Heroes: Discussion
Ok, so I've bumped this old article back up to the front page, because I think it deserves some attention in light of Monday's show.
Let me begin with a confession. This Monday, I watched Heroes, not 24. Oh, I flipped back and forth during commercials, but I made sure I was back before I missed any of the show. I had a fleeting "Karen's got to fire Bill?" moment, but it was fleeting. Heroes is a class act; I love how all of the characters lives are coming together now.
Oh, and did anyone wonder why Sylar was upset that the computer with the list had been destroyed since he now has Charlie's great memory skills and could have just memorized the whole thing? I did too, until something struck me. Hiro went back in time to save Charlie, and we all thought he failed. After all, she still died, right? Yes, but instead of dying from Sylar's attack, she's now dead of a brain tumor, right?
Whew. I forgot how much this show makes my brain hurts, yet how good it feels. I'm with Ando: "this is confusing".
Is it living up to your expectations?
(I changed the name from my two cents to Heroes: Discussion because I think this show really warrants discussion more than anything else...)
Alright, I'll admit it. I'm hooked. It took me a few episodes, but I've finally gotten into the new cult hit television show Heroes. If you've not seen it, you'd better stop reading now, none of this will make sense. You'll probably have to catch a Heroes marathon to get on board at this point.
The basic premise is that ordinary people are discovering that they have extraordinary powers. Think X-Men meets Lost. And just like Lost there are more questions than there are answers, only throw in variables like time travel and mind reading to make things interesting.
We just discovered tonight that Gabriel Syler (the bad guy everyone's been talking about) is a watchmaker who has a grudge against Chandra Suresh (the professor who discovered these "genetic anomolies") for failing to see his potential. More importantly, we discover that he has the ability to take the power of any hero by taking their brains.
I think more and more, Peter (who has the ability take on a hero's traits by simply being near them) will become a foil to Syler. We've seen Peter grow in his ability to "take on" a hero's power: his brother's flying power, Isaac's ability to paint the future, Claire's regenerative power after falling from the stadium stairs. In fact, I think I'm beginning to understand the meaning of the catchphrase "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World." Syler can steal a heros powers, so he's been after Claire (the cheerleader). Claire's power is perhaps most important because she cannot die; when injured, she simply regenerates.
In the early episodes Hiro (the time traveling hero) traveled to the future and saw a nuclear explosion in New York City. Isaac painted it as well. We've also been introduced to a hero who puts off massive amounts of radiation when angered. Now we learned tonight that Hero cannot change the future, as he tried to stop the death of a waitress with special powers by going back in time and it didn't work. So the explosion is going to happen, that much is fairly certain. And most likely the radioactive power will be stolen by Syler in an attempt to weild control over the world, a retribution of sorts against a world that in his mind never recognized how special he was. Now, couple that nuclear power with Claire's inability to die and you have what is essentially a god. We're pretty certain now that Peter's the exploding man.
Now, on the other hand, think of when the samurai-sword wielding Hiro that appeared to Peter on the subway train. He told her to save the cheerleader because she was needed to save the world. Peter's only chance of defeating a nuclear Syler would be to have Claire's regenerative powers. What about defeating himself? If you read this weeks graphic novel, I think we discover a lot about what happens in the future.
What role Jessica/Nikki, the mind-reading cop or the unnaturally persuasive woman play in all this I'm not sure yet. Whew, they've come a long way! All of their paths are crossing... But I do think that Peter will need to keep as many as possible around to become a true superhero... I called that one right!
InterAction:
28 November 20062. Jesse Gardner:
Not to sound like a geek (probably too late), but isn't tomorrow just the day after that's past?
The only reason I say this is because time and time again Mohander introduces the show by saying that someon'es fate cannot be changed, that it is predestined and cannot be altered.
However, now that I think about it, Hiro did changed some things. For instance, Hiro appeared in the polaroid with Charlie. He also called himself on the phone. Hmm...
28 November 20063. ren:
Andy is right. Hiro only says that he cannot change the past. What has happened in the actual timeline of his life cannot be changed. What he has seen in the future may yet be changed. In other words, had he teleported to the future and seen Charlie's death, he may have been able to save her. He could not because she had already died by the time he decided to "fix" things. I found that final scene heart-rending. Hiro is just too likeable to have to deal with that. :(
Regarding Sylar, I don't think he "takes" the power, per se. Peter does, temporarily. My thoughts at this point are that Sylar has the ability to study the brains (like he studied his watches) and then put the pieces together in his own brain. I felt badly for Dr. Suresh. He definitely rushed in too soon with Sylar; he had no idea the megalomaniac with which he was dealing, and by the time he realized it, it was too late.
I love this show. I have been completely addicted since the first episode. :) Watching the characters develop is fascinating. And Peter going to the high school in the complete belief that he would die was just so amazing. I've decided I don't really like Nathan, though. He just seems so shady. I suppose he's just bitter and guilt-ridden, but it comes across as shady. Anyway, I think I just used up all my nerd points, so I'll stop.
28 November 20064. seriousandy:
I have a feeling that the Hiro time travel is going to, as usual, create some frustrating paradoxes.
28 November 20065. seriousandy:
I do have to add that the dialogue in this series crawls all up under my skin. It sounds like it was written by a 9th grade creative writing student.
Still, I watch every episode. I'm drawn to cheesy sci-fi like an ant to molasses.
28 November 20066. LaRosa Johnson:
i don't wanna be left out... i've never seen a single episode... i guess i have to now... it's the talk of the town (although i'm already hooked on Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty & Desperate Housewives)
lj.
28 November 20067. xpressionccr:
I agree with the cannot change the future thing. They all have the chance of changing the future, that it the whole premise of the show right?
28 November 20068. Jesse Gardner:
I managed to find a few old episodes on YouTube and I think you all may be right, they CAN change the future. Ando asks Hiro why if Hiro called him in the future he's not still in Japan. How could his future self (the one who sees the nuclear explosion) be at his desk in Japan if he's already flown over to the United States. Hiro says to him "we're changing the future".
But here's the really confusing part: he shows Ando a comic book from the future that shows Ando and Hiro on the plane together. But he bought (stole) that comic book in New York City the day of the nuclear blast, which is 5 weeks after he's showing the book to Ando on the plane. Yet the same day he gets the comic book in NYC, he visits Isaac, finds him dead, gets arrested and calls Ando back at the office in Japan. So how would the comic book he got in the future show he and Ando on the plane coming over, considering it hadn't happened yet? Which reality is true, Ando in Japan to take the call the day of the nuclear explosion, or Ando in the US (since he came over with Hiro later... or rather, earlier... Oh heavens...
28 November 20069. xpressionccr:
You know, the answer to you last little paragraph there makes perfect sense in my head, but if I try to type it out, I think my brain will melt. So, I am not gonna.
6 February 200710. TreyTable:
Concerning Hiro, early on isn't it him who points out that most people see time as a sraight line, but really is a circle? If it is not Hiro, forgive me, but it still is relevant. The "Six Months Ago" episode had shown Hiro in what he called 'the past' and that he was from the 'future', but to the tragic waitress (I'm not good with remembering names, forgive me), that 'six months ago' was the 'present' to her. Time travel, I mean time & space, travel is not about going to the future or the past. That makes no sense. Time travel is just taking you to present day that is a different day (or hour, minute, whatever) tha what the human mind would call the 'past' or future. Does that make any sense to anybody?
26 April 200711. ren:
"We're pretty certain now that Peter's the exploding man."
I have a tiny doubt, now--did anyone else hear Nathan say, "You were wrong," or something to that effect when Peter was dead? Perhaps he saw something in the other paintings in Linderman's collection?
Linderman is really starting to bother me. I don't like the struggle he's initiated in Nathan. And I'm not convinced in the slightest that Micah didn't know that wasn't his mother. He knew the difference between Nikki and Jessica before Nikki realized there really was a Jessica. He had to know that was the shapeshifting girl. I think Jessica will create a swath of destruction in return.
I like the Parkman, Bennet, Sprague team. I'm interested to see how they'll intersect with the Petrelli family in NYC. I am a little worried about Nathan trying to send Claire to Paris for election week. Especially after Peter's insistence on her importance in NYC. It bodes ill--as though Nathan is actually beginning to think Linderman has a point.
Future Hiro is fantastic. The timeline is amazing--and the setup does lend itself to the non-linear time theory.
I can't wait to discover what clues Isaac sent away before his death.
26 April 200712. ren:
p.s. I was so stoked that Peter was finally able to call specifics powers to use on purpose. I guess the invisible guy's lessons weren't a waste after all.
8 May 200713. mimsta:
I just want to say 'I love heroes'. I am totally addicted. I'm in NZ and have been watching it via downloaded episodes, so i'm a few days behind you all - well, I will be when your episode 21 screens tonight... (or was it last night)
Anyway, all your theories are great. I have a few of my own...
What about how when future hiro came to peter - and he said - hey you look different without your scar.
And how come claire is alive in that future episode, cause future hiro thought she was dead. when hiro told him that peter had saved claire he thought that meant that sylar was killed. but he wasn't... so i thought that meant that those events hadn't happened yet cause he hadn't gone back in time to warn peter yet... but so if he hadn't gone back in time to warn peter yet, how come claire was alive in the future... shouldn't she still be 'dead'? these time/space issues always get confusing... i think maybe you can't think about the details too much...
YourThoughts?
(Minutia)
This entry was written by Jesse on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 2:07 AM and appears in the Movies chapter. The previous article was entitled, "Wrong Way?", and the next entry is called, "Mosquito Tone Test, or How To Tell You're A Young'un". Bookmark the permalink, save it to del.icio.us or Digg it.
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28 November 20061. seriousandy:
I'd love to post more on this, but I only have time to make one quick point...
We aren't told that Hiro can't change the future. We're only told that he can't change the past. There still may be a chance that the explosion may be stopped. Agree?