Miguel: "I'm with you. I'm behind you. And I respect you."
As far as I'm concerned, season three just ramped up and jumped on the freeway.
Dexter: Turning Biminese
Miguel: "I'm with you. I'm behind you. And I respect you."
As far as I'm concerned, season three just ramped up and jumped on the freeway.
Heroes: Eris Quod Sum
Tracy: "Let me get this straight. She's the biological mother of your illegitimate daughter, and he's her adopted father."
Primatech versus Pinehearst?
I enjoyed this one. I especially loved Tracy trying to figure out Nathan's relationship to Meredith and HRG. HRG and Meredith make a fun team. So do Nathan and Tracy, for that matter; I've decided I like Tracy a lot more than Niki. I also think it's a hoot that the evil Primatech is now the headquarters of the good guys who have to bring down Pinehearst, the bad guys. Maybe Heroes is finally back on track.
Arthur revealed why he and Angela gave Sylar up for adoption, or at least his version: Angela saw Sylar's future, and tried to kill him. That made sense. But Angela's current "Gabriel, you are my favorite" persona just doesn't reconcile with that. Maybe Sylar really isn't her favorite. Maybe Angela really was lying to save Peter. I'm also wondering how two superpower psychos like Arthur and Angela raised two genuinely good and heroic sons without corrupting them.
Did Sylar indeed save Peter from dying in that seven story fall? I sure hope so, because if that wasn't what he was doing, then Sylar just tried to kill Peter. Maybe Company Man Sylar decided to infiltrate Pinehearst. Then again, he seems so enchanted with all of these new familial relationships, so maybe he just wants to get to know Daddy. They appear to have a lot in common.
Another reason I enjoyed this episode so much was the return of Kristen Bell as Electric Elle. (I just noticed how much that looks like electric eel.) I liked seeing Elle and Claire actually helping each other, especially Claire cancelling Elle out. I also really liked the allusion to the Wicked Witch when they were throwing water on Elle.
I got upset when Knox killed Matt. I should have known better than to fall for that by now. I was also rather touched that Maury died protecting Matt. Even supervillains can love their kids. (Well, maybe not Arthur.) Daphne may be an unwilling undercover agent, but hey -- Matt reads minds, right? Can't she "tell" him somehow?
Isn't Matt supposed to be raising Molly? Where is Molly?
Bits and pieces:
-- The title is the second half of a Latin phrase popular on gravestones that means, "I was what you are; you will be what I am." I wonder if that was about Arthur and Sylar/Gabriel?
-- According to the cable synopsis, African Spirit Guy's name is Usutu. I'm fairly sure his name hasn't been mentioned on the actual show, though. Like our friend the Haitian. And by the way, I've officially had enough of these African sequences with the difficult-to-decipher paintings. Enough, already.
-- Maya is now powerless, which is what she wanted. Goodbye, Maya. Take a plane and go far, far away.
-- If Maya does go, that will *again* leave us with a cast full of black-haired guys and blonde women. :)
-- I hope Arthur doesn't strip Elle of her powers, though. Can't he just strip Mohinder's?
-- Arthur was reading "Thus Spake Zarathustra".
-- The turtle has landed. The Mohinder/Matt/Molly apartment now has two strange pets that no one will ever feed or take care of. At least they can keep each other company.
-- Hiro is off on a spirit journey. Thankfully, not time travel. The time travel isn't going well this season.
-- Was Hayden Panettiere wearing a wig? But why would she need to? Her hairline just looked odd to me.
-- Apparently, these seven episodes have taken place in only a week.
Quotes:
Arthur: "Son, until you change that attitude, you're grounded."
Mohinder: "What could possibly drive a father to put his children through such grief?"
Arthur: "Have you met their mother?"
Nasty, nasty, nasty. Come on, Arthur. I'd take Angela over you any day of the week.
Elle: "I've been nothing but a bitch and you've been nothing but sweet, which really just makes me hate you more."
Three out of four stars,
Billie
Terminator: The Tower is Tall but the Fall is Short
Again, apologies for the delay. I just got back from a trip and wanted to watch this one twice before finishing my review.
Excellent episode this week, with a really great focus on character. I was completely engrossed from start to finish, especially with John’s and Catherine Weaver’s parts of the story.
I was so pleased the writers returned to the events of the season premiere. Those unseen events between John, Sarah, and Sarkissian kind of got lost in the shuffle over the last few weeks. They’ve been so focused on John resisting and slowly coming to terms with his destiny, that I forgot his whole rebellion was pretty much kicked off by what happened in that house. His first kill. It was always obvious to me that John had killed Sarkissian, but I liked the way they tried to keep the audience wondering. And I loved that we finally learned the truth through Sarah. It is her story after all. She’s been in some denial for awhile. First denying that John even needed help, then thinking that she could be the one to provide it. I’m glad she was finally able to see that he's not the boy she knew and he needs someone else to help him. And that maybe she needs some help herself. I hope Dr. Sherman can help them.
Catherine Weaver’s part of the story was completely fascinating. They confirmed what one of my readers suggested a few weeks ago: that liquid metal Catherine is a replacement for the real Catherine, and that the little red-haired girl is the real Catherine’s daughter. That poor little girl. Her first few sessions with Dr. Sherman were really heartbreaking and terrifying all at the same time. I kept expecting Catherine to just kill her. I could not figure out why she was bothering to get help for her “daughter” in the first place; she obviously doesn’t care about anything except her project. But my husband suggested Catherine needs the daughter as part of her cover, and the child’s abnormal behavior could draw unwanted attention or questions. Makes good sense to me. Plus, it was a good way for the writers to have her connect with Dr. Sherman and seek his help for young Skynet (one assumes).
Of course, if Dr. Sherman’s name was part of the blood list on Sarah’s wall, it is likely that he was previously part of Skynet’s development. So why wouldn’t Catherine know this already and seek him out deliberately, instead of finding him by accident? Was he only on the wall because he helps John? Is his role in Skynet a new development? Aargh! I feel another time loop theory headache coming on.
I was glad that Derek continued to have good material this week. His scenes with Jessie gave us some more insight into his future/past and his current state of mind. It spoke volumes when he walked away from Jessie after learning she had deserted and just wanted to wait for the end to come. He can’t just run from the war. He may have tried in the past, but he can't now---not when he has a chance to stop the war from ever beginning. He needs to fight to get back those things that were lost, like the innocents he seems to enjoy watching in the park. Perhaps his efforts are in vain; if Sarah’s voiceover is to be believed, “… what is lost is lost forever.” Plus, his girlfriend appears to be up to no good. She said John Connor didn’t send her back; did the “metal” send her back? Given what we saw with the photos, I doubt her story about needing a rest and wanting to be with Derek when it all ends was true.
Only Cameron really got shorted on strong material this week, primarily providing the big action sequence and serving as comic relief. I’m wondering about the true purpose of that Skynet soldier. She couldn’t have been sent just to kill the doctor, because she could have accomplished that pretty easily without taking out his assistant. She must have been sent to infiltrate his office. To spy on him or to protect him? If she was there to protect him, from whom? The Connors?
Other thoughts:
The voice over monologues were back! Yea! And they even provided some new insight into Sarah’s past with her father. You’d think the child of a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder would be better able to recognize the symptoms in herself and her son.
Stephanie Jacobson, the actress playing Derek’s girlfriend, Jessie, also played Kendra Shaw in Battlestar Galactica: Razor. Poor girl seems to be typecast as a burned-out military type.
Acting kudos to Thomas Dekker this week. I thought he did an outstanding job in his scenes with Dr. Sherman.
Agent Ellison is starting to get suspicious. I hope he’s seriously questioning his role in whatever Catherine Weaver’s company is “building.”
Final rating: 5 out of 5. I love a good character study, especially when it pays off earlier plot threads while setting new ones in motion.
Supernatural: Yellow Fever
Sam: "It's ghost sickness."
Dean: "Ghost sickness."
Sam: "Yeah."
Dean: "Oh god, no."
Sam: "Yeah."
Dean: "I don't even know what that is."
Was it fun? Absolutely. Clever and well-acted, too. But the more I thought about it, the more this episode bothered me.
Dexter: All in the Family
Dexter: "Family man. Husband and father. Sounds so... upstanding. Harmless. Much better than 'lives alone, keeps to himself'."
Miguel said that love is the answer. But what is the question?
Heroes: Dying of the Light
Hiro: "Now you know how it feels to be killed by your best friend."
Ando: "Good. So we're even."
Much better. Rather like the Heroes of old. Hiro and Ando actually made me laugh, Peter and Sylar came close to repeating their season one deathmatch, and Mohinder actually narrated again, even though he's (unfortunately) still evil.
Enter Arthur Petrelli, who seems to have a gift much like his sons Peter and Sylar -- he apparently sucks the powers right out of people. (If he's so powerful, how did he end up paralyzed in a hospital bed, then?) I was sad to lose Adam Monroe, but not so much for Adam's sake; it was mostly because of my deep affection for David Anders' villainous character Sark on Alias. At least they didn't leave him six feet under for eternity. (I'm assuming Adam is really most sincerely dead, since you don't come back from turning into dust.) (Usually, anyway. But at the rate people are resurrecting on this show, no promises.)
The scary PuppetGuy segment was better than I expected. It turned out to be a mother-mother-daughter bonding exercise over a game of Russian Roulette. I really loved seeing Claire outwit Doyle. (Claire may be more ready for super police work than HRG wants to admit.) I also liked that Sandra insisted on coming along: "One of us, one of them." I don't know why, but Sandra is one of my favorite characters. She started out as a dup with a dog, and somehow acquired a lot of interesting depth.
You know what else I liked? Matt and Daphne. They make a cute couple, and even though she has been forced to work for Pinehearst, she's a good person. Poor Matt. Stuck in Africa for five episodes, and he spent most of this one in the airport.
At least Peter didn't open up anyone's head this time. And now he won't, since Arthur Petrelli just stole *all* of Peter's powers. I guess all those worries about the lack of drama because Peter was too powerful have just been deepsixed. Who else was yelling, "No, Peter! Don't hug him! He just dissolved Adam Monroe!"?
"Precogs see you coming" should be a bumper sticker. Too funny. And loved the shovel, both times.
Bits and pieces:
-- The "previously on" told us that Arthur Petrelli was father to three of our "heroes": Peter, Nathan, and Sylar. But it wasn't mentioned in the actual episode. And hey. Sylar is officially a hero, now?
-- Yes, I was happy that Hiro didn't kill Ando. On "old" Heroes, I never would have worried, but lately, it felt possible.
-- The Hiro/Ando death scene was in the Angry Skunk Bar. Another great name to add to the list.
-- We now have six Petrellis in the story. Six is enough, people. No more secret Petrellis, please.
-- Tracy got to be cool, pun intended. But she and Nathan are not out of the cocoons yet.
-- Matt brought the turtle with him. :) There were papers in the turtle's cage that said "GE" on it. Inside joke?
-- I keep waiting for Elle. Where's Kristen Bell?
-- The Pinehearst card had a web site listed. http://www.pinehearstresearch.com. I think Heroes is taking a cue from Lost.
-- The cut on Meredith's neck disappeared in the next scene. Oops.
-- The African Isaac's painting of the four villains was hard to decipher. I don't like the painting style: too cartoony, too hard to tell one face from another. Anyone know who they are? I'm assuming one was Arthur and one was Knox. Who were the other two?
Quotes:
Hiro: "Hello? Mister African Isaac?"
Meredith: "You may have got your genes from me, but you got your heart from your mom." That was just lovely.
Three out of four stars,
Billie
Buffy Season Eight: Time of Your Life (2)
Buffy: "We both have scythes. We both have awesome Kung-fu moves. Turn-offs include smokers, insensitive men, and vampires. You with me?"
Synopsis:
In the future, Fray and a blonde woman with a ponytail that she calls "sis" (who I at first thought was Buffy, but no) are in a flying car, pursuing a flying van full of vampires. Fray takes down the van and interrogates a vamp about her brother, Harth. Before she takes him out with the pointy end of the Scythe, the vamp tells Fray about a Madwoman with dark hair who has lived for centuries. Fray and the blonde woman return to Fray's antique-filled, shabby home, where she lives with a four-armed monkey-like creature named Gates, named for the last of the Watchers who sacrificed himself at the battle of Starbucks.
Supernatural: Monster Movie
Dean: "An honest to goodness monster hunt. About time the Winchesters got back to tackling a straightforward black and white case."
I think we could safely say this was one of their comic episodes. I laughed pretty much constantly through the whole thing. I think my favorite bit was Dracula escaping on a moped. No, I'm wrong -- it was Dean in lederhosen strapped to a slab in the mad scientist laboratory. How did Dean end up in lederhosen? The shapeshifter must have decided to dress him up in an Oktoberfest costume before electrocuting him. Oooh, I'm the getting the visual.
Terminator: Goodbye to All That
So sorry for the long delay! Work and life have been a bit crazed of late.
First and foremost: welcome back, Derek! I’m so glad we finally got an episode where Derek got to do more than be the snarky, battle-weary sidekick. I much prefer “haunted and grief stricken” Derek to “comic relief” Derek. His story is so compelling, especially told against the backdrop of the pre-holocaust world. I love those great little moments where Derek is absolutely awestruck by seeing a creature or a person that he never imagined he see again (i.e., the deer and young Martin Bidell). It lends a lot of perspective to some of his harsher actions. He’s got to do absolutely everything he can to ensure that the future he came from never happens, no matter how cold-blooded it seems. At the very least, he needs to make sure that John survives to lead the resistance. So that all the sacrifices that have come before weren’t in vain.
I thought the basic plot for this episode was a little weak (especially the “we need a teacher for a week” bit that kept Derek around at school), but I really liked the focus on character. John and Derek, in particular, had some strong material this week. I’m so glad that John finally seems to be coming around. My favorite scene was when Derek told John what happened to Martin in the future, and ended with “He died for you. We all die for you.” It clearly had an effect on John. What’s more, I think in coming to understand that Martin couldn’t just run away to Dartmouth to live his own life, John may truly be coming to accept his own role. Maybe he’ll finally move out of his rebellious teen phase and start working with Sarah. (Perhaps wishful thinking on my part.)
The Sarah and Cameron portion of the story wasn’t terribly interesting this week. It kind of bordered on cutesy and cliché. Watch the tough warrior persona interact with a young child! See how stiff and awkward she is! That said, I did kind of like seeing this aspect of Sarah. I find myself wondering, sometimes, what she must have been like as a mother to young John. It must have been very strange for John to have a mother that he knew would fight to the death to protect him, but had a hard time doing all the simple things moms do. Like helping with homework and offering emotional support. At least she keeps trying!
I kind of liked the way John and Derek’s ambush scene played out against Sarah reading the Wizard of Oz. That part of the book fit the action well, and it was kind of like having the voiceover monologues back. I know that I didn’t much care for them at the beginning of the first season, but they must have grown on me. I’ve really been missing them this season. I liked the insight they provided into Sarah, and they helped keep the story from her perspective. This season has felt more like the John Connor Chronicles, and I wish they’d get back to the focus on Sarah.
Other thoughts:
Cameron had almost nothing to do in this episode. A bit jarring after being featured so prominently last week.
The T-888 that was hunting Martin reminded me of Vick, from the first season (the T-888 hunting Derek). I spent half the episode thinking he was another version of that model.
I wasn’t a big fan of “Automatic for the People,” but I do appreciate that it wasn’t just a throw away episode. The events at the power plant are continuing to have ramifications. At least we know a little bit more about the purpose of the “blood list” the guy from the future left for the Connors.
Seeing Agent Ellison and Catherine Weaver working together fascinates me and creeps me out all at the same time. She's shuddery.
Final rating: 3 out of 5. Not as good as last week's, but pretty decent.
Heroes: Angels and Monsters
Sylar: "Rehabilitation doesn't happen overnight. I *am* trying."
Okay.
I absolutely refuse to believe that Hiro just killed Ando. If he did, I'm going to be mondo pissed. As in never watching this show again pissed. If they've made our heroes into villains that black, they've taken the heart out of the story. Then again, nobody really dies on this show, anyway. They were probably faking it so that Hiro could infiltrate Linderman's swat team.
Except it wasn't Linderman. "Linderman" was a vision created by Maury Parkman, who isn't imprisoned in his own mind any more; he's working for Papa Petrelli, who isn't dead after all. (I'm reeling from that surprise plot twist.) I figured out who the guy in the bed had to be before it was revealed; we all knew they would have to trot out Papa Petrelli at some point. What's his power? The paralysis he just imposed on Angela? Has to be pretty scary to keep Maury in line.
At least the confirmation that "Linderman" is real means that Nathan isn't nuts. Nathan believed that his powers came from God. Tracy just corrected his notion; they came from a doctor in Reseda. Nathan is an artificially created superhuman, like Tracy. What about Peter? Claire? Sylar?
As much as I'm enjoying the new and more ambiguous Sylar, it doesn't make up for what they're doing to Peter. He was only around for a few minutes, and tried to kill his own mother. Fortunately, Sylar saved her in time, and I still can't believe I just wrote that sentence. Sylar saved Claire, too. Sylar is Claire's uncle too, right? I wish they would clarify that relationship. Is Sylar the son of Angela and Stuck-in-a-bed-wearing-a-ring Petrelli, or Angela and someone else? Why on earth would the Petrellis raise two sons but adopt out the third?
I'm not happy with what they're doing to Mohinder, either. He's never been one of my favorite characters, but I miss the old Mohinder, the earnest scientist who gave us great narration as he tried to figure out the secrets of the universe. This Mohinder with the ick and the evil is not for me, even if he did make me happy by cocooning the tiresome Maya. (Yes, let's do a scene right out of Aliens, shall we?) I bet Sylar looks pretty good to Maya right about now. The big question is, what is he cocooning them for? Laying his eggs? Lunch? They went out of their way to show that Mohinder was targeting drug dealers. Is that supposed to make it okay?
Claire literally went on a power trip and began her future career of supervillain-hunting. I'm all for nixing the boring high school plots, but I have to go with HRG and Sandra on this one; she should have stayed home. Adam got into trouble, too; he managed to outwit Hiro and Ando, only to be immediately mugged by Knox. I thought this was the most interesting part of the episode, putting immortal and unkillable Claire and Adam in real danger. Even they aren't untouchable.
I'm feeling pretty bummed about Heroes this season. I always watch shows I review a second time, which is usually no problem with shows I love. This season, I've had to push myself to watch a second time. That's not good. Come on, guys. I want to believe.
Quotes:
-- Nathan and Tracy hit the sheets. Sort of again, but not.
-- Meredith is now the prisoner of someone named Eric Doyle, who has some sort of mind control power and a taste for spaghetti and meatballs.
-- Pinehearst is in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The address was on the card Canfield had. Poor Canfield. Cool power. I have a little list. They never will be missed.
-- HRG asked Canfield to vortex Sylar, but Sylar wasn't that far away. I have long since lost track of what Peter and Sylar can do, but I did remember that Sylar acquired superhearing from that woman mechanic.
-- Angela's latest future dream showed Nathan, Peter and Tracy killed by Daddy Petrelli. Killing his own sons. That's not good.
-- Popping Adam Monroe in and out of a coffin was fun. Although it did make the threat less, well, threatening.
Quotes:
Sylar: "You okay?"
Claire: "Peachy."
Hiro: "This is your plan? Go to a bar?"
Adam: "I haven't had a drink in months, and they make a mean apple-tini."
I liked the idea of the specials-for-hire bar. Sort of like the cantina in Mos Eisley. But when did Adam have time to frequent this bar? Wasn't he in a cage for thirty years, and then in a coffin for a few months?
Two stars?
Billie
Dexter: The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Dexter: "Showing up late at night like this. Is it creepy or is it just what friends do?"
The moment I saw that pervert talking to Astor in the supermarket, I thought, buddy, you are so dead. Interesting that this was the second time, in quick succession, that Dexter killed someone who wasn't a murderer, who didn't fall within the limits of Harry's code. Not that I blame Dexter a bit in this case.
Supernatural: Metamorphosis
Travis: "What's up with your brother?"
Dean: "Don't get me started."
So. Great big metaphor.
Dexter: Finding Freebo
Dexter: "As soon as it gets dark, I'm back on the hunt... so I can stay ahead of my sister. This department is becoming annoyingly effective."
Miguel Prado caught Dexter literally red-handed. That was an edge-of-your-seat moment.
Heroes: I Am Become Death
Future Claire: "I just killed my uncle. And now I have to do it again. Give me a second to be a human being."
Season one's "Five Years Gone" was delicious. This episode just tasted bad.
Future characters turning evil is technically preventable. I can tell myself that present day Peter will find a way to prevent Claire from becoming evil. The title of this volume is "Villains", after all, and I get the concept. But there's a line, and I think they crossed it twice: when Peter killed Nathan (again), and when Claire tortured Peter. I could almost handle Matt as a brownshirt in "Five Years Gone", but Peter and Claire are our heroes, our main characters. It bothered me. What can I tell you.
Apparently, Nathan's destiny is to become president, no matter how much they change the future. Getting killed also appears to be his destiny. It's funny how the romantic pairings go wild in these future scenarios; future Nathan ended up marrying Tracy. (Or possibly Barbara. I guess if Tracy doesn't work out as a character, like Niki, they can always move on to Barbara.) Nathan rescuing Tracy was pretty romantic. Ali Larter's character, whoever she is, is definitely more fun with a Petrelli guy.
We know now that some superheroes were born that way naturally, and some were created, like Niki/Tracy/Barbara. Who is artificial and who is natural? And does it matter? Mohinder's plight suggests that it does. It just seems so unfair that all these other people get superpowers and Mohinder turns into a creepy crawly. At least his affair with Maya appears to be over, thank the gods.
So I didn't hate everything about this episode. I loved Sylar. Or more accurately, his alter ego Gabriel. Seeing him in Costa Verde, a happy dad to little Noah, was a lot of fun before it all went to hell and Gabriel went nuclear. Who was little Noah's mom? Why was Noah named for HRG? And most importantly, why did Gabriel have Mr. Muggles? Did Future Peter kill Claire's parents? Is that why she turned to the dark side?
Making Sylar sympathetic by telling us that he couldn't control his "hunger" is an interesting concept. I didn't think it was possible to make Sylar sympathetic, but you know, it's working for me. I just really don't want to see Peter doing what Sylar did with the brains. Yes, I know they're two sides of the same coin and now they're even brothers, but they're screwing with my Peter and I really, really don't like it.
Bits and pieces:
-- Future Claire was part of a hit squad that consisted of Knox, Daphne, and the Haitian. And they might have been working for Nathan.
-- Matt Parkman is still stuck in Africa; this Spirit Walk guy thing has just dragged on. (I don't miss Isaac Mendez, but I liked his paintings a lot more than these.) At least we know that Matt's blonde woman was/is/will be Daphne. I rather liked that.
-- Future Molly was four years older and looked it. The actress probably *is* older; kid actors usually play characters younger than themselves.
-- The photograph they showed early in the episode suggested that Zimmerman raised Barbara himself.
-- Future Gabriel was wearing an apron that said "hail to the chef". Remember that in "Five Years Gone", Sylar was president. Nice touch.
-- Interesting that present day Nathan chose Robert Kennedy's desk over John Foster Dulles'. A Democrat over a Republican, I couldn't help but notice.
-- There was another cockroach cameo.
-- The future Bennet house got blown up again. It's probably just destined to explode.
-- BFFs Hiro and Ando are resolving their trust issues. Was Angela sincere with Hiro? Or did she just want Adam back?
-- Apparently, Adam *was* unconscious. That's reassuring. Sure, he's evil, but still. Yay! Adam's back!
Quotes:
Future Peter: "I made terrible choices. Stepped on too many butterflies."
Ando: "You know what I think? I think you're still upset that future me murders future you."
Matt: "What, is that some African mystical mojo thing?"
Spirit Walk guy: "Carl Jung. Clinical psychology. You don't read much, do you?"
Two out of four stars,
Billie
Supernatural: In the Beginning
Mary: "You know the worst thing I can think of? The very worst thing? It's for my children to be raised into this, like I was."
This is one of my favorite Supernatural episodes, ever. It was like the last piece of the Winchester family puzzle snapping into place.
Heroes: One of Us, One of Them
Sylar: "We're gonna need some coffee. Decaf. You drink decaf, right, Noah?"
I wouldn't call this a great episode, but a lot of it was laugh-out-loud funny. The Keystone Kops scenes (appropriately backed by a Buster Keaton silent movie) of Hiro and Ando outwitted by the Haitian and Daphne were fun. And how I loved Sylar as Noah's new partner. Turning him into Gabriel, Angela's new pet and Company operative, wasn't what I expected, but it absolutely worked.
We never really knew what was going on with Angela back at the start of the series, but I was certain she loved her sons, and the worst she seemed capable of was shoplifting. And now she's throwing away Nathan and Peter for Sylar? As fun as it is watching Angela run the Company and feed Sylar stray superheroes for lunch, it feels like too big a character turn to the Dark Side. I just can't go with this. Not yet. There has to be a reason for such a big change, and they haven't given us one.
And speaking of evil moms, I hated what Meredith did to Claire. Does this mean that Claire is vulnerable? A vulnerability that is shared by Peter, Sylar, and Adam Monroe? (If Adam is lucky, he's unconscious.) Or was Claire's suffocation psychosomatic? I noticed Meredith wasn't gasping; doesn't she need to breathe, too? I also hated the fact that I started getting evil vibes off Claire. I expect her roots to start going darker any day.
At least Peter is back in his own body and ready to face off with, um, Peter. Only Peter can stop Peter. Except that Peter is now off somewhere with Peter, probably in the future seeing the world about to be split in two.
Which brings me to the confusing situation with Niki who isn't Niki. Is Tracy Niki's twin? What was Jessica? I'm totally confused. Since there was apparently a mad scientist involved in the births, are Tracy and Niki clones? Zimmerman told Tracy, "I created you." And when he opened the door, I could swear he called Tracy "Barbara". This is certainly an added wrinkle to the breeding program. We needed more confusion, for sure. At least we know that Niki really is dead, even though her body, oddly enough, didn't seem to be burned.
So everything is a lot darker than the last two seasons, and everyone seems to be getting in touch with their inner villain. Except for the villains, who are getting in touch with their inner good person. Okay. One of us, one of them.
Bits and pieces:
-- Angela said she gave Sylar up for adoption. What? Why? How? Maybe Angela has an evil twin, too. Or her mirror reflection is in control.
-- I've long since lost track of Sylar's powers. But now he can touch an object and see everyone who's ever touched it. And he has a supervoice, too. For that matter, so does Peter.
-- Meredith and Sandra, Supermom Death Match. My money's on Sandra.
-- Spirit Walk guy painter has been decorating the rocks for quite a while with pictures from Matt Parkman's life. Parkman's future was originally with a blonde woman and a baby. And now it's gone and his future has morphed into Matt holding the same woman, dead, in his arms.
-- Where did Sylar come up with "special agent Andrew Hansen, FBI?"
-- Noah Gray-Cabey was listed as a guest star. Apparently, he's been written out, and they carefully didn't show any of Micah's extended family. Does that mean no more of the New Orleans characters?
-- Daphne got the second half of the formula. We still don't know who she's working for. For a moment, I thought it was the Haitian.
-- Goodbye to Francis Capra. Jesse, we hardly knew ye.
Quotes:
Noah: "So your solution is to send a psychopath after the psychopaths."
Angela: "He's been misunderstood. He just needs structure."
Hiro: "You're telling us your plan? What kind of overconfident nemesis are you?"
Hiro: "Don't listen to her, Ando. She's trying to divide us. It's villainy 101."
Ando: "Holy crap, it worked."
Hiro: "What are you doing?"
Ando: "I'm being awesome."
Three stars,
Billie
Terminator: Allison from Palmdale
A very intriguing episode. I found it tense, revealing, and in many respects completely shuddery. By the end of it, I wasn't sure what to make of Cameron's status or intentions. Contrary to what we typically see from her, she can convincingly act like a human being. At least if she’s channeling another person. She is the ultimate infiltrator, and I just can't figure out if she's actually John's ally now, or still an enemy. Which is, of course, exactly how the writers want it. I love it!
Cameron/Allison's story was, clearly, the highlight of this episode. I love that they are not just glossing over Cameron going bad in the season premiere. It would have been pretty easy to just hit the reset button and pretend it never happened. I much prefer the exploration of its continuing impact on all the characters.
I was amazed at how completely Cameron became Allison (at least until John reminded her of who she really is and her demeanor started becoming more robotic). She didn't exhibit quite the same range of emotions as the human Allison we saw in the future/past, but she clearly felt desolate and betrayed. Her grief and horror during her counseling sessions was quite heart rending. To me, it helps explain how she was capable of such an emotional outburst during the chip removal scene from the season premiere. It is intensely unsettling. Again, I'm left wondering why she seems so robotic most other times, when she's fully capable of being a convincing human. Is it really all tied into her mission programming? Is it some kind of choice?
Although the Cameron story was the most compelling part of the episode, I thought the Agent Ellison and Sarah portions of the story were also revealing. We learned some more background on Ellison this week: he has an ex-wife in the bureau, he once wanted children, and he is still a bit bitter about his divorce. He also apparently has stopped wearing his cross. Hmmm ... and here I thought he was clinging so strongly to his faith in trying to deal with the horrors he’s seen. I guess the death of the 20 agents at Cromartie's hands has left him more at a loss than I realized. Unfortunately, it has lead him right into Catherine Weaver’s camp. This can't be good. I don't know what her real agenda is, but I'm sure it will not result in a happy ending for Agent Ellison.
Sarah's part of the episode seemed the least tied to the overall story progression, but I liked seeing her interactions with Casey and getting some insight into that earlier time in her life. I also liked the bittersweet undertones to all their scenes. Sarah seemed so regretful that she never got to have the kinds of hopes and dreams Casey has for her child; her son was always meant to survive a horrible holocaust and be the future savior of mankind, a role for which she had to train him from an early age. She never really concerned herself with first dates or name calling.
Other thoughts:
Catherine Weaver has a child? Is she a child-sized version of a liquid metal terminator? Or some random red-haired human brought in to pose as her child?
I loved the way Catherine told the story about her husband’s helicopter crash. Her complete adoration for the helicopter and her unfailing belief in the perfection of machines gave me chills.
So Casey's baby daddy is a cop. At the end, I couldn’t help wondering if Sarah told Casey she can raise her child without his father just to keep Trevor from being too close to her own family.
The Skynet prison on the aircraft carrier was completely freaky. What was up with the tiger, the bear, and the monkey? Was it a zoo or a science lab? And why were all the human prisoners yelling “get out” instead of calling for help? Did they think Allison was Cameron? Or did they just want her to have a chance at survival?
I'm more curious than ever to know what happened when future Cameron infiltrated the Connor camp. How did he turn her? Did he know that her model killed the person she was impersonating? Was Allison really someone he loved?
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