello?)

But check out this very cool no-harness stunt of Sylar (Zachary Quinto) who was about to jump out of the diner where agents cornered him and Luke.

Fly Super-Sylar!

(more pictures after cut!)

And here, Sylar is disguised as SWAT as he rescues Luke (guest star Dan Byrd). We know those haunting eyes anywhere now.

This is a scene from Building 26, where Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter) escapes her chains. Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar, center) is telling her to calm down as Abby Collins (guest star Moira Kelly) looks on horrified at Tracy’s abilities.

And this is Tracy Strauss, back in her red-hot cell to prevent her from freezing up.

Images: NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Post from: Superhero Profiles

Heroes continues the chase for fugitives with tonight’s episode and it’s interesting how events turn out for some of the characters.

The heroes have been getting help from someone named “Rebel” who has access to information that keep them in the loop of government activities. Nathan’s operations at Building 26 also get a visit from the Homeland Security: Abby Collins (guest star Moira Kelly).

Abby Collins is skeptical about giving more funds towards Nathan’s activities and she doesn’t believe in the existence of those with special abilities. She questions the legality of everything in Building 26 and was riled when she saw Tracy Strauss being held captive. An unfortunate incident happens and Tracy escapes! She gets cornered and uses her freezing abilities to kill an agent. Collins was so shocked to see it that she gives Nathan full authority and funding to continue with the covert project. Later, Nathan finds out that the Hunter helped Tracy escape. Heartless military that he is, Danko believes the end justifies the means. 

Nathan is now thrown deeper into this hole. As much as he tries to control Danko, the man is out eliminate every person with abilities, whatever the cost.

Meantime, Sylar continues the search for his father with microwave-boy Luke. The boy is feeling smug that a serial killer like Sylar is taking him, and he gets confident that withholding the exact location of Sylar’s father will spare his life. Sylar confides that he used to kill people for their powers, but all he wants now is to find his father and find out why he turned out that way. They stop to rest at a roadside store when agents barge in looking for Sylar. He easily overtakes the agents but leaves Luke behind. The agents take down the boy and bring him inside a SWAT van when all hell breaks loose as Sylar disguises as an agent and  kills everyone to rescue Luke. Sylar could have left the boy behind, but he doesn’t. EGAD! Is Sylar getting soft?! Oh, how I miss the old ruthless villain! This whole Luke thing doesn’t endear Sylar to me, it just makes him look weak. You know, someone with a heart and conscience.

Another lame angle in tonight’s episode involved the story of Hiro in India. It’s a mystery how Hiro and Ando got to India! They obviously couldn’t have teleported, so they must have flown. How did they get past airport security and the scrutiny of agents who have cameras and information from 50 states (as the Hunter surmised)? Anyway, they did get to India… And for what?!

According to Matt’s drawing, Hiro was supposed to stop a wedding in India. Seeing just the drawing makes one hope that Hiro gets back his powers so he can teleport to India and rescue a damsel in distress. But that’s not what happened. Ando and Hiro just show up in that specific place in India in time to stop the wedding. But Ando beat Hiro to it by suggesting to the bride, Anna, to pull out of it if that makes her miserable. Ando shows her his powers (crackling hands, whatever they are) as the sign she’s been waiting for. Anna is so grateful to Ando that she treats them at her restaurant. But Hiro is pissed that Ando stole his show. Well, Ando counters that Hiro is only jealous of their reversed roles. The groom, a powerful and very angry man named Deepak, arrives at the restaurant claiming his bride. Ando tries to stop him when Deepak strikes him unconscious with a pan. A pan! I don’t know if that’s supposed to be hilarious but it looks stupid. So Deepak takes Ando hostage so that Anna will marry him. Why he didn’t just take the bride and marry her on the spot is beyond me, but there is a story here…

So Anna agrees to continue with the wedding but Hiro interrupts it and tells the guests how she’s being coerced into the relationship. Hiro gets to punches Deepak and the Indian gives up his claim on the girl. Yatta! Hiro feels like a hero again, even without his powers!

After the excitement settles, Anna remembers she received a message that Ando and Hiro were supposed to go back to California and rescue Matt Parkman. Huh? They go all the way to India so Hiro can punch some guy and feel like a hero, and still go away powerless. And then just to be told to go back stateside? I don’t get it. I hope this story has a sequel otherwise it would look totally pointless to bring Hiro to India for nothing.

In another story, Claire gets a text message from Rebel to help a target – someone named Alex (guest star Justin Baldoni), who works at a comic store. Claire goes to the store and helps Alex get away from the pursuing agent, none other than her father! Danko the Hunter tells HRG that Claire’s car in the same vicinity as Alex but daddy reasons out that his daughter has been doing errands around Costa Verde. Claire finds out Alex can breathe underwater and she hides him in her house. She also finally tells Sandra that HRG has been abducting innocent people and Sandra forces him to move out. It’s really not helping Noah to keep hiding things from his family. In his mind he’s protecting them from whatever perceived threat, but it would make his case better if he were to at least let Claire in on what his exact motives are. Obviously, he has a soft spot for her friends (Peter, Matt, Hiro…) but he knows they can be dangerous. And yet, Claire can probably help him more and cooperate better if she knew what’s going on. Besides, she just took down a plane! She certainly can take care of herself. But then, telling his family everything would end the story and suspense of HRG’s real intentions. And the heroes still has to make HRG their hostage and interrogate him, so I guess that’s how this story is played. (Oops! That’s next week’s spoilers!)

The final scene of the episode shows HRG inside a hotel bar. A spiked drink makes him pass out. Peter, Matt and Mohinder move in to carry him away.

How was Heroes episode 3.15 “Building 26”? I wish there was more. I think the writers could have done a better job at convincing us of the stories. There are just too many weak angles. Sylar’s behavior and the whole paternal issue. Hiro’s trip to India. HRG’s ineptitude of Claire’s role in helping him. The one story line that seems to move along is Nathan’s in Building 26. Now Nathan has more government to back him up and the funds to build a better prison and capture more people. But he has an unbridled agent who has agendas of his own and a potential for creating problems for the senator.

Next week, Heroes continues with episode 3.17 “Cold Wars” and it’s about the heroes taking HRG hostage. That ought to be good.

Images: NBC /Chis Haston

Post from: Superhero Profiles

The heroes survive the plane crash and everyone is scrambling for their lives as the military go after them. The second episode takes its cue from the premiere – the action is quickened and the tension builds up as the players on each side get in the game of hunter and prey. Nathan Petrelli takes center stage as his plans of “containment” get out of control. He’s not trying to save his skin, not just yet, but things are definitely getting very problematic for the Senator. How far will Nathan go to feed his own delusional ambitions?

Meantime, brother Peter is taking charge. He has learned his lessons and he is now ready to fight. Peter’s transformation is a long time coming. We love that he is golden-hearted and all, but it’s time for him to use his head and make decisions.

In a separate storyline, Sylar is pursuing his own cat and mouse as he looks for his father. Sylar is a nice distraction but I also wander how he’ll get out of finding his father. Understandably, someone with abilities would be asking questions about his identity and where he comes from, but we’re talking about Sylar. He doesn’t hesitate to kill to satisfy his hunger for power, and yet now he’s on a quest to find his father. I’m sure the writers have thought of a way to relate him to the rest of the stories.

So on to the recap of Heroes episode 3.15 “Trust and Blood” –

Right after the cargo plane crashed in the mountains of Arkansas, everyone is scrambling to get away from the wreckage with soldiers at their heels. A powerless Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) frantically runs into Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) when Parkman gets into a trance and heads off into the woods. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) and Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) are running away from the crash when HRG (Jack Coleman) stops them at gunpoint. Surprised at the atrocity of HRG’s intentions, Claire pleads with her father to let Peter go and he finally does. All of a sudden, air to ground missiles blast the wreckage. Daphne finds Ando in Japan and brings him to the crash site in hopes of finding Matt or Hiro alive.

Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) is now in a bind as things go out of control. The Hunter (guest star Zeljko Ivanek) believes the fugitives have become a threat to national security and he is prepared to take them down whatever the cost. Peter runs into a distraught Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter) and convinces her to go with him. Mohinder, Hiro and Parkman find a trailer and change clothes. Matt draws the future again and sees Daphne being shot, and Hiro and Mohinder are somehow in India.

Matt and the boys go back to the crash site to find Daphne when she appears with Claire and Ando. The brief reunion was interrupted when soldiers opened fire and shoot Claire and Daphne as the rest escape.

The Hunter gets Claire and wasn’t going to hesitate pulling the trigger when Nathan and HRG intervened. So HRG is still looking out for Claire and her family, after all, and promise his daughter that he will find out what he can about helping the other post-humans.

Tracy makes a bargain with Nathan to bring Peter in and she gets to go free. But Nathan betrays her and soldiers arrive ready to kill her. Peter holds Nathan at gun-point and HRG is told to shoot Peter. But HRG lies that he doesn’t have a clear shot and Peter flies away.

The next day, Parkman, Mohinder, Peter, Hiro and Ando meet at a secluded place. They are now fugitives. Now that their lives are over as they see it, the five men make plans to bring the fight to those hunting them, and they will be ready when that day comes.

In far away Costa Verde, Claire is back at home and thinking about everything that happened. She gets a text message from Rebel that there is hope and they will fight back. Who is Rebel? Graphic Novel # 124 (Libertad) hints at his identity and what he can do in helping people with abilities.

At the end of the day, Nathan goes home to mommy Angela and asks for reassurance and absolution.  She’s not about to give it to him anymore. Inside a facility called Building 26, Nathan talks to Tracy and tells her that this had to be done because good people can’t control their powers.

In a separate event at Newark New Jersey, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) goes into the taxidermist’s neighbor bringing the agent that tried to take him down. Since the agent wouldn’t talk, Sylar thought he can make him talk by torturing the occupants of the house. A rebellious boy named Luke (Dan Byrd) and his mom go inside their house at the wrong time and Sylar begins the torture.

Sylar is obviously having fun being in power when Luke displays an ability! The boy acts like a microwave and can melt plastic, boil waters, wreck pacemakers. Sylar somehow feels a connection with the boy. Perhaps he can see himself in Luke when he was younger. The need to want to be special and a drive for depravity is very attractive to Sylar. In the end, Luke tags along with Sylar as the boy promises to bring Sylar to his father’s doorstep.

To be continued next week with Heroes episode 3.16 “Building 26”.

images: NBC / Adam Taylor

Post from: Superhero Profiles

  Heroes returned to television with a new storyline called Volume 4: Fugitives, and the first few minutes were spellbinding!

Last night, the first episode (Clear and Present Danger) didn’t waste anytime introducing the characters. We know who they are, and what they can do, even though very few of the characters showed their abilities. And yet, even if you have never followed Heroes previously, you can immediately tell there is something different and special about these individuals. They talk about lying low, living normal lives, getting on with their lives, and hints of previous lives that are crazy and scary. And someone thinks they are too dangerous to be out on the streets and they need to be put away.

We already know so much about this episode anyway, from the massive previews, sneak peeks and interviews, but those didn’t take away from the thrill of being glued to our seats. There is enough tension and conflict as the episode rapidly progresses, and hopefully this kind of pacing previews the rest of the season. And yet the story pauses to establish certain relationships. Peter and Nathan still hate each other – the idealistic versus the pragmatic. Hiro and Ando may have switched the roles of superhero and sidekick but there is no doubt Hiro is still more heroic. Mohinder’s and Peter’s views of what their powers mean for the world are both correct and yet so opposite.

And then there’s Sylar. Is he not as villainous and power-hungry as we knew him to be? We know he has parent-issues, but now he wants to know who his father really is. Nothing wrong with finding your roots, but… this is Sylar.

So let’s get on with the episode. The fourth volume’s first episode (Clear and Present Danger) set the stage for the rest of the season.

Senator Nathan Petrelli  (Adrian Pasdar) is the new senate head of Homeland Security and he wants to get rid of “threats to national security”. He’s not talking about foreign terrorists but certain groups of individuals who have special powers that can become a danger to society. Or so he and the President of the United States think this. So Petrelli employs a covert military operation to bag-and-tag individuals with post-human evolved abilities.

Petrelli’s first victim is former girlfriend Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter), who has freezing abilities. That was a totally treacherous way to treat an ex and PR manager, don’t you think? Led by a mysterious man called the Hunter (Zeljko Ivanek), agents surrounds Tracy and darts her a chemical that makes her weak and then tazers her unconscious. This group knows what they’re doing and how to subdue the powers of people they’re taking down.

Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) overhears a conversation between her grandmother Angela (Christine Rose) and Nathan about bringing down Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg). It had been Angela’s job to distract Claire with college applications but that obviously didn’t work. Claire calls Peter about her suspicions and he advices her to stay put while he talks to his mom.

Peter has been lying low as a paramedic and yet he feels frustrated that he can’t prevent the death of his patients. When Peter hails a taxi to his mother’s home, it turns out Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is the driver. They talk about laying low for a while to draw as little attention to themselves as they can. And yet Nathan is displaying himself in the media preaching about threats to domestic security. Mohinder admits that their powers have the potential to become a danger to society but Peter does not agree. Peter knows the good that his own powers can do, but Mohinder still recalls the monster he used to be, and their experiences have polarized their views about evolved abilities.

Peter didn’t find his mother at the house, but Nathan was there and you can tell there is bad blood between the two brothers. Nathan tries to convince Peter that his great idea is for the good of everyone. But Nathan is a total hypocrite who wants to save his own skin. First he wanted nothing to do with having powers and used to despise his flying abilities. Then he wanted to give the everyone in the world amped abilities because he thought that would give people a fair chance at fighting corruption. Now after Pinehearst burned down, he wants to get rid of everyone but his own family! And he wants Peter’s support about it. But the idealistic younger brother would have nothing to do with Nathan, and so Nathan had him bagged too.

The Hunter and his agents track down Mohinder and guess who’s there to help them! HRG (Jack Coleman)! Claire had been suspicious that her father went back to his previous job, but she would not have known this is how low he got. HRG has always looked at this from one point of view – these people are all dangerous and need to be locked up. Everyone, except his precious daughter Claire.

  The Hunter, HRG and this covert agency capture post-humans one by one. Parkman was taken down just as he was showing Claire his new abilities to draw the future. Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) was taken at the makeshift headquarters for his bestfriend and new-hero Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee) who is celebrating his powerhood by going to a strip club. The only person they could not subdue was Sylar (Zachary Quinto).

Sylar is on a quest to find his real family, why he does and what it will do for him, we don’t yet understands. But Gabriel/Sylar starts with his own watch-maker father, and finds out that his own uncle, a taxidermist, was his real father. At the taxidermist’s house, Sylar gets surrounded by the military, but then nobody can take him down and Sylar may have found out who was really after him.

Somewhere in a private airplane hangar, Nathan waits while black vans arrive one by one carrying people in hoods – in orange suits, chained together and drugged. The Hunter tells Nathan about Sylar and Claire. Nathan takes out Claire’s mask, puts her in a car and tells her to forget everything she saw. He obviously doesn’t know his daughter very much. She’s never been one to keep quiet or back down. So Claire kicks her driver unconscious and runs back to the airplane that’s about to take off. Claire sneaks under the wheel well and into the cargo hold where she begins freeing the other prisoners one by one. She got to Peter and he touches Mohinder to absorb his power of strength. Peter fights with the guards one by one but he accidentally touches Tracy’s hands and gets her freezing abilities. Meanwhile Claire goes to the cockpit to tell the pilot to make a landing when she finds her father there! Back in the cargo, Peter accidentally touches the plane’s wall and freezes it! The walls explode and everything goes flying out, including Peter! Mohinder catches him just in time, but as the plane begins to crash… can Peter hold on?

This Heroes episode continues next week with episode 3.15 “Trust and Blood” 

Images: NBC / Trae Patton

Post from: Superhero Profiles