Vol.2 Chapter Four: The Kindness of Stangers
Episode Four was a slower paced episode, speckled with jaw-dropping reveals. There were quieter, sadder moments like Nathan visiting his sons at school. Reminiscent of a Wes Anderson scene, his sad, shaggy face pressed through the bars to make weary promises that Daddy would be coming home soon.
Mama Petrelli was also worn down. The deaths of her son, Peter, and former lover, Kaito Nakamura, as well as the attempt on her own life have put this alternately tough and fragile spirit on the edge. She’s damaged and desperate enough to confess to a crime she didn’t commit, just to be protected, just to be redeemed. She’s resolved, but also scared; enough even to express her affection for Nathan and implore him to change the ways she herself instilled in him.
She also implored Parkman to stop investigating the case. Perhaps she knows more about him than his ability to read minds, but for the rest of us the first real jaw-dropper of this episode was that Matt’s Daddy was one of the original 12.
(Arguably, the first would be that the Wonder Twins came across Sylar passed out in the middle of a dirt road in Mexico—but that was just unexpected. And kind of weird.)
Immediately I have great love for the plucky Monica Dawson, cousin to Micah Sanders and hero-in-discovery. Played by Dana Davis (Malcolm in the Middle, Veronica Mars) the character comes across, as she herself puts it, “like a woman with a future.” I’m ecstatic to see such a determined woman on the series, but Kring & Co. need to be careful with gender and racial stereotypes. D.L. was an ex-con, Niki’s claim to fame is as a “single mother.” Monica works double shifts at a fast food establishment and has dreams of going back to college, but is burdened with financially supporting her extended family in the post-Katrina South.
These types of experience do exist in the real world, the problem is creating a show with diversity requires more than just showing a variety of color, gender, sexuality, and class. It’s a huge start, but it’s important to represent these lives as lives of complexity—not just reductionist descriptives. With such a large cast, it may be hard for the writers to step away from cliché, but with an episodic, certainly not impossible.
Monica does have a really cool power! She instantly picks up skills by watching them, much like Charlie could by reading. Talk about “educational TV!” The entertainment wrestling-style kick to the Burger Bonanza robber was particularly awesome.
(And I just have to point out how sweet it was when Micah tried to “fix” Monica’s sadness for her. I don’t think he’s ever experimented with his gift on humans before, or he certainly would have with his mom, but he seemed genuine in his compassion for his cousin. They’re both trapped in situations they don’t want to be in, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they find freedom, and perhaps even satisfaction, through use of their gifts.)
I’m disappointed in the wedge that’s been driven between Noah and Claire. They’d be a stronger unit if only they would just be honest with one another—but it turns out, Claire is just a good a liar as her daddy.
Sneaking out with West provided one likable West moment. He encouraged her to jump off the famous Hollywood sign because he wanted to see her powers. She did it because she was convinced he wouldn’t be offended by her post-injury appearance. When West caught her in mid-air he had a sweet, suave line:
“I know you can heal, Claire. But I never wanna see you hurt.” (awwww)
But I still feel like he’s bossy with her. You WILL go out with me tonight. You HAVE to jump off this sign so I know that you trust me. And she’s so young, so desperate for someone to talk to about these changes in her life that she’s letting him manipulate her. He could turn out to be a good thing for her. But he could easily turn out to be an enemy. I prefer to see Claire making choices for herself.
As for HRG, why doesn’t he talk to Claire about the newly-discovered painting? I know he’s trying to protect her and that one can’t trick or prevent fate. But the last time he was privy to this kind of information (precognitive painting courtesy of Mendez) he could have saved Claire some pain by sharing it with her.
The Cliffhanger
Parkman is desperate to find his father so he can warn him that the original “heroes” are dying/being killed. He asks Molly to locate him, but when she sees the photo of the 12 she begs him not to make her do it.
She eventually agrees, and as she zeroes in on Parkman senior it turns out that he is the Bad Man. Her body goes into shock as her psyche is kidnapped.
The episode ends, and the look on Parkman’s face is heartbreaking.
Next Week: Kristen Bell!!!!!!
Mama Petrelli was also worn down. The deaths of her son, Peter, and former lover, Kaito Nakamura, as well as the attempt on her own life have put this alternately tough and fragile spirit on the edge. She’s damaged and desperate enough to confess to a crime she didn’t commit, just to be protected, just to be redeemed. She’s resolved, but also scared; enough even to express her affection for Nathan and implore him to change the ways she herself instilled in him.
She also implored Parkman to stop investigating the case. Perhaps she knows more about him than his ability to read minds, but for the rest of us the first real jaw-dropper of this episode was that Matt’s Daddy was one of the original 12.
(Arguably, the first would be that the Wonder Twins came across Sylar passed out in the middle of a dirt road in Mexico—but that was just unexpected. And kind of weird.)
Immediately I have great love for the plucky Monica Dawson, cousin to Micah Sanders and hero-in-discovery. Played by Dana Davis (Malcolm in the Middle, Veronica Mars) the character comes across, as she herself puts it, “like a woman with a future.” I’m ecstatic to see such a determined woman on the series, but Kring & Co. need to be careful with gender and racial stereotypes. D.L. was an ex-con, Niki’s claim to fame is as a “single mother.” Monica works double shifts at a fast food establishment and has dreams of going back to college, but is burdened with financially supporting her extended family in the post-Katrina South.
These types of experience do exist in the real world, the problem is creating a show with diversity requires more than just showing a variety of color, gender, sexuality, and class. It’s a huge start, but it’s important to represent these lives as lives of complexity—not just reductionist descriptives. With such a large cast, it may be hard for the writers to step away from cliché, but with an episodic, certainly not impossible.
Monica does have a really cool power! She instantly picks up skills by watching them, much like Charlie could by reading. Talk about “educational TV!” The entertainment wrestling-style kick to the Burger Bonanza robber was particularly awesome.
(And I just have to point out how sweet it was when Micah tried to “fix” Monica’s sadness for her. I don’t think he’s ever experimented with his gift on humans before, or he certainly would have with his mom, but he seemed genuine in his compassion for his cousin. They’re both trapped in situations they don’t want to be in, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they find freedom, and perhaps even satisfaction, through use of their gifts.)
I’m disappointed in the wedge that’s been driven between Noah and Claire. They’d be a stronger unit if only they would just be honest with one another—but it turns out, Claire is just a good a liar as her daddy.
Sneaking out with West provided one likable West moment. He encouraged her to jump off the famous Hollywood sign because he wanted to see her powers. She did it because she was convinced he wouldn’t be offended by her post-injury appearance. When West caught her in mid-air he had a sweet, suave line:
“I know you can heal, Claire. But I never wanna see you hurt.” (awwww)
But I still feel like he’s bossy with her. You WILL go out with me tonight. You HAVE to jump off this sign so I know that you trust me. And she’s so young, so desperate for someone to talk to about these changes in her life that she’s letting him manipulate her. He could turn out to be a good thing for her. But he could easily turn out to be an enemy. I prefer to see Claire making choices for herself.
As for HRG, why doesn’t he talk to Claire about the newly-discovered painting? I know he’s trying to protect her and that one can’t trick or prevent fate. But the last time he was privy to this kind of information (precognitive painting courtesy of Mendez) he could have saved Claire some pain by sharing it with her.
The Cliffhanger
Parkman is desperate to find his father so he can warn him that the original “heroes” are dying/being killed. He asks Molly to locate him, but when she sees the photo of the 12 she begs him not to make her do it.
She eventually agrees, and as she zeroes in on Parkman senior it turns out that he is the Bad Man. Her body goes into shock as her psyche is kidnapped.
The episode ends, and the look on Parkman’s face is heartbreaking.
Next Week: Kristen Bell!!!!!!
Labels: Heroes
posted by Jennifer K. Stuller | 11:50 AM
4 Comments:
Hi Jen, really liked your summary of last week's episode. Even though it was slower it did a good job of moving the various stories forward - although I'm really confused about how Syler ended up lying on a dirt road in Mexico. It's obviously that Syler (or whatever he has become) is being manipulated by someone else. But who is that someone else?
Anyway, I think this was the first time that Hiro has not appeared in an episode since Hereo's started. Hopefully he'll be brought back into the regular story line soon.
As far as Claire and her dad go, I like how the writers are giving her the same powers of persuasion (deception?) as her father. It does a good job of establishing a family lineage.
Thanks! It may have been slowly-paced, but it still provided more developments than most single episodes of last season.
I'm sure all questions about how Sylar and Peter got to be where they each currently are will be answered in the upcoming episode, "Four Months Ago."
I really like that Kring & Co. are teasing us for the first several chapters to up our curiosity before providing a payoff.
It was, for instance, curious that Sylar used his birth name. Is this because he feels he is no longer "special" and therefore undeserving of his chosen moniker? And how the hell did he end up in Mexico? Has he been able to access any of the powers he stole last season?
(And props for Zachary Quinto for doing genuinely sweet/horrifyingly creepy sooooo well. He must have practiced all summer.)
As for Claire, it not only shows that she can be as unapologetically shadowy as HRG--but that she's also very much a Petrelli.
And I did miss Hiro.
But I loved the Spanish edition of "Activating Evolution."
On a tangent...
I agree that West does seem a bit demanding. His high school student persona has an us (special powers)versus them (popular kids with no powers) attitude. Teenage angst or could this evolve into something more? Do you suppose West's name intends any foreshadowing? Could this be the foundation for an East meets West epic battle of ideologies? (The Heroes Helix even looks vaguely ying-yang-ish with one side forming an "E" and the other a "W"?)Perhaps a Magneto-Xavier type match up? A dualistic relationship- while not mutually exclusive in their goals they fundamentally differ on whether or not end results justify the means by which they are achieved? What distinguishes those that work for the Corporation and those in Hiro's camp? hmmm....this show is so deeep...;-)
I think a X-Men/Brotherhood of Mutants “read” is absolutely there. People who feel special or superior vs. those who don’t want to treated differently. But also, from what I know of X-Men the Brotherhood is not necessarily evil. Mutants are persecuted, which is totally played up in the films, and it's the reactions to being treated differently and feared that differ and cause a rift. (Xavier and Magneto have been compared to Dr. King and Malcolm X—though I’m not sure if their philosophies were intended to be read into the characters.)
Currently on the show there are no clear leaders, but we have seen at least one person who feels they are special. In fact, he feels he is so special that he is obsessed with the being of it, and that’s Sylar. And he doesn’t feel that anyone is as deserving of their gifts as he is.
As far as West goes, he could just be poorly written/poorly acted. Or the PTB are waiting to see how audiences react to him before deciding what to do with the character. As for East vs. West—after being a CHID student I’m not comfortable trying to make that distinction. But there are hints of dichotomy, most notably of god and science—as symbolized by the character “Godsend” and the DNA helix, respectively. Hiro even pointedly discusses this with Kensei when he talks about evolution, “Some think it’s God, some think it’s science.” (paraphrased)
(On a side note The Helix/Character is interesting. Which way is up?)
I think your last question “What distinguishes those who work for the corporation and those in Hiro’s camp?” is a really interesting one.
And I think the answer is self-discovery and free will vs. power and manipulation of talent—but that's the initial way it's set up. Good vs. Bad. Until the brilliant Season One episode “Company Man”—when shit turns gray. (Even the flashback film is overtly gray)
Fortunately, once they get past their fear, it’s assumed by many of our heroes that with great power comes great responsibility--but there will always be people in the process of discovery who fear or have yet to understand their power. Maya and Niki can't control their powers. Niki doesn’t even want hers. Hiro immediately knows what to do with them. Claire knows she has to help people. Peter and Parkman both lean towards doing good, but as both have led frustrated lives, both have been inclined to flirt with the dark side of power. (Parkman stole diamonds. Peter almost killed a man in Cork, just to watch him die.)
And we still don't know what The Company agenda is.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home