It was a bad week to be in a relationship in the Heroes world. Loving, committed, couples were splitting all over the place. Noah and Sandra, Danko and Elena, Matt and Mohinder… all hitting rough patches. That was, of course, just the framework. The real story was a mix of the excellent (cat and mouse with Noah and Sylar), the confounding (Parkman’s revenge), and the ridiculous (baby Matt Parkman). Along the way we got just a tiny tease regarding Angela’s dream, and where things are headed for the last three episodes.
Starting with the best bit, Sylar’s new shapeshifting ability paid dividends right away. His plan to torture Noah, as opposed to just killing him, is taken right out of the big book of bad ideas for bumbling villains, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a front row seat to watching it all unravel. The constant uncertainty is very compelling. Is that Sylar? Or Noah? Sandra? Danko? I seemed to be hitting about 50% trying to stay ahead of the reveals, and that makes it fun.
You also couldn’t pick two better characters to have heading towards a showdown. Thank goodness Noah caught on quickly. His call for DNA testing, and the removing of the spike, were the smart moves. Shooting Donner might not have been the most well thought out play, but at least it shows that Noah is willing to pull the trigger. The show could use more of that. It at least gives the illusion that he and Sylar actually place each other in real danger.
Meanwhile, not pulling the trigger, was Parkman. Does his story just get more convoluted or what? I never really felt that his crazy love for Daphne made much sense. And now this. Bent on revenge against Danko turns to killing his hooker sweetheart, which leads, somehow, to giving up and asking to be killed. And that is all wiped away by the appearance of baby Matt. What is that? The good that comes of it is that Elena has gone on walkabout. Quite possibly the only thing Danko actually cared about has been taken from him, knocking him just a little further off the rails. It leaves me thinking that Danko isn’t making it out of this season alive, but it’s going to be fun watching him try.
I suspect I’ll be in the minority where Hiro, Ando, and baby Matt Parkman are concerned, but it just drives me batty. It’s almost like watching a completely different show when they cut to the whacky hijinks. I really want Hiro to grow up already. That whole thing with the Japanese-Texan truck driver was just odd. Did we really need two vehicles to figure out what the crying baby Matt was doing? Perhaps that time could have been better spent having someone slap Angela around and say, “Out with it!”
Because, really, that ending… It’s a strange mix. On the one hand, the way it played out was just silly. They all gather at Coyote Sands, and instead of making with the details, she tells them to dig. And based on the lighting, they go ahead and do so for about 8 hours before asking any questions. And then the answer is… “Keep digging.” Great. That’s organization. It’s frustrating because the whole thing hints at something really interesting. “This is where our story begins.” Who doesn’t want to hear that?
So, we’re left in the same place. The show is getting better as it heads toward the conclusion of the season. Sylar vs Noah, a rampaging Danko, and the prospects of Coyote Sands are all full of potential. But there are still some issues, like baby Matt Parkman, Hiro and Ando driving straight to Danko’s at just the right time, and Homeland Security seizing all of Mohinder’s work, but not checking his storage area. Those will be easy enough to forgive should the other bits pan out.
Clacked by Brett Love
on Apr 07, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
