Heroes: Fight or Flight...

[fajrdrako]

I watched Heroes last night with maaseru. We agreed that it was a better-than-usual episode. "And I know why," said maaseru. "Why?" I asked.

"Because there was no crying and running and characters leaking black stuff from their eyes."

Right! We didn't have to put up with scenes of Maya and Alejandro running and crying. How is it that, with them, even Sylar seems boring? It's a sign of how dull they are, that I'd forgotten they existed and didn't notice they were missing.

1. I thought there was even more evidence for my theory that Nathan and Peter both have the power to absorb other powers, and that Nathan has absorbed Niki's powers. Makes me wonder who Nathan got the flying powers from: possibly his father? Or had he met West?
   
   This leads to the corollary that Nathan and Peter both could survive the nuclear blast because both had met Claire by that time. We know she can survive a nuclear blast, because we saw it.
   
   Another thought, with less evidence: could it be that Peter and Nathan both have absorbing powers, but can't absorb powers from each other? Peter doesn't seem to have Niki's powers, and Nathan doesn't seem to have all of Peter's, though it could be that he simply can't access them. (Peter had that problem too, access and control.) It appeared that Peter got his powers of flight from Nathan, but it's possible that they both got them from another source, someone we didn't know could fly. Did they meet West?
   
   And of course any speculation about the Petrelli family leads me to wonder what their father's power might have been. Their mother's, we know (or have guessed beyond a doubt, I think it's pretty much confirmed), but I see no indication that either of them have absorbed Angela's power. Which would reinforce my theory that Peter and Nathan can't absorb from each other.



2. I enjoyed the Peter scenes. I was very happy that he opened the box. He didn't exactly get a sex scene, but he got some kissing and cuddling scenes, so I was happy. Caitlin's brother was practically wearing a red shirt and I fear Caitlin isn't long for this world. (Is everyone who ever has sex with with Peter Petrelli going to die?)



3. And now we've met Elle! I loved it that they were playing with the familiar scenes from Veronica Mars, having her doing surveillance in her car, in the rain, talking to her father on a cell phone - ! Just a little in-joke. Though Elle appears to be Bad not Good, more's the pity.



4. Matt: I love him. That expression of perpetual befuddlement. His interactions with his father were wonderful. I was screaming at him, "Don't go through the door!" but did he listen? Of course not. At last they have acknowledged that Janice's baby may be his after all, and that he already suspects this.



5. Nathan: I love him, too. I guess it was his political persona and his ambiguous falsities that made me dislike him last year. Loved the moment when Peter saw him in the photo, and didn't recognize him. It seems oddly in character, though, that the only personal picture Peter was travelling with, was of him together with his brother.
   
   Also loved the moment when Nathan thought he saw Peter on the roof in the nightmare, and it turned out to be his other self.



6. I thought Matt's father a wonderful character. Good power, too. I loved the double fight featuring Matt and Nathan - that was brilliant. Also loved it that Nathan was on The Roof - the place I always think of as Claude's roof. Isaac's loft. The Deveaux roof-garden. Whatever.



7. So where are Mr. Bennet and the Haitian? Was that... Moscow? WTF? And wherever they are, what are they doing there?



8. Is one of our characters a Typhoid Mary, a carrier of the disease?



9. Is Candace still around? (I hope so.)



10. I love Claire, but I'm finding her borderline annoying this season - she's reverted to being a grumpy teen. And West is a facade and a bore. Least, I hope he's a facade. If what we see is all there is, then he's even more boring than I thought. A Clark Kent doppelganger without the interesting story.
    
    So, bottom line is: I'm glad we didn't have Claire/West scenes this time, and that's a pity, because for the last half of last season I loved Claire and all her scenes very much indeed.



11. Ando is so cute. I loved his scenes, too. Hiro in the 17th century isn't so intriguing: I find Kensei amusing but the girl is uninteresting and the story sketchy. I want Hiro back home in the present.



12. We need more Nicelle Nichols, less Monica. Micah seems so much more mature than Monica is. Of course, he's more mature than anyone. But I wish Monica was less of a drip.

Comments

[raissad.livejournal.com]

So where are Mr. Bennet and the Haitian? Was that... Moscow? WTF? And wherever they are, what are they doing there?

They're in Odessa, Ukraine, mentioned in the previous ep. when the Hatian came to see him, looking for the remaining paintings, which they will find next week, according to the official ep. synopsis:

http://herosite.net/linedescription.htm

Candice is dead. Sylar killed her. Missy Peregrym is on another show, Reaper, so they recast the part for the one ep., and finished off the character

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Odessa, Ukraine

Right! Okay, I remember that now. Intriguing.

Candice is dead.

Hmmph. I liked Candice. I was hoping she was still alive. Or at least, I liked her power. Maybe someone will turn up with the same ability, or something similar.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Well, Sylar has her power, now. He just can't access it, but that will probably change later in the season. I have a feeling Sylar's problem is tied into the virus somehow. They mentioned last season and this that the virus inhibits powers. Maybe, the virus started as a Company safety protocol to use against twitchier folks like Sylar to keep them in line, and it mutated into something deadly later.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling Sylar's problem is tied into the virus somehow.

Yes. I keep wondering if the virus is significant in ways we don't see - if it is the result of someone's power (inadverntently) or if it is a deliberate biological weapon.

Maybe, the virus started as a Company safety protocol to use against twitchier folks like Sylar to keep them in line,

Or even to eradicate them, or neutralize their powers - but it got out of hand, or mutated, or was doctored.

Could be any or none of these things.

Hmm.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

Sylar has her power, now. He just can't access it

Do we know that for a fact? I would have assumed that whatever's inhibiting his power (and I read it as the virus, too) would keep him from absorbing hers.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's unclear to me exactly how it works - seems to me it could be either way. We will see, I suppose, when he gets his powers back, whether he has absorbed the powers of those he encountered in the meantime.

Much as I like Candice's power, I'm sure I want Sylar to have it - it's a power that's most fun if used singly.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

In no particular order:

I am completely with you on #10. Sigh. I loved Claire last season, and now I just want to smack her for being an idiot, and the boyfriend is incredibly untrustworthy and obnoxious and boring, whether he's a spy or not (I suspect he is).

I like Monica, though I agree Micah is much more mature. But I'm interested to see where they go with them. More Nichelle wouldn't go amiss, though. :)

I'm liking Nathan and Matt both a lot more this season. And their scenes with the fight were wonderful, and so well filmed!

Interesting theory about Nathan's powers. I'm not sure if I buy into it, but I'm very curious to look for evidence of it now. It would make sense, though, that they couldn't absorb from each other - because the actual power is to absorb/mimic others, not all the ones that are absorbed/mimicked.

What's your theory on Angela Petrelli's power? I've been unable to come up with one.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

My theory re Angela Petrelli's power is that she can influence people by touching them. Mostly we see her use it on Nathan - whenever he is about to do something she doesn't want, she touches him, and he changes his mind and does what she wants him to. Which is why Nathan sometimes seems to be playing so many sides at once.

I can't cite episodes when we see her doing this, but I noticed it as a fairly consistent thing.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

Ah, cool. *nod* I would buy that. It makes me want to go back and watch season one to see!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of doing that too. I haven't worked it out very systematically - just noticed that she seemed to be doing it. And that she liked to touch people when she was telling them what to do.

[myfavouriteplum.livejournal.com]

"Nathan: I love him, too. I guess it was his political persona and his ambiguous falsities that made me dislike him last year."

Me too. I enjoy his scenes far more this season. I even like some of the remainders from his politician persona, as in his scenes with Matt.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I enjoy his scenes far more this season.

In the first season, I though we were seeing the image, and I didn't fell I had a good sense of what Matt was like. Now I do. He seems much more of a real person - including his emotional baggage, generally, with his mother and brother.

And the face-in-the-mirror sequences, that didn't impress me much with Jessica, seem quite fascinating with Nathan.

Latest Graphic Novel

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Here's the latest, filling in backstory implied in last night's ep:
http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/novels_display.shtml?novel=57

Re: Latest Graphic Novel

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Great!