Superhero Profiles

Heroes 3.04 "I Am Become Death" - review

by Grace on October 9th, 2008

Heroes episode 3.04 “I am become Death“
Airdate: October 6, 2008

THIS is the episode that should get viewers hooked to future episodes! There are so many reveals and so many more questions. I’ll throw mine in later but now let’s look at what happened.

Tracy Strauss finds she’s one of identical triplets who became test subjects for DNA manipulation. A formula injected into them created their abilities. The other twins were Niki and a still-mysterious Barbara. Confused and desperate, Tracy attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge, and just in time Nathan swooped in to save her. Now they know the truth about each other, and whoa, are they hooking up?

Future Peter brings present Peter four years into the future and shows him how a formula from the past has given people abilities. Future Pete wants his alter-ego to stop whoever started the chain reaction of events. Unfortunately, Claire got to future Peter and shot him dead on the spot. Present Peter runs to find Mohinder, who has become reptilian and blames himself for what he has unleashed on the world.

images used with permission by NBC / Adam Taylor and Chris Haston

At the Bennet home, Peter finds a new, composed Sylar who still has the abilities but learned to control them for the sake of his young son Noah. Sylar himself revealed how his abilities work  - there is a hunger inside him, a lust for more that he can’t control. Once present Peter showed Sylar (or Gabriel now) what the future looked like, Sylar agreed to let Peter absorb his powers.

Claire, Knox and Daphne are now part of a team and they want to kill Peter. A fight happens and Sylar’s son dies! That broke Sylar and he becomes so uncontrollable that he literally explodes! Daphne, who is now (in the future) married to Matt Parkman and had adopted Molly, barely escapes the explosion and dies in her husband’s arms. Unfortunately, Matt had a precog about this when he saw the future. Now he wants to find Daphne and save her.

Still in the future, present Peter lies powerless and strapped on a pathology table. Claire was slowly slicing him open. With the Haitian around, Peter is powerless to stop her. President Nathan Petrelli walks in! He warns Peter that everyone needs to save the world and the burden is not on him alone anymore. Present Peter feels the hunger from Sylar’s powers and he slices Nathan’s head. Peter barely stops himself, goes back to present day Level 5 and told Sylar to help him get rid of it.

Meanwhile, Hiro and Ando try to escape the Level 5 but kept getting stopped by the Haitian. Angela finally talked to the pair and told Hiro it’s all his fault. He must get the formula back otherwise the world will be destroyed. There is only one other person that can help Hiro: Adam Monroe, and they dug the immortal from 6 feet under.

Incredible! This is how “Heroes” should be about - twists, turns and fast-paced stories under 45 minutes. Now we have an idea of what the future will be like. No matter what, an explosion happens and people are going to die. It could be in New York, Japan or California. Future Peter also dies, which was strange because I would have thought he has Claire’s powers so he can save himself at least. So Claire forms an alliance with known villains Knox and Daphne, and I’ll have to add Matt and the Haitian. But in the future they believe they’re the good guys, and future Peter is the villain. Claire’s new team doesn’t seem to be terrorists otherwise why didn’t President Nathan (yes the future US president) apprehend them? Mohinder realized that there is no cure and no stopping what he has unleashed with his formula. Is he destined to become reptilian, since he has already injected the drug in the present time? Now that present Peter has Sylar’s abilities, is he doomed as well, or can he find some sort of redemption like Sylar did?

Now the writers are probably trying to put humor into the show with Matt’s turtle spirit guide, but it’s not working. It just totally destroyed the seriousness of Matt’s quest for his “totem” and saving his future family. And what’s with Hiro being dumb? That’s another lame angle that the writers have been using with Hiro and Ando. I get the initial “Yata” moment that was funny in the first season. But the guy has been to ancient Japan, fell in love twice, buried his father and fought with the heroes. Why are they trying to make him look like an idiot that can not comprehend? Ando’s becoming the wise and courageous side kick, no problem there, but Hiro… He’s got to grow up.

Anyway, “Heroes” continues next week with “Angels and Monsters” and there’s no missing this one!

images used with permission by NBC / Adam Taylor and Chris Haston

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POSTED IN: Heroes, Recap and Review, Volume 3: Villains