Peter absorbs the Haitian’s ability, blocks Sylar’s abilities and tortures him until he morphs back into Sylathan. Sylathan tells Peter it’s time for him to let his brother go, and after Peter literally lets go by letting Sylathan fall from a rooftop, Sylar reclaims his body and walks away.
To say that this was an emotional way to go out before the hiatus would be an understatement. To say that it was an engrossing and at times deeply overwrought mid-season finale would also be an understatement. So let’s put the understatements aside and say that in spite of several minor flaws, this episode was a near-flawless and often profound exploration of a hero coming to terms with grief. And to the show’s credit, the writing and performances are such that the delayed reaction meets our expectations and provides a send-off for a beloved character that’s both fitting and heartfelt.
Which isn’t to say the episode is defined by Sylathan’s death. In all likelihood, the developments in the carnival storyline will influence the direction the rest of the season takes as much as the developments in Peter’s. But in an episode that’s about as streamlined as they come, with only Claire’s (and, briefly, Noah’s) story thread vying for screen time, it’s Peter and Sylathan’s portion of the episode that lingers in your memory after the episode has ended, and it’s the one that leaves both the biggest questions and the greatest expectations.
We start out with the episode’s title card on a plain black background. It’s been done on a few occasions, but perhaps more than any of those, this one conveys a mood that’s at once somber, self-assured and momentous.
Lydia strides to Samuel’s trailer and finds him reading a copy of La Frontière. It’s probably the show’s way of reminding us how widely Samuel and the carnival have traveled, but if it’s a response to all the times I’ve complained about the same blurb being used in every newspaper article, all I can do is applaud. This provides the carnival with a social context. It’s not a detail you immediately notice, but it gets you thinking: if there was such a thing as a troupe of superpowered individuals making their way around the world, and if so many people with extraordinary abilities were traveling together and witnessing tragedy and injustice around them as they went, what would prevent them from averting a global catastrophe every now and then, and what would dissuade them from stepping in to resolve a local crisis if they just happened to be passing through? Putting that newspaper in Samuel’s hand is a reminder of the enormous backstory to the carnival still waiting to be told.
You’re figuring she’ll denounce him as a fratricidal megalomaniac.
Not quite.
Lydia: “I know the truth, Samuel. But I have a daughter to look after, so your secret is safe with me.”
It’s hard to reproach Lydia for putting her daughter before her anger over Joseph’s death, but she knew she had a daughter when she told Hiro it was time to stand up to Samuel, so it seems hypocritical that Lydia happily endangers Charlie in an effort to expose Samuel but balks at the idea of endangering Amanda.
Samuel apparently recognizes this kind of carnival logic, and expresses his approval by way of a classic Knepper smirk. It makes you hate Samuel more than ever because you realize that he relishes wielding power over others and dictating choices. But it also establishes that Lydia knows she won’t ever be able to escape the carnival, and as such it’s a reminder that once you join the carnival – at least while it’s run by Samuel – you’re doomed.
Unless you’re Edgar, in which case there’s no reason why you couldn’t superspeed into Samuel’s trailer and slice him open in his sleep. Or, if you’re Hiro, you could freeze time and teleport Samuel into a coffin 30 feet underground.
Self-replicating Eli makes the transition from the graphic novels and gleefully accepts Samuel’s invitation to become his right-hand man. Todd Stashwick plays the role with liveliness and charisma, to the point where you’re more inclined to enjoy the performance than to bemoan the lack of characterization. He’s basically a zestful errand boy who makes copies of himself, but Stashwick enacts his scenes with enough verve and panache to transcend the questions you’d usually ask: are all of the copies linked by one mind, or are they each thinking for themselves? If Eli makes a dozen copies of himself, do those copies run amok until someone shoots them, or do they dissolve on their own? Does the fact that they dissolve imply that they have no actual body mass, or do they have the same physical strengths and limitations that the original has?
Samuel: “Don’t know why I bother reading these. Nothing but godawful news everywhere. Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?”
Eli: “About what?”
Samuel: “The nature of our lowly existence. People want to believe there’s hope everywhere, but then you read this. Makes you wonder if we’re not destined to be the last generation of our species. And if that’s so, how can we stop that from happening?”
Great dialogue, and like any tract that’s delivered by Knepper, it’s accompanied with the kind of inflection that deftly avoids the trap that any other actor would have fallen into – that of making a broad statement sound pretentious. Knepper makes it sound like this is the kind of thing Samuel loses sleep over at night. More importantly, however, it’s dialogue that directly addresses a topic that’s become more and more relevant over the course of the season – whether there’s any reason to have hope. This episode paints as bleak a picture as ever, but it’s an outlook that’s offset by an equally uplifting message – the idea that if you endure personal hardship and tragedy, you can inspire others to follow your example and make a difference together. It’s not especially original, but as understated messages go, it’s one of the more hopeful on the show this season, and it’s enough to lift the show out of the quagmire in which villains consistently triumph over heroes.
Noah pauses his post-it additions to the Wall of the Carnival long enough to greet “Miss Gilmore.” I’d point out for the billionth time how appalling this romance is, but it seems less appalling on repeat viewings because you know that as soon as the truth comes out, Lauren calls Noah on treating her like a rebound girl.
Lauren comments on the Wall of the Carnival, which seems odd given that she cooked Thanksgiving dinner at the apartment and given that Lauren’s been portrayed as inquiring and nosy. Lauren’s lack of observational skills are less intriguing, however, than the look she gets when she studies the articles…
… which strikes me as most definitely the look of someone who’s gathering information to feed back to a certain community leader.
Noah discovers that the compass is missing and leaves a message on Claire’s voicemail. Regrettably, he doesn’t receive a text message in response that says, “Cmpss wrthlss – man @ pwn shop sez its brkn. Nd $$$ 4 ride. Plz send cab.” Lauren does her best to triangulate Claire’s cell phone and get a lock on her location, because that’s easy work if you’re CIA. You’ll note that Lauren only manages to narrow it down to a state, and that she then mumbles something about “cross-referencing” which bears no fruit at all. You could, of course, interpret this as bureaucratic incompetence. I choose to consider it support for my conspiracy theory, because, really, if you were a carnival spy, this would be an easy way to pretend to use your resources WITHOUT ACTUALLY HAVING ANY.
Angela walks into Peter’s hospital, and I have to point out how much I love the way Cristine Rose can make even that simple gesture – pushing doors open – look regal.
Angela: “Peter, there are five stages of grief. You need to leap over the denial phase and get right to the acceptance of this whole thing.”
^ ^ Actual dialogue! From a character who, by the show’s own adjusted chronology, spent SEVEN MONTHS in denial pretending Sylathan was her son, meeting him for overpriced sushi and telling herself she did the right thing by concocting an entity to take her dead son’s place in the world.
Angela seems to realize this when she acknowledges her own “grand gestures of denial.” Nicely delivered by Cristine, and all the more poignant when you realize it’s an admission that barely registers with Peter. The way the episode ends, you’re tempted to speculate that mother and son have finally put their differences aside and been reconciled through grief. Judging from the way Peter avoids eye contact with his mother here, however, I can easily see some pent-up bitterness coloring his grief.
Peter: “Why do you think we’re still standing? Nathan kept us alive. I’m gonna find him, and I’m gonna take Sylar down once and for all.”
It’s an effective way to give the episode an epic tone. The problem is that, looking back, the “once and for all” rings false. It’s not as if Peter didn’t mean it at the time, but we know in retrospect that Peter doesn’t take Sylar down once and for all, and hence we’re tempted to look at statements like these from now on with a certain skepticism. There are only so many times that characters can resolve to do something “once and for all,” “permanently,” “for good,” “for the rest of their lives” and “forever and ever.” When a character is saddled with a phrase like this, it’s a surefire sign that the character’s either a complete fool or a victim of dramatic necessity. Here, Peter is both, because the sad truth seems to be that no one will EVER take Sylar down once and for all.
Angela: “How do you intend to fight him with all the powers he has?”
LOGIC! Logic dictates that the survival of the show outweighs the survival of the overused villain! To perpetuate a story arc which reached its natural conclusion three seasons ago… is illogical! By the Gods of Mount Seleya, he must be stopped!
René shows up to loan his ability to Peter, answering a question we’ve been wondering since the first season: is it an ability Peter can absorb if it automatically deactivates his ability to absorb abilities, and if it’s really as easy as this, why didn’t Peter empathically absorb it back when he was empathically absorbing abilities from everyone around him? And re-reading that last sentence, I realize how convoluted a problem that is, so I’m just going to say “Who cares?” and skip to the part that really concerns me, which is the part where Peter absorbs the Haitian’s ability, and the Haitian just… sorta… walks away.
?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Thanks for the help, buddy! Also, thanks for acknowledging that volunteering your ability is MOST DEFINITELY the least you can do after that time Peter sent you to apprehend the man who killed his father AND YOU JUST DISAPPEARED. Don’t think we’ve forgotten about that, René.
Did anyone else notice the way Angela and René acted like the other one didn’t even exist? I’d say that’s a close, warm friendship that’s come to a very abrupt end.
We return to the carnival, where Claire’s decisiveness evaporates when she realizes that visiting the stamping grounds of a cult leader and a homicidal sorority sister might be – and I’m quoting verbatim here – “a stupid idea.” Samuel conveniently shows up at the moment when Claire’s about to waver and works his charm in time to lure them inside the carnival.
“Best popcorn in the world”? He’s “not just saying that”? OK, who’s going to join me in calling Samuel on the Magik Popcorn? The popcorn that makes you see things that aren’t there and sways you to make dumb decisions?
Claire and Gretchen approach Lydia’s tent. I’m not sure I got the whole of Samuel’s recording, but the gist seems to be, “Every tattoo a harbinger of things to come. Her naked skin a canvas to rival Van Gogh. So step right up and pay your money. You never know what future will appear before your very eyes.” A persuasive sales pitch, albeit as exasperatingly uninformative as everything else pertaining to Lydia’s ability. After the hiatus, could someone please shed some light on the whole Magik Tattoo/Magik Ink/Magik Compass triumvirate?
It’s intriguing for the questions it raises, because as Claire later speculates, it suggests that Claire’s going to turn her ability into a spectacle. It’s also somehow saddening for the way Claire’s defined by her cheerleading outfit.
Was Lydia trying to warn Claire to stay away? She explains that the tattoo is a manifestation of Claire’s desire rather than her future, but we know so little about Lydia’s ability that it’s hard to make a call on whether or not she’s lying. It’s enough to scare Claire away, however, and there’s a lot to be said for the way Lydia’s expression changes from moment to moment:
Satisfaction over a job well done… and then concern about the harm she’s caused? Or does she see in Claire the same innocence that she sees in Amanda, and is she desperate to drive her away without Samuel knowing?
We return to the hospital before that becomes clear, and Peter’s journey in the elevator to the first floor is interrupted by the loud-mouthed nurse who yelled at Hiro selecting the third floor. I leave you to speculate on the significance of the floor numbers, but I find it worth pausing to consider how fortunate Peter is to have met Sylar-in-disguise in this elevator, because when you think about it, Peter really wouldn’t have anywhere to look for Sylar. What exactly was Peter going to do? Take his bag of tranquilizers back to his apartment and wait for Sylar to show up?
Sylar slams Peter against the wall of the empty third floor, and it’s a curious detail that instead of simply TK’ing him to the spot, Sylar allows Peter to make a run for it and hide. Typical Sylar, prolonging the hunt in order to terrify his prey? Or a convenient way to allow Sylar to get in his speech about Peter falling back on an old plan and trying to syringe Sylar. Either way, it’s to Sylar’s credit that he offers congratulations to Peter “for pulling it off,” because, it has to be said, getting the best of Sylar in any shape or form is a frustratingly rare event.
What’s also perhaps worth mentioning is that Peter’s assault on Sylar takes place in a hospital, with Peter wearing his paramedic’s uniform, and that it becomes twice as vicious after Sylar reminds Peter that Nathan is dead, which speaks to either Peter’s irrepressible rage or his insurmountable denial. Either way, it’s an early sign of the way Ventimiglia throws himself into the role this week, to the point where Peter’s brutality goes from cathartic to disturbing…
… and culminates in some inescapable biblical undertones when Peter pins Sylar to a table and shoots nails through his hands. Shades of a throwback to the time Sylar pinned Isaac to the ground with paintbrushes through his hands, the obvious difference being that Isaac was sacrificing himself to serve the greater good, whereas Sylar’s just… wreaking havoc for the hell of it. There’s a certain sense of justice in the way the show revisits this particular method of torture on the villain who inflicted it, but given the parallels between Peter and Sylar, and given the way Peter has at several points this season been portrayed as a modern-day Jesus, you have to wonder whether the show’s fixation with Sylar now extends to also presenting him as a sacrificial figure.
Peter: “I wanna make a deal. I’ll let up, I’ll let you heal, but you give me Nathan. You give him back to me, body and soul.”
Oh, Peter. Oh, Peter. I know you’re blind with grief so I’m going to spare you a Dumb As Hiro Award, but I SHOULDN’T. Think, Peter. He can shapeshift into Nathan! He can smile at you and say it’s Nathan in there, and then he can slice your dumb scalp open!
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Does he actually erase Sylar, and does Sylar claw his way back from a full Haitian memory wipe? The sound effect resembles most Haitian Whammies, so it’s hard to say whether Peter tries to wipe Sylar’s memory and that, per Sylar’s ability to resist Doyle’s puppeteering in “Duel,” it’s simply a case of Sylar resisting the wipe and retreating into himself.
Whichever it is…
… it brings Pasdar back to our screens one last time, so the chances of it generating any kind of complaint within the obsessive fan community are slim to none. I feel compelled to reiterate, though, that Sylar could have pulled this off himself without too much difficulty, and neither Peter nor the audience would have known any better until it was too late.
We return to Claire’s story thread, and it’s such a jarring shift in tone that you realize how the show crafted the plot to create this exact effect: the shift from the cold, harsh tone in Peter’s scenes to the warm, hazy tones in Claire’s. There’s an imbalance in the violence quota that helps to make Claire’s situation more appealing, but in spite of the dark, morbid tone from Joseph’s murder last week, there’s a cheery veneer to the carnival this week that makes it suddenly very inviting.
We meet the violent, drunken, ignorant thug who once pitched in the minors. My only question here is what on earth he would have done with the stuffed tiger if he’d won it.
What’s interesting about the way this scene is written is the way we’re led to identify with the crooked carnival member who’s TK’ing the balls off their trajectory, to cheer for the little girl whose patience and valiant effort earn her a giant stuffed pony, and to condemn the jerk who, contemptible though he is, has a valid point when he accuses the carnival of cheating him. He’s dumb enough to continue forking out money, and he does forfeit all sympathy when he turns violent, but I couldn’t help seeing Gretchen’s point, and I couldn’t help feeling bad for The Thug when he threw a ball that was headed straight for the bottles and missed just because the telekinetic carnival member didn’t like him.
But then, you could equally argue that he really is just a dumb, ignorant, cocky, arrogant, contemptible jerk, that he deserves to be cheated, and that we’re on solid moral ground when we see his dead body and cheer.
Lauren attempts to use her CIA know-how to get a lead on where Claire went. I reserve the right to put “CIA know-how” in sarcastic air quotes when she turns out to be a fraud, but the focus of this scene is of course Noah’s lament over the way he drove everyone away with his “suffocating need for control,” and, in turn, the way he brought his almost-an-affair with Lauren to an end. While all of this is accurate, one of the sad details to be underlined in this scene is that besides his wife and daughter (and son, who’s deftly ignored), Noah really didn’t have a whole lot of people in his life. The fact that he can count the people he hurt on one hand should be something he can be proud of, but since the people who were close to Noah amount to that same number of people, it’s a sad statistical confirmation that if you’re in any way associated with Noah, you’re doomed to end up psychologically scarred, physically mutilated or dead.
Noah reveals to Lauren that they met for breakfast “twice a week for almost six months.” Out of the blue, Lauren grows a moral backbone and starts wondering how Noah watched his marriage disintegrate and then, when the ink on the divorce papers was barely dry, he decided it was a good idea to start stalking his almost-an-old-flame ex-colleague. And as sure as I was that Lauren would be the one to show up and usurp HRG from the wife who ditched him, it’s somehow even more reprehensible that Noah’s the one who rekindled this romance by tracking Lauren to a yam-inclined supermarket.
Eli shows up, and not only does he introduce himself – he explains without any obfuscation EXACTLY why he’s there and emphasizes in no uncertain terms that he DOESN’T want anyone to get hurt. THIS?… is a rational villain. I like him!
Eli’s copies distribute themselves throughout the apartment, and one of them gets a bullet through the gut after Lauren finds the gun beneath the table.
Neat effect. The panoramic shot that captures three copies of Eli at once feels a little too mechanized, but the moment when one of the copies dissolves is beautifully done; with a grainy texture and an authentic, progressive feel to it. Hopefully something that can be done on a regular basis.
Samuel narrates a story for the children at the carnival. As delightful as it is that Claire’s effort is met with hugs and applause, I really feel that Samuel doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
He’s crouching and creeping around the fire to emulate the augur! And growling in a deep, gravelly voice! It’s a saccharine attempt designed to make us like the guy who murdered his brother – but it’s done so well, and it succeeds, at least with me. If he can entertain the kids this way, he can’t be all bad.
Wait, wasn’t that the same morally-ambiguous shtick they pulled off with…
… DOYLE?!
No, Claire – stop! Don’t hug him! He made you play Russian roulette with your moms! Even when you gave him a new identity and helped him start over, he gave you the Smile of Crafty Scheming! He can’t be trusted! He’s evil!
Welcome back, Doyle!
Doyle: “It is amazing here. I finally belong someplace. I can be completely myself.”
Which is to say… what, that when he puppeteered Sandra into shooting Claire he wasn’t being himself? Or that he can now puppeteer people into playing Russian roulette at the carnival without anyone thinking the less of him for it? Whichever it is, it’s a pleasure to see David H. Lawrence back on the show…
… and it’s made all the more delightful when we get a glimpse of Gretchen’s mystified reaction.
Claire: “He kidnapped me once. Tried to get my mom to shoot me. But I got over it.”
Gretchen: “Excuse me?”
Priceless. It’s a reminder of how hilariously dysfunctional some of the dynamics on this show are, and it underlines how much Doyle fits in with Samuel’s community – and how easily Claire can slip into the same community if she’s apparently able to let go any grudges she had towards the psychotic individuals she’s encountered. If Sylar now shows up at the carnival, will Claire get over everything he did to her too?
Samuel ropes Claire into telling the kids a story about a frog. The part about the tadpole named Mr. Muggles is cute, but I can’t help feeling robbed when the bulk of the story is left to the imagination. We can only speculate about the edits Claire must have made to this adapted version of her life.
Gretchen challenging Samuel to explain his intentions was a neat moment for the character. She doesn’t come across as obnoxious so much as overprotective, and although she’s outclassed by Samuel’s confidence and rhetoric, there’s an authority to Gretchen’s argument because of what it represents. The way this scene was blocked out, with Samuel standing between Gretchen and Claire and with his back to Gretchen, you get the sense that Samuel’s effectively cutting Claire off from Gretchen; which is to say, he’s cutting Claire off from her connection to her old life, and from her hopes for a normal, everyday life.
Samuel: “Families encompass all manner and shape, but the defining ingredient is love. Now, we don’t profess to offer much, but love we have in ample supply.”
It’s a lie by omission because Samuel’s neglecting to mention the betrayal and vengeance and murder that come alongside the love. But again, Knepper sells the dialogue in such a way that despite the distorted picture Samuel paints of the carnival, you’re hard-pushed to argue with his assertion that there’s love throughout the community. And when Claire finishes her story and basks in the adoration it earns her…
… it’s hard to say her motive for staying lacks a rationale. It’s a hokey rationale, because I can’t see Claire settling into the carnival lifestyle any more than I can see Tracy. Apparently they’ll now at least have each other.
The Thug returns. I can’t help wondering whether he was put up to this performance. He’s playing it with remarkable nuance if he is, but the way this scene plays out – with The Thug striking Claire and engendering the collective spirit that Samuel was hoping to instill in her – I can easily imagine Samuel staging The Thug’s entrance.
Samuel: “We all have talents – certain talents, friend. God-given gifts. But perhaps the good Lord forgot to hand a sufficient one out to you.”
Intentional provocation? Claire doesn’t see it that way, but you have to wonder whether this was an orchestrated performance from start to finish, or whether the opportunity to win Claire’s loyalty just fell into Samuel’s lap and he made the most of it.
What’s interesting is that in spite of Samuel’s established villainy – and in spite of the fact that he’s clearly guiding this scene to suit his own agenda – our sympathy immediately gravitates towards him. It could be that he comes across as the lesser of two evils, even though a guy who murdered his brother should by default be more contemptible than a violent jerk who wants a refund after being cheated. Perhaps it’s simply that one of these villains exudes charm and charisma in spite of his villainy, and the other one’s pretty forgettable.
Either way…
… Samuel smiles a villainous smile when he realizes that the situation has played right into his hands. Nicely played by Knepper.
Claire gets a broken glass across the face, cementing The Thug as a monster and, more importantly, allowing Claire to use her ability as a means to strike fear into her attacker.
It’s a moment of vindication for the character, firstly because it gives Claire a chance to use her ability as a weapon in itself, and secondly because Hayden makes the smile look victorious without allowing it to come across as smug or self-assured. Compared to the time she got Ellectrocuted or the time she called herself “the defensive player of the year” and leapt out of a tenth story window, this comes across as a subtly underplayed triumph for the character. When she tells The Thug “You can’t hurt us,” it’s a moment of unity that you want to get behind. Which is odd, considering she’s uniting with a group of individuals who’ve cheated, robbed, terrorized and murdered the population. But then, the question this episode asks quite effectively is whether a sense of solidarity trumps ethics. We’re not sure whether to reproach Claire for her blind acceptance of what the carnival has done or commend her for being open-minded enough to look beyond it.
We come to a scene that’s at once the emotional centerpiece of the episode, a moment that’s in all likelihood a defining moment in the season, and the send-off for a character who’s been an integral part of the series since its inception. And as much as I’ve heaped criticism on the fact that this is a storyline involving an imitation of the character, it’s hard to deny that this scene captures exactly what made the dynamic between the Petrelli brothers so effective, and that it provides the closure most of us had been asking for since last season’s finale.
Which is to say, it’s overwrought, over-the-top and overly sentimental.
Which is to say, it’s exactly the way it should have been.
Peter and Sylathan visit the same rooftop they met on back when Peter was drawing stick-figure sketches and throwing himself off rooftops. My notes tell me this is the part where I’m supposed to point out how profound it is that the show bookended the brothers’ relationship by choosing this location, but pulling up that link, I realize it was 70 episodes ago. That’s 70 episodes of brotherly touching, innuendo and rampant Petrellicest.
If you need to grab your handkerchiefs, people, do it now. It’s the end of an era.
Peter: “Do you remember the last time we were up here?”
Sylathan: “Yeah. Yeah, I do. You were standing on that ledge right there. Like an idiot. Asking me about Dad’s depression. Asking me if I could fly.”
Moving, funny, and intensely nostalgic, because even Sylathan has a smile on his face when he recalls a simpler time.
Peter: “Do you remember what you said?”
Sylathan: “I said we could both fly.”
Peter: “No, no, before that.”
Sylathan looks like he’s having to think pretty hard to remember that far back. In his defense, who can blame him? There’s been so much trauma for the character since then that you could hardly hold it against the guy for blocking some stuff out. Also in his defense, you have to wonder where these memories are coming from. Unless Sylathan has touched and Bridget’ed the memories from the iron on the stairwell, there’s really no way he should be able to remember this.
Peter: “You denied it.”
Sylathan: “It was an election year. Denial was the go-to.”
Funny, if a little cynical. Apparently a politician’s cynicism transcends body-transfers and synthetic personalities.
Pasdar’s performance sparkles throughout the scene, but what’s extraordinary when analyzing it is the way he navigates from one mannerism to another to bring out the character’s disintegration. Sylathan gets this little shrug when Peter points out his denial, and it’s followed by a moment as he approaches the ledge when it looks like he’s struggling to maintain control over Sylar.
Peter: “Seems like a million years ago, huh?”
Sylathan: “A lifetime.”
Again, rewatching it, you look past the dialogue and you see the actor’s inflection. The way he pauses, and the way he looks at Peter, you’re not sure whether it’s Sylathan reflecting on the passage of time, or Sylar, or Nathan.
Peter: “We made it through it. Together. We made it through all the craziness — you and me. We can make it through anything, Nathan.”
Sylathan: “Even death?”
Peter: “Why not?”
Sylathan: “Because this isn’t me? It’s not my body? Because it’s Sylar’s?”
Heartbreaking, mostly because it feels like the scene isn’t trying to be heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking by itself.
Pasdar plays the moment without a hint of self-pity or self-indulgence. He makes the same case I’ve made throughout the season, and he does it knowing exactly where it leaves him – in existential oblivion.
Peter: “No, it is you, Nathan. I’m looking at you.”
Sylathan: “You’re looking at an illusion.”
Peter: “No, it’s you. Look, I need you to keep fighting in there, OK?”
Sylathan: “I can’t. He’s killing me. And I can’t hold on anymore, Pete.”
Again, brilliance on Pasdar’s part, because as much as he makes us feel sorry for the character, we’re not sure whether we’re feeling sorry for the character he’s imitating or the imitation itself. Even if it’s only the imitation, his acceptance of defeat comes with such sincerity and such sadness that you’re won over. The way he looks at Peter, you know it’s a sadness that stems from knowing everything he’s leaving behind.
Peter: “Yes you can, Nathan. That’s why you found me. That’s why you came and found me.”
Sylathan: “I found you because I wanted to crucify you in Times Square.”
Part of it’s the deeper voice and the careful, authoritative enunciation. But mostly…
… it’s in the eyes. Those evil, evil eyes.
Peter: “Nathan, that is not you.”
Sylathan: “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
This is where, if you weren’t already close to tears, your eyes are probably starting to well up. You can see how fiercely Sylathan’s fighting for control of his body, but he’s losing because, like the cockroach that he is, Sylar’s sapping the life out of him and sucking it away from the inside. It’s a tragedy for Sylathan, but it’s a broader statement on Sylar’s contribution to the show if ever there was one.
Peter continues pleading to Sylathan to “stay with him” and to “fight it,” but you start to see traces of worry in his expression. This is where Pasdar’s ability to raise Ventimiglia’s performance comes out, because when he uses the word “please,” you can see denial being replaced with recognition and acceptance as Peter realizes he’s losing what was left of his brother.
Sylathan: “I’m sorry, Pete.”
And before you even know where that final, longing glance between the brothers that was once a staple part of the show was leading…
… we’re looking at Pasdar’s final moments on the show.
Peter: “Pull yourself up, Nathan.”
Sylathan: “Let me go, Pete.”
Peter: “I can’t do that.”
Sylathan: “You need to accept that I’m gone.”
Peter: “I need you to help me. Now pull yourself up. Please.”
Pasdar channels Nathan’s Older Brother voice and does his best to sound as profound as a guy who’s hanging on for dear life can sound. You could poke fun at it by pointing out that a guy who’s being eaten away from the inside and hanging on by one arm to his brother over a ledge isn’t likely to emote as beautifully as this, but who cares. It’s done with such grace that you suspend your disbelief.
Sylathan: “You’re going to have to carry on for the both of us, Pete. OK? You tell Mom I love her. You take care of Claire.”
… And Simon?
… And Monty?
… And Heidi?
… No?
OK then…
Sylathan: “Fight the good fight. You’ve always been everything that’s good in the world, Pete.”
Peter: “Nathan…”
Sylathan: “And I got a feeling the world ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Poor Peter’s a nervous wreck at this point, so again, you’re tempted to wonder how he can emote as effectively while hanging onto a guy who’s dangling over a ledge. But, hey, it’s a performance that will stay with you long after the details have faded away.
Peter: “I can’t do this without you.”
It’s moving dialogue, but again, you wonder if the actors have stepped out of the show for a moment. If you decide you can’t do this without Adrian, Milo, we’ll understand!
Sylathan: “You can do anything, Pete. Anything. Remember that. I love you.”
Anyone still have dry eyes? Because there’s no way I can convey the way Pasdar’s voice breaks by describing it, but at this point it leaps up an octave, and I don’t think that’s something you can pull off for the sake of a good performance. That sounds pretty real to me.
Peter: “I love you, Nathan.”
At this point, you have to wonder whether there was anyone in the studio or behind the camera who wasn’t weeping. Even if you buy into my argument all season – that it’s not really Peter’s brother he’s holding onto – Ventimiglia’s performance is such that you don’t doubt for a moment that Peter believes it, and that this is the grief of one brother letting go of another. Contrived story device or not, this is undoubtedly the most believable performance the actors ever gave.
Gut-wrenching, for the symbolism behind the shot, and for the implications it’s likely to have on the character left standing on top of the rooftop, watching his brother fall and knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Overlong? You can appreciate how the show was trying to maximize the emotional resonance and give the moment all of the impact it deserved, but the way the Shenkar wail escalates and the moment grinds to a halt, it’s the one moment in the scene that struck me as overplayed.
But then, if the sequence had been any shorter, we would have been robbed of the realization that, yes, Sylar was in there the whole time, watching the whole performance and delighting in the fact that he brought this devastation on Peter in the first place. Which is why, when he crashes onto the hood of the car below, hauls himself to his feet…
… and gives that little wave, you know why Peter isn’t tear-assing down the stairs to Haitian-whammy Sylar again. Sylar has left him in such a broken state that it’s hard to imagine Peter finding the drive to go after Sylar again anytime soon.
We go to commercials, and when we come back…
… it’s hard not to see whatever follows the previous scene as a shift down. Knepper and Hayden make a valiant effort to keep the momentum alive, but at this point most viewers have been reduced to tears, and the episode struggles to sustain our attention as it depicts Samuel beginning to question his own approach to leading his community. Looking back, you wonder whether Samuel staged this the same way he staged the confrontation with The Thug. Claire ends up arguing Samuel’s case for him, defending the carnival and its ethos and justifying Samuel’s choices by reminding him that he’s running a community where people with abilities can thrive without fear of persecution.
Samuel: “If we lie. Bow our heads, keep our mouths shut, let some creep punch our face without even hitting back. Oh, yeah. I’ve been sold a bill of goods my whole life. Taught how to be comfortable being a second-class citizen. Now I’m questioning that.”
You know Samuel’s trying to make it sound like he’s serious when he says he’s questioning it, but the way the scene is written, and the way Knepper delivers it with such honesty, you wonder whether he really is questioning it.
Claire bids Gretchen a tearful goodbye until they meet again in about two days. There’s an implied finality to the farewell, the implication being that this is a farewell before a much longer length of time than they agreed to. The problem is that, after performances as visceral as the ones we just witnessed, Peter and Nathan’s tears completely eclipse Claire’s. You know you should be swept up in the intensity of this scene, but you’re not, mostly because you’re so emotionally spent that you’ve got nothing left.
Samuel and Lydia watch at a distance, and although there’s something vaguely mwa-ha-ha-like about the two of them concocting their Villainous Schemes as they watch Gretchen drive away and Claire return to them, the dialogue is at least intriguing:
Lydia: “You’ve gone to great lengths to bring her here. She is awfully innocent. I’m not sure she’s going to serve a purpose for you.”
Samuel: “It’s not her I’m after.”
Meaning… what, exactly? That Samuel’s using her to lure the uncle who’s just been reminded to take care of her? That he’s hoping to welcome back the psychotic fellow immortal who once talked about making her his first First Lady? That he’s hoping to turn her into bait for everyone who ever appeared on the show, because when it wasn’t about Sylar, Sylar, Sylar, it was always about Claire, Claire, Claire?
Well, something like that. We draw to a close with a montage that sets the scene for the rest of the season after the hiatus.
Peter returns to his bare, undecorated home and realizes he and his mom only have each other. It’s a brief moment, but when you think back to the conviction Peter exuded when he left Angela at the hospital, and when you get a glimpse of the broken state he’s in now, it’s impossible not to feel for the guy.
Samuel makes a speech about the importance of laying down roots, expanding the community and defying oppression. It’s a heartfelt speech and one that would be uplifting if it weren’t being delivered by a guy who last week killed his brother and pinned the blame on his right-hand man. But then, perhaps that’s the point, because as misguided as the character might be, he’s following an example that was set by his older brother, and he’s trying to live up to his older brother’s ideals.
Which, when you think about it, isn’t so different to the other two brothers on the show. That’s excluding the fratricide and the psychosis, obviously. And the Magik Popcorn. And the French newspaper. And the deviousness and manipulation. And the story about the augur and the attempt to instill a sense of family within the comm-
Ah, strike that. There’s less of an analogy there than I thought. It’s probably just a coincidence that they’ve both lost a brother.
Either way, Claire approves, and it’s a moment of sinister moral ambiguity on which we go to black and break for Christmas.
To say that Pasdar and Ventimiglia carried the episode before the mid-season hiatus with phenomenal performances goes without saying. To say that it earns the episode an easy 5 out of 5 also goes without saying. And to say that Pasdar’s departure has cost the show an enormous talent that will never be replaced, or that he’ll be missed beyond all words to articulate the loss, would be the most obvious statements I could make.
So I’m not going to.
Instead, I’m going to select five moments over the course of the series that I feel defined the character Pasdar played with such incredible flair and good humor.
Denial? You bet.
It’s the obvious first choice, but Nathan showing up at Kirby Plaza in the first season finale and flying Peter to a safe distance was in all likelihood the character’s defining moment — the one that revealed that even after the ElderSupers had him pegged for a malleable tool, his nobility and heroism couldn’t be effaced.
Nathan’s flight in “Hiros” was spectacular because it was so perfectly realized, from the launch into the sky to the plume of air in the sky that came to be his trademark in the episodes after. I still say the friction that burned Nathan’s feet when he landed is one of the coolest details the show ever came up with, and it’s hard not to look at that smile on Nathan’s face and wonder how much of it is the character’s and how much of it the actor’s.
Yes, it was gratuitous Petrellicest in its most concentrated form. At this point, midway through the first season, they weren’t even pretending to cover it up. That was the appeal, and it’s why we forgave Nathan for acting like such a selfish, arrogant jackass the rest of the time.
Memorable more than anything for the fact that it was improvised on set while the camera was rolling. Nathan teaching Hiro how to pronounce “villain” and Hiro reminding Nathan that he’s the Frying Man remind us that before he took to capturing supers and locking them away, Nathan was a role model for the show’s most exuberant kid.
The reference to zucchini still gets a laugh for the subtext, but it was a moment that brought everything past, present and future together. Nathan discovered he had a shot at the presidency, that he was willing to compromise his ethics and family’s safety if it meant a life of meaning, and that he could very easily be swayed by Malcolm McDowell when the scenes were as exquisitely written as this.
Looking back, it’s all colored by the writers’ strike and the aborted second half of the season. But the brotherly touching and furtive glances transcend that and remain as heartwarming as ever. The fact that Nathan gets shot by the future incarnation of his brother moments after this makes you want to appreciate the touching all the more.
I can’t say I’m convinced that the fate of the show hinges on the brotherly-touching quota, but this was the point when distraught Petrelli fans began to question the show’s willingness to toy with their hearts, and the fact that they put Nathan in a life-or-death situation for the second season finale in a row came across as surprisingly callous. Still, within the context of the story, it was a remarkable moment for the character, when he took a stand against Angela’s meddling and decided the best way to be liberated from the ElderSupers’ control was to make his ability known to the world.
Sure, it’s the point at which almost everyone decided Nathan was an irredeemable jerk and that I’d lost my mind for thinking he was a tragic and deeply misunderstood character. In retrospect, I take full credit for calling it from the start. It set the Fugitives arc into motion, it gave Pasdar some of his biggest and most engaging material throughout the series, and it brought the character to the same morally shady domain that had until then been monopolized by Angela and Noah.
It was icing on the cake at the end of an outstanding episode, but even on its own, it remains one of the show’s most visually stunning moments, and a moment when you wanted to cheer the character on for doing one thing right after screwing up for the majority of the volume.
The Pasbeard. Monty. Simon. That says it all.
That’s another five down, isn’t it? Oh, screw it. Let’s do another five.
Enjoy, ladies. (And believe it or not, there was some great dialogue between Hiro and Nathan in this scene to accompany the eye candy.)
With hindsight, you look at Nathan as a lovable rogue for cheating on his wife. Why we don’t feel the same way about Noah nearly cheating on Sandra with Lauren is beyond me. But there was something about the way Peter sang Nathan’s praises that redeemed his older brother. We got the impression that no matter what Nathan did wrong, Peter would support him. And looking back, we were right.
It was a revelation that came much later in the second season than expected, but it’s still one of the most visually arresting moments of the series, and it still speaks volumes about Nathan’s devotion to his brother when we see that he clung onto his brother and refused to let go.
It was moments before the Sylathan Debacle began, so it’s hard to look at anything here without the horrible associations. Still, Nathan’s decision to come clean with the president’s advisor about his ability – thus admitting to himself that he’d been denying that he had an ability – remains one of the character’s most momentous decisions.
Partly because the longing gazes were never more overt than they were here, partly because it was a moment when the brothers decided to put their father behind bars for the sake of doing the right thing. And partly because it was the scene in which Nathan brought his little brother a pair of women’s nursing shoes.
OK, this is getting ridiculous. I have another 10 instances after these, and they could easily stretch out to another 20 or 30. Please feel free to add your own in the comments.
I wish everyone a happy holiday, and hope you’ll be back at the start of January.
Hey Otto. Truly great review. I don’t think there isn’t anything you didn’t cover in singing praises to the Peter-Sylathan/Nathan scenes. So I’m not even going to try to add. Just, great episode in every aspect. There is only one minor thing that i could say. It’s about Doyle. I think that what he is saying is that he was always being hunted before. by the Company, Clair, Noah, Nathan, Danko. This is the first place where he wasn’t using his ability as an offensive defense. He was just using his pupettering skills to entertain people and not be persecuted for it. But that is all. Except for R.I.P. Nathan. And goodbye Adrian Pasdar. You will be most sorely missed.
Otto, you cheered when you saw the Thug dead? I thought- oh no, Claire doesn’t know what she’s getting into - Samuel will kill anyone who pisses him off.
me too. most definitely. It was like “aw, poor claire thinks Samuel is so cool for letting the guy hit him” - but the whole time, samuel was thinking that he was going to kill him”
o it seems hypocritical that Lydia happily endangers Charlie in an effort to expose Samuel but balks at the idea of endangering Amanda.
I think we’ve seen many times when character on the show are fine with certain things until their children are involved.
Todd Stashwick
Wonderful actor, loved him on The Riches, so evil. What is great about his performance and its not the shotty green screen in certain scenes is you can see each of the clones have their own kinda personality - very small, but it’s there.
his episode paints as bleak a picture as ever, but it’s an outlook that’s offset by an equally uplifting message – the idea that if you endure personal hardship and tragedy, you can inspire others to follow your example and make a difference together. It’s not especially original, but as understated messages go, it’s one of the more hopeful on the show this season, and it’s enough to lift the show out of the quagmire in which villains consistently triumph over heroes.
Wonderfully put.
Lauren comments on the Wall of the Carnival, which seems odd given that she cooked Thanksgiving dinner at the apartment and given that Lauren’s been portrayed as inquiring and nosy. Lauren’s lack of observational skills are less intriguing, however, than the look she gets when she studies the articles…
I thought he had this or moved it behind a screen, I remember him and Claire going off somewhere to talk in private and the wall being there, or am I mistaken?
… which strikes me as most definitely the look of someone who’s gathering information to feed back to a certain community leader.
Do you think everyone is a double agent, lol. I might agree, but it looks like they are asking Coleman to bring his sexy back and taking advantage of his cool, handsome, man with a gun, by giving him a ’sexy’ partner to flirt with.
Angela walks into Peter’s hospital, and I have to point out how much I love the way Cristine Rose can make even that simple gesture – pushing doors open – look regal.
I KNOW!! I totally saw it too, but Cris has a great way with the grandness of the role and the great use of her body as an actor - you can’t not see those doors and no want t do that, lol. She also can sure rock the collar of a fab coat.
^ ^ Actual dialogue! From a character who, by the show’s own adjusted chronology, spent SEVEN MONTHS in denial pretending Sylathan was her son, meeting him for overpriced sushi and telling herself she did the right thing by concocting an entity to take her dead son’s place in the world.
Not to mention it took her a entire YEAR to take off her wedding ring after SHE was the one who killed her own husband. Really? It’s been seven months? Damn. I have to say as much as that line was terrible and Angela was very calm this episode, I chocked it up to the idea of Angela’s way of dealing with the present to help the future. After she thought Peter was dead, she had her breakdown and then went on because she had a living son and a world he needed to save, by being president - bigger things at hand. I like to think she was trying to save the only son she had left and the quicker he dealt with Nathan’s death the less he’d be coming face to fact with Sylar, or could kill him - and then she’d have no body.
Angela seems to realize this when she acknowledges her own “grand gestures of denial.” Nicely delivered by Cristine, and all the more poignant when you realize it’s an admission that barely registers with Peter. The way the episode ends, you’re tempted to speculate that mother and son have finally put their differences aside and been reconciled through grief. Judging from the way Peter avoids eye contact with his mother here, however, I can easily see some pent-up bitterness coloring his grief.
Very well done by Cris, very much so. I want to think the understanding that he understands why she did it, and the big testament to me being that at that moment in the episode, Peter, is going to do pretty much the same things she did, he’s agreeing with her - he’s okay with the gesture, anything to get him back. I totally can see the eye contact that way and I think that is Peter, he can’t agree with what she did, but he understands where she was coming from. And after all through season one we we’re given the impression that Peter and Angela we’re very close - the way they touched head in the pilot, etc. And now knowing how Angela saw young self in her youngest son “I was once like you,” - it makes sense they would feel that bond - he has history with her and now… they are all they each have left - a very sad idea for sure.
Did anyone else notice the way Angela and René acted like the other one didn’t even exist? I’d say that’s a close, warm friendship that’s come to a very abrupt end.
I think they have the kind of relationship that can get over this, lol. That’s Bad writing, but anyway…. I think he is her foot shoulder and Angela was focused stopping Peter from getting himself killed. But in the long run Rene said it “was the least” he could do, he is very much indented to the Petrellis - only second to God, and if had better find out WHY this season, god!
MV in the fight scene was fantastic. I think he’s doing a great job this season and really loving Peter’s growth as a character. Biblical tones: You also do know Peter was born Dec 23rd, 1979 - the eve of Christmas eve, on purpose I’m sure. As Nathan told him he can do great things and I do believe by the end of the series he will save the world - we just need that finale season - meaning I think NBC would behoove themselves, if they really want to cancel the show to give it a final season next year of 15-19, people love coming back to say goodbye)
Does he actually erase Sylar, and does Sylar claw his way back from a full Haitian memory wipe?
Considering only healers and magic blood can heal a mind whip, I’d say Sylar works his way back.
Priceless. It’s a reminder of how hilariously dysfunctional some of the dynamics on this show are,
This is why I am DYING for Gretchen to meet Angela, I think it could be hilarious.
It’s a moment of vindication for the character,
Totally agree. and you totally buy her being taken in by Sam and his band of carnies.
Sylathan looks like he’s having to think pretty hard to remember that far back. In his defense, who can blame him?
See I saw this as showing is it isn’t Nathan really, he doesn’t have all the memories - he wasn’t there, it’s just an illusion.
On Pasdar, agree on all points!
… And Simon?
… And Monty?
… And Heidi?
… No?
OK then
Well, she did leave him in a hosptial bed… but yeah, this really was appalling to me and I was bawling my eyes out, it was so enjoyable and sad, but I mean these two boys are now going to have… young boys bTW, grow up with out a father and that is heart breaking. There father will be a distant memory, perhaps even that entire side of the family if Heidi is concerned, but considering how much Nathan’s father meant to him, even if he found out later about him, it was a meaningful part of Nathan’s life - young boys without a father is… well, it hurts my heart that they didn’t include them, and that this prob means we will never heard about them and it feels fake. I like to pretend as Nathan’s memories are selective, as they aren’t really in Nathan’s head, he … forgot?
It’s moving dialogue, but again, you wonder if the actors have stepped out of the show for a moment. If you decide you can’t do this without Adrian, Milo, we’ll understand!
OH GOD, I Know!! But these words of Nathan are very telling and will be interesting in retrospect… is doing it alone really what Peter needs to be the great Hero, “The most powerful one of us all” Angela says, as I see that statement in season 2 not only literal to power. But having to go on on his own make him strong enough to kill Sylar…. wait for it… “once and for all.”
You know you should be swept up in the intensity of this scene, but you’re not, mostly because you’re so emotionally spent that you’ve got nothing left.
Whomever made the editing choices this episode big mistakes. I was shocked we had more story after this, the almost finale scene before the also fast edited montage (My eye couldn’t adjust fast enough for those edits) not to mention it made me think the show wasn’t taking the death as emotional as their audience would - not showing it’s importance, I was too much of a crying mess, as you said we we’re spent.
Meaning… what, exactly? That Samuel’s using her to lure the uncle who’s just been reminded to take care of her? That he’s hoping to welcome back the psychotic fellow immortal who once talked about making her his first First Lady? That he’s hoping to turn her into bait for everyone who ever appeared on the show, because when it wasn’t about Sylar, Sylar, Sylar, it was always about Claire, Claire, Claire?
Which makes me think it’s Peter, because he was going after Claire when he already had Sylar, but honestly Peter is the most vulnerable with a sentence “I can help you get your brother back” or “get your revenge”
Peter returns to his bare, undecorated home and realizes he and his mom only have each other. It’s a brief moment, but when you think back to the conviction Peter exuded when he left Angela at the hospital, and when you get a glimpse of the broken state he’s in now, it’s impossible not to feel for the guy.
I only wish we had been able to see him actually breakdown, I think it cut too soon. It also makes you wonder was Angela waiting at Peter’s apartment, ready to console him after he was defeated.
Sure, it’s the point at which almost everyone decided Nathan was an irredeemable jerk and that I’d lost my mind for thinking he was a tragic and deeply misunderstood character.
I never did and I always thought so. His actions made sense to me, they we’re wrong, but I saw where they we’re coming from and he is one of the most tragic archs on the show, next to his own mother, and almost sure for the fact that it would appear time, or fate or whomever had target on his head and would not rest until it was done - he was a walking bomb in his own right.
I am sad for the end of Pasdar and am still in denial that MAYBE they will find a way to bring him back - but still I think this is an important cross roads in Peter’s life and in the novel known as Heroes. It was inevitable. We have lost a great, flawed man, to the madness. To Sylar’s head on a spike! lol.
Thank you, Otto, for all of your lovely reviews, but to this Nathan Petrelli and Petrelli Brothers fan, I score this character-perfect review a 100 out of 5. And the 15 special moments at the end are icing on the cake. I think I used more kleenex now than I did during the episode! Again, thanks for taking the time to present such painstaking detail.
No time to read this right now, but oh how I want to after skimming through.
Can’t wait to properly read the tribute to Adrian/Nathan.
This review, I think, is going to make me cry. Thanks a lot, Otto.
Great review!
I was wondering whether Adrian and Milo had stopped acting in those scenes as well. They really seemed to be talking to each other beyond the script.
That scene was so gut-wrenching. Despite the green screen, it was truly one of the greatest moments of the series. Pasdar will be sorely missed. And overall, a fantastic episode, and a fantastic review.
Hi Otto, thanks for yet another great review.
I have mixed feeling about this episode. I really wanted to love it to bits, but couldn’t quite get there.
Noah and Lauren: When she walked in, I mentally mistook her for Tracy for a second. Someone pointed out somewhere that Ali Larter is off in Canada filming a movie, so I’m left to wonder if this story-arc was first written for the Troah, but then had to be rewritten due to Ali taking off? Anyway, I liked Lauren a wee bit better this time around, and she seemed to be able to handle herself in a tricky situation, for which she gets kudos. I like this trend of introducing smart capable women (oh Emma, where aaare youuu?). Don’t know if she’s a double agent, but then, why would she be? Eli seems like he could spawn a lot of mayhem, so I’m looking forward to seeing more of him. Noah’s big speech felt out of place, and weirdly introspective, but maybe he’s just had too much free time on his hands?
Claire/Gretchen/Carnival: I was annoyed at the flip-floppy-ness of Claire and Gretchen - first Claire wants to bail (whaa? after 21 hours on the road?) while Gretchen wants to press on, and then all of a sudden they switch roles. I still can’t get a handle on Gretchen (scared? brave? overprotective? adventurous? random plot-device?). I did give her a mini-cheer though for approaching Samuel towards the end. She came across as wise there, or at least not gullible, while Claire seems to have essentially put on rose-colored glasses and forgotten about the murderous villain lurking in Samuel. Also, you didn’t mention the carnival disappearing? I wonder if it was the invisible-teddy-bears guy, or if the carnival physically moved via TK-guy?
Petrellis and Sylar/Sylathan: Second everything you said about the actor’s performances. I was a little shocked by the brutality of Peter, but I guess it made sense under the circumstances. Didn’t quite understand why Sylar waited patiently for Peter to reach for the nail-gun though, and btw, was that the worst performing nail-gun ever or what?
This whole story had me questioning the specifics of the Hatian’s powers. As in, can he specifically block a particular power for multi-powered folks? How else did the shape-shifting ability peek though? Or did Peter really “let up” one he was satisfied with his mind-wiping? Also, is the power blocking limited in range, as in why didn’t Peter shut him down during The Fall, although, to be fair, he was perhaps a tad emotionally preoccupied?
What really got me annoyed though was the notion that Nathan would jump off a building to kill himself. I mean, the guy can fly, and he’s flown reflexively before. I would imagine that for him not to fly before hitting the ground, would be akin to trying to suffocate yourself by holding your breath. It just can’t be done. Maybe this ties in with the Peter-blocks-specific-powers, but mostly the scene felt like it was too busy trying to be symbolic (Nathan jumped down where Peter had once threatened to, parallel to Peter jumping off the roof and Nathan saving him etc.) to pay attention to how Nathan can fly. (Also, is it physically possible to grab someone’s hand once they’ve broken away from you and jumped off a building? Mythbusters material?!…)
Regarding the big send-off scene, I sympathize with Milo for having to act all distraught while being effectively upside down. I don’t generally expect huge emotions to look good on screen (grief is messy), but I don’t think they could have found a more unflattering shooting angle if they had tried. I was so caught up in how his face was deformed by all the blood rushing to his head, that I didn’t even notice the teary eyes until on second viewing. It probably looked good on paper, but less great in action. And I second ThePandoraRose above in that they cut the scene way short. We should have seen Peter crumpling down, much like he did in the hospital after he shot Nathan.
Other than that, the episode achieved what it needed to archive. Nathan is dead, the actors and writers have new material to work off of, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the new year.
Fantastic episode, fantastic review, Otto.
I have a very, VERY love/hate relationship with Nathan, but losing him and Pasdar is really a loss for the show. Why? Cuz AP rules. Why else? Nathan is human. Very human. Like, the most human character in my opinion.
Definitely a 5 for The Fifth Stage.
A couple of thoughts to add here.
1. If Peter was using the Haitian Power Block to keep Syler from healing, then why was Syler able to morph back to Nathan? I could see the case for a mental transition, but the physical transformation shouldn’t have happened, unless there is evidence to suggest the Haitan Power Block can be used selectively.
2. Hrefna wrote that it appears an illogical choice for a flying man to jump to his death…but since Nathan was in the midst of a fight for control with Sylar, who’s idea was it to jump? Was Nathan comitting suicide or was Sylar intentionally putting himself at an irrevocible physical distance from the boundaries of the Haitan Power Block? The more I think about this, the more room there is for both to be true.
Huh,
I hadn’t even thought about the possibility that it’s Sylar that’s fleeing the scene, not so much Nathan “sacrificing” himself (thus the cross-position). I guess it all comes down to the properties of the Power Block: whether it’s selective (so that only shapeshifting is active), and whether Sylar is aware of its range (he’d be pretty badly hurt if it extends more than 3 stories down!). If indeed Peter’s not blocking him at all at that point (it’s never made clear), then he should have just flown off… although it’s possible that Sylar at that point decided to emotionally torture Peter just a little bit.
Anyway, having people jump off of buildings in Heroes is fraught with meaning, so I’m not surprised Tim Kring went back there, but it’s gotten a lot more logistically complicated now than it was in season one, episode one.
Peter took the powers, then wiped the memory. With the memory gone, he could let ‘SyNathan’ used the powers. When Peter let ‘SyNathan go’, it took the fight out of him… and Sylar came back. With control of his powers.
The powers were only ever briefly gone while Peter was torturing Sylar.
^ ^ This was my take on it too; that Peter eased up on the power-blocking once Sylar had morphed into Sylathan, and that Sylathan (and Sylar) had the full selection of abilitles available to them.
The “easing up” is the problematic part, though, because it takes us back to that whole debate about whether the Haitian’s power-blocking is something he (or Peter) can control, or whether it’s an automatic “always-on” ability.
Somehow, I think it’s more ~*poetic*~ if Sylathan jumped to save Peter from another run-in with Sylar, and that Sylar regained control of his body of his own accord mid-fall. If the morph back into Sylar depended on logistical details like the range of the Haitian Block, I think it would lose some of its impact.
“Somehow, I think it’s more ~*poetic*~ if Sylathan jumped to save Peter from another run-in with Sylar, and that Sylar regained control of his body of his own accord mid-fall”
But why would Sylathan jump? If Sylathan is trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and Peter, why not just, I dunno… fly away at top speed?
Anyway, I get that the symbolism inherent in The Fall is much more beautiful, and more fun to watch, but for me Sylathan not flying is akin to Peter TK-opening that door at the end of Season 2, when he could have just walked through it. So, the emotional part of me is all awwwww… and the logical part is all wtf?
Because ‘SyNathan’ is straining to simply be in control at all.
Which - hmm - is similar to Peter back in ‘Four Months Ago’, where he can barely control his ability. ‘SyNathan’ only has enough strength to let go. He doesn’t have the control to fly away.
^ ^ This is why I love these reviews and the comment sections. Yes, indeed, I can see how Sylathan would be too mentally busy to manage flight. Why it didn’t strike me before I don’t know. Perhaps it was because I’m confusing Nathan with Sylathan, much like Peter…? Flight has been so integral to Nathan, that I’ve come to assume that it is (sorry, was
) about as difficult for him to do as breathing. Sylathan is a different story. Ok, so I concede that maybe jumping off the roof wasn’t entirely boneheaded, although I’m still confused as to whether Sylathan was trying to kill himself, or saving an emotionally distraught Peter from another confrontation. Oh gosh, now I have to go back and rewatch the scene…
Well, we’ve already seen The Haitian voluntary let other people use their abilities, so that wasn’t that much of an issue for me.
There’s also the fact that we’ve seen people (ie Nathan) get over the blocking.
I personally think Peter stopped using the ability when he erased some of Sylar’s memory to make him morph into Nathan. Then after, different theories are plausible. Maybe Peter tried to block the abilities (maybe causing him to morph back into Sylar ) but Sylar/Sylathan got out of Peter’s range before crashing, maybe Peter couldn’t contain him anymore if he was just blocking some of the abilities, or maybe Sylar finally regained control. Doesn’t matter much to me. It’s not those kinds of details that will keep me awake ^^.
Over that, a thing I was closely looking at, and tha the screenshots you posted perfictly shows, is that Sylar is freaking smiling while he’s falling. That and Peter’s reaction when he sees him getting up, waving and leaving. I can hardly remember of anything that creepy/horryfying since the show has started.
ps : Let’s remember that in “Tabula Rasa”, we had a moppy Sylar crying because of what he did… For me he could definitively not go from that moppy to evil just by getting his memories back, as stupid as this is, I guess Matt did just get his soul out of his body.
Hrefna: “I’m still confused as to whether Sylathan was trying to kill himself, or saving an emotionally distraught Peter from another confrontation.”
Could it be both? He was trying to kill himself in order to save Peter from another confrontation? He knew that he was losing the battle against Sylar, and figured that if he acted quickly, he could kill Sylar by killing himself.
Ian, I really like the parallel you found to Nathan flying with Peter in 2.08. Nathan refused to let go of Peter back then, and Peter refuses to let go of Nathan now. Very nice.
Going into this episode knowing it would be ‘Nathan’s’ last, I kept getting misty-eyed whenever Pasdar came on screen, which led to much lip biting to stop tears from falling during his final scene.
I have to second Hrefna’s comment on Claire and Gretchen’s supposed role reversal at the Carnival. It seriously pissed me off. And I agree with you that there was sense of finality to goodbyes between the two college girls. I want Claire to keep her promise to Gretchen about returning on Monday for class, but it’s so obvious that she’s staying with the carnies, which makes Claire’s promise just a false hope and something to turn Gretchen away without her worrying too much. If that last part is true, I feel bad for Gretchen who apparently has never felt like she belonged anywhere because she’s losing someone who finally understands her and makes her feel comfortable enough to be herself (supposedly). It also speaks volumes about how much Claire really WANTS to belong. For that reason, it somehow brings me back to season one when Claire confessed to Peter that when she met him she finally felt like she was a part of something.
On a more fangirl-crazy-over-thinking-theory note (you can ignore this if you want): Did anyone notice how when Sylathan told Peter he could “do anything. Anything” the camera focused on their joined hands? Good God. I really don’t think its possible, but I really want that to have been significant in the sense that Sylathan somehow forced Peter to absorb one of Sylar’s abilities (like the rarely used empathic mimicry). Hmm … That brings up the question of “what would happen if Peter absorbed empathic mimicry?” Time to look up fan-theories.
Still chokes me up.
All I can say is Milo deserves far more credit than he’s ever gotten for this show. When they write Peter properly, the show just elevates beyond everything else. Here’s hoping they continue to give his character the growth he requires… and have him kill Sylar at the end of S4.
I like Quinto, and Sylar is entertaining, but Peter NEEDS that one moment.
I agree, Peter has earned that moment more than anyone.
That said, almost all of the mains now have a reason to want the same privilege. Matt (threatening Baby Matt; sleeping with Janice; using Matt’s body to kill Hank the Mechanic; driving Matt to suicide); Mohinder (Chandra…); HRG (terrorizing Sandra; ripping open Claire’s skull; forcing Claire to endure his overtures); Angela (Nathan, obviously…).
Interestingly, with Charlie’s scalping now averted, Hiro seems to be the only one who lacks any personal vendetta against Sylar. Unless Meester Eeezak counts?
Hiro is all about doing the right thing.
I’m getting the sense we’re going to get that ‘everyone vs. Sylar’ fight.
“I’m getting the sense we’re going to get that ‘everyone vs. Sylar’ fight.”
We may get it, but will we actually see it this time?
^ ^ I was thinking the same thing. We were probably more likely to see it four seasons ago than we are now.
In a way, though, I’d almost prefer to see a non-superpowered confrontation. I think that’s what made the fight between Peter and Sylar in this episode effective; that it was more about the characters than their powers. There’s a difference in context between the Volume One finale and whatever showdown they come up with now: back then it was all about the characters discovering their abilities, whereas now it’s about the implications those abilities have had and the enormous impact they’ve had on the characters.
Maybe it’s me, but somehow a scene where Peter brutally beats up Sylar seems more effective than a scene where they fire Ellectrobolts at each other, regenerate and then TK one another through windows. I think the depth of the character arcs is such that the vendetta between Peter and Sylar (or between almost anyone and Sylar) goes beyond a battle of abilities.
Claire/Eric is one of the most interesting and entertaining dynamics on the show. Yes, I have been watching season 3 again lately. Do we call this one Clairic? Clairyle? Cleric? I’m looking forward to this episode for their scene. If only because I predict their next scene will be Eric taking Claire aside: “I only said that because Samuel wanted you to hear it; trust me, barbie, he’s a really bad person… I should know.”
While it is a shame that we’ll never see Hiro and Nathan share a scene again, call me in denial if you like but I think the whole slitheen double-story ought to have ended by now. With Matt dead on the ground in Texas.
As for the teleporting carnival, there goes my theory it was the dying time traveller; although that would have been a good cover story for why Samuel needed Hiro.
If that was Gretchen being written out, how can we see her as little more than a poorly used plot device? While Claire does need a place to be herself, I believe she also needs a ‘normal’ sidekick; perhaps even moreso.
On the subject of moral ambiguity and villainous charm/charisma, the promo for Heroes on 7TWO is a clip of Samuel earthquaking the police station, with the voiceover “imagine if you had the power to do this…”
Shadowboxing just aired, and we’re down to 1 episode a week now; so hopefully we’ll catch up by January.
Thanks again for a great review.
Great review, as always
A easy 5 out of 5 for a perfect episode, at least to me. I guess, as usually, that I am part of a minority opposed to those who will babble about not having a super-powered fight, Claire not kissing Gretchen, etc…
Let me let this out first :
- French Newspaper and Doyle : If anything would have dragged it down, that would have made my day anyway. There’s also the fact that I didn’t see Lawrence’s name in the credits (that crap gives lots of crucial details sometime), so this was really a great surprise. Also, a redeemed serial killer comes back, but what the hell :).
- “Samuel: “The nature of our lowly existence. People want to believe there’s hope everywhere, but then you read this.”. Okay, easy to say this afterwards, but I smiled when I heard this because of your rant about hope last week ^^.
Peter/Sylathan/Sylar :
- Frankly, it’s been the first time in a while that I had no problem with the involvement of the imitation. That was the chance (for us, and mostly for Peter) to say goodbye to Nathan. Thumbs up for Milo, and of course to Pasdar for selling their last touchy brothers scene.
- Also, finally Peter thinking about taking The Haitian’s ability to stop Sylar. However, it’s kinda horrifying to see that Sylar survived the fall. Looking at the look on Peter’s face, I wouldn’t surprised if the next step will be going after Sylar instead of going on with his life. I’m also doubtful about if Sylar will ever die : I still hope that Peter couldn’t control the ability like Rene. Sylar could get over the Company’s system to block abilities, over artificial comas, so if he can negate the Haitian’s ability, I don’t see how they’ll ever get rid of him.
- It’s actually nice to have some normal fights in the middle of people causing earthquakes, lose members and healing, etc… I’m not expecting the big showdown untill Sylar’s ultimate fight, and we know that ain’t happening anytime soon. Hopefully they’ll get at least a mini-season to wrap that up next year. I would have hoped they could finish on exactly 100 episodes but that’s not likely to happen at all.
Carnivale/Claire/Gretchen :
- Okay, first of all, I agree that there couldn’t be any tear left. But seeing them weepy about separating for - normally - 2 days wasn’t sad. It could easily have been laughable, specially for someone like me who almost hates Gretchen.
- For the last few weeks, I’ve really been enjoying the glimpses at the carnivale’s “behind-the-scenes” life. This week just kept me smiling the whole time.
- Also enjoyed the final speech to close up. A nice parallel with the premiere speech, when we know the carnivale’s (and mostly Samuel’s) evolution during the whole season so far. I’m also having less problems dealing with Samuel/Joesph’s backstory than immediately after last week’s episode, which is always a good thing.
- ps : it took me a while to realize it was the baseballer guy in the van. I just thought for a while that it was Doyle -_-.
HRG/Lauren/Eli :
- A nice introduction for Eli. Though the show had more problem when getting rid of characters than when introducing them so I’m not hurraying for victory so far. It’s also easy to laugh at Noah and Lauren preparing to fight all the clones in the bathroom while Eli just wanted to make them go to another room so he could grab the files. Smart, and maybe pacifist (someone will have to tell me if he’s evil in the GNs) at some degree.
- Dunno about Nauren, but I’m on her side when she’s mad at Noah for treating her like a rebound girl. Of course, if she’s a carnivale spy…mwahaha.
All in all, I’m quite pleased we got an episode that good before the winter break. Hopefully they worked the rest of the season nicely with that month-long hiatus.
Eli is a con man:
http://heroeswiki.com/Eli
Good review! I felt I was missing something during the episode, that is that Claire’s story was really boring for me. I am not going to comment about Nathan, Peter and Sylar, because I got really sad, and I just want a big showdown with powers between Peter and Sylar and Sylar is killed, plizzzz!!! Also, what about Monty and Simon?? yes, Lyle is babysitting them…:(
About Lauren and Noah, I keep liking together and it was good that when Noah made ‘Eternal Sunshine’ confession about Lauren going Haitian, she got angry,…yes, nobody likes to be the roebund girl…Eli’s apperance created a very promising character and an interesting fight, which ended too soon :(…BTW, if Lauren is a Samuel’s spy, I’ll cry, but meanwhile, I can laugh at about your idea
Claire, seriously,certainly her brain can’t regenerate…or popcorn was drugged. Gretchen was very right this time and huggging Doyle and believing Samuel’s words??? IT CANNOT BE…POPCORN MUST BE DRUGGED.
Happy holidays and let’s cross our fingers for a great new year and amazing Heroes episodes!
Tear-jerking and heart-wrenching don’t begin to describes the Petrelli brothers’ final scene.
Before I go into the waterworks, can I first say outstanding review as always. Someone who recognizes the still wonderful aspects of Heroes as opposed to joining in on the needless bashing is always much appreciated.
Now, as someone who has loved Nathan and Peter Petrelli and their relationship since the show’s beginning, it broke my heart to see us part with it now. As much as I realized it finally had to come, that Nathan had been saved one too many times, I will truly miss that dynamic. And yes the Petrelli family is beginning to look depleted.
However, I also can’t help but wonder whether this death would have been more poignant at any of the other opportunities the show presented us with: for instance, in some noble sacrifice as Nathan and Peter flew out of Kirby Plaza? Or when Nathan was shot trying to out his ability? Or even in the hotel room with Sylar, trying to make up for his mistakes but eventually dying for it? As much as I loved this episode, I can’t help but wonder if it was ruined for me just a little by the awareness that this was NOT Nathan.
All that being said, I would like to acknowledge Adrian Pasdar and the numerous exceptional performances he gave us over three and half seasons. He was truly one of the better actors on Heroes and his talent and presence will surely be missed.
And finally, though I know this has become exceptionally long, I just wanted to add for old time’s sake:
“Brotherly Bonding. Drink!”
I actually lost a family member on Monday night, the person I was closest to in the world, which made this episode all the more gut wrenching and emotional for me. Great review, as always.
Sorry for your loss.
Laura, thank you, and I’d like to second Hrefna by offering my condolences.
I’m sad that I won’t have any Heroes while I’m on winter break, but great review anyway!
As for the Peter/Nathan scene… I didn’t cry. I know! I’m such a big sap too, but I only felt just a little heartbroken. I honestly can’t say why, but the possibility is that (1) they killed off Nathan too much to make me care intensely, or (2) I never really like Nathan that much. I’m not saying that he didn’t have his moments (I like your list) but I was expecting Nathan to be the one to go the whole time. I prepared myself for the S3 finale since I just knew it had to be Nathan and since then I expected every moment to be his last. I will add though that I am still quite surprised because I feel intently for Peter. I should have shed tears, but perhaps it was because it still felt a little overdue. I felt the tug in the chest and I crinkled my eyebrows, but no tears for Peter Petrelli. It is rather unfortunate because the guy does deserve them. I was really hoping this could be one of those episodes that I could never watch again because I break down in a weepy mess like “The Hard Part” and “Our Father”, but alas it was not meant to be. For someone who reacts to intense emotion I didn’t react. The scene was amazing, the acting, the lines, the emotion. I love every bit of it and felt that it should have ended the episode (agree on the poor editing). For not liking Nathan all that much I will miss Adrian. Him and Milo were always fun to watch together. I’m pretty sure the set will feel emptier without him.
As for Peter alone, I was waiting for Sylar (even though he was being tortured) to chide Peter on how getting into things like torture and revenge gets to dark places (with a smile of course). Can’t say I’m happy that they didn’t, but I was really looking forward to Peter just going to town with that nail gun. I certainly would have if I hated that bastard that much. I understand that he wanted his brother back, but really Peter. How far in denial were you? I can understand that he had hope because of all the times Nathan lived and the fact that he is like his mother in some ways (hopefully not in all), but torturing Sylar into letting his brother live when there is nothing that would keep him from just surfacing when he wanted too is just … Uh!… I wanted to give him a PING too!
Nauren… I don’t hate it, I don’t love it. I just want HRG to be a bad MoFo again. I miss that about him.
Claire and the Carnival… she better go back to class! I don’t think she would fit in very well there. To be honest I kind of like her and Gretchen (as friends). Gretchen reminds me of some people that I knew in high school, including the lesbian part. She’s a little neurotic, but harmless. I think she is good for Claire in the fact that she’s not a boy and that they both need each other. They’re weird in their own ways. I like it.
Can’t wait till next week.
Oh and Otto, I would reply to your response to me last week, but not time. Perhaps later.
“Can’t wait till next week.”
Wait, what? Has it been a month already?
Sorry, force of habit, or it was a hidden desire that a month had passed already.
As for that response that I promised:
In retrospect maybe I was taking too much of a behavior psychologist’s point of view on Sylar’s issues. (What can I say, my psych class has ruined me.) I have another theory that has to do with some personal issues of my own and pretty much puts Virginia Grey at the center, but not necessarily negative. He seemed to possess an antisocial personality, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. My mother and I are the same way. Basically you have no problem socializing with other people. You can be handsome, smart, charming, and perceptive but you are perfectly satisfied being alone. I myself have a habit of making relatively close acquaintances, but I never get to the “friend” part since I have no desire too. I spend time thinking that I might die alone, but it doesn’t faze me due to my lack of motivation in making close contact with another human being. Sad I know, but that seems that was how Gabriel was. He was satisfied (not necessarily happy) with his life as it was. He had is mother, a successful business, and lots and lots of books. Sure he might have contemplated how lonely he was and that he should do something about it, but he might not have had the motivation too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a kind of aversion to getting emotionally involved with anyone due to what has happened in his life. Fear of abandonment is powerful. If you don’t get close to anyone you can’t get hurt.
So he goes along with his life, finds out he’s “special” and wants to become the “most special”. He kills for six months, get thwarted from getting a cheerleader (and a waitress eventually), and captured but no harm done. He doesn’t balk at the way he’s living until he finds out he’s going to kill millions in a nuclear explosion. So he goes to see the only person he’s close to, Virginia Grey. She’s the one he would have always gone too because she’s the only one who is still around (Kind of like Peter and Angela now). In the end she ends up rejecting him and threatens his life. Even if she didn’t die I’m pretty sure that Sylar wouldn’t have been the same, but she did, and at his hands. Something I noticed the first time I saw that episode was that he isn’t the same after that and seems to keep going in a downward spiral. He slowly keeps morally degenerating because he has no one to anchor him. His mom was his anchor as Nathan might have been Peter’s. We won’t truly know how it will effect Peter in the long run, but for Sylar it appears that there is no turning back. Perhaps that was when he lost his hope. When the one person he counted on pushed him away before falling victim to his own hands he lost his hope. When a mother’s love fails what else is there? It really is quite sad when one thinks about it, and as twisted and maniacal as Angela is, she might be the only one who will keep Peter sane. Although I don’t think Peter will ever fall as far as Sylar. He just doesn’t hate the world that much.
I also argue that Sylar put the black hat back on again and went on killing because what Hiro told him didn’t mean a thing. He already knew that he might die alone, but would you rather die a quiet, unknown watchmaker in Queens or demigod?
(Note: With all these emotional responses, I feel like a complete Bi*** for not crying.)
LeeAnna, how can you see the tragedy behind Sylar and not shed a single tear when Peter lets his brother go? That’s… that’s impossible!
“Basically you have no problem socializing with other people. You can be handsome, smart, charming, and perceptive but you are perfectly satisfied being alone.”
Valid point, but I’m tempted to disagree because Sylar has often come across as very emotionally needy. He wants to be told he’s special; he wants to feel like he’s valued; he wants to belong. To me, that doesn’t seem like a guy who’s perfectly satisfied being alone.
“He was satisfied (not necessarily happy) with his life as it was. He had is mother, a successful business, and lots and lots of books. Sure he might have contemplated how lonely he was and that he should do something about it, but he might not have had the motivation too.”
I don’t know; I think back to his speech to Chandra in 1.10 about how “futile” his life felt, and how he used to dream of someone showing up to tell him his parents weren’t really his parents. I don’t think that’s just a stab at foreshadowing. I think that’s a sign of someone who’s deeply dissatisfied with their life and just doesn’t know how to break free from it. And as much as I wanted to give Virginia more credit last week, I think we could point to 1.21 and argue that Sylar blatantly didn’t like the alternative she presented to him, which was working in a bank. Sylar seems to have wanted ~*something*~ that he couldn’t put his finger on, and it’s something he couldn’t identify from any of his own ideas or anything he’d read.
“Something I noticed the first time I saw that episode was that he isn’t the same after that and seems to keep going in a downward spiral. He slowly keeps morally degenerating because he has no one to anchor him. His mom was his anchor as Nathan might have been Peter’s.”
I agree. Virginia was like Sylar’s tie to humanity. That seems to be why he chose her as his “opposite” in 3.23; she’s like the voice inside his head, and the one person whose voice actually matters (or mattered) to him. Which kind of makes the fact that he killed her even more tragic. It’s like he killed his own hope for redemption, if there was ever any hope for him to begin with.
All that stuff that you have a problem with is stuff that I go through, oddly enough, which is probably why I react more the Sylar’s tragedy than to Peter and Nathan’s. I too am oddly emotionally needy (I usually cry at anything and everything) and want something from my life that I can’t put my finger on (at this point I want to be a novelist, but how attainable is that most of the time?). It nags at me and I often think that integrating into society by going through the standard of getting a job and going to college feels pointless because I don’t feel like I’m going anywhere. Its a strange situation and is highly contradicting, and it sucks! (When did this become a psychological evaluation of me? Uh… there must be something wrong with me if I identify more with a serial killer than a saint). The reason why one is satisfied (again, not happy) at being alone is because then you have no one to show that you don’t belong. Its the one time you can be yourself. The problem with Sylar is that he went the wrong way about changing his situation. Where as I have come to accept that it takes some time to get what you want and must work extremely hard for it, he, well, started killing people. He got what he wanted but ended up alienating himself from everyone else. Despite my aversion for people (and this isn’t because I hate them, I rather like talking to others), I have found that being myself is a good way to judge whether you will be accepted truly or not. Its hard, but I hold nothing back (otherwise I would have not revealed all my emotional problems to a board of Heroes fans).
Now there is another question whether Sylar is reveling his true thoughts or not when he torments others. I really can’t say because he could either be hiding his emotional neediness from them so they have no ammo, or at this point he has sunk so low that he’s just bitter and really doesn’t want to connect to anyone any more. I think he’s just hiding his soft spot. My boyfriend (bless him for putting up with my weepy personality) and I say that the only way to defeat him would be a hug, a friend, and massive amounts of therapy. Of course there is the question who really is Sylar? I don’t even think he knows himself.
(On a side note: Tragedies about identity usually get to me much more than death. I have no idea why that is, but it probably has to do with the above stated emotional issues.)
Oh yeah, and I’m crying…. there must be something wrong with me.
Can’t wait till January.
“… there must be something wrong with me if I identify more with a serial killer than a saint.”
Or perhaps it’s a sign that the show is doing something right?
I find it interesting that you draw a parallel between Sylar and Peter when it comes to personal goals and aspirations. Sylar and Peter strike me as similar in this respect because neither of them ever knew exactly what they wanted; the impression we’ve been given is that until the current drama took over their lives, they were both wandering, dreaming of something else they should have been doing with their lives.
Nathan strikes me as the opposite. He always had an idea of where he wanted his career to go. Even after the superpower drama started and he flipflopped (”Dad’s plan is insane! No, wait, it’s not, let’s give powers to everyone! No, wait, that is insane after all, let’s lock everyone with abilities up! No, wait, that’s insane too, what else can I try?…”), he was decisive about it, in the sense that he followed through on his latest plan and had a clear idea of what he wanted to achieve.
With Sylar, there seem to be two distinct things he wants: (1) to be the most special super there is, and (2) to feel valued, and to feel like he belongs (which I guess, in a way, are almost two separate things in themselves). I think the paradox is that on the one hand, Sylar wants to achieve the second of those without the first — a loving family telling him, “You’re special just the way you are…” On the other hand, Sylar apparently also wants to achieve the second of those things by way of the first; he wants the ego trip he’d get from being president, but he also wants to be recognized as the pinnacle of human evolution, and he wants to gather enough powers to ensure that the rest of the superpowered population will cower in fear (”eliminating the competition,” as per “FYG”).
I agree with you that when it comes to knowing who Sylar is, he probably doesn’t know himself. I wonder if that’s part of his inferiority complex, though, because if he thinks the only reason Elle was interested in him came down to his ability (and as far as we know, that was the only remotely meaningful relationship he was ever in), what would Gabriel have taken away from that? I think it would have strengthened his impression that the only reason anyone would ever care about him would be his ability, which — at least on a subconscious level — would be why he’d strive to develop that ability as far as he possibly could. Which kind of comes back to him wanting to feel valued by way of pushing his ability as far as it can go.
I agree with you on the two things that Sylar might want, but if the show does it right he will eventually have to choose between the two. Will he take power or, I would hate to say love, so lets use meaningful attachment. Which one does he want more? I think that if the proper relationship was presented to him with honesty, trust, and acceptance for who he is than maybe he would give up power. Unfortunately for him he might never get those things because he wants to be so special. So far it appears that he has ruined his chances (as we have seen so far) at that relationship that might bring him back at the very least to neutral. The only problem I see is, as you said, his massive ego. This person would probably have to be on par power wise just enough (or intelligent enough) to knock him down a peg. I just hope that if the show presents the relationship to him, and he takes it, that it isn’t a girl that he falls in love with. I’m all for strong females, but I think he needs a friend, not a girl friend. Even though I’m a chick I have always been fond of homosocial relationships (the technical term for bromances, and no it does not mean gay) for some reason. I always thought Peter a good candidate. It would make a great growth moment for the both of them, and their differences would help to balance out each other’s extremes. Not to mention, as I have suggested before, if Peter empathizes with someone he normally wouldn’t (you know who), I can see him getting his power as it was back. Or at least that is how I would do it since his ease to connect with people was why he could absorb in the first place. On the plus side their bickering could be really entertaining.
Nice review, Otto.
I can’t give the episode a 5/5 but only for a few reasons. Loved some parts but hated others. I give it a 4/5.
I’ll start with the obvious: It was clear that Nathan/Sylar/Peter owned this episode, and I was one of many who got teary. The final scenes between Milo and Adrian were wonderful, perhaps some of the best moments for the actors. What soured it for me was the never-ending fall. It was bordering on melodramatic, and they could have shaved a few seconds off of it. However, I doubt they would have because they had to show the official transformation into Sylar, which honestly, had to be one of the creepiest things I have ever witnessed in the show…to go from Nathan’s earnest expression to Sylar’s cruel smirk. And the performance by Pasdar was so strong that this was one of the first times that in contrast, I truly hated Sylar’s character.
Something else that messed it up was Nathan’s exclusion of Monty and Simon in his speech. He manages to sneak Angela in there despite the crap that she’s pulled but can’t remember his other kids? Huge continuity fail by the writers.
Umm…was anyone else bothered that Rene (notice how they’ve literally stopped calling him The Haitian) just walked away after Peter took his power? Can’t they give the man some lines or a plot for heaven’s sake, instead of just being the go-to guy for the Petrellis?
Something was up with Sylar, though. When Peter was beating the crap out of him (which he totally deserved), then mindwiping him, Sylar said “Kill me!” Could that mean that Sylar actually wants to die, or was he just saying that because he didn’t think Peter had the guts to do it?
I was so caught up in how his face was deformed by all the blood rushing to his head, that I didn’t even notice the teary eyes until on second viewing. I noticed that, Hrefna. In the position he was in, Milo’s face was really puffy, and not just from the tears. Not a good angle, but what can you do.
And even though Peter was robbed of a lot of his emotional scenes, I did cry in the end when he broke down and Angela embraced him. That was heartbreaking.
Claire & Gretchen at the Carnival. Well, she’s finally there, as I knew she would be. But I really thought that popcorn was either laced with something, or it was a never-ending box. Either way, they put a lot of emphasis on it.
Big Thug’s death was just a means to an end, but I did get some satisfaction out of seeing the little girl win the unicorn. That made me go “awwww”.
But Doyle and Claire hugging? Um, no. I know they’re not trying to kill each other, but I can’t believe they’re in the hugging phase. The whole “He tried to kill my mother, but I got over it” bit felt cheap.
The irony is that Doyle and Claire are linked by someone: Meredith. Knowing that, it could have been a nice, sentimental scene between them but it just felt fake. I couldn’t blame Gretchen for being shocked.
Speaking of which, I still like Gretchen, and I thought this There’s an implied finality to the farewell, the implication being that this is a farewell before a much longer length of time than they agreed to. was very true. I still think Gretchen is involved with the Carnival somehow.
Noah/Lauren. Although Lauren didn’t act quite as stupid, they could have done without this plot altogether. I’m sad that Noah is being virtually wasted with this. I think Hrefna is onto something about the Lauren/Tracy comparison. Honestly, is there really any difference between them?
Otherwise, a pretty good episode. Nicely done with the Nathan tribute. My favorite would have to be #9, when he rescues Claire from the agents. It was so cute, such a Dad thing to do, and their subsequent time together was a nice part of the third season. Farewell, Nathan!
See you in a month, Otto. Please keep it up with the great reviews.
Happy Holidays!
Better don’t talk about Meredith, because she felt horror about Doyle, which remind us about old Doyle and more about the shock which is seeing him holding Claire (!)
Difference between Tracy and Lauren? Well, the obvious is that for the moment, Lauren didn’t sleep with our beloved and missed Nathan :’(, she has a job and she doesn’t need HRG’s advices to act, and she hasn’t started to cry…strong female character? we’ll see…As LeeAnna said we need old bad ambiguous Noah but I’m for Nauren too, and if they add some twist from Lauren’s side, it would be welcome…of course, not being a Carnie’s spy
Why didn’t Sylathan just ask to be completely wiped? (then maybe chopped up into separate containers and buried)
He sounded like he put a little thought into the whole not-existing-anymore idea. But hey, he forgets his kids. Maybe Sylar would have made that too hard?
It just felt like *ping* “Please take care of all the people that will probably be killed with these hands that I want you to let go of”
*gets the tissues ready*
… the idea that if you endure personal hardship and tragedy, you can inspire others to follow your example and make a difference together.
I hope this is what they intend to do with Peter.
Angela walks into Peter’s hospital, and I have to point out how much I love the way Cristine Rose can make even that simple gesture – pushing doors open – look regal.
Of course, she IS the Queen!
… it’s to Sylar’s credit that he offers congratulations to Peter “for pulling it off,” because, it has to be said, getting the best of Sylar in any shape or form is a frustratingly rare event.
So true!
If you need to grab your handkerchiefs, people, do it now. It’s the end of an era.
NOOOO! *cries*
Heartbreaking, mostly because it feels like the scene isn’t trying to be heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking by itself.
Oh yes. *heart is breaking*
… his acceptance of defeat comes with such sincerity and such sadness that you’re won over. The way he looks at Peter, you know it’s a sadness that stems from knowing everything he’s leaving behind.
Oh so true. Although, Adrian got me in an earlier scene when he said he was tired and you could really tell it from the way he was moving to the tone of his voice.
Peter continues pleading to Sylathan to “stay with him” and to “fight it,” but you start to see traces of worry in his expression. This is where Pasdar’s ability to raise Ventimiglia’s performance comes out, because when he uses the word “please,” you can see denial being replaced with recognition and acceptance as Peter realizes he’s losing what was left of his brother.
This, THIS is bringing tears to my eyes. (Otto, I just knew you were going to get me to cry with this review.) *cries*
… it’s hard not to see whatever follows the previous scene as a shift down.
Yes, it definitely was. I kept wondering (and wanting) with so much time left if we would get another scene with Peter.
Peter returns to his bare, undecorated home and realizes he and his mom only have each other. It’s a brief moment, but when you think back to the conviction Peter exuded when he left Angela at the hospital, and when you get a glimpse of the broken state he’s in now, it’s impossible not to feel for the guy.
Being the Peter fan that I am, do I even need to say how much this gets to me? Why couldn’t they have spent a few more seconds on this scene?
To say that Pasdar and Ventimiglia carried the episode before the mid-season hiatus with phenomenal performances goes without saying.
It might go without saying, but it doesn’t hurt to mention it … well, in one way it does and another way it doesn’t. I don’t suppose either one would be Emmy-worthy? (Ignoring the fact that the Emmys seem to avoid the show like the plague!)
And to say that Pasdar’s departure has cost the show an enormous talent that will never be replaced, or that he’ll be missed beyond all words to articulate the loss, would be the most obvious statements I could make.
Oh, how could they think this was a good idea? *shakes head*
As for the Pasdar tribute … anybody else hear it? “Memories … of the way we were”
Enjoy, ladies. (And believe it or not, there was some great dialogue between Hiro and Nathan in this scene to accompany the eye candy.)Enjoy, ladies. (And believe it or not, there was some great dialogue between Hiro and Nathan in this scene to accompany the eye candy.)
That’s the best screen cap you could come up with? Come on, there were better ones! lol
As for the brunch scene, in retrospect, it’s the scene where you can really see that Peter is a Petrelli with the way he is helping his brother, yet manipulating him at the same time. It’s become one of my favorite scenes.
One that I want to add, but not sure if it fits because it was a dream, is Nathan coming to Peter’s rescue in Texas and his “You’re not a fighter, Pete. That’s okay, the world needs nurses too.” (Or something like that.)
Now I’m curious. What are your other 10?
Well done, Otto!
Thank you for the wonderful review, and it’s going to be a long month (give or take) until the next one. Take care!
Fantastic review, Otto, per usual.
I hadn’t initially recognized the parallel between Sylar being pinned by Peter the same way Sylar had pinned Issac. Good eye. Something that stuck with me was the parallel between this episode and the first episode of the series, during which Nathan flew up to one-arm-grab Peter from failing to his death. Here we were presented with a gut-wrenching roll reversal where Peter had to let Nathan go from a similar grip and it was beautifully realized on screen.
The character, Nathan, obviously already died during last season’s finale, and I feel that more than a character good-bye, this was a brilliantly scripted good-bye to a superbly talented actor. Happy Holidays.
Otto, you forgot each and every time they said ‘i love you’ and ‘i love you too’ to each other!
CJM, thank you for the kind words. I’m with you on the interpretation to Doyle’s dialogue, but I wonder whether he’s really capable of turning a new (non-psychotic) leaf the way he seems to have. If he found himself in an environment where he could survive without using his ability to control people, would he be happy just to entertain people? I think that goes back to the debates in previous discussion threads about the temptation to use certain abilities; if you could control people’s thoughts or freeze time, how long would it be before you succumbed to temptation? I think that’s a very valid question in Doyle’s case, particularly when he has more villainous instincts than, say, Matt or Hiro. It’s one of the questions about Doyle that “Nowhere Man” explored quite effectively.
Michael, yes, I’m afraid I did cheer when we found out that The Thug had been killed, and yes, I know that makes me a terrible person. But come on — he was irredeemable. He was a violent, alcoholic lowlife who assaulted a stranger for the sake of a few dollars, and if Claire hadn’t been able to regenerate, he would have scarred her for life with that broken bottle. To my mind, that puts him on Sylar’s level. My guess is TPTBs wrote him that way intentionally, just to point out that sometimes Samuel’s “morally gray” actions are much more clearcut than they seem. Samuel did the world a favor as far as I’m concerned. I don’t believe in righting one wrong with another, but I shudder to think what else a piece of garbage like this would be capable of when he was upset.
PandoraRose, thank you as always for the in-depth counter-review. A few thoughts in response to yours:
“I think we’ve seen many times when character on the show are fine with certain things until their children are involved.”
Very true, and it’s not as if her perspective isn’t understandable. I just find it odd that we’re willing to be compassionate with her when we’d probably condemn anyone else; I mean, if the situation was reversed, and Hiro was the one telling Lydia, “Hey, sorry if it gets your kid killed, but we need to tell everyone the truth — we need to stand up to the Evil Butterfly Man!”, wouldn’t we verbally rip him to pieces for putting Amanda in danger? (Well, not everyone would. But *I* would!)
Great catch with the way Stashwick plays each of his clones slightly differently. I noticed it too, and you’re right — it’s a sign of real thought from the actor.
Re: the screen in front of the Wall of the Carnival: ah, yes, valid point. I’d still say Lauren would have pried her way behind the screen, and that this was just her way of pretending she didn’t know what she was looking at.
Re: HRG and his “sexy partner to flirt with”: did anyone else notice Lauren’s reference to the self-replicator in Tulsa? She referred to the way it took “us” two weeks to find him, which struck me as a hint at a shared backstory; meaning, presumably, that if HRG and Lauren weren’t partners, they were at one point at least assigned to the same missions. So Sandra really *did* have cause for concern about “stumbling onto something.”
PandoraRose, I found this point from you about Angela very thought-provoking: “she had her breakdown and then went on because she had a living son and a world he needed to save…”
Do you think she went on? I’m not sure. Thinking back to 2.01, my impression is that several months after the explosion (and, as we later found out, after Nathan’s miracle recovery from deforming burns), Angela was far from getting over Peter’s death. I wonder if this was because he was her favorite (or so she said…), because the body was never found (hence no closure) or because it meant that she’d lost a son at the same time as her Great Plan For New York.
Interesting point about Peter understanding Angela’s motives for creating Sylathan, even if he doesn’t understand them. I’m tempted to agree, but mostly because Peter apparently hadn’t spent much time with Sylathan since he was created, so it’s not as if he can say, “How could you let me spend *so much time* with him when he was really my brother’s murderer?” He’d probably have more cause to be angry if he’d been hanging out with Nathan all summer. But then, surely Peter now has ample reason to be furious with HRG for not telling him the truth when they went to find the compass in 4.02?
Re: Nathan’s sons: yeah, I’m with you on this. I’m sad that TPTBs don’t seem to be interested in exploring the social ramifications, because those two boys will now grow up, potentially discovering their abilities, without a father. Only thing I’d add to this discussion is that Nathan clearly put work ahead of family a lot of the time; or at least, he used family as a means to promote himself (trying to recruit Peter in 1.01, humiliating him at the fundraiser in 1.02, his whole speech about setting an example for our children with his children on the stage in 1.22, etc.). The point being, he probably spent most of his time away from home while his sons were growing up, so it’s possible his ~*departure*~ won’t be as much of a blow to them as it would if he was a dad who took them to ball games and movies every night.
I’m intrigued by your point about Angela waiting for Peter at his apartment. Do you think she knew Peter was going to fail based on a gut instinct, or was it a prophetic dream?
Sendean, welcome, and thank you so much for reading. I’m glad you liked this review.
Raissa, DannyP, thank you.
Hrefna, I’m right there with you when it comes to the Lauren/Tracy confusion. I wonder if HRG ever has the same problem, like, “Ooh, which gorgeous blonde should I invite to dinner this evening? The one I used to have breakfast with, or the one I used to meet in sushi bars? Tough call!” That HRG, what a ladies’ man…
“Noah’s big speech felt out of place, and weirdly introspective…”
My feeling exactly. Come on, HRG — focus!
Re: the Claire/Gretchen flipflopping: I definitely see your point, and I made a similar point in the first draft of the review. I think perhaps there’s some room to give them both credit. Claire was determined to explore her “other options,” and she momentarily lost her courage when the time came to embrace the option her dad had warned her against so vehemently. And then she was won over by the Magik Popcorn and the pink unicorn. With Gretchen, I saw it as, “I’m devoted to you, so I’ll support you no matter what,” followed by, “But how can you go along with these people — they’re dishonest and exploitative!”, and then back to, “I’m still devoted to you, so I’ll support you — even if I don’t agree with you.” That, to me, shows real support on Gretchen’s part — that she’s willing to say goodbye to Claire because she knows it’ll make Claire happy. Weirdly, I got to the end of that story thread liking Gretchen a lot more and Claire a lot less; I mean, you phrase it as “rose-tinted glasses”; I’m tempted to be harsher, because Claire knows these are the people who killed Annie, who tried to kill Gretchen and who sliced her father open with knives, so joining them is basically saying, “I’ll forgive *all* of that if you provide a welcoming enough environment for *me*.”
The carnival disappearing? It was Teddy Bear Guy. Definitely.
On Sylathan jumping without expecting to levitate before he hit the ground: “I would imagine that for him not to fly before hitting the ground, would be akin to trying to suffocate yourself by holding your breath.” I agree with the principle, although I’d speculate on the show’s behalf and say that by this point, the line between Sylathan and Sylar had become so blurred that Sylathan no longer knew which abiltiies were his and which were Sylar’s. In his present screwed-up state, Sylathan might have known that he wouldn’t access any particular ability as instinctively as he usually would, or as quickly as Nathan would have accessed flight if he was hurtling to the ground.
Could it be that (1) Sylathan knew he needed to get away from Peter for Peter’s sake (because he realized that Sylar was about to re-emerge), and (2) he needed to force Peter to Let Go (figuratively AND literally) in order to focus on beating Sylar instead of trying to cut a deal with him.
Rosie, thank you. Is Nathan the most human character on the show? Certainly the most flawed, and certainly one of the most complex.
Myrystyr, I’m so glad you’re about to catch up with us. Be sure to weigh in on the mid-season finale when you get to it.
On the Clairic/Doylaire: oh, do not go there! I’m not sure what’s worse — this or the Sylaire.
I don’t think Gretchen’s been written out. I think there’ll be something for Gretchen with more closure. My guess would be that HRG will go to Gretchen (or she’ll go to him) and that she’ll tell him where to find the carnival so that they can rescue Claire from Samuel.
Pas, re: Samuel’s speech about a hopeless world: “easy to say this afterwards, but I smiled when I heard this because of your rant about hope last week ^^.”
It did feel like a shout-out-y coincidence, didn’t it?
“It’s actually nice to have some normal fights in the middle of people causing earthquakes, lose members and healing, etc…”
I agree. I liked that the show leveled the playing field for a moment so that it was more about Peter and Sylar than about their abilities.
“I would have hoped they could finish on exactly 100 episodes but that’s not likely to happen at all.”
I don’t know; based on what we’re hearing about the NBC/Comcast merger, we might yet see a 100th episode.
“I’m also having less problems dealing with Samuel/Joesph’s backstory than immediately after last week’s episode…”
Me too, although I wasn’t sure about that final shot with Samuel and Lydia concocting their Villainous Scheme together. It somehow seemed so ~*civil*~, the way they were standing there. Hello, Lydia? He killed the man whose death you cared enough about to risk trampling over history. And now you’re just mwa-ha-ha’ing with the guy like that was nothing?
Elle, thank you. Let’s imagine a happy Christmas for Lyle, Simon and Monty in front of a TV somewhere, playing Xbox and telling each other stories about their dads.
E., thank you for the kind words. You’re too kind. I’ve bashed the show plenty over the past 12 weeks.
“I also can’t help but wonder whether this death would have been more poignant at any of the other opportunities the show presented us with…”
I’ve wondered the same thing. The reason I come back to this opportunity is because it allowed for an increasingly rich backstory. I still say Volume Four was second only to Volume One, and that’s largely down to Nathan’s character arc driving it. If the show had killed off Nathan at the end of Volume One, we never would have gotten Fugitives. So, for me, it’s a call between writing AP out at the end of last season or writing him out now (or, hey, not writing him out at all!). But I think most of us would agree that Pasdar had some good material to work with this season, so in spite of the Sylathan issues many of us have raised, I’d say this was the way to go.
B., thank you, and respect to you if you don’t think the episode deserved a 5. It’s all relative, and it’s all down to personal opinion. I’m tempted to defend the “continuity fail” when it comes to Monty and Simon. I agree that it would have been a detail worth including, but I wonder how many viewers outside of the obsessive fan community would have even remembered that Nathan had two sons. I agree that that’s kind of disrespectful to the fan community (and to the character), but my guess is the show made a call between catering to the fan community and the wider audience — the audience that would have heard the reference to two characters (or three, if Nathan also mentioned Heidi) and said “Huh?”
Susan, sorry I made you cry.
I think the episode deserves more credit than I do, but thank you.
“The world needs nurses too” — yes, good call. My other nominations (in no particular order) would have been the moment in 1.19 when Nathan tells Peter that he owes everything he is to Peter; 1.10, when Nathan’s driving with Heidi and tells her about his “birthright”; 3.13, when Nathan beats Peter with a pipe; 1.22, when Angela asks Nathan if he can be the one they need (and Nathan does his best to look ~*resolved*~); 3.21, when Claire tells Nathan he’s supposed to be Superman; 3.25, when he tells Peter he loves him one last time; 1.01, when Peter wakes up from his dream about flying and sees his brother’s cheesy grin on the side of a bus; 2.08, when Nathan arrives in Cork soaked in rain (again, one for the ladies…); 1.15, when Nathan drove away from Meredith’s trailer, got a rock thrown at his car and tried to hide his distress behind his shades; 1.07, when Nathan told Peter he wasn’t sure what he’d do when he got to the scene of a crime if he didn’t have a badge or know karate; and 3.05, when Nathan told Angela to go to hell right after he found out he’d been given his ability.
Please feel free to add your own — you’ve probably got lots more than I do!
I’m tempted to defend the “continuity fail” when it comes to Monty and Simon. I agree that it would have been a detail worth including, but I wonder how many viewers outside of the obsessive fan community would have even remembered that Nathan had two sons. I agree that that’s kind of disrespectful to the fan community (and to the character), but my guess is the show made a call between catering to the fan community and the wider audience — the audience that would have heard the reference to two characters (or three, if Nathan also mentioned Heidi) and said “Huh?”
Yeah, but would that “Huh” by the “wider” audience have taken them out of the moment as much as it did for the long time fans that would get the reference? Heck, he wouldn’t have had to name them either, just say “take care of Claire and my boys”. This also makes me think of this quote by MST3K’s Joel Hodgson “We don’t ask ourselves, ‘will anyone get this?’ We tell each other, ‘the right people will get this.’” I wish the writers took that approach. And if I had my choice of continuity mentions, I’d take Nathan mentioning his boys over Matt calling Mohinder.
We haven’t seen either kid in two seasons. They haven’t been referenced, or alluded to.
I can see why people would be angry they’re gone, but at the same time they’re not really that important to continuity. Not to mention how Jesse Alexander named them (after his own kids), so there’s less staff impetus to include something that a former writer cared so much about.
Random speculation: is it possible Sylathan didn’t even know he was supposed to have two sons?
One of the props on Nathan’s desk at Petrelli HQ is a picture of Heidi (looking typically majestic), so one would imagine that if he recognizes the woman in the photo, he should know about the family Nathan once had. But this theory would explain the lack of any reference to Monty and Simon; Sylathan didn’t mention them because he didn’t remember them. There are probably all kinds of gaps in his memories because his routine over the two months he was ~*alive*~ were (one assumes) mostly work-related, meaning the selection of objects he could touch and absorb memories from was limited.
First, I’d like to thank Otto for the enormous effort that he puts into each and every review. It is greatly appreciated, each review is a joy to read and a wonderful way to relive each episode. You are always finding nuances in each episode that I completely missed. Thank you!
As an aside, I only recently started visiting Herosite a few weeks ago, even though I’ve been watching Heroes since Day One and loving it. I actually ended up here from Beeman’s Blog. A few weeks into Season Four I realized I hadn’t checked his blog in a while (since before Season Three ended), so I went looking. I found, to my sadness, that Beeman had moved on to other projects, but he mentioned Otto’s exceptional reviews and so I was compelled to come check it out. I’m glad I did!
I’d also like to mention that I loved this episode, if only for the final scenes with Adrian Pasdar. Nathan’s final scene was very powerful and brought tears to my eyes, something I don’t think has happened for the breadth of the series. My own sense of loss isn’t reserved solely for Nathan, but also involves Adrian. He is an exceptional actor and his exit leaves a void on the show. He will be sorely missed. (I’m tearing up again as I write this!)
The bulk of this post is actually regarding the Haitian’s unique ability, which I’ve thought a lot about lately.I wanted to present the whole thing to the avid fans here and get some insight. So without further ado:
Situation One: No Ability-Blocking
This scene is early in Season One, when Nathan is partially bagged & tagged by HRG and the Haitian. (This is the lead-in to Otto’s #2 scene above, by the way!) HRG orders the Haitian to knock out Nathan, yet he takes off into the sky. (STILL an awesome visual.) Despite being in close proximity to the Haitian and being the sole focus of his ability, Nathan still uses his ability and escapes with little effort. Where was the ability-blocking?
Situation Two: No Ability-Blocking Redux
Again in Season One, after learning that Claude is still alive, Bennett and the Haitian track Claude down and attempt to capture him and Peter. What’s initially interesting is that instead of using the Haitian’s ability to suppress abilities, Bennett uses Infrared goggles to locate Claude’s heat signature and taser him. Perhaps Bennett wanted to sneak up on Claude and using the ability-suppressant would tip him off, so he directed the Haitian to “turn it off.” Yet the Haitian doesn’t “turn it on” after Claude is tasered. Peter uses TK to protect himself from a similar taser and then flies off with Claude. A second example of specials being in close proximity to the Haitian yet being unaffected by his ability-blocking.
Situation Three: Area of Effect Ability Blocking
You could also call this “Blanket Blocking.” The Haitian’s ability typically seems to block any and all abilities within in a certain, unknown radius. Usually, the ability does not seem to require focus, direction or even the Haitian’s knowledge of the presence of a special. This is best seen in Season Three (Volume Three) when the Haitian is sent to receive delivery of one-half of the Formula. Both Daphne and Hiro attempt to steal the Formula, but both find that their individual abilties are non-functional within the theater. Hiro can’t freeze time, Daphne can’t super-speed. (It’s interesting to note that despite her ability being blocked, Daphne isn’t reduced to a cripple. She can still walk normally.) It’s assumed that the Haitian didn’t know that Daphne and Hiro were present in the theater and thus he could not have been specifically blocking their abilities. He clearly does realize that specials may attempt to intercept the delivery of the Formula, which is clearly the reason he is supposed to take possession of it in the first place. The Formula would be significantly safer if it could not be stolen by use of abilities. Though the Haitian does not know which specials are in the building (or even if any are there), his ability blankets a large area and prevents ability usage anyway.
The blocking ability is clearly not a reflexive, unconscious ability like Claire’s healing, since the moment the Haitian is knocked out, the Blocking Blanket vanishes and Daphne super-speeds the Formula away. The Haitian isn’t out long, he comes to in time to prevent Hiro’s escape, but this scene gives a wealth of information on the ability-blocking.
Situation Four: Focused Ability Blocking & Breaking the Block
Later in Season Three (near the end of Volume Three), we get a second very informative scene. This is Arthur’s death at the hands of Sylar? Peter? The Haitian? Anyway, what we see in this scene is two very important aspects that were previously unknown. First is that the Haitian can selectively block abilities. It’s clearly obvious that the Haitian is blocking Arthur’s plethora of abilities, yet leaving Sylar free reign. Was this by choice? Yes and no, I think. Though the Haitian would likely have preferred Sylar to be as powerless as Arthur, he simply couldn’t handle the both of them. There was too much power to block. So the Haitian choose to block the more dangerous of the two, Arthur. Yes, he specifically directed his Ability-Block onto a single, extremely powerful individual. There was apparently no Blanket-Blocking at all, the Haitian was using all his strength to block Arthur alone.
This leads directly to the second concept witnessed (though not introduced!) here, that the Haitian’s Ability-Block can be overcome. As is clearly evidenced by the strain the Haitian is under in this scene (plus the dialogue), he’s having a hard time keeping Arthur under control. Arthur has enough power that he’s taxing the Haitian’s ability to block him. I don’t think this relates to number of abilities alone, since we’ve seen the Haitian block numerous abilities several times. It seems more directly related to willpower. Arthur has an intense amount of willpower and it’s enough to strain the Haitian like never before (or since). Given a little more time, I’m sure that Arthur would have broken free completely. Again, this intense strain on the Haitian’s ability meant that he could only focus on blocking Arthur. Spreading the Block to anyone else (Sylar or any other special in the building) would have been too much to handle.
Though this scene is the best example of these two factors of Ability Blocking, both were shown in Season One. Early on in the Season, Matt was able to break through the Haitian’s ability block and pull a single word out of Bennet’s head. It took an extreme amount of concentration and effort on Matt’s part, as evidenced by the blood, but Matt DID manage to break through the Haitian’s block, if only for a very brief moment. It’s noteworthy to mention that the Haitian likely was not focused on blocking Matt and was likely using the Blanket-Block. It’s also astounding to see just how much effort this TINY success required from Matt to break through a non-focused Blanket-Block. Contrast this to Arthur’s similar fight and we see just how determined Arthur really was.
The Focused Ability Block was also seen in Season One, when Eden and the Haitian captured Sylar. At least, I assume so. Eden was clearly using her Persuasion ability on Sylar and I can’t imagine that the Haitian would NOT use his Ability-Block on Sylar at the same time. Such a dangerous villain would certainly be the focus of the Haitian’s ability. So we see a very early example of one special’s abilities being blocked, while a nearby special is allowed free reign. Also note that some unknown distance away, Peter was borrowing Claire’s ability to survive a fatal fall. Either the Haitian’s ability wasn’t on at the point, it was focused on Sylar or the Haitian was far enough from Peter to not affect him.
Situation Five: Ability Blocking OFF
If the previous examples weren’t enough, this most recent scene shows that Rene has a lot of control over his ability. How could Peter possibly absorb an ability that blocks abilities? It must be off, of course. As seen before, Rene’s ability is off when he’s unconscious and he can also focus it on a single individual, so why not turn it off completely, if he so desires? Peter absorbed Rene’s ability because Rene turned it off to allow him to do so. (OR, he focused it solely on the most convenient special, Angela.) In fact, we saw this very thing a couple weeks earlier, when Rene came to defy Angela and tell Peter the truth about Nathan. If Rene’s full ability Blanket-Block had been on at this time, it would have shut off Sylathan’s shape-shifting, reverting him to the Sylar-base. THAT would have been one way to show Peter the truth.
Actually, typing that has spawned a different idea. Given that we now know that Rene’s ability-block can be overcome by enough willpower, perhaps Sylathan sub-consciously resisted the ability-block. It was so ingrained in him that he IS Nathan, perhaps that was strong enough to resist the ability-block and allow his shape-shifting to function, but only to maintain the physical manifestation of what the brain believed. The Advanced Parkman Whammy was certainly strong, there’s no doubt of that. This could also explain why Sylar could shift to Sylathan, even though being ability-blocked by Peter. Except that it would be more of a conscious thing at that point, since Sylathan would know the truth of his false-existence. So maybe not, but it’s an interesting idea!
Anyway, we also see that the Haitian-Block ability seems to have an off-switch by the brief elevator scene. If Peter had been projecting the Blanket-Block at the time, Sylar could not have been shape-shifted into the nurse, nor have been able to grab and throw Peter as effortlessly as he did. (I assume Sylar used TK to do that, since I don’t recall him ever gaining Super-Strength.)
Given all that, I think we can safely assume that the Haitian’s ability is very complex.
One last thing that I found interesting while typing this whole thing up. I considered putting it up top after the first couple paragraphs, but decided to wait. Anyway, it’s VERY interesting that way back in Season One, Rene seems to have intentionally let the Petrelli brothers escape capture by the Company. It certainly explains why both Nathan and Peter effortlessly overcame the Haitian’s very powerful ability blocking, when every other example has required significant effort and willpower. Though Noah obviously didn’t know at the time that he was bagging & tagging his daughter’s biological father, Angela was certainly aware of the relationship and clearly seems to have informed the Haitian of such. As evidenced by is refusal to memory-wipe Claire in Season One. The Company as a whole didn’t know about Claire’s relationship to Angela, but she and the Haitian did. It stands to reason that Rene may well have been under standing orders from Angela to NOT bring in her sons. Astounding that I never considered it before, but it certainly fits!
Situation one and two have something in common, as you pointed out, Angela’s family. My theory is that he wasn’t blocking Nathan’s or Peter’s abilities in those situations because of Angela and whatever it is she did for him to make him indebted to her.
What Susan said.
The impression given is that Angela dreamed about the explosion, and told The Haitian and Claire/Nathan and Peter were off limits.
Troy, welcome, and what an AMAZING analysis of René’s ability. So well researched and so persuasively presented. I’m very impressed.
I’d like to add one detail to your analysis, although I’m not sure whether it would come under Situation Four or Five. I think there’s room for speculation that René can selectively apply his ability to some individuals while leaving others unaffected. I’m mostly thinking of two scenes in 2.08: firstly, in Bob’s office at Primatech NY, when Elle was able to go Ellectric on Peter but Peter was unable to TK the glass of water in front of him; secondly, when Elle and René pursued Peter and Adam to the docks, and Elle was able to set Peter on fire but Peter was later unable to use TK or Ellectrobolts to defend himself against René. I guess the counter-argument is that René was activating and deactivating his ability from moment to moment during those scenes, but the alternative is that he can control *how* he applies his ability as well as when.
I like the theory that Angela issued René with specific instructions to keep her family from being captured or memory-wiped, but in some cases it strikes me as very tenuous. That moment in 1.16 that you mention — when HRG and René came moments away from B&T’ing Peter and Claude — seems to me to be an example of Peter escaping capture by the slimmest of chances. I have a hard time believing that René’s line of thought the whole time was, “I’ll do my best to capture Peter with my infrared goggles and tasers, but I know his time-freezing and telekinesis and flight will save him in the nick of time…” < < It just seems a little too convenient that it played out that way, y’know?
Very true, and it’s not as if her perspective isn’t understandable. I just find it odd that we’re willing to be compassionate with her when we’d probably condemn anyone else; I mean, if the situation was reversed, and Hiro was the one telling Lydia, “Hey, sorry if it gets your kid killed, but we need to tell everyone the truth — we need to stand up to the Evil Butterfly Man!”, wouldn’t we verbally rip him to pieces for putting Amanda in danger? (Well, not everyone would. But *I* would!)
But then many fans have no problem forgiving and loving Sylar for killing people for his own personal gain, but see Angela as a bitch, etc, because she does bad things in the name of saving the world.
Re: HRG and his “sexy partner to flirt with”: did anyone else notice Lauren’s reference to the self-replicator in Tulsa? She referred to the way it took “us” two weeks to find him, which struck me as a hint at a shared backstory; meaning, presumably, that if HRG and Lauren weren’t partners, they were at one point at least assigned to the same missions. So Sandra really *did* have cause for concern about “stumbling onto something.”
Yeah, totally, they each are the “one of them”.
PandoraRose, I found this point from you about Angela very thought-provoking: “she had her breakdown and then went on because she had a living son and a world he needed to save…”
Its one of the qualities of Angela that is very interesting to me, because I don’t think she really does, she just puts on a good show and goes forward because she has to, she’s strong, but she’s still emotionally broken.
Do you think she went on? I’m not sure. Thinking back to 2.01, my impression is that several months after the explosion (and, as we later found out, after Nathan’s miracle recovery from deforming burns), Angela was far from getting over Peter’s death. I wonder if this was because he was her favorite (or so she said…), because the body was never found (hence no closure) or because it meant that she’d lost a son at the same time as her Great Plan For New York.
I think a little of both and Cris would agree that when she screamed over Nathan’s death it was for the lose of him and her plan. I think losing Peter, who I do believe was her favorite - she said so he was like her, as much as I love Nathan I do believe he was more like his father, but he had many aspects of his mother too. I think No closure is something, but she was so certain he was dead, prop because she didn’t see him in her dreams. As I said above, Angela goes on, as in putting two feet in front of each other, but she still feels emotionally and that is always that fights with in her. She’d still be going on to the next plan as she sobs - or she has no reason to move forward - or that the lose was worth anything.
Re: Nathan’s sons: yeah, I’m with you on this. I’m sad that TPTBs don’t seem to be interested in exploring the social ramifications, because those two boys will now grow up, potentially discovering their abilities, without a father. Only thing I’d add to this discussion is that Nathan clearly put work ahead of family a lot of the time; or at least, he used family as a means to promote himself (trying to recruit Peter in 1.01, humiliating him at the fundraiser in 1.02, his whole speech about setting an example for our children with his children on the stage in 1.22, etc.). The point being, he probably spent most of his time away from home while his sons were growing up, so it’s possible his ~*departure*~ won’t be as much of a blow to them as it would if he was a dad who took them to ball games and movies every night.
I very much so agree, but when we saw Nathan with his kids I feel he really did love them and spend time with them in a way his father probably did - before he got older and the company really took over - always got the impression Peter and Nathan being so far apart almost had two different fathers…. maybe even mothers. But really I bring up the how in season one I believe he mentioned helping his kids with a train set, the way he picked them up when they came home and Clarie was standing in the steps. He knew them more than he knew Claire, so did he mentioned Claire because he felt guilty? I always say Nathan as a devoted father.
I’m intrigued by your point about Angela waiting for Peter at his apartment. Do you think she knew Peter was going to fail based on a gut instinct, or was it a prophetic dream?
Hard to say, as we know she tends to fall asleep not during bedtime hours.
Would one scene of her actually waking up in bed, so hard, lol. But I think it could be either. She saw herself being there to console her son, or she went to his apartment to be sure he’d come home safe. I do believe with all her powers she never knows everything and with a passive power and the fact that at the end of season 3 she was the ONLY one not to have a gun (I just don’t believe that with all her history and a GUN that sat in a drawer in her foyer that she doesn’t know how to use a gun and there we’re plenty of guns, not like there weren’t enough left) that Angela spent a lot of time waiting at home for her loved ones to come back a live.
Wah… That Haitian discussion is going very far. So I’m just gonna say on a semi-related note that Jimmy Jean-Louis was at the Miss France election yesterday (lmao). I didn’t watch it but apparently he promoted Heroes ^^.
Ultimately, for what’s been said about “People being okay with things untill their children are involved”, it’s just the human dimension of Heroes. Everybody is okay with their status quo even though horrible things happen all over the world, untill something happen to someone we know. Everybody in the world is hypocrite (all proportion kept) and Heroes’ characters aren’t an exception. That was HRG working for the Company untill they targeted Claire, Nathan giving Claire a free pass while B&Ting all other supers, etc…
For Sylar, as much as it looks like he needed conections, etc, the problem would be that from what we know, he hardly made any effort even when he was powerless. He looked either okay with it, either not okay, but wasn’t willing to do anything about it. If all he did was complain about how insignificant he is, it’s pretty much the same thing than mopping around the whole day.
Another thing would be that with Hiro going back in time so save Charlie, he knew, or at least thought, that he’ll eventually be stopped, be alone, etc… and he didn’t consider stopping for more than a few seconds. It’s not like he was redeemable back then but considering stopping when his body count was low (Emo-Trevor, Chandra, Molly’s parents - That’s all I can think off) would have made a bit more sense than in the middle of S3. On the opposite side, it could be that Hiro’s speech forged his path or at least conforted him in it : Maybe retroactively, he thought it wasn’t worth trying that much knowing he’ll end up alone and dead anyway, and decided just to survive, hence going psycho when learning Angela might be lieing to him.
So it either makes Sylar a evil bastard from the start, either give him another circumstance (to the 700 already existing) that turned him into a monster. Or whatever
“Best popcorn in the world”? Go back and watch 3.23 “1961″, where Chandra Suresh tells young Angela they have “the best popcorn!” Compare and contrast, folks… maybe someone at Coyote Sands had the special power of making really good popcorn, and they were among the first to join the Sullivan Brothers Carnival? Also apparently located in Ohio…
The whole Nathan-Sylar story feels too dragged out, and I’ll be glad when the show moves past this and gets on with things. Same as how the half-season of special episodes of Doctor Who drags out David Tennant’s departure - although, apparently he’ll be in the same pilot that Sendhil/Mohinder is leaving Heroes for.
On the question of what Gretchen does next, does she lead HRG to the Carnival - Shadowboxing having aired down here, I’m wondering if she took the opportunity to talk with The Haitian about people with abilities.
Good catch.
It’s not about Samuel at all, is it? That baby in the film reel probably wasn’t even him. Now we know where the rest of the season is headed. It’s all about the Magik Popcorn Guy. He’s going to take over the world with that stuff!
And, volume 6 will start with the Best Popcorn recipe being torn in half…
From that screencap, looks like Gretchen enjoys the popcorn more than Claire does… ‘normal’ people are more susceptible, or regen’s liver filters out the Magik ingredient?
Flint liked to make popcorn too, I wonder if he’s joined the carnival.
I think something bad happened to Flint in a GN… Of course, if the popcorn is the next magical blood…
I’m kinda wondering how many Primatech boxes HRG had since :
- He left his Odessa home a while ago / He left his Costa Verde home a while ago / Primatech burned down / He gave files to the government… etc.
- I think there was that storage but he can’t have a million box left after all that…
Also, since Eli took them, is there some slight chance you think we will get to see some characters who just vanished in the nature ? ^^
Claire made popcorn in her kitchen in 3.19. Doyle took it from her. And She Who’s Been Wiped From All Established Canon offered popcorn to Hiro and Ando at the German movie theater back in 3.03. Hiro wouldn’t accept it.
Could these be clues?
That all definitely foreshadows something… Maybe the tagline for next season will be “Heroes, the show with the best popcorn”?
Maybe also, HRG’s Primatech boxes have become a substitute plot device for Isaac Mendez’s paintings. He certainly seems to be the kind of guy to have a lot of boltholes and contingency plans. Primatech Hartsdale may have burned down, but Primatech Odessa and its vault are probably still intact…
Having grown up on Doctor Who, I take the attitude that spinoff media take place in an alternate timeline. So I’m expecting to see Claire and her Uncle Flint chatting over a box of magik popcorn in the next episode.
I actually forgot that Flint was Claire’s uncle. Too many people related on this show for me to remember…
After all, popcorn is what will save Heroes from cancellation. Maybe popcorn is what HRG uses to replicate files over and over again.
I’d love a season/mini-season based on an alternate reality or on Hiro changing the timeline and dealing with a gigantic butterfly effect but there’s no way that’ll happen. Of course just one episode like that is welcome too. :).
I find it helps to assume any and every character is either related to the Cheerleader or going to be revealed as related to her, unless specifically stated otherwise
Oh, and maybe HRG made copies of Primatech files while he was ‘working’ at Copy Kingdom?
Myrystyr,
“HRG’s Primatech boxes have become a substitute plot device for Isaac Mendez’s paintings.”
True, although in this case I have to defend Samuel because that move made a lot of sense. If Samuel didn’t have the kind of comprehensive database of supers that Primatech NY would have provided, he went to the next best thing, which was a box full of potential recruits, along with (one assumes) detailed information about their abilities, their last known locations, their behavior and mental stability, and so on. So, yeah, it is very much a plot device, but a logical one within the context of the story.
My first time here….looking for some consolation and other fan reaction on what happened this week.
I don’t think I’m the only one.
Well done, I’ll be back!
Very late to the party here. Otto, I know I said I’d be dialing back on commenting, and that is indeed the case–for now.
I hate to say it, but the whole emotional Sylathan/Peter scene was kind of spoiled for me by the fact that Sylar walked away again.
Even the Sylar-addicted writers MUST realize by now that the. time. has. COME!
If this is indeed the last season (and who knows what Comcast wants to do), then we know that the cockroach must finally be crushed to bits in the finale. If it’s not (and this makes me VERY ambivalent on what to hope for), then dear God almighty, please don’t have them come up with yet another gambit to give him joker immunity. Please. After the glass shard and the mind wipe last season, I didn’t think they could come up with a permanent Sylar death that would actually be believable and satisfying (oh, he’ll just come back again; he always does), but this actually gave me hope. If Arthur could be defeated by the Hatian-whammy, then surely Sylar can too.
Great to see you back, KellyH.
We’ve talked about this via e-mail, but you know you’re welcome to rejoin the discussion threads anytime you like. I’m glad you’re still watching (and trying to see past the parts that are so torturous for you), and I hope the show succeeds in winning back your loyalty in January.
“After the glass shard and the mind wipe last season, I didn’t think they could come up with a permanent Sylar death that would actually be believable and satisfying (oh, he’ll just come back again; he always does), but this actually gave me hope…”
I agree. It seems like some kind of a combination of a Haitian-whammy and a Parkman-whammy would be the way to go. That, followed by chopping his head off and putting it through a grinder and depositing the remains in a furnace, then carving up the rest of him into tiny pieces and burying the segments in different parts of the world.
What we really need, though, is a whole episode devoted to that carving-Sylar-into-tiny-pieces process. That would be so cathartic. I’m guessing that really would win back your loyalty, KellyH.
Heads up to everyone who might not be aware: KellyH recently contributed to Matt Roush’s Ask Matt column over at TV Guide:
http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/ask-matt/ask-matt-midseasons-lost-glee-mash-up-3442.html
Here’s the extract (which is towards the end of the column):
Question: I read your latest critique of Heroes and understand that you, like so many others, are simply about to give up. I really believe that the writers need to get the message about why things have gone so horribly wrong. Because I think that all of them, especially Tim Kring, are too hard-headed to realize their fatal error. There have been excellent episodes and stories this season (especially those with Bryan Fuller’s mark). You are a bit too negative in that regard, but the central problem I’m talking about weighs down any and all of that quality and makes the show impossible to redeem, whether it is renewed or not. It all comes down to this: They decided to name a show Heroes, and then they ended up developing as THE central character a villain who could never, ever, ever be defeated. Ever! That is too pessimistic and hopeless for even once-die hard fans to care anymore.
They were so enamored of Zachary Quinto, so proud of themselves for creating what they must have regarded as The! Greatest! Villain! Ever! that they torpedoed their own show. Sure, there’s a sizable Quinto and Sylar fan club, and they’re very loud and very vocal. But I simply can’t believe anymore that this group of crazies who say they will ditch the show the moment Quinto is gone is not substantially smaller than the core group of once-devoted fans who have already left or are about to leave because they simply can’t take Sylar anymore. Most of them rightly wish that the Season 1 arc had been brought to its proper conclusion with his actual final death. Most of them can’t believe that they rendered the entire “Save the Cheerleader” gambit moot by giving him that ability. And most of them can see the writing on the wall, both with Pasdar’s departure, that it’s just going to be more of the same, and any hope for Sylar’s defeat is ultimately quixotic. Sure, Quinto is great. Sure, there were characters in the past like Farscape’s Scorpius who showed that villains don’t necessarily have to have a shelf life(as they always did in the BuffyVerse). But I just don’t know why the Heroes writers, Fuller included, never got it that this particular villain absolutely needed a shelf life because he was both indestructible and irredeemable. And everything good about their show went down the drain because they didn’t get it.—Kelly H
Matt Roush: To play devil’s, or Sylar’s, advocate, any good hero needs a mighty nemesis for the sake of great conflict. Sylar provides that. The problem isn’t just that he can’t die (although I have to believe there’s a way to ultimately defeat him, otherwise what’s the point), but my larger gripe involves the primary heroes themselves. With the recent exception of Nathan, they’ve proven so resilient and malleable, their abilities and rules adapting with the ludicrous turns of the story, that after all of this time, I find myself irretrievably detached about what happens to almost any of them. (My favorite character, oddly, is the one without any powers beyond that of humanity and empathy: HRG. He must be the reason I keep watching. Can’t otherwise explain it.)
KellyH, you know I mostly agree with you on the whole “hopeless issue,” although I think it goes beyond Sylar and extends to the misfortune that befalls almost all of the characters, whether they run into Sylar or not. I agree with Matt’s point that Sylar is the mighty nemesis of the show, but I’m curious about why we feel that way. I wonder whether that ties in with the character’s longevity; he’s certainly the unkillable and ongoing nemesis, but between Adam, Arthur, Danko and Samuel, there’ve been plenty of volume-specific nemeses, and each of them have been “mighty” in their own way (Arthur in terms of his abilities and sheer megalomania, Danko and Samuel in terms of their ruthlessness and their complexity as characters).
Had Sylar hypothetically been written out at the end of Volume One, I wonder whether we’d still consider him the most memorable villain of the series. I know I’ve said it before, but it still amazes me that vast portions of Volume Three could have played out exactly the way they did *without* Sylar, and looking back, Nathan’s murder excepted, I don’t think Volume Four would have been all that different without Sylar either. So, I think the point I’m making here is that perhaps Sylar’s stature as The Mighty Nemesis simply comes down to the fact that he’s been around the longest rather than because he’s had the most impact on other characters. I guess this episode took it a step further when Sylar smiled and waved after Peter watched his “brother” plunge to his death, but it’s not as if he’s any more villainous than the other villains the show has created. If Arthur or Samuel had been around since early Volume One and were still around now, I wonder whether we’d be calling them the Mighty Nemesis instead.
Is it down to the awfulness of the scalping? Is it the parallel to Peter and the way the two characters are being written as different sides to the same coin? Is it down to sheer charisma on ZQ’s part? Or is it just that he’s stuck around longer than any of the other bad guys?
“Oh, and maybe HRG made copies of Primatech files while he was ‘working’ at Copy Kingdom.”
Well, That would be kinda ironic, in an awesome way.
Sylar ? The fact that Arthur is dead just prooves that he CAN die. The problem is that he won’t, because for some reason, the writers don’t want him too. Actually, I wonder if they have a blackboard regrouping all the (stupid?) ideas to keep him alive. The real problem is that nobody ever really went after him. Now, we do have Peter willing to do the job but I think that we’ll agree that there close to no chance to Sylar dieing.
Now, you make a great point, that has already stated. Most of the timeline would be relatively similar if Sylar died at the end of S1, etc.
Also, I don’t see why Hiro should feel bad about going back in time and chopping his head off. Preserving the timeline is nice, but not letting Sylar kill dozens of people doesn’t sound like a bad idea either, and it’s not like anyone else than him would know about it afterwards, but whatever. He already accidentaly changed the timeline creating a megalomaniac/genocidal villain so changing it to stop a serial killer would really be that aweful? Someone will have to explain me where’s the trick.
I agree that Sylar should go.
BUT… he needs to be written out in a finale. Like it or not, he is the shows de-facto villain. Ditching him in a pre-finale episode raises the ‘what next?’ question, because if you can easily take down Sylar then really… is Samuel going to be that hard to kill? There’s also the issue of Sylar being so cockroach like in cheating death that they’ll have to think outside the box in dealing with him.
Looking at this from a Doctor Who perspective, Sylar is (almost) as unkillable and evil and highly intelligent and villainously charming as Davros (his work is so ’special’ he wipes out his own people when they get in the way) and The Master (liked disguises, had a distinctive style of killing, and served as nemesis to the main character). However, unlike them he appears in as many episodes each season as possible. Sylar is an ever-present villain, not a recurring villain.
Would we be complaining so much about Sylar if he only appeared as often as guest starring roles, say half a dozen episodes per season? Or, to put it another way, imagine you’re looking back on the first few seasons from the perspective of season 10, 12, 15, etc - will you be glad that the show has a stable of recurring villains more interesting than ‘that old brain guy’, or will you wish that someone would unstake Sylar to make things interesting again?
Another perspective: perhaps the problem is not that the SuperVillain is so big and bad… maybe the Heroes are not as heroic/mighty as they could/ought to be. If you have a dragon to slay, you need experienced adventurers who’ve proven themselves. Save the princess, kill the bad guy on dungeon level 5, save the world
If they release Quinto from his contract, there’s a high chance we’ll never see him again.
Ian,
“Ditching [Sylar] in a pre-finale episode raises the ‘what next?’ question…”
I’d go further and say that even ditching him in a pre-SERIES-finale episode raises the “What next?” question. At this point, four seasons in, with perhaps a fifth season to go, I think the show would struggle to fill the void Sylar would leave. It wouldn’t be a creative void because, as I’ve argued (and with the exception of killing Nathan), Sylar’s involvement in the broader story arcs the past three volumes has been minimal. But in terms of there being a long-standing “opposite” to Peter (as you’ve mentioned on a few occasions), I wonder if killing off Sylar would create an imbalance.
Then again, if Peter’s ability-absorption is going to remain the way it is for the rest of the series’ run, is there really an imbalance to create in the first place?
I agree that ZQ could probably sign off Heroes and make the transition to a successful movie career, but why would he want to when TPTBs are willing to write around actors’ movie commitments the way they did recently for Ramamurthy? I’m not sure I buy that explanation for his absence, but assuming it’s true, I imagine TPTBs could still adapt their story the way they planned to for the back half of Season Two; that Sylar could ~*mysteriously*~ disappear for 10 episodes and then resurface. It would allow Quinto to make another Star Trek (or anything else he had lined up), it would appease Sylar-haters by limiting the character’s screen time, and it would give the show a chance to prove that it can tell a story that doesn’t involve heavy doses of the same villain.
LeeAnna, I wanted to come back to a topic we were discussing upthread because I think it’s relevant to this discussion:
Re: the idea of introducing a female character as a parallel to Sylar:
“This person would probably have to be on par power wise just enough (or intelligent enough) to knock him down a peg. I just hope that if the show presents the relationship to him, and he takes it, that it isn’t a girl that he falls in love with. I’m all for strong females, but I think he needs a friend, not a girl friend.”
I love this idea. I can’t see TPTBs writing a romance for Sylar after this episode, but it would be such a great opportunity for the show to create a strong female character, and to establish whether there’s anyone else out there with intuitive aptitude and who, unlike Samson and Gabriel, didn’t become dangerously warped as a result of the ability. As disturbing as the thought is, I can imagine a She-Sylar who isn’t psychotic and hellbent on acquiring everyone’s abilities, and at the same time a character who can’t be outwitted or outmaneuvered the way everyone else is by Sylar. That would be a character that Sylar would respond to, if only because he wouldn’t immediately be able to slice her scalp off, and because his fascination would probably outweigh his killer instinct.
The only way I could see the show getting past the “power vs. love” issue would be to go back to the Amnesiac-Sylar storyline. It would be a neat way to stand the Sylathan concept on its head, because if the argument there was that the memories make the personality, the argument here would be whether the absence of memories adds up to a new personality. I’m not sure it’s possible for Amnesiac-Sylar to atone for Actual-Sylar’s actions, but perhaps that would be one way to go about it, and perhaps that would be one way to conclude Sylar’s arc without killing him off.
Well, if they do get another season, I wouldn’t mind at all if most of the actual characters were gone for a while, or if they just had limited presence. That seemed like an obvious option not to overuse Sylar since S2, but they kinda avoided it. They could easily be temporarly written of (you know, like living their life not in front of a camera ^^) and resurface halfway through the season, with screentime growing to raise momentum for the series finale (that will have to happen some day and if it isn’t this year, I’d say next year is a safe bet). That would be a easy way to introduce new characters, and HRG - Angela/The (New?) Company/The Carnivale (If they survive past the season) seem to be enough glue to tie in potential new storylines to old characters, that will at some point feel overused, for those wou aren’t already.
Okay… A romance would seem creepy for Sylar. What about a bromance ^^ Since he wants to fit in so much, he should totally get a BFF.
One thing I found very distracting in Nathan’s final moments was the shoddy green screen and/or CGI effects. It was WAY too obvious that Pasdar was actually standing on a platform or floor, and also that there was no strain on either of their arms. And the fall? Give me a break! It actually kept me from really submerging myself in the emotion of the moment (to answer your earlier question: No, I was not in tears; too busy groaning over the crappy effects).
Dude, *cambiatagn* - Do you know how shortened their budget is this season? For what they have to work with, and considering we still have to get thru the 2nd half of the season, which promises to be more action-packed, I thought they did a decent job with the CG/green screen. And the emoting in that scene completely got rid of any nagging technical doubts i may have briefly had. An easy 5/5
BTW, to the large majority of Otto fans - Incredibly Awesome Posts!!! Nothing I could add, and even Ideas I hadn’t thought of. Maybe it’s good the fan base in the US is less than 6 million. Now we know who the real fans are!
Maybe this really is a global show then