I Am Become Death (304)

[Killjoy_Zero]

Its not so much that the world needs saving every season its that its the same problem every season. People finding out about people with powers which was a problem in Volume 1 and in Volume 3. Volume 2 is the one that stands apart but, again, people were going to find out about people with powers somehow. My big question is where did Caitlyn go after season 2 when she was stranded in the future.

[Aerilon]

My big question is where did Caitlyn go after season 2 when she was stranded in the future.

My guess would be she is still there.

[g.o.d]

WTF was that? how the hell did Claire and others manage to survive the big Sylar's fart in the end?

looks like Tom Kring visited Bridge Studios in Vancouver for some advices, because this was the most idiotic episode ever with many plot holes

[sparklegem]

I'm so confused. I can't keep everything the characters have done straight, so people's motivations are pretty much lost on me.

Why the heck is it Peter that had to have Sylar's power and figure out how the world's going to end? Why doesn't "Gabriel" just do it himself if he can see cause and effect? There are so many things that just DON"T MAKE SENSE. >.<

But OMG, Adam! Love the ending.

[sparklegem]

Plus, I don't buy the whole future!Peter needs to delegate to present!Peter so he doesn't screw things up. Whatever actions either of them take, they both have a chance of making the future worse or screwing things up. They'd just be acting on different information, and future!Peter has more information to go by, so I'd think he's the better candidate.

[Buddhawasanancient]

Sylar has a child. I don't think it is the 'Noah' that we know, Sylar seemed to care too much, it seemed he cared enough as though it were his own child. My guess is that the mini-Noah is actually Sylar's child. The Mother, I think is Claire.

Wait, so incest now?!?! No offense but I seriously doubt Tim Kring would throw incest into a show like this. Plus Claire is the way she is in the future BECAUSE Sylar brain raped her. They couldn't be on more opposite sides in the future. Nah, that's Noah. I'd bet this week's paycheck on it...

[Franklyn Blaze]

WTF was that? how the hell did Claire and others manage to survive the big Sylar's fart in the end?

looks like Tom Kring visited Bridge Studios in Vancouver for some advices, because this was the most idiotic episode ever with many plot holes

Well I know Claire can't die but the black guy surviving is really weird! Especially after Mrs. Flash Gordon did not, plot go down the hoooooole.

[Buddhawasanancient]

Well I know Claire can't die but the black guy surviving is really weird!

I just watched it again and Knox wasn't back at the morgue. It was Claire, the 2 Peters, Nathan and his SS men and the Haitian who wasn't in Costa Verde. Plothole averted!

[entil2001]

“Heroes” staves off the public impression of stringing the audience along with a regular stream of revelation, plenty of action, and a wealth of plot threads. In fact, the writers of “Heroes” are trying so hard to avoid being labeled as another “Lost” that they overlook the best qualities of their supposed rival.

First, however, I should focus on the positive. No matter how many times they return to the “unexpected future” well, it’s a lot of fun. I thought this version of the future was a little less interesting than they could have made it, with a bigger budget, but the general premise came across. In particular, I liked the argument between Future Peter and Present Peter. Present Peter is still full of hope and optimism about the human race; Future Peter is far more pragmatic.

The introduction of freely available metahuman abilities would not begin a golden age. It would amplify the basic positives and negatives within society as a whole. The virtuous would use the abilities in a controlled manner, but the criminal element would flourish with the chance to overcome traditional law enforcement. Such a future would all too easily lead to what was seen in the alternate future explored in the first season.

Unlike the first season, however, abilities are not treated as a genetic quirk, but the combined result of genetics and biochemical manipulation. Apparently several characters are going to be revealed as “altered”, given abilities by their parents or minions of the Twelve and the Company. Just as Sylar’s victory over Claire undercuts the first season arc, I think this idea undercuts the strength of the second season arc. Previously, the story was starkly generational; now, I’m not sure it works as well.

But it does begin to explain some of the divisions that threaten to emerge. Hiro’s impulsive decision to open his father’s sage, thus allowing someone to reconstruct the formula for creating metahumans, has given someone an opportunity. Mohinder’s subplot demonstrates how it can all go wrong, if the formula is not correct. Some will want abilities to proliferate; others will not. Which side is the villainous side may be hard to figure out, but that should be part of the fun.

On the other hand, wouldn’t it be a nice change of pace for the writers to develop a straightforward conflict between good and evil without the need for the “alternate future” plot device? As fun as it is to see Domesticated Sylar and Evil Hottie Claire, it does become a cliché. Do the writers think that revealing the future is the only way to make the in-between more interesting? Or, once again, are they afraid to give their fans the impression of lack of direction (despite clearly making things up as they go along)?

Two problems persist. First, there is the annoying need to make Sylar sympathetic. This actually began back in the first season when they introduced his (now adoptive) mother and tried to blame his actions on his upbringing. But ever since Sylar escaped his natural moment of death (so the writers could continue to avoid the promised Peter/Sylar clash) in the first season finale, the character has been floundering.

Now, instead of letting him remain the worst of the worst, Peter’s polar opposite, the writers have saddled Sylar with this ridiculous excuse for his villainy. Instead of simply being a dark and amoral madman, bent on accumulation of power, Sylar is suffering from a “hunger”. This makes him kill out of insatiable need, not because of a psychological disorder. And frankly, that’s just not as interesting or compelling.

Contrast Sylar with someone like Ben Linus from “Lost”. Ben is incredibly popular, not because he has been softened over time, but because his constant machinations and psychological prowess remain unmatched. He’s not an anti-hero; he’s a man consistent with his vision, which often makes him villainous in the eyes of others. In other words, he’s a fully fleshed out character with deep motivations.

I don’t see the same thing with Sylar. What I see is a desire to make his continued presence more logical by giving him the chance to evolve into something other than the damaged overpowered psychopath.

This is just bad character development, and the same is happening with Claire. By showing the Future Hottie Claire as amoral, the writers suggest that it is some extreme desire for self-defense. Does it have to be that way? Of course not, so the writers need to tread carefully to make sense of this shift. My suspicion is that Claire will try to get help from more trustworthy people, only to be ignored, forcing her to look elsewhere. I’m just not sure that process will be handled well.

The second problem is the lack of lasting consequences. The writers use death for its shock value all the time, but it only becomes a true “threat” when those deaths are permanent. How many people have come back from the dead on this show? Even accounting for the fact that Adam can’t technically die, there was no need to bring him back as well.

So far, despite the darker edge, the third season seems to be falling into the same trap as the second season. The story is all too familiar, and the writers seem to think tossing a dozen plot threads into a single episode is better than developing a few solid plot threads with depth. I liked a lot about this episode, but those two massive problems just won’t go away.


John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2008
All rights reserved
Link: http://www.criticalmyth.com

[Franklyn Blaze]

I just watched it again and Knox wasn't back at the morgue. It was Claire, the 2 Peters, Nathan and his SS men and the Haitian who wasn't in Costa Verde. Plothole averted!

Oh nice, I should pay closer attention, my apologies.

[Buddhawasanancient]

Oh nice, I should pay closer attention, my apologies.

No need to apologize. I was just clarifying

[Phenix]

John Keegan wrote a spot on review. I can not even find anything to nit pick. Perhaps the Mohinder bit.

I hate what they've done with Sylar. If Sylar was to become a good guy then at least have him do it in an amoral sense.

I believe they are jumping into the future in order to avoid developing a plot.

[JanusAncient]

I have to agree, they seem determined to avoid developing a reasonable plot. I don't believe this Claire can't die nonsense. You destroy her brain, she's dead, her body isn't going to regenerate without a brain. That's why a bullet to the brain would've been able to stop the past Peter from regenerating.

Yes, leave Sylar alone to do what he's good at, stop trying to moralize everything, you ruin structure, and continuity.

Sylars power comes with a thirst to understand, it's logical it'd turn him into a killer. I can't for the life of me, see how they were able to kill future Peter, or why he has that scar, the scar requires an explanation.

[Buddhawasanancient]

I can't for the life of me, see how they were able to kill future Peter, or why he has that scar, the scar requires an explanation.

Maybe he puts the scar there with his shapeshifting ability to remind him of something horrible he did. Kinda like what Gabriel was saying about the Sylar watch when he gave it to Peter...

[flameling]

Or maybe he has the scar from a fight where The Haitain neutralized Peter's regenrative ability.