Heroes: Season 2, Episode 1 Review: Four Months Later...
New Series Reviews!
Four Months Later...
Original Airdate: September 24, 2007
Writer: Tim Kring
Director: Greg Beeman
A year ago NBC touted what they hoped would be its next big hit. It would be the anchor for its Monday line up, with an appealing cast and plenty of buzz to guarantee a hit. That show was “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, a show that became the most notorious debacle of the 06-07 season. What was even more surprising was the show that preceded it, “Heroes”, became the breakout smash. Genre shows succeeding on network TV are rare. “Lost” was a sign that there was life in the sci-fi/fantasy genre on the big networks, but that spawned many duplicates that didn’t last beyond a full season if they were lucky. “Heroes” was an exception.
This episode is essentially a laundry list, giving us a brief synopsis of where our heroes are while setting up many of the major conflicts of the season. “Lost” has tackled this problem by focusing on a few characters in the first episodes of the season, and those episodes, even if they aren’t the best, aren’t overcrowded. “Heroes” prefers to tackle as much as they can, especially with a super sized premiere. An episode that covers over a half dozen plots may have not been the best choice to start the season, as expectations were high even after the first season’s disappointing final installment. It’s a lose-lose situation. Although the episode is fragmented, plenty of threads are established that show immense potential once the season gets momentum going.
Bennet’s scenes at the copy store were hilarious. Despite having no powers, he lives a life similar to the typical superhero: mild-mannered by day, but hiding his secret identity, at least until he has had enough of his smarmy manager. Holding the guy down by clutching his finger was classic, even if that may ultimately bring unwanted attention to him and his family, since he is in whatever Bennet could muster as a Witness Protection Program.
Of course, Bennet isn’t content simply hiding from The Company. Instead, he calls upon his new ally Mohinder, who The Company almost recruited last season, to infiltrate and help destroy it. With him and The Haitian defected and on their radar, Bennet’s options are limited in the operation, but Mohinder, with his father’s work and his credentials, is a perfect candidate.
It was interesting to see how they played their chess game, with Mohinder throwing out a bogus story about a plague that affects those with powers (or is it real?) to reel them in. If anything they should have well known character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (Bob, the man with the literal Midas touch) back for a few more episodes.
Claire dealing with the problems of high school while having powers works very well. “Buffy” did similarly a decade a go, although that was the focus of the series instead of part of an ensemble story. She doesn’t want to make waves as the new girl, but being the new girl is enough to garner attention. Her powers, the threat of exposure and possible discovery by the company is even worse.
West could be bad news. It seems unlikely he’s just a regular kid with powers like Claire. At best, he’s a spy for The Company monitoring the Bennets. At worst, he’s stalking Claire. It’s hard to see him floating around Claire’s bedroom window without feeling the creeps. There has to be more to him than the surface, which is expected for a show like “Heroes”. Regardless, his own powers are worth mentioning. There is a limited variety of powers a person could inherit, as we see the first repeat power from someone who couldn’t steal/absorb them.
Greg Grunberg is way better at playing the likeable schlub, which is why Matt’s new direction as Molly’s foster dad while using his telepathy to his advantage in the NYPD is better than angsty “My marriage is falling apart” Matt. Adair Tishler (Molly) is also surprisingly good, and the chemistry between them is a believable. One could assume that their part in the Mohinder/Bennet conspiracy is to protect Molly, whose powers will make her extremely valuable.
Of course, they wouldn’t forget Molly’s warning of the man who can see her when she tries to locate him. With the culmination (or was it) of the Sylar threat last season, it’s expected to raise the bar with an even scarier villain for this one. Molly’s pictures, including the sometimes excessive helix symbol, are disturbing, but add to the mystery of this unseen character. It’ll be interesting to see whether they go the Linderman route and have him be someone we’ve never seen or to have the big bad be someone we already know.
One reason why Hiro is such an endearing character is his lack of cynicism regarding his talents. So, in an interesting turn, they pair him with his hero Kensei (played by “Alias” alum David Anders which also starred Grunberg), who turns out not be the great man whose legend Hiro grew up learning, at least not yet. Hiro won’t likely turn into a bitter cynic over this, but his actions in the past (“I broke history!”) could create major complications in the present. Perhaps ultimately Hiro will be the one to get Kensei to step up and become a hero, even if that will cause major headaches with those trying to figure out how time travel logic (I’m not even going to go there).
Mr. Nakamura and Mrs. Petrelli’s organization gets illuminated further when both become targeted for assassination by one of their former peers. Both, with Linderman, Mr. Deveaux, Mr. Petrelli, and seven other members, were members of the group that eventually spawned The Company. Obviously the identities of the killer as well as the six other members are going to be a major mystery for the season. The vague silhouette resembled someone much younger than the other members we’ve seen, but that could be tied to his power. He may be the person who has been haunting Molly’s dreams since the end of last season. Whether they are the same will likely be the hotly contested question this season.
Mr. Nakamura and Mrs. Petrelli’s conversations deepen the understanding of the major splits between this original group. While Nakamura worked to help his son accept his destiny to save the world, Mrs. Petrelli was ready to use her sons as pawns for a nefarious endgame. Ultimately Nakamura finds peace in this final act of redemption, and appears ready to face the assassin (having Ando get the sword could’ve been a ruse to get him out of the way so he wouldn’t be collateral damage).
Many wondered if either of the brothers would survive. While it may be considered a safe route, the way the characters are dealing now is more interesting than those critics would believe. There is no mention of Nathan’s political career following the explosion, but his heroics keeping Peter from destroying New York and have left him a broken man, complete with the beard and excessive drinking. Obviously, they separated before Peter detonated, and Nathan lost track of him. Nathan’s brief glimpse in the mirror adds another layer to this story. It seems unlikely he wouldn’t get burned. How he healed with Linderman dead will be addressed eventually.
The person whose actions the past four months the most people want to know about are Peter’s. Surprisingly most critics left the amnesia plot twist alone. Considering its place in the story, it’s easy to forgive or else people would be complaining about why Peter isn’t forthcoming with the information about what happened after he fell to earth. The obvious speculation is that someone experimented with him (and got rid of that awful haircut), but placing him in a cargo bin for some Irish thieves to find could be a hint at a grander scheme to bring Peter to someone else without the sender’s direct involvement.
The new kids in town, fugitive siblings Maya and Alejandro, show potential, even if there is a bit of recycling. Maya’s power, whatever killed everyone in the truck, seems to be out of her control as Niki’s was last season. She has killed several people, including some who made lewd passes at her like Niki did. It seems to be all but confirmed that Alejandro acts as an inhibitor for Maya’s ability. If that is true, then it seems like an unnecessarily complicated super power, but in time it may prove effective.
Overall, this episode had a lot of ground to cover. It was a set up episode, with a dozen characters’ stories and motivations established and sent in action. While it may not have been a knockout and some elements conspicuously absent (Sylar), the threads introduced show enormous potential.
Overall Score: 7/10
This episode is essentially a laundry list, giving us a brief synopsis of where our heroes are while setting up many of the major conflicts of the season. “Lost” has tackled this problem by focusing on a few characters in the first episodes of the season, and those episodes, even if they aren’t the best, aren’t overcrowded. “Heroes” prefers to tackle as much as they can, especially with a super sized premiere. An episode that covers over a half dozen plots may have not been the best choice to start the season, as expectations were high even after the first season’s disappointing final installment. It’s a lose-lose situation. Although the episode is fragmented, plenty of threads are established that show immense potential once the season gets momentum going.
Bennet’s scenes at the copy store were hilarious. Despite having no powers, he lives a life similar to the typical superhero: mild-mannered by day, but hiding his secret identity, at least until he has had enough of his smarmy manager. Holding the guy down by clutching his finger was classic, even if that may ultimately bring unwanted attention to him and his family, since he is in whatever Bennet could muster as a Witness Protection Program.
Of course, Bennet isn’t content simply hiding from The Company. Instead, he calls upon his new ally Mohinder, who The Company almost recruited last season, to infiltrate and help destroy it. With him and The Haitian defected and on their radar, Bennet’s options are limited in the operation, but Mohinder, with his father’s work and his credentials, is a perfect candidate.
It was interesting to see how they played their chess game, with Mohinder throwing out a bogus story about a plague that affects those with powers (or is it real?) to reel them in. If anything they should have well known character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (Bob, the man with the literal Midas touch) back for a few more episodes.
Claire dealing with the problems of high school while having powers works very well. “Buffy” did similarly a decade a go, although that was the focus of the series instead of part of an ensemble story. She doesn’t want to make waves as the new girl, but being the new girl is enough to garner attention. Her powers, the threat of exposure and possible discovery by the company is even worse.
West could be bad news. It seems unlikely he’s just a regular kid with powers like Claire. At best, he’s a spy for The Company monitoring the Bennets. At worst, he’s stalking Claire. It’s hard to see him floating around Claire’s bedroom window without feeling the creeps. There has to be more to him than the surface, which is expected for a show like “Heroes”. Regardless, his own powers are worth mentioning. There is a limited variety of powers a person could inherit, as we see the first repeat power from someone who couldn’t steal/absorb them.
Greg Grunberg is way better at playing the likeable schlub, which is why Matt’s new direction as Molly’s foster dad while using his telepathy to his advantage in the NYPD is better than angsty “My marriage is falling apart” Matt. Adair Tishler (Molly) is also surprisingly good, and the chemistry between them is a believable. One could assume that their part in the Mohinder/Bennet conspiracy is to protect Molly, whose powers will make her extremely valuable.
Of course, they wouldn’t forget Molly’s warning of the man who can see her when she tries to locate him. With the culmination (or was it) of the Sylar threat last season, it’s expected to raise the bar with an even scarier villain for this one. Molly’s pictures, including the sometimes excessive helix symbol, are disturbing, but add to the mystery of this unseen character. It’ll be interesting to see whether they go the Linderman route and have him be someone we’ve never seen or to have the big bad be someone we already know.
One reason why Hiro is such an endearing character is his lack of cynicism regarding his talents. So, in an interesting turn, they pair him with his hero Kensei (played by “Alias” alum David Anders which also starred Grunberg), who turns out not be the great man whose legend Hiro grew up learning, at least not yet. Hiro won’t likely turn into a bitter cynic over this, but his actions in the past (“I broke history!”) could create major complications in the present. Perhaps ultimately Hiro will be the one to get Kensei to step up and become a hero, even if that will cause major headaches with those trying to figure out how time travel logic (I’m not even going to go there).
Mr. Nakamura and Mrs. Petrelli’s organization gets illuminated further when both become targeted for assassination by one of their former peers. Both, with Linderman, Mr. Deveaux, Mr. Petrelli, and seven other members, were members of the group that eventually spawned The Company. Obviously the identities of the killer as well as the six other members are going to be a major mystery for the season. The vague silhouette resembled someone much younger than the other members we’ve seen, but that could be tied to his power. He may be the person who has been haunting Molly’s dreams since the end of last season. Whether they are the same will likely be the hotly contested question this season.
Mr. Nakamura and Mrs. Petrelli’s conversations deepen the understanding of the major splits between this original group. While Nakamura worked to help his son accept his destiny to save the world, Mrs. Petrelli was ready to use her sons as pawns for a nefarious endgame. Ultimately Nakamura finds peace in this final act of redemption, and appears ready to face the assassin (having Ando get the sword could’ve been a ruse to get him out of the way so he wouldn’t be collateral damage).
Many wondered if either of the brothers would survive. While it may be considered a safe route, the way the characters are dealing now is more interesting than those critics would believe. There is no mention of Nathan’s political career following the explosion, but his heroics keeping Peter from destroying New York and have left him a broken man, complete with the beard and excessive drinking. Obviously, they separated before Peter detonated, and Nathan lost track of him. Nathan’s brief glimpse in the mirror adds another layer to this story. It seems unlikely he wouldn’t get burned. How he healed with Linderman dead will be addressed eventually.
The person whose actions the past four months the most people want to know about are Peter’s. Surprisingly most critics left the amnesia plot twist alone. Considering its place in the story, it’s easy to forgive or else people would be complaining about why Peter isn’t forthcoming with the information about what happened after he fell to earth. The obvious speculation is that someone experimented with him (and got rid of that awful haircut), but placing him in a cargo bin for some Irish thieves to find could be a hint at a grander scheme to bring Peter to someone else without the sender’s direct involvement.
The new kids in town, fugitive siblings Maya and Alejandro, show potential, even if there is a bit of recycling. Maya’s power, whatever killed everyone in the truck, seems to be out of her control as Niki’s was last season. She has killed several people, including some who made lewd passes at her like Niki did. It seems to be all but confirmed that Alejandro acts as an inhibitor for Maya’s ability. If that is true, then it seems like an unnecessarily complicated super power, but in time it may prove effective.
Overall, this episode had a lot of ground to cover. It was a set up episode, with a dozen characters’ stories and motivations established and sent in action. While it may not have been a knockout and some elements conspicuously absent (Sylar), the threads introduced show enormous potential.
Overall Score: 7/10
posted by Matt @ 4:47 PM
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