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Posted: Feb 06 2009 06:38 am

I had high hopes for this chapter, but this was a bad start. The whole episode felt rushed, like they had no time putting it together. The dialogue was terrible (e.g. the conversation between Peter and Mohinder in the cab), which probably caused some of the bad performances (Hayden Penettiere was trying really hard to give some emotion to her lines with that "Look how determined I am!" stare). I think I even remember some sloppy editing in the scene with Parkman and Usutu.

What bugs me the most however is that the writers don't seem to have learned anything. This first episode should have been entirely about the characters. We should have spent time with them while they try to live normal lives, so we can start caring about them again and we're emotionally invested when bad things happen to them. There shouldn't have been any arrests yet, just hints as to what was going to happen, with Nathan's plans becoming apparent at the end of the episode. But instead of building up suspense they just jumped right into the action, giving us no time to get attached to the characters.

I really wanted to get excited about the show again with the new chapter. So far I've been disappointed.

Posted: Feb 06 2009 02:34 pm

Well, this is the first episode of the second half of the third season. They have, what, 12, 13 more episodes with which to develop some character? I say this only because, instead of having the heroes fighting some greater evil, they are pretty much on the run. Twelve or so episodes of running, I think, would be sufficient to build some character. Or, I love this show too much, and I'm trying to be optimistic.

On another note, they DID develop somewhat; Nathan's surprising heel turn is awesome. Nathan was kind of a piss poor hero, maybe he'll do better as a villain. Plus, Sylar has leads on his biological parents. Assuming not too much government tracking interference, this is perfect for his development, and all in all, isn't Sylar pretty much Heroes' most interesting character?

I just hope we don't get midway or towards the end of the season and find out Nathan isn't Nathan but some Skrull or something. Don't make a main character evil and cheese out, PLEASE Heroes?

Posted: Feb 11 2009 08:48 pm

So Daphne's dead? What the fuck?

Title: Titlating Joined: Dec 17 2007 Posts: 5042

Syd Lexia wrote:

So Daphne's dead? What the fuck?

you son of a bitch SPOILERS

Posted: Feb 12 2009 02:23 am

She was shot three times, but I'd like to hope she'll still survive somehow (maybe using her speed powers to accelerate healing?)

An except from one of the livejournals I subscribe to:
"Which brings me to "Heroes." If you saw the last episode, I have to wonder if they swapped out their usual directors and writers for ones who last worked on "The A-Team." There's a scene where Peter gives what's supposed to be an "inspirational speech(tm)," but the rising electric guitar and cheesy delivery didn't sell it. It came off about as believable as having Patton Oswalt read the opening speech from Highlander instead of Sean Connery. My only hope is that the series vastly improves after Bryan Fuller's help gets into the pipeline. Oh, and the semi-official name for the latest kid to have powers is "Sylad." The familial connections in this show are starting to make me think Charles Dickens is helping with rewrites."

Posted: Feb 12 2009 10:21 am

I don't think a thread about a TV should require a spoiler warning. The show is serialized, and it's impossible to have an intelligent discussion about it without spoilers.

And I waited 48 hours.

And I really really want to talk about Heroes about at 10:01 on Monday.

Posted: Feb 12 2009 11:12 am

lordsathien wrote:

There's a scene where Peter gives what's supposed to be an "inspirational speech(tm)," but the rising electric guitar and cheesy delivery didn't sell it.

Yeah, Peter's little speech was pretty bad. His "We do everything to survive, things we can't even imagine." line made me cringe.

Another line that didn't work at all was The Hunter's talk about "being treated as liberators". That doesn't make a lick of sense in the situation. My only guess is that that was a bad attempt by the writers to draw some sort of comparison to Iraq and that the crash site was supposed to convey the impression of a war field. As with the Guantanamo-esque thing they tried to get going in last week's episode, they're a little late to address these issues now.

And I can only hope that Daphne isn't really dead. That's the only explanation I have - bad writing aside - for the complete lack of grief that Parkman showed. If she is in fact gone for good, that was the most underwhelming death on the show so far. She deserved way better.

The best part of the episode for me was Sylar's storyline, even though I'm not so sure I like his new sidekick. But unlike Nathan he's still great as a villain.

Posted: Feb 12 2009 12:25 pm

Nathan isn't an entirely a villain. Nathan is, if anything, an idiot. He had a plan that he thought was necessary and he's now starting to realize that the people he has working for him are sadistic monsters who are more interested in target practice than in safely capturing these people. And despite his adversarial relationship with his brother, Nathan was relieved that Bennet didn't shoot Peter.

As for Daphne being dead or not, I believe that Nathan said both sides had tasted blood. Still, it would be retarded if she was dead, as she was the basis for pretty much all of Matt's actions over the first half of the season. Also, why doesn't Nathan bring in the Haitian? If he wants to capture these people, wouldn't that be the best option?

Posted: Feb 17 2009 01:53 pm

I'm with Syd on the whole "I wanna discuss this immediately" thing. I didn't catch it last night due to work, but I just watched it on NBC.com and I can't say I'm disappointed. Anyone worried about character development... well, Sylar's getting plenty of it, and I'm loving it. Sylar is probably far and away my favorite character and it's awesome to see him go from villain to anti-hero, as I think it makes him more interesting as he can be a good guy by motivation and action but yet still be the psycho killer we all know and love. Nathan's flipflop into badguy is pretty cool, too. I was happy with the lack of Peter Petrelli in this episode because Peter was turning into Superman and that's basically boring as hell from a conflict standpoint, and I think I was the first, if only, person to stand up and cheer when Arthur took his ability way back when. I definitely like that Peter can only have one power at a time now, as it finally gives Peter a crucial vulnerability.

Posted: Feb 17 2009 07:27 pm

If that comic book guy finds out that he can talk to sea animals, I'm going to stop watching this show.

Title: Titlating Joined: Dec 17 2007 Posts: 5042

I liked this episode , it was a bit meh in parts but the end made up for it in spades.

Posted: Feb 18 2009 04:40 pm

I was psyched when Hiro was convinced he was going to get his powers back. But apparently now he's not? Weak.

As for Peter, he said he can use the power of the last person he touched. Wasn't that Rogue's ability?

Posted: Feb 19 2009 03:30 am

Syd Lexia wrote:

As for Peter, he said he can use the power of the last person he touched. Wasn't that Rogue's ability?

Generally yeah, though she did wind up with Carol Danvers' powers permanently and then there was the time all the powers she'd absorbed over time flared up randomly.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

I am becoming bored with this show.

I have watched every single episode so far and I just can't get myself excited about it now.

This might be my last season.

Posted: Feb 19 2009 11:18 am

lordsathien wrote:

Syd Lexia wrote:

As for Peter, he said he can use the power of the last person he touched. Wasn't that Rogue's ability?

Generally yeah, though she did wind up with Carol Danvers' powers permanently and then there was the time all the powers she'd absorbed over time flared up randomly.

If I recall, that was due to prolonged contact, and she ended up permanently taking the Ms. Marvel powers, leaving Carol powerless. And coincidentally enough, that's what Peter's dad could do.

Posted: Feb 20 2009 12:31 pm

Maybe it's the Superhero Nerd in me, but even the weak episodes of this series still get me pumped. The only other show I feel this hyped about for some reason is House MD, and I haven't been hyped over a show since Quantum Leap went off the air.

It's been awhile since I've dusted off the ol' comics collection, but I don't seem to recall Rogue's power being limited to one, rather that she only really used/absorbed one, and by the time she used another, the first she'd absorbed had already faded. I don't recall Rogue having a one-power-at-a-time stipulation, merely she just never had the chance, unless you count using an abosrbed power along with the Ms. Marvel powers (and BTW, didn't she lose those? It's been awhile since I've read the comics, but I seem to recall hearing about Rogue losing her Ms. Marvel powers.)

Anyway, I'm half glad and half sad to see Hiro powerless. On one hand, this keeps us from going through another "I saw the future, it sucks, let's change it!" storyline, in the other, Hiro, when not actually time travelling, was awesome. In a way, though, it forces the writers to actually write, because they've pulled the reverse of a Deus Ex Machina: If the heroes get into a jam, no Hiro teleportation, and no Superman/Peter Petrelli. The setup is fantastic, and when you think about it, if they come into contact with Sylar again, it might actually be interesting, as Sylar remains the only character that's severely overpowered.

Other than Sylar, HRG is my favorite character, and I'm loving his storyline. His getting kicked out of the house with his family and getting kidnapped by Peter, Matt and Mohinder was awesome, because now we know Parkman is gonna dive into HRG's mind, and I'm actually kind of psyched to see what he pulls out.

A couple of things:

-What the hell is with Daphne? Matt better address this in the next episode. Daphne was an infinitely better character than say Micah or Maya, and they disappeared without a second thought. I WANT FUCKING CLOSURE on Daphne at least.

-Does the fact that Usutu and now Parkman can do the whole Manson Eyes thing and paint the future render Isaac Mendez from Season 1 useless? This is the biggest gaping hole I want answered for now. What exactly causes this precognition, and how the hell did Matt and Usutu get it?

Posted: Feb 21 2009 01:53 am

Undeath wrote:

-Does the fact that Usutu and now Parkman can do the whole Manson Eyes thing and paint the future render Isaac Mendez from Season 1 useless? This is the biggest gaping hole I want answered for now. What exactly causes this precognition, and how the hell did Matt and Usutu get it?

Sharing needles? In reality, I have no idea.

Undeath wrote:

It's been awhile since I've dusted off the ol' comics collection, but I don't seem to recall Rogue's power being limited to one, rather that she only really used/absorbed one, and by the time she used another, the first she'd absorbed had already faded. I don't recall Rogue having a one-power-at-a-time stipulation, merely she just never had the chance, unless you count using an abosrbed power along with the Ms. Marvel powers (and BTW, didn't she lose those? It's been awhile since I've read the comics, but I seem to recall hearing about Rogue losing her Ms. Marvel powers.)

Yes, Rogue permanently lost the Ms. Marvel powers when she temporarily lost all of her other abilities.
During the Maximum Security miniseries, she absorbed a Cadre K girl and gained the ability to recall the powers of anyone she'd previously absorbed (eventually needing ruby quartz glasses from Cyclops' eye blasts)
Rogue's mutant abilities eventually returned during Chuck Austen's brief run on the X-Men title in 2004, but without any explanation as to how, why, or when they returned. However, she only regained her absorption ability, and lost her powers imprinted from Ms. Marvel as well as the ability to recall powers she's absorbed in the past. After her experience with the Hecatomb, Rogue's absorption power became lethal to anyone she touched, but after Messiah Complex, the powers returned to normal due to contact with the mysterious mutant newborn from the event.
Following the conclusion of Messiah Complex, Rogue's slate was wiped clean. The mutant baby's touch mysteriously erased all of the previous memories and abilities Rogue had absorbed, including those of the Hecatomb. It also cured her of the Strain 88 virus. Rogue's touch is no longer lethal; it simply steals the memories and abilities of individuals she comes in direct skin-to-skin contact with. The longer the contact, the longer Rogue retains the absorbed information.

Posted: Feb 23 2009 11:57 pm

I'm getting the vague feeling that Mohinder is kind of devoid of purpose at this point.

Posted: Feb 24 2009 09:06 am

Mohinder's situation is actually really interesting. He faces the choice of either cooperating with Nathan like he did with Primatech and once again venturing into a moral gray area, or to refuse to have any part in it and risk Daphne's life. This puts him in an especially difficult situation considering that he has just been accused of being untrustworthy and a coward by a Parkman who blamed him for Daphne's death. It'll be interesting to see what he decides to do.

Title: Titlating Joined: Dec 17 2007 Posts: 5042

Kinda seems like that could have accomplished more in this episode with out drugging Noah and just having Mohinder captured so they could further other stories.

Posted: Feb 26 2009 01:35 am

At least we know Daphne's alive. The irony is now I'm starting to wish Matt would get killed off.

Posted: Feb 28 2009 01:27 am

Actually I'm kinda wondering if Matt's about to take a heel turn. After all, wasn't there a future where he ended up working with Nathan?

(let's ignore the fact that in said future, Nathan was really Sylar...)

Posted: Mar 14 2009 12:50 pm

I'm surprised no one's yet posted about this week's episode. I've got two theories on who Rebel may be.

More plausible (unless my memory betrays me): The electrokinetic/living internet chick that helped out Ted in Season 1.

Less plausible: Mycah (sp?). He's helped out Peter before, so there is some precedence for it. But being so far away back in Louisiana I doubt it.

Either way, I think he's been working with Peter for some time, given the whole camera turning off when Peter flies off after Danko attacks him.

Posted: Mar 16 2009 10:56 pm

Internet Chick: Hana Gitelman. I thought she was killed off in Heroes' Extended Universe though.

I'd buy Micah. We've seen him once in Season 3, and his (and Claude, but let's not go there) stories are left on huge loose ends... just like that Irish girl from Season 2 that Peter forgot...

Posted: Mar 17 2009 02:07 am

Undeath wrote:

Internet Chick: Hana Gitelman. I thought she was killed off in Heroes' Extended Universe though.

I'm not familiar at all with the Heroes EU, is it just comics and web specials on nbc.com?