Sylar re-emerges with no memory of who he is or what he’s done. Detective Ernie Hudson brings him in and ID’s him as Aunt Virginia’s murderer, whereupon Sylar rediscovers his abilities, escapes into a forest and somehow bumps into Samuel and the carnival in the middle of nowhere.
Let’s go to the Land of Denial for a moment. Wouldn’t it be great if this episode was remembered for everything amazing about it? It won’t be, but it deserves to be. Sylar sobbing over his handcuffs. Peter playing the piano with Emma. Angela lost for words because of grief and regret. Emma’s doctor turning out to be her mom. The carnival’s infiltration into society. The identity of Annie’s killer.
There’s only one defining moment that anyone will remember, and it’s both a blessing and a curse for the episode. It affords the show the temporary boost in viewers that it hoped for, but it also leaves the show open to multiple accusations. That it resorted to a ratings gimmick. That it hyped an event out of all proportion. That it stooped as low as it could go with a stunt aimed squarely at a prepubescent male demographic.
Which is sad, because Claire and Gretchen’s kiss turned out to be a fleeting moment which in no way deserved the hype that preceded it, a moment which evolved out of the scene organically, and a moment which, far from being drawn out or overdramatized, was played with subtlety and feeling.
The episode begins where last week’s left off, with Zombie Sylar bursting out of the ground and gasping for air. In light of the way this story plays out, I’m not sure whether we should call this character “Sylar,” “Gabriel” or “Amnesiac!Not!Sylar.” The fact that he rediscovers his abilities as the episode goes on suggests that he’s more Sylar than Gabriel, and the fact that the show has already had one instance of a prolonged amnesia storyline suggests that it’ll only be a matter of time before Sylar regains his memories. So “Sylar” it is.
In spite of the soft Sylar-piano that tells you exactly how you’re supposed to feel, you have to feel sorry for the guy. Part of it’s that he’s a shell without a personality and has no idea what he’s done; part of it’s that he ended up shot and buried in the ground for a crime he didn’t commit; part of it’s that he’s stuck in a life that was foisted onto him by two reckless individuals and a sucker with a knack for mind-control.
But then, this is the guy who, not long ago, was ripping open heads and slitting throats. As sympathetic as you might feel towards the character now, you could equally put his current condition into the context of his entire backstory and legitimately point out that you shouldn’t feel sorry for him at all.
A police car pulls up, and although the car’s registration plate does not read “ECTO-1″ and the car does not look anything like it should, the detective at the wheel is the indisputably awesome Ernie Hudson. Winston Zeddemore!
Depending on your perspective, this scene is either hideously extraneous or long overdue. It doesn’t advance the plot in any meaningful way, but it gives us a glimpse of the community within the carnival, and reminds us that there’s more to the carnival than perpetual plotting and conspiracy. Which is remarkable because it sets Samuel apart from Danko — who suffered from next to no characterization outside of his dedication to work — and from Arthur — who was rarely seen doing anything besides concocting his next plan at Pinehearst. A scene like this enhances the carnival story because it underlines how much more human this villain is compared with his predecessors.
The firestarter heating waffles with her hands? You have to love that.
Samuel rambles on about how thankful he is for his family, and how “sad” and “pathetic” it is that “lost lambs” are out there “pretending to be that which they are not.” Which elicits a nod of agreement from time-traveling Arnold, but also Meaningful Glances between Edgar and Lydia — and from me, because it raises all kinds of questions about the carnival’s relations with supers living everyday lives in the outside world. It’s consistent with Samuel’s early speech about a world that would never understand people with abilities, but it’s hard to reconcile with Samuel’s willingness to let people like Rebecca disappear into that world. Is that kind of integration solely for the purpose of supporting the carnival’s goals? Is it planned long-term, and was Rebecca planted specifically to isolate Claire? Does Samuel consider that level of exposure to the outside world a sacrifice that members of his family need to pay for the greater good? Are there members of the carnival living everyday lives who only return to the fold when they have information to provide? Rebecca’s part in the story is compelling, but it’s fraught with questions that are never addressed.
Aw. Partly because you feel happy for the character for relishing normality, partly because you know she just jinxed it.
Rebecca shows up to invite Claire into the same sorority as Sandra, which strikes me as a significant spin on the subversive Def Leppard groupie we got a glimpse of in “Exposed,” but which also makes me wonder whether Claire is subconsciously trying to relive her mother’s life, particularly when she mentions how Sandra made lifelong friends through her sorority.
This is also the moment when you have to wonder how far back Becky’s involvement in the sorority goes. It’s possible that a super who’s affiliated with the carnival just happened to be a part of Sandra’s sorority and that Claire just happened to attend the right college to become a part of it now. But then, given time-traveling Arnold and Samuel’s conversation with Hiro in “Jump, Push, Fall” about controlled rewrites to the timeline, there’s ample room for speculation that Rebecca joined the sorority years earlier in order to realize the carnival’s goals.
Claire gets an invite to the sorority house. It’s worth noting that Gretchen doesn’t. And, hilariously…
… that Rebecca barely acknowledges Gretchen’s existence.
Beyond the initial hilarity, though, there’s a serious point to be made about Gretchen’s attempt to make decisions for Claire. You can understand why Gretchen is afraid that Claire will make new friends and lose interest in her, but there’s a possessive side to Gretchen which emerges in this scene, and it makes Gretchen all the more reprehensible because you realize she’s trying to stifle Claire’s social interaction so she can keep Claire to herself. You can write that off as an overreaction, but if this scene played out under any other circumstances — if, for instance, Gretchen was Claire’s boyfriend — you know you’d hate the character for trying to be so controlling.
Lubbock takes Sylar to a Baltimore police precinct.
HBO, are you getting this?
Oh, Heroes. Don’t. Don’t invite criticism like this. Put your interrogation rooms in Never Never Land so no one will question your immaculately groomed detectives and your cinematic lighting and your spacious cells and glossy polished tables. If you’re going to put your precinct in Baltimore, get ready to incur the wrath of a show that has shown it like it is.
The counterpoint to a lack of realism from the set is the raw depiction from the actors, with Zach Quinto portraying a guy who’s losing his mind without knowing whose mind it is to lose:
The actor’s usual attention to the character’s mannerisms is there, but there’s particular focus on nervous eye movement and irregular breathing, and the entire performance — from the body language to the eyes to the intonation — bring you to a point where, psychotic serial killer or not, you’re moved to feel bad for the guy.
Demanding the cuff keys to unlock a psycho would usually earn a Dumb As Award, but since Gibson appears to be a one-time character, since Sylar’s performance is so gut-wrenching and since Christine Adams plays Gibson with compassion and idealism, I’m going to give her a pass.
We cut to Emma at the hospital, and the contrast from the harsh, choppy lighting and editing in the previous scene to the smooth, harmonious tone in this one couldn’t be sharper. It’s one of the nuances of the story that, by the end of the episode, Sylar has stumbled into a situation where he’s comfortable, and Emma’s the one whose scenes are laden with harsh, discordant overtones.
Emma’s doctor brings her coffee, tells her about her “hysterical blindness” and calls her on “this whole filing girl act.”
Emma: “Do you follow up like this with all your patients?”
Doctor: “Only the ones who happen to be my daughter.”
Wait, did they just turn Emma’s doctor into Mama Coolidge?!
Aaaaand we cut straight to the next scene between Peter and Angela. Which… somehow strikes me as a very abrupt reveal. For all the times the show has beaten us over the head with its own obviousness, this is an episode full of fleeting and underplayed moments, and this particular moment is fleeting and underplayed to the point of losing its impact. It’s not as if any more needed to be made of it, but we barely have time to absorb what we’ve found out before the show moves onto the next scene. This was a reveal that made sense, but it’s not one I saw coming, and I wish I’d had a moment longer for it to sink in.
Peter: “I think this whole focusing-on-work thing is getting to me. I’ve been told by more than one person that I’ve closed myself off from human connection.”
Cute detail: the way Peter hands Angela a mug of coffee and puts a concerned arm around her when he tells her the mug is hot.
Aw. If that’s not a sign that he’s forgiven her, I don’t know what is.
Peter: “So this is me, trying to connect again, starting with you, my family… The half that bothered to show up, at least.”
Heartbreaking, because you realize he would have been trying to reconnect with the approximation that was wearing Nathan’s face for months until someone put him in the ground. Intriguing, because no matter how angelic the white jacket might make her look, Angela’s actions are the reason her son is now clinging to the hope of reconciliation with his brother instead of mourning his loss.
It’s also somehow disappointing, because this seems to signal the end of the guilt-driven workaholic who was trying to atone for his family’s involvement in testing and torturing supers, and for his family’s complicity in plots to wipe out cities and kill millions. It’s great to see Peter’s character arc moving along at such a brisk pace, but the motive behind his nobility made Peter one of the more compelling characters this season, and if he’s back to his old empathic self, I wonder whether that motive has been discarded. Beyond that, his willingness to reconnect with Angela suggests there’s nothing for him to resent her for. We know there is, and they know there is, and there’s an entire backstory that needed to be addressed. It’s disappointing to see Peter move past his issues so gracefully, mostly because we can’t.
Gorgeous focus, and an elegant way to convey Angela’s sense of loss. It’s never quite clear whether Angela’s distress is down to her guilt over the Sylathan debacle as such, or whether it’s because she already knows why Sylathan’s missing. Again, an example of a nuance that’s underplayed to the point of robbing it of its impact. I’ll take this over the show’s tendency to beat us over the head with ideas, but it’s unclear how much Angela knows about Millie’s decision to have Sylathan killed, and as a result Angela’s remorse in this scene is too vague for it to resonate as much as it should.
You have to wonder whether that was the idea, though: to emphasize a distance between Peter and Angela that can’t be repaired with one breakfast. The way the scene is blocked out…
… with random wide shots, with door frames separating us from the characters and the characters from one another, you could easily argue that the whole point is to underline that we have no idea what anyone’s really thinking or feeling. Nicely designed by Nate Goodman, and nicely realized by SJ Clarkson.
Mama Coolidge: “It’s been six years. It’s time to stop blaming yourself for Christopher’s death.”
Hopefully something that’ll be established alongside Joseph’s backstory. The way the hints are intentionally dropped into the dialogue, I’d like to think they won’t be forgotten or relegated to the graphic novels.
Emma bails from an upsetting conversation, and Peter leaves his quietly distraught mom at his apartment. Both scenes are superbly realized, particularly for the way they intercut, but if there’s a criticism to be made, it’s that neither of these scenes are long enough. You get the impression that the reason for the brevity in Emma’s storyline is to let it play out over time. I wish I could be as optimistic about the Peter storyline, because it seems like this scene is about as extensive a conversation as Peter and Angela are going to have. Which, given everything they’ve been through, overlooks a considerable backstory. Angela’s reasons for lying about Papa Petrelli’s death; Papa Petrelli sucking Peter’s empathic mimicry out of him; the plans they’d made as a family for a more enlightened Company; Nathan’s actions throughout the fourth volume; and finally — and most obviously — Angela’s decision to turn Nathan’s killer into an approximation of Nathan and to deceive Peter into thinking his brother was still alive.
Awkward silences? Angela driven to distraction by anxiety? Peter getting another of those adorable playful slaps from his mom? It’s good, entertaining drama, but it’s not the drama we deserve for following the characters through three seasons of experiences which, by all accounts, should leave them with emotional scars that can’t be ignored. There are issues that shouldn’t be dodged or forgotten and that need to be addressed in dialogue. This was a perfect scene to explore some of them, and I can’t help feeling disappointed that, once again, the bulk of the Petrelli dysfunction has been ignored.
We cut to Claire and Gretchen visiting the sorority house. Claire takes part in the Get To Know Prospective Pledges Speed Dating session. It’s amusing to watch, particularly when Claire corrects herself by pointing out that Sandra raises one professional show dog rather than several.
Claire: “Scariest thing that ever happened to me?… Does this count?”
Oh, Claire. Don’t hold back.
Emma stumbles along the street, dazed and disoriented and close to tears. It’s a believably played moment by Bray, and it’s supported by some neat camera work, with random switches to various angles capturing how lost and displaced Emma feels. The sound waves coming off of the police car and the drill are beautifully realized, and there’s some effective work with sound editing as we cut back and forth from the eerie silence in Emma’s head to the cacophony of traffic and road works around her.
Emma staggers into the street and nearly gets run down by an NYC Metro. Peter superspeeds across the street and pulls her back to the sidewalk.
Straight to the scene, without any hesitation over the risk that he’d be seen or the questions Emma might raise about his ability. It’s superbly shot, and the kind of moment when you want to cheer. Reckless, romantic, heroic, and the kind of save you wish the show would come up with every week.
Emma withdraws from the attention and immediately walks away, leaving Peter to wonder how anyone could resist his superhero charm. That routine’s supposed to be irresistible!
Peter walks into an alley and casts a surreptitious look around him to make sure no one sees him superspeed away. Very Superman, and the start of a scene that’s comedy gold. Dramatic music starts and stops as Peter does. Peter slaps his legs in the hope that his ability will “warm up.” And finally, Peter lets out an exasperated “Oh, COME ON!” as he realizes that he just lost an ability he really wanted to hold onto, which trumps even Peter’s I-must-be-losing-my-mind look of puzzlement when he sees streaks of wispy golden light radiating from a trash can he kicked over.
We cut to Samuel and Lydia planting seeds on a hilltop, and this…
… is possibly the most visually stunning moment of the episode. I know it’s only a CG carnival, and I know we’re seeing the backs of two characters who still desperately need more development. But there’s something expressive about the way the villain and his accomplice have been humanized, and something profound about the way they’re looking across a valley at the community they’re trying to protect.
You have to wonder what it means to Samuel to potentially recruit a Bennet in light of the implied history between the carnival and The Company. You also have to wonder how Samuel can be in any doubt about his chosen recruit after he went to the trouble to meet one of them, to tell them they were everything he hoped they’d be and to pass on a Magik Compass Tattoo with a Magik Handshake. Unless Samuel made that effort with every candidate and we just didn’t see it, I got the impression that Peter was very much The One that Samuel had selected to replace Joseph. How Hiro and Tracy suddenly become contenders for the spot is unclear. I guess it’s possible Samuel means he’s planning to recruit all of them and that just one of them is intended to take Joseph’s place as co-runner of the carnival. But if that’s true, it’s a hazy detail in an episode in which Samuel talks about bringing a single individual into the “family” to “fill the empty seat.”
Again, beautifully shot. The soft focus helps to convey how surreal everything about this storyline is, but it’s the look of conflicted emotion and uncertainty from Knepper that define the scene. There’s something revealing about the way we get a glimpse of the character when none of the others are around; an honesty in his expression that tells you he’s not putting on a pretense. He’s genuinely worried; he’s genuinely anxious. That’s a layer to the character that we didn’t see in Željko in the fourth volume until very late in the game, and it’s a layer we didn’t see in Arthur at any point in the third volume.
Gretchen “borrows” Claire’s white sweater. Ten bucks says Claire will never see that sweater again, but it speaks to Claire’s generosity that she’s willing to “loan” the sweater and tell Gretchen it looks good on her.
Gretchen exits, the book mysteriously falls on the computer, and we get a glimpse of, among other web pages, something resembling Facebook. The article about the Union Wells High School cheerleader being murdered is for once an actual article, as opposed to one that discusses “questions regarding result determination” and how “great care has been of paramount importance” (yes, show, we do read the articles). Of special note is the mention of “Charlie Andrews, a waitress at the Burnt Toast Diner.” Not a huge deal, but the attention to detail is there if you’re looking for it.
Gretchen checking out Claire’s Not!Facebook page is creepy, but on some level it’s understandable. The links to articles about Claire’s past trauma are disturbing, but I can just about appreciate that if Gretchen thinks she has a crush on Claire, she might be curious to learn as much about Claire as she could. But the articles about suicide and the jump/push/fall theory? That’s where you have to draw a line and say there’s something either unexplained or altogether unstable about Gretchen. Besides the fact that it reveals Gretchen’s anecdote about getting ideas from an episode of Crossing Jordan to be a blatant lie, there’s the fact that Gretchen would have no reason to research Annie’s death if she wasn’t involved in it. There’s something fundamentally unsettling about this, and as treacherous as the carnival might turn out to be, you have to credit Rebecca with revealing something critically important to Claire.
Meanwhile…
Yet again, a moment of outside-the-box creativity that leads to exquisite photography. It doesn’t make the expensive-looking polished table any less laughable, but the shot itself — the way the reflection is captured, and the subtext involving a guy who has no idea who he’s looking at — is phenomenal.
Sylar articulates the way words and feelings are familiar without having context or associations. On paper, the dialogue is generic and nothing you haven’t heard on a dozen procedurals and medical dramas when an amnesiac character showed up. What’s impressive is Quinto himself.
As with Samuel, we get a glimpse of a character free of pretense and calculation. Quinto has a chance to enhance what Pasdar did so effectively over the past four weeks, which is to play the character with a sense of naïve trust and vulnerability, and an inability to suspect anyone around him of any wrongdoing. In effect, he’s playing Sylar with a child’s mentality.
Sylar matching the speed of the clock to Gibson’s watch was a neat detail. It makes sense that Sylar’s root ability would be the first to reemerge after regenerating in the forest. It also raises questions about what this character will become if he doesn’t regain his memories. He’s apparently capable of everything the old Sylar was, which begs the question: if this Sylar can acquire abilities the same way the old one could, will he covet abilities the way the old one did? Is he free from The Hunger and the parent issues and identity crises?
There’s not enough aw to convey how cute this is. Yes, it’s unbelievably cheesy, but it’s also so adorably cute. The kids singing in a hospital is part of the cuteness, as is the choice of a familiar song (which, from his frozen and shattered remains in a gutter, William Katt is surely smiling at), but the idea that Peter unintentionally wound up absorbing Emma’s ability, and the idea that he now has a chance to connect with her through a shared ability, is heartwarming.
There’s probably only a very small part of Peter wishing he’d let the bus hit Emma and held onto Edgar’s superspeed.
Peter realizes that Emma is deaf and that she’s lip-reading, and after Emma’s outburst in “Ink” about her unwillingness to put up with people’s fake pity and lack of sensitivity, it’s worth noting both how tentatively Peter makes the observation and how gracefully Emma smiles and nods her head. There’s never anything besides a very real and honest solidarity between the characters, but I think it’s a testament to Ventimiglia’s acting that he makes Peter sound cautious in this scene without coming across as patronizing.
Again, heartwarming. It’s nothing we didn’t see in “Ink,” but there’s somehow an added poignancy when Emma’s sharing the experience with someone else, and when we know Peter’s found someone to open up to at a time when his brother’s missing and his mother’s too distracted to listen to him.
Emma: “Why me? Why now?”
Peter: “That I don’t know.”
Thank you, show. I’ll take this over the pseudo-scientific babble about eclipses anyday.
Peter makes a crack about getting Emma out of the filing room, and I can’t help wondering where that remark came from. You know he meant it good-naturedly, and you know he didn’t mean for it to sound judgmental, but the gist seemed to be that he’d only just met Emma. If he’d noticed her shutting herself away behind her desk repeatedly, you could understand it. The way it played out, though, I think we were meant to assume that Peter hadn’t seen Emma before the time he spoke to her in “Ink,” and unless he made a judgment based on her hasty exit from Central Park, it’s hard not to interpret his advice to her here as anything other than judgmental. For all he knows, Emma could be the most socially active person he’ll ever meet.
Lubbock returns to Sylar’s cell and tells Sylar he’s a watchmaker from Queens who killed his mother. Hudson’s cold delivery serves as a harsh reminder that Sylar’s a suspect rather than a patient receiving therapy, but again it’s Quinto’s performance that makes the scene memorable. The way Sylar nervously looks to the door, hoping Gibson will come back and be nice to him; the way Sylar latches onto Lubbock’s reference to him being a watchmaker, because like any child, he wants to know everything that involves himself before anything about other people; the way he insists that he “didn’t do anything wrong,” because like any child, he doesn’t want to be punished for bad behavior. It’s evidence of simplistic thinking, but in the best possible way because that’s the idea, and Quinto captures the essence of the character — the child’s mentality — perfectly.
Sylar TK’ing Lubbock through the glass is another moment when you’re not sure how far to let yourself feel sorry for him. He only resorted to his abilities when threatened, and even then it was an instinctive defense mechanism rather than a conscious effort to injure anyone. It’s consistent with the way an amnesiac Peter rediscovered his Ellectrobolt when he was about to be hit by Irish thugs, but it’s also interesting to compare the way Quinto plays this moment with the way he played the moment after Gabriel killed Emo-Trevor:
It’s a similar reaction, in the sense that both characters are trying to process what they’re looking at and what they’ve done. The difference — and this is where the complexity in Quinto’s performance becomes apparent — is that Gabriel’s reaction in “Villains” was colored with self-awareness, and Sylar’s reaction here is more a sense of blank confusion. You could argue that that’s down to Sylar’s amnesia and rediscovery of his abilities, but there’s something to be said for the fact that he looks more guilty about defending himself here than he did when he ripped a guy’s head open. Which could be because his child mentality won’t allow him to cause anyone an injury without feeling guilty, but it could also be that this version of Sylar has a set of scruples and ethical boundaries that he isn’t willing to cross. Which, as convoluted a road as it was getting here, points to some kind of redemption for the character.
Howdy, folks! Nate P here. Well, they’ve finally stopped letting that phoney wear my face. Hurrah! You rock, Mrs Houston!
I’m happy to know that impostor won’t be fooling my idiot brother anytime soon, yet sad to think that you’ve now all been robbed of appreciating my fine visage every week. I know how difficult that must be. Remember not to be bitter.
Can you all believe my daughter’s macking on a girl? I know! I mean, if I’d told her about this a year ago, she’d probably have thrown a rock at my car or something.
Speaking of surprises, there’s a sassy blonde down here who says she used to work for Dad. Before that, she says she used to flirt with Pete in an underground cell. I have to ask: when did you hook up with all these women, Pete? I mean, there’s, like, three or four of them down here that I never knew about.
This one says she went to Ireland looking for you after you disappeared. I think that was when my burns suddenly went away. I’m still not sure how that happened. I mean, if I suddenly got better then, why didn’t I get better when I died? Weird.
I remember going to Ireland looking for Pete too. I don’t remember seeing any petite blondes there, but then again I didn’t stay long, and it was a big place. I remember the rain. Man, that was crappy weather. Not as crappy as it is down here, believe me, but still crappy.
Speaking of crappy, can you believe Sylar killed this one too? She started telling me how he sliced her head open on a beach and set fire to her, and I’m like, “What? He just left you?” And she said, “Yeah. Lamest death ever.” So I said, “Lady, he slit my neck open and left me IN A HOTEL ROOM — which do you think is worse?” She still thinks she drew the short straw. Whatever. No one knows either of us is dead anyway. What are you waiting for, Ma?
Anyway, this blonde seems pretty pleased to know Dad’s dead after locking her away, and that the guy who killed her and her father is having an out-of-body experience. But she also wants to remind everyone how familiar this all sounds. Guy with amnesia? Special abilities, wondering if he’s good or bad? Meeting a bunch of weirdos who play him for a gullible sap and say they’re gonna take care of him? Not that either of us really cares because, well, he killed us. But there’s something about it all that sounds like it’s been done before. Except it’s not in Cork. And there are no iPods. And there’s no rain. And this time no one’s playing my idiot brother for a fool. Except our mom. Seriously, Ma, what ARE you waiting for?
Well, that’s it from me for this week, folks. Have a great week, and here’s hoping that somehow I’m back on your screens again soon.
Claire arrives at the sorority mixer and makes idle conversation with Rebecca. It’s in many ways a tragic scene because we see Claire enjoying meeting new people and expanding her social circle, and looking back, you realize that that hope of building lasting friendships was manipulated by Rebecca in order to be undermined. Which, in turn, goes back to the idea that Noah and Claire inevitably attract pain and suffering, but which also adds to the tragedy that Claire ended up with a roommate who practically wants to lock her away. Even if Gretchen doesn’t turn out to be evil — and, murderer or not, I’m far from convinced that’s the case — she’s very clearly resentful about Claire’s efforts to make new friends.
Claire and Gretchen return to their dorm, and Gretchen immediately evades Claire’s scrutiny by turning the situation around and asking Claire why she thinks Gretchen would have any reason to drop a flag pole on her.
Claire: “Maybe because I was making new friends? Maybe because you wanted to expose my freakiness to everyone?”
I find the first of those very likely, but I also find the second question intriguing now that we know Rebecca’s behind the attempt. Was the plan to impale Claire, reveal her ability to everyone at the sorority house and make the girls so fearful of Claire that she’d be forced to leave the college?
Claire: “I saw what you’ve been looking at on your computer. The stuff about me.”
Gretchen: “What were you doing snooping on my computer?”
Again, you’ll note that Gretchen wriggles her way out of scrutiny by turning the situation around and making it about Claire. I genuinely feel bad for Claire when she thinks she needs to explain how she uncovered an invasion of her privacy on Gretchen’s computer.
Gretchen: “Wow. That stuff that happened to you really messed you up. You’re a crazy kind of paranoid.”
Claire: “Paranoid? No, no, paranoid is… This?… is a pattern.”
The main reason I’m swayed towards sympathizing with Claire — besides my dislike towards Gretchen — is the fact that Claire actually acts like she’s upset. Claire pauses mid-sentence and rephrases what she’s thinking, because that’s what people do when they’re upset. And more importantly…
… Claire actually looks like she’s upset.
By comparison, and in spite of the tears…
Gretchen barely looks like this is affecting her at all. I can’t figure out whether that’s down to the character or the actress; looking at the character objectively for a moment, Gretchen has been introverted since we met her, and Madeline Zima’s doing a solid job of portraying Gretchen as a quirky, neurotic mess, so it’s possible Gretchen would find herself having an argument and remain as emotionally detached as ever.
Gretchen: “I get nervous talking about myself. You’re just more interesting.”
Does Gretchen actually have anything to talk about? Isn’t that the problem? Five episodes in, we know absolutely nothing about the character besides her fixation on Claire and a possible instance of bullying as a child on account of bulimia. Besides that, she’s been an obvious suspect for Annie’s murder because there’s nothing to convince us otherwise; the character is a creative void. She’s as empty a shell as Sylar when Nathan’s memories have been shot out of him.
Gretchen: “I didn’t kill Annie, and I’m not stalking you. OK, maybe I’m a little bit stalking you. But it’s not what you think, it’s just…”
OK, I have to ask: was it really as big a deal as everyone made it out to be? Putting aside the fact that Gretchen kissed Claire before Claire even had a chance to pull away — meaning it’s not as if Claire even consented to it — was it really the stuff that was worth hyping up as a major event of the season? Because all I see are two attractive women locking lips for a very brief moment. I find one of those women endearing by default because I’ve reviewed every one of her scenes on a show for over three years; I find the other one exceptionally annoying and I’ve only covered her scenes for four weeks. But that’s not the point. The point is this moment is handled with grace and delicacy, and it comes across as sweet, heartfelt and touching. And, yes, extremely hot. And although it’s difficult to reconcile any of that with a new character whose actions and words have consistently made her beyond likeable (at least to me), there’s nothing objectionable about the way this kiss was realized. There’s enormous chemistry between the characters, there’s no reason why Gretchen wouldn’t find Claire incredibly attractive, and there’s ample backstory to justify why Claire would be willing to open her heart to anyone who was willing to listen to her and be there for her.
Not that you get much of an impression of Claire reciprocating Gretchen’s feelings here, because, well…
… Claire’s response doesn’t exactly say “SIGN ME UP FOR THIS RELATIONSHIP!” But the important thing to note — based on the way the kiss turned out, as opposed to the way it was hyped — is that there wouldn’t be anything wrong with putting the characters into a relationship. If it makes sense for the characters — which it could — and if it makes sense in the context of the story — which it seems to — and if there’s enough chemistry between the actresses — which there most definitely is — then why not. The only point when it becomes objectionable is when it’s played as a ratings ploy, and when some NBC executive’s goal to entice a demographic overrides the show’s creativity.
Claire and Gretchen are invited to join the Psi Alpha Chi Sisterhood.
Wait, did I just say something about creativity?
Claire smiles nervously at Gretchen, and whether that’s an attempt to overcome the awkwardness or to let her know that there’s zero awkwardness because of the kiss is unclear. Presumably, cutting the moment short is intended to persuade the viewers who tuned in just to see two girls kissing to tune in again next week. THAT strikes me as a gimmick, and THAT strikes me as the kind of story device intended to boost viewership. There was no need to put off a conversation between Claire and Gretchen until the following episode. It could have happened immediately, and it should have happened immediately.
Samuel begins to panic when night falls and there’s still no new family member at the table. Then…
Dun-dun-DUN!
Great twist. Even if you saw it coming, it’s so well done — from the way Rebecca dematerializes to the wicked smile on her face — that you want to applaud. It even explains the suicide note in “Orientation.” It’s a twist I didn’t see coming, it fits with continuity, and it ties back to the carnival and to Samuel. The only minus point is the fact that we didn’t have an opportunity to count Rebecca among our suspects sooner. The fact that she’s only introduced now, weeks after we began collating potential murderers, feels like cheating on the show’s part.
I must now concede that I was wrong about Gretchen… murdering Annie. But I’m pretty sure I’m still right about the being evil part, particularly in light of the suicide/murder web pages Gretchen was cruising, which still SCREAM psychokiller.
Rebecca goes from Arlington to Baltimore and back again within a couple of hours. Quiet roads? Teleportation? Multiple abilities that include superspeed? You decide.
Gibson takes Sylar down a quiet country road, stops the car to plead with him to turn himself in, then watches the guy take several bullets to the chest and walk away without any visible damage.
Bullets spitting themselves out of wounds? Still hasn’t gotten tired, even after all this time.
Should Gibson win a Guest Star Dumb As Award for letting Sylar go? I’m tempted to give her another pass, if only because she realized that Lubbock was trigger-happy and that she wasn’t going to get a chance to prove Sylar’s innocence before he got shot. She’s a likeable character, so, Dumb or not, I hope the show finds a way to bring her back when Sylar returns to the real world.
The episode draws to a close with a montage of images from the three story threads the episode focused on. Hiro shows up at Peter’s apartment…
… and collapses. Which is sad, I’ll admit, but on the bright side, it ties his story to Peter’s, and it’s so mercifully brief that it robs Hiro of any opportunity to display his usual idiocy.
Emma returns home, picks up the cello she’s bought, and plays it with such aggression…
… that she rips a hole in the wall of her apartment. Which is impressive, in the sense that the sound waves that Emma and Peter see evidently have a tangible mass which can collide with physical objects; it’s also somehow saddening, because it was cool to know there was one character on the show whose ability wasn’t destructive and which couldn’t be used for antagonistic purposes. But then, it’s not as if Emma will be able to fend off muggers by pulling out her cello or luring them to the hospital music room.
Finally, Sylar stumbles into the carnival — which immediately vanishes after he enters it, suggesting it’s either an invisible carnival or a teleporting carnival — and discovers his new best friend.
And although it’s likely that this story will focus on Sylar’s innate villainy, you have to wonder, given his recent childlike tendencies, whether Sylar will be more interested in the Ferris wheel or the hoopla stalls. At least it’s a safe bet that he won’t be making spitballs and squirting tomato sauce on chairs. Let’s take a moment to be thankful for that.
There’s a lot to praise this episode for, and in the end, in spite of some minor flaws, very little to criticize. I’m docking half a point for various reasons: firstly, for a story thread that involved everyone at the carnival waiting an entire episode for someone to show up. It was nicely filmed and Knepper was as compelling as ever, but until the final moments of the episode it again felt like the carnival story was treading water.
Secondly, the episode introduced various elements in other story threads without developing them, particularly the idea of a carnival member living outside of the confines of the carnival. It was intriguing, but the circumstances surrounding it were never fully established.
There’s also the now-long-overdue conversation between Angela and Peter about what happened to Nathan, which is starting to feel like a crucial reveal that’s constantly being passed up. I’m all for a steady pace in the story, but the longer the show waits to address this particular plot point, the less emotional resonance it’ll have when it finally happens. And that’s assuming it’ll happen at all.
All of that said, it almost goes without saying that this was the strongest episode of the season so far, that it was superbly crafted, that it was perfectly paced, that it was visually stunning, and that it showcased some phenomenal performances. Special credit goes to Quinto for a gripping portrayal of a villain with no memory of his actions, and to Bray and Ventimiglia for capturing everything that was poignant about two characters finding one another and sharing an ability.
Ultimately, the main thing we’ll remember this episode for is the kiss between Claire and Gretchen, and while the show loses credit for plugging the moment for all it was worth, the kiss itself was realized with delicacy, and serves to illustrate the thought and care that have gone into the season so far.
4.5 out of 5
I’m not so sure I agree with you about the kiss. Ever since I heard about it, and then saw the ads for it much later on, all it screamed to me was “DESPERATE RATINGS PLOY!”.
How about they drop the tacked on, chemisty-lacking lesbian storyline, and give us more of what else this episode had to offer? If not for all that “Glaire” (perfect name for that couple, by the way. I glare everytime I see those two on screen.) bulls**t, we could’ve gotten much more from kiddy!Sylar and the Peter/Angela breakfast.
It wasn’t a bad episode at all. it was just very bipolar. The Claire stuff really made me cringe, but everything else, especially Emma (Biggest and most pleasant surprise since our beloved speedster Daphne) and Sylar, was top notch win.
Great review, Otto.
I wasn’t thinking Ghostbusters during the Hudson scenes. I was thinking The Crow, which is a great movie if you haven’t seen it. The stylized scenes in Not!Baltimore didn’t bother me, because in The Crow, Hudson plays a Cop operating in relation to a Zombie during stylized scenes in Not!Detroit:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109506/
There’s an issue with Rebecca’s story line that you didn’t mention. After all the trouble they go to to introduce the Jump/Push/Fall Theory, Rebecca seems to invalidate Claire’s findings. She pushed Annie. Therefore, shouldn’t Annie have had a pushed trajectory (no pun intended) that Claire’s experiment would have shown. Given the context, it’s a glaring continuity issue.
I loved this episode. I think this sylar amnesia storyline is awesome and judging from the clip for next week, it won’t drag on like the peter amnesia storyline did. Second!
Raissa - Anna was sitting on her window ledge. Then she was pushed out. If she was thrown, she would have landed differently. It seems to be suggesting that a fall from the window ledge is more likely to be voted as a suicide verdict.
Otto - in relation to Arthur, I have to disagree. He got a terrific humanising moment with Angela. Remember the scene with Matt in Angela’s mind? Arthur let them live when he could have crushed them. It was suggesting Arthur was capable of being selfless… and stupid.
Great review, by the way. That scene with Milo and Deanna with the kids singing was just beautiful. And Tessa Thompson was great - in one ep, she did more for Heroes than she did for VM.
Good point. Thanks.
Ian, I’m not completely convinced, I think Raissa might still have a point. Annie was standing next to the window, she was pushed, and she fell. If that ends up looking like suicide, doesn’t it invalidate the whole jump/push/fall theory?
I’m arguing from Claire’s perspective. She leapt out of the window, similarly to how Anna fell. Neither was thrown. So they would have landed in roughly the same place. If Becky threw Anna, she would have landed further.
But the theory isn’t jump/throw/fall. If Claire jumping and Annie getting pushed yield the same result (they both land in the same place and in the same position), surely that’s proof that the theory doesn’t work?
Ah… true.
Wonderful review, as always, Otto.
I find myself mostly drawn in by Emma’s story, and glad that it’s bringing Peter out of his shell a bit. I think it’s wonderful that the show took time to spend on a piano-scene, which I must admit I thought ran a little long when I first saw it. It’s oh so lovely in repeated viewings though (is Peter looking back an out-take?). I also loved the shift in Peter’s facial expression when he told Emma that people fly - he made it seem fantastically fun and wonderful, and he seemed all excited that he was introducing her into this world of abilities. I can’t recall there really being a positive “mentor” figure besides Claude, but he was an unwilling mentor. Don’t know if the show will go there though.
Quinto was impressive in his “I’m not Syler” styling of Sylar, but this story reeks of Peter in Season 2, so I’m ambivalent. Maybe the writers have something to say on the subject of a body without a mind (and mind without a body), but then the question becomes whether “the hunger” is a physical thing or a mental thing.
I’m not very invested in the Claire story, but I find myself rooting for her in the quest for a normal life. She doesn’t do well with picking friends though, although she seemed to find a good match in the girl that almost got impaled with the flagpole. I’m assuming we won’t see more of her though…
The Carnival still lurks in the background… but I think that’s fine for the time being. It’s good that the show has spent the time to build up stuff with the regular cast before presumably throwing the Carnival at them.
All in all, I’m very much looking forward to the next episode.
gaaa… messed up a sentence. Didn’t mean to imply Claude was a positive mentor, just that he was “a mentor”, but he was very unwilling and negative about everything.
And re: the carnival - my guess is it’s got a cloaking field/alternate dimension approach. It appears outside of time and space, so can appear anywhere. Which means they can go to Tokyo without drawing attention.
Hey Otto,
I found this episode very reassuring and encouraging after last week’s disjointed yawnfest. MUCH better.
I found Peter and Emma’s interactions to be, by far the most engaging, sweet and poignant. I actually loved the editing and juxtaposition of Emma/Dr. Coolidge and Peter/Angela because it really highlighted the staggering differences between the two relationships AND the similarities of Peter’s and Emma’s isolation. Normally, I would find Peter accidentally replicating Emma’s ability without meaning to, after it has been clearly established that he really has better control than that, to be an annoying lapse in continuity. But in this case, it seemed a pretty endearing indication of Peter’s attraction to, and empathy for, Emma. The piano scene was very sweet. I knew that Emma cello-ing the wall to death would bother you, because we both liked Emma for the sweet appropriateness of her ability. Oddly, it didn’t distress me that much…I’m undecided about it, frankly. On the one hand, it IS disappointing, but on the other, it gives her character an edge that is all too necessary in this dog-eat-mutated-dog world of theirs. It was also a very effective way to communicate Emma’s grief and loneliness over the direction her life seems to have taken, presumably since the as yet unexplained Christopher incident. In any event, Emma is the best new character to hit this show in a long time.
I’m one of the people who doesn’t feel particularly sorry for Sylar, in whatever incarnation; seriously, anything he might be going through, no matter how bizarre and seemingly cruel, is completely deserved. He is a mass-murderer AND a serial killer, and a creepy cockroach analog, and I wish he’d go away. All that said, however, amnesiac-Sylar, and Sylar-in-Matt are both much more interesting than the original. Anyway, despite my continuing antipathy for Sylar, I still cheered when he blasted Ernie Hudson through the mirror, because Hudson’s character was such an unmitigated dick. He played it well, but it was almost unbelievably one dimensional; a stock “bad cop” character lifted from a clip art file somewhere.
I loved Rebecca; creepy, unambiguously evil and manipulative, as opposed to Gretchen who is very ambiguously manipulative, and uncertainly evil. I dislike Gretchen less than I did, but I’m not sure that I find her at all sympathetic, despite the kiss (which I personally found to be completely believable and organic and not gimmicky at all). But Rebecca….she is playing the evil sorority sister with a hidden agenda to the hilt! That creepy smile she had as she followed Claire and Gretchen in the pledge-procession (VERY short rush period, btw) was totes awesome, and really ties into my next point:
I’m really starting to love the Carnival. I don’t know how they’re going to be drawing all the characters in, especially Tracy, who seems completely extraneous this season. Again. (Poor Ali Larter) But now I can really see them becoming the overarching element of the show. Again, much better.
My favorite bit by far in the entire episode, even more than the Emma/Peter stuff, was Sylar discovering the Carnival, and the surreal moments that followed. Creepy, engaging, TOTALLY well done, almost archetypal. Knepper nailed it! The whole thing took on a “Something Wicked This Way Comes” Mr. Dark and the Autumn People kind of feel and I think it was PERFECT!
Way better than last week’s clunker.
Thanks for the review, Otto.
Hello Otto. Great review, as per usual.
I really liked Peter’s storyline this week. It is really kind of heartbreaking that he was trying to reach out and reconnect with his family, even though half his family is actually dead and the otehr half is trying to cover it up and pretend everything is all right. Kind of funny that the only person he comes close to connecting to this week is a deaf super that he has only known for like, what, a couple of days? Not that this is a bad thing; in fact it was one of the best and sweetest scenes Heroes has produced in a while. Emma is at a tie for me with Samuel for the best thing to come out of this season so far, at least for me. Here’s a theory that I’m turning around in my head. I don’t know if you’re mind was going there too, but in the review you said:”I hope it’s something developed alongside Joseph’s story.” Do you think it’s possible that maybe this Christopher was a part of the Carnival? I only say this because form the way they were talking, it sounded like Christopher was a brother, or something. And since abilities run in families, maybe Christopher was a Carnival member. It would be a nice way to bring stories together.
I agree with you about the kiss not living up to the hype. The only part about Claire’s storyline that has me intrigued is the reveal tha Rebecca is a Carnival member. This seems to promise that her story is not as far removed from the over-arcing Carnival story as it seems.
And speaking of which, the Carnival is as good a story as it has ever been this season. There is one thing about Samuel that bothers me though. He doesn’t really seem to have any idea what he is doing. He is cunning and sceaming, and is obviously building towards something, but he doesn’t seem to have any idea how to do it. I’d like to compare it to Arthur and Lindermans plot to blow up New York. Arthur an Linderman were working towards something big; Joseph and Samuel appeared to be working towards something big. However, unlike Linderman, who knew what he needed to do after his partner/boss died, Samuel was aparently not kept in the loop as to what Joseph’s plans were. He is relying on cryptic tatoos to figure out hs next move. He is acting on whims. This seems to suggest that his brother didn’t trust him. i hope we get that expanded a little more.
One last thing. Why take Sylar to fill Joseph’s seat? The man has the mind of a child (although Samuel doesn’t know this part yet). And beyond that, he is a psycho killer who if he gets his memories back, will probably try to go to town with the schmorgasboard of abilities. Wouldn’t it nake more sense to choose someone like Peter? Or even Claire? Someone besides the homicidal ability stealer? Oh well. We’ll see, I guess.
To answer your question, no, the kiss shared between Claire and Gretchen was not as big a deal as everyone made it out to be. Still, I use the word “shared” because even if Gretchen kissed Claire before Claire had a chance to pull away, suggesting to you a lack of consent on Claire’s behalf, as the episode and your screen cap shows, Claire closed her eyes, as if to embrace the action, arguably if only briefly. I think Claire had ample time to pull away or just step backward before her lips ever made contact with Gretchen’s, but the fact that she allowed herself to slip into the moment with her eyes close rather than a deer-in-the-headlights expression which she saved until after the fact, suggests a level of consent, and perhaps even enjoyment. At the very least it suggests a willingness to attempt enjoying it. Like you though, I thought the moment was handled with grace and delicacy, and it came across as sweet, heartfelt and touching. And, yes, extremely hot.
Hey Otto, I’ve been a long time fan of your reviews, and this one was spot on as ever!
I thought I’d point out one minor thing which I think you missed: Emma didn’t buy the cello; I’m fairly sure that the cello was in the huge bluish-green box that Edgar was seen wheeling past before he, too, sat down for the Carnival dinner. The case was seen in Emma’s apartment, and it had a compass on it. I definitely smell a plot there about the Carnival wanting to recruit Emma as well.
And lest I take credit for it: credit to this observation goes to Grim Reapster from 9thWonders.com.
Keep up the great reviews, please. They’ve become a cornerstone in my weekly routine, nicely bridging the gap between two Heroes episodes.
Nice review Otto.
I thought this was a much better episode than last week’s. Things can get plodding, but they are moving along.
I’m loving the Peter/Emma storyline. That said, I am glad that Emma’s ability can do something besides having her look at pretty colors. I think the piano scene with her and Peter went on too long, especially after the oh-so-adorable children’s choir scene. Seriously, I loved that. Just too sweet for words.
Another sweet moment: Peter’s “yeah, I can see it” expression when Emma motioned about the lights. Only in the Heroes world could that be considered flirting. Milo pulled that off beautifully, and it helps that Emma is so likable (thanks to Deanne Bray) so the chemistry is real. But any more of them looking at the ceiling in awe and I would have had to change the channel.
Performance wise, Peter and Sylar were really on the ball. I was so glad to see Peter finally reach out to his mother, only to be ignored in Nathan’s ever present shadow. It’s tragic that he resents his brother (with good reason) while his mother only knows the truth about what happened to him. But the emptiness in that apartment was all too apparent.
Sylar…wow, where do I begin. It’s messed up because despite his many, many crimes, you can’t help but feel bad for the man in that interrogation room. Quinto was outstanding; embodying all the strange quirks and mannerisms that go along with someone who’s truly lost. That little smile he gave Dr. Gibson when he figured out her watch…I didn’t know whether to be delighted or terrified.
I agree with Kevin that Ernie Hudson’s character was really just channeling the “bad cop.” Once he had identified Sylar, it certainly made sense, but his behavior before…hmm. The gunshot wounds on Sylar could have implied a number of things, but Lubbock was anything but sympathetic.
Which was why the scenes with Dr. Gibson & Sylar were a lot more meaningful. It’s easy to give Gibson a PING award for unlocking the cuffs, but I got the impression that Sylar was her first case. It explains her naivete even after she learned about Sylar’s past. At any rate, their scenes were quite impressive.
Lubbock told Sylar he was a “watchmaker from Queens who murdered his mother.” Interesting how Sylar noticed that he was a watchmaker before he heard the words “murder” and “mother.” It made sense to him seeing that he’d noticed the clock thing earlier. But one could easily argue that Sylar is just a killer and hearing his profession would take precedence over his mother’s death. What do you think?
I really thought Dr. Gibson was a goner, I’m glad he didn’t kill her. I don’t know if she’ll be making another appearance, though.
As for Claire & Gretchen’s kiss, I agree that it was no where near the big deal people made it out to be. I think if it hadn’t been leaked and all the hype surrounding it, then it still wouldn’t have been a big deal. Personally, I thought both actresses did a good job of portraying the shock of what had happened.
I liked Rebecca and did not see the twist coming. In that regard, I feel bad for Gretchen. Now that she really isn’t a threat (at least not yet) she just seems like a hapless girl with a crush.
I’m still not sure about the Carnival. I just wish they would give us something about their intentions. We can speculate, sure, but its obvious that most of the characters will be linked to it for some reason or another, but what exactly does Samuel want with them?
A great episode overall.
Thanks Otto, great review. I agree with you. It’s a very good episode, which will be remembered with the ‘I kissed the girl’ thing, although I don’t see a possible relationship, because Gretchen is creepy and Claire is surprise (it would be OOC, but we’ll see). Anyway, Peter and Emma were cute, and you felt sorry for poor puppy Sylar (whose conscious is inside Matt’s head). I’m really liking this season, I hope it goes this way.
Otto, there was an element to Peter’s and Angela’s interactions that you didn’t note in your review. Peter notices that Angela is only concentrating on Nathan’s absence and assumes that it’s another example of how Angela favors Nathan over him- despite the fact that he should realize by now that when his mom is acting this way, she’s keeping secrets and nothing good will come of it. Peter’s resentment of Angela favoring Nathan over him causes him to miss a clue.
Now do you agree that the Sylar in Matt’s head is the real Sylar and not a figment of Matt’s imagination?
Maybe Edgar carried Rebecca from Arlington to Baltimore and back.
Great review, Otto.
First off, since when do you give passes for a character’s compassion and idealism? Peter sure hasn’t benefitted from that.
I liked how Emma’s scenes with her Mom were cut with the scenes of Peter and Angela. Also, the staging of Angela and Peter scenes were great and reminds me of when HRG first showed up at Peter’s apartment - HRG in one room and Peter in the other. Love these little technical details!
Do you think that if Angela wasn’t so distracted by Nathan not showing up that she might have said something about Peter’s bare apartment? To me, that still is something I hope to see addressed at some point. It’s a great illustration as to how empty his life is, but how did it happen? Was all his stuff thrown out while he was on the run or did the government take it or did he actually get rid of it all?
… it seems like this scene is about as extensive a conversation as Peter and Angela are going to have. Which, given everything they’ve been through, overlooks a considerable backstory.
… it’s not the drama we deserve for following the characters through three seasons of experiences which, by all accounts, should leave them with emotional scars that can’t be ignored. There are issues that shouldn’t be dodged or forgotten and that need to be addressed in dialogue. This was a perfect scene to explore some of them, and I can’t help feeling disappointed that, once again, the bulk of the Petrelli dysfunction has been ignored.
Sad, and oh so true! I really want to see all this paid off. This show could have so much more emotional depth if it did. Unfortunately, I have little faith that the writers will go there. It doesn’t help that most of what happens in previous seasons are never brought up again. It has to be one of the consequences of either a show runner not experienced with a serialized drama and/or forced to take the show a different way than he had planned.
I got the impression that Peter was very much The One that Samuel had selected to replace Joseph.
Yeah, what happened to that? Did some important line or scene get cut? Or, is it doomed to become another hanging plot thread?
Regarding Peter’s crack about the file room, I think it’s plausible that he noticed her around the hospital or rather just in the file room, but hadn’t had to interact with her until he needed the file. Or it was just an innocent off-hand comment based on most people’s desire to get away from their jobs whenever they can. I think it was just an instance of unintentional bad timing on his part, seeing as she had just had that conversation with her mother.
Loved the “Fallen Heroes” bit this week. Ha! Yes the amnesia plot seems way too familiar, right down to pretty much the same abilities manifesting the same way. The writers seem to have their favorite abilities, don’t they?
… the longer the show waits to address this particular plot point, the less emotional resonance it’ll have when it finally happens.
This! This is a good part of why the whole Sylar-Nathan thing bothers me. As you mentioned before, there is a ton of stuff that hasn’t been dealt with in regard to the Petrellis and so it looks more and more unlikely that any of it will ever be explored or resolved.
Thanks for the review. Can’t wait until next week.
Great review as always Otto :). Like the past month, I agree with all your scorings. 4,5/5 for me too.
I’ll agree once more with almost everything you said.
- So far, I love Emma’s storyline, from the parallel with Peter since she was introduced to the Piano and Cello scenes this week, I haven’t liked a character as much for a while. For the last cello scene, before realizing that it was the episode closer, I feared they were gonna abuse the ability, but it played out just fine. The wall ripping didn’t bother me at all, because I’m not expecting her at all to go psycho or whatever considering what we’ve seen so far.
- I’m having a hard time really appreciating Claire’s storyline. Except the normality (which is a refreshing change), it didn’t feel that much compelling until Becky appeared to link her storyline with the Carnivale. I mean seriously, she “always wanted a normal life”? Of course, she didn’t go after a guy creating blackholes, or after a creepy pupetmaster, or wanted to to expose the Company by showing the world her ability. Whatever.
- I still don’t like Gretchen, and since she didn’t kill Annie, I hope she’s still evil, because she’s too annoying for me to appreciate her. It’s like West, except that she is annoying AND creepy.
- Rebecca : nice twist. But after they showed that she could turn invisible, was I the only one that ALL the flashbacks were kinda insulting for the audience. We pretty much guessed she did everything, so just showing the pushing and leaving the note would have been enough… That said, is it me or she enjoyed way too much pushing Annie of the window?
- Peter/Angela : the reunion was a bit anticlimatic. It seemed to be that Peter wasn’t ready yet but was forcing himself. I too feel it’s a shame that Peter doesn’t get to greiv over his brother, especially since the mascarade didn’t last more than 2 months (or whatever time it is in the show).
- I was doubting that Angela realized Millie took care about Sylathan, but it seemed clear that she knew this week. That, or they are being voluntary ambiguous. I wonder if Angela even grieved over Nathan since “it” happened though. I can’t wait to see what will happen when Peter discovers what happened though, if they ever let him know…
- Yes for the carnivale, but more backstory and/or character exploration, please! Every scenes they had this week were effective, but we still don’t know that much about Sam/Lydia/Edgar/Old Time Traveler, etc…
- For Sylar-Or-Not, ZQ is doing a great job, and the scenes were really good, but they simply won’t make me feel bad for him. It’s Sylar, and to me, there’s no doubt he’ll be evil again, sooner or later. At least, they’re doing a better job dealing with his amnesia than with “I prefer robbing banks and letting my family think I’m dead”-Peter a while ago. I’ve got to wonder what is gonna wake Sylar up though. Like Elle who was tracking down Peter, and Samuel already got in contact with Hiro and Peter, and he’ll sooner or later bring someone who’ll recognize him. The only thing I’m wondering is how far will Sylar go once evil again, since he’s basicly in a candy store for ability-stealing-psychos.
Pas, I actually forgot to mention it in my comment, but I, too, was irritated by the 17 different flashbacks of Becky’s invisible antics.
Otto wrote:
“Peter makes a crack about getting Emma out of the filing room, and I can’t help wondering where that remark came from.”
I took the comment completely as good natured “don’t you just want to get out of the workplace for a bit?” In most situations it would be a smooth way to ask someone out for a drink (and you can tell Peter thought he was being smooth when he said it lol.) Unfortunately, not for Emma after the conversation with her mother.
Oh - and I agree with the poster who said Milo’s “you can see it too?” face was absolutely adorable.
::Shakes fist at the powers that be:: damn this episode for bringing out my inner fangirl!
Aw. Partly because you feel happy for the character for relishing normality, partly because you know she just jinxed it.
This moment really endeared me to Claire and why I liked her not just because she’s a Petrelli.
HBO, are you getting this?
Lol. And may I just saw how Refreshing Hudson was here and I hope he returns.
The actor’s usual attention to the character’s mannerisms is there, but there’s particular focus on nervous eye movement and irregular breathing, and the entire performance — from the body language to the eyes to the intonation — bring you to a point where, psychotic serial killer or not, you’re moved to feel bad for the guy
For as much as I fear it will become the Sylar show it’s scenes like this that see how it is deserved, ZQ is a wonderful actor
Gorgeous focus, and an elegant way to convey Angela’s sense of loss. It’s never quite clear whether Angela’s distress is down to her guilt over the Sylathan debacle as such, or whether it’s because she already knows why Sylathan’s. missing.
It was gorgeous and Cris’s performance told volumes, this was just, to me, another example of what I felt Angela had to do the whole Sylathan thing in the first place, her own sanity - losing Nathan and she knows, but is trying to pretend it isn’t happening, that he won’t fully turn back into Sylar - it almost appears like Nathan is a thread in the woman’s sanity - and the fact that she’s usually the controlled, smart one, it’s a significant turn in her character.
I’ll take this over the show’s tendency to beat us over the head with ideas, but it’s unclear how much Angela knows about Millie’s decision to have Sylathan killed, and as a result Angela’s remorse in this scene is too vague for it to resonate as much as it should.
I don’t think it’s remorse and I don’t think she knows about Millie, I think she really doesn’t know if Nathan is gone and fully Sylar, but her dreams we’re telling her. I saw a fearful, distracted woman, not one feeling remorse for her decisions,but then let’s see what comes next, perhaps she is. I see her more confessing her sins (to perhaps peter) in a wit of mourning sorrow, then regretful confession.
Angela’s decision to turn Nathan’s killer into an approximation of Nathan and to deceive Peter into thinking his brother was still alive.
Still hoping this one will happen.
Awkward silences? Angela driven to distraction by anxiety? Peter getting another of those adorable playful slaps from his mom? It’s good, entertaining drama, but it’s not the drama we deserve for following the characters through three seasons of experiences which, by all accounts, should leave them with emotional scars that can’t be ignored. There are issues that shouldn’t be dodged or forgotten and that need to be addressed in dialogue. This was a perfect scene to explore some of them, and I can’t help feeling disappointed that, once again, the bulk of the Petrelli dysfunction has been ignored.
I feel the same now.
still hoping we’ll get more. Or maybe I am blinded by Angela unraveled and in white…
and the start of a scene that’s comedy gold.
So funny and I knew you’d love it too. lol.
K, I have to ask: was it really as big a deal as everyone made it out to be? Putting aside the fact that Gretchen kissed Claire before Claire even had a chance to pull away — meaning it’s not as if Claire even consented to it — was it really the stuff that was worth hyping up as a major event of the season? Because all I see are two attractive women locking lips for a very brief moment
I never thought it would be anything other than this and the cast and crew we’re playing it up for us to watch.
… that she rips a hole in the wall of her apartment. Which is impressive, in the sense that the sound waves that Emma and Peter see evidently have a tangible mass which can collide with physical objects; it’s also somehow saddening, because it was cool to know there was one character on the show whose ability wasn’t destructive and which couldn’t be used for antagonistic purposes. But then, it’s not as if Emma will be able to fend off muggers by pulling out her cello or luring them to the hospital music room.
See I saw this as empowering and I sobbed and smiled when it happened. Here was this sad women, mourning, feeling sorry for herself, and in one moment she was strong and empowered, she had strength - she may have a disability, but her power, much like with Matt, compensated.
It was a great ep and this was the most emotional moment for me.
PS
Finally, Sylar stumbles into the carnival — which immediately vanishes after he enters it, suggesting it’s either an invisible carnival or a teleporting carnival
The Carnival is Brigadoon!!!! It’s fantastic. lol
OK, I’m going to have more to say this week than my usual Sylar-lamenting, like I did last time. When Otto doesn’t reply to me, I think he’s given up on me. That made me sad.
This episode went a bit toward bringing me back, but I find that I just have to focus on things other than Sylar’s storyline, no matter how excellent ZQ may be. I just marvel at how many roads and paths they feel they have to create for a character who will never be anything other than evil. After the Sylelle arc and how that played out, we can never hope that there will be redemption, no matter how much they try to tease it. After the Luke road trip, the border-crossing with the wonder twins, the search for taxidermy-dad, the escapades with Danko, the escapades with Noah, the various iterations of Gabriel/Sylar in various time-travel stories–I’ve just had enough with the variations on the same theme. How is the carnival story going to develop, anyway? Will there be any surprises? Is there any doubt that his mind and body will reunite? He’ll end up evil again, etc., etc., yawn, yawn. Sylelle brought down any HOPE for character development the moment it ended on the beach. I suggest everyone re-read Otto’s review of “I Am Sylar” for the argument that the character has outlived his usefulness….again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Enough of that.
Now to other things. I did find much of the episode enjoyable, particularly Peter/Emma, but backstory still causes me to fail to take any Peter romance seriously. Given the subtle shout-outs to the Ireland storyline this week with the Sylar scenes, it is even more glaring. I know the writers hate it when we mention her name, so I won’t. But how dumb were they to believe, even after all this time, that the decision to leave that plot hanging wouldn’t have ramifications for true fans of the show even two years later in a completely new situation. The history of Peter and romance clouds and troubles any beauty we see in the Peter/Emma scenes. And that is very sad. Would it have been THAT difficult to reveal her fate in a GN or in an offhand comment? For Peter just to FORGET it? How are we supposed to NOT think about that when he’s in a new relationship? Tell me, writers, how? And here’s where I lament the lost “Exodus” volume, which seemed like it had so much promise in the filmed scenes. Damn writers’ strike. Its effects will be felt in TV for a long, long time.
And while the Rebecca reveal had a lot of Shamalyan-esque element to it, and was kind of cool, its impact is robbed by the fact that it does NOT explain away Gretchen’s creepiness, her bizarre behavior, her obsession, and other issues. It does not absolve the character. It does not make her more likable. It does not make me willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING about the way Claire has been portrayed up to this point for the sake of a relationship with her. The comparisons to West are apt, but she takes West’s issues and pushes them to the nth degree. We all hated West because he had his grubby hands on “our” Claire. The way Gretchen is being portrayed, it’s hard not to have those feelings even more magnified, despite the drooling hot titillation factor. And let’s just think about how wrong it is for a lesbian storyline to be blatantly marketed to straight young men. That doesn’t seem too progressive to me.
Maybe I’m just too inclined to be harsh these days. I remember when I would defend the show from just about anything. But I still enjoy it and look forward to it, despite my rethought resolve to abandon it forever if Sylar didn’t go away. I’m making no promises for the inevitable moment when mind and body merge, though. THAT may be the final straw that drives me away for good.
Oh, regarding Rebecca’s ability. Is it possible she has some kind of combination of invisibility and teleportation/superspeed? It seems I’ve seen something similar in some superhero universe before. Could she be some sort of Claude/Hiro/Daphne-Edgar hybrid? And if I’m not mistaken, how do we know the carnival was in Baltimore at that point? Was it EVER revealed where it was? Given Samuel’s interactions with Peter and his house-sinking adventure, isn’t it more likely around New York before Samuel somehow teleported it to Baltimore? I guess I’m not convinced that Rebecca went from Arlington to Baltimore. Was it Arlington to New York? The location of the carnival before this week was never revealed, but since Edgar assaulted Peter in New York and Danko in D.C., we’re left wondering about the locale. Given the Bal/Wash proximity, I guess that’s the best guess.
It could be that she warps reality, I guess.
So she chooses not to be seen, then she chooses the carnival not to be seen.
You knocked another review out of the park, Otto
While I am torn as to say “I told you so” about the kiss, I liked the fact that you saw the facts from both worlds. I agree that the show CAN make something elegant out of it; its exactly like what happened a long time ago with Buffy and The O.C. . But I hate it when NBC is the one that sells it as a rating ploy and not as creativity from the show just like you said. Isn’t Jay Leno enough to show that NBC’s executives are idiots? Well, I can’t wait to see how this kiss evolves from here. Another few episodes should establish whether or not this was a ratings ploy or not.
By the way, I KIND OF TRY to made a positive conclusion so that NBC’s executives do not seem like lesbo-idiots. I wanted to live in the land of denial and just say that the kiss promotion was only a subtle way to make viewers tune in to what is so far the best episode of the season. I prefer to go with that kind of explanation because of a reaction to some friends who quited the show because of last season. They asked me if I was still watching the “CRAP” show. Typical haters. And then they saw the promo for this episode and say that they wanted to see some lesbian stuff and also said that the show may have become so bad its good so why bother. A day later and they asked: why didn’t I tell them that the show had improved so much over the last season? They said that watching this episode was like reliving the early season 1 feeling. They saw improvements over the character development, storytelling and pacing, things they accepted loathed during their stint in Volume 3. And they declared that NBC was “smart” to promote the kiss to make them see a great episode that made them tune back. And that’s how I tried to also go with that conclusion with a grain of salt because there’s some logic to it. Don’t you think about it, Otto? The Lesbian kiss ended up being the weakest thing from the episode in the end.
Also, why has no one mentioned “Pemma”? It can’t be as awful as the “Troah”. Also, its cute.
As with Sylar, I loved this blank slate presented here. In comparison to Volume 3’s Sylar (thanks for making me remember the way the show TRIED to humanize and retcon the original murderous one last season), I cared for him. It’s an entirely different view of the character as its not in self discovery, a mopping high and a killing spree. And also, Zachary Quinto’s performance was stellar. Based on the description of “Strange Attractors”, I like that we may see Quinto showing the two different takes on Sylar, devilish and kid-like. It grants me the wish for some dynamic TV. Also, Ernie Hudson, please come back later. I want to see how Sylar develops as a blank slate now that he is with Samuel and the rest of the carnies. A big reason to tune in next week and NOT a kiss.
In the end, I was satisfied that the episode didn’t end up being a train wreck due to the wrong promotion that it made forget about the disappointment I had with last weeks Bryan Fuller penned “Acceptance”. Also, it is showing that every other writer besides Fuller is performing better than he did. But I won’t take credit for him. He helped craft the storyline before leaving, which shows. But crafting isn’t the same as writing. Fuller will be better served with another great, original creation like Pushing Daisies. At least his inspiration carried to the other writers. With “Ink” and “Hysterical Blindness”, Joe Pokaski and Aron Eli Coleitte have “redeemed” themselves in my eyes after having suffered from some notable disappointments last year ( like “The Eclipse part 1-2″, “Cold Wars” and the retrospectively disappointing “1961″. I hope that the show continues through this great path, particularly with next weeks promising looking episode.
P.D.: Otto, have you read about the upcoming death that maybe is ocurring on episode 10 or 11? A death so big that would not go unnotice by anyone? Sound off.
“Cold Wars” was a disappointment? It was one of the better eps of Vol. 4, was it not?
KellyH, it may have not been BAD, but for me, the “been there, done that” feeling of trying to recreate Company Man, the fact that Daphne “turned out” to be alive, Mohinder going to work again with the enemy, painting a doomsday scenario in the EXACT same spot it was used in the first season, not learning ANYTHING new since what we already knew since “A Clear and Present Danger”…. Do I have to continue? It had some entertaining moments, I accept it. But considering it was the first focused episode in a while in the SAME style as Company Man, it was hard to not get disappointed, at least to me. And MORE disappointing it is retroactively after watching the aftermath of the supposed explosion. In the end, BOTH “Cold Wars” and “1961″ were disappointing flashbacks, ’nuff said. BTW, it didn’t have Sylar, so I can see why you thought it was one of the better episodes.
I think KellyH and I are in the minority, but I’ll defend this one until the bitter end because “Cold Wars” enriched so much of what we saw later in “Fugitives,” and it launched so much that’s become a big focus in “Redemption.” There was that moment when Nathan visited HRG and told him he’d “play whatever role [he] needed to play.” There are other moments in the volume that convey the same thing, but that’s still one of the most striking and most memorable to me; that moment when you realized that Nathan knew he’d be vilified for setting up Building 26, that he’d be severing his ties to everyone he cared about, and that he still went ahead with it because he believed he was right.
It also had that moment at the start when Angela was determined to put The Company behind her, which I think has a huge resonance now, when she’s spurring HRG on to start another Company and when she desperately wants to put all of the horror (Arthur, Coyote Sands, Sylathan) behind her.
And it had HRG doing his best to make a life for himself without The Company and discovering he’s bored to death with it, which is pretty significant now that The Company’s gone and he’s lost his family and he’s realizing that he has very little in his life besides The Company. When he said in 4.04 that he’d always be a Company Man, it’s made all the more ironic because we know from 3.17 that he doesn’t know how to be anything besides a Company Man.
Little details, no doubt about it, and I agree with Alfredo about the rehashed painting on the floor at Isaac’s loft. But I’d still say it was a beautifully realized episode and it served as a springboard for a LOT of stuff that’s happening now.
‘Otto, your response its what always makes me love your analysis in the majority of the reviews. With what you just said, it makes me give more appreciation to how I feel with “Cold Wars”. You are absolutely right about everything involving HRG and Angela. It leaves my initial disappointment with not learning anything new, Mohinder working for the enemy again and the painting intact; but seeing that you are actually right about how much of the little details affected the rest of “Fugitives” and some context in “Redemption” now elevates the episode from a 2 to a 3.5 out of 5 in my eyes. Thanks for that, Otto. I can blame this to the fact that I immediately compared it to the quality of Company Man and forgot those little details. At least now I can cross out “Cold Wars” from the Big Disappointment List and send it to the Mixed Bag List, which now elevates it over the episodes I listed before. (BTW, I forgot to list “I am Become Death”)
Go here:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KarmaHoudini
Open the Live Action TV folder and find the discussion about Sylar. It pretty much sums up how ridiculous it’s actually become.
While Samuel is a better Magneto, Sylar and Peter are the shows villain and good guy respectively.
Neither is going anywhere.
But Ian, if you read through the “Karma Houdini” stuff, it really does come through as patently ridiculous. I just can’t believe that there is anything more that can effectively be done with the character. The latest gambit will end with mind and body coming together and more head slicing and power grabbing. YAWN! You see, I don’t agree that Sylar is the show’s “villain.” He was the villain of Season 1. Adam was the villain of Season 2. Arthur was the villain of Volume 3. Danko was the villain of Volume 4. Samuel is the villain of this volume. There is absolutely no reason–other than Tim Kring’s apparent man-love of Zachary Quinto–to keep Sylar around as a peripheral villain again and again and again. There is no reason for him to suffer yet another “death” that everyone knows will never stick. Stabbed in the stomach at the end of one volume. Ellectrobolted out the window in another. Shard in the head in another. Separation of mind and body in another (the main body of characters believing his actual body was burned on a pyre). Where does it end? When do we get to not be frustrated anymore? When the hell is the villain going to actually be defeated? Where is the hope if we know he never will be? The persistence of Sylar is the ruination of the show. Mark my words.
I’d argue he wasn’t the villain of S1, though. That was Linderman and the abilities themselves. Sylar was a red herring - an example of the corruptive nature of the abilities, whereas Peter et al were the flipside in that they suffered through their abilities too but sought to do good anyway.
As for him having nothing left to do, the show will end with one last Peter-Sylar fight. The two of them have parallel stories at every point of the show, both of them having the potential for redemption but having to become their own person instead of being governed by their abilities. As IABD showed, Sylar CAN quell his Hunger - so there’s the potential that they can send him down a path where his redemption comes from him rather than through manipulation.
I’d never say ‘oh, lay off Sylar’ because you do have valid points. The show just needs to make the path for Sylar more clear than they have. He can’t be a cut-out cardboard villain, but there has to be more to him than the mere collection of powers. He has to want something that then conflicts with what Peter wants.
To answer to some points :
- Lesbian kiss : frankly, I didn’t care about it, but The only problem I have with it is that was in several promos for a couple of months. Although some might have tuned it, it WAS the weekest part of the episode, at least to me. But can you imagine if the episode wasn’t that good? People would have tuned to it because of the kiss, only to have one more reason to bash the show, while others might probably have taken it as the las straw before leaving. Of course, it comes from the same people that find it clever to release promo pics with dead characters (Elle, Arthur in the same episode if I remember correctly) a freaking month before the death actually happens, so I guess we’re digging too hard. By the way, is it me or they show things in promos that doesn’t actually happen, or happen in another episode than the following one? I just suppose whatever brings ratings for NBC is good enough for them to promote.
- kevin : I think some words were missing from my sentence, but you understood that I found those flashback irritating. By the time we knew Becky is from the carnivale AND that she can turn invisible, one flashback wasn’t necessary. Three felt insulting.
- KellyH : happy to see someone who feels the same way about me. So far, I have no problem with how they deal with Sylathan. I find it really interesting actually (I dear hope the Sylar in Parkman’s head is just him losing his mind though), but you make a point that I’m keeping in mind in every episode. It’s Sylar.
While ZQ is doing a great job, I’m not gonna feel sorry for this guy, EVER. For the simple reason that he will be evil sooner or later. That, or if he doesn’t become evil again, I’ll just find it incoherent, since he had basicly 50 chances to change and has prooven he was rotten close to every time. If the 3-season-serial-killer is redeamable, they might as well make HRG kill puppies or babies since it won’t matter in the future. Wait, no, don’t kill puppies and babies, I love them.
- Now that I think of it, Angela feeling sad or whatever about having no news about Nathan is understandable, since she didn’t have the opportunity to mourn so far. But doesn’t she have a bigger problem? If Sylathan isn’t there anymore, Sylar is probably around. Unless she thinks Millie’s guy chopped his head of and burried a part from the rest of the body (though that could probably make 2 Sylar, why not one purely evil and one purely moppy…), there’s no way she can’t think they god rid of him. I’m still waiting for Peter to find out though…
If Sylar does achieve redemption, he has to want it. Every time he’s come close is through manipulation. It has to spring from the character organically, as IABD showed.
I agree that he has to want it. But he’d have to find a good reason to, shall he be back to his older self, and I don’t think he’ll ever find one.
- By the end of S1, he *wanted* to, but killed his mother.
- In S2, he had no power (no hunger excuse or whatever), and he clearly wasn’t okay with that.
- For S3, I don’t think Angela and/or Arthur wanted him that much to redempt himself, just to use him. That was clear enough for Angela, and we never really got to know Arthur’s motive. Elle was probably the person who wanted/hoped he would change the most, but once again, I guess that wasn’t enough for him.
- For IABD, the change maybe came from the character organically, but I would be more inclined to think that it was a combination of different things, including manipulation. Since he still thought he was a Petrelli, we can asume Angela was still lying to him, maybe future Peter was but the mother (if little Noah isn’t adopted) probably didn’t know about fake mommy, and I’m pretty sur little Noah didn’t. At this point, I don’t think it would have changed everything if he learned about his true origins, since he had little Noah.
Now what. When he remembers everything, what? He’ll realize he was a bad guy? He was aware that he was evil already, but he either accepted it, either didn’t care. He already had several reasons to turn back, and didn’t, and I don’t see what would make him change now.
Ps : Hiro wasn’t as annoying as usually this week, that’s a step forward I guess :).
The gist seems to be that, without his memory of Sylar, he’s a good guy.
Which is interesting, considering Sampson seemed to always be a bad guy - even when his memories slipped. So we may wind up with Gabriel trying to conquer his Sylar side… as, without those memories, he lacks the hunger.
“… without his memory of Sylar, he’s a good guy.”
That was my impression too, but I wonder if that contradicts the impression we were given for most of Volume Three. The way Sylar talked about the Hunger in 3.04, it seemed like it was a package deal: if you have intuitive aptitude, you get the Hunger as a by-product. That seemed to be supported when Peter absorbed Sylar’s IA, used his telepathy on Future-Nathan and almost immediately went nuts.
The impression we’re getting now is that if you’re a blank slate, you’re free of the Hunger. This week we saw Sylar use TK, his Ellectrobolt (briefly), regeneration and his root IA (to hear the ticking on the clock) — yet no sign of any psychotic Hunger.
So does the Hunger have more to do with identity? Does it only manifest itself when you climb inside people’s heads (figuratively, with telepathy, or literally, with scalp-slicing)? Or is it just that Sylar-with-memories was a psycho, and he passed that psychosis onto Peter with his particular brand of IA? If Peter took the memory-less Sylar’s IA off him now, would Peter still end up with the Hunger?
Ties back to S2 and S3.
S2 in how the power wasn’t gone, only stalled. Then S3 where his power was completely gone and he felt at peace. If you remove the mindset that was corrupted by IA, then it could be his soul is actually good.
Saiyavenger, I know what you mean about the kiss, but it’s possible that NBC pushed for a ratings ploy and that the show itself — the writers and the cast — had no intention of promoting it. The way Panetierre talked it up, it sounds like some of the cast wanted to advertise it more than others. But looking at the scene itself, judging the scene on its own merits, I thought it was very well done. It’s very much a YMMV kind of thing, though.
Raissa, thank you. I have seen The Crow (for whatever reason, I’m in the minority who didn’t enjoy it), but to me Hudson will always be Winston.
Sylar84, I agree, Amnesiac!Sylar’s been great so far.
Ian, re: Arthur and the in-Matt’s-head sequence in 3.09: I had the same thought. The reason I didn’t think it was worth bringing up here is because it was such an isolated moment, and looking back, it’s still so hard to say what was going through Arthur’s mind at the time. He remained such a guarded character for the remainder of the volume, and as a result that moment still strikes me as very ambiguous. I loved the way Forster played Arthur, but one expressive moment (and an ambiguous one at that) in a 13-episode volume doesn’t add up to a three-dimensional villain. Samuel has already gained more depth than Arthur in that respect.
Re: the carnival’s cloaking-field/alternate-dimension ability — very possible. The reason I’m leaning towards teleportation is Samuel’s line to Rebecca about the carnival “pulling up stakes.” He probably meant it figuratively, but that, to me, suggests it’s the entire carnival moving.
Hrefna, thank you.
I agree, the Peter/Emma piano scene was extended, but in the best possible way. I don’t know about the moment when Peter turned around; it could be an outtake, but I saw it as Peter wondering if it was really just the two of them sharing that moment or if it was garnering the kind of attention that Emma’s cello performance did at Central Park in 4.03. Then he realized that it was just the two of them, and it became an even more intimate moment for them.
Great point about Peter becoming a mentor for Emma. My mind went to the Fly By Night Diner scene in 1.05 (when Hiro tried to tell Nathan about his abilities and about the bomb), but I think that’s mostly because of Emma’s “WTF?” expression when Peter tried to explain about people’s abilities. But, yeah, Peter becoming a mentor to Emma the way Claude was a mentor to him would be very cool. Do you think Peter’s going to hold onto Emma’s ability for long, though?
With Amnesiac!Sylar, I’m thinking the show’s perhaps trying to ask whether removing a person’s memories and neuroses gives them a chance to become a better person (cf. Rapist Jock Brodie in Season One). I have to agree with KellyH that Sylar will inevitably end up slicing up scalps sooner or later, but it’s interesting that the show is trying to take this route to redeeming the character as well as semi-redeeming him as Sylathan.
“It’s good that the show has spent the time to build up stuff with the regular cast before presumably throwing the Carnival at them.”
I had the same thought. The way 4.01 started out, with all of the emphasis on the carnival, I figured they’d end up getting more screen time than the mains. So far it’s been the opposite, which in a way means the carnival story has plodded along slower than it should have, but it’s meant that the rest of the character arcs got the attention they deserved.
Kevin, I agree, the Peter/Emma scenes were really nicely done.
Re: Peter unintentionally absorbing Emma’s ability: do you think it was attraction and empathy? I can definitely see that being the explanation, but I saw it more as Peter frantically speeding across the street to get to Emma in time. It struck me as consistent with Peter fending off the agents and absorbing Tracy’s ability on the plane in 3.14: heightened state of agitation = unintentional ability absorption.
I’m with you on being undecided about Emma’s Angry Cello Assault. As we discussed last week, it was cool to see one character whose ability wasn’t violent and which couldn’t be used for hostility; even Charlie’s ability, or Dale’s or Alex’s, were abilities that could potentially be misused. I agree that there’s very much an “empowerment” aspect to the way Emma’s ability developed, but then again, I’m not sure Emma needed that kind of ability in order to be a strong character. I think she was already very much an empowered character. She was witty and smart and perceptive, so whether she needed a physical expression of her empowerment is something I’d debate.
Sylar: valid points, I won’t try to dissuade you.
Ernie Hudson playing the one-dimensional bad cop cliché: yeah.
I liked Rebecca too. How is it that when we suspect Gretchen of murder, it’s reprehensible, yet when we actually see Rebecca murdering Annie, it’s ~*deliciously evil*~?
“Tracy… seems completely extraneous this season. Again. (Poor Ali Larter)”
Sad but true. Let’s hope there’s something relevant for her further down the road.
Great choice for a favorite scene with Sylar walking into the carnival. I’m going to go with the scene when Sylar tuned into the ticking clock and the watch. Everything about that scene was flawless.
CJM, thank you. Word on Peter’s situation being very sad, and on the piano scene being one of the best and the sweetest. I’d say Hiro’s scenes with Charlie in 1.08 and 1.10 are close contenders, and any of the final scenes between Claire and HRG in 1.17, but the scenes between Peter and Emma this week were very nicely done.
On Christopher being part of the carnival: I like it a lot! It would make sense, especially in light of GoldSeven’s mention of the cello coming from the carnival. It raises all kinds of questions about whether Emma’s ability is hereditary, and whether Dr. Coolidge either has an ability of her own or at least knows that Emma has an ability. If she does, and if her whole pretext for the hysterical blindness theory was to throw Emma off, that would make intercutting their scenes with Peter and Angela’s all the more effective: you’d essentially be intercutting between two parents who both tried to throw their children off when it came to their abilities.
“I agree with you about the kiss not living up to the hype.”
Yes, although in a way I meant that as a good thing; that it was subtle and underplayed, and that that’s how it should have stayed instead of being promoted as An Event.
With the carnival taking in Sylar, I see it as the show’s way of exploring whether nurture trumps nature; whether giving Sylar a warm, loving family environment — which is surely exactly what he’s always wanted — will overcome his compulsion to rip heads open. I’m guessing it won’t, but that’s an interesting point to raise about the character in a volume about redemption.
Jonathan, valid point: Claire closed her eyes and she didn’t pull away as quickly as she could have if she’d wanted to. I think it’s still possible that she was simply too shocked to pull away, but you’re right, we’re given the impression that she participated in the kiss instead of the kiss being forced onto her.
GoldSeven, welcome, and thank you so much for the kind words. GREAT catch with the cello coming from the carnival. I spotted the box in the carnival scene and I spotted the compass symbol at Emma’s apartment, but somehow I never made the connection… *facepalm* Please extend my regard to Grim Reapster for spotting the detail.
“I definitely smell a plot there about the Carnival wanting to recruit Emma as well.”
Very possible. If the carnival wants to recruit Peter as badly as it seems to, though, could it be that they’re planning to use Emma either as an incentive or as a bargaining chip? As in, “Someone you care about is already with us, why not join her?” Or, alternatively, “Someone you care about already has ties to us — do what we say or she’s going to get hurt.”
B.,
“I’m loving the Peter/Emma storyline.”
I really hope TPTBs are reading this week, because it’s amazing that almost everyone has voiced this exact sentiment.
“I am glad that Emma’s ability can do something besides having her look at pretty colors.”
What’s wrong with just looking at pretty colors? Isn’t that enough?
I kid. I know what you mean. And this…
“… any more of them looking at the ceiling in awe and I would have had to change the channel…”
… is precisely the reason why.
Re: Sylar and the little smile he gave Gibson — wasn’t that great? I’m definitely in the “terrified” camp.
With Sylar zeroing in on the “watchmaker” mention, my take on it was that Sylar did what any kid would do and latched onto the information relating specifically to him: as in, “watchmaker” = information about me, “mother and murder” = information less directly about me. It might say something about his indifference to murder, but I saw it more as his kid’s mentality compartmentalizing the information he’s given.
Re: the kiss:
“I think if it hadn’t been leaked and all the hype surrounding it, then it still wouldn’t have been a big deal.”
Yeah. I wonder whether our reaction to it would have been different if we hadn’t known about it beforehand; whether people might have been more open-minded to the idea of Claire having feelings for Gretchen, and whether it might have come across as less of a gimmick. I think its gimmicky-ness will largely depend on how the story now develops; if it’s immediately dropped and never mentioned again, we’ll know it was a ploy. If it turns into something, it’ll gain some context and mean something. I hope the second of those turns out to be the case.
Michael, great point about Peter’s dejection over Angela’s favoritism, and about it blinding Peter to Angela’s secrecy. We can add that to the list of issues that need to be brought up between them.
On Ghost-Sylar being Sylar’s consciousness rather than a figment of Matt’s imagination: I’m not completely sold, but I’m leaning in that direction.
Susan,
“First off, since when do you give passes for a character’s compassion and idealism? Peter sure hasn’t benefitted from that.”
Gibson was a guest star. They’re exempt. Plus, making fun of Peter is much more fun.
On Peter’s bare apartment: I think Peter threw everything out because he basically wanted to purge who he was. His belongings were probably a reminder to him of his innocence and his vulnerability, and he probably wanted to forget that part of himself in order to focus on what he wanted to achieve.
On Angela’s feelings about the apartment: no idea. What do you think? Besides the occasional glimpse of the mansion, do we know how cluttered Angela’s home is? I wonder whether she’s as inclined to remove the reminder of her past as Peter is.
“It doesn’t help that most of what happens in previous seasons are never brought up again. It has to be one of the consequences of either a show runner not experienced with a serialized drama and/or forced to take the show a different way than he had planned.”
I wonder whether the show’s still trying to cater to new viewers; whether they think bringing up references to stuff that happened so long ago will alienate viewers who didn’t follow the show back then, or whether they think another “Into Asylum” will be branded too “talky.” I’m hesitant to say that that’s what the GNs are for, but at this point even that would be something. The problem is we’ll start to ask why we should invest ourselves in characters and their experiences if so many of those experiences are never mentioned again.
“Regarding Peter’s crack about the file room, I think it’s plausible that he noticed her around the hospital or rather just in the file room, but hadn’t had to interact with her until he needed the file. Or it was just an innocent off-hand comment based on most people’s desire to get away from their jobs whenever they can.”
Both explanations work for me. I’ll take either of them. Well done.
Pas, we’re obviously of one mind this season.
Valid point about Emma probably not going psycho anytime soon. I can’t imagine her squeezing into leather, turning brunette and becoming a gun-toting badass. But you never know. That might be the next “gimmick.”
Good point about Claire suddenly wanting a normal life. I’d argue that she was talking about what she wanted right now as opposed to what she wanted during Volume Three, but it’s hard to reconcile this sudden wish for a normal life after several recent iStories involving her adventures with Rachel Mills.
Re: the Rebecca flashbacks: yeah, I had the same thought. The reveal about Annie’s murder definitely needed to be there, but perhaps if the other flashbacks hadn’t been there, a lot of us would have assumed that that was the only “push” Rebecca was referring to? I don’t know what the solution would have been here. Perhaps the flashbacks would have come across as less patronizing if they’d been shorter? Like, just a very quick clip of the flag pole and the book falling?
“I wonder if Angela even grieved over Nathan since “it” happened though.”
I’d say she did. The way CR has played Angela since 4.01, I’d say she’s a nervous wreck. She just conceals it better than most.
Andie, welcome! I agree, Peter definitely meant his comment to Emma good-naturedly. I’m reading into it more than I should, but if you turned it around, wouldn’t it seem judgmental? I mean, when Hesam tells Peter he needs to remember there’s a life outside of his work, we know he means it kindly, but at the same time don’t we also want to say, “Well, wait a second, Peter’s saving lives everytime he takes on an extra shift — why shouldn’t he let himself get buried in his work?” Peter doesn’t even know Emma, so who is he to judge that Emma’s better off getting away from her work? Firstly, she might be happy burying herself in her work, and secondly, she might get away from her work out of hours, and it might just be that Peter has no idea about it. So, yeah, he didn’t mean the comment hurtfully, but at the same time I’m not sure he realizes how judgmental it might come across sounding.
PandoraRose, interesting point about Angela “trying to pretend it isn’t happening.” When you say “it,” do you mean Sylathan disappearing and Sylar re-emerging, or Nathan being gone and Sylathan taking his place for the past couple of months? The way Angela stared down at the empty chair in that scene, I got the impression she was almost missing Nathan’s absence.
“I see her more confessing her sins (to perhaps peter) in a wit of mourning sorrow, then regretful confession.”
I hope so!
Great point about the similarity between Emma and Matt. I hadn’t thought of that, but the comparison’s there to be made.
KellyH,
“When Otto doesn’t reply to me, I think he’s given up on me.”
I’ll never give up on you, Kelly. You said you’d be here until Season Five, and even if that was only because you mixed up seasons and volumes, I’m holding you to it!
“I find that I just have to focus on things other than Sylar’s storyline…”
Whatever works for you. If you’d like, I’ll send you a copy of the review with the Sylar parts edited out.
“… we can never hope that there will be redemption, no matter how much they try to tease it…”
I’m tempted to agree, although I thought there were moments in this episode that teased it very persuasively.
Re: the reminder of She Who Cannot Be Mentioned (no, not that one, the other one! Oh, you know who I mean…) — yeah.
“But how dumb were they to believe, even after all this time, that the decision to leave that plot hanging wouldn’t have ramifications for true fans of the show even two years later in a completely new situation.”
Well, hang on, does that mean that if we’re fans we can’t appreciate the Peter/Emma romance? I agree that there’s a certain revisionist aspect to pretending Peter hasn’t had a similarly sweet and meaningful romance before, but it’s very possible that this one will turn out differently. Now, join me in the Land of Denial.
Re: Gretchen in relation to the Rebecca reveal: “It does not absolve the character. It does not make her more likable.” I agree, but is it possible there’s still more to be revealed about Gretchen? That there’s a further twist still coming? I hope there is, because otherwise it’ll leave Gretchen as an awfully undeveloped character. There’s got to be a reason she’s been given so little depth so far.
“And let’s just think about how wrong it is for a lesbian storyline to be blatantly marketed to straight young men. That doesn’t seem too progressive to me.”
I can’t disagree with this, but I choose to believe it’s an instance of a network marketing something as sensational while the show tells an unsensational story. The kiss itself was in no way sensational — it was just made out to be that way beforehand.
With the carnival being in Baltimore — it’s definitely not a given, I just assumed it because the police precinct was there and Gibson couldn’t have driven that far before Sylar wound up running into the carnival in the forest. But, yeah, it’s possible several hours passed while Gibson was driving, and that Hudson caught up to them much later.
Alfredo, thank you.
“I can’t wait to see how this kiss evolves from here. Another few episodes should establish whether or not this was a ratings ploy or not.”
This is my feeling exactly. I think we’ll be able to judge how effective the whole storyline is once we’ve seen how it develops.
It’s really cool to hear you talk about how the promotion for the kiss brought people back to the show. I think that’s the silver lining in the way the kiss was used as a gimmick. It brought people back to the show because, once they’d tuned in for the kiss, they ended up getting an outstanding episode at the same time.
“Pemma.” I like it! One alternative: “Emmeter.”
Re: the upcoming death: yes, I have indeed heard about it. I’m undecided about who it’ll be, but I’m also very surprised to hear about the way it’s been communicated (or not communicated) to the actor behind the scenes. I hope the details coming out about it have been exaggerated.
Hell, if I was a cop and Gabriel ‘I’ve killed from Odessa to Mexico’ Grey came into my station I’d play bad cop too. His rap sheet at this point is insane.
Your replies are amazing. Thank you for being so thorough!
Do you think Peter’s going to hold onto Emma’s ability for long, though?
It appears that the promo for next week’s episode (does that count as a spoiler? If so: SPOILER!) answers that question. I find myself wondering what Emma’s reaction will be when she finds out that a) Peter’s lost her power (awww, no more pretty duets?) and b) she finds out what his real ability is (besides being a single-minded workaholic). Although, it’s entirely possible she’s too shocked/confused/distraught over her own situation to give him much thought. Anyway, the fangirl in me squees at the thought of Emma bringing Peter into her apartment to check out the damaged wall…
Thanks for the in depth replies. You took my ideas and added some knew ideas and layer to them. Thank you.
Also, yeah the Hiro-Charlie scenes were really sweet. But, Hiro is going back in time to see her again. Hopefully we’ll have some more really sweet scenes. Either that or Charlie will wind up trying to beat Hiro over the head. We’ll have to wait and see.
Oh, and a quick thought.
Does anyone else think the show is still sticking to the loose ‘five year plan’ Kring had in S1? We do seem to be moving progressively to the ‘dark future’ (or a version.)
We’ve got Peter cut off from his family and not realising Nathan is Sylar.
Noah and Sandra are estranged, and he’s looking for supes solo.
Claire seems to be nearing having to run again.
There’s hints that Ando is going to be taking up Hiro’s storyline.
And Parkman’s slowly using his power for insidious means to protect his family.
Ian : I’m don’t know if Kring knows where he’s going. They’ve had a lot of time to think out V3 and we all know how it turned out…
I wouldn’t say Gabriel a “good guy” without his memories of Sylar. At best he is “not a bad guy”. He did call his parents “insignificant” after all and he always wanted more even before Chandra Suresh went to look for him. After that, he turned evil too fast to leave any doubt about him being rotten from the beginning. My guess is that even without Chandra or the Company, he would have ended in the dark side anyway, but maybe at a lesser degree.
I just don’t think he’ll ever find a good reason to redeem himself, not that he is even looking for one.
Arguably they had too long to think about V3.
The joys of TV is that it’s a medium where you don’t get to overthink things, you have to produce so quickly that you don’t spend days debating whether something is tenable - instead choosing to work within the constraints and get things as good as possible. It’s why Volume IV worked, because they learned what didn’t work in V3 and without overthinking it went into a new story which evolved from writing rather than ideas.
Overthinking is what led to the adrenaline idea, where having to produce content quickly is what led them to beef up Noah’s role in S1. The latter was more organic, less ‘will the fans enjoy this?’
The opposite to overthinking, however, is winging it, and on occasion I think this show has been guilty of going to both extremes. And, yeah, they shouldn’t listen to us nearly as much as they seemed to when they produced Volume Three, but then again, it’s probably largely down to fan response that we got HRG, Angela and Ando as cast regulars.
I agree, “organic” is the best approach, but it’s a fine line between “organic” storytelling and “make-it-up-as-you-go-along” storytelling. The show definitely needs to think long and hard about where its character arcs are headed, and it definitely needs to work towards a fixed endgame.
It is. But, as we all saw, S2 picked up towards the end when things began to connect. All the ‘too slow’ comments disappeared when people figured where it was going… which the slow-build was going for.
They shouldn’t wing it, but they need to go by the S1 example where they knew where it’d end and trust their instincts… while also allowing characters like Kaito/Angela to evolve organically.
Well I don’t think I ever felt the writers overthought something. Winging is definately the word that comes to mind in V3, which is ironic considering how much time they had to think about it. Fanservice is another thing that killed V3, but that’s another thing…
Indeed, V2 was getting better towards its second half (2.06+ if I remember well), in story development and in pacing, which is why I am a bit bitter because of how V3 turned out to be. V4 had the opposite trajectory, good even if not perfect, untill the last 3 episodes that definitively drove some people away.
They do indeed need a fine line between organic and on the fly (of course more on the organic side) would be perfect. They just have to know what they want to tell, and use the time they have to consequently. So far, I have nothing to complain about, but I hope it continues.
On the upcoming death–they are pointing signs in the direction of one particular character, but the entire history of the show would indicate that they would never dare kill this particular character off. OTOH, at this point, most fans would probably not be overly distraught to see this particular character go, even if the actor in question is (as all evidence seems to indicate) an absolute saint of an individual.
Do you think Peter’s going to hold onto Emma’s ability for long, though?
You did see the promo for next week, right? That pretty much answers this question. Of course, he could just take it again the next time he sees her.
I really hope TPTBs are reading this week, because it’s amazing that almost everyone has voiced this exact sentiment.
Me too! Being a Peter fan (never would have guessed, huh?) it’s great to see so many people actually enjoying his scenes.
Whatever works for you. If you’d like, I’ll send you a copy of the review with the Sylar parts edited out.
lol
How about a copy of the SHOW with the Sylar parts edited out?
Random question: Are Paramedics stationed in Hospitals? Where I’m from they are either completely separate or with the Fire Department.
An observation - I’m pretty sure the poster behind Gretchen (in the photo before “the kiss” photo) is of Collette, the French writer who wrote Gigi and some really great short stories. She was also openly bisexual.
Otto, you missed a tiny little detail … a helix hidden in the scene with Peter and Angela. Did you see it?
PandoraRose, interesting point about Angela “trying to pretend it isn’t happening.” When you say “it,” do you mean Sylathan disappearing and Sylar re-emerging, or Nathan being gone and Sylathan taking his place for the past couple of months? The way Angela stared down at the empty chair in that scene, I got the impression she was almost missing Nathan’s absence.
His absence and what it means. If Nathan goes back to Sylar, like in her dream, she has deal with what she couldn’t at the end of last season - Nathan’s death. The ironic part of course is she is so preoccupied by the idea of Nathan that she isn’t focusing on the only son she has left - in turn alalienatinghe only person she has life in her life who cares for so - and out of all of it, it seems love is what Angela does want, if she won’t admit it to keep her tough exterior - losing one of her sons - may be too much for her. She’s lost her sister (not dead, but dead to her), her husband, her company, her lifes work - Nathan is the straw… well at least for now.
Great point about the similarity between Emma and Matt. I hadn’t thought of that, but the comparison’s there to be made
Thanks! I’m dyslexic and I relate to Matt the same way I can relate to Emma. I also see how my brain compensates to my disability - so why not a power - they say the power is what that person needs or is based on what is going on in their life - and look at Emma - her disability is totally keyed into her power.
Ian, just a couple of thoughts to add to your point upthread about the Dark Future the show’s heading towards: could it be that it’ll now turn out to be an amalgamation of 1.20 AND 3.04 AND all of the new elements unfolding this season? Several of the points you mention go back to 1.20, but based on the current story this season, I can imagine Sylar ending up closer to the place he was at in 3.04’s future than the one in 1.20. Part of it ties in with the current redemption arc and the discussions we’ve had about Sylar learning to control the Hunger, but part of it’s also whether Sylar would even want to become president anymore. Plus, if Angela, HRG and Matt all know that Nathan’s dead, and if a bunch of officials within the government’s inner circle now know how a guy impersonated Nathan in order to get close to the president, can Sylar still get away with taking his place? I guess he could, but he’d probably need to kill everyone who knew.
If Claire had been impaled by the flag pole this week — or if something similar happens sometime soon — I can imagine a situation where Claire would have to go on the run (as you say), but also where she’d need to take on a new name (per Gretchen’s recommendation in 4.01)… which would bring us back to her taking Sandra’s name in 1.20.
Susan, I did indeed see the trailer for 4.06, but wouldn’t it be sweet if Peter voluntarily chose to re-absorb Emma’s ability when he was done absorbing everyone else’s? That would be like saying, “I choose to share your (useless) ability over the ones that let me rip open car doors and superspeed to crash sites to save people.”
Re: the push-pin helix on the wall at Peter’s apartment: didn’t spot it, but it is very cool, isn’t it?
Andie, great eye for spotting the Colette poster. Just goes to show how much thought goes into designing the sets, even when it’s something really peripheral that we’ll only see in a corner of the screen.
PandoraRose, thanks for clarifying the “it.” Would you say, then, that Angela’s in denial about Nathan’s death? I’d agree, but it’s interesting to compare that reaction with the way Angela reacted to Peter’s “death” in 1.19. She wept, but she seemed to accept it. So I wonder if her reaction now is because Nathan’s death has hit her a lot harder; that might be because of everything else that’s happened (as you mention), or it might have something to do with Angela and Arthur’s hopes for Nathan: in spite of Angela’s claim that Peter was her favorite in 1.02, I always got the impression that Nathan was right on about his “birthright” in 1.10. He was the one who was expected to carry the family legacy, and as you suggest, by admitting that she’s lost Nathan, Angela’s effectively admitting that she’s lost the last part of her family’s plans to make a difference in the world.
The whole Sylar-Matt thing actually could work to their favour if they try and redo the ‘5YG’ future. Matt gives Sylar his mind back, in exchange for his family getting protection; Sylar can then use that as leverage to make Matt run Homeland Security HIS way. Which, in turn, means Matt doesn’t blink when ‘Nathan’ walks through a wall.
I hope they go that route, actually.
“…wouldn’t it be sweet if Peter voluntarily chose to re-absorb Emma’s ability when he was done absorbing everyone else’s?”
“OliverGrigsby” (Heroes writer) posted the following on twitter yesterday: “answering your Q from awhile back Peter took emmas accidentally bc he had an emotional connection to her. Caught up in the moment”
So…. what if Peter’s emotional bond/empathy towards Emma becomes so strong that he “involuntarily” absorbs her power whenever she’s around and he gets “caught up in the moment”? What ensues: Hilarity, cuteness, or deep frustration?
“PandoraRose, thanks for clarifying the “it.” Would you say, then, that Angela’s in denial about Nathan’s death? I’d agree, but it’s interesting to compare that reaction with the way Angela reacted to Peter’s “death” in 1.19. She wept, but she seemed to accept it.
I can totally see how you would see this and it may be true, but I see now why this idea did not come to me, as I saw the scene much different. The way Angela wept for Peter as so pain-filled and genuine to me (an issue with the great acting Cris plays, is she is in the moment, lying or not, its real to her) that when later when she is cool and collected I didn’t see it (and even at the time before we know what we know) Angela as accepting it, but more like the rest of her life, she moved on for the greater good - she could not, nor had the time to sit and mourn her personal loss -years of the company had taught her that. I always use this example to describe Angela - if the President’s child is kid napped and they get on the phone with the president, the president must say “i do no negotiate for terrorists” - because the entire country and world is at stake - the many for the few, it would be unfair for him/her to consider their own personal fillings and risk millions - just as Angela and Linderman etc felt letting nearly a city die to save the many - or Arthur’s willingness to kill the child in the novel “war buddies” to save more. I’m sure Angela and her friends learned all that the hard way. I think Angela did what she’s had to do her entire life, she sucked it up and tried to save what she could for the greater good - she had to throw down her own feelings for the sake of the cause, she couldn’t let her personal tragedy derail saving the world - which was her plan with the bomb and that major piece was Nathan continuing his campaign.
So I wonder if her reaction now is because Nathan’s death has hit her a lot harder; that might be because of everything else that’s happened (as you mention), or it might have something to do with Angela and Arthur’s hopes for Nathan: in spite of Angela’s claim that Peter was her favorite in 1.02, I always got the impression that Nathan was right on about his “birthright” in 1.10. He was the one who was expected to carry the family legacy, and as you suggest, by admitting that she’s lost Nathan, Angela’s effectively admitting that she’s lost the last part of her family’s plans to make a difference in the world.”
I totally see that. I also really wonder if she has spent her own life going against Nathan’s death, spending her entire life trying to save him from death, perhaps from birth - as it seems his density to die. And perhaps my controlling his life so, by changing his path she was fixing the future brick by brick - but time just keeps re-healing itself - there is also something to be said about a woman’s first born, but I digress, I think it is all a factor. I like to think it’s hit harder, because she may have been trying 40 years to keep her first born from death, just the idea seems exhausting. We see what it takes for our own heroes to change time, only to see it cave in and reheal itself time and again. It almost feels like Angela and her friends we’re always just bucketing water in a boat with a whole, or holding the one rock in on an avalanche - the future always needs tending. I think in any respect Nathan’s death does represent the end of her back breaking work and it amounted to nothing - like she told Peter in the church - she lost everything. She lost everything to the madness. And as an addendum to this all, people say Angela is cold, but the truth is I think she yearns for love - losing her family at such a young age, perhaps even marrying Arthur not to long after that (Child bride) trying to replace that family she lost. It seems she is always looking for that, deep inside, but through 50 years of survival in the “madness” as she calls it to Claire, she puts it aside to do what she feels saves the world - its very sad. So, after that to scarifice everything that holds dear to you, only to find out it perhaps wasn’t forth it. Here’s a thought, as she looked at all of Peter’s newspapers, did Angela think her own son has done what she had never been able to do, with a few small gestures. Angela has the worse power of all, it leaves her helpless most of the time, she’s not just cassandra, she’s almost the Nathan of her crew - yet even Nathan can fly away. Her power is more curse than blessing. but I digress.
May I also ad how much her need to keep Claire from her own life says about her feelings toward it. It is almost as if she is saving the only female heir to her family from her own fate - perhaps in a way trying to save herself in the way she never could.
She can’t save Claire beyond a certain point, though, because she’s immortal. That means Claire’s going to have a different life path by definition. The pieces of normalcy will be coping mechanisms, but not long-term life-style choices. I don’t think Angela gets that.
I think Angela’s goal is for Claire to have at least a semblance of a normal life. Give her a period of doing the same things as everyone else before she becomes a fully-fledged superhero.
But, here’s where the writers didn’t think it through. Putting aside the Carnival, there’s a sizable plot hole in the whole sorority story line…
Claire’s immortality makes joining a sorority problematic. Sororities, by definition, track their members, past and present. They exist as social and professional networking organizations. They have newsletters, reunions, etc. which provide info on alumni at 10, 20, 30+ year intervals.
Claire can’t afford to have an organization, other than a family run Company, keep track of her like that. They’ll notice she’s not aging, among other things. Granted, she can fake her death when necessary or age herself through make-up and dress. But, it’s just another logistical annoyance in a world full of logistical problems she can’t avoid. She’d need to pick her battles. Granted, TPTB could solve the problem with dialogue about how she’s willing to take the risk, because she wants the social experience. But, like I said, they’ve shown that they haven’t thought Claire’s situation through.
Raissa:
Claire can’t afford to have an organization, other than a family run Company, keep track of her like that. They’ll notice she’s not aging, among other things. Granted, she can fake her death when necessary or age herself through make-up and dress. But, it’s just another logistical annoyance in a world full of logistical problems she can’t avoid. She’d need to pick her battles. Granted, TPTB could solve the problem with dialogue about how she’s willing to take the risk, because she wants the social experience. But, like I said, they’ve shown that they haven’t thought Claire’s situation through.
Very true - but I think there is a difference between the writers not thinking something out and a character - this may be a mistake on Claire’s point, but mistakes are what make drama - with out conflict there is no drama - number one rule in writing. Just like how Claire can’t get away from her self thanks to google - she will be confronted with that same idea - people who knew her way back when - this of course would be beyond the scope of the show - many years down the line. Even Adam, according to the comic novels, had to pretend to be his own wife’s grandson.
She can’t save Claire beyond a certain point, though, because she’s immortal. That means Claire’s going to have a different life path by definition. The pieces of normalcy will be coping mechanisms, but not long-term life-style choices. I don’t think Angela gets that.
Very true, but I think Angela is worried about Claire’s formative years, to be the young girl and child she never was able to be - one’s childhood and adult life experience colored who we are. But also, as much as Angela see’s the future she odds are can only see not to far beyond her own lifetime, and so that’s not on the course - she will protect as long as she can - and no matter how fleeting there is that idea to give what you did not get. And based on what we already know about Angela - Orphaned by 16 and married by 19/20 - she DID not go to college. Which means already Claire get’s the experiences Angela never did.
Very true - but I think there is a difference between the writers not thinking something out and a character - this may be a mistake on Claire’s point, but mistakes are what make drama - with out conflict there is no drama - number one rule in writing.
Valid point. But, here’s where I think it is the writers’ fault. If they wanted to establish that Claire was ignoring the giant Phoenix in the room, her immortality, they would have other characters remind her that, for better or worse, immortality needed to be a factor in her decisions. But, Sylar and Alex are the only ones to bring it up at all — no one else. Angela discusses college with her in S3, and she doesn’t bring up that this will be the only degree she’ll earn as Claire Bennet, so she’ll need to cherish the normalcy before names and future degrees are faked. HRG, Mr. Undercover, never brings up that she’ll need to learn deep cover techniques, just to hang on to bits of normalcy for as long as she can. Drama can and should arise from those conversations and implications, because they arise from characterization.
There are two kinds of immortal archetypes. In the first, the character regerates, because he is immortal. Vampires are the mot obvious example. In the second, the character is immortal, because he regenerates. Wolverine from the X-Men, Adam, and Claire fall in this category. My point is that immortality and regeneration go hand in hand, one way or the other. Writers, especially comic book writers should know this. Arguably then, the writers committed Claire to immortality the moment the decided on her power, regardless of whether they initially planned to continue with her beyond S1 or not. Someone on the writing team realized this, or they wouldn’t have connected her to Adam at all in S2, or had Alex and Sylar bring it up since. But, things have gone thematically haywire, and we haven’t gotten any explorations of the implications when those implications could be the drama.
To be fair Raissa, they’re doing a far better job with tying canon together than Wolverine has.
Comic-books are worse. They’re awesome in their own way, but Heroes at least sticks to their decisions… mostly.
If Heroes were a true comic-book, Linderman and Adam would show up the episode/issue after they died and shrug off their death with ‘only mostly dead.’
I just want to say I agree with the person who was discussing the rating ploy as a positive thing. We are all nervous about a show we love bein cancelled, and even though it is easy to criticize alot, I am very happy that Heroes exploited the lesbian kiss if it means it will gain more viewers.
I gotta say I’m really tired of what they did with Peter. I mean, this one ability at a time thing is LAME LAME LAME…. Who can fight with Sylar? They need to amp up the series or it’s going to get cancelled with a captial C…. It was great going into season three until Arther took Peters powers. And, why kill off Arther. Great villian, and had just as much potential as Sylar. If they don’t want to see Heroes cancelled this is my suggestions: Give PEter his full ability back, get some good fight scenes going, get another villian to go along with Sylar, and for god sake stop the cheesy story lines. I’ve watched every episode but I might just start turning the channel or reading a book. I am rooting for the shows success, but they are making some bad decisions.
Peter will get his powers back. It’s the heroes journey - a hero has to learn how to use his power properly. Peter mis-used it, so he lost it… now he’s got to regain Empathy so that when he gets it again he doesn’t screw it up.