Spoilers. This episode marks the return of producer Bryan Fuller to the writer's room, following the cancellation of his own series, Pushing Daisies. While unfair to expect a return to glory because a producer who (perhaps coincidentally) left the moment it dipped in quality, "Shades Of Gray" did feel easier to enjoy. A placebo effect? Maybe. But this entire fourth volume has been a marked improvement on the second and third. It's still not must-see television again, but the dying embers are being stoked...Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is shocked to find "puppet-man" villain Eric Doyle (David H. Lawrence XVII) in her kitchen, claiming to have been sent by the enigmatic "Rebel", who told him Claire could will him avoid capture by Nathan's (Adrian Pasdar) agents. Claire isn't ready to trust Eric after everything he put her through, but is surprised when Eric leaves quietly without forcing the issue.
In Washington D.C, Nathan realizes he's failing to keep unruly Danko (Zeljko Ivanek) under control, having learned that his right-hand man has drugged Matt (Greg Grunberg), outfitted with a jacket of explosives, and dumped him on Capitol Hill to be mistaken for a terrorist. It's all part of Danko's plan to assure his superiors that the people they're detaining in Building 26 are dangerous, not just regular people dealing with super-powers.
Nathan heads to the Hill to help Matt, as he's circled by armed units ready to take him out, unaware that Danko plans to detonate Matt's explosives remotely. Fortunately, the drugs Matt was given wear off enough for him to read the mind of a nearby bomb disposal expert and intuit how to disarm himself.
Elsewhere, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) finally finds his father Samson Gray (John Glover), but his desire to avenge his mother's murder is dealt a blow. Y'see, daddy is already suffering a slow, agonizing death from cancer -- now just an elderly, lonely taxidermist dependent on an oxygen tank to breathe. He's also surprised to see Samson has the same ability-stealing power he clearly inherited, and has amassed a certain wisdom about living with abilities that Sylar is interested to hear.Of course, once Samson realizes his son's acquired invulnerability and (by proxy) immortality during his travels, it's not long before Sylar Snr makes an attempt to steal that power to cure himself. The power play between these characters was interesting to watch, and Glover is a fine addition to the show -- resembling a piece of rotting tree bark, and already well-versed in playing a villain's father after years on Smallville as Lex Luthor's dad. This subplot ends on a rather thin and predictable note (with Sylar defeating his dad, then refusing to help heal him), but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Samson finds a way to restore his health and start chewing the scenery. Also, given his biblical name, are we to assume he has a weak spot? And is it shared by Sylar Jr?
It was also good to see Angela (Cristine Rose) brought back into proceedings, as she's tipped off by undercover accomplice Mr Bennet (Jack Coleman) about Danko's growing threat to Nathan's misguided, but manageable folly. Finally, the Emmy-winning Ivanek gets a scene more worthy of his talent, when he arrives at a restaurant to probe Angela about his suspicion her son has an ability, but finds Angela touching a raw nerve by alluding to an incident from Danko's past that resulted in many deaths. Quietly perturbed, Danko leaves Angela to lick her dessert spoon. Okay, so it's hardly Shakespeare, but it was nice to see two of the show's best actors create some sparks from what's on the page, and I'm intrigued to see what skeleton Danko has in the closet.
Less engaging was a subplot where Claire undergoes a job interview at Sam's Comics, with the clientele stealing looks from behind dog-eared graphic novels and imagining her in a Supergirl outfit (well, I think.) I also found Eric's storyline a bit underwhelming, as it was obvious Claire would change her mind and help her former tormentor, and it was something of a stretch to believe someone with Eric's abilities (he can manipulate people physically) would have trouble evading two agents – even if he's apparently turned over a new leaf and won't kill them. Still, the side mystery of Rebel's identity is marginally more interesting, as I have a tough time believing it's Micah (although his ability to control machines fits Rebel's m.o snugly), and it's clearly someone with a lot of insight and knowledge.
Perhaps most promising was the episode's final moments, despite another pretencious voice-over courtesy of Mohinder, which established quite a few exciting developments: Nathan, tricked into revealing he can fly after being pushed out of a window by Danko, has rushed to help Claire as a fellow fugitive, and Sylar has satisfied his geneology kick and is now lurking in Danko's apartment.
Sadly, some goodwill vanishes with the belated return of Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee), who bizarrely arrive at a Los Angeles home, under orders from Rebel to save Matt Parkman, only to have a baby dumped on them by a frustrated babysitter answering to the same name. Is that Matt as an infant (thanks to some kind of temporal knot) or just a baby with the same name? Whatever, the prospect of Hiro wasting our time with a tedious bringing up baby storyline is not a happy one? Remember when Hiro's arrival used to signal a smile and some knockaround fun? These days I let out an audible groan and wish I could scrub his tedious, often extraneous subplots from my mind.
9 March 2009
NBC, 9/8c
Writer: Oliver Grigsby
Director: Greg Beeman
Cast: James Kyson Lee (Ando), Masi Oka (Hiro), Jack Coleman (Mr. Bennet), Greg Grunberg (Matt), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Cristine Rose (Angela), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder), Adrian Pasdar (Nathan), Ali Larter (Tracy), Hayden Panettiere (Claire), David H. Lawrence XVII (Eric Doyle), Ashley Crow (Sandra), Randall Bentley (Lyle), Zeljko Ivanek (Danko), John Glover (Samson Gray), Reed Baron (Baby Matt), Roger Bridges (Bomb Squad #1), Mara LaFontaine (Beth), Quin Baron (Baby Matt), Taylor Cole (Rachel Mills), Jeff Campbell (Male Agent), Jonny Siew (Analyst), Matt Biedel (Agent #3) & Gina St. John (Reporter)
