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Heroes: The Eclipse, Part 1

Elle: "We can't take what we want any more."
Sylar: "Says who?"

Is it possible to enjoy something and be annoyed with it at the same time?

Yes, there was some fun. Like Noah and Sylar wrestling on the floor, for instance, or Matt trying unsuccessfully to hear thoughts. But then everything sort of fell apart. As character after character lost their powers, everyone seemed to be in a really crappy mood. Nathan and Peter were at each other's throats. (I'm a U.S. senator and you're a nurse? Come on, Nathan.) Noah training Claire in that empty house felt a lot like Meredith and the cargo container: pointless, and sort of cruel. (Hit the wall with a stick until you do it right? Come on, Noah.)

I'm starting to think that there's not a lot of there there. An episode where superheroes all lose their powers should be pretty, well, powerful. This one wasn't. Maybe part two will make it work for me.

Again, Elle and Sylar were pretty much the best part of it. Loved the two of them taking off in a car together like young lovers about to embark on a killing spree. And there was kissing, and everything. Sylar with a dislocated shoulder was pretty funny. Without his powers, Sylar seemed to be thinking for himself for the first time in the entire series. Is he bad again? Elle apparently wanted him bad. I'm not sure what I want Sylar to be -- good or evil. I'm confused.

Claire, as usual, is the Heroes nexus. She's not only related to everyone, her blood has actual power. And now it's all over the place. The blood, I mean. Did she die? Will the end of the eclipse bring her back? Duh.

So what will happen when the extremely long eclipse ends?

1. No one gets their powers back. Show becomes extremely boring and is immediately canceled.

2. Everyone gets their original powers back, and it's like nothing happened. That's sort of dull, too, but probably the best choice.

3. Everyone gets a new power. I'm not sure I like that idea, either.

4. Mohinder's formula works, and lots of people unexpectedly get powers. The world comes to an end. Also not good.

So I think I'm on the fence. I hope they surprise and delight me. Stay tuned.

Bits and pieces:

-- At least, Mohinder was back to his beautiful, normal self again. For five minutes, anyway. We even got a nude scene, which was different and new. Is he still evil, though?

-- Arthur promised Tracy the White House. Aha.

-- Arthur's pencil drawings were a little easier to decipher than Usutu's stylistic rock paintings.

-- Daphne, the real Daphne, can't walk without braces, which is what you might call ironic. I didn't find this revelation moving, although it did explain why she was so desperate to hang on to her superspeed.

-- The Haitian's brother, Baron Samedi, had impenetrable skin. How come he gets a name (that sounds like an old James Bond villain) and the Haitian doesn't? What will it take to give the Haitian an actual freaking name?

-- Seth Green, my favorite werewolf, was in there for about a minute. Which definitely wasn't enough.

-- I don't know what this red Hulk thing is. Is it happening in real life? Does it have something to do with the plot, i.e., everyone's powers are changing? My lack of comic book knowledge is showing.

Quotes:

Guy: "I should kill you now, say it was self-defense. I'll be famous. A bona fide hero."
Sylar: "I hate heroes."

Ando: (translating for Hiro) "You must not doubt your mission. The corn will keep on coming." Corn? Was this a comic book reference I just didn't get?

Haitian: "The universe has decided our fate."
Nathan: "Can the universe get me a phone?"

I think I'll hold my rating until part two,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

5 comments:

  1. Hey Billie, I was gonna shoot you an email but I couldn't find your address, so I'm just leaving a comment. I don't usually comment, but since I've been reading your reviews for over a year now I thought I'd let you know. I went back to read all your retro buffy/angel/firefly and veronica mars reviews, and I followed your Alias reviews from the pilot all the way to the series finale, always reading your thoughts after the episode was done before going to th next one. Now I'm also following your heroes, and most importantly, Supernatural, of which I'm currently early in the third season. I have to thank you, for you are responsible for opening me up to this fantastic show. you see, one day I happened to click on one of your front page reviews for Supernatural (I believe it was a humorous episode from Season 4) and I skimmed to the quotes section, and was immidiately hooked on how tight the writing for the brothers was. Just from reading a few choice sentences from the episode I could tell the writers of this show knew what they were doing, and that these two brothers have carved a unique niche. So I knew I had to check this show out (previously I had heard about it, mostly good things, but it sounded kind of like a Buffy rip-off. I know. Shame on me.) and I blew through the first 2 seasons in about a month and a half. I couldn't be happier with this show. So thanks Billie for your great reviews. If I ever start watching a show that you have reviewed, I'll be sure to follow it concurrently with your reviews. Cheers!

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  2. I'm surprised at such a negative review - I thought this episode was excellent. It had funny moments, the arguing between Nathan and Peter harkened back to Season 1. We got some nice locations, and all the characters felt more grounded and realistic without their powers. In fact I think some characters had become nothing but their powers, and as more and more lose them I feel as if we're getting some actual decent characterisation for a change.

    All in all, I really enjoyed this one, and I can't wait to see part 2. I think the eclipse is just supressing everyone's abilities, like a global Haitian effect, and that they'll all return after it ends.

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  3. Hi Billie!
    If you haven't already found out from the power of teh internets, I can tell you that yes "Baron Samedi" is a lesser villain in a Bond-movie (Live and let die), but is mostly a Voodoo-thing, which "The Haitian" also pointed out in the episode. See more here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Samedi

    'bout the episode... I'm kind of split about it and am finding it hard to keep up with Sylar going Gabriel and going Sylar again. It's...frustrating, as you're pointing out.

    Always fun and interesting to read your reviews though. Thanks!

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  4. Hi Billie.

    The Red Hulk is a new character in the Hulk comics - looks just like the Hulk but is red (also thoroughly uninteresting). The only thing it has got to do with Heroes is (as far as I know) that the comics featuring the Red Hulk is written by Jeph Loeb who has been until recently one of the Heroes' executive producers.

    And I think "the corn will keep on coming" bit was just referring to the corn Hiro was throwing at Matt at the time.

    As for the episode itself, I have to say that my reaction was almost completely opposite to yours. I liked most of the episode well enough - nothing spectacular, but solid. The only thing that frustrated me was Elle and Sylar, Elle in particular. I can accept Sylar turning evil again - he was trying to control his evil tendencies, but when someone (Elle) pushed him hard enough, he snapped. Okay. What I don't get is: who pushed Elle? What is going on with her? One episode she's a sobbing victim of her upbringing, an essentially good person led astray by her father and her terrible job, then the next episode she's a happy-go-lucky sociopath who thoroughly enjoys what she does and scoffs at the chance of redemption. Her character seems so wildly inconsistent to me that I don't know what to think - whether they are going somewhere with this, or whether each writer has a completely different idea of how Elle should behave.

    I have been enjoying the third Heroes season so far but this really bugs me.

    But anyway, whether I enjoy the episode or not, I always enjoy your reviews, so thanks for them.

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  5. Yeah, the Elle characterization is driving me batty-she starts off as this kittenish sociopath, then we find out she's just craving Daddy's approval, then we find out she once had some morals that were presumably suppressed by her duties to the Company, and then we saw the good side/bad side reconcile itself with Sylar last week. That's all well and good.

    But then this week she's back to being the kittenish sociopath for some reason (mainly for purposes of the plot). That kind of reverse character development is dangerous because the implication is that NO development is safe from the hammer of the plot.

    I did enjoy this episode, though. I appreciated seeing Nathan and Peter interact (something they don't do often enough) and I did find Daphne's revelation somewhat moving (though perhaps that was just relief that her secret was finally revealed at all).

    Oh, and I'm also fairly sure the show was drawing attention to the Red Hulk book because of Loeb; I go to the comic shop once a week, and I guarantee you no one has EVER been worried about Red Hulk selling out... :)

    ReplyDelete

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