Heroes Watch: Out of Our Misery

I totally agree with the Nathan and Nikki death scenes. I have no faith that the now convenient cure all blood plot crutch won't be used to bring Nathan and Nikki back from the "dead"

I loved this show in Season 1 but in Season 2, I can't help myself from literally rolling my eyes at each act (or commercial) break.

As much as I have truly enjoyed this season, I am also glad for the opening of a new chapter in the Heroes saga. Looking back over this season, what bothers me most is the lack of tangible backstory about the older generation of Heroes. We didn't even find out many of their superpowers before they were killed. Definitely unsatisfying.

I did like what little we got. Parkman meeting his dad was a treat, and the subsequent expansion of Parkman's powers was gratifying - I like that he is finally able to take a more 'active' role with his power, and appreciated the moral questions that he now has to face. Hiro trying to prevent, then avenge, his father's death was well-played. Ma Petrelli's powers of persuasion-by-touch, while underwhelming as presented, was at least a welcome bit of info on her very mysterious character.

The whole New Orleans gig was a big problem for me. That could have been a fantastic subplot, Micah learning about the history of his powerful family, Micah helping Monica discover her own powers, Monica and Micah working together to fight crime, inspiring his mom to realize her potential, etc. Instead it drug out slowly, focused on really insignificant stuff, didn't really reveal anything interesting about micah's family AT ALL (remember how Linderman had so carefully orchestrated the match between Niki and DL?), and the ending of that storyline was SUCH a letdown. I did love Niki going out like a Hero, I am just really sad that Ali Larter wasn't given more of a storyline to work with. The last 2 seasons definitely succeeded in crafting one heck of an origin story for Micah, though. Both superpowered parents dying as heroes, Micah left orphaned with the rest of his superpowered family in a dangerous, crime-ridden city. That is a good place to start, now that we are moving onto a new chapter.

Glad Peter's back on the right track, sad to see Nathan go. But where is Peter's bonny lass? If they stopped the future from happening, and she was stuck there, then what happens to her? Sad that Nathan and Claire will never have some sort of reunion/reconciliation. Side note - couldn't Peter's blood (with its regenerative powers) save his brother?

The most surprising thing to me about the whole finale was Hiro burying Kensei alive. That is SO totally coming back to haunt him at some point. Like, I can see why he would want to punish Kensei, but however much Kensei wanted to destroy everything initially, it is going to be so much worse when he escapes from his tomb. There will be a reckoning, mark my words, and it will be legen (wait for it) dary.

For setting up the 3rd part of the saga - Villans - this season didn't do half bad. Kensei buried alive, Sylar concluding his successful quest to regain his powers, and on the flip side our Heroes (many of whom have just lost someone precious to them) are embracing their darker sides - Maya torn between piety and bloodlust, mercy and vengance, Parkman tempted by the dark side of his powers, Peter dealing with his brother's murder, Hiro making some morally problematic decisions, and HRG returning to the fold of the company.

Is there ANY chance that it was HRG that assassinated Nathan? It certainly looked like him in the distance, walking briskly away from the scene.

My biggest issue with this season was also my biggest issue with last season, although it was far more pronounced this season: the ease with which characters are convinced to change sides, along with the resulting constant alliances and side-switching.

Every episode, I found myself thinking "Ok, now who's side will he/she be on by the end of THIS episode". Everyone's just so darn wishy-washy!

Annoying.

Am I the only one who was wondering why Peter didn't just walk into the vault? I mean he could have taken Adam with him. By giving Peter so much power I guess they will have to limit when he uses certain powers to up the drama, but that was stupid.

As for Sylar the dark and mysterious villan angle is gone now that he is out in the open. I thought that the face he made when Maya came down after him was hilarious.

As for the New Orleans plot and the boring twins I started fast forwarding past those scenes 3 episodes into the season. I hope they learned their lesson and spend more time developing the existing characters (like there isn't enough) rather than introducing new boring characters.

Was it ever made obvious that Sylar had gotten the virus? How was this possible? The Company? That's where Nikki got it right?

Also, it's not clear that Nathan's really dead, or is it?

What did NBC's promos say, I have a feeling that they said, "Two Heroes will Fall" not necessarily die. I don't know where to find out though.

What a terrible waste of good, positive momentum.

I just dislike how stagnant some of these story lines are. In the first season we had several things the writers liked to play with: Claire's constant mistrust/bickering with her father. HRG working for the company in order to keep his family safe. Peter's lack of confidence in himself. Sylar going after people and stealing their powers and looking evil while doing so. Ma Patrelli being mysterious. Etc etc.

After two seasons (if you count this as a season) you would think that they would have developed their characters and their stories more. That maybe they would branch out. But they don't. In fact, they spent all of the second season getting these characters to be right back where they were!

They have really great characters with lots of potential. But they just don't seem to know what to do with them.

I was hoping they'd kill off the least interesting characters (i.e., the ones with the worst portrayals). Pasdar was always a stand out in acting...I hate to see him go.

Nikki...I can do without and it gives the Micah character some powerful motives.

Also...I like Hiro...I've always liked Hiro. I want just one hero to be someone who gets the full implication of his powers and makes active attempts to explore them.

I have to stick up for the New Orleans storyline. I agree that it looks random and pointless if you view this "season" as a whole, but if you view this as a transitional episode into new arcs it makes a bit more sense. Micah will be now be living permanently with his New Orleans family where he will undoubtedly find out more about their abilities, especially his Grandma, and this will probably/hopefully tie in to the virus plot as a whole. So just imagine it as "next week on Heroes..." rather than next season.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode, especially the very beginning. The awkward meeting with Mohinder (who I actually like), Sylar, and Maya in his apartment was played perfectly, especially the abrupt realization and Mohinder trying to get the upper hand.

I also wish the writers would stop writing themselves into corners. Peter could've walked Adam through the vault door, JUST LIKE HOW THEY ESCAPED SIX MONTHS AGO. I realized it right off, and just as quickly realized that he ripped open the door so that Matt/Nathan/Hiro could easily follow them in. I forgive that, but, c'mon, Kring... maybe there just didn't need to be an impenetrable vault door there?

On the flip side of that, I thought Peter's initial showdown with Hiro was very well done, as each was using the nuances of their powers in a (relatively) sophisticated game of tactical combat against the other.

Last thought: I liked flirty sociopathic Elle more than I like shy, redeemed Elle.

When I saw that volume two was titled "Generations", I had high hopes for this (half-) season. I thought we'd be getting all of that backstory about the elder heroes, their abilities, and all of those things they were doing 30 years ago. Instead, I feel like Peter or Hiro, unable to control my ability and teleporting to New Orleans or Mexico (against my will) and missing key moments in the plot.

I feel like the resolution didn't fit somehow. When Peter jumped forward, the virus had been released. So when he came back, HE had to change something in order to prevent it. In season 1, Hiro set the chain of events that led to Nathan's change of heart into motion with his visit to Peter. In this case, what did Peter do that prevented the disaster?

If he hadn't gone to the future, that means the timeline would've remained in tact, and the virus would've been released (presumably by Adam). It was prevented in this timeline by Nathan openning Peter's eyes and Hiro taking Adam away. Am I to believe that if Peter hadn't seen the future, he'd have wasted his brother in that hallway? I don't see how the timeline was actually altered by Peter's trip to the future. Yes he became aware of the terrible fate ahead, but Adam was going to find a way to get Peter to Texas anyway.

Re: Sylar, I actually picked up the Heroes habit at the start of this season, and Tivo'd the season 1 marathon G4 ran a few weeks ago. Sylar immediately struck me as a super-powered can of cheese whiz. It didn't bother me because I thought Quinto treated it like Gabriel wasn't sure how a villian would act other than what he saw on TV or read in books.

HRG's the front-runner in the 'who shot Nathan' sweepstakes. Some people say West, but I don't see it in him. My fun dark horse (though my money'd be on HRG) would be the invisible man. He'd have the motive (leave me alone, don't expose us) and I can't think of many others that could shoot someone in the middle of a press conference (3 times!? and I swear I saw cops in that room) and calmy walk out. Peter could be that one that watched him walk out.

Paging The Haitian, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Paging The Haitian, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Thank you. I think his real name is Deus Ex Machina. He disappears when we need a super-power showdown and reappears when powers would too-easily get in the way of new plots. I don't think we've seen him since the Ukraine? Why? Did I miss something?

Grade for season 2... meh. Now we've got 3 villains to watch out for. /shrug

But wtf... it's a police station. No EMT's around? "Take my blood and inject it into him! Now!" No cameras? *Bang bang* "Oh no, who was that? Oh look at the camera there!" Oh yeah... it's a POLICE STATION! *Bang bang* *BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG* (as the officers turn around and shoot the killer). My first thought is that it's Captain Invisible, but if it was, why would we see him running out of the police station? He'd be invisible (unless he WAS invisible, and that's why only Peter saw him). Why didn't Peter go flying after him, throwing bolts of lightning at him? Why didn't Hiro come back? "Ok, I stopped Adam, but I'm not going to check on the guys back in Texas. They're ok." Why did the building Nikki was in explode?

Am I going to keep watching when season 3 gets here? Yes. Am I going to be on the edge of my seat about it? Probably not.

So much potential, and so little to show for it. Heroes is like the Eli Manning of prime time television.

Can anyone explain why it takes a wound to the head to "permanently" kill a hero, yet when Noah got shot in the eye, he is later revived with Claire's blood? This show has lost me with all the contrived plot lines and leaps and bounds beyond logistical thinking.

Gary, that is such a good point about HRG getting shot in the head and revived by Claire's blood. Way too many plot holes.

@Gary, I don't think Angela was being clear with the 'shot to the head' bit. Adam implied it was more of a 'head blown off' solution when Victoria Pratt nearly did it. Back when Sylar was stealing brains ('5 years later', season 1), Claire presumably stayed dead with her empty head. When Claire and Peter were temporarily dead, their brains were impaired by the foreign objects, but still pretty much intact.

The blood-into-another-person bit is stretching it for me too. I would think there'd be a small window where that would work and then they're dead for good.

I think that the shot to the head thing might be something Kensei made and told the older generation back when they were all chummy. I mean, why else would Mrs. Petrelli think she knew how to kill him? Unless they had other healers to practice on, which seems unlikely, given their vampire-like desire for Claire's blood.

I also think that Sylar has been remarkably lame this season because he's had no powers. A character can say cheesy, villainous one-liners if he then use his mind to hurl some lockers at a teenager and then chases her through her high school. Or if he uses kitchenware to pin a woman to the wall of her living room so that he can more easily eat her husband's brain. When you remove the supervillain stuff from a supervillain, they become lame. Always. Imagine Dr. Octopus without the tentacles or Magneto without the magnetism. They become no more than crotchety old men.

I didn't forsee Nathan buying it. I forgot about the little known supervillian "More Famous Wife Wants You Home While She's Not On Tour" Lass.

I too give the finale, and except for about 40 mins in all of season 2, a big giant meh.

I know Kring has mentioned in the past that his original plan was to have each season have a mainly new cast; presumably Kirby plaza would have been the bloodbath it should have been. In retrospect, it now seems like much of Chapter 2 was the writers having their cake and eating it too, i.e. tying the plot into knots to keep the stars alive for the fans into Season 2 - and then kill them.
DL not clearly a hero in Season 1 (uhh, despite his sacrifcing his life to save his wife from the gunshot) - fine, give him a clearly heroic profession, then bring up some nonsense about his wife to get him killed by gun violence. Should have just died in Linderman's office.
Jessica also dying, leaving her son an orphan, too rough on viewers? Fine, let's have her live long enough to drop the kid off, then essentially do nothing of value this season before getting killed off. Should have just been killed by Sylar.
Nathan not given enough of a chance of redemption? Fine, let's have him mope around, tell his kids he'll see them soon.. and then kill him (what?), keeping him alive just to go through the convulsions needed to get Peter on the bad side. Should have just died from radiation burns.

Etc.

...oh and technically, Adam should "die" since he's buried. No oxygen.

@Dave - "Heroes is like the Eli Manning of prime time television" - easily the line of the day, if not the week.

This episode/volume finale encapsulated everything that's wrong with Heroes to me. Too many holes in logic, too much poorly written dialogue (although with the strike, I suppose we should be happy with ANY dialogue, although word is the strike is close to being completed), and not enough investment in any of the characters to make we as audience members really care about them.

Let's start with the best/most interesting storylines/characters in this episode. First, I'm going to start with Elle, because I have a slight obsession with Kristen Bell. But the larger point is that with Elle, we have a character with DRAMATIC possibilities. Abused/tortured/tested as a child, scarred into psychotic tendencies and with a major daddy-issue, she's given into the dark side of her powers, but now is starting to question her whole life and existence. THAT is drama people, and if the writers of Lost were writing volumes of Heroes, I'd have to believe we'd have seen a LOT more of that journey this Volume, or at least have more set up for it.

If one theme was present in this arc, it was how the Heroes should/could use their powers...but the writers never explored it and the dark places it could take the characters. We needed more Parkman abusing his mind control, and threatening to turn into his father. More of Adam/Kensei and the torture of living forever (the "bad-guy speech" just didn't cut it for me). More of HRG struggling with the sins of his past and his desire to protect his future; more of Claire being seduced by West and his thoughts that "we're different and better"; more of Maya (if you're going to keep her) struggling with guilt/remorse/fear over her power; more of Mohinder wondering if the world wouldn't be better off if all the Heroes' powers were neutralized (due to the potential for abuse); and, dare I say it, more Nikki dealing with her super-strength through her split personalities (something that Bob hinted at, but we never really got to fully explore).

I mean, there is a TON to work with there, and the writers never went in those directions. Maybe we're set up for some of that in the upcoming episodes (assuming they happen)....I especially would like to see Hiro dealing with the cruelty and feelings that lead him to imprison another man in a tomb underground, and mroe Elle, but really ALL of the characters could have been explored more fully. Their struggle with their (expanding) powers after saving the world last season could have been a great setup for this season....but the writers dropped the ball.

So, I guess I'll tune in when Heroes returns, but it is definitely not appointment TV for me anymore. And I think this story-arc should permanently put to rest any "Lost v. Heroes" debates....Lost is clearly the vastly superior show, in all facets - writing, acting, directing, and production values.

Chaddogg...here's the problem. There are too many characters for this medium.

A set of novels would handle the issues well...but only if it's George R.R. Martin writing it. God forbid if it's a Robert Jordan clone...

@Corey - exactly, hence why Heroes would have been better by avoiding the temptation to add too many characters (or else actually killing some of the old ones). I'd only add Bob (a good new villain), Elle (both because it's Kristen Bell, and for the juxtaposition with Claire in regards to being raised normal v. superhero), West (Claire needs a boyfriend, and there was possibility with him hating her father/seducing her to abuse her powers) and Adam/Kensei (a too-long prolonged storyline for Hiro, but an excellent one if it had been executed correctly). Maya and Alejandro could have been eliminated, D.L. could have died at the end of last season, and we didn't really need New Orleans girl, did we? (even though her power was cool).

Smaller cast, more focused stories - now THAT would have been the way to go. But that's not to say that you're right, Corey, in the "too many characters" complaint/department - Lost manages a cast at least as large as Heroes, and does so with respect to the characters (at least most of the time...missing Rose and Bernard almost all last season was something of a cop-out). And Lost does so by making the stakes real...characters DO die on the island.

This season/volume was bungled, plain and simple. Hopefully when the strike settles, all these displaced Heroes writers will have read through comments like those here, and start fixing the show.

I've cancelled my Season Pass after watching the finale. I'm not even going to give Season 3 a shot. Frankly, it's just not worth the 44 minutes a week to try to eek out little bits of backstory that are interesting, which I think for most people is the only reason you watch it. I felt no emotional investment in a single character by the end of this season. Why did Peter believe Adam so strongly after person after person told him otherwise (were we supposed to assume they are bff after some time in a cell)? Is Elle really going to turn on her Dad or not? Is Claire really going to do something about this or not? Just too much dribble. Frankly I'm glad the strike put the show down.

I kind of had a problem with Hiro's method for disposing of Adam. I thought he could only transport to places that he could essentially get to through a physical means. Essentially he stops time and "walks" to wherever he wanted to go except he does it super fast. How would he get Adam into a coffin?

I'll agree that the plot holes are magnificent but I think suspension of belief is very, VERY key to this show.

@Karma -- About Hiro, He has powers over time and space, I guess. So transporting himself is where the 'space' part comes in. After all, he transported himself from Tokyo to NY in the first few episodes and he can't walk across an ocean to get to NY. . .

But I did snicker thinking of them both, momentarily, squeezed into that coffin when he dropped Adam off. Too bad that didn't show that in the show. Heh.

I guess I'm just going to have to stop questioning all these plot holes. I need Tom Servo and Crow T Robot to watch Heroes with me from now on. That might make it more enjoyable.

I figured Hiro had actually dug to the coffin while time was frozen, similar to spending all that effort folding cranes for Charlie.