I don’t know, they didn’t seem to have a lot of time last season to do this kind of thing and it isn’t like Meredith was killed because she was on Glee, as that didn’t film until around the end of vol 4 filming. And I agree, it would have been weird as Claire’s bio-mom. I more saw it as Jack Coleman is now considered sexy and as they did and said about Nathan Petrelli in season 2, they wanted to free him up for romance with a hot babe, well the hot babe was my line.

Yes, and this strikes me as one of the saddest parts of the story, because Peter was on the verge of making amends with Angela, even after everything she’d done as a part of The Company.

Yes, but in the end I do hope they can make amends, as Peter was ready to do the same thing to keep Nathan ‘alive’, and she’s the only family he has left.

Do you think she’d call herself a failure? I’m not necessarily disagreeing, but I wonder how Angela would look back on The Company and her efforts to make a difference. It’s hard not to weigh The Company’s limited success against the enormous body count, to say nothing of the psychological damage the organization inflicted on countless supers and the near-apocalypses it nearly caused. But given the references to averted tsunamis and the impending disasters it prevented by capturing unstable supers, perhaps there’s something to be said for The Company’s — and Angela’s — achievements. I think you could point to certain moments we’ve gotten a glimpse of and argue that Angela’s been part of something that prevented as much damage as it caused — in part thanks to Angela.

True, good point. I think she would. I guess what I was thinking of that in all of that she couldn’t even save her own son and that, no matter what she did, she failed. Not to mention the fact that no matter what they change time just re-heals itself - Nathan still dies, and a new disaster comes down the pipe to kill the world again. It must feel like paling water in a boat with a hole - and after 50 years one might feel tried and like a failure, even if it is not true. I feel like not saving Nathan has taken a tole on her. I hope they explore it, but as Angela seems to be window dressing this season, I fear not. And the history of the show forgetting it is a drama, but it is getting better, MUCH better, but I’m not holding my breath.

I just wanted to post a little info on the show’s status that I found on the Ausiello Files website from NBC’s press tour:

* No decision has been made on a Heroes renewal, but NBC prez Angela Bromstad says she’s pleased with the show’s ratings performance at 8 and series creator Tim Kring is “pitching out his view of the next season.”

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/01/10/office-heroes-law-order-press-tour/

So maybe there’s hope for a 5th season?
If you ask me, I think that they’ll try to stretch the show until it reaches enough episodes for sindication, and then they’ll cancel it…I just hope that they’ll give the writers a “heads up” so we can see a proper finale…

If there’s ANYTHING he can do at this point it would be somehow saving the world. It would be Sylar saying, “yeah, I lived a horrible life and did horrible, unforgivable things, but I might actually do some good before I die” (a reference to what Mohinder said to him in Season 1 - Parasite). I think that would be a fitting way for Sylar to go out, and it wouldn’t be a dramatic stretch for his character either.

“I think with Angela, which has been established in the past with this whole thing, is Angela knows its wrong - she knows Peter has a million reasons, besides this to be angry at her…”

Yes, and this strikes me as one of the saddest parts of the story, because Peter was on the verge of making amends with Angela, even after everything she’d done as a part of The Company.

“I don’t think Angela is her own biggest fan at the moment and would be the first to call herself a failure after 50 years of trying to save the world and her family.”

Do you think she’d call herself a failure? I’m not necessarily disagreeing, but I wonder how Angela would look back on The Company and her efforts to make a difference. It’s hard not to weigh The Company’s limited success against the enormous body count, to say nothing of the psychological damage the organization inflicted on countless supers and the near-apocalypses it nearly caused. But given the references to averted tsunamis and the impending disasters it prevented by capturing unstable supers, perhaps there’s something to be said for The Company’s — and Angela’s — achievements. I think you could point to certain moments we’ve gotten a glimpse of and argue that Angela’s been part of something that prevented as much damage as it caused — in part thanks to Angela.

Raissa, thank you.

Michael, valid point about Samuel’s many (much-more-unforgivable) crimes. I realize I’m starting to sound like an apologist for Samuel, and maybe it’s just that Lydia’s growing on me, but I really think I can look past several of the points you mention:

(1) killing his brother: yes, morally contemptible, but you have to admit that Samuel put forward about as solid a defense for it as possible: Joseph was endangering everyone at the carnival by bringing Danko there, and he was betraying the brother he’d taken care of since childhood and threatening the community they thought of as family. So, as with the best HRG storylines, it’s reprehensible but ~*understandable*~.

(2) killing the innocent woman: yes, but am I the only one who thinks that was played for laughs? I mean, the pretentious yuppie dinner party? Poor Samuel behind the grate, asking to see his humble childhood home? “Too busy with your fancy dinner to let me see where I grew up? Take THIS, old lady!”

(3) “seeking the power to kill millions”: is there a difference between “seeking the power to kill millions” and “seeking the power to kill millions“? Subtle distinction, but I think it ties in with Arthur’s storyline in Volume Three: is he after power for the hell of being powerful, or is he after that power with the express intention of using it to kill millions? I think that takes us back to the discussion about whether the earth-splitting in 3.01 was an accident, and whether that affects our perception of Arthur (/Samuel) as the cause of an “accidental” end-of-the-world disaster.

Re: Peter and the shooter: yes, you’re right, he wasn’t completely powerless. The point I was trying to make is that he didn’t have anything that could help him out of that hostage situation, for example TK, time-freezing, super-speed, etc. In the past, Peter ran into situations like this knowing how he could use an ability to resolve them (or being Dumb and not knowing, as was frequently the case…). What I liked about this situation is he had no useful power to disarm the shooter and he still put himself in danger. That struck me as a significant moment for the character, whether it was down to recklessness or not.

Susan, thank you, and I’m glad you enjoyed the review.

“They can’t get back to this unless or until they get rid of Sylar. It’s impossible to capitalize on these moments with the indestructible, megalomaniac, serial killer being focused on.”

You know I’m with you on this, but to play devil’s (/Sylar’s) advocate, I wonder how essential the various story threads are to maintaining the ~*balance*~ on the show: if every scene was a thoughtful, intimate, character-based moment, would the show start to feel oversaturated with them? If there was nothing besides a sad piano motif in every scene — which is to say, no ominous ticking-clock Sylar scene and (*gasp!*) no idiotic comical Hiro scene — would that sad piano motif lose its impact? I realize I sound like I’m backpedaling after two reviews that pretty much eviscerated both Hiro and Sylar’s story threads, but in their defense, do they help to even out the emotional tone of episodes like these? Just a thought. I’d imagine that would be the defense from TPTBs, and what’s going through their minds when they’re looking at a white board with lots of BIG EMOTIONAL SCENES FOR PETER AND CLAIRE.

Alfredo — awesome post. Couple of thoughts:

“What I liked the most? Peter’s thread.”

You and me both. Peter and Samuel are owning this season.

“And after this, I wonder how [Peter's] character arc will continue moving to the final eps of the season.”

I’m thinking it will come down to him wanting to be “more than a band aid.” He’ll want to do something that no one else can do, which will probably mean killing Sylar, working with Sylar, or working with Sylar to stop Samuel and then killing Sylar.

Re: HRG being uncharacteristically obtuse when it comes to Edgar and the carnival: YES! And THIS is what bugs me more than anything. HRG’s being portrayed as a short-sighted barbaric fists-first-dialogue-later fool, and that seems like it’s exclusively for the sake of making Lauren look like Little Miss Diplomacy. If Lauren hadn’t been there and HRG had independently come to the conclusion that he needed to reason with Edgar, he would have been acting in character. The way it ended up, HRG looked like a guy who was so preoccuppied with Claire and so dead-set on his own plan that he couldn’t see Edgar’s perspective. That, to me, isn’t HRG. It’s not the guy who’s always 10 steps ahead of everyone else because he can see a situation from every angle.

Re: the ratings and the chances of a fifth season: I’m pretty much with you. I think there’s a likelihood the show will be back, albeit with a (further) reduced budget and a (further) reduced cast. I agree that this season’s focus has brought the story to a place where it could reasonably conclude, although perhaps that will depend on how quickly the plot progresses in the next five episodes. When Adam Armus mentioned the prospect of ending the show in a recent interview, he mentioned the multi-format nature of the show. I took that to mean that if the show is canceled, they’ll wrap it up in the graphic novels. I wouldn’t want to dash anyone’s hopes about seeing a TV movie or mini-series, but sci-fi shows have made those vague plans before, and it doesn’t happen often. Actors and writers move onto other projects, sets come down, and it becomes more and more unlikely as time passes.

But you never know. Like you, I think it would help if the show had a finite number of episodes in which to bring its story to a close, so if Heroes does get another season, I think it would help them to know that it’s the last and that they have a mandate to wrap up the ongoing character arcs. If they don’t get a fifth season, I think it would be fitting to see the story wrap up in the graphic novels, especially given the way they’ve been a consistent “companion” to the show over the years.

LeeAnna — amazing post. So well thought through. You make me hope that Peter and Sylar really do get that sit-down conversation, even though I kind of wish we could see Peter bashing in Sylar’s skull to avenge Nathan. I agree, the parallels between them are abundant, but sometimes, no matter how sympathetic the character might be, their actions preclude sympathy. I think, in Sylar’s case, it’s very unlikely that Peter would allow himself to feel sympathy, even knowing Gabriel’s history and Sylar’s (perhaps-) loneliness. But I agree that it would be interesting, and I’m sure we’ll see something along those lines before the end of the season.

Re: Sylar: “If he can’t kill now, why don’t they finalize it and make it so he doesn’t want to.”

There was once a show called Buffy, and there was once a character named Spike, and there was once an attempt to neuter a psychotic maniac and to turn him into a reformed villain-turned-antihero…

Haushinka, I agree, Peter absorbing West’s ability was a very cool nod to Nathan. Do you think there might be some ulterior motive to it? I’m not sure, but the way that development came right after Peter promised Claire he’d always be honest with her, I couldn’t help thinking there was more to it than experiencing what his brother used to feel everytime he flew.

Pas, Happy New Year to you too! Word to your point about Tracy’s absence: she really should have shown up to at least say hi to Claire.

Laura, thank you. The Lauren/carnival spy theory’s an ongoing joke; I’m pretty sure she isn’t a spy, but it’s kind of fun to look for clues that she is, like rewatching Volume Two and trying to figure out why Maya must be a Company agent. It makes a torturous character slightly less torturous.

“I’m looking forward to the review of Close To You almost as much as I am the episode itself!”

Thank you, that’s kind of you to say.

“Although, given the emphasis on Hiro/Ando/Mohinder, perhaps you are not?”

I’m trying to keep an open mind, but I have to say, the Hiro part of the promo doesn’t fill me with optimism. Let’s hope it turns out OK.

Word on Kimiko showing up in 4.13. That was one of the points I made in the 4.13 discussion thread (and in the review, sort of). I loved that she was back, I just wish more could have been made of it; how she felt about watching Hiro slipping away, how she felt about him having this amazing ability. Hopefully that will still be addressed at some point.

Meg — welcome! Thanks so much for reading. As a member of the male half of the audience, I think I can say we appreciate why the shirtless Sylar moments are appealing. It’s just that there are SO MANY OF THEM.