Heroes: One of Us, One of Them...

[fajrdrako]

Watched Heroes tonight: "One of Us, One of Them". Enjoyed it once more.

1. Such fun to see Hiro and Ando together again, and funny. I like Daphne as part of the mix, too, and the way she tends to grab-and-run. She has style.
   
   
2. And the Haitian is back! Yay!
   
   
3. Angela Petrelli is more interesting than ever. Wish we'd seen more of Nathan.
   
   
4. Loved the scene where the two Peters confront each other - and Future!Peter just pushes Present!Peter out of Weevil's body.
   
   
5. It was good to see Micah again, though I didn't quite understand how or why Tracy could just walk into Nana's house. Zimmerman is interesting. (Am I right about clones?)
   
   
6. How real is Matt's spirit guide? Is this all happening in Matt's head, or do we really have someone else with Isaac's powers?
   
   
7. I didn't understand what Claire's mother wanted her to say.
   
   
8. Didn't much like the Claire story this time round, and the rivalry of the two mothers.
   
   
9. Bennet was awesome. As always. I was almost fooled into thinking Sylar might be... changing. Loved their interaction. The trick Mr. Bennet played with Sylar ("Stay where you are. Don't come in.") was that same as the trick Hiro's father played with him last week: "Whatever you do, don't open the safe."
   
   
10. Where's Claude?
    

Comments

[dargie.livejournal.com]

"I didn't quite understand how or why Tracy could just walk into Nana's house" It's possible the front door was open. They were having a funeral, and it's New Orleans. I'd almost bank on that door being wide open.

"do we really have someone else with Isaac's powers" It doesn't make any sense that powers wouldn't repeat, though this particular power is outside the average ability. I'd say different if the artists chronicled the future of Joe Average, but all their art focuses mainly on the Heroes.

"I didn't understand what Claire's mother wanted her to say" She wanted her to admit that she wanted revenge.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's possible the front door was open. They were having a funeral, and it's New Orleans. I'd almost bank on that door being wide open.

Is that a custom I don't know about? If the funeral was going on, where was everyone else?

It doesn't make any sense that powers wouldn't repeat

True; we already have powers that are similar. Especially since some people's powers are to echo the powers of others. (And the art style was still like Isaac's.)

She wanted her to admit that she wanted revenge.

Yes, but would that have helped Claire? Why not just help her get on with the revenge? I think I'm missing something there.

[dargie.livejournal.com]

It's the American south; if you don't leave your door open you'll suffocate. It looked to me like the funeral was going to be starting soon, but people might come early to bring food and all. That IS a custom here.

You don't think forcing Claire to understand that she wasn't giving up her old life for altruistic reasons was helping her? She is pretty obviously in an anger stage here which is not exactly the best place for her to be. SHe has got to get past it if she isn't going to turn into a raving lunatic. Even though she clearly didn't get the message, it made sense to try to get her to understand that she needed to stop reacting and live her life as normally as possible until she needed to do something positive with it.

BTW, did you notice that in spite of saying she doesn't feel pain, she seemed to feel it when she touched the side of the shipping container last night? She pulled away from it. Not fast the way you or I would have but with a sense of "Oh god, I can't even lean on this thing." tiredness. Claire has some serious issues and she's turning herself into the kind of outsider she says she doesn't want to be.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I see. We have funerals and people bring food and chances are a person would leave a door unlocked, but open? Unlikely.

I'm not sure Claire's mother's message got through to her, no. But it might have. We shall see how Claire reacts.

Yes, I'm not sure where they're going with the notion that Claire can't feel pain, and I'm not sure I believe it. Unless there's some power-swapping going on? Could Sylar have changed her?

[dargie.livejournal.com]

I'm fairly sure that Claire's bio-mom's lesson won't take hold any time soon. It'll come back to bite Claire in the butt, though. She is actually being pretty well written, whether I like her character's weaknesses or not. Claire is a girl who has got to see for herself; she cannot take anyone else's word for something. Our very first sight of her is her falling to her (supposed) death, and cataloging the event on tape. Even saying it's attempt #whatever. She keeps testing things, needing to know parameters. This makes her seem stubborn and even bratty, but the character is being very true to herself.

And then what if she was little miss perfect who couldn't die? IOW, what if she had no flaws at all? How dull she would be. I actually kind of like the way she's growing up. It'll be interesting to watch her become a woman and finally learn what it is she needs to know. I think she'll come out okay but she'll have a lot of rocky passages.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I agree that Claire is well written and well acted. Yes, she tests everything she can, and gets frustrated when she can't.

And unlike a lot of the characters on this show, she isn't stupid. I like that. She thinks for herself.

"Rocky passages" applies to them all, I think!

[louiex.livejournal.com]

How much do we love Angela Petrelli being darkside and making it look so simple and utterly correct given the circumstances? :D *holds out arms really wide* I love too how Sylar just revels under her touch like an abused dog who just realized not every hand will smack him across the face~

A very, very interesting twist! And oh the preview for next week? With Sylar in the frilly apron with Mr. Muggles? I think I died from the squee. Course it makes me think of ZQ as Sassan on that Tori Spelling show, who is another character who makes me giggle.. Your fabulousness knows no bounds,Zachary Quinto!!

Didn't much like the Claire story this time round

I get that she's upset. The writers are treating this with a bit of a heavy hand with a rape parallel. Taking her special gift and twisting it into something that literally has altered her ability to perceive the world and those around her. But I don't see why they don't just give the girl a tazer/mace/get her into a self-defense class and call that situation dealt with?

HRG+SYLAR=WIN EPIC WIN

I need more of it in my life. A lot more :D It was great to see HRG try to stop Sylar from going dark at the very end with Weevil there. And as for Claude, he disappeared after he ditched Peter. I know CE was in LA just before the writer's strike but perhaps whatever they had for him got cut and/or is being saved for later this season? I miss him too~

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Angela Petrelli is wonderful. She seems so... real. She knows exactly how to manipulate everyone. I think I'd like a whole episode that was nothing but a conversation - or verbal battle - between her and Mr. Bennet.

And of course her interaction with Sylar was wonderful. I still don't like Sylar but I've come to love his role.

I get that she's upset.

Well... yes.

I don't see why they don't just give the girl a tazer/mace/get her into a self-defense class and call that situation dealt with?

If she wants to fight, let her fight. Let her deal with this in her own time. She's had a hard time; Mummy Dearest was just making it harder, as far as I could see.

HRG+SYLAR=WIN EPIC WIN

I thought Matt was really dull until he got scenes and dialogue with HRG. I didn't like Sylar much until he got scenes with HRG (and Mama Petrelli). HRG makes everyone seem so much more interesting.

as for Claude, he disappeared after he ditched Peter

"Disappear" is an interesting word in his case. I like to imagine him there in every scene. I'd love to see him come to help out Claire.

[louiex.livejournal.com]

"Disappear" is an interesting word in his case. I like to imagine him there in every scene.

Hee, that'd be great~ He's just silently stalking the characters about~ It'd be great if he HAS been around HRG the whole time, secret partners til the end!!

Claire's whole thing... yeah I get she's out for revenge against what was done to her and wants to be the one taking action rather than just receiving it onto herself (as the next commenter pointed out through either her own hand or others), but running away as a 17 year old girl on an epic quest to throw yourself into the heart of extreme danger against the BEST of the WORST seems a bit extreme. Most soldiers even in the direst of times get at least some training, some weaponry, she has a defense oriented ability and unless she does get a weapon of some sort... and we've seen future Claire in the first episode. So, she gets leathered up and dark hair and a gun (woo for a weapon!) but seems to forget that future!Peter can stop bullets/freeze time/incapacitate her in a myriad of ways.

I just don't get where they're trying to go with her right now, but I will wait and see~

HRG makes everyone seem so much more interesting.

Seriously~ Everyone just bounces off him really well, just conjuring some of the best reactions out of people. Which, judging by next weeks preview, means that he encourages Sylar to be a cuddler and frilly-apron wearing cook :D

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Re Claude:

It'd be great if he HAS been around HRG the whole time, secret partners til the end!!

So I'd like to imagine! Just think of the information he could gather and report.

My problem with Claire is that she needs training in aggressive fighting to take on a heavy villain, and Meredith gives her tough-love psychotherapy. It isn't what she wants or needs. It might be useful in its way, but it complicates the situation, rather than simplify it.

As for Future!Claire, I think we're dealing with alternate futures which may never occur, or never occur in the way we'd expect.

I just don't get where they're trying to go with her right now

It's only the second episode of the season; we're supposed to be wondering. I do think that Hayden Panettiere has done some very good acting in the past while.

I wish I'd seen Sylar in the apron! I didn't see a preview - either Global doesn't show them or I switched over to Life too quickly.

[louiex.livejournal.com]

I'm all for any Claude all the time so, if that IS the case then huzzahs all around!

And have a promo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZJf9WJO4Bo)!! Not the best quality but everything there that needs to be seen IS seen~

There were some spoilers on Adrian Pasdar's youtube account in reference to Mohinder and Maya that were put up a while ago, so I wasn't surprised with the way his plot's been going but... yeah, like you said! Only two episodes in and I need to be patient, you're right :D

[ceindreadh.livejournal.com]

I wish I'd seen Sylar in the apron

Sylar in an apron being taught to cook by HRG? Somehow this reminds me of a Torchwood fic where Ianto was doing the same to Captain John!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ianto teaching Captain John to cook? I think I'd like to see that!

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Meredith wanted Claire to admit her true motivation -- revenge. Meredith felt that Claire was hiding from her true feelings. The rape parallels worked as far as they went, but there was other sub text too that they missed...

That was a great scene. But, they missed a layer of subtext. Yes, Meredith gave Claire a dose of reality, and that's majorly important. However, there's an aspect of this that could backfire (no pun) for Meredith. So far, Claire's world has been divided into two groups of people: those who kill her on their terms (Sylar, Brody, Elle during Cautionary Tales) and those who kill her on hers...

West -- The prank
Matt -- Shooting her to save Sandra in Company Man
Herself -- all her tests
Accepting that Nathan was allowing her to die by omission, because he didn't fly to stop her fall in the S1 finale, and being OK with that to get back to HRG.

From her reaction at the end of the ep, one has to wonder if Claire now regards Meredith, well intentioned though she was, as one of the people prepared to kill Claire on her terms only.

Here the GN:
http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/novels_display.shtml?novel=105

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Meredith felt that Claire was hiding from her true feelings. The rape parallels worked as far as they went, but there was other sub text too that they missed...

I'm not sure what I think of Meredith. I don't trust her, and I don't trust her interest in Claire. I trusted her more before. What changed?

Interesting points about Claire and being killed. I was wondering also about abandonment issues; Bennet keeps leaving her, her mother left her, Nathan isn't coming round.... Though she might not mind being 'abandoned' by her grandmother Petrelli.

Thanks for the link.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Maybe, it's because you're waiting for them to deal with Meredith's S1 actions, and they haven't.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Right. Exactly. Good point.