NBC’s hit show “Heroes”:http://www.nbc.com/Heroes is back and the writing is as good as ever. I love what this show is doing, and I’m really beginning to like the direction it seems to be heading in. It’s taken 12 episodes, but as Suresh’s closing voiceover states, the chaos of the various story arcs are beginning to approach something like order, as each character explores their abilities and forge new alliances.
I’ve discovered that I’m not one of those people who enjoys endlessly speculating about what sorts of things _could_ be, especially in a genre such as this. In _Heroes_, we’re still learning the rules of this universe, so it’s difficult to make any kind of predictions, simply because we don’t really know that much about it yet. But it _is_ fun to ask questions, and these are a few of the questions and observations that arose in my mind while watching this week’s episode:
- Where exactly are Peter Petrelli’s visions coming from? Does he, in fact, have _two_ abilities – absorbing and mimicking the powers of others as well as some sort of visionary ability? Or are the abilities of the heroes actually Godsent, and these visions are the way for God to place Peter in a place of leadership and prominence among the heroes?
- The religious tones that have been added to the show’s theme are interesting to me. The Godsent? Are the writers trying to suggest that these evolutionary changes are actually sent by God to a handful of extremely talented people? Both the Haitian and Hiro seem to think so. If that’s the case, then that’s a very interesting wrinkle in what’s going on.
- Who does Bennett really work for? My wife suggested that it might be Linderman, that they might be capturing, examining, and tagging these folks, whatever reason they might have for doing so. Bennett doesn’t seem exactly evil – his actions seem to indicate that he has good intentions – but he doesn’t seem exactly good, either – his means are somewhat questionable, if not outright unethical.
- Who exactly is Linderman? No one has yet seen him, and yet he has a connection to every one of our heroes so far. What does he know, and how involved is he in the revelations of each of our characters? Might Linderman himself be on Suresh’s list?
- Is _Suresh_ on the list, for that matter? We’ve not yet seen him exhibit any kind of extraordinary ability, but perhaps his still lies dormant or undiscovered. I’m inclined to think he’s not, but there’s still so much we don’t know.
- Nikki/Jessica is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. I love the potential and power of Jessica, but I would love to see that tempered by Nikki’s conscience. The union of these two people sharing a body would prove to be a strong ally and a formidable opponent. Chaos is slowly being brought to order, as Suresh said. Will Nikki be able to tame the almost uncontrollable Jessica to become a valuable asset to the rest of the heroes?
- Who is this invisible man, and how is Peter able to see him? The invisible man has been involved in the storyline right along. Peter’s vision would seem to indicate that he is pivotal. So who is he? And is Peter’s ability to absorb powers the thing that allows him to see this man, or is it something else, this thing that is causing his visions, perhaps?
As I said, I’m loving this show. There is so much potential here for great things, and I heard recently that NBC made the smart decision to sign it for a second season. Ten episodes left to go in the season. I can’t wait to see how things end up.
I too share a love for this show. The plot is one of the thickest I’ve yet seen, and I dare say Joss Whedon may have met his match…
I do think the way they’ve brought some small resolutions to the show (Sylar being captured, for instance) does indicate that they will not go the way of Lost – continually asking questions but never answering any.
I like “your wife”‘s observation on Linderman. You may very well be right. My wife made the observation that he seems to be everywhere, and him being involved – even the employer of Bennet – would make sense.
Another theory my wife had is that they can’t actually stop this bomb from happening… After all, they weren’t able to save the cheerleader (no Clair didn’t die, but Janet did), and Hero wasn’t able to save Charley… Maybe this is something they have to realize and change? Maybe they need to accept what is going to happen and find a way to minimize the damage? Who knows….
The show is awesome. I’m waiting for the DVD to come out so I can see the first 6 episodes I missed.
My favorite character right now is Hiro. He’s soptimistic and determined and at the same time lighthearted personality.
I tend to think that peter’s ability to absorb is how he see the invisible man. I missed it at first but it was pointed out to me that Peter is also invisible when he’s fighting the invisible man.
Right after Heros is a show called “Studio 60 which” which is a great show, and I’m wondering if you watch it.
Foolster, you realize, don’t you, that all the episodes are posted up online on NBC’s website (nbc.com/Heroes)? It’s pretty easy to catch-up that way. And this is one show that I will definitely be interested in collecting on DVD, as well.
Hiro seems to be everyone’s favorite, and I’m not really sure why. I actually don’t think he’s even the most interesting character. He _is_ a lot of fun, to be sure, but I think Peter and Nikki are both much more interesting and fascinating characters at this point than Hiro. Peter seems to by Sylar’s match, if he can only figure out how to tap into all those powers (and it would seem that he doesn’t even need to necessarily meet the other heroes in order to have their powers, as demonstrated last night with his picking up Internet signals in his head). And Nikki’s split-personality is endlessly fascinating to me because I don’t think it’s as simple as a psychological disorder – I think something bigger is going on there. Either way, though, I can’t wait for Hero to get his sword. That’s one story arc that I think Tim Kring is dragging along just a little bit too long.
I’ve no doubt you’re right about Peter’s ability to see the invisible man. I noticed that when I first saw it. It’s interesting that not only are they invisible but it also appears that no one can hear them, either.
And no, Studio 60 looks like a nighttime soap opera, and so I’ve no interest in it. I watched a clip from it a few weeks ago and thought the whole show was pretty stupid.