Heroes: Season 2, Episode 7 Review: Out of Time

Out of Time
Original Airdate: November 5, 2007
Writer: Aron Eli Coleite
Director: Dan Attias

Critics and fans have beaten up “Heroes” this season. After a thoroughly entertaining first season, the second failed to have that spark that made it a breakout hit. A lot of the stories stood still, or were poorly played out. They were more average than atrocious as some believed, but the masses’ effect was clear with diminished ratings and unflattering press. This episode’s title could apply to the patience of some viewers and the writers trying to win them back. However, this episode offers some hope, with emphasis on what has worked this season, while incorporating the entertainment value that made season one so much fun.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview published the week of this episode’s airing creator Tim Kring, on strike with the WGA, admitted to all the major faults critics, including myself, have had towards this season. While it must be hard to do the obligatory “we made mistakes” statement during a disappointing run, knowing where the problems are is encouraging that the season may turn around. It would be bad for the series if the show goes on its strike hiatus leaving a bad taste in the fans’ mouths like “Lost” did after its poorly received “mini-season”, only this time it may be more than three months before we get new episodes.

This episode resolves the Maury storyline, as some unlikely allies band together to stop him before he kills Bob. Of course, Maury’s strength in projecting nightmares proves a formidable obstacle. Ultimately he is physically passive figure in the episode by using Niki’s mental illness and guilt over DL to project a nightmare that convinces her to break open Bob’s office and infect him (or rip him in two, whichever comes first).

However, Niki finds herself as Patient Zero as she infects herself before her less stable counterpart can harm Bob. Now it’s yet to be seen whether Niki can be contained of if she’ll eventually infect the general population, causing the plague of which Peter sees the aftermath. It’s possible she’ll die even when the virus is ended, which could make this point the beginning of a redemptive arc for her.

The moral ambiguity remains a central piece of the show. While Bob argues that the virus can be used to take care of formidable foes like Maury and Adam, Mohinder can’t grapple infecting innocent people. It certainly shows the strange pairing between Mohinder and Bennet, as he is as morally grey as Bob is, only for different goals for what it is. Mohinder’s compass is naturally inclined to do what he feels is right, and that often comes into conflict with his campaign against The Company.

While Maury was set up as a villain that made Sylar look like an ant, his son defeating him felt a little too easy. Perhaps this is just the result of strike shuffling, but what could’ve been a few more episodes of Matt learning how to control minds the way his father does and dealing with the issues of his father leaving him at a young age is never touched upon on screen. Despite that, the episode effectively transitions us for Adam to be the new villain.

Of the many problems this season, this episode effectively ends one of them. Hiro’s trip to feudal Japan was an interesting move at the end of last season. However, the amount of story they had to tell was no where near enough to warrant seven episodes, not to mention the forced love triangle. Being separated from the other major storylines has been a major con for this subplot, and has left Hiro’s pal Ando with little material; he’s done little but literally reading since Kaito’s murder in the premiere. Knowing he’ll be interacting with the other heroes soon is a welcome sign.

The brief scene of Hiro and Ando’s reunion showed us just what we have missed. Their camaraderie during the first season was a high point, but with them almost three and a half centuries apart, the series suffered. However, once Hiro returned, it felt like no time at all had passed. Who couldn’t help but smile seeing them together again?

Initially Hiro thought his journey was to train Kensei to become the hero legend would remember him as. He had his work cut out for him as Kensei proved to be a philandering drunk. Obviously Hiro played a major role in changing Kensei’s path, but it would be rather different than what he expected. What the trip seemed to teach him was that this great legend, this great hero, is actually himself. While that may be cliché, it feels like a good way to end this story.

Despite being blown up, it was obvious that Kensei wasn’t dead. We’ve seen Claire and Peter in situations where they should’ve been killed, but weren’t because of their ability. Since Kensei has that power, he would’ve eventually healed his charred skin and any other injuries sustained in the blast, but it’s likely they didn’t want to reveal his survival until the end in addition to the expense such special effects would cost. However, Hiro doesn’t know that, which should make their inevitable showdown in the present interesting to watch.

It’s likely Hiro would feel guilty over making Kensei the man he is. Hiro is one of the most invested characters in his ability and its use to better mankind. The fact that he helped train the man whose plans now include wiping out normal people will have an effect that would likely be similar to Obi-Wan and Anakin in the “Star Wars” films. Despite the betrayal, Hiro still sees good in him, which may play out in the present.

Kensei being alive in the present was a popular theory because the following David Anders still has from “Alias” fans and that he was quickly promoted to lead character after only a few episodes. I’ve mentioned before that he could be a candidate for Mr. Petrelli since the man in the Group of Twelve portrait looked like him, but instead, it’s revealed that he is Adam Monroe, alluded to in the previous episode (critic’s note: he will be referred to as Adam Monroe from now on).

The fact that he hasn’t aged since 1671 suggests that spontaneous regeneration affects the aging process as well as healing. Since aging involves dying cells, regeneration would make that element obsolete. One could only assume that the same terms would apply to Claire, although unless Peter or Hiro go to the distant future, there’s no way to know that for sure.

Adam is likely the Group of Twelve Killer. His physique resembles that of the hooded figure who tackled Kaito off the building. Plus the lack of a second body could mean that the hooded figure instantly healed from whatever wounds he suffered and walked away (other powers could apply to the second body theories). He was also help captive by The Company, escaping a few weeks earlier, around the time Kaito was killed. However, it’s possible that he isn’t and that Bob cooked a bogus story about Adam’s state (can we really trust what any of them say?)

One piece mentioned in the previous review was the threat that Peter’s adventures in the future would be too similar to “Five Years Gone”. However, treating it like a subplot, featuring only one of the established characters there besides Peter and Caitlin, worked in the series favor, and finally gives Peter’s story the direction it has sorely needed. Peter’s trip is in part to tell him of the virus’ threat, but also it seems to begin the journey where his memory will be restored, as seen when he reads his mother’s mind.

Caitlin’s fate is unusual, as she’s trapped in the possible plague future. After the threat, what will happen to Caitlin? Is Peter going to go to that future in hopes of finding her or will that future be negated and send her back or possibly destroy her? Some interviews have said that while they averted blowing up New York, the timeline seen in “Five Years Gone” still exists on an alternate timeline.

West continues to act like a creep. Kring’s interview implied that West was never meant to be a villain, which in effect makes this bungled subplot harder to digest. They’ve done just about everything to make us not like this guy. He peeps on Claire without her knowing, harasses her in some bizarre courting ritual and then acts like a total sociopath because he has a power most people don’t have. And somehow Claire likes this guy! Maybe this is just being a teenager, but what does she see in him? This relationship, along with her beginning to side more with him than her father, makes her character look at best bad. “Heroes” has a history of poorly executed love stories, but this one is without a doubt the worst. I’m hoping Sylar learns how to fly, and soon!

If anything, West hopefully is nothing but a plot device to get the Bennets out of hiding in time to interact with the other characters. It seemed like that could’ve been the point, only it was obnoxiously over the top that sucked the fun out of it. Since West is unlikely to seek revenge now that he isn’t supposed to be evil and going after one of the more popular characters isn’t going to help us like him any more, even if he can’t do it.

Four of the eight paintings appear to come into fruition in this episode. The hand holding the vial is so vague that it could be argued as one considering the plot. We also see Niki break into Bob’s office, Peter in quarantine and Hiro and Kensei’s sword fight. The stage is also set for the final paintings, with Mohinder’s bandage over his nose and his growing doubts over Bennet’s stability, which ultimately cause him to side with The Company.

Bob is rather skilled at manipulating Mohinder. As Mohinder predicted, giving them Molly allowed them additional power over him. Bennet’s methods can go into dark territory as we saw in the last episode and as mentioned, they come into conflict with Mohinder’s, who is far less ambiguous. Despite the threat of The Company, they ultimately seem like the good guys in this situation as their motivation points towards curing Niki.

The writer’s strike must be addressed as well. As it happened the day the episode aired, no additional “Heroes” episodes will go into production. They have finished through episode eleven, which has been redesigned as a season finale rather than just the end of the second volume of the story, the third volume being the second half of the season. It’s possible, should the strike go on for longer than a few weeks, that the season will end at episode eleven. This season is certainly thrown a lot of wrenches in the narrative gears of many serialized shows, but hopefully “Heroes” will not suffer too badly as a result.

Overall Score: 8/10