Overview:
Rebel orchestrates a break-out at Building 26, giving Matt just enough time to accompany Daphne on a Parkman-Whammy-induced trip to Paris before she dies. Angela narrowly escapes Željko’s agents (largely thanks to Peter swooping in to rescue her), and Hiro and Ando discover that Baby Matt’s ability is to make things “go.” This apparently includes Hiro, whose time-freezing ability is now restored. And it’s finally revealed that Rebel is indeed Micah. After a season of acting like a manipulative shrew and nearly getting her nephew captured, Tracy feels guilty enough to go on a suicidal cryo-assault. While this successfully eliminates the agents surrounding her, it leaves Tracy wide open to one of Željko’s bullets after she freezes herself.
Review:
Welcome back, Bryan Fuller! This show has missed you.
What you missed last season: mankind nearly got wiped out, but in the end it didn’t. Niki blew up, Papa Sulu got thrown off a rooftop, and the show introduced us to Maya. Also, D.L., Noah and Nathan all got shot.
What you missed this season: the world nearly split in half, but in the end it didn’t. Mohinder became a bug, Hiro played spitball with schoolgirls, Nathan went berserk (at least twice), and Sylar discovered The Hunger. Also, Maya left.
I’m assuming you know about Daphne and Tracy, because … well, because. We’ll get to that.
What was I saying? Of course. Welcome back, Bryan Fuller! In all fairness, the show hasn’t sucked the whole time you’ve been gone, it’s been fairly outstanding of late, and this episode continues the winning streak that the show’s been enjoying since the start of this volume.
We open with …
… that. It’s as random as the clock in the volume-opener, and it’s even more mundane. It only becomes riveting when you realize you’re watching a killer.
The whole sequence is typical Greg Yaitanes. Exquisite close focus on Željko’s skin — bristles, wrinkles and all — and an example of a director’s visuals supporting the writer’s effort to convey character. It’s a testament to Ivanek’s ability to capture the spirit of his character that he manages to make shaving scary.
The front-door alarm was a neat detail. You have to wonder why it only activated now and how Sylar brought the dead rabbit in at the end of the previous episode, but the way the focus stays with Željko as the scene plays out, it barely crosses your mind. Željko’s razor blade comes to a smooth halt as it moves along his jawline, and somehow that composure ends up making the sense of foreboding even more intense, because if Željko won’t panic, the audience will.
Great music throughout this episode, but there are odd moments like this when it sounds like new ideas have been thrown in. There’s a high-pitched mechanical-sounding beat as Željko approaches his front door, something that resembles an artificial heartbeat as much as an alarm, and there’s a surreal chime as Željko discovers …
Doyle? It’s great for the shock value, not least because we see Željko’s terrified reaction as Doyle gasps to life. I can’t help wondering how Sylar would have crossed paths with Doyle, let alone managed to string up a guy as heavy as him without making a sound. Doyle might have headed in Sylar’s direction after leaving Costa Verde, and Sylar might have brought him all the way to D.C., and Sylar’s TK might have done a lot of the work with the ribbons once they were in the apartment; but even if you can get past that, you have to wonder why Sylar has now skipped two occasions to slice Doyle’s head open and take his ability.
We cut to an overhead shot of a New York street. The jerky handheld camera makes the scene as vivid as any throughout the volume, but it’s the perpetual honking that speaks to me. There’s a lot to be said for the symbolism of the rain and the boxed-in limo Angela’s trapped in, but it’s vivid details like the horns that bring the scene to life.
Noah’s shaving cuts? I can’t figure out if that’s more symbolism or another vivid detail. It’s a subtle link to Željko, but you could equally argue that Noah is struggling with domestic life without Sandra.
Angela: “This should be our last conversation. It’s not safe for you to be seen with me.”
Noah: “I’m touched. Or I would be if I could imagine that you really cared about my safety.”
Funny, and oddly characteristic of Noah and Angela’s relationship. As with every scene between them, it’s less about what’s said and more about what’s implied. As coy as Noah might be, we know that he’s more than an ally or co-conspirator to Angela. The brilliance in a scene like this — and in just a couple of lines like this — is that Jack Coleman and Cristine Rose mine the script for all of its equivocation and hidden meaning. Noah really is touched. Angela really does care about his safety. And if the actors’ delivery leaves any uncertainty about the bond between the characters …
… the look of understanding between them reinforces it.
Angela: “Family’s a horrible price to pay for what we’re trying to do, and the irony of sacrificing my relationship to my sons to save my sons isn’t lost on me.”
There are moments in this episode that, in all likelihood, were the result of a group effort in the writers’ room. Then there are parts of the plot and tracts of dialogue that are unmistakably Fuller. Simple, straightforward, memorable moments that encapsulate everything about the characters.
Angela tells Noah to gain Željko’s trust by giving him “some kind of feather to put in his cap.” Like, say, an Emmy, or at least the promise of a respectable death at the end of the season. Angela tells Noah that she’d want him to turn herself over to Željko “if [she] were a better woman,” which is as endearing as it is self-deprecacting, but also makes me wonder how exactly Željko’s agents did in the end track Angela to her limo. It’s not clear whether the Goon Squad analysts followed Noah’s suggestion to track Angela’s cell phone, or whether Noah sold her out and just hoped Angela would escape.
Angela: “Give him Rebel, and Danko will be your best friend.”
Noah: “You do realize you may be needing Rebel’s services very soon.”
Angela: “I’m resourceful. I’ll find ways to survive that don’t involve Rebel.”
Cryptic dialogue, and the first of several instances that make the Micah reveal problematic. I have a hard time believing that Micah could accomplish even half the stuff he did over the past six episodes without help, but if he was receiving help from Noah and Angela, it’s not clear here whether they even knew who they were helping. Noah’s reference to Rebel’s “services” implies he knows they’re on the same side, and Angela’s reference to “ways to survive” implies she knows she depends on Rebel. Given Rebel’s familiarity with Building 26, his success in tracking down Hiro and Ando in New Delhi and his awareness of Baby Matt, you’d think Rebel was sharing knowledge and resources with Noah and Angela. But if that’s true, it’s never made clear in this episode, and it’s one of several significant questions left hanging at the end of the hour.
Goon Squad Central. Željko brings Mohinder to a room marked “Human Resources.” I’d like to know if this room ever involved human resources, or if the folks who built Building 26 just have a sense of humor.
Amazing set work. There’s a surreal atmosphere to it because of the lighting, but also a sobering reality as you grasp the full, systematic horror of the operation.
Mohinder: “What is this?”
Željko: “An effective way of stopping any of you from hunting any of us. Neat, huh?”
Great dialogue. Drives home how appallingly clearcut the distinction between powered and non-powered individuals is to Željko, and how fired up Željko is about wiping out a part of the population. The fact that it’s one of very few notions which excites Željko is disturbing in itself, but the show puts it into its historical context when Mohinder, before himself getting tasered, mentions digging ditches “the old-fashioned way.”
The cut to the Goon Squad Inferno is brief, but so cool. The chapter chyron shimmering in the heat, and Tracy’s frozen breath effacing the episode title? Both so nicely done.
Noah meets Željko at Goon Squad Central and discovers there’s a “gift” waiting for him. I would have given him this, but Željko gives him Doyle.
We cut to Hiro shouting “DON’T WORRY, BABY MATT PARKMAN — WE WILL MAKE YOU BEEG AGAIN!”
Oh, show.
In deference to Fuller, I have to say that this was the least infuriating storyline for Hiro all volume. I’m not sure if that’s purely because Fuller knows how to write Hiro without making the character look like an imbecile; I think a lot of it’s down to the baby. I’m pleasantly surprised that the diaper jokes were relegated to the graphic novels, and I’m even more pleasantly surprised that the baby becomes cute without following traditional conventions. The baby’s appeal comes from his eyes. Those eyes convey intelligence and perception, which is why, the moment Hiro starts off with that “DON’T WORRY BABY MATT PARKMAN,” Baby Matt gets this priceless expression …
… that seems to say, “Dude, I’m only gonna say this once: knock that off before I put your head between Mr. Crocodile’s jaws.” Ando wonders how Matt could have become a baby, which earns a look of ridicule from Baby Matt and leads to Hiro drawing a Star Trek comparison. While I realize this wins me a Nerd of the Year Award, I feel compelled to point out that in the episode Hiro’s thinking of, the characters became children, not babies.
Anyway, Hiro blindly stumbles onto the truth while Ando rationally figures it out, concluding that this is Matt Jr. rather than Matt Sr. Rebel’s instructions are brought up, and again I’m forced to wonder how Micah could have known about Baby Matt without at least minimal communication with someone who was clued in to the families and offspring of the superpowered population. Even if Micah knew that Matt had a son, it’s unlikely he’d know that Baby Matt was about to be captured.
Baby Matt activating the TV and pulling up footage of Matt Sr. was a curious detail. Looking back, I think we should ask whether Baby Matt has imprinted onto his father without ever meeting Matt Sr.
We cut back to the gridlocked New York street, where Angela dreams of her capture moments before she needs to avert it. It’s shocking for its pace, but perhaps also surprising for its accuracy, given that the last prophetic dream we saw was so cryptic it bordered on nonsensical. This dream gives us an idea of how Angela’s dreams — if they were this detailed, and if they anticipated events further ahead in time — would have helped to shape Company plans.
The moment when the agents showed up and found the empty back seat seemed like an unintentional echo of Hiro showing up at Usutu’s empty hut in “Dying of the Light.” A character who can see the future evades attack and capture. The difference is that where that scene was played for laughs at the captor’s expense, this involves a character using her last means to defend herself. Given that Željko immediately repealed Claire’s privileges once Nathan was off the government project, it’s reasonable to assume that Angela’s shortage of cash isn’t just because she was forced to run in a hurry; chances are her accounts have now been closed along with every other fugitive’s.
Which doesn’t for a moment detract from Angela’s stature; if anything, it’s impressive to see her retain her austerity and composure even after she’s been stripped of her wealth and influence. It’s also a chance for Angela to demonstrate that she’s more like herself than ever, gravitating towards a bystander who looks like he could have been Robert Forster’s stunt double and asking to share his umbrella as she walks away from the car. It’s a satisfying moment, in part because you want to see Angela escape, but also because it’s evidence of Angela doing what she does best — using people for her own ends without them realizing it.
We return to Goon Squad Central, and it occurs to me that in the time Angela has spent sitting in her limo, Noah has met her, borrowed her umbrella, flown to D.C., plotted Rebel’s capture and watched a team of agents assigned to capture her. Something about this doesn’t add up, even if you factor in New York traffic.
Rebel chooses this exact moment to shut down Building 26, derail the attempt to track Angela and break several fugitives out.
Tracy following the camera’s motion towards the lab was a cool touch, as was Matt thinking “Where’s Daphne?” the moment Tracy ripped off the shunt to his nose. It’s also an interesting sequence for what it says about the characters; I’m not at all surprised that Tracy was willing to leave behind Daphne if she thought it would jeopardize her own chances of escape, but I’m a little surprised Tracy stopped to help any of the supers in the lab at all; one explanation is that Tracy knew she needed a few cohorts with superstrength and mind control in case she ran into trouble.
Parkman-whammying the agents into thinking the hall’s deserted? Very cool. It’s a little convenient that the agents walk along the edge of the hall and avoid colliding with anyone in the center of it, and it’s a little arbitrary that Matt and Peter didn’t think to pull the same trick on Nathan, Željko and Noah back in “Exposed.” Still, very cool.
Tracy visits the nearest clothing store and swipes an expensive-looking pair of boots. Again, nice focus on detail. Ali Larter plays the nuances with a lot of care; there’s one moment as Tracy smoothes out her sweater and gets an odd smile, like the feel of the fabric and the hint of creature comforts convince her that she’s on the way back to her old life.
Freezing the security tag? Very clever, and an everyday example of what anyone — no matter how upstanding — would do with this ability if they had it.
Noah shows up, and I waste more time than I should trying to figure out when these characters ever met. (They did, briefly, when Noah rescued Tracy from one of Mohinder’s cocooned victims.)
Tracy: “While you were playing Abu Ghraib, I was trying to make ice in an oven. This is a breezy 68 degrees and I’ve worked up a hell of a cold snap.”
Sharp dialogue. Not so slick that it feels rehearsed, but just slick enough that you can believe an articulate public speaker like Tracy would come up with it. It’s also a subtle way to set up Tracy’s cryo-wave in the parking lot, the implication being that the harsh conditions in the Goon Squad Inferno helped her to focus and intensify her ability.
The dressing-room attendant knocks on the door, and oh my …
Noah and Tracy? If there was ever a faction of the fanbase shipping this particular couple, they’re rejoicing right about now. The attendant looks as appalled as I think we’re meant to.
Matt brings Daphne to hospital and uses a cover story about duck-hunting with the family to explain the gunshot wound. Matt comes off looking good for the improvisation and initiative; not so good for using his ex-wife’s identity as a cover for his girlfriend. I’d point out how shameless this is, but Matt’s going to realize it himself before the episode is over.
We cut back to Hiro, Ando and Baby Matt. Hiro names Baby Matt “Toddler Touch and Go” and describes him as the “Baby Genesis Device … which, no, but since it’s a shout-out which Papa Sulu and Great Aunt Uhura would be proud of, and since Baby Matt’s ability is never really clarified this week, OK. Does he animate anything with working components? Does he generate power when power is lost, which would explain why he can rev up objects with dead batteries and objects that have lost their power source? Or is he effectively just a magic human remote control? Hopefully something that’ll become clearer as the story goes on.
Ando: “We can’t just take the Baby Genesis Device. That’s kidnapping. What about his mother?”
Hiro: “We’ll leave her a note.”
^ ^ Read that again, and tell me how we can possibly take that suggestion seriously.
Dear Mother of Matt’s child,
We have taken your child for its own protection. He will be safe with us. Don’t worry.
Best!
Hiro and Ando
P.S. Your child will have lots of adventure with us. We are heroes on a heroic journey to save the world and it is our destiny to do great things on this heroic path of adventure.
P.P.S. Please don’t hate us for taking your child. It’s like when Obi-Wan took Baby Luke to Tatooine because he knew it was for the best. This does not mean you are Darth Vader, but we will protect him from evil villains like the Emperor.
Ando connects Hiro’s relationship with his parents to his fear of looking after Baby Matt, the issue of Hiro watching Mama Sulu die in his arms comes up, and suddenly …
… Hiro can remember a time when he wasn’t acting like a total d%#k; when being a hero meant more than looking like a hero or being called a hero; when he lost a parent, and it affected him, and it affected us. It’s like the whole New Delhi travesty never happened. This was surprising and touching, and it was a delight to see that someone this season besides Armus and Foster knows how to write for Hiro.
Janice comes home, walks right past the toy robot that’s now smoking, and …
Gah! Janice looks pissed!
I was planning to say Gah! to this too, because, really, when you recall badass Future-Hiro and badass Future-Ando zapping less-badass alternate-Future-Hiro, it’s sad to see where the characters have ended up. But look! The stuffed giraffe! And the monkey! And the little dog with the cute little ribbon around its ne-
Nicely done, show.
Tracy doesn’t remember the time Micah unrepentantly stole cash from an ATM to pay rent, but some of us do. It’s no less objectionable now than it was then, but it is funnier. At least we know how Micah’s been supporting Great Aunt Uhura and his cousins since we last saw them.
Welcome back, Noah Gray-Cabey!
It’s a delight to see the actor back on the show, even if I struggled to ignore the fact that the guy’s voice has plunged even deeper since we last saw him. With Niki gone and the Dawson SuperFamily all but forgotten, I guess the show has effectively bypassed the snag it would hit when parents or aunts tried to talk to him like he was still an eight-year-old.
Angela visits another New York restaurant, the difference being that this time it’s not her doing the pwning, but rather …
… the amazing Swoosie Kurtz. Millie’s introduction is a delight, the only disappointment being its brevity. Kurtz plays the role of the lifelong blunt-to-a-fault friend to perfection, and with enough girlish flamboyance to bring out a similar side to Angela in the process, but it’s undermined by the fact that we learn so little about the character. Does she really know nothing about the friend she’d apparently been close to until Arthur’s death — which, in the show’s chronology, was barely a year earlier? Was she part of The Company, and is she just being coy? Did she know everything about Angela, her sons and their abilities, and has she been Haitian-whammied? Again, something that deserves to be explored. The banter between Angela and Millie is such that you can easily see Millie becoming a recurring character, if not in the present then through flashbacks.
The remarkable part of Millie’s introduction is that despite knowing virtually nothing about the character, we immediately gravitate towards her. Millie starts telling Angela how she was detained by men with badges for three hours. It’s enunciated with appropriate melodramatic outrage, although if we’re to assume that those men with badges were government agents, it seems odd that they chose to question Millie instead of tasering her and bringing her straight to Building 26.
Angela asks Millie for a change of clothes, a car and — most notably — cash. Which throws a wrench in the Angela/Micah/Rebel theory, because if Micah was happy to program an ATM for Tracy, you’d think he could do the same for Angela.
Angela tells Millie it was good to see her …
… and Angela’s expression to accompany the sentiment is disarmingly heartfelt. You’re left with the impression that this wasn’t just another instance of Angela using someone to achieve her own ends. More of this, please, show!
We return to the Parkman Toy Store, where Janice tells Hiro and Ando that Baby Matt’s ability manifested during the eclipse. At least that episode served some purpose in the long term.
It’s worth noting that the tone of the scene shifts for a moment when Janice asks Baby Matt to turn on the TV.
^ ^ Smiles all around! A fun mother-son activity! Dad’s on TV trying to blow up the Capitol Building!
I guess we can’t blame Janice for finding Matt’s ability cute, but for about the millionth time in this episode, I can’t help thinking there’s more to be explored. It is a cute moment, but there must be more to Janice’s reaction than, “Oh, my, he can turn on the TV with his finger! Isn’t that adorable!” Was Janice frightened by her son’s ability when it started? Is she worried about the side-effects the ability could have or what it could evolve into? Has she tried to contact Matt to tell him he even has a son, let alone that his son has an ability?
Agents arrive at the house. Hiro holds Baby Matt while the light bulb over Ando’s head formulates into a plan, and I have to say …
This, beyond indicating a stroke of genius on the baby’s (and for that, read the writers’) part, is possibly the cutest moment of the episode.
Ando fires up his Force Lightning, and, as per the season premiere …
… discovers that he can fry individuals. As with Janice smiling over her son’s ability, it’s easy to identify with Ando’s delight when he discovers how cool his ability is. Maybe I’m oversensitive when I say we should spare a thought for the sap who just got fried; the poor guy was only doing the job he’d been assigned to do.
If Hiro’s ability being restored weren’t so thrilling — for Hiro and for us — it’d be easier to pay attention to the rest of the scene, from Kyson Lee maintaining the same awkward pose in mid-air to Baby Matt’s “Yeah, whatever, bored already” expression. But Hiro’s thrilled beyond belief, and his exuberance encompasses the scene and echoes what made the character so appealing when the show began. And while it’s sad to see that Hiro’s essentially the same character now that he was back then, I can’t deny that watching Hiro find his ability restored brought a smile to my face.
Hiro raising the Baby Matt’s hands and asking him if he can say “Yatta!”? Too adorable for words. Hiro discovering that he only got a third of his original ability — the time-freezing but neither the time-traveling nor the teleportation? Too brilliant for words. First Peter, now Hiro. Well played, Baby Matt. Well played, show.
The 12-mile wheelbarrow trek? That’s not so well played. Hiro earns plus points for resolve and stamina, but a *PING!* Dumb As Award for going through with this at all. How hard would it be to push Ando to the end of the block, unfreeze time for three seconds, re-freeze time with a firm grip on both Baby Matt and Ando, and then walk with Ando to the bus depot instead of hauling him in a wheelbarrow? And come to think of it, how hard would it be to rescue Baby Matt’s mom from being detained by government agents? Thanks a lot, Hiro! The kid’s mom is probably being tortured while you shop for diapers and baby food.
Oh, boy. Here’s the start of the end for Mattne. I was never a believer in this ship, but right now I’m liable to start bawling the way Hiro and Ando would if they talked about Mama Sulu’s death.
In retrospect, it seems like almost everything in this scene was part of a Parkman Whammy. Given that the final shot is a hospital room that’s bare and bleakly lit, the implication is that the entire Gwen Stefani thing was a pretense, as was the story about the antibiotics and, apparently, even the streaming sunshine outside the window. I could just about make out the sound of birdsong, and you have to figure that even that was an illusion. Which, in a way, aw, because it goes to show how much thought Matt put into making Daphne’s final few hours as memorable as he could.
Did Daphne know that Matt was married? Future-Matt mentioned it to Future-Daphne in “I Am Become Death,” but if his marriage to Janice wasn’t mentioned in the file that Ghost-Linderman gave Daphne when he assigned her to recruit Matt, did Matt ever even tell her? The way this scene plays out, it’s not clear whether Daphne knew Matt was married and just didn’t know Janice’s name, or whether Matt glossed over his marriage altogether.
Either way, it lamentably underlines that Daphne and Matt never really had a relationship beyond prophetic visions. Which isn’t to say that a relationship wouldn’t have developed exactly the way we saw it in “I Am Become Death,” and truthfully, these final two scenes between the characters struck me as two of most romantic and heartfelt scenes any two characters ever had on the show. But they don’t overwrite the fact that Matt and Daphne knew next to nothing about one another, and that Matt’s attachment to Daphne was based on the prospect of a romance several years down the line rather than any real romance between them in the present.
Matt: “I needed a believable backstory, so I –”
Daphne: “Slotted me into your ex-wife’s life.”
Matt: “Yeah … I guess. Yeah. Why, was that wrong?”
On paper, it makes Matt sound like an idiot. On screen …
… the unbelievable part is Matt only now seems to be grasping that there might be something wrong with it.
The sad part is Daphne seems to be retreating back into the persona she’d taken on when we met her in the season premiere: skeptical, guarded and emotionally closed off. In a way, it’s consistent, because you have to figure that entering into a relationship and putting herself in a situation where she cared about other people enough to slow down and let herself get shot is what nearly got her killed — and, as it turns out, what in the end did get her killed. Which seems to tie in very closely with the conversation Claire and Alex had in “Exposed” about relationships and the risk of getting hurt, the difference being that in Daphne’s case, hurt equates to killed. Which in turn puts forward a rather tragic message about what happens if you open up to people, because the show seems to be saying that while meeting and falling for Matt is what helped Daphne to open up and become a better person, ultimately it was based on a lie, and ultimately it’s what made her vulnerable and got her killed.
Or not. I’m probably reading too much into it.
Tracy arrives at Union Station, meets Micah, and learns that he’s Rebel. Her response is not hysterical laughter, but rather angry concern over the danger Micah’s put himself in. Which, aw, sort of.
So Rebel’s all, “I’m helping people — people like us! I thought we could help people together!”
And he says it with such enthusiasm that you have to admire this idealistic and pure-hearted kid who set out to make things right in the world.
Thing is, you’ll recall that this is also the person who texted Claire and identified himself as “someone who hates them.” I have a hard time believing Micah could dislike anyone, let alone hate them. It’s one of several reasons why I’m still convinced that Micah hasn’t been working alone.
Tracy reveals that she agreed to help commandos capture Rebel, and as much as Micah insists that he knows Tracy’s not his mom, it’s got to be hard to see someone who wears his mom’s face tell him she betrayed him.
I again find myself wondering how Željko’s agents tracked down Angela — and, for that matter, how Peter knew where and when to rescue her. Whatever the details, the tragedy is in watching Angela dethroned and reduced from expensive jewelry and designer coats to running for her life and frantically pushing elevator buttons to escape the agents pointing guns at her head.
Astoundingly, Cristine Rose plays Angela with barely a trace of panic as she retreats into the elevator. On the contrary, if looks could kill …
… the agents pursuing Angela would already be dead.
Too awesome. So cool that you barely wonder about the open roof at the top of the elevator shaft. Who cares if it’s convenient? The way it’s executed — and the idea that the hapless dreamer son would for once save his always-in-control mom — it’s so compelling that you forgive it.
We cut back to Union Station, where Micah strides through an underground parking garage as Tracy nervously skips behind him. Nicely played, and a nice way to reinforce how hurt Micah feels and how displaced Tracy feels.
Micah: “I don’t understand you. You got into politics to protect the civil liberties of the everyday American.”
Actual response from Tracy: “My God, you read my bio?”
More believable response from Tracy: “My God, are you really that naïve?”
Tracy: “I’m not your mom.”
Micah: “I know. You’re nothing like her. My mom, who was the everyday American, was a hero. You’re just a …”
You’re thinking, what, a coward? A snake? A treacherous bee-yatch?
“… a politician.”
Ouch! Again with the cynicism. After this week, I think it’s safe to say we’ve learned that relationships suck, and so does the system.
Micah tells her to pick a side, and takes cover as the commandos seal off the exit to the parking garage. And I have to say, right now, as phenomenal as this episode is, this sequence is something else. It’s on a level with the beachfront scene in “Cautionary Tales.” And perhaps not-so-coincidentally, that was also a Yaitanes episode.
Tracy tells Micah to set the sprinklers off and run, and I think Tracy was halfway to redemption already now, because as two-faced and as treacherous as she’s been throughout the season …
… you can tell from those earnest eyes that Tracy had already accepted she’d have to sacrifice herself to stop the agents from capturing Micah.
Tracy: “Keep doing what you’re doing, Rebel.”
There’s something uncharacteristically sincere about the way Tracy delivers that line, and I think it’s a testament to Ali Larter’s ability that we buy this change of heart at all, let alone that it comes across so effectively.
The slo-mo kicks in, the choral overtones creep into the soundtrack, the agents surround Tracy and lift their tasers, and we get that one, long, stunning shot of the wave of ice that surrounds Tracy and expands outwards until it covers the whole garage.
Your first reaction is one word: Wow.
Your next reaction is also one word: How? It’s one continuous shot that pulls back from Tracy and takes in the frozen agents, their frozen tasers, the frozen droplets of water around them, and finally the ice that moves across Tracy at the center of it; but the whole thing scene continues to develop as the camera zips around the garage: the ice droplets continue falling, the wave of ice continues spreading across the garage, and most incredibly …
… Tracy’s eyes are still darting around.
Which only comes to a conclusive halt when even her eyes freeze over and a final breath of frozen air escapes from her mouth.
Unbelievably well shot. If any part of that is CG, I can’t tell.
Željko strolls past his frozen agents, and you can hear the ice crunching beneath his feet as he moves towards Tracy. Every detail in this scene is flawless, to the point where you’re watching in a state of disbelief.
I’m not sure which is more chilling — Tracy’s icicle figure or Željko’s look of contempt.
Your initial response is dismay, but looking back, I think it’s also compounded with horror, because on some level Tracy was clearly still conscious and aware of what was happening around her.
Tracy shatters, Micah hears the gunshot and gets what’s probably about the billionth psychological scar that’ll haunt him for the rest of his life, and Noah shows up to convey on screen the state of stunned silence we’ve all been frozen into.
Look at those sprinklers. The attention to detail in this sequence, from start to finish, is staggering.
Željko walks away. Noah stands there, taking in the full extent of what’s happened …
… and the remaining fragment of Tracy’s frozen head blinks one final tear.
I’d like to think that Tracy will melt and reform, but if she doesn’t — if this was goodbye, and if the show’s now planning to give Ali Larter a chance to play Barbara Zimmerman — there’s no way this send-off could have been improved. As with the sequence in “Cautionary Tales,” I can’t begin to imagine how much time and effort must have gone into producing this. It transcends description. It’s so beautifully realized that you have to see it to believe it. It’s easily the most astounding sequence of the season, and probably the finest of the series, but what brings it to the same level as Noah getting shot by Mohinder is that it resonates with the same emotional depth, and that’s extremely surprising given that Tracy has spent most of this season being — at best — a peripheral cast regular, and — at worst — a character which none of the show’s writers seemed to know what to do with. The fact that this scene was so visually engaging and emotionally engrossing is evidence of the show’s collective talent, from its writing and direction to its music and post-production, but above all it’s a credit to the performance from the actress playing its central character.
It goes without saying that the only way to follow up a scene as intense as that is a Hiro scene involving a wheelbarrow, a Greyhound and a bottle of breast milk.
Yes, that is indeed sarcasm. In all fairness, Baby Matt saves this from turning into another belt-buckle-tug-of-war-after-200,000-people-were-nuked instance.
Hiro steals a bottle of milk from a frozen mother nearby, then feeds that bottle of stolen milk to the baby he kidnapped. Not that I can maintain any major complaints about any of this, because it’s hard to complain when Baby Matt gives that adorable gurgle.
Hiro praises Baby Matt for being so brave, tells him it’s OK to cry if he feels like it, gives the baby a peck on the head, then unfreezes time and asserts that “time is once again on our side.” And we cut to …
Oh, damn you, show! That’s too cruel.
Matt: “Penny for your thoughts.”
Daphne: “Since when did you start paying people for their thoughts?”
Innovative and witty or hackneyed and cheap? I’m leaning towards hackneyed and cheap, but only because it seems like Matt’s trying to cram as many cheesy one-liners into his final moments with Daphne as he possibly can.
Matt: “You love Paris like I love –”
Daphne: “DON’T!”
Thank you, Daphne.
Matt starts floating, we start to figure out what’s going on, and it starts to get really, really sad. I want to believe that the show would have come up with a scene like this without Fuller, but it bears all of the trademark poignancy that he brought to Pushing Daisies.
Matt offers to fly Daphne around the Eiffel Tower, Daphne plants her feet on Matt’s, and they lift into the air. Shout-out to Superman Returns? At least the show resisted the temptation to borrow “Can You Read My Mind?” from the Donner movie.
Was the montage over-the-top? As with the Disneyfied lighting over Paris and the vibrant sunset, a lot of the over-the-top elements seem intentional. If Daphne secretly wished for a romantic fairytale ending — complete with twinkly chimes, windswept hair and a trip to the moon — this is exactly what she would have wanted.
Daphne: “You really would do anything for me, wouldn’t you?”
Matt: “Just say the word.”
Daphne: “Then let me go.”
Heartbreaking. Partly because you realize it breaks Matt’s heart and shatters the illusion, partly because you know Daphne’s trying to help Matt to accept that he can’t save her and move on.
Daphne reveals that she knows this is all an elaborate Parkman Whammy. Matt says “sorry,” and props to Greg Grunberg, because he makes that “sorry” sound sincere rather than self-pitying.
Daphne tells Matt he deserves the real thing instead of an illusion, and accepts her fate so readily that I find myself loving the character even more and finding this scene even more heartbreaking.
Matt’s starts choking up as he tells Daphne he only wanted to make her happy, and I find myself feeling even worse for the guy and wishing he could keep his dream of settling down with Daphne.
And oh, crap, now I’m getting teary-eyed. Stop it, show!
Matt grants Daphne her dying wish and flies her to the moon, and their wispy trail segues into the flatline on Daphne’s monitor in the hospital room.
And that makes for one of the season’s most tragic casualties. Goodbye, Daphne. You were one of the show’s most entertaining and charismatic heroes, you were consistently written, funny, warm and charming, and we’ll be mightily ticked off if we don’t see you in lots of flashbacks and dream sequences. Farewell.
I hesitate to attach the word “iconic” to what’s presumably a CG shot, but it’s such convincing CG that I’m tempted to. As with so many instances throughout this episode, it’s exquisitely shot and awe-inspiring in its scale, and the connotations are fundamentally true to the spirit of the show.
This episode blew me away. And that’s saying something, because given the enormous hype surrounding Bryan Fuller’s return, I went into this actively looking for faults. Having taken it apart fairly exhaustively, I’m still trying to find even one. The surface-level introduction of Rebel, Millie and Baby Matt, perhaps, but can you call underdevelopment a fault when those characters and twists have only just been introduced? That’s stuff that can easily be resolved in upcoming episodes.
At this point in the season, it feels like each episode is stronger than the last. Meandering subplots and contrived story devices have been replaced with well-crafted storylines. Half-baked and poorly executed ideas have been replaced with carefully woven and tautly paced story arcs. Sprawling episodes involving a dozen characters have been replaced with coherent and streamlined character arcs.
In short, it feels like Season One again. Not just technically and visually, but creatively. The show has gotten good again — really good — and this episode is a perfect example of that. Densely packed, visually mesmerizing, and both gutwrenching and profoundly uplifting.
Welcome back, Bryan Fuller.
5 out of 5
My god, I’ve been waiting for this!! I’ve been refreshing this page for the last 2 page, and as usual, your review is well-thought and well-organized.
Nice job HEROES, Nice job OTTO!!
Otto, great review. Although I’m surprised- no Dumb As Awards for Hiro and Ando for thinking the baby was a de-aged Matt?
I think that Micah knew that Baby Matt was about to be captured by hacking into Danko’s computers. Presumably Noah, Angela or Nathan kept tabs on Janice, found out about Baby Matt’s powers and passed the information on to Danko.
I assumed that Micah told Peter where Angela was.
The worst part of this is the ratings for this week. A 2.9 in the demo and less than 6 and a half million viewers! At this point, I’m worried that NBC might change their minds about renewal.
*I’ve been refreshing this page for the last 2 days.
I agree Michael. But I pity those people who didn’t watch this episode, because it’s awesome in so many levels.
“I’d like to think that Tracy will melt and reform, but if she doesn’t — if this was goodbye, and if the show’s now planning to give Ali Larter a chance to play Barbara Zimmerman — there’s no way this send-off could have been improved. As with the sequence in “Cautionary Tales,” I can’t begin to imagine how much time and effort must have gone into producing this. It transcends description. It’s so beautifully realized that you have to see it to believe it. It’s easily the most astounding sequence of the season, and probably the finest of the series, but what brings it to the same level as Noah getting shot by Mohinder is that it resonates with the same emotional depth, and that’s extremely surprising given that Tracy has spent most of this season being — at best — a peripheral cast regular, and — at worst — a character which none of the show’s writers seemed to know what to do with. The fact that this scene was so visually engaging and emotionally engrossing is evidence of the show’s collective talent, from its writing and direction to its music and post-production, but above all it’s a credit to the performance from the actress playing its central character.”
There’s nothing I can say more. You totally nailed it. But I’m quite disappointed by the fact, that when Tracy finally got a proper role, they “killed” her. Tracy’s eyes wandering around while frozen is also a proof that she cares about Micah, because she looked at his direction and is probably worried that the ice might get ahead of him. Nice job Tracy
I’m totally sad for Daphne. Seriously, she’s one of the most adorable characters on the show, and it’s a total loss. But Daphne’s goodbye is WAAAYY better than Elle, so no complaints there!
Sorry for double posting, but if you rank all the 5’s you’ve given from season 1, where would you place this episode? Is it better than Company Man or less than Our Father?
Great review! I especially agree with your assessment of Micah. I always accepted that he was the tech element of Rebel. But, I have to ask who else is involved.
As an ep. this was brilliant, but it was also damage control. This was the best Fuller could do with what he’d been given. It says a ton about his skills as an editor, as much as a writer. Subjectively, I still don’t like the overall arc. But, at least I can now enjoy the individual pieces.
Per the Commentary, Fuller confirmed Tracy’s not dead.
One more thing. It’s official. Noah is Clark Kent in reverse. No powers, but he’s the only one out in public with a “costume,” and he knows when to hide the “costume.” Plus, the irony of Claire helping to establish the “costume” is not lost.
What an episode! Yes, it was a 5 out of 5!
What’s that feeling? Oh yeah, it was something I hadn’t felt about this show in a long time - an emotional punch! Being truly wrapped up in this episode, anxiously waiting for what was going to happen next. Welcome back Bryan Fuller!
My favorite part has to be Peter rescuing his Mom! That was awesome! Cristine was fierce! From the build up of tension of the agents closing in on her to the reveal of Peter being in the elevator with her then them flying out of there … amazing! I think I may have squealed when it turned out to be Peter coming to her rescue. Loved it! Although what factors in to my reaction was that before the episode started, I was convinced that Peter either wouldn’t be in it AT ALL or he wouldn’t show up until the end. So glad I was wrong. Bring on “Into Asylum”!
Second favorite part? The interaction of Tracy and Micah. It was so good to see Micah again. When he was finally revealed, of course it wasn’t a surprise, but I was surprised at HOW happy I was to see him again. I hope they bring him back periodically. He had some really good comebacks from “Yeah, clearly you weren’t a boy scout.” “‘Cause I’m a girl?” “‘Cause the first rule of scout law is to be trustworthy, and uh, you suck at that!” to “Whose side are you on? And mine is not an answer.” I just loved it.
As to Micah acting alone as Rebel, I don’t think it’s that far-fetched. Isn’t most of the information you mention something he could have learned from hacking into the computers? Through emails or any other kind of electronic communication? Aren’t most cell phones digital and something he could have picked up somehow? As for Rebel sending Hiro and Ando to save Baby Matt, I don’t think it had that much to do with the baby being Matt Parkman’s son. He may have sent them to save Little Matt just because a baby was being targeted. As for him “hating them too”, doesn’t mean he wants to kill them, just that he has a really good reason to act against or defy them. Of course, he could just be doing it because it’s the right thing to do.
This episode was phenomenal on all counts - the visuals (as usual), the music, the actors and, luckily … surprisingly … wonderfully the writing.
Did I mention … welcome back Bryan Fuller! Please don’t leave again.
Otto, thanks for posting your in-depth review. As usual, it was a joy to read.
Now, is it Monday yet?
I cheered a lot this episode. When Micah appeared, I was thrilled that one of my favorite characters that I’d been anticipating all volume finally returned. When Hiro got his powers and quit acting like an idiot, I cheered. And when the whole thing started feeling like Season 1 again, I cheered too. Great episode.
Despite the fact that Micah is a genius, I think I agree that Micah is working with an accomplice or two. Personally, I’d like to see Monica return, but I think that might be unlikely. Well, I guess we’ll see in the next few episodes.
It’s funny that you’d point out the fact that Hiro could have simply reached a safe distance, unfrozen time momentarily, taken hold of Ando, and then could have refrozen time, making the 12-mile trek together. I hadn’t thought of that, but I remember wondering why he didn’t use Baby Touch and Go on the first car he came across, using it to drive to safety.
I also didn’t immediately realize the last scene between Matt and Daphne was a Parkman Whammy. In fact, the moment he started to fly, I was infuriated, thinking “they gave this guy ANOTHER ability?” It made the reveal even more heartbreaking for me I think.
Finally, I couldn’t agree with you more in the feeling of absolute glee when Hiro regained a watered-down part of his ability. It was the first time the character made me smile from ear-to-ear since he popped in and out of the Bennet home to transfer Sylar and Elle out.
yay for Hiro almost being back.
I’ve watched the Tracy scene several times on hulu.com now
Fantastic episode. Excellent review, as per the usual.
One thing about Peter knowing where and when to pick up Angela: most of the spoiler-pics for “Into Asylum” feature Angela with the drenched hair-do she was sporting after visiting Millie (complete with strands sticking to her left temple; they’re very, very similar) sitting in a church with Peter; I took them to indicate some kind of flashback, like Angela dreaming that she’d meet Peter in a church and then require his help to escape agents, or something similar, and thus working it out with her baby boy.
Also, where’s the Line of the Night? Personally I’m torn between -Noah- “How’d you catch [Doyle]?” -Danko- “I’m…smarter than the average bear.” and -Millie to Angela- “You look like you got mugged and the first thing they took was your dignity.” xD
I forgot a couple of parts.
As for the Matt/Daphne story line, I suspected it was a vision from the lighting. It was too bright, dare I say unnaturally bright.
Also it was a very sweet send off for Daphne and I agree it’s the most chemistry the two characters have displayed since this romance was introduced. But, I also can’t help feeling that even something as amazing and romantic as this could have been used for some other girlfriend that has been unceremoniously dropped … in particular Caitlin. Peter’s an empath for goodness sake, he should be getting some story lines like this! Of course, they aren’t going to do something as elaborate as this, but I really wish Bryan would try to wrap up that loose end too, no matter how much Tim Kring wants to forget it ever happened.
Oh, Hiro and Ando discussing Hiro’s mom was a welcome serious layer to the otherwise comic-relief of the story line. It was a major moment and should not be dismissed quickly. Thank you Bryan for adding it.
Again, is it Monday yet?
Well, I’m sure that the writers had these storylines in place before Fuller ever got to the table, but I’d say it was his execution that got everything through. Anyways, great review, Otto, and by far the best episode of the season.
I’d imagine that if Fuller could make us care about Matt and Daphne’s relationship, address its problems, and give Daphne a heart-wrenching send off in one episode, imagine if he had been writing for them all season. It could’ve turned out to be a beautiful romance akin to Hiro and Charlie.
Speaking of Hiro, I’d say I was really, really happy with Hiro this season. I suppose you feel a little differently, but the comedy didn’t feel heavy-handed. And Hiro didn’t seem like a glory-seeking idiot. He seemed to act like a genuine hero. Bravo, Bryan. Bravo.
Yeah, Tracy isn’t dead. She’s coming back, and they wanted us to know it with that blinking tear. And with Micah to give her some inspiration, I expect Tracy to really become a hero in her own right. It should be a fantastic storyline.
As usual, Angela Petrelli is a poised character. I’m excited for 1961 just as I was excited for Company Man.
Until Monday!
The death of Daphne still makes me sick… They’ve pretty much killed all my faves. Daphne. Adam. Knox. Kill off Sylar and HRG, and I am SO done with this show.
But then again… They keep the episodes at this high of a quality, especially with the death of another useless Larter character, and it might not matter. I have to agree, this show is on one helluva roll right now.
Great review, as always.
Even objectively, The Fuller touch can’t be denied. Also a great shot to have coupled his real come back with Yaitaines. I loved every episode he directed and I really doubted they could have screwed it.
I agree with Susan : the way the “Gwen Stefani” scene was surreally lighted. I don’t doubt it was intentional though.
This is the first time I really bought a Matt/Daphne relationship. I always liked Daphne, but Matt’s creepy/stalkish attitude after the spirit walk made it kinda hard to believe that they had something real (which Daphne pointed out for the 50th time). I’m sad to see her go, but at least she had a great send off.
Same with Tracy, if it is a goodbye too, which I doubt, it was perfect. It’s surprising how in one episode, Fuller handeled 2 deaths better than most (not all) of volumes 2 and 3’s deaths, including Rick(y?) getting fried for no reason except to move Peter’s ass from Ireland, Caitlin left in an obsolete future (didn’t like them but still), Adam turning into dust, Elle’s creepy death, Arthur beeing dumb (I think I skipped few but you get my point). I know the writing is a collaboration between all the writers but it can’t be a coincidence.
I’m just waiting to see what kind of impact Daphne’s death will have on Matt. Can’t really say that deaths of people involved in romances (Charlie, Simone, Caitlin) really influenced (at least in long term) the main characters so far.
For the Hiro part, it’s nice to see they give Masi Oka something interesting to do. No use of words like “destiny”, “sword” or anything like that! The baby is awesome though :). Do you think Janice is dumb for leaving a superpowered baby with various babysitters? Maybe somehow THAT alerted Danko’s goons suspicion.
Micah being Rebel isn’t surprising (and the credits kinda killed it) but I still can’t buy he is acting alone. The poor kid will probably be traumatized for life. I personally find annoying the “we’re superheroes, we must help people” but I’ll accept it since being naive when you’re 10 is more forgivable than when you’re Hiro - whoops.
Finally Angela/HRG’s “Family is an horrible price for what we’re trying to do” : Once again, they doesn’t seem to be bothered to leave a longer blood trail than Sylar is. I didn’t count how much people died on this operation, but there’s gotta be a line between being okay with morally grey, and acknowledging several deaths (most of them being unprepared soldiers), and all Angela has mentioned so far is their families.
One thing is worrying me. Guest stars seems to have a limited life span on Heroes. The exceptions I can think of are Sandra, The Haitian and Mr.Muggles - oh yeah Lyle (maybe he’s a robot though) - and those promoted to main characters. Unfortunately, it looks worst for women, who seems to be doomed from the start. Maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t seem necessary to kill someone every episode to keep people entertained :/
Well … Until next week
Susan, the main problem I have with Micah doing this on his own is this- how did he know which restaurant Hiro and Ando were going into in New Delhi? OTOH, I suppose he could have sent the fax to every restaurant in New Delhi, like Otto suggested.
Yeah, that is a bit hard to fanwank, but I have no problem with Micah having help. Even if it was just a quick call to his friend Molly asking her to find Hiro and Ando.
It’s Molly’s turn to appear again. It would at least be nice to have Mohinder and Matt acknowledge that she existed. Bryan, get on that please.
“What you missed last season: mankind nearly got wiped out, but in the end it didn’t. Niki blew up, Papa Sulu got thrown off a rooftop, and the show introduced us to Maya. Also, D.L., Noah and Nathan all got shot.
What you missed this season: the world nearly split in half, but in the end it didn’t. Mohinder became a bug, Hiro played spitball with schoolgirls, Nathan went berserk (at least twice), and Sylar discovered The Hunger. Also, Maya left.”
You really love Maya, don’t you LOL
Stunning episode.
(And he says it with such enthusiasm that you have to admire this idealistic and pure-hearted kid who set out to make things right in the world.)
Word. Remember in S1, when he told Candice that he didn’t realise the world was broken? Micah’s an eternal optimist. One of the few who sees it in black and white terms. And his awesome is exemplified when he tells Tracy he figured she’d be followed… and STILL helps her escape. He was betrayed, and still stuck by her.
Monica had it right, Micah’s an awesome kid.
heroes should change networks..#*%@ nbc…look at buffy and angel..both great shows…we’re necessarily around forever but lasted 5 -7 seasons with s****y ratings…i think a network change would help the creative direction of the show, thats for sure..less pressure to be like every other crappy ass show ..just my opinion
Great review, Otto, and this was a great episode.
I’ve seen a lot of people ask how Micah found Hiro and Ando in India, down to the exact building.
Didn’t Hiro install a GPS tracking system into himself and Ando during the first episode of this volume? (”A Clear and Present Danger”). With Micah’s ability, he should be able to easily tap into that and find precise locations of Hiro and Ando, whenever Micah’s near a computer/laptop/cell-phone with Internet access.
I find it hard to believe that Tracy could have survived the shattering, from what we’ve seen of her ability so far it doesn’t include reforming from a million pieces.
“whenever Micah’s near a computer/laptop/cell-phone with Internet access.”
Which, given that he seems to carry around an internet phone of some kind (didn’t get a proper look at it), means that he’s got the means to use his powers all the time. Which, given the current climate, is only sensible…
I like the idea of what has happened to two of the Zimmerman triplets. Niki died by fire. Tracy died by ice/water. I cannot wait to see what Barbara, whom I hear might be a villain, can do as far as abilities and if/when her end draws nigh, what the writers will do for her send-off, if the writers are allowed to do such with her character and intended destiny.
As for the low ratings, that concerns me as much as the next Heroes Fan out there. And it’s odd too because I have scanned through many other shows on TV of late, any one seen “Better off Ted” lately? Need I say more?
Worse comes to worst, Sci Fi, err … SyFy might could take on the Heroic reigns from NBC and produce the show.
Just a thought really. Great review, OTTO, as usual.
Regarding Micah and him having help as “Rebel”… I’ve been of the opinion that Rebel is a group of people for a few weeks now, but even if it’s not, at the very least, Micah is in contact with someone even more tech-savvy than he is: Hana Gitelman, a young woman currently living disembodied in the internet. She only appeared briefly in the series, but was dealt with extensively in the accompanying comics/graphic novel, and we know she’s been in contact with Micah in the past. Aside from her abilities, she was an Intelligence officer in the Mossad, making her exactly the kind of person you’d want providing assistance when thwarting a superhuman-hunting government conspiracy, even if she can only provide advice in her disembodied state.
Whether or not the writers have remembered her, however, is a different matter.
Great review, Otto. I give it a 5 as well. There’s just no one like Fuller.
I’ll get the negatives out of the way because there were few:
Loved the shaving scene w/Danko, but hated the poor transition with Sylar. If Danko has an alarm that says his door has been opened, shouldn’t it already been going on when Sylar got inside? And how did he manage to string up Doyle without making a sound? Even with his TK, no one’s that quiet. And where was the rabbit? Not good, show.
I was so glad when Hiro finally figured out that this was Matt Parkman’s baby, and not baby Matt Parkman. I was thinking “Hiro can’t be this dumb.”
Swoosie Kurtz. I really like her, but her part was so minimal, so forgetful. It could have been played by anyone. Like you said, we didn’t learn anything about her and how she’s involved in Angela’s life, really. But I’ll give this a pass because I think they’re going to mention her in 1961, an episode I’m dying to see. Don’t think it will really move the plot, but I would love to know what got things started.
The Positives:
Micah’s return. Yes, we all knew he was Rebel, but it didn’t stop him from kicking some serious ass. I knew he would show up the moment Tracy got the money from the ATM. Was not expecting the bass in his voice, though. Go Micah! And the conversation about Tracy taking a side was brilliant, particularly the “mine is not an option” line. One of the best in the series.
Tracy & HRG in the dressing room. I just loved this part. That was one of those delicious tidbits that we get every now and then.
Matt/Daphne. As one of the people who hated this relationship, I was glad that Daphne admitted that their entire romance was based on a dream, one that wasn’t going to happen, anyway. But I admit, I had no idea what was going on until the very end. Typical of Matt to try to ease her suffering. Ironically, it was the one time I really believed in them as a couple, and not some forced fairy tale. I thought she had a beautiful send off, with Matt by her side. Very well done.
Mini Matt and his babysitters. Did anyone think that a really slashy moment happened between Hiro and Ando when they were talking about crying? I don’t know, that felt weird. But everything else worked. Mini Matt is adorable, although I’m not 100% on what his ability is. And glad to see that Hiro’s powers have been reduced so he and Ando have a nice medium going on. Ando continues to rule, and I thought he looked cute holding Mini Matt.
Tracy…holy s**t. I knew she was gonna freeze the parking lot, but I didn’t expect her to go with it. I finally liked the girl instead of wishing she would go away. I think that if that’s the end of her, it’s a damn good way to go. If not, I’m looking forward to what she does next. That scene was nothing short of brilliant, from the music, Micah’s narrow escape, to the fatal gunshot. Incredible. I was on the edge of my seat.
Notice how two of the most powerful characters in the show have have lost and re-gained their abilities, only to find them greatly reduced in power (Peter & Hiro.) Does that mean Sylar is officially the most powerful of them all? I think it does.
I hope they keep this up. 5/5.
Almost forgot, Otto do you know your homepage reads that this is the review for Shades of Grey, not Cold Snap? Guess the titles got mixed up. Just figured you should know.
“My homepage.” Aw — if only!
The main page isn’t something I have control over, unfortunately, but thanks for the heads up. I’ve let The Boss know.
Otto, great review as always!!
my God, this episode was so great! I cried so much while watching Matt and Daphne…
And Tracy, I hope she’s not dead because I like her sooo much now. She’s evolve from a cold b**** to a real hero. Now that fuller can give her a great story I doubt that she’ll end this way. so, Barbara will appear as the villain in vol.5??
I thought this was the best episode of Heroes in ages. It’s kind of sad that Daphne and Tracy died, but it’s great that Hiro got part of his powers pack and that Micah’s back on the show.
abcde, welcome! Thanks for reading, and thanks for your patience waiting for the review.
I agree, I thought Daphne’s final scenes were really well done. I was hoping she’d beat the odds and become this season’s recurring-turned-regular, but if they were always planning to kill her off, this was about the best way they could have done it.
Interesting question about the 5-out-of-5’s. How would you group them? I think I’d probably have an upper tier for the obvious masterpieces (”Company Man,” “Five Years Gone,” “Cautionary Tales”), then another tier for the “regular” masterpieces (”Fallout,” “Unexpected,” and probably “Shades of Gray” and “Cold Snap”), and then a separate tier for the ones that I loved but that aren’t necessarily fan favorites (”Seven Minutes to Midnight,” “Our Father,” “Cold Wars”).
Michael, I did think about a Dumb As Award for the de-aged Matt assumption, but from Hiro’s perspective, I can just about see why he’d jump to that conclusion. If Adam was immortal, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think there was someone out there who could restore youth. In turn, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think someone would use that ability as a weapon. Why resort to messy head-slicing when you could turn your opponents into cute toddlers?
“I think that Micah knew that Baby Matt was about to be captured by hacking into Danko’s computers.”
Very possible, but if so, why assign two guys who are all the way in India? Why not assign Claire, who’s much closer and could get the baby to safety much faster? The only way I could buy this theory is if Angela dreamed the outcome and knew that Hiro had to be the one to save Baby Matt.
With the ratings, yeah, I’m worried too. The show seems to be losing viewers left and right no matter what it does. Only silver lining I can see is if the season continues to be as amazing as it is now, and if the show’s promoted the right way next fall; hopefully the restored faith in the show and the good word of mouth would bring fans back.
Raissa, I know what you mean about “damage control.” To me, one of this episode’s strengths was that it took that damage-control mentality and went a step further; the episode confronted problems head-on — particularly the issues with the Matt/Daphne relationship — and turned them to its advantage. I think it’s also largely to Fuller’s credit that he juggled multiple challenges at the same time: the Micah reveal, Janice’s return, the introduction of Millie, the deaths of Daphne and Tracy. This episode covered a lot of ground very swiftly and very gracefully.
Noah and the reverse-CK — yes, absolutely. I noticed the same thing, and I agree, it was very cleverly done.
Susan, I agree on all counts: the awesomeness of the Peter/Angela scene, the Tracy/Micah dynamic, and above all the emotional punch. I too hope the show brings back Micah, to expand on his story, or even just to embellish it. I’d be curious to see how he became Rebel in the first place. That would probably require returning to the Dawson storyline, though, which apparently isn’t high on the show’s To-Do list.
With the Micah/”hate” discussion, I have to stand by my original point and say it’s a big departure from what we see on the screen. As far as I can recall, the only time Micah ever expressed hate was after Damon sold D.L.’s medal, and even then, I think the implication was that Micah only said he hated Damon because he was upset. I get what you’re saying about Micah’s integrity, but there’s a difference between “‘Who are you?’/'Someone who wants to make things right’” and “‘Who are you?’/'Someone who hates them as much as you.’” To me, hate, at least in this context, conveys real anger and real loathing, and although I can imagine Micah feeling that if he knows what’s going on, I don’t think he came across as hateful in this episode. The Micah we saw here seemed too noble to hate the people he’s trying to stop. All of that said, this kind of question about the character’s internal conflict is exactly what the GNs are perfect for.
Will H, word to your whole post. This was an episode you could cheer to, and it’s been a while since we got one of those.
Jonathan,
“I remember wondering why he didn’t use Baby Touch and Go on the first car he came across, using it to drive to safety.”
I had the same thought. Only thing I could figure is that there’d be some kind of complication to working mechanical moving parts outside of time.
Siege, thank you. Very interesting theory about the Peter/Angela scenes in 3.21 forming part of a flashback. It never would have occurred to me, but it would explain Angela’s line to Noah about Peter saying his goodbyes. Maybe that won’t be limited to offscreenville after all.
I like the Line of the Night nominations — both great choices. I’m going to have to go with, “‘I want to speak to Nathan!’ ‘Nathan Petrelli flew away.’” Ivanek looked like he really enjoyed delivering that one.
Daniel P,
“Well, I’m sure that the writers had these storylines in place before Fuller ever got to the table, but I’d say it was his execution that got everything through.”
That was my take on it too, although I’d love to know exactly which parts Fuller reshaped or remoulded. The Paris scene has his name written all over it; Millie seems like she would have been his idea, even before Swoosie was cast; I’m guessing a lot of the Hiro-bonding-with-Baby-Matt was also Fuller’s touch. All of that felt like it came from someone with a fresh perspective.
“I’d imagine that if Fuller could make us care about Matt and Daphne’s relationship, address its problems, and give Daphne a heart-wrenching send off in one episode, imagine if he had been writing for them all season.”
Very true, and kind of depressing, because it’s where we could start playing the “What if?” game and speculate about whether the show would be struggling to hold onto viewers the way it is now if Fuller had been here all along.
Pas, thank you. I agree, it can’t be a coincidence that two well-written send-offs coincided with Fuller’s return. Interesting point about how Daphne’s death will affect Matt’s character arc. I’m a little disappointed that we never got a Matt/Daphne/Janice scene, but one can hope there’ll at least be a Matt/Janice scene. Imagine how awkward it’ll be if the topic of new relationships comes up.
“Do you think Janice is dumb for leaving a superpowered baby with various babysitters?”
She probably told the sitter to keep the baby away from toys.
With the death rate, it’s definitely not just you. I’m a little unsettled by the hideously skewed male/female ratio on the show, and I would have thought Daphne was a perfect character to keep in the mix, because she was one of the only characters who told it like it was.
Ian, I agree, Micah has to be the most optimistic and resolute character on the show. Which is kind of miraculous considering the death he’s been steeped in since childhood. Also, agreed on Micah’s black-and-white perspective. I wonder how that would play out during a scene between Micah and either Angela or Noah. Could make for some great material.
Jason, thank you, and well done on the GPS tracker theory. Very clever.
“I find it hard to believe that Tracy could have survived the shattering, from what we’ve seen of her ability so far it doesn’t include reforming from a million pieces.”
^ ^ This. Even after the ice melts, I can’t see Tracy reconstituting from what’s essentially a by-product of her ability. She emits ice, but she isn’t made of ice. It’d be like Meredith rising out of her own ashes. I’ll be interested to see how spoilers and statements in the commentary pan out; unless there’s a big twist, it seems like this is one instance where the science of the show will again go out the window.
JerichoRunner, welcome, and thank you. I’m also really looking forward to seeing whether the show goes ahead with the Barbara storyline. If the first two triplets’ abilities were both element-based, I wonder if that’s the trend in the family. It seems like this family was a test batch for physiological abilities rather than mental abilities, but maybe Barbara will be the exception. The fact that Zimmerman raised her might not have been luck of the draw.
B., amazing post. With the Sylar/Danko/rabbit storyline, I think we were expected to just suspend our disbelief and assume that Sylar was very quick and efficient. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, I agree, but perhaps it adds a little of the mystery that Sylar had back in Season One. I don’t think we always need to know how he pulls stuff off; to me, the mystery is part of the coolness.
“Did anyone think that a really slashy moment happened between Hiro and Ando when they were talking about crying?”
Hah! I didn’t want to be the one who brought it up, but they really are the show’s archetypal married couple.
The Hiro-Ando thing was all but confirmed with ‘Cold Daddy and Warm Mummy.’ Which is interesting given that Hiro’s power has logical connotations (the use of time), whereas Ando’s seems more passionate and lethal.
I can see Tracy reforming. How? Because she was able to move her eyes even though her head had been removed from her body. And wasn’t there a character in one of the web-i-sodes who could turn their entire body to water and then reform?
Okay, I guess I have to come clean on my total blonde moment this episode. When Matt started flying for a moment I actually thought “God that’s stupid! Matt can’t FLY! First precog painting now……..” then it dawned on me that this wasn’t real. I think I deserve a Dumb As for that, Lol.
Onward.
Daphne was very sad, but I was happy that Daphne got the noble send-off she deserved. In the past fan favorite characters *cough*Elle and Adam*cough*cough* have gotten…less-than-great send-offs. I’m also pleased because I think they let go of Daphne at a good time. When I asked myself what they could have done with Daphne after this, I honestly couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound either stupid and contrived or just plain boring. Well done writers! Especially Fuller, but others too!
“You’re thinking, what, a coward? A snake? A treacherous bee-yatch? “… a politician.”
- I can’t help but think that was a slam directed at Nathan as well as Tracy.
Tracy’s freezing scene was made of awesome. Tracy completely freezing to solid ice? Totally cool. I’m thinking we haven’t seen the last of Tracy though. She’ll melt and reform, even though writing that and getting that mental picture is a bit messed up.
You pretty much summed up my thoughts on Rebel as Micah, but I totally called it before, so I would’ve been more shocked if Rebel WASN’T Micah.
Not going to say much about Noah and Angela this episode, because they were incredible as always
I’m really looking forward to the next episode “Into Asylum”. I watched this small sneak peek with Peter and Angela talking to each other and from it I’m predicting the episode will be amazing. On a side note, the promo for the next episdoe sucked. I hate it when they only focus on one character in the promos…whatever I can deal after the sneak peek. I also think they’ll deal with the fallout of Nathan saving Claire, which is exciting because I’ve been waiting so long for them to connect somehow.
Great job as always Otto!
Aye - I think the problem with Claire and Nathan is that , we haven’t seem them really connect since the end of S1. They’ve spoken, but we’ve never really had them get into their issues. Yeah, he saved her… but he’s responsible for this. I want them to have it out, mostly to see Pasdar get some really meaty material again.
He’s always solid, but let’s see them give him something he can bring his A+ game to.
Agreed, I want to see Pasdar bring it next episode. Even Hayden’s pretty good when they give her decent dialogue that isn’t centered around “I’m a bratty teenager and want attention.” Their parent/child relationship is very under developed compared to the rest of the parent/child relationships.
My only worry for this episode is that they’ll make it all about Sylar and Danko and cheat the other, deeper storylines of screen time.
“Very true, and kind of depressing, because it’s where we could start playing the “What if?” game and speculate about whether the show would be struggling to hold onto viewers the way it is now if Fuller had been here all along.”
I’m torn here. I agree with what you’re saying. But, if he’d stayed, we wouldn’t have gotten Daisies, which imo, was the better of the two shows, even in relation to S1 Heroes.
Interesting point you said about Daphne. Except an eventual Daphne/Matt/Janice reunion, I don’t know what could have been their next move for her. Like you said on a previous review, maybe it’s better to let some character go instead of keeping them around just because of fan support. I wouldn’t have been against a non-death send-off and eventually see her again later (even shortly).
They could have done that with Elle who had interesting potential storylines, but they chose not to, which I’m okay with, but I wish the sendoff was as well handled than Daphne’s and Tracy’s (probably fake though).
On the opposite side, I don’t specially like Mohinder, but is he turning into Lyle 2.0? He was interesting for 2 volumes, but he’s been kinda useless during the whole season (and he even kept Maya around longer… grr). Now all he does is stand in the background. Instead of bringing in and killing recurring characters, maybe they should do interesting things with people they already have. I’ll admit that I loved the scene he shared with Danko. It was like a reversal of the “You really think I’m that stupid, doc?” scene with Flint ^^.
For Sylar delivering Doyle to Danko, I prefer not thinking about it. After all, even withouth Claire’s ability, he was barely slowed down when he fell off a roof (which could have killed Peter if he didn’t instaheal), then when he was shot by HRG, then when he got struck by an Ellectrobolt (I still don’t get how he survived that long). And except that his acts are clearly dicted by his mommy/daddy issues (probably not done with them yet), his choices (like killing people for free cakeand a rabbit…) aren’t that much easier to understand. And somehow he isn’t really unconsistantly written ^^
For the ratings, I’d say that the problem is that at this point Heroes can’t really bring in much new viewers (most of people have already heard of Heroes), and it’s way harder to bring lost viewers back (at least mid-season). Since I’m french (yeah I pay to see my episodes ^^), I’ve no idea of how things like that work in the US, so I won’t say more about it.
Finally, for the 5/5 ranking, I guess everyone has his own preferences, even if indeed some are obviously masterpieces.
Well, I’m finally done with my probably useless - but long - post. Cya next week!
GAAAAHHHH!!!! Why did they kill off Daphne? I haven’t been this horrified since I realized in Fallout that Peter was the bomb! I mean, aside from the ever marvelous Peter Petrelli, Daphne was my absolute favorite character in any show, ever. Hands down, no exceptions. And they just killed her.
There are four moments in Heroes history that stick with me. The first was, as I’ve said, the dream sequence in Fallout. The second was HTSAEM. Just… the entire episode. It was an emotional thrillride. The third was the death of Elle (anybody else notice the tears in Gablar’s eyes during the superimposed flames?). And the fourth was the daydream in this episode. I actually had tears in my eyes when I realized that it was all just another Parkman-whammy.
But I still disagree with you on the subject of Hiro. Hiro is and always was one of my favorite characters. Yes, he does go a little over-enthusiastic on the whole glamor-of-being-a-hero thing, but frankly, I think anybody who was a complete comicbook nerd as a boy would be the same in his situation. And he’s one of the few characters who really REJOICES in having these powers. I mean, Peter did too, at first, but the whole bomb thing kinda messed up the joy of discovery. And Hiro just loves his powers, even though they’ve brought him a lot more trouble than they ought to be worth….
Late to the party again, but I already told Otto that if I could describe the episode in one word, it would be “Whedonesque.” Seriously, compare it to some of Whedon’s best work, like the “Passion” and “Becoming Parts 1&2″ episodes from Buffy S2, or Fred’s and Cordelia’s deaths in Angel S5, or many other instances. I think I would put it on the top tier, Otto, with Company Man, Cautionary Tales, and I’d even say it was better than FYG, an episode I have never really loved all that much and one which remains problematic in my eyes.
I really think that NBC isn’t overly concerned about the ratings for several reasons. They have reduced slots for prime time next season because of Leno-fest, and they’re going to want to slot in established properties, at least for now. As much as NBC has put into “Heroes,” they are surely not going to let it go without a fight. And the fact that it is owned by NBC/Universal certainly helps. What ultimately doomed “Pushing Daisies” was that it was owned by Warner Bros. and not ABC/Disney (and why the hell wasn’t it on CW, where it belonged, to begin with?). Has the episode order for next year been confirmed? I hope it is at least 22 so that they can split it into two 11-episode halves. Or even 20 would work 10/10. I hear that Silverman loves “Chuck” so much (and it is a pretty enjoyable show) that he is fighting to keep it alive. There needs to be some great marketing, though. A season finale that is better than HTSAEM would be exceptionally helpful–a season finale that NBC could air before the premiere, like ABC does with “Lost” all the time. Also, NBC knows what the competition is. DWTS has a lot of interest this season, not to mention carry-over Bachelor fans. CBS’s comedies are doing better than ever, and let’s not forget that FOX is airing “24″ now. Network suits aren’t always as idiotic as we think they are.
A couple of things. Everyone seems to be forgetting that one of the cardinal rules of the show is that you cannot be harmed by your own ability. Meredith didn’t die from the flames, she died from the building collapsing upon her. If the science of the show works like it should, Tracy should be able to reform, but with a gaping gunshot wound in her gut. Somebody brought up Caitlin again. I think Fuller does have a bead on things that fans would like to see, and he knows that a lot of fans (it really isn’t just me, Otto) are pissed off, not only by the dangling loose end, but also by Tim Kring’s insulting attitude toward it. We’ll see. The reintroduction of the long-forgotten Janice really was smooth. When TSCC is inevitably cancelled, could they bring Zach back??? Heh. I think Dekker’s relationship with this show is probably about comparable to Isaiah Washington’s with Grey’s, so that won’t ever happen. Molly is VERY due for a re-introduction. Who wouldn’t love Adair Tishler? I hope that’s in the cards.
Looking forward to Monday!
I’m actually hoping that 324 is the end of ‘Volume IV’, and ‘Volume V’ begins at the start of 325. Then they could promote the Hell out of both, and really hammer home that things are changing. Perhaps even have 324 be the explosive part, and 325 is more character-based.
The thing that concerns me most about NBC is in promoting the show, or lack thereof. The only EPKs that have shown up in the last month have been one or two for Chuck, a few for Kings and then the past few weeks it seems to be just Celebrity Apprentice with some ER thrown in.
There have been little to no Heroes only commercials. Usually, it’s a Monday night package deal. I especially would like to see a new commercial, not just the preview that was shown at the end of the last episode. I need new scenes to speculate about and up my excitement for the episode.
More promotion of the show, especially with it seemingly returning to form, would go a long way to hopefully draw people back to the show or at least give the perception that NBC believes in it.
Yes, I’ve noticed that there haven’t been any EPKs for Heroes this whole volume. All we get now is the promos (which aren’t very reliable) and the Sprint sneak peeks. I’m a spoiler addict, so not having EPKs is a bit annoying to me. I mean really, they had EPKs in volume 3 and that wasn’t near as good as this volume.
Ian, I like the point you made about Hiro’s ability being logic-based. I think it was one of the BTE Q&As that mentioned Kaito not being a part of “1961,” but I wonder how Kaito would compare with Hiro at the same age. He presumably wasn’t a comic-book nerd, but perhaps he had similar parent/child issues, especially if (based on what we know from 1.22) Kaito was under pressure to continue the family legacy.
With Tracy’s ability to reform — yeah, that’s probably how it’ll end up, and KellyH’s point about an ability never harming the owner is valid. My issue with this is she still took a bullet at point-blank range, so it’s not just a case of melting, reforming and reconstituting. Her organs — in their frozen state — have been blown apart. So, as KellyH mentioned, if she reforms, she’ll have a lethal wound in her chest. I know this is one of those moments where we have to suspend disbelief, but in a way, if Tracy’s going to come back just to be killed off later with an inferior send-off, I’d almost prefer her character arc to end here.
I really like your take on 3.24 being the unofficial finale and 3.25 being the launchpad for Volume Five. Dramatically, though, do you think it would work? KellyH mentioned Buffy, and I can’t help thinking this would end up feeling like the end of Buffy’s fourth season: they’d wrap up all of the big stuff in the penultimate episode, and all of us would be like, “Well, what’s left to cover in the finale?”, and it would end up feeling tacked on the way “Restless” did on Buffy. I think the explosive stuff should be left for the final episode, but perhaps 3.24 and 3.25 will have a two-parter feel the way 1.21-1.23 had a three-parter feel. We’ll see.
Leigh, I think the show would take your dumb blonde moment as a compliment — it proves they did their job.
I’m reluctant to compare Daphne’s death to Adam’s or Elle’s because the show seemed to be aiming for a different reaction in each case, and this was the only one that seemed to be aiming for emotional punch, as Susan phrased it upthread. Adam’s death was about establishing Arthur’s menace and making our jaws drop, and Elle’s death was about underlining how twisted the Sylar/Elle relationship was and how unstable Sylar was. I think the show did a solid job with each of those deaths (even if killing off Adam sucked), but I agree, this was by far the most effective of all of them.
With the Claire/Nathan issue, I’d go with Ian’s point that we haven’t really seen them communicate since that scene at the mansion in 1.19, and even then I think the show barely scratched the surface. I’d say the only time Claire learned anything about Nathan was when she overheard his conversation with Meredith in 1.15, and then when he showed up at Kirby Plaza in 1.23. Hopefully 3.21 will begin to dig into their relationship.
Leigh, interesting point about where the focus of 3.21 will be. I would have agreed that the Sylar/Danko storyline will probably overshadow everything else, purely because it’s the central part of the volume’s plot and the show is approaching the finale. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fuller lobbied to get the Angela/Peter and Claire/Nathan scenes more screen time. Both of those seem like storylines he’d feel very strongly about.
Pas,
“Except an eventual Daphne/Matt/Janice reunion, I don’t know what could have been their next move for her.”
Daphne would have helped old ladies cross the road, stolen bread for an orphanage and become a PE coach so she could help little kids learn to run. It would have been awesome.
Yeah, I agree, this was probably a good place to wrap Daphne’s story, although it might have been cool to see her open up to Matt and embrace her heroic side. And I wonder if the show will even mention her dad in Kansas; would Matt visit him to tell him his daughter died, or will Daphne’s dad go on thinking she’s out there and happy to be on her feet again?
Mohinder — yeah, I’m with you on this. I’m still holding out for something decent, but it’s been three seasons, and if the show was going to come up with something great for the character, you’d think they would have come up with it by now. I’m actually a little worried that the upcoming Chandra backstory will be more interesting than anything the show’s ever done with Mohinder.
Laura, I know what you mean about watching a favorite character get written out. I can’t say Daphne was more of a favorite to me than HRG, but she was very cool.
Great selection of memorable moments from the show. I’d add the final three scenes from “Company Man” (Claire and HRG in the car, Claire picking out HRG’s glasses, HRG taking a bullet for her), and the beachfront scene from “Cautionary Tales” (HRG getting shot). I think Tracy’s final scene in this episode will also go down as one of the most memorable.
KellyH, I can easily see this becoming the highlight of the season. Better than “CM” or “CT”? I don’t know. Maybe. I think it’ll depend on how the rest of the season plays out and how the episode fits into the context of the whole volume. But it was definitely a crowning moment for the show, no doubt about it.
Re: the ratings:
“As much as NBC has put into “Heroes,” they are surely not going to let it go without a fight.”
^ ^ This. Word.
I read the episode order will be 18-20 episodes. It didn’t sound like that was the definitive decision, though, so I guess if the ratings sink below 5 million over the next few weeks then someone at NBC will suggest starting with 10 next season and seeing how things go, and if the ratings bounce back then they’ll probably extend it to 22. Your guess is as good as mine, though.
“Everyone seems to be forgetting that one of the cardinal rules of the show is that you cannot be harmed by your own ability.”
This does seem to be the general rule, but Elle was in pretty bad shape in 3.07. If she hadn’t gone to Pinehearst, or if Sylar hadn’t let her unleash in 3.09, I’d say her ability would most definitely have caused her some serious damage.
Re: Caitlin:
“I think Fuller does have a bead on things that fans would like to see, and he knows that a lot of fans (it really isn’t just me, Otto) are pissed off…”
Yes, there may be one or two others out there.
Susan, Leigh, I agree, it sucks that we aren’t getting the EPKs anymore. OTOH, I don’t think we could say the show doesn’t do enough behind-the-scenes stuff anyway; Pokaski and Coleite over at CBR, Beeman on his blog, Coleman’s blog over at TWoP, Grunberg and everyone else on Twitter … The EPKs would be great, but I think the show deserves a lot of credit for the effort it puts into giving fans a glimpse behind the scenes.
RE: Claire and Nathan’s interactions since S1…
There was a phone call in 2.01 where Nathan essentially blew Claire off.
Nathan getting shot was the reason she went to Odessa in 3.01.
There was a very long interaction in 3.07, where Noah, Meredith, Peter, and Tracy were all present.
I think that’s ’bout it.
Well, I think Millie and Hiro’s reference to his mother were born of Fuller’s ideas, since in the commentary he was talking about how, coming back to the show, he wanted to explore these things about Angela and Hiro’s past. But interestingly, Millie is also an indirect creation of Katherine Pope, who wanted to see Angela’s turn as a fugitive when the episode was being pitched to the suits.
And if Fuller were around, the show would probably still be one of the big-name TV shows right now (with perhaps a small dip due to the writers strike). And I doubt he would ever let Loeb make the awful decision to go for more plot-driven stories, instead of the character-based ones that Heroes was known for. Speaking of which, despite how a lot of people blame the writers, it’s not as if season 1 was written by just Fuller. There was some real talent and skill. Joe Pokaski in particular wrote some of Heroes best episodes: Fallout, Cautionary Tales and Five Years Gone, and I look forward to more work from him. But I think once Kring started to get too caught up in the business side of things, the writers started to lose focus. That, and they were far too concerned with fan-compensation. Villains, after all, was partially born from a desire to provide fans with “adrenaline” after what they felt was a stagnated Volume 2. Not a good idea to be so easily swayed by fans (who, to be completely blunt, can come up with some truly awful ideas on what they think the direction of show should be), I’d say.
And thinking about, I really think the praise this episode has been getting has been something of a placebo effect. It IS a great episode, but people seem to just condemn anything written by anyone else nowadays no matter how good they actually are, and make some awful, illogical criticisms as a result. It’s gotten annoying.
But, uh, anyways…about the ratings, I think Heroes, at best, could hover between 9-10 million starting next season. But the rest of this volume is going to be more of an opportunity to build good-will and word of mouth. And who knows, maybe the season finale will end up drawing in some big numbers.
Agreed on everything you just wrote.
It happened to quite a few shows, and unfortunately, it seems that Heroes fell in fan-service at some point (some say NBC had an influence too but I have no idea how, so if someone could lighten me ^^) and it’s unfortunate that creativity might have suffered it.
Like you said, there is talent among the writers (CT, 5YG you mentionned happens to be my favourites episodes along with Company Man) and I couldn’t agree more with the “placebo effect”. We can’t deny The show hasn’t been as strong as its first season was, but it has gotten way better. I agree that every person have his own opinion. Personally, I think that there were good things that came out of volume 3 (among way less good things, but apparently people just remember the crap nowadays) and as much as I loved it, season 1 wasn’t perfect either. And still some people just bash the show for the hell of it, about how it “just sucks” and those person either don’t watch the show (potentially anymore), so they can’t have an idea of what’s going on, or watch it while they think it sucks (which means that they have time to waste and that they contribute in the ratings). I don’t think Heroes would have survived 2 seasons of bashing if it “just sucked”.
Finally, agreeing again for the ratings. The best this volume can do is build up audience for the next season, via good-will and word of mouth. The thing is that “real new viewers” will be hard to hover now, since with it’s popularity, most of people already gave a shot to Heroes (either not liking it, which is their right, or leaving during vol 2/3). Since the quality improvment can’t be denied, my hopes are up that it can hover some lost fans back (that would catch up somehow) for next season, and why not a bit for the final.
Okay my entire post is gone.
I loved everything as usual, you are always spot on.
What took my attention the most was your talk of Angela leaving everything behind, being stripped of her wealth and her money frozen. My thought while watching was that if she used her CC or debit card she would have been found - that’s how the always find people on Law and Order. lol. But on a second viewing it dawned on me the woman left her purse behind in the car - which REALLY is the metaphor for walking away from her life - having to let it all go. Now did she do that because she had to, or did Angela actually have a moment where she was thinking. What was magic about Angela on the run that just as much as she knows from experience to be Invisible vs the fly metaphor the comic book guy asked clear - but she knew running draws attention - walking away was the best bet.
A few notes:
1. In theory, Micah has access to all the government files, which is how he knew about Matt Jr. So it’s not so hard to believe that he knew the baby was about to be taken captive, if he’s keeping tabs on their files. He would have known who was next on their target list.
2. Tracy is NOT dead. This was confirmed in the commentary by Bryan Fuller. Hence the wink at the end. Daphne, sadly, is dead.
3. About the Sylar/Doyle scenario: Apparently, according to Bryan Fuller, a scene was cut. There was supposed to be a scene between Sylar and Doyle establishing how he ended up strung up in the Hunter’s apartment.
Other than these clarifications, great review!!!! Heroes is getting stronger every episode! Let’s hope tomorrow’s doesn’t disappoint.
Does it not bother anyone how blatantly scene after scene of this episode is a rip-off of something else? Danko shaving is from the main title of ‘Dexter’. Daphne sitting on the sign overlooking Paris is a rip-off of a Channel perfume commercial, Daphne and Matt flying is ‘Superman Returns’ meets ‘ET’. The unconsious supers are held in a room reminiscent of ‘Coma’. Baby Matt and the frustrated babysitter could not be more derivative of The Incredibles. Even the door locks holding Tracy in are straight from ‘The Fly’. The only moment that doesn’t seem stolen from another movie is Tracy freezing, and maybe that’s just because I haven’t see the source for that. I’m not sure why everyone thinks Fuller and Yaitanes are so brilliant. Anyone can peicemeal their favorite iconic moments from other movies and TV shows and string them together with a loose story. The hard part is being original.
Rip-off or homage? I think a lot of those moments were consciously referencing other shows or movies.
I took the Danko-shooting-Tracy sequence to be a nod to T2.
Always knew that Micah was Rebel, but I’m more of the opinion that he’s doing all this himself. It’s always been obvious, to me at least, that the kid has genius level intelligence. But if he is working with someone, why not Molly? She has the ability to find anyone anywhere. Would easily explain how he could find Hiro and Ando in India, knew where Angela was in the elevator and just when to contact Peter to swoop in and save her, that Claire was sitting at home and needed to be told where to go to save the Comic Book Kid, etc. Molly’s been pretty much missing in action as long as Micah has. As far as I know, Molly hasn’t been caught yet by the Goons, and Micah and his family have been able to stay off the radar as well.
I hope we see more of these “Super Powered Kids”. It brings a different element to the show when the adult heroes have interactions with the younger ones. Its kind of like the adults realizing - these are just kids and having that human response of having to protect them - but in the same moment thinking Whoa! This is some kicka** stuff this kid can do!
Excellent review, Otto! You nailed it (as always). I loved and enjoyed reading your detailed, funny, and entertaining episode review every week. In my opinion, this episode was definitely the BEST Episode of this volume/season, thus far…and it was nice to see that you gave this episode a 5 out of 5 rating it deserved.
i love heroes i hope there will be a heroes game freeroming but my favoritite character has got to be hiro and ando they are the funniest i mean when hiro and ando have the baby matt parkman ando has to make a funny face and hiro says hold it till we get to new york thats 29miles that ando’s not ment to move i feel so sorry for him