Spoilers. The somewhat passé tactic of sprinkling religion over fantasy/sci-fi gets a good airing with "Into Asylum", as "guardian angel" Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Angela (Cristine Rose) seek refuge in a church after a baptismal downpour, while Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and Danko (Zeljko Ivanek) collaborate to find a snake-in-the-grass shape-shifter in the "Garden Of Eden" nightclub...While not as excellent as last week's "Cold Snap", this still ranks as another confident step forward for Heroes' third season, because all three subplots had something to offer -- even the weakest, where Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) flies Claire (Hayden Panettiere) across the US border to Mexico because Danko has no jurisdiction there. They need to make some cash to live on, so Claire pawns a treasured necklace her foster father gave her, and Nathan decides to hustle some frat boys by challenging them to a drinking game. While difficult to feel interested in Nathan's latest change of allegiance, the father-daughter scenes just about pass muster and a few moments worked quite effectively (Claire's regenerating kidney means she can drink anyone under the table, or Nathan selling his swanky watch to buy back Claire's necklace.)
Peter and Angela's storyline was quite feeble in retrospect, as it revolves around Angela trying get some shut-eye so she can dream the future and make plans to thwart their aggressors, but it just about managed to avoid total tedium. Even when Peter whines to God about his bitterness over their predicament, which lets Ventimiglia emote like a crossbreed of Keanu Reeves and Sylvester Stallone.The best subplot, by quite some distance, concerned Sylar joining forces with Danko to help him capture all the people on his list, but only on the understanding he'll be allowed to steal their power as payment. Quite how Danko will get away with incarcerating clearly de-powered citizens, or suddenly killing them all, isn't really explained... but it helps not to think too logically when watching Heroes, don't you find? Anyway, it's just good to the two big villains of the show working together (giving credence to the "one of us, one of them" Company partnerships that Danko has always ridiculed), and the writing for Sylar actually felt closer to his mid-season 1 glory days.
Danko and Sylar's first covert mission together entails tracking a shape-shifter, whom they learn regularly visits a nightclub to pick up women in a variety of bodily guises -- and has rather strangely chosen to model his latest look on Danko himself! Scantily-clad young girls love small, bald, middle-aged men, it seems. A few action chases were appreciated in this storyline, and having Sylar fake his own death (by killing the shifter, stealing his power without slicing his head open, and letting Mr. Bennet discover the copycat corpse) was a good ending. I'll even let it slide that the shape-shifter should have reverted to his normal state after death, as that's been the case for numerous others when they perish. And no, I can't explain how Sylar can suddenly steal powers without lacerating his victim's foreheads, either.
Overall, this was solid stuff from writer Joe Pokaski, again focusing on character more than usual. With so few episodes left this season, it's difficult to see how Heroes could mess things up so close to the finish line (until I'm reminded of season 1's finale), so hopefully Volume IV will conclude the season on a decent high. Who knows, word might spread over the summer that Heroes is back to some kind of form and consistency, and season 4 might see a renaissance in ratings. Stranger things have happened...
30 March 2009
NBC, 9/8c
Writer: Joe Pokaski
Director: Jim Chory
Cast: Adrian Pasdar (Nathan), Hayden Panettiere (Claire), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Zeljko Ivanek (Danko), Cristine Rose (Angela), Milo Ventimiglia (Peter), Jack Coleman (Mr. Bennet), Garrett Stommen (Bernie), Frank Pacheco (Hess), Jake McLaughlin (Sligo), Zack Lively (Rahul), Kevin Alejandro (Sgt. Jenkins), Ramona DuBarry (Tech), Bonnie Burroughs (Female Coroner), Manuel Urrego (Janitor), Dan Desmond (Father Vance) & Rolando Molina (Motel Clerk)
