HEROES 2.4 - "The Kindness Of Strangers"

Writer: Tim Kring
Director: Adam Kane

Cast: Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Noah Gray-Cabey (Micah Sanders), Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman), Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet), Jack Coleman (Mr. Bennet), Dana Davis (Monica Dawson), Dania Ramirez (Maya Herrera), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder Suresh), Ashley Crow (Sandra Bennet), Adair Tishler (Molly Walker), Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli), Shalim Ortiz (Alejandro Herrera), Nichelle Nichols (Nana), Carlon Jeffrey (Damon Dawson) & Mark Christopher Lawrence (Monica's Boss)

Maya and Alejandro chance upon a familiar face, Claire goes behind her father's back, Matt makes a startling discovery and Micah's cousin Monica develops a power...

"I know you can heal, Claire; but I never wanna see you hurt."

-- West (Nick D'Agosto)

After a malaise begins to settle over Heroes' second season, The Kindness Of Strangers is a moderate upswing in quality. It's solid, if uninspired, but develops some main plots, introduces a strong new character, and wisely jettisons amnesiac Peter and distracting Hiro from proceedings...

Mr. Bennet (Jack Coleman) is concerned about an Isaac Mendez painting that foretells his death, at the hands of his own daughter and a shadowy figure. He can only assume the dark figure will be a murderous bad influence on Claire (Hayden Panettiere), so makes it clear she's not to date any boys.

Claire tries her best to give flyboy West (Nick D'Agosto) the brush-off at school, but becomes smitten after he whisks her away to the top of the Hollywood sign. There's a predictable, but no less heartwarming sequence, when West catches Claire in an intended freefall, to cement their blossoming relationship. It may be cheesy, but it's cute and welcome. The nighttime flying sequences are also some of the show's more plausible.

Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) are still stuck in their interminable exodus across the US border, but their storyline is made more palatable by the appearance of Sylar (Zachary Quinto), lying collapsed in the road...

Now stripped of his powers, and consequently calling himself Gabrielle Gray again, Sylar's unpredicted appearance rescues the Herrera twins' story from the doldrums -- even if it's another example of extremely unlikely coincidence. All three are even headed in the same direction: New York, the apparent hub of all activity in Heroes' world! Sylar clearly intends to have Mohinder restore his power-stealing ability, while the Herrera's just want rid of theirs..

The most pleasing aspect of episode 4 is a better setting for Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), who is freed of whiny mother Niki and is staying with his Nana (Nichelle Nichols) and cousins; young scamp Damon Dawson (Carlon Jeffrey) and outgoing teen Monica (Dana Davis).

The Dawsons have a good vibe about them; Carlon Jeffrey is an amusing and plausible partner-in-crime for Gray-Cabey to bounce off (here, technopathic Micah gets them free cable-TV), Nichelle Nichols' Nana is a likable matriarch, and Dana Davis is irresistibly charismatic as an ambitious fast-food restaurant worker. Micah looks more at home in the Dawson family context.

Monica becomes the show's latest hero -- apparently able to instantly replicate any physical skill she's exposed to. It sounds woolly, but these "photographic reflexes" presents themselves in two ways: she slices up tomatoes to look like roses after seeing it on a cookery show, and later fights off a robber using a wrestling move she saw on TV.

The meat of any seasonal arc is currently being handled by Matt (Greg Grunberg), who's investigating Kaito's murder. Angela Petrelli (Cristine Rose) confesses to killing him, but only to prevent the authorities uncovering the existence of super-powered people. It's actually the first overt mention of an intention to keep gifted people a secret -- so can we expect the beginning of an X-Men-style racial division later this year? Well, perhaps season 3.

Matt's mind-reading abilities (temperamental as they are, for dramatic purposes), can't help him ascertain why Angela is willing to take the fall for a crime she didn't commit, so he enlists the help of her son Nathan (Adrian Pasdar).

Nathan doesn't fare much better in uncovering the truth of his mother's actions, but it atleast gives him a chance to shave that beard. Later, Matt shows Nathan the "death cards" sent to Kaito and Angela, and both recognize the omnipresent helix symbol emblazoned across them.

More interestingly, in another Watchmen steal, Nathan's group photo of the older generation of heroes is found to include Matt's father! It seems the interconnectedness of characters continues apace!

But back the helix symbol, which was sprinkled through season 1. It's familiar to Matt because troubled tot Molly (Adair Tishler) has been drawing it since her nightmares started. Back at Matt's apartment, where he's been starring in Two And A Half Men with Mohinder (Senhil Ramamurthy), a big part of the puzzle is slotted in place when Molly identifies the man from her nightmares as Matt's deadbeat father!

To be honest, it's disappointing that the villain memorably described as worse than Sylar, has turned out to be a fat, old man. Hopefully the character's abilities are enjoyably powerful, and the actor's performance menacing, whenever he makes his proper debut.

It's a brave decision by writer Tim Kring to reveal the villain's identity so early in season 2 -- but is it as simple as that? I'm not so sure. I'm also beginning to suspect Mohinder's handler Bob (Stephen Tobolowsky) could be related to a main character, as his surname is being kept suspiciously secret, and he's also present in the elders photo...

The Kindness Of Strangers is a firm step forward, but season 2 still remains frustratingly hollow when compared to early season 1. I don't think Heroes works as a slow-burn murder mystery, which is what it is at the moment. Maybe now the identity of the unseen malevolence has been revealed, things will begin to move at a quicker pace...

My guess is that Matt's dad is a too-powerful psychic, holed up in a Philadelphia apartment block -- but why is he giving Molly nightmares? Is his power directly related to dreams, Freddy Kruger-style? That was my thought after the cliffhanger, when Molly slumps into unconsciousness after locating "the boogieman" -- and Matt hears her mentally calling for help...

There's enough here to chew on, while it's one of the more consistently entertaining episodes so far, but there's still a general sense of unease. I think the writers don't know what to do with half the cast in season 2, but didn't have the heart to dispose of them.

The introduction of new people/new powers is also coming across as a way to distract you from season 2's lack of focus. Still, the Dawson family are an entertaining bunch, Sylar should make the dull Herrera twins more digestible (he performed the same trick last year, by partnering Mohinder for awhile), Claire's story has some heart to it, and the murder investigation is edging forward...

So, like I said, this is a moderate upswing; but there's still a lot of work to be done. By far the most intriguing thing at the moment is Nathan's bizarre, scorched appearance in reflections...


15 October 2007
NBC, 9/8c pm