Heroes: Back to Basics

For the first time in a while, I’m not dreading writing a “Heroes” recap.

Like I’ve said before, I don’t LIKE writing negative, hateful things, it’s just that this show left me no choice a lot of the time. Of course, last night’s episode taken by itself was no instant classic, but the hour had a comforting “back to basics” feel and established a decent foundation for what I hope will be a solid “volume” of episodes.

Then again, nobody’s perfect. And that’s especially true when it comes to the creators of this show over the last two volumes, so the kickoff to “Volume 4: Fugitives” was not without its problems. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the stuff I like and some of the stuff I didn’t care for.

What I liked: They kept it simple, stupid.
How messed up and confusing had this show become? Despite being gone for just a little over a month, I honestly had no recollection of who still had their powers (apparently Mohinder does, despite the more aesthetically pleasing lack of scales) and who didn’t (like Hiro, who I now DO remember lost his thanks to Papa Petrelli and only returned to the present after Ando and Daphne teamed up to time travel).

Last night’s episode established the “people with abilities” are being locked up conceit from the very opening scene with Tracy, and (mostly) stayed with that storyline throughout the entire hour. Here’s hoping the show steers clear of time travelling plots, flashback/flashfoward episodes and all the other nonsense that had grown stale. I’m willing to forget and never again see Future Hiro or Future Scarred Peter for the sake of storytelling clarity.

What I didn’t like: Nathan.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful that we have a fresh main villain that isn’t affiliated with any “Company” and that isn’t Sylar. What I’m not in love with is yet another abrupt character turn for Nathan Petrelli.

First he wanted to out himself and the other heroes, which led to him getting shot. Fine. Then, he thought it’d be a good idea to give people abilities so that they could fight evil around the world. That didn’t work out either. Fine. Now he seems content on simply rounding up all the people with powers and, um, something. I wonder what they’ll have him do next volume. It’d be nice to have a clearer insight into his motivations and, to be fair, that may still be coming. All that being said, I enjoyed the scenes between Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia last night, despite the fact that I have no idea why they hate each other so much now.

What I liked: Peter and Mohinder.
For the first time in a long time, neither of them acted like COMPLETE morons (I would’ve trusted H.R.G. too, Mohinder). I just felt it was worth noting. (Bonus points for the callback to their cab ride scene from season 1.)

Another thing I liked: Going back to the beginning.
After all the craziness of past seasons, it was nice to see the characters at least attempt to live normal lives (Mohinder going back to his cab, Peter taking the next step from being a nurse and becoming a paramedic). It makes the fact that they were tracked down by a team led by Emmy winner Zeljko Ivanek as The Hunter and plucked from their “normal” lives more relatable.

I’d also like to thank the show for not inundating us with new characters this volume (except for The Hunter and a couple of others) and instead focusing on strengthening the ones we know.

What I didn’t like: Claire is still annoying.
Yes, she’s a teenager, and yes she’s had a hard time. I just wish Claire had been a character the writers had taken back to basics. Instead, the former cheerleader refused to go to school and learned about her (biological) dad’s plans to round up everyone with abilities. Or something. To be honest, I have a hard time focusing during any of Hayden Panettiere’s scenes these days because she’s wearing way too much damn makeup and looks like she’s wearing a wig.

Trust me: I’m totally clueless and if I can tell that you’re wearing makeup, you’re wearing too much makeup.

What I liked: The Ando/Hiro partnership.
And, yes, I meant it in that order. A now powerless Hiro is willingly taking a backseat to Ando, who’s more interested in hanging out with strippers than saving lives. I’m glad that the writers skipped any potential friction between Ando and Hiro and, instead, made Hiro perfectly content with being the hero’s techie sidekick (though the extent of all the equipment was a bit much).

Unfortunately, Nathan never got the memo that Hiro didn’t have his powers anymore, which led to him being kidnapped by the goon squad. It should be interesting to see Ando try to help Hiro and friends on his own.

What I didn’t like: The Matt/Daphne partnership.
Daphne’s still acting like a spaz. I wouldn’t be surprised if the writers got rid of her soon (in their secret on-going campaign to pretend the last two volumes didn’t happen).

Even worse is Parkman (pictured, right). It’s now more obvious than ever that the writers have NO IDEA what to do with this character, but are afraid to kill him off because he’s a nice guy. Since Parkman doesn’t have anything to do, he’s become this season’s Isaac Mendez/prophet and will be painting the future. The only saving grace is that the cool “blank eye” contact lens effect. I also liked the drawing of Parkman looking at the drawing of him getting shot with a dark seconds before it happened. (I’ll ignore that this joke was used during the last volume when Hiro was trying to trap Usutu, the African seer.)

What I liked: Sylar.
They really should’ve brought more guys when they tried to trap him. Watching him repel those guys was badass. The best part was Nathan’s response to The Hunter telling him that they had a couple of problems: “Lemme guess. Sylar?”

What I didn’t like: Sylar.
I get that it’s important to Sylar to find out who his parents are, but for the rest of us it’s kind of tedious. Watching him visit the watchmaker in Baltimore, only to be redirected somewhere else was a waste of time. My girlfriend Erica likened it to calling customer service and being transferred from one person to another. It’s annoying then, and it’s annoying watching it happen on this show.

Overall, the episode had some problems, but totally worked as a setup for the rest of the season. I hope they keep a significant portion of the “heroes” together, which should lead to more focused storytelling. I hope.

So what’d you think of this episode? Who was the governor Tracy was on the phone with at the start of the episode? (Will it matter?) How many more fake fathers will Sylar meet? My girlfriend wasn’t the only one who got a hint of “Lost” from the “survivors of a plane” crash promo, right? It must’ve been REALLY loud on that plane for no one to hear Claire sneaking around, right? Finally, do you think this volume will be any good?