REVIEW: “Dual”

As usual, confusion upon jumping into the second half. Thus, I decided to take a crack and make a conjecture as to how each zany situation arose:

Situation: HRG and Meredith are stuck inside of a cell on Level 5. Evidently she is about to explode, and he can prevent this by shooting her.
My Explanation: Meredith and HRG were passionately making out in a secluded area of the building, when they tripped over a chair. Meredith fell into a vat of gasoline and HRG fell onto the switch that locked the cell.

Situation: Ando has some kind of super power which turns his arm a shiny red. When he touches other people, they also turn a shiny red.
My Explanation: He got hold of some of the formula, and now it’s slowly turning him into the Kool-Aid Man. When he touches other people, they also turn into the Kool-Aid Man. If they bust through a brick well, the change will become permanent, otherwise it will just last until the next eclipse (which, in the HEROES universe, should be in a couple of days).

Situation: Knox is about to punch Nathan. Tracy freezes and then shatters him.
My Explanation: Nathan stepped on Knox’s new kicks and scuffed them. Nathan then refused to apologize because he’s an ass. Tracy kills Knox because she’s racist. She was unaware that he was about to punch Nathan.

Situation: Peter and Flint are destroying the formula, while Suresh lies unconscious on the floor.
My Explanation: Suresh accidentally punched himself out when he threw a feeble haymaker at Peter, and Peter ducked. Peter and Flint then proceeded to destroy the formula because they hate Suresh and thought it would be funny. They had already taken his lunch money and given him a wedgie.

Hmm. As the episode progressed, I discovered that many of my suppositions were incorrect. Meh. As for the beginning of Volume 4: “Fugitives”? You gotta love the Black president*, even despite the fact that the series seems to be shamelessly emulating X-Men. None the less, I’m intrigued.

*Let’s see if he’s despotic.

Black Servitude in HEROES

Funny title, eh? Kind of like a term paper title. I just wanted to include this tiny bit of social commentary because I think it is thought-provoking. A wise person once observed that in film/literature, Blacks are often portrayed in roles of servitude. Although not fettered, they are often bound to serve or provide some kind of guidance to a white person. Think of The Legend of Bagger Vance, Hitch, Batman, etc.

It displeases me that HEROES does not escape this. The Haitian was the company’s servant, doing as HRG commanded. And then in “Our Father,” after Arthur is killed, Peter curtly says, “Go after [Sylar].” The Haitian nods and then dutifully obeys. All that was missing is the, “Yes, massa’.”

Bet you didn’t think this blog would make ya think today.

Random Notes: “Our Father” (First half hour)

-Hilarious language barrier moments with Hiro and Claire. Why doesn’t real life have subtitles?
-So we know that Hiro’s mother is a healer, but what was Kaito Nakamura’s powers? I hope it has something to do with baking.
-Elle almost had a viking funeral. I would like a viking funeral. I’m glad they brought her back just to kill her. I suspect that the writers understood the romantic angle wasn’t working. Romance NEVER works on this show. The other person always ends up dead, and more importantly, I always end up cringing in disgust.

-I like how the program to create artificial powers is called Intelligent Design. Cheap shot at Christianity? Perhaps. Ah well.
-Claire changes her baby self. How strange that would be to see your own genitalia at that age.
-I LOVE evil Sylar. “It’s not going to hurt a bit. Got me. That’s a lie…cake!” I still think he’s going to have a defining moment before the season is out, and that he’s going to land on the good side.
-Ando was also funny: “I like teleporting better.” Besides that line, however, I felt like this storyline was utter filler. Oh no, we have to find the sketch book now to figure out what happens. Two commercial breaks and one tubby bicycle messenger later, they have it. Not exactly a heroic quest. They could have just had another issue and used the extra time to do something cool, like have Sylar track down/kill another person with abilities.

Random Notes: “Our Father” (Second half hour)

-Hiro’s memory is restored by his mother. I wonder if his sister has any powers? After Hiro becomes the catalyst, he then loses it along with his powers! Ahh! Hiro’s trapped in time!!! Serves him and his huge hubris right.

-I’m glad the Haitian is speaking more frequently. He has such wisdom. But apparently he also has a limit to his powers. Interesting…

-Elevators sure are awkward, even without Sylar standing next to you covered in blood.

-Never trust anyone who tells you, “It’s all right,” while standing outside of your bulletproof box.

-Sweet scene with Sylar stopping the bullet, only to pull that badass line: “You’re not a killer, Peter. But I am.” Then POW! Man, that was great. I’m surprised they didn’t wait until the season finale to kill him off. I wonder who’s in line to be the next big villain? Nathan? Sylar once again? Alejandro? JK.

-I thought after Arthur Petrelli died his powers would return to those form which he took them (kind of like in
The Giver when the memories return to the community).

-Stupid “Last HEROES of the year” fooled me into thinking next Monday was the season finale. Bastards.

Intimations of Intentional Unemployment

I just came to the disturbing realization that I never wrote a review of “The Eclipse: Part II”, nor did I even finish watching the first half! In fact, I’m now seriously considering quitting my job due to its interference with my HEROES viewing and blogging.

In other news, Nathan Petrelli must have the single worst voting attendance record in the Senate. With the exception of John McCain.