The Heroes Review 4.15
Posted by Michael Weyer on 01.12.2010
A packed hour with a funny jailbreak, a less funny manhunt and a quite serious turn for Peter.
Away we go with a pretty packed hour.
Noah and Parkman Partnering Up: We open with Noah doing a voice over this time while we get scenes from the season so far. Noah is obsessed with tracking Vanessa, the woman Samuel was once close to, snapping at Lauren when she tries to point out that Claire could be a good lead. He manages to talk to Vanessa, who quickly hangs up. Noah then goes to see Matt, who’s back living at home (I’m assuming Noah used his connections to help clear Matt of the stuff that happened when Sylar was in control of his body), refusing Janice’s attempts to get him a job working for her brother. Matt isn’t happy with Noah showing up and demanding his help. “Samuel’s a dangerous man,” Noah said with Matt firing back “so’s Bin Laden.” But Noah plays on Matt’s sense of duty and love of his son to get him to go along.
Vanessa: In Los Angeles, the two track down Vanessa (played by the always great Kate Vernon), who’s reluctant to talk so Matt uses his Jedi mind trick on her to get them to trust them. She talks about their past growing up as kids on her father’s estate where the boys worked before they vanished. Samuel returned later in his “bad boy” phase and they had a brief affair. Noah tries to get through to her how Samuel has changed and is much more dangerous. He gets her to call him and they set up a trap. But, as ever, Samuel is a step ahead, sending Eli to distract them both while he drags Vanessa away. Noah confronts him but Samuel tears up part of the street and sends dust at him in order to escape. The two try to track Vanessa via a homing device but Samuel dumped it along with the vanishing carnival. He’s soon there with Vanessa, telling her it’ll be okay despite her fears and seems excited about what to show her.
Three Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: In Florida, Ando has reluctantly agreed to Hiro’s plan to have Hiro committed to the local asylum. There, Ando sees how Suresh is prisoner and the “Dr. Watson” Hiro babbled about. He realizes how Suresh is being drugged and they must “find a way to turn Bruce Banner back into the Hulk,” as Hiro puts it. Ando tries to steal Suresh’s drugs but when confronted by an orderly, he takes the pills himself. Hiro manages to get out of his cell and to Suresh, who’s recovering enough to tear off his straitjacket and break out of his cell. They find Ando, who’s riding high off the pills (“It’s like swimming from the inside out!”) and with a hijinks combination of powers, a wheelchair and running, they break out of the joint. Running through the swamps, Suresh is still ticked at Hiro for putting him in there but a recovering Ando tells him how Hiro is dying. They’re soon trailed by orderlies and dogs (or Stromtroopers and Ewoks as Hiro calls them). Realizing they need to teleport out of there fast, Suresh suggests Ando use his powers as electroshock therapy for Hiro, leading to a priceless exchange:
“Hiro once saw a future where I killed him with my red lightning.”
“Was it in Florida?”
“Japan.”
“Then we’re good to go.”
The shock works and Hiro manages to teleport them all away right before the dogs arrive.
Sinister Siren: Lydia is worried about Samuels’ plans, sharing that worry with Amanda along with the fact there’s a man who Samuel thinks could be “the next Joseph.” She closes her eyes and we see Peter waking up with the compass tattoo back on his arm. Walking the streets, Peter finds himself drawn to Emma’s apartment due to her cello playing. She seems excited about this new ability but Peter is more interested in the compass marking on her cello. Bringing her to his apartment, he realizes how they both know Samuel, Emma insisting he’s a good man while Peter is less sure. Angela picks that moment to arrive for a visit and is stunned to see Emma. After Emma leaves, Angela tells Peter she had a dream about the woman and that “she’s going to kill thousands…and you can’t save her.” She doesn’t want to tell more despite Peter’s insistence it’s time for the family to get out from under all the lies. He grabs her to copy her power with Angela giving a small, sad smile at that. “People think seeing the future is a gift. It’s not.”
Peter soon has a dream: Emma in the carnival funhouse, her face ragged and crying as she plays her cello with the sounds of screams echoing around her. A shadow falls as she sees Sylar standing there telling her “Don’t worry. I’ll save you.” Instead of fear, Emma seems joyful at her impending doom. Waking up, Peter goes right to her apartment and smashes the cello. Needless to say, Emma isn’t happy about his whole “preventing an evil dream” story and tells him to get out as she cries over the remains of the cello.
Matt’s Uncertainty: After losing Vanessa, Noah wants to go right after Samuel but Matt refuses to go with, saying he wants to keep to his own family. “Sometimes you can’t save the entire world, you need to get your own house in order.” Noah reluctantly goes as Matt prepares dinner for Janice and his son. At the dinner, Matt tells her how he still does want to help Noah after letting people down but Janice tells him he’s done enough, he need to look after his family. Matt seems to accept her word but the look on his face says he has his doubts.
Poor Timing: After going to see Claire and trying (without much success) to clear the air between them, Noah returns home for a beer. Lauren arrives to accept his apology and they talk about their own feelings for each other. They start to kiss…only to have Hiro, Ando and Suresh teleport in, all startled at the scene before them. Noah gives a great dry “Hello, boys” as the trio give funny waves.
The 411: The Hiro/Ando/Suresh stuff was quite funny, the trio playing off each other wonderfully with snappy dialogue to boot. That Emma plays such a major role in Samuel's plans is a nice twist and like how Peter is trying to save her despite the future he's seen. The Vanessa plot seems small now but could grow and Vernon is a nice pick for the role. Matt's reluctance is a bit jarring to see but could still work into the main plotlines. Overall, a good hour that pushes the plots along with some new twists and shows how the series is stepping up the game as they work towards the finale.
