Tv Shows I'm Watching - The Sopranos Series Finale

Don't read this article if you haven't seen the second half of Sopranos season 6, the series finale or care about the series finale. I'm giving you time to turn back now.....

Still time.....

Okay, you've been warned, here we go.

After six and a half seasons, The Sopranos has finally ended, and in the final episode....well....nothing really happened.

I have my thoughts, and I'll share them in a bit. First though, I just want to state that for the most part, I loved the last nine episodes of the show which finally seemed to embrace David Chase's mid-series change of pace. It appeared that Chase grew quickly bored of the ultra-violent, tightly paced, comic mob drama after season three and slowly transformed it into a slow, pondering, often brilliant, often frustrating meditation on violence and family in its last three seasons.

I felt like seasons four, five, and 6.1 were tonally inconsistent, abandoning the clear, suspense laden storytelling of the first three seasons by adding multiple open ended plot threads (that were often never resolved or wrapped up so quickly there was little time to develop any tension), a growing labrynth of paper thin mob associates (who were instantly forgettable, especially considering the show's year long breaks), and occasionally diving headfirst into the bizarre realm of esoteric psychobabble through elaborate, often baffling dream sequences.

It became clear by the second half of season six, that the transition was complete, and the final nine episodes were the mournful cries of a show exploring abandonment, loneliness, and the sad truth of the world these mobsters live in. Each episode provided closure to a particular character, sometimes shockingly, sometimes inevitably.

Perhaps the key scene of the last episode involved a conversation that took place in Little Italy. As a tour guide explains at the beginning of the scene, Little Italy, at its height spanned forty blocks of New York City. Today, it is a fraction of the size, and as one mobster finishes his short phone conversation he finds that he has traversed the entire breadth of the neighbourhood in a matter of seconds.

These final episodes, taken as a whole, depict the death of the mob.

As the older mobsters succumb to health issues (Johnny Sack, Junior), the young ones succumb to greed and addiction (Christopher). The next generation, having lived a life of wealth and abundance, doesn't have what it takes to move into the business.

And as the final episode wraps up, with half of Tony's associates dead or dying, with Paulie, in his own mind, signing a death warrant, and with Junior losing himself completely to dementia, Tony decides to have a family meal at a diner.

He sits down, and turns on the jukebox - Journey's Don't Stop Believing. As the tune starts, Carmela sits down and talks family matters, then A.J. shows up and talks about focusing on the good times (clearly a step away from the depressing thoughts he has recently had). Meadow has trouble parallel parking outside. A shady figure at the end of the bar heads to the bathroom. Meadow parks and runs toward the diner. The door clangs. Tony looks up, the song says "Don't stop"....complete cut to black. The Sopranos is over.

Theories have been popping up all over the place from - "the last episode was all a dream" to "Tony was killed by the man in the washroom", but personally I think it's much simpler.

The show just ends.

Yep.

That's it. No bang, no whimper, just a quick cut to black midway through a perfectly normal moment in Tony's life.

Journey's song claims, "Oh the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on", and that incapsulates the feeling of the finale; knowing that despite that cut, things go on. Tony's life continues, but Chase's cut kills the relationship between the viewer and the characters.

David Chase doesn't try to hide this. The final line of the previous episode reiterates Bobby's assertion that "you don't even hear it when it (death) happens." And like that, The Sopranos is over, dead, a complete unexpected surprise. For us, Tony's story is finished, the mob's story is finished.

At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought the final seconds had been mistakenly broadcast. Then I was angry, pissed off at David Chase for taking me through six seasons of a show only to end it like THAT!!! Then I went on the Internet and tried to see what people were saying...everyone was trying to say...it's not over, it's just making room for the movie. Then people were sad....and then the reports started coming in from the major publications about how brilliant the ending was.

At this point I realized the brilliance of the ending. Chase had created an ending so shockingly similar to death, that I, and most of the viewing population, was experiencing the five stages of grief used in the Kubler-Ross model.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

What better way to depict the death of the mob than to actually kill the entire show.

Another key to understanding the ending seems to lie in Goodfellas, the Scorcese film referenced frequently, and admired by every single character in The Sopranos universe. In Goodfellas the final shot shows Joe Pesci's character firing a gun directly at the audience. It's a direct homage to The Great Train Robbery, a 1903 silent film, that used a similar final shot. There a man pointed his gun to the audience and fired. Because movies were so new, legend has it that audiences were scared out of their minds thinking that somehow they were going to be shot.

So, Goodfellas apes a technique originally designed to make an audience think they were about to be shot. And The Sopranos, never one to shy away from Scorcese references, playfully throws in its own technique to simulate murder.

I can certainly understand why the ending is so frustrating, but in recent years, The Sopranos has trusted its audience to work through some complex, often difficult-to-understand moments. The ending is certainly no more difficult to analyze than the bizarre episode, The Test Dream, where Tony had a twenty minute dream sequence, or the episodes after Tony is shot where, in his camatose state, he imagines that he is living the life of another person.

Chase provides an ending that is open for interpretation, and I think it's fair to say that The Sopranos will be analyzed and discussed far more because of its final moments, than if the show had ended with a typical bloodbath.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episodes 21 and 22)

Episode 21 - The Hard Part - ** out of 4

Major plot points discussed below...

Sorry it's taken me a while to write up this review, but frankly, after watching episode 21 I really didn't feel like saying too much about it. After the great time travelling episode, Five Years Gone, this should have really pushed the story further, built up the momentum, and tripled the suspense. Instead, The Hard Part fizzles, spending time on boring subplots that feel completely rushed.

Hiro and Ando return from the future knowing that Sylar has to die. Conveniently it's not too hard to find him (he's just cleaning up in the bathroom), and after a near miss, they follow him to his mother's place. While there, Sylar becomes the star of his very own After School Special when he realizes that no matter what he does his mother can't be happy unless he's the best. In other stories......Claire and Peter talk a lot, Matt and the gang (Sprague and Bennett) head to New York, Nikki/Jessica finds out Micah is in New York, and Micah waits around for Linderman (presumably because Malcom McDowell couldn't make a guest appearance this week).

The only somewhat interesting subplot involves Mohinder and the little girl Matt Parkman rescued way back in like episode two. Turns out the little girl has SUPER POWERS!!! (which marks the fiftieth time a character we didn't think had any powers turned out to....have SUPER POWERS!!!) Regardless, the little girl can locate anyone in the world by just thinking about them, but she's dying from the same disease that took Mohinder's sister. So, Mohinder, under the supervision of Eric Roberts, makes it his goal to find a cure!

My biggest problem with this episode is that it's just too much in one episode. I know that Heroes prides itself on not being like Lost, and that the writers promise to constantly move the plot along (which.....despite their claims...they do even less than Lost, but that's another rant for another time), but there's such a thing as suspense! In this episode two major stories are introduced and solved by the end of the episode (Sylar and his mom, Mohinder and the disease). There's no suspense, and no chance to become emotionally invested in either story because they're over and done with just when they start to get interesting.

Sylar suffers the worst. He starts to develop a moral crisis about killing off most of New York,
and visits his mom. I know you have to see the human beneath the monster, but this whole subplot just grated on me. Having never seen Sylar's mom before the poor actress has to try and go from sweet woman, to overly critical mama, to awe inspired proud mother, to terrified ma, to violent mom in the span of maybe fifteen minutes. When the end of this storyline finally hits home, there's no emotional impact because the woman we are supposed to care about was nothing more than a plot device so that Hiro would feel bad about killing Sylar right away. Argh!

The Mohinder story is a little better. At least we've seen the little girl before (if only for a minute), and there is some nice dialogue between the two, but there's not a single moment where the audience is allowed to believe she will die. One minute she's sick and Mohinder is frustrated, the next minute he found the cure! It's not a last minute cure either. He just comes up and says, "hey, by the way, I found the cure". Hurrah?! ? Why introduce a dying child if said child doesn't at least flatline once?

It's sad to say, but this third last episode really is filler.

Episode 22 - Landslide - ***1/2 out of 4

So....in order to combat last episode's filler status, Landslide throws in at least four or five major plot developments.

By my calculations three characters are dead, or dying. One character, Sulu, made a grand return. Nathan's wife managed to walk again. Nathan won the election. Lots of people pointed guns at each other. And Sylar menacingly stood over New York.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but shouldn't at least one of the events in this episode happened a whole lot earlier? In these 42 minutes there's at least four episodes worth of material. It's more frustrating because the last episode was so terrible.

Regardless, this one is good, and once again my love/hate relationship with Heroes crosses over into love territory.

I think what works best is that we're finally seeing all of the storylines collide as the entire cast arrives in New York. Even though this episode is busy, the fact that all of the characters are together at least makes the overall story feel like it's moving somewhere. In previous episodes, there was a feeling that things were jumping around too much because the characters were connected only by the thinnest of threads. Here, it starts to feel like the plot is taking shape. One character's actions now directly affects anothers'. Parkman and Bennett help out DL and Niki, moments after talking to Claire and Peter.

And it's fun seeing how these threads connect. Everyone now has a purpose (even good ole Niki!), and the show feels like it has stopped wandering aimlessly. The deaths at the end are shocking, and should shake things up in the next episode.

Hopefully now that Nathan has won the election his character will be in a position where we will be able to do things. It's an exciting development that should put his character into more dramatic situations than he has been in.

I still have a few gripes. Apparently, Sulu is such an amazing teacher that he can turn his son Hiro into a killing machine over the course of an afternoon. Although, because it's Sulu and he's wielding a samurai sword I wasn't too upset. And is there a sale on psychic car flipping stunts that I just haven't noticed? While it was thrilling to see Sylar take on the police to get to Radioactive Man, did it have to be exactly the same way Magneto took out the police in the last X-Men movie?

One episode is left!

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 20)

Episode 20 - Five Years Gone - **** out of 4

After last week's so-so episode, Five Years Gone puts Heroes back on top with a suspenseful episode filled with all sorts of wonderful moments, real conflict, and most importantly, a sense of fun.

Hiro and Ando travel five years into the future and discover that the world, after New York exploded, is a terrifying place for superheroes. Most of the heroes we have been following have not ended up in good places. Matt Parkman has become a ruthless government agent, Future Hiro is a bitter shell of a man, Nathan is president, Claire's a brunette, and worst of all...Peter Petrelli is in a relationship with Nikki!!! Horrifying.

So, the writers throw in good natured Ando and Hiro and let them completely make a mess of everything.

The reason this episode works so well is that every plotline is connected in one way or another, and as the episode reaches it's frantic conclusion, everything collides in an exciting climax. Unlike many episodes where some characters are given nothing to do but fix bathroom leaks (Yes Matt Parkman, I'm still bitter about that one!), everyone has an important role to play in this complex 45 minute plotline. Alright, Nikki really just does a strip tease, but seriously, that's the most interesting her character has been for a long time.

What's most fascinating is how we now seem to understand these characters even more by looking at what they could become in the future. Matt Parkman has occasionally stepped on the other side of the law (what with that whole diamond thing), but his future self is a cold blooded killer. Suresh may not be the moral compass he appears to be. Even good natured Hiro may have a more bloodthirsty side to him. How many of these character traits will be revealed in upcoming episodes? It's just one of the intriguing questions posed by this episode.

Also, by taking the show into the future, the writers actually manage to add some immediacy to the whole New York is going to blow up storyline as Hiro uncovers (thanks to Isaac) his true purpose in the scheme of things.

My one big complaint has to do with a small letdown in the last ten minutes. Hiro and Peter confront a lobby full of guards, talk a bunch of fighting words, and promise some hard hitting action that we haven't seen on Heroes before. Just as it's about to get really interesting....we cut away.....only to come back at the VERY END of the fight. I know Heroes isn't an action show, but please don't offer such a tantalizing setup if you aren't going to provide any payoff. My only hope is that they are saving the good stuff for the last couple of episodes and didn't want to ruin it too early.

So, overall one of the best episodes of the season!

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 19)

Episode 19 - .07% - *** out of 4

Big plot points included.

After it's super-sized hiatus, Heroes finally returns with an episode that....doesn't actually accomplish a whole lot. Sure, there are some big plot developments toward the end of the episode, but personally this kind of felt like a filler episode to me.

First the good points. Once again Claire's dad is the most interesting character. Having been captured by his own organization he devises a telepathic escape plan with Matt Parkman. It's a suspenseful plotline, provides real stakes for the characters, and has some inventive displays of superpowers.

I also like Linderman's inclusion in the storyline. After months of people mentioning his name ominously, Malcolm McDowell has managed to turn this potentially one-note villain into a complex character. His speech, in which he puts the upcoming New York disaster into context (it's only killing .07% of the population, but will lead to positive world changes), brings to mind the moral gray areas Claire's father has travelled through as well. His decision to bring Micah into the mix might actually mean that Nikki's storyline could get interesting in the near future.

The mediocre storyline follows Isaac's final stand against Sylar. Essentially playing into the prophecies of both his own paintings and also Hiro's time travelling journey to New York, Isaac dies at the hand of the superhero serial killer. I wanted to feel like this was more of a shocking plot point, but frankly I haven't been able to muster much care for Isaac since the story began. I'm sure this isn't the entire end of his character's arc (he hints that he has left clues for others), but it certainly feels like closure. What bothers me most about this death, is that the potential conflict brewing between Peter and Isaac (over the death of Simone) has run it's course. They had a little fight, and that was it. What was the point of killing her off then (other than getting rid of a boring character)?

I was also mildly interested in Claire's meeting with Nathan, her biological father. It was an awkward scene, but one that managed to convey both Claire's disappointment, and Nathan's cowardice.

Now, as for the bad, I was vastly disappointed with the Peter's dead fakeout. After taking a shard of glass to the back of head, Peter dies. Of course, the audience knows that since he has Claire's powers all anyone has to do is take out the shard of glass and he'll be A-okay, but nope...instead we have to watch character after character mourn because Peter's dead. Suresh is sad, Peter's mom is sad, Nathan's sad, Claire's sad (until she finally smartens up and pulls out the glass). It's just tedious because the audience is twelve steps ahead of everyone else.

Also, I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think Suresh could really take out Sylar with what I will now dub as "The Bulletin Board of Doom!". The guy has like four hundred super powers, but not one can prepare him for the raw power of a rolling bulletin board? Uh huh.

With only a few episodes to go I'm worried that there isn't that much momentum. The "Let's Save New York" plotline really feels like an afterthought for everyone. I'm hoping that this will change quickly.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.15)

Episode 3.15 – Left Behind

Alright, after writing about this episode, which aired all of a couple hours ago, I will be officially caught up in all things Lost.

Main Story - *** out of 4

It’s Kate and Juliet in The Defiant Ones as they are exiled to the jungle, handcuffed together. Apparently, due to a bunch of mysterious decisions made in the Others chain of command, that also somehow included Locke (yeah, after getting a few answers the last couple of weeks, we’re back to vague), the Others vacate suburbia. Oddly enough, their plans don’t include Juliet, who as the title implies, is left behind with Kate.

So here we have the two women vying for Jack’s affections trying to survive against the smoke monster. It’s pretty suspenseful, and despite seeming like nothing new is added reveals quite a bit about the nature of the monster. The Others don’t know much about it, and that wall we saw a few episodes back repels it.

I also have to admit, that after two seasons of being moderately bored by Kate, I have found that she has at last earned my attention this season. The writers have put her in the center of a couple of romantic triangles, and each one has been nicely handled. Kate’s reconciliation with Jack at the end of this episode is a brutal example of how what isn’t said can be extremely harsh. Kate breaks down, obviously hoping to receive some form of comfort from Jack only to have him ask about Juliet. It’s soap opera material handled with a subtle touch.

And as for Juliet, I am amazed at how sympathetic and weary I am of her. Clearly she is an outsider to some degree amongst the Others, but her lies and constant need to control everyone is still mysterious. And the way she took Kate down at the beginning of the episode shows she is no pushover.

I suppose the episode is slightly underwhelming just because it doesn’t give us another huge twist like the past few episodes. It ends with a hint of more conflict, and feels like the gears are in motion for a new storyline to take shape in the next few weeks.

I did enjoy the comedic subplot back on the island about Sawyer being told he had to be a nicer person or people were going to vote him off the island. There has been a nice bond between Hurley and Sawyer in recent weeks, and I liked how Hugo gets the upperhand on Sawyer.

Flashback - **1/2 out of 4

An interesting, but not too involving flashback basically explores aspects of Kate’s personality that we already figured out much earlier; essentially that her mother didn’t see the whole murdering her husband thing as an act of kindness.

The only new aspect is that she teams up with Sawyer’s ex-girlfriend in order to talk to her mother. It’s another one of those random coincidences that will hopefully be explained later on (I mean , I think by now everyone is connected to everyone and nobody knows it yet). I have to admit that this is actually fairly clever. Kate has been away from Sawyer for a few episodes now, so it’s nice to remind the audience of that relationship, even if it’s not in your face.

Maybe down the road the flashback will hold more significance, but right now, it’s a decent one that gently reminds the audience of that other guy in Kate’s life.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.14)

Episode 3.14 – Expose

Serious plot elements will be discussed, so if you haven’t seen it, I urge you not to read.

Main Story - *** out of 4

Nikki and Paulo, probably the two most hated Lost characters of all time (sorry Ana Lucia) finally get their episode to shine, and well…it’s not that bad, in fact it’s pretty darn good. It’s not going to change anyone’s opinions about these two, but it certainly knows how much fans hate them, and acts accordingly.

Expose is primarily about bad decisions and their repercussions. Nikki and Paulo’s condition at the beginning of the episode is a result of a slew of bad decisions, Charlie finally talks to Sun about his role in her fake abduction, and in the Edgar Allen Poe-ish ending the entire camp makes one horrendously bad decision. But I suppose the worst decision of all is from the writers, who thought that the audience would simply accept that Nikki and Paulo had just been hanging out on the beach, out of camera range for two seasons. This episode can easily be seen as both an apology and a rationalization of their thinking process.

The main story is, at its core, the apology, and the writers do this by killing Nikki and Paulo off. There you have it folks...Nikki and Paulo are found dead at the beginning of the episode. It’s an admission of guilt signaling that there really wasn’t any reason for them to be in the show at all, and because the writers know just how hated these two truly are…death is only the beginning their horrible fate. The writer’s have funneled up all that fan hatred and unleashed it on these two saps, who suffer the worst experience of any character thus far, including Dr. Arzt…

Flashback – *** out of 4

…who makes an appearance in the flashback, which actually seems like a rationalization of Nikki and Paulo’s existence. It’s as though the writer’s wanted one last try to prove that they weren’t insane.

The flashback is a look back at two seasons of Lost through a different point of view to show you that Nikki and Paulo were there all the time. They were just off looking for some stolen diamonds.

“See,” the writers seem to be saying, “they were scouring the jungle on their own away from the main storyline. That’s why you never saw them!” Uh huh.

And then, the funniest joke is of course throwing Dr. Arzt into the midst, the only other character on Lost who just showed up out of the crowd. I suppose the reason Arzt’s appearance wasn’t so jarring was that it was still season one and the story hadn’t developed that much beyond the beach. But it’s like the writers are saying, “you accepted Arzt, why not Nikki and Paulo? It’s the same thing”.

It’s a playful flashback that provides a few interesting moments (so that’s why Paulo used the washroom!), but establishes Nikki and Paulo as nothing more than two ill-fated cameos on a show that didn’t need more castmembers.

At least the Nikki and Paulo chapter is closed for good….at least….I think it is…..

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.13)

Episode 3.13 – The Man From Tallahassee

Main Story - ***1/2 out of 4

Picking up exactly where the last episode left off, Jack’s rescue party begins to wonder whether or not he needs saving at all. Kate decides to confront him, and discovers that things have changed since she talked to Jack the last time. Soon, the Others get the upperhand on the rescuers, but John Locke manages to sneak off, and has other plans. He confronts Ben.

The majority of the episode involves a heated exchange of ideas between Locke and Ben. It’s the first time the two characters have been able to speak freely to one another, and although both still have hidden agendas, and volumes of secrets, the conversation is thrilling. They debate the nature of the island, fate; all the ideas that have been bubbling up in John Locke’s mind for the past two and a half seasons. It’s fascinating to watch, and I think when the viewers look back on this episode they will find that the true nature of the island was revealed here, albeit cryptically.

The episode ends with one of the coolest surprises so far…and don’t read on it you haven’t seen the episode, but without revealing too much……alright that’s enough warning…it did seem a little inevitable that something like this would happen. I assumed that one of the main reasons for telling such serialized flashback stories (like Jack’s relationship with his father, and Locke’s with his dad) was to one day prepare for the main story and the flashbacks to collide. The Man From Tallahassee appears to have done this, but the question remains, is this merely another Yemi situation (an illusion of some sort brought on by the island), or is it real? I’m sure the upcoming episodes will start to explain that in greater detail.

Flashback – ***1/2 out of 4

I was worried that when we saw how Locke became paralyzed it would be anticlimactic. I mean, I’m sure any consistent Lost viewer has theorized numerous ways in which this could have happened, so did the writer’s find a way to surprise? Even though everyone I’ve talked to always assumed it had something to do with Locke’s father, I still think this episode managed to make Locke’s “accident” intense and shocking.

The flashback finally shows just how far Locke’s father will push back when he’s cornered. While we have seen just how manipulative he is in the past, we have never seen this form of cruelty before, and it is something.

And that moment where Locke finally meets up with his wheelchair is pretty powerful.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.12)

Episode 3.12 – Par Avion

Main Story - *** out of 4

Claire and Charlie take the center stage in Par Avion. Charlie, having recently been handed down a death sentence by Desmond, is trying to live for the moment, but finds that living for the moment might actually kill him (it sucks when fate is out to destroy you – hey….wait…didn’t Charlie have that taped to his hand in the first episde). Charlie’s antsiness is difficult since Claire thinks she may have found a way off the island thanks to some nature programs and some birds.

Meanwhile, Kate and the gang encounter a bizarre new obstacle on their way to rescue Jack; a force field wall that kills anyone who passes through it. There’s a nice moment when they actually do realize it’s pretty lethal.

The two plots compliment each other nicely. Claire’s story gives her character some time in the spotlight, and attempts to reignite the sparks between her and Charlie. One of season two’s most unsuccessful subplots involved the two of them fighting all the time, so it’s nice to see them finding a way back into each other’s lives.

And the force field wall story helps to build up the mythology of the island, and show that Locke maybe isn’t as stupid as he appeared to be in the last episode. He had what in his pack? The force field wall poses several new questions that I’m sure will take three seasons to answer, but I’m in no rush since the story is obviously heading toward a big revelation or two – especially after that doozy (yeah that’s right…doozy) of an ending.

Flashback - ***1/2 out of 4

Unlike most episodes, the big twist is revealed in the flashback, and while it’s probably not a huge surprise for most people (especially since it was telegraphed in a big way last season), it makes for quite an emotional episode. We learn a lot more about Claire’s family, when Claire, in the driver’s seat, ends up in an accident that puts her mother in a vegetative state.

She meets her real father, and then has to contend with what she is going to do about her mother. It’s a very sad episode, showing that Claire is essentially an orphan, trying desperately to cling onto false hope regarding her mother. When a pregnant Claire finally breaks down in front of her comatose mother, it’s all painfully tragic, and manages to explain why Claire is often distant and solitary.

It’s a much needed flashback that finally gives weight to Claire’s presence on the island.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.11)

It’s time to catch up on all those Lost reviews I’ve been putting off for the last month. Here's the first one with a few plot points you might not want to know about.

Episode 3.11 – Enter 77

Main Story – **1/2 out of 4 - As Kate, Sayid, Locke, and Rousseau begin their search for Jack, they stumble across a house in the middle of the jungle. After a brief struggle with the owner, it is revealed that the eye patch man from The Cost of Living is holed up here on his own. Following the utterly useless “Hurley finds a van” episode from the previous week, Enter 77 dives headfirst into the mythology of the island.

This is both the episode’s best point, but also its weakness. It’s nice to get a chunk of exposition and learn a thing or two about the Others, but as the episode continues it’s revealed that most of Eye Patch Man’s statements are lies. Normally I’m fine when the writers keep the mysteries going, but for once I felt like this episode had a bit too much winking and nodding at the audience. Whereas most episodes seem to have organic twists and turns, stemming naturally come characters’ actions, this one felt like I was being manipulated by the writers. In fact, by the end I felt like Enter 77 was primarily a big inside joke responding to the bitter fan reaction Lost has met this season.

Not only do the writer’s provide a lengthy false monologue, but they fill the basement of the hut with hundreds of books explaining the reason behind the Dharma Initiative. All Kate, Sayid, and Locke have to do is sit down for a few minutes and read. The Lost secrets will be revealed….but of course that can’t happen. Miss Klugh (remember her from last season) is hiding amidst the files which causes a whole bunch of problems. And then Locke enters 77 into a secret Dharma chess game and well….the files vanish just as quickly as they appeared.

Even the story back at the island seems a little too tongue in cheek. Sawyer mouths most Lost fans’ reactions to Nikki by asking “Who the Hell are you”, Paulo once again gets involved in washroom related antics, and everyone finally has enough of Sawyer’s nicknames. Sure it’s funny, but I prefer it when I am completely immersed in the story, and can only vaguely sense the writer’s diabolically laughing about their scripts.

At least this episode does move the story forward, and by the end, even though much more could have been explained, I was excited to see what would happen next.

Flashback - *** out of 4 – Sayid gets a simple, and emotional flashback about forgiveness. While working in France, Sayid is confronted by a restaurant owner who has a surprise for him. His wife was one of the people Sayid tortured when he was in Iraq, and it’s time for revenge.

Since Sayid has been on the sidelines for far too long in the world of Lost (I think the last time I was really invested in his character was when Henry Gale first came to camp), so it’s nice to see him back at the forefront of the story. The flashback doesn’t have a lot of fancy twists and turns, but it is emotional and Sayid’s final breakdown is pretty devastating.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 18)

Episode 18 – Parasite - *** out of 4

Sorry I haven’t written this review until now, but since the next episode frustratingly won’t be airing until the end of April I didn’t feel the urgency.

So, after the season’s best episode, Company Man, Heroes leaves sweeps season with a good, albeit slightly disappointing episode. Part of my problem is that Heroes tends to work best when it focuses on one or two storylines. Parasite is all over the map, incorporating every hero into multiple storylines.

The best story this week is between Suresh and Sylar. After weeks of Sylar posing as a friend, Suresh finally reveals that he has known about his true identity for quite some time, and turns the tables. It’s a nice twist, and finally shows that Suresh is a fairly smart guy, although later on when he lets his guard down, the episode really gets interesting.

The other interesting storyline relates to Claire’s Dad who wasn’t entirely determined to wipe away all memories of Claire’s escape. His wife has some shocking news for him, and it’s fun to see him struggle once again with his company ties and his fatherly role.

Moderately interesting is the Nathan Petrelli storyline. Finally, after a season of hinting the audience finally meets Linderman (a cool casting choice that is unfortunately ruined by the opening credits). Linderman makes Nathan an interesting deal that will hopefully play out in later episodes.

I have to admit that I have grown quite tired of Hiro’s quest of late. Stripping him of his powers on a mission to find a magic sword has just been an awful storyline, and I hope that this episode finally sees an end to it. It’s just painful to see the most interesting character get sidetracked by busy work while everyone else gets to have something to do with the big picture.

As for Peter and Isaac I was less than thrilled with how the Simone shooting wrapped up. I mean, show some emotion for Pete’s sake. I really got the feeling that both men kind of got over her way too quickly. Shouldn’t this make Isaac and Peter sworn enemies? Isn’t that how these things usually work? I got the feeling that Isaac was more interested in slapping Peter on the wrist than wreaking some kind of maniacal revenge. I hope I’m wrong.

The episode wrapped up with some nice surprises, including a particularly nasty predicament for Peter, more family secrets from Claire, and a journey through time for Hiro and Ando.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.10)

Episode 3.10 – Tricia Tanaka is Dead

Main Story - ** out of 4 – The filler episode to end all filler episodes, Tricia Tanaka is Dead does little to move anything forward, and if it weren’t for a few moments between Sawyer and Kate, it would be a complete waste of airtime. Hurley finds an overturned Dharma van in the jungle and spends most of the episode trying to get it to work. Yep, we learn that the Dharma Initiative was building roads, and that’s about it. I suppose the thinking behind this episode was to provide a more lighthearted, comedic story after the very dark episodes that have preceded it.

Kate and Sawyer’s relationship at least continues to be interesting, as Sawyer’s stubbornness gets him in hot water once again. I like that Kate has completely disarmed him, and that Sawyer is having trouble dealing with the fact that he may actually care for someone other than himself.

The end of the episode seems to suggest that next week’s episode will be a return to form, as right now I can only hope that this one is a blip on the Lost radar.

Flashback - ** out of 4 – Hurley has father issues, as Cheech Marin makes a nice, but unspectacular guest appearance as Hugo’s old man. Alas, this story covers very similar territory to the story in season one’s Numbers. Hugo believes he is cursed, and nobody can tell him otherwise; the only difference being that this time it’s his long lost father who tries to set him straight. The only scene that seemed to really get it right is the very last scene where Hurley’s father tells him to get rid of all the money. For the most part though, it’s a been there, done that flashback that fills in a few unneeded blanks in the tale O'Hurley.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 17)

Episode 17 – Company Man - **** out of 4

Yep, for me, this is the first four star episode of Heroes, an extremely well written hour that provides numerous answers, nerve jangling suspense, some tantalizing new plot developments, as well as a very touching and shocking ending (not as shocking as last week’s still unresolved cliffhanger, but pretty close).

Matt Parkman and Radioactive Man break into Claire’s house and threaten to bust some heads if they don’t get answers from Claire’s father. Simultaneously the audience follows Claire’s pop through a series of flashbacks that provide some pretty juicy plot points about his career (Angry Invisible Man was dad’s partner, Hiro’s dad knows a whole lot more about superpowers than he lead on, and his boss is Eric Roberts who has graduated from music-video cameo guy to featured guest star on a top rated tv show). Claire’s dad has been one of the most interesting characters on the show since day one, and these further layers and insights only help to make him more fascinating.

But the episode really gets cooking when Radioactive Man starts to get angry. A tense standoff scene ends cleverly (thank goodness the writers are having the superpowered heroes use their superpowers again), and an unfortunate bullet wound causes a nuclearific finale. It’s been a while since Heroes gave us a cool special effects moment (damn you limited television budgets), but this episode has a stunner.

And even though the ending is a teensy bit too melodramatic (a few too many “dads” in tonight’s script), it’s a welcome change of pace from Heroes-Mopesville Edition. I would rather have a cheesy heartfelt line or two rather than cold, blank stares.

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episodes 3.8 and 3.9)

Episode 3.8 – Flashes Before Your Eyes - **** out of 4

It figures – I decide I’m going to write my Lost reviews by writing about the main story and the flashbacks separately and the very next episode plays around with the entire Lost formula.

I’m not complaining, especially since Flashes Before Your Eyes is easily one of the most exciting and interesting episodes Lost has produced. Season 3 keeps getting more and more interesting.

I was glad to hear that Henry Ian Cusick’s Desmond was joining the cast of Lost after his brilliant guest appearances in season two. But, the writers gave him psychic powers and suddenly Desmond was the weird clairvoyant without a personality. Flashes Before Your Eyes changes all that and brings him back to his half-crazed wide-eyed self.

After Desmond intuitively rescues Claire from drowning, Hurley and Charlie try to question him about his psychic powers. Instead of answering them, he ends up having the most twisted and interesting flashback in Lost’s history.

The audience learns that after he imploded the hatch, Desmond was sent back in time to relive the moment in his life where he almost proposed to his girlfriend Penelope. The flashback deals with whether or not Desmond can alter the course of history. In true Lost fashion Desmond is confronted with this decision in a bizarre yet fascinating way when a character steps out of time and tells him he can’t buy a wedding ring because that decision means the time continuum would be altered and everyone in the world would die since he wouldn’t end up on the island and wouldn’t end up pushing the hatch button. So, as you can see, Desmond is faced with a pretty big conundrum.

I love a good time travel yarn, and this episode provides some truly headscratching moments, but it wouldn’t mean anything if the central relationship between Desmond, Penelope, and her father didn’t work. But it works wonderfully, especially during a scene where Desmond asks Penelope’s father if he can marry her and is flatly rejected with the help of a bottle of expensive whisky.

When everything comes back to the present, Lost once again shows how to do a proper twist ending (I thought I had it figured out and then…bam…it threw me for a loop without diluting the emotional impact). Overall, just a great episode.

Episode 3.9 – Stranger in a Strange Land

Main Story - *** out of 4

Stranger in a Strange Land picks up right after Not in Portland left off. Juliet has killed Pickett and is now standing trial for his murder under the investigation of Isabel, a new character who appears to represent the Law in Others World. Jack, believing Juliet is trying to help him, sorts through the Others hierarchy in order to prevent the worst case scenario – Juliet’s execution. It’s a solid episode, but has a feeling of déjà vu. We’ve seen Jack do all this before in previous episodes, including making deals with Ben involving surgery. Yet, despite this, the developing relationship between Jack and Juliet remains fascinating. Her motives are still unclear, and Elizabeth Mitchell has a great way of playing sweet with an ever so subtle hint of malice.

The most interesting plot developments are tantalizingly brief. We finally see what has become of the kidnapped children and Cindy, the stewardess. And Carl, the boy Kate and Sawyer rescued, talks about the Others village. Speaking of Kate and Sawyer, I’m really enjoying the direction this relationship is taking. After hooking up it’s not all happiness and love serenades for them as Sawyer starts to realize Kate’s feelings are not 100% genuine, even though he has fallen completely for her.

The end of the episode provides a lot more promise, with a plot development, that seems to ensure that the déjà vu experienced in this episode will not be happening in the next.

The Flashback - ** out of 4

It’s the story of Jack and the tattoo artist in Thailand, and frankly it’s a bit of a snoozer. I’ve been intrigued by the importance of Jack’s tattoo ever since it was clearly missing during an earlier flashback, but this tattoo origin story is lacking. Jack basically hooks up with a mysterious character played by Bai Ling and…after lots of shots of her cleavage, and then a bit more cleavage in case we missed it the first two times, she reveals a secret about her tattoo skills. A disappointing flashback that will hopefully lead to something more revealing in future episodes.

TV shows I'm watching - Heroes (Episode 16)

Episode 16 – Unexpected - ***1/2 out of 4

Proving that last week’s episode wasn’t just a fluke, Unexpected finally starts to tie some loose ends together and, dare I say it, move the plot forward.

This episode follows a lot of separate storylines. Suresh and Sylar (pretending to be all innocent) meet a new hero with super hearing, Radioactive Man starts to realize what all those weird scars and blackouts mean, Claire’s adopted mother has some serious health issues, Hiro tries to save Ando from the crazed Vegas showgirl, and Isaac and Peter finally unleash some repressed anger in New York.

What makes this episode work is that there is urgency to each of these storylines. What is Sylar planning on doing to Suresh? What happens when Radioactive Man gets angry again? Is Hiro really going to leave Ando and go off on his own? And….well….let’s just say the real question of the day is asked at the end with a very exciting cliffhanger.

The only storyline that didn’t thrill me was Matt Parkman’s diamond tale. This storyline is starting to frustrate me a lot. Matt’s all concerned about how to make money to support his family, so he steals a boatload of diamonds. Dude, you read minds!!! You can’t find any legal way to make money with that talent? Just thinking on the spot there’s poker playing, spying, interrogating, heck even chess in the park can make you a few bucks!

But all quibbles aside, Unexpected looks like the ignition that will propel Heroes toward a satisfying season finale.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 15)

Episode 15 – Run - *** out of 4

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but….oh man, it pains me….one, two, three….alright, here it is. I enjoyed the Niki storyline in this episode. That’s right. For once I actually thought it was kind of the highlight of this back-on-track episode.

So finally, our heroes are back to doing heroic (as well as villainous) deeds. Ando and Hiro find their roles are reversed when Ando desperately wants to help an abused woman in Las Vegas. Matt Parkman becomes a bodyguard for hire and escorts a business man to a dangerous diamond exchange. In less heroic, but still interesting storylines, Claire encounters her birth father, and Suresh unknowingly makes a deal with the devil in the episode’s best subplot (involving our favourite serial killer supervillain Sylar).

But, it’s true, Niki (or should I say Jessica) steals the show. See, apparently in order to get out of jail she had to make a deal with Linderman to become a hired assassin. So, Jessica/Niki desperately tries to kill the business man Matt Parkman is protecting. Much of the episode involves a rather clever game of cat and mouse through an LA office building. It’s suspenseful, unpredictable, and finally allows Parkman to make a choice that isn’t clean cut.

I'm really not enjoying the whole Hiro-has-lost-his-superpowers storyline. Hiro was interesting to watch because he was so enthusiastic about his powers. Stripping him of this joy is far too frustrating and it's not fun watching him join the mopers (which for the record currently includes Isaac, Simone, the Petrelli Brothers, and Suresh).

Hopefully this episode is putting into play a few more plot devices that will finally get back to the whole New York blowing up storyline. I’m still not feeling the urgency there, but Run is a step in the right direction and hopefully means the midseason slump is over.

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.7)

Alright, it’s February 7th, which thankfully means that Lost is back on the air. For me, Lost is easily one of the best shows on tv, and I haven’t understood all the whining about how it’s dropped in quality since season one. Season One was good, yes, but man it dragged (it took half a season to open that damn hatch and we had to wait until season two to see what was inside!!!), and I thought season two, in between some lulls (once we get in the hatch that's all we seem to see), was much stronger overall.

Now, I know we’re only seven episodes into season three, but for me, this has been the most interesting season yet (and 100% hatchless). Sure, I wish that whole polar bear kidnapping Mr. Eko episode could be erased from memory, and the new characters back at the island are pretty terrible, but the exploration of The Others has been gripping from day one.

Who are they? Are they in charge? What do they want?

Well, Episode 7 – Not In Portland answers….well…..in typical Lost fashion about .00005% of those questions while raising fifty more, but it does so wonderfully.

Main Story ***1/2 out of 4

The episode picks up immediately after the end of last November’s cliffhanger. Jack has staged a coup by seriously injuring Ben during surgery. He says he’ll patch him up as long as Kate and Sawyer are allowed to escape.

This episode deals with The Others and their negotiations with Jack. Meanwhile Sawyer and Kate meet up with Alex who helps them escape from the island. Like most episodes of Lost the plot is mainly an excuse for some wonderful character moments, and in this episode there’s a fantastic scene between Kate and Jack. Jack asks Kate to tell him the story he told her back in the first episode. She tells him the story, not realizing that Jack is going through virtually the same experience she is describing. It’s pretty intense, and Jack’s final words are heartbreaking. As well, it’s nice to see infighting amongst The Others, and a few surprises shake up their chain of command.

Flashback ***1/2 out of 4

Juliet gets her flashback and it’s very revealing – definitely one of the stronger Lost flashbacks of recent memory. We find out exactly what brought her to the island, and see a little bit of her life back in Miami. In this storyline we start to see the mechanics behind the Dharma Initiative and realize that Juliet is in just as precarious a situation as everyone else.

So, a strong main story and a strong flashback combine for one of the best episodes of the year. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

Side Note: So, was there some backstage dealings on the Smokin' Aces set. Interesting that Matthew Fox's character pops up in that movie for a really great scene with Nestor Carbonell, and now Nestor Carbonell shows up on Lost for what seems like a recurring role.

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 14)

Episode 14 - Distractions - **1/2 out of 4

As if the plot needed to move at a more glacial pace, we are now given an episode entitled Distractions. So, while the destruction of New York is fast approaching everyone decides to deal with their own distractions: family, love, angst. Claire meets her birth mother, Hiro argues with his father over the family business, and Isaac and Simone rekindle a little of that romance I never bothered to mention before because it was (and still is) boring. Oh, and Peter learns valuable life lessons from the angry invisible man.

Fortunately, Sylar is back, and he has a rather suspenseful encounter with Claire’s adoptive mother. It’s amazing how much the show benefits by having him back in the ring. Since nobody seems to care that much about New York being destroyed, these recent episodes have suffered from a severe lack of tension…and conflict. Sylar certainly adds conflict, and as Claire’s adoptive mother slowly realizes what he is capable of, Heroes provides some suspense not seen since the “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” episodes.

As for George Takei’s much touted cameo as Hiro’s father; well it’s pretty disappointing in this episode. Takei is okay, but his role of a hard-edged Japanese businessman is nothing we haven’t seen in numerous previous movies. I’m hoping there are future plans to bring him back so that we can see more than just a stern business face.

So – still slumping, but getting better.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 12 - 13)

Episode 12 – Godsend - ** out of 4

When we last left our heroes they were dealing with a new problem; they realized that the cause of the huge, New York destroying explosion is going to be an exploding man. Two weeks later flashes up on the screen at the start of this episodes and…well…our heroes really haven’t done all that much to fix the problem, and don’t do that much in the following 42 minutes. You’ve had two weeks! Jack Bauer, sans superpowers, fixes twelve of those problems in 24 hours!

This episode basically follows the heroes as they go back to moping, the national pastime of most superheroes apparently. They talk a lot about the exploding man, and Hiro tries to steal a sword that will help him focus his powers, but really it’s a return to the mope-tastic first few episodes. The Sylar plot goes nowhere, the exploding man information feels like everyone’s saying, “Previously on Heroes”, and there’s only one or two exciting new character revelations. Ladies and Gentleman, Matt Parkman’s wife finally knows about his telepathy. That’s the highlight of this episode.

On the Niki front we can now add abused prisoner, possible death row candidate (if only they go through with it), and straight jacketed psych patient to her list of “achievements”.

This is a disappointing episode all around especially considering the leaps and bounds Heroes had taken before the hiatus.

Episode 13 – The Fix - ** out of 4

Well, after two episodes, I’m officially calling out Heroes on its midseason slump. Every show has a midseason slump sooner or later, and most often it tends to be in the first season (since most writers don’t know for sure if their show will get picked up for a full season the second half is usually thinly plotted).

But here it is in all its mediocre glory. Once again, very little happens in The Fix. Sure there is a nifty revelation in the Claire subplot surrounding her birth parents, and now there’s an angry invisible man yelling a lot at Peter, but that’s it….

How mediocre is this slump? Case in point - After revealing to his wife his telepathic powers Matt Parkman now deals with the biggest threat yet, faulty plumping in his washroom! Yeah, there’s a plumbing subplot on a show called Heroes!!!

The end of the episode provides a few tantalizing hints suggesting it may be a short lived slump (Sylar’s back, Sulu shows up), but frankly it can’t come soon enough. I’m waiting to see something heroic, even if it’s just helping some lady across the street.

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.

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.