Heroes - Season Four ("Redemption") - Page 5

I would honestly rather have them kill Hiro than Peter, Nathan, Matt or especially H.R.G. His storyline wrapped up when he saved NYC from Peter, and the writers haven't found anything decent to do with him since. H.R.G. is probably more interesting jobless and directionless than he was when he was the uber-man in black. I think Peter's character is really working now that they've stuck with a consistent direction for him for most of a season. And I enjoy the Nathan/Sylar/Matt triangle too much.

Why do you assume that? Everything I've read indicates that Volume Five will play out over the whole 19 episodes.

I thought it was generally excellent. It's the first time Hiro's character has been taken seriously in a long, long time. The ending also hinted why we haven't seen some long time cast members. I also felt like the production quality really stepped it up for the Season 1-era Odessa scenes, because they had that technicolor, hyper real feel that the show hasn't really had since the first season. Since we know Hiro's never going to end up permanently dead, his brain tumor storyline didn't heighten the stakes properly. With the carnival master keeping her locked away in some unknown place and time, it gives Hiro clearer motivation than any other character right now.

I wasn't a huge fan of the shoehorned in back story between H.R.G. and his previously unrevealed partner. Given what we know about his character, I wouldn't have really bought him have an affair. The pair didn't have much in the way of chemistry, either. I hope this isn't to serve as an introduction so that she can be brought back in the present for a post-Sandra romantic subplot. The only scene I really liked with H.R.G. in the past was his conversation with Claire outside the soda fountain about wanting to be a high school English teacher when he was a kid. It's the kind of information that expands the dimensions of the character rather than contracts them like the Comany woman did.

My favorite moment came after Sylar saved Charlie's life. I thought Hiro was just going to teleport out with Charlie, but he didn't. He told Sylar the truth as far along as he knew it, and then told Sylar that he'd die alone. He didn't see Sylar die alone; he's not even sure Sylar can die. But he knows when the end finally comes -- when another power sucker like Papa Petrelli comes along, or the sun goes supernova or a comet destroys the earth, perhaps -- Sylar will die alone because that's the type of person Sylar is. And then he expresses pity. Hiro, who has less to fear from Sylar than just about anybody except Claire, has a completely different understanding of the most terrifying character on the show.

Episodes like this one and the superior "Company Man" from the first season make me wonder if the show shouldn't change its format to focus on a single character each week and unfurl the chunk of story and other characters from that character's vantage point. It'd be a great way to flesh out such a large (and loosely characterized) cast of characters.

The circus mystery is definitely the most compelling since the mushroom cloud over New York City. The new ringleader, played by Robert Knepper, has been the season's most valuable player. His opaque motives and actions have anchored the season and kept it driving towards something unknown but singular.

Yes!
So let me recap: you probably haven't seen a single complete episode this season, mainly because you lack the patience to sit through them at normal speed. But based on one episode, you are ready to declare that the show is only reworking old episodes. All of which begs the question: if you aren't willing to give the season a try, why bother watching at all? Wouldn't you be happy if you just let the show go?

H.R.G. was back in fine form tonight. Parkman actually acted somewhat intelligently for a change. The invisible sorority sister's sadistic streak is explained. Peter and the Deaf woman help each other deal with the other's baggage. I look forward to watching "Heroes" again, and that is a very good thing.

P.S. I wonder if H.R.G. used the TAZER to bag Christopher Eccleston's Claude the first time.