WRITER: Tim Kring DIRECTOR: Paul Edwards
CAST: Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder), Greg Grunberg (Matt), Jayma Mays (Charlie), Masi Oka (Hiro), Clea Duvall (Agent Hanson), Santiago Cabrera (Isaac), Jack Coleman (Mr Bennett), Hayden Panettiere (Claire), Matthew John Armstrong (Ted), Elizabeth Lackey (Janice Parkman), Nora Zehetner (Eden), Erick Avari (Chandra Suresh), James Kyson Lee (Ando Masahashi) & Javin Reid (Iyer Sanjog)
Hiro meets a waitress who has developed amazing memory skills. Meanwhile, Mr Bennet asks Isaac to help him stop his daughter's imminent death...Seven Minutes To Midnight sees the return of writer-creator Tim Kring following his opening two episodes that set the ball rolling, and it's another typically busy instalment that focuses on Mohinder, Hiro, Matt and Mr Bennet.
Sendhil Ramamurthy ominously narrates each episode and seemed to be a lynchpin as the scientist who believes an evolutionary leap has occurred. Ramamurthy's character quickly became one-note and was pushed into the background.
But Kring clearly wants us to reassess his Indian egghead, as this episode spends a lot of time informing us of Mohinder's family backstory, in a series of narrative crutches (ahem, I mean "dream sequences") that finally throw some light on his father and introduce a few story elements to make him more interesting.
It's not made clear if Monhinder's dreams/visions were a result of psychometry, or not -- although a young boy called Iyer was always present in them, so it's possible Iyer was projecting these visions. We'll have to wait and see...
Masi Oka's remains lovable and childlike as Hiro, in scenes hinting at a possible romance with a diner waitress called Charlie (Jayma Mays; excellent) who has a startling memory. It's interesting that recent episodes have introduced more people with super-powers, as the show is already overflowing with them, and the producers are risking overkill.
Greg Grunberg's Matt is currently the most relatable character, primarily because he acts and uses his mind-reading in a more believable way. His investigation into psycho Sylar continues, but this episode mainly highlights his life's recent similarities to radiation-emitting superman Ted Prague (Matthew John Armstrong; great).
Santiago Cabrera has been the most underachieving character in the show, rarely getting anything decent to work with. Instead he's merely been acting as a handy plot-device via his precognitive paintings. I'm not convinced by Cabrera as an actor, but Seven Minutes To Midnight does move his character into a different realm with interaction with Mr Bennet (the excellent Jack Coleman), whose motivations are deliciously vague.
It was also good to see light thrown onto Eden (Nora Zehetner) and her involvement with Mr Bennet, even hinting that she has some form of persuasive power herself. Hmmm, soon everyone's going to be "special", and then nobody is. A bit of The Incredibles philosophy there, folks..
Sylar re-enters the mix, complete with some new character facets: he has a stopped watch at the titular seven minutes to midnight -- a clear reference to the Doomsday Clock (a symbolic clockface with midnight representing nuclear war.) This is a symbol also used in Alan Moore's Watchmen, another influence on Heroes. The sound of clockwork is also heard whenever Sylar appears, and he demonstrates telekinesis. All very interesting. Is Sylar harvesting multiple powers by devouring super-brains? Has he travelled back in time from the nuclear disaster glimpsed in episode 2? Is he a failed experiment by Mr Bennet, or Chandra Suresh? And if he targets Charlie for her super-brain, why not Hiro's?
Overall, Seven Minutes To Midnight is dense with new revelations and tightens some skrews. Heroes is great fun to watch, and the number of characters and concepts being juggled mean every episode has been interesting and of value. It's easy to see why it's been such a hit in the States -- it offers instant thrills, a sense of momentum, plenty of mystery, and some excellent cliffhanger endings. I just hope it can maintain this brilliant start.
