SAMUEL’S ULTIMATE PLAN SPELLS DISASTER FOR THOUSANDS
In the climactic season finale, everyone bands together in an effort to stop Samuel (Robert Knepper) from taking the lives of thousands. Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) joins forces with his most unexpected ally to save Emma (guest star Deanne Bray). Meanwhile, H.R.G.’s (Jack Coleman) life hangs in the balance as he and Claire (Hayden Panettiere) find themselves trapped underground with oxygen quickly running out. Elsewhere, Hiro (Masi Oka) starts to come to grips with the decisions he has made and is called into action to help stop a disaster.
Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter, Zachary Quinto and James Kyson Lee also star. Ray Park, Deanna Bray and Elizabeth Rohm guest star. David H. Lawrence XVII, Harry Perry, and Todd Stashwick also guest star.
The overall ep. was rushed, but solid. The performances were great.
I loved seeing K Callan (Martha Kent, Lois & Clark: The Adventures of Superman) as Grandma Charlie in a perfect resolution, foreshadowed by Arnold in the GNs.
I have one massive issue though…
Claire’s character realization would have been perfect if she weren’t IMMORTAL WITH MAJIK BLOOD. As I’ve said before, Claire will always have to hide, even in a world where Specials are out, because immortality and majik blood are world and world view altering beyond the characters’ assumed parameters. Moreover, the assertion on Claire’s part that she hasn’t changed is ironic and shortsighted by the writers, if not the character. Claire would logically be forced to change by the fact that she is ageless and won’t change. If we do get S5, tptb can no longer afford to pay lip service to the phoenix in the room. They just flipping can’t
I loved the episode, although like Raissa said it did seem rushed, but overall it was a fantastic episode.
I for one, though, am getting sick of the specials coming out and then hiro changing everything (over and over and over) so I’m glad that he’s changed his view on changing the past for his own goals. Honestly I was on the edge of my seat when Claire was about to jump because I kept thinking Hiro would stop her or she’d change her mind or something. I’m glad that we’re finally going to see a season that focuses on them being “out” because although we’ve caught glimpses of this throughout the life of the show, there has never been a season devoted to it. It’s what I’ve been waiting for the entire time.
In regards to Claire not changing I think that there’s a simple explanation for why she hasn’t changed, it simply has not been long enough for her to have changed in the way that one would expect of an immortal character. I absolutely loved the reference to the first season at the very end too, it made the whole thing seem cyclical and it made me giddy inside.
I’m very excited for season 5 and I can say that I have been and will continue to be a fan until the show ends completely.
The S1 references including Noah’s “She’s breaking my heart” were lovely.
In regards to Claire not changing I think that there’s a simple explanation for why she hasn’t changed, it simply has not been long enough for her to have changed in the way that one would expect of an immortal character.
Good point. Even if Claire is too young to fully grasp the issues, though, one or more of the other characters really should have and started bringing them up, because her impetuous youth has really put an unnecessary wrench in her old age.
Also, after looking at how heroes started. Season One was about two month’s time in the character’s POV. Season 2 was 4 months after that and lasted about 1 month (since it was cut short), then season 3 started right after season 2 and lasted I’m not sure but there was about 4 weeks between volumes 3 & 4 (I would say probably about 2 months. This ends at around June 2007 (assuming the show started in 2006, year has never been mentioned).
Since Claire starts college, then that means it would have to be around August/September. But the season has had more of a year in the eyes of the audience. With holidays like Halloween & Thanksgiving being shown. That means the season ended around December/January in the character’s point of view.
So that is just a little over a year with the characters growing. So for Claire to still be the same is fine. The only problem is that for us it has been years with only small amounts of growth.
Screencaps have been added, folks. Enjoy.
If there’s an image anyone wanted and can’t find here, please let me know and I’ll do my best to add it right away.
Thanks for the screencaps! I absolutely loved this episode, despite the fact that it felt clumsy and rushed in places (which think I was partly because the previous episode was so awesome). It may be my favorite Heroes finale episode. Certainly was bittersweet though, because despite what I’ve read in interviews over the last few weeks, it seemed pretty clear to me that this was written as a series finale - or at least a finale for these characters. Peter dueling it out with the villan and getting the girl, Sylar as the anti-hero, Hiro finding Charlie and putting an end to quests (?!), the HRG/Claire heart-to-heart, and finally ending with Claire the same way she began the series. If you count the GN’s as well, even Tracy and Mohinder were given stories that brought some closure to the characters. I’m not saying that exposing people with abilities doesn’t create some interesting story possibilities, but if this is indeed the end of Heroes, I think they did an awesome job delivering an exciting finale and resolving most of the storylines. I hope Heroes is back next season, but if it isn’t, I think they definitely went out on a creative high note. I’m looking forward to reading this week’s review!
greatest episode yet in the entire series, I mean wooooow. Season after season I have been amazed at how it all ends!! How Nathan was willing to sacrifice his life for the good of New York, How Future Peter shot Nathan so he wouldn’t reveal the existance of supers, How Claire stabs Sylar and they all watch Primatech burn to the ground as does Pinehearst, How Sylar kills Nathan but is ultimately stopped by Peter and brought to justice, and in every volume finale I have been astonished and the writers have kept me on the edge of my seat. Although I agree with Raissa and it was rushed a little, Brave New World has been the best volume finale the writers have come up with. I mean the progress during this volume was pretty weak and it really wasn’t turning out to be a good volume but all the way after Let It Bleed we see how the other junk in the previous episodes makes sense and the last three episodes were outstanding. I can not wait to see what the show has in store for us for Volume 6, and if it’s any good as this finale (and it should be cause they have the same name) I’m terribly escited!!! Otto can’t wait for the review!! If anyone has questions regarding Sylar, I’m your man, contact me at mem369@live.com and I’ll be happy to answer any questions regarding Sylar or anything else, I’m mostly a superpower nerd lol so that I’ll know too!!
Well, considering my generally low expectations, specially coming into the wasted potential usually found in Heroes’ season finales, this was a rather good episode. It was exciting at some parts, specially towards the end, and it was moving in other parts (Claire & Noah trapped/ Hiro & Charlie finally closing and saying goodbye). While there were still some missed opportunities here, another rushed feel, missing key characters and not full closure, it was still good.
And thank God this finale didn’t have a twist in the very end that would leave many fans bewildered like last year’s Sylathan Debacle (despite me being in the minority who actually liked that twist), as I know that’s one of the primary reasons the show lost many of its viewers for this season. Good to see that the episode remained good throughout nd not incredible in a first half and then awful (for those who thought that way) in the last act.
But now comes the question as to how this episode fared depending on how we see it. For a SEASON finale, it was good for what it was. As a SERIES finale, it was not pretty good. And to talk it more realistically, as good as it was, the finale didn’t feel big or as momentous as the Season 3 finale, Sylathan or not. One good thing was seeing a fight between Peter & Samuel, and not something left behind closed doors. But still, it could have been more. Coming from the heels of the special 2 hour movie event that was Smallville’s “Absolute Justice” episode, which was incredible particularly for a show that has an even more tighter budget than Heroes and coming from a show that’s being on the air for 9 years, my expectations for Superhero TV was escalated to new heights, so it was hard not to think that the Heroes finale could have been much, much more. It was still good, but aparently Heroes will only manage to stay good this days and not as great or epic as Season 1 used to be.
And now there’s the discussion of renewal, which Heroes threw a gauntlet at itself for not doing an “in case” series finale whether or not it is renewed for next season. For me, it would have been made possible without the “Volume 6: Brave New World” chyron and still shown the last scene. That way, as cheated as we may have been, would have left us wit a little more closure. Sylar showing he really is looking for redemption, Peter finding a purpose saving the day again, Hiro doing something heroic for once, Samuel stopped, etc. Everything shown. The problem is that, by showing this in the preview for the next volume, it’s essentially saying “we’re not done” and to have the “to be continued” at the end is just a stab in the heart. It doesn’t bring the closure the show should have had.
Still, there’s things to be considered. I made the math, and season average was 5.23 million. I bet that’s enough for NBC right now, considering everything opened left after the Jay Leno situation. Not to mention again, international popularity, high DVD sales and iTunes sales. That gives optimism. I just want to rest assured. So please NBC, come to an announcement soon!
*More comment in the actual review, Otto. Thanks for the discussion thread, the screencaps and in a few days, the review. See you later.
Great review, as always - Wait, nevermind, it’s not up yet :).
Waiting for your review for more precise stuff, but overall, the finale was okay-solid. It wasn’t bad, but unfortunately, it wasn’t great, specially after the past 2 episodes.
Maybe you’ll give me on take on this, but I think the show has showed part of its limits, Tim Kring and/or NBC. I’ll put aside the fact that he couldn’t go on with his idea of a totally renewed cast every season because I think a partially renewed one should be enough.
He also recently said he wanted 13 episodes season and more than a writer per episode, I couldn’t agree more. But how come he is forced to do 13+ episodes season, and why is most of the time only one writer credited for the episodes’ writing, I just don’t get it. I would have thought the showrunner had some kind of influence on the show, but also you know, on the show’s artistical direction.
Overall, I’ll just want to point out that, aside the pilot, none of the (sometimes double episodes) premiere and final has been brillant. Most of them were exposure, etc, but it should tell something when the guy that created the show wrote none of what most of us rate as the best episodes of the series (looking at your 5 out of 5s) and even wrote down what seems like a huge inconsistance (regarding Samuel’s ability this week).
I’m not saying all the faults goes to him, but if he can’t do what he wants, doesn’t filter the crap out of the diferent scripts, and isn’t as good/as invested as the others writers, maybe he should move on to something else. I’ve read that he is working on a new project, but I hope that means that if Heroes is renewed, someone else will be called in as show runner, because I’ve nothing against Kring, but the show needs fresh blood, a new (or at least) another vision.
“… it should tell something when the guy that created the show wrote none of what most of us rate as the best episodes of the series (looking at your 5 out of 5s)…”
He did write “Seven Minutes to Midnight.” Not saying his scripts are perfect (and believe me, this week’s review will reflect that), but if nothing else, he scripted some beautiful scenes for Hiro and Charlie.
Agreed there Seven minutes to midnight - I think I’m a bit confused as to who wrote what during S1.
Maybe I should have said that since the show has been hugely uneven (read S2->S4), his episodes aren’t the one that stood out, while they should have, considering how important premieres and finales are ratingwise.
Won’t change my opinion that I think the show needs fresh blood, specially if Kring can’t do what he wanted to do in the first place.
He wrote the S1 finale. Still the best finale, by far.
I know people crap on that episode. But thematically, it’s stunning. Only thing ‘missing’ is a big fight scene… and even that’s not so much missing as not even REMOTELY what the show is about. It’s about people, not some ridiculous spectacle devoid of emotion.
I don’t know, Ian. I still think that the S1 finale was a bit of a letdown from the previous episodes, and in retrospect, left several loose ends that were never resolved, such as the first of Matt’s now two miraculous recoveries from multiple gunshot wounds. I wonder why he never brought THAT up during his time with Sylar?! I’d actually give this episode the palm over the S1 finale because it had a visceral and exciting buildup all the way through and all the resolutions were quite satisfying (except for Tracy just sitting there as a puddle). Samuel’s comeuppance was more emotionally convincing than ANY of the four comeuppances Sylar had at the end of the four previous volumes (this ending can’t be considered a comeuppance).
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the Sylar resolution here. I would have NEVER thought it possible after the moment he sliced up Elle’s head, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t pull it off. I guess I have to give up ultimatums and threats.
Otto hints at some major faults in the episode, but I really don’t see anything that glaring just yet. Waiting on pins and needles for the review.
I can see the S1 finale being a letdown (of sorts) after ‘Company Man’ and ‘FYG’, but that surely was the strength of S1. That it could have those huge episodes, and yet still have something to build to. No subsequent season has had two episodes as big as 117 and 120 near the finale. There was an epic feel to S1 that meant, even if the finale didn’t work for people, they still got a dramatic build-up.
S4 harks back to that with these last eps being a giant finale… but I felt S1 did that better. 121 with Sylar was the set-up, 122 was the climax, 123 was the resolution. Perfect structure… up until the ‘Sylar fight.’ I can see why people wouldn’t care so much for that.
It’s a shame, then, that the budget was cut for S4. Maybe they could’ve had a sweeping battle if the ratings hadn’t fallen so badly.
The glaring missing characters in the final scene were Tracy and Matt. Matt deserves a better final act than whammying Eli into exposing Samuel and then not being there.
Tracy just…remained a puddle? That was really weird.
Claire’s closing/volume intro was really quite nifty. Peter seemed ambiguous on the whole thing. Hiro wasn’t sure what to think. They FINALLY brought Ando’s supercharging abilities thing into play, which was nice.
But I have to say that the Charlie resolution was clearly the most beautiful part of the episode–would it really have been that difficult to do something like that for Caitlin? Peter was as desperate to save her as he was Emma. It just continues to nag at me that they couldn’t tell us what the hell happened to her in one of the many fora the show had.
Anyway…maybe I’ll have some comments on the review. There are some awfully bitter people over at tvbythenumbers who seem heavily invested in the show’s cancellation. Strange–it’s as if they demand cancellation for their own peace of mind. And now the “Chuck” fans also have their knickers in a twist over last episode’s changes. People are never satisfied. You know, even if I completely stopped watching “Heroes” (and I’ve come close many times), I just can’t see the point of being emotionally invested in the hope that a show is canceled. Just doesn’t make sense.
Well, it’s a fact that bashing Heroes for the hell of it is a hobby for some people. That’s stupid, but true.
However, with Heroes dieing, Lost ending, and all the new serialized dramas crashing, I guess I’ll end up watching less TV and I guess it’s not necessarly a bad thing.
I won’t hold my breath, but I do think that a renewal for a shorter season wouldn’t be impossible. It’s a fact that NBC is in a really bad shape, the simple fact that Heroes is one of their most watched (in demo) drama proves it. Unless they’re going for half a dozen new dramas, something will have to survive.
And as I said, I would be fine with a shorter season, for diferent reasons I’ve already said. It would be nice to have some closure, because the last scene wasn’t a “what if”, but a “wait for it”. (Yeah I know I write confusing things).
I don’t have that much of a problem with the not that much used characters in the finale. Matt had a small part, but I don’t see what else he could have done (am I the only one thinking he whammied Eli to kill Sylar AFTER he saved Emma? Tracy ? I don’t know. I’d rather see characters underused than misued though.
KellyH - Agreed on Hiro/Charlie. Also, I had no idea who the actress was but the ressemblance with Jayma Mays and the she copied Mays-as-Charlie mannerism was quite nice :). - As much as I would have liked closure for Caitlin (and the other characters that disappeared), Charlie was warped to the past. Caitlin, on the other hand, was warped to a future that doesn’t exist anymore. Of course, I’d love to see alternate realities explored - and it wouldn’t be hard to introduce someone with a power who allows it (maybe next season’s villain).
Ok totally thought Matt had whammied Eli to kill Sylar after he saved Emma too!
That was misdirection- Matt felt that Peter would be too busy stopping Sylar from killing anyone to stop Samuel, so he whammied Eli into confessing in front of the carnival.
I agree with your first point, Michael, but I’m still unsure about the second. In order to apply the “YOU WILL CONFESS!” Whammy, Matt would need to know about Lydia’s death to begin with. He didn’t, and we didn’t see him even attempt to get a read on Eli.
Secondly, I’m not even sure whether we were meant to think Eli’s confession was the result of the Parkman Whammy, or whether we were meant to think it had worn off by that point and that Eli genuinely wanted to take ownership for Lydia’s murder. Matt seemed certain at the start that Eli didn’t want to hurt anyone, and even though the knives came out right after that, I think that detail made Eli’s confession much more ambiguous than it was meant to be.
Yep, there’s no way Matt could have known about Eli killing Lydia. I thought that it was a clone who was hanging around the carnivale (while the real one went to Matt’s house). Actually, Matt is the only one that’s never really been in contact with the carnivale (outside the brief chase with HRG).
Frankly, I don’t even care why he confessed, the character was too stupid for me too even care.
What striked me the most is the carnivale folks’ stupidity : They’re okay to murder 1000s of peoples (I guess here would have been specials in the lot considering Emma lured them) but they’re not okay because Samuel killed two of them ? I mean wow, the guy is ready to kill several thousands of people but he IS evil because he killed his brother and Lydia? You’ve gotta explain me where’s the moral dilemna is in there.
It was ambiguous?
I think we were meant to think he’d be sent after Sylar. But Matthew read his mind, saw what’d been done… and then manipulated him into confessing his sins. The entire nature of his story was misdirection. Seems odd that people didn’t see that, or that they were angry it wasn’t made more obvious… not filling everything in is one of the few things that makes this show good.
They don’t always patronize us. We’re left with A and C, and slot B in ourselves.
“They don’t always patronize us. We’re left with A and C, and slot B in ourselves.”
I agree, but when it comes to core elements of the volume, I don’t think we should be put in a position where we’re uncertain about what’s driving the characters. Eli might not have been one of the mains, but he was a key member of the carnival, and the predominant focus of the volume was redemption. At the end of this episode, we have no idea whether Eli’s ~*redemption*~ was driven by (1) a desire to repent or (2) a Parkman Whammy. That’s an important part of his character arc, minor as the character might be. To my mind it’s not clear which of those we’re supposed to infer, and it’s an important enough distinction that I don’t think we should have been asked to “slot” it in.
On the other hand, Otto, despite the ambiguity of motivation, Eli’s confession DID pack a dramatic wallop, and I thought the ambiguity only slightly diminished it. I’m inclined to ascribe at least part of it to repentance since he seemed terribly remorseful when he did it.
I was wondering more about how Sylar managed to isolate and disable the “original” Eli. That wasn’t quite clear.
But in support of your point, Otto, that’s why I thought a major weakness of the episode was that we didn’t see Matt again after he did whatever it was he did to Eli. I think that Matt needed to be revisited at least one more time, even if it was for just a few seconds.
Except Otto, it’s not an arc for Eli. He starts evil, then confesses. It’s clearly a whammy of some sort. If we got him being normal, then evil, then confessing it’s an arc. What we got was a good actor playing a supporting role effectively, but not being asked to carry a specific storyline of his own.
I do agree with regards to Matt, mind. But it’s an hour long episode. Restricts what they can do given he wasn’t hugely involved in The Carnival story to begin with.
It was rushed and the budget couldn’t meet the demand for a more climactic confrontation. The writers did not give the fans what we wanted and speculated on for months. The comic at nbc.com showed the city being devestated by Samuel, where they couldn’t do that in the episode (not even using stock footage?) What was this push the dirt thing between Samuel and Peter? And why wasn’t Sylar more involved? At least we saw that, even in his redemption, some of that Sylar wit is still there.
Might have benefited from a two hour slot and more SFX.
Wheee!! - Glorious Screencaps!
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, especially Hiro and Charlie (what a great actress!). It was a little grating how everybody got to the carnival at the same time (even Eli?), but I’ve come to accept that Heroes plays very fast and loose with geography/transportation times/time in general. And Tracy here-she-is-now-she’s mysteriously gone? Whaaa? I’ll comment further when the full review pops up. Can’t wait!
Oh, and Volume 6 looks like it has lots of promise, here’s hoping it happens!
Speaking of that interview (see http://www.avclub.com/articles/tim-kring,37975/ ) this is what caught my eye: “…suddenly actors don’t have chemistry and you’ve banked an entire season of love story around them…”. I can’t help but wonder who he’s talking about… Troah? Pemma? Or is he referring to earlier seasons? Hmmm…
I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about Kring’s vision of his world after seeing an interview with him sitting right next to Milo. They were discussing when Peter gets tasered down while hugging Nathan, and they had such a different take on what was going on (Kring: Peter didn’t know what was coming vs. Milo: Peter did know). It was weird to see such a disparity, and I preferred the “Peter has brains” version (obviously).
Anyway, after going through the bleakness that is Heroes for year after year now, I wouldn’t mind something a bit different. Some joy and excitement perhaps? Here’s hoping NBC is just desperate enough to give them a shot to explore their Brave New World…
He’s referring to Niki and DL/Peter and Simone, I’d assume.
Yeah, the only romances with good chemistry this show has ever given us: Noah/Sandra (now parted,) Niki/Nathan (Niki was trying to set up Nathan for black mail,) and Sylar/Elle (Sylar killed her.) Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, eh?
^ ^ That was my assumption too, although I’d be curious to know if there was ever an alternative plan for the Troah vis-a-vis the Lauroah.