My weekly vidcap'd recap'd coverage of HEROES REBORN continues with episode 6, "Game Over"...
I you're a fan of 'weird stuff up people's noses', this was the episode for you! First there was Carlos's (Ryan Guzman) prisoner, Captain Dearing (Dylan Bruce), being held in his
... and then there was Harris Prime (Cle Bennett) having a high-tech nose-ring attached that inhibits his power, which is a pretty cool addition to the show's mythology. Although I have to wonder why those nose-rings aren't commonly used around the world, so registered EVOs can be granted access to areas where they're a concern. Like the Eiffel Tower, as we'll see later.
Given the "Game Over" title, it was clear this hour would involve more from Miko (Kiki Suzekane) and her ability to leap into the EverNow video game. Although the rules appear to be very malleable, because in the premiere EverNow was just a fantasy-flavoured version of real-life, whereas now Miko is encountering people and buildings that often don't have a real-world analog. Hey-ho. We also learned that Renautas created EverNow (more on that later...), so have the power to make life difficult for Miko—by camouflaging the Fortress her father's being kept in, for instance.
I'm all for in-jokes, but this one made me groan because it was so blatant. Mind you, it was well-timed for the 30th anniversary week of Back to the Future, intentionally or not.
This being the last half of the Reborn miniseries, it's only right that some of the many characters start coming together. Luke (Zachary Levi) bumped into Malina (Danika Yarosh) and helped her steal something from a vending machine.
The story with Carlos got slightly more interesting this week, as Dearing agreed to show Carlos the location of a place where EVOs are being kept—but where you can only get access if you're an EVO.
Tommy (Robbie A. Kay) and Emily (Gatlin Green) teleported to Paris, which gave the show a rare chance to actually film in a foreign location instead of use extensive greenscreen and pray audiences don't notice. And they made full use of this Euro trip, with lots of shots around the Eiffel Tower.
A bit of elevator chemistry with Noah (Jack Coleman) and Quentin (Henry Zebrowski) before they storm Renautas' StarGate-style lab. "Don't call me buddy", bristles HRG to his geeky partner. Those guys do have chemistry, right?
See, I told you the characters were starting to bump into each other. Noah and Quentin met Miko, and allied themselves in their side-quest of freeing the Master of Time & Space from Renautas. No prizes for guessing who that is...
Heroes has always been a fairly optimistic and vibrant show, but you can now rely on Luke to bring it down. Here, he committed suicide by filling a rucksack with bricks and jumping off a boat into a lake. I don't think anyone's committed suicide like that since the '30s.
But look! Luke was rescued by Malina, who saw her vending machine saviour leap into the water and wanted to repay the favour for Luke's kindness. Oh, and because she's a nice human being who doesn't turn a blind eye when men try and kill themselves.
Noah, Quentin and Miko come under attack from Renautas goons and Harris Clones, joined by Quentin's power-dampening sister Phoebe (Aislinn Paul)—who, truth by told, I didn't realise was that same woman from last week with those black tendrils of smoke spiralling out of her palms. There was also some weirdness about Miko not actually being the Miko, but rather a copy her father created? Hopefully we'll understand the in's and out's of that soon.
During their melee around the lab, THIS happens. I must always draw attention to whenever someone gets bisected by a sword, head to crotch.
Oh no. The writers have finally had enough trying to make Noah and Quentin into an amusing double-act, so Quentin's killed by his own sister. To be honest, the show needed a major character to die right about now, and I wouldn't have put money on Phoebe being the one to murder her own brother. It seems she's really committed to the Renautas cause.
I liked the idea that EverNow was created to contain Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), because the digital realm doesn't have physical space and time doesn't really exist. The computer game was just an elaborate prison for arguably the most powerful EVO, allowing Renautas to utilise Hiro's ability and transport items to 'the future' (presumably a post-apocalypse era, where they're rebuilding the human race).
Taylor (Eve Harlow) is so mad at her mother Erica (Rya Kihlstedt) that she posts a video online revealing the truth about what Renautas are doing. It gets more hits than the Force Awakens trailer, probably.
Oops! Carlos fell for the old 'here, drink this vial of strange liquid' trick from Dearing, which was supposed to disguise his non-EVO status, but instead has poisoned him.
Luke and Malina get closer after Luke's brush with death, and hopefully this means Levi can now play a more upbeat character for the remainder of the season.
Now that Hiro is free—and boy, Masi Oka really is the Master of Time, because he hasn't aged in 5 years—Noah asks him to send them back to the site of the Odessa explosion a year ago. Can the past be changed? Will Hayden Panettiere cameo? Find out next week, in a two-part special.
Final Thoughts:
Not all of this week's subplots worked for me (Carlos, Tommy, and Luke's were adjusting for future pay-offs), but this hour made it even clearer what Renautas are up to. They just want to 'Noah's Ark' the human race before the planet's destroyed by a massive solar flare. Fair enough! If it wasn't for the unreasonable treatment of EVOs to achieve their aims, I wouldn't have a problem with their plan, but maybe there's something we're missing that involves the reason Odessa was destroyed a year ago?
It was also a nice treat to see Hiro again, as he's the character and actor you most identify with Heroes--on equal footing with HRG/Jack Coleman. Although it's a shame it's not the ebullient version of Hiro everyone fondly recalls, but a 40-year-old version similar to the soul-patch wearing Future Hiro from the original series.
What did YOU think? I've noticed a lack of comments pertaining to this series, so are any of you even watching it?
