Divide And Prosper!: The Racialicious Review of Heroes 3.10
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted at The Instant Callback
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
Can you feel it now that spring has come
And its time to live in the scattered sun
Waiting for the sun
– The Doors
“Everything’s going to change today.”
– Arthur Petrelli
Hey, that didn’t suck!
In Part 1 of “The Eclipse,” Heroes finally trades in most of its catharsis for conflict, letting loose Teams Primatech and Pinehearst against each other, and themselves, as the darkening of the sun upends everybody’s expectations.
Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s the people without powers who adjust the best, especially Noah Bennet, who delivers incredibly satisfying pwnings, as the kidz say, to both Sylar and Elle. But the ass-kicking comes at a cost: as foreseen by Mr. Petrelli via Isaac’s old powers, Claire, the newly-annointed Catalyst, is shot and wounded, and hospital-bound going into next week’s conclusion.
On the other end of the Benetrelli tree, Nathan and Peter are dispatched to find The Haitian and bring him back from Singala his war-torn homeland — and blunder into some character development! Turns out the human power defuser’s brother is one Baron Samedi, local warlord, Level 5 escapee, ally of Arthur and all-around no-goodnik. We learn from the Haitian that Samedi’s power is impenetrable skin, which the locals of course assume makes him a god. What we don’t learn is where and how the hell Peter learned enough to school Nate on the subject of voodoo. Seeing as how Nathan got himself captured by the Baron, maybe he’ll get a more in-depth tutorial before the inevitable rescue attempt.
In the midst of another type of shrubbery, namely the cornfields of “Lawrence, Kansas” (I’ve been to Lawrence. It’s a college town. With paved roads.)Hiro and Ando help Matt (Park)man up to win the heart, however illogical the reasons, of his pre-destined love Daphne. As speedy as Daph usually is, this subplots nearly grinds the episode to a halt, even after we discover what she was afraid to return to: walking on crutches.
Matt & Daphne aren’t the only lovers having a hard time. As the episode draws to a close, Noah draws a bead on the literally crazy-in-love Sylar and Elle. As Gabriel tries to learn his way back around responsibility, Elle keeps trying to tempt him back toward the Loony Side, going so far as to fake a kidnapping attempt to egg him on. Either way, their romantic comedy from hell may end quickly if Mr. Bennet gets his shot off before the stars re-align …
The Racialicious Scorecard:
Hiro & Ando: Ok, so they’re following 9th Wonders all the way to Matt’s apartment at the exact moment Parkman and Daphne were going to go look for them, even though, we still don’t know who’s writing the comic and guiding them along. And seeing them run into their very own fanboys (Seth Green + Breckin Meyer? Good times!) could lead to some laughs. But Ando’s increasingly deferential behavior toward a guy who thinks he’s 10 years old was disturbing to watch.
Mohinder: It’s back to Good News, Bad News for Dr. Suresh. The good news: the eclipse (which seemed to last longer than any in recorded history) cured him of his increasingly dominant mutation. The bad news: now powerless once again, he’s commanded by Arthur P. to find a way to restore his team’s powers. No wonder Yahoo Entertainment says the poor sod should just be killed off, already.
The Haitian: Anybody else surprised that he and Peter seemed to get each other? In trying to get Nathan to help him, Pete at least acknowledged the Haitian’s past service to his family. Hopefully the showdown between the good brother and Baron Samedi (pictured at right) will flesh out both characters – and reveal the Haitian’s damn name already.
Next Week: Claire goes to the hospital; is she covered under Noah’s health plan?
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Title & Baron Samedi images courtesy of HeroesWiki.
Other images courtesy of Comic Book Resources
Character Bios courtesy of HeroesWiki
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
noah wrote:
Since Issac is dead, who is writing and painting the “9th Wonder” comic? Did Issac write/paint several months or years of material?
Also, where is Parkman’s foster daughter? Mohinder and Parkman seemed to share custody of Molly but now she’s disappeared.
One of the things I liked about the first season of “Heroes” was the diversity of the cast. Now the diversity seems diminished with the IQ of the show.
What happened to Noah Gray-Cabey’s Micah? Micah’s cousin? MIA
BTW,
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 11:31 am ¶
Ike wrote:
It was a total waste of an episode IMO. It didn’t cover anything that the previews didn’t (might as well just watch the preview and skip the episode). I’m hoping that the next episode will be better.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 11:42 am ¶
jen* wrote:
I thought it might’ve been possible that Usutu had carried on the comic. Perhaps the seer thing is kinda like the slayer thing – if one gets killed, another one pops up.
You know what I want to see next week? I want to see either Peter or Nathan walk up to somebody random in Haiti and ask – “Do you know where I can find the Haitian?”
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 11:55 am ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
Next Week: Claire goes to the hospital; is she covered under Noah’s health plan?
Yeah. That’s about all I got out of the preview too. Again, I have no expectations.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 12:05 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
LOL @ jen
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 12:05 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@jen–
You know what I want to see next week? I want to see either Peter or Nathan walk up to somebody random in Haiti and ask – “Do you know where I can find the Haitian?”
Oh see, you owe me a new computer monitor!:-D
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 2:18 pm ¶
al wrote:
i think mrs. petrelli is writing the comic. she can dream the future, right? and since everyone draws the same way in Heroes, she can pull it off.
i don’t understand though, if mrs. p’s power is dreaming the future (which i have to say was a really frustratingly unpowerful power for her to have after the first season’s not revealing it) what power did mr. devreaux have?
what i don’t understand is that the eclipse in season one -didn’t- give people powers. for the most part, all of the characters had their powers by then. some characters only discovered them later, but the level 5 folks already had theirs, right?
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 2:29 pm ¶
SpicyCarrot wrote:
I’m interested to see how Heroes handles the issue of Daphne’s disability. I’m confused, though – the graphic novel now up on NBC’s Heroes site shows that Daphne gained her powers during the last eclipse and that’s when she stopped needing her crutches. But based on prior dialogue, I thought Arthur took her out of whatever horrible thing she was in. Does this mean something else horrible happened to her that Arthur saved her from or is he referring to his ability to take away her powers?
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 2:57 pm ¶
Tablesaw wrote:
I’m surprised you didn’t mention how dark the episode was.
By which I mean, I couldn’t see a damn thing that was happening on the screen. No eclipse stays that dark for that long.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 3:22 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Tablesaw: I did allude to it in discussing Mohinder’s role in the episode, and you’re right — this eclipse was illogically long in its’ duration. But when has logic been a priority in this show?
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 4:04 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Spicy: What I think the threat is, since Arthur can “wipe away” powers, he could threaten Daphne with taking away her ability to walk/run in order to keep her in line.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 4:05 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
Re: Arthur/Daphne – previous to this episode, it seemed like he had been instrumental in her getting powers. Losing continuity and logic in this series is really starting to boggle my mind.
And then I watched Fringe last night, and just kept yelling at that woman – “Stupid! Stupid Idiot!” What is up with my shows?
It’s like the writer’s strike turned everybody bonkers. And nobody stays dead anymore.
Nobody but DL.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 5:17 pm ¶
Peter Pixie wrote:
I was just thinking….
There’s a Light, in the Darkness, In everybody’s life…
and the Eclipse is shadowing everybody’s light.
I stand by the fact that should they make any of the drek they’ve put out there this week work we might even think it was an accident.
One thing about this show bothers me over all:
NO. RESOLUTION. EVER.
maybe they will slow down, retire some characters or at least got every other week in visiting them so we’re not trying to keep up with 10 different plotlines at the same time.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 6:30 pm ¶
SpicyCarrot wrote:
Arturo: Yeah, I agree that’s probably what’s going on. I just think it’s weird the way Arthur was saying it. I could have swore he said something like “or I’ll put you right back where I found you.” But he didn’t *find* her when she had a disability…
Maybe next week episode or graphic novel will clear it up. Or it’ll just be another thing that doesn’t make sense.
Posted 26 Nov 2008 at 8:03 pm ¶
Marge Twain wrote:
I used to look forward to Heroes every week, but not anymore. I still watch this show when I’ve run out of other shows on the DVR. Prison Break comes on at the same time as Heroes and it’s a really compelling, exciting story. I encourage you all to check it out.
Posted 27 Nov 2008 at 3:06 am ¶
Ike wrote:
I’m confused. Didn’t Daphne have medals from her high school days for track? And didn’t Arthur and a lot of others have their powers b4 the first eclipse? Didn’t the company exist b4 the elcipse? I’m confused.
Posted 27 Nov 2008 at 12:00 pm ¶
Tina Brown wrote:
@Ike
Yeah, in the episode where Ando and Hiro go into Daphne’s apartment, they find her medal from her high school track days. This disability is another dead end, that was, in true “Heroes” fashion, anticlimactic.
Also, is anybody noticing that Ando is starting to speak English with more of an American accent?
Posted 27 Nov 2008 at 7:02 pm ¶
Sarah wrote:
It’s not really an eclipse. All of the plot holes in the series have merged together to form one giant black hole that is eating the sun.
At least for once we have a family member added to a family that is not the Petrelli or Bennet clan! I’m interested to see where this plot with the Baron goes. I’m equally annoyed that he got a right away. Maybe Haitian is a cute nickname he gave his kid brother? I’m sure we’ll have some ridiculous flashback to explain the whole thing.
I really want Nathan to put Elle and Sylar out of my misery. I can’t handle any more of their “I’m good!” “I’m bad!” “I’m good but I can be bad if I want to!” b/s. Please Nathan shoot them. Or at least shoot Sylar’s eyebrows off.
From the drawings I thought Claire’s arm was ripped off. I was really disappointed it was just a bullet wound. It would be so much more interesting if she was a one armed girl who can heal.
Posted 27 Nov 2008 at 8:37 pm ¶
Ishtar wrote:
Matt was a detective – when last did he show up for work? No one at Hiro’s company even calls or emails him? And what does Ando do for money?
I’m worried about Molly too – where the hell is she? Someone should inform Social Services and while they’re at it they should also check out where Lyle Bennett disappears to for long periods of time.
I loved season 1 for its diversity and for showing ordinary people struggling with extraordinary abilities. I wish they could recapture that magic.
Posted 28 Nov 2008 at 2:45 am ¶
Ike wrote:
@ Tina Brown:
Lol… I noticed Ando’s American accent as well. I guess he’s a quick learner
Posted 28 Nov 2008 at 4:28 am ¶
Noobhose wrote:
Anyone remember Future Peter Petrelli with that scar across his face? I’ve always wondered how he got that scar on his face after he absorbed Claire’s healing abilities. Now we know, because of Arthur Petrelli and the eclipse, someone is going to carve Peter Petrelli’s face with a weapon of some sort. Come to think of it, maybe some one might use some sort of voodoo powers to scar Peter. BTW, what is up with all the blondes on the show and where is Hiro’s sister, and that Monica-girl with the muscle mimicry powers?
P.S. Has anyone caught the new video game Mirror’s Edge? It has an asian woman as the game’s protaganist and I thought it would be worth mentioning.
Posted 28 Nov 2008 at 2:00 pm ¶
MsFeasance wrote:
I think Arthur’s basic threat was, “Do what I say or I’ll put you right back on those crutches, Blondie.” (Which, damn, Heroes. What are we up to, four Caucasian blonde women? )
As someone with a disability, at first I was somewhat pissed at the show, that being disabled was shown as ZOMG the worst thing evar and Daphne would kill to avoid it. Then I read the comic, which I usually skip unless the synopsis on Heroes Wiki shows that it deals with a character I find worth bothering with, and I really identified with the way she felt, given what her mother put her through about it. To her credit, Brea Grant did an excellent job conveying all the psychological conditioning that people with disabilities frequently encounter in their lives [it'saproblemhideitifyoucandon'trequestaccommodationlestyoubeaninconveniencetonormalpeople] with that one line reading.
My hope, however, is that the show’s writers remember Matt Parkman’s Amazing Disappearing Dyslexia ™, and Matt’s response somehow involves his learning disability.
Posted 28 Nov 2008 at 3:46 pm ¶
Alta wrote:
In the first episode of the season, Mohinder told Maya that he sent Molly away. He put her on a flight to…somewhere.
It was so cool to hear creole being spoken on this show. Even if it was only one word. (I’m Haitian).
When are they gonna introduce another black girl?
I too want HRG to kill Sylar and Elle. It’s not like we’d be out of bad guys. I’m not feeling Sylar’s redemption arc at all. Just kill him!!
Posted 29 Nov 2008 at 10:32 pm ¶