HEROES 3.1 & 3.2 - "The Second Coming" & "The Butterfly Effect"

Writer: Tim Kring
Directors: Allan Arkush (3.1) & Greg Beeman (3.2)

Cast: Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder), Ali Larter (Tracy Strauss), Greg Grunberg (Matt), Adrian Pasdar (Nathan), Masi Oka (Hiro), Milo Ventimiglia (Peter), Hayden Panettiere (Claire), James Kyson Lee (Ando), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Dania Ramirez (Maya), Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli), Jack Coleman (Mr. Bennet), Brea Grant (Daphne Millbrook), Ashley Crow (Sandra Bennet), Randall Bentley (Lyle Bennet), Bruce Boxleitner (Governor Malden), Malcolm McDowell (Mr. Linderman), George Takei (Kaito), Kristen Bell (Elle), Stephen Tobolowsky (Bob), Jessalyn Gilsig (Meredith Gordon), Blake Shields (Flint), Jamie Hector (Benjamin "Knox" Washington), Francis Capra (Jesse Murphy), Kiko Ellsworth (Echo DeMille), David Anders (Adam Monroe), William Katt (Reporter), Ken Lally (The German), Adam Blumenfeld (Maury Parkman) & Ntare Mwine (Usutu)

"It seemed to help last time I made a tape. But this time it's
different, because I'm starting to wonder if I'm even human
anymore. Because if you can't feel anything, do you still have
a soul? Will I live forever? All of these questions, I
just... I need to prove that I'm still alive."

-- Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere)

From hero to zero. Has a television series ever slumped as badly as Heroes did in its second season? After a phenomenal debut season, the show lost a huge chunk of its audience with Volume II's laboured plotting and poor creative decisions. The writers' strike actually did it a favour; as season 2 was rushed to a premature climax by episode 11. Hoping to draw a line under the whole sorry experience, creator Tim Kring writes the first two episodes of Volume II: Villains -- promising an engaging, lively, imaginative and entertaining return to form...

The appropriately-titled "The Second Coming" quickly answers the question posed at the end of season 2: who shot Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar)? It turns out that Future Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) travelled back in time from an era where the super-powered are being hunted, and his relationship with Future Claire (Hayden Panettiere) has soured. To put it mildly. The catalyst was apparently the moment his older brother told the world about the existence of people with special powers, so rather than travel back and tell Nathan to throw his speech in the bin, Future Peter takes the drastic step of shooting him multiple times in the chest. Of course.

Spoilers. Heroes has a very large cast and a freewheeling style of storytelling, so it's probably easier to review these opening episodes character-by-character:

Peter & Future Peter: As I mentioned, scarface Peter is back from another hell-hole future, hoping to alter history to prevent a dystopia where "supers" (can we get a collective name for super-powered people already?) are being hunted by the government. He disposes of the regular Peter by trapping him inside the body of a super-villain called Jesse Murphy (Francis Capra), currently holed up in a Company prison on "Level 5".

Nathan: Peter's big brother dies from his gunshot wounds, but miraculously returns to life after doctors pronounce him dead. No explanation is given for his Lazarus moment, but Nathan believes he's seen God and starts showing a strong belief in religion -- likening "supers" to angels, intended to do God's work. Intriguingly, Mr. Linderman (Malcolm McDowell) returns as Nathan's own "guardian angel" -- an invisible presence that only Nathan can see. Is Nathan crazy?

Claire & Sylar: The sexy cheerleader gets to star in a slasher movie (an indication of Panettiere's post-Heroes career?), as Sylar (Zachary Quinto) returns to steal her power of rapid healing. After a prolonged game of cat-and-mouse in her house, Claire is captured and has her brain exposed while lying on a coffee table. Finally, we get to see exactly what Sylar does to steal another super's power: no brain-slurping, just a tactile search of grey matter. Intriguingly, Sylar gains her power but Claire heals herself from the ordeal, before Sylar drops a hint that she's even more special than she realizes.

Hiro & Ando: A big error in season 2 was keeping its most popular character stuck in a different era, disconnected from the main story for too long. No such problem here, as Hiro (Masi Oka) sits bored as the new CEO of his father's business empire, but becomes the "sentinel" of a huge secret -- thanks to a DVD his father Kaito (George Takei) made before his death. The secret is one half of a formula, scrawled on a piece of paper, that is immediately stolen by Daphne (a "speedster" thief from France). Hiro and Ando (James Kyson Lee) travel to Europe to steal back the formula, just after Hiro nips into the future and witnesses Future Ando (now with powers!) kill him, just as the world disintegrates around him.

Tracy Strauss: Stripper mom Niki may have died last year, but Ali Larter is back on the show as a different character -- a go-getting political aide to Governor Malden (Bruce Boxleitner), who's not averse to wandering around in skimpy lingerie. Yum. Her return is actually quite interesting, as a reporter (played by The Greatest American Hero star William Katt) thinks he's discovered she's just a two-bit stripper from Vegas called Niki Sanders. Later, Nathan also identifies Tracy as Niki, although she genuinely doesn't seem to know where this confusion is coming from. So, did Niki survive her fiery "demise" and is Tracy another split-personality who has subsequently taken over? Or is Tracy a clone, or identical twin sister? We'll have to see, but Larter already seems happier playing the super-confident Tracy. The tortured Niki had become a real bore. I guess this means Micah and the Dawson family are now off the show.

Matt: The mind-reading cop is dispatched by Future Peter to an African desert, after he discovers Future Peter has replaced the "real" Peter. Greg Grunberg doesn't get much to do, but he's saved from death by a kindly African man -- who appears to be this season's version of Isaac Mendez (a humorous man responsible for the graffiti of a splitting Earth, glimpsed throughout these episodes.)

Mohinder & Maya: The nice-but-dim scientist is once again planning to scurry back to India defeated, much to Maya's (Dania Ramirez) distress -- because she still wants him to cure her of her ability (she can kill people in her vicinity by crying). Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is later inspired by something Maya says, and creates a serum that can bestow super-powers on normal people.

In a Fly-inspired storyline, Mohinder tests the serum on himself, develops super-strength, and begins crawling around walls like a spider. Tragically, icky-looking scales then begin sprouting on his back. Will Mohinder become Heroes' version of The Thing or The Beast (a superhero that can't go unnoticed in the world)? I still don't like dullard Mohinder and his pretentious voice-overs, but this is admittedly the most interesting thing that's every happened to him. As for Maya; she was one of the worst characters introduced last year, but Tim Kring has a plan to make her appeal to the male demographic: tone down her moaning and make the most of the actress' obvious sex-appeal.

Elle, Bob & Mr. Bennet: Kristen Bell was the most successful newcomer last year, but now she's on the verge of movie stardom thanks to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so her days on Heroes are probably numbered. Here, she once again breathes life into all her scenes, as her father (Stephen Tobolowsy) is killed by Sylar and she grapples with him in the sinister Level 5 (a Company prison where the worst super-villains are kept). After a tense battle, which Elle manages to win by discharging a devastating electrical pulse, Sylar is defeated and captured. But, unfortunately, a "dirty half-dozen" of bad-guys are released (including Peter Petrelli, stuck in the body of Jesse Murphy). Mr. Bennet (Jack Coleman) is also released from jail during the attack, and later heads home to be reunited with his daughter -- before they both agree to become partners in capturing the Level 5 escapees.

Angela Petrelli: Cristine Rose has been promoted to regular status on the show, and we finally learn what her super-power is: she can dream the future. Hmm, so not that dissimilar to Isaac Mendez's precognition, then. There seems to be a real deficit of imagination on Heroes when it comes to choosing exciting super-powers for people. Anyway, Rose is once again very good in her prickly way, although the late revelation that she's Sylar's mother just made me groan. Is that really a necessary development? While it's interesting to now view Peter and Sylar as ying/yang half-brothers, it's becoming a very incestuous show. By season 5 every character will be related, in some way!

Both episodes had a combined entertainment-value that eclipsed most episodes from season 2, which was the main thing. I wasn't bored and will definitely keep watching. But I was disappointed to see the show raking over old ground (another end-of-the-world disaster to stop, more tiresome glimpses of a nightmare future, another symbol to mull over), but there were a few intriguing notions and mysterious goings-on to balance things out (the Tracy Strauss enigma, Nathan's resurrection, Mr. Linderman's bizarre return as a Jiminy Cricket figure).

The new characters were appealing, particularly Daphne (Brea Grant) and Ali Larter's new persona Tracy. The Level 5 criminals are little more than ideas right now (and none of their powers look very exciting), but I like the idea of immoral evildoers stalking the streets. Bruce Boxleitner should also be good value, as he takes Nathan under his wing to restore his political standing. But why? I'm interested to see where the Nathan storyline is going, as that was the only subplot that seemed to have some nuance to it. Pasdar was criminally underused last year, so it's nice to see him get plenty to work with. There are precious few genuinely good actors on the show (Pasdar, Panettiere, Coleman, Rose and Bell), so you need to be using them well. There's only so much you can take of Ventimiglia looking constipated while trying to act tough, really.

Overall, it's riddled with illogical moments, head-slapping silliness and hokey dialogue, but I can't deny these episodes were fast and entertaining. Still, Heroes has become far removed from its Unbreakable vibe of early season 1, with characters now acting like they're in a dumb TV show (check out Sylar toying with Claire, just for the benefit of audience gasps), and the plots works best if you don't think deeply about them (what was Daphne doing in Japan and why does she want that formula? How do characters travel between New York, Texas and California so quickly?)

But yes, it's a far better start than season 2 delivered, and there's enough here to justify sticking around to see what happens next. Just, please, don't give Ando any powers. I can understand the writers wanting to energize mind-numbing Mohinder in that way, but Ando is a much-needed everyman figure. Heroes' best character is the equally powerless Mr. Bennet, so the introduction of super-powers shouldn't become a band-aid for characters incorrectly considered boring without them.


1 October 2008
BBC2, 9pm & BBC Three, 10pm