TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 5-9)

Episode 5 - Hiros - *** out of 4

Taking place directly after the exciting conclusion of episode 4, this episode clearly sets up a new and interesting plotline. Hiro, from the future (complete with sword), appears before Peter and tells him that if he saves the cheerleader he will save the world.

Peter accepts this task and visits Isaac. Together the two begin to piece together the purpose of Hiro's warnings.

There's a lot that works in this episode, and I think the most refreshing part is that the characters start to shed their uptight exteriors. This becomes most evident with Nathan Petrelli (flying politician), who finally becomes interesting. Up until this episode Adrian Pasdar has been so rigid as Nathan that it was hard to relate to him at all. Here, he has a fantastic moment in a diner where he meets up with Hiro. Maybe it's because he's only dressed in pajama bottoms (it happens after a daring escape), but seeing under Nathan's political facade shows a sly, deprecating and much more likeable character than he's ever been.

It's also interesting to see that Claire's father is not falling into the stock villain category. He has a subplot in this episode where he tries to avenge a horrible crime that was committed against his daughter. While his punishment is brutal (and clearly an abuse of power) his justification for administering it sits in that wonderful moral grey area.

Episode 6 – Better Halves - ** out of 4

This really feels like a filler episode, and ends up being fairly unsurprising. After last week’s episode brought the show up, this one takes it back down in what is probably the weakest episode yet.

The big problem is that we spend so much time with Niki. I’m just not enjoying her story yet, and now they’ve introduced her husband D.L. who is an escaped convict. This whole plot just seems to be about how many horrible things Niki can be involved with (the mob, prostitution, escaped cons, and now domestic violence). The saving grace of this storyline is Micah (Niki’s son) who has some touching moments with his father.

On the plus side there are some nice character touches with Hiro, who finds that even with his superpowers terrible things can still happen in the world.

Episode 7 – Nothing to Hide - ** ½ out of 4

While certainly better than the previous episode, Nothing to Hide suffers from painfully slow plotting. The cheerleader needs to be saved guys! End of the world, remember? It feels like everyone is kind of getting around to that eventually, but boy are they taking their time.

This episode works thanks to the continuation of the Sylar storyline with Matt and a really fantastic moment on a desert highway with Hiro and D.L.

A new burn victim seems to be linked to Sylar, but Matt thinks otherwise. Over the course of his investigation he begins to see that certain powers are more dangerous than others. I like how this opens up the world of Heroes. We meet someone else with special powers and begin to see that our title characters aren’t the only heroes in the midst.

The highway moment is just a fun superhero event where more than one hero comes together to save someone’s life. It’s these moments that really make the show work, and it’s a shame that they are few and far between.

Episode 8 – Seven Minutes to Midnight - *** out of 4

Here we go. It seems like at least one person is taking that whole save the cheerleader thing seriously, her father!

Seven Minutes to Midnight takes us back on track, as the characters try to decipher what future Hiro’s message means, while simultaneously providing some very enticing new storylines.

I’m glad to see Suresh back in India. I felt like he was a walking cipher while he was in New York, but now we get to see his family life and it adds a lot to his character.

On top of that Sylar strikes again, for real this time, and this part of the episode contains some pretty shocking twists and turns. It helps that Hiro is involved, and he’s given a potential love interest (who appears to have a power of her own) which makes his character even more appealing.

But the really interesting aspect of this episode is that it finally delves into Claire’s father and his motivations (which are still murky, but not as much). I’m glad that they’ve taken the route of concerned father, and really show the lengths he will go to in order to protect his daughter.

This is probably the best episode so far, and I eagerly anticipate the next one.

Episode 9 – Homecoming - *** ½ out of 4

This is the episode for me. For every show I’ve watched there’s one episode that seals the deal, and let’s me know I will be tuned in for the rest of its run regardless of how bad it gets (I stuck through the first half of Alias Season 4 for this very same reason). Heroes has finally aired that episode.

That’s not to say it’s a perfect episode (oh look Niki/Jessica is buying illegal weapons now), but it sure does give a good sense of what’s to come.

First off we get a great payoff for many of the narrative threads that have been established this season. Sylar, Save the Cheerleader, Peter Petrelli, Eden (a bland recurring character who piqued my interest this time round), Isaac’s paintings, and Claire’s father all come together by the end.

There’s definitely some creepy imagery here and I was pretty pleased to see how a second episode plot came back to haunt one character in a rather grisly manner. I am also glad to see that Peter has broken away from the moody guy we saw in episode one. .

And how about this? No Hiro. That says something. The best episode of the show didn’t even utilize its best character until the last minute.

This is the first episode that really tapped into the show’s potential. I’ve got a lot of hope for Heroes after this one.