TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 10 - 11)

Episode 10 – Six Months Ago - *** out of 4

Ah yes, the flashback episode. Six Months Ago follows Hiro back in time to save Charlie, the cute waitress. The story then branches out to show what happened to our main characters at the same time.

The episode is a mixed bag, but ends up working thanks to some last minute revelations.

First off, Niki is not getting any more interesting just because more tragedies are brought into her life. Now we find out she was a former alcoholic with an abusive, estranged father. At this rate, by the end of the season we’re going to learn that her mother had four illegitimate children, she has some kind of inoperable brain tumor, and she’s not a real blonde.

But the real meat and potatoes of this episode was the backstory for Sylar. I like origin stories, especially for villains, and this one is pretty cool. I almost wish the episode had focused entirely on Sylar, and less on plot points we already kind of figured out (12 minutes to find out Matt has dyslexia). Sylar meets Suresh’s father, and we start to piece together why he is killing everyone.

I really think that setting up Sylar as being the big villain is great, and I only hope that we see him recruiting some companions in future episodes (hey maybe Niki)

Thankfully, Hiro brings the show to a close with his bittersweet romance (that according to my timeline takes place over two days) with Charlie the waitress. It’s a touching story, but I think there’s more in store for Charlie….so I’m not allowing myself to believe that ending just yet. Hiro has to be able to change the future!

Episode 11 – Fallout - *** ½ out of 4

They made sure that the last episode of 2006 was fantastic (the ½ star off is because the Niki storyline consistently sucks the life out of the show).

Fallout takes us back into the present right after Peter saved the cheerleader. Peter’s been arrested, Claire reveals her secret to her dad, Matt investigates the new Sylar murder, and Isaac’s new premonition has some pretty scary ramifications for the world at large.

Speaking of Isaac, after 11 episodes he is now starting to become more than just “I need to get high all the time” guy. Heroes has a plot device that I am now going to dub:

Hiro Syndrome: The moment a boring character becomes interesting corresponds to the exact moment they physically interact with Hiro!

Think about it: Peter (when future Hiro meets him), Nathan (at the diner), and now Isaac at the Burnt Toast Diner. If only Niki, DL, and Micah could run into him all would be saved.

There’s a lot of drama with Claire’s father and his merry band of government employed superheroes. Once again, his reasons are murky, and Claire trusts him too much, but the way he chooses to protect his daughter is pretty shocking. And there are more twists around the corner.

Now that the Save the Cheerleader, Save the World plot is practically over, this episode leads nicely into the Save New York subplot. The heroes are starting to find each other, and the ending is wonderfully apocalyptic.

If the new year has more episodes like this in store for audiences, Heroes certainly has nowhere to go but up.