Everybody, Back In Place!: The Racialicious Review of Heroes 3.11

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted at The Instant Callback

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

So at the end of the night: Gabriel is evil; Claire and her father have issues; Hiro is slowly coming around; and the Petrelli boys are at odds. Turns out “The Eclipse” was a big RESET button.

Teases, turns and bloodletting marked the conclusion to the season’s first two-part episode, culminating in the apparent cancellation of Electronica Mars at the hands of the ever-gullible Sylar. What set him off this time was either much-needed truth-telling or skillful manipulations by Noah, who told him what seemingly everybody who’s been watching this show has asked at some point: Dude, you thought you were a Petrelli just because they said you were?

The Bennets took up most of the sun-uh, spotlight this episode, as Noah and Sylar’s vendetta hit especially close to home. Sylar’s attempt to save a wounded Elle from HRG’s wrath got him his throat slit. When Sy’s and Elle’s powers rebooted, only timely interference by Hiro prevented the then-happy couple from kidnapping “catalyst” Claire and getting revenge.

Hiro’s heroics were buoyed not just by Ando, but by special guest-geeks Seth Green & Breckin Meyer, who gave our favorite time-traveler both a boost in confidence and a clue: somewhere, there’s a missing 9th Wonders story holding the final clues to the latest crisis. And hopefully, the missing pieces of Hiro’s psyche.

Somewhere in (presumably) Haiti, two sets of brothers reached turning points. With help from Peter and Nathan, The Haitian decisively subdued his would-be dictator brother Baron Samedi, a fight that convinces Nathan to ditch his brother and join their father at Primatech. Really? You couldn’t have given the poor schmuck a lift back to New York first, Nate?

Overall, not an egregiously bad conclusion, just more of a place-holder than anything else. Claire and Hiro end the episode reliving a moment from Season One, but it’s way past time for this show to stop looking to its’ past and start moving forward. Crazy as it sounds, let’s hope the end of the volume means a serious housecleaning.

The Racialicious Scorecard:
Mohinder: Don’t expect a happy reunion between Mo and his old pal Nathan on Team Pinehearst. And to add to Suresh’s bad news, the fading of the eclipse put him back on the road to arachnid status – and prevented him from seeking out old flame Maya. Will we ever find out what prompted her to move to New Jersey?

Hiro & Ando: Hiro had his best outing in a few weeks here, actually taking some action for himself. Granted, he needed a pep talk from Scott Freakin’ Evil, but the sequence where he saved Claire harkened back to the whimsy of old Hiro. Will Sy tell Hiro said rescue only led Elle to her death?

The Haitian & Baron Samedi: Give the writers perverse credit for attempting to hand-wave their way past not revealing either of their names with the Baron’s “names give you power” bit. But ultimately, it’ll be sad if this is the last we see of him. Let’s just hope this is the last time we have to see Peter’s Jack Bauer impersonation. Now, what could be next for The Haitian? And when did Nathan learn French?

MIA: Usutu; Knox.

Next Week: Petrellis, Petrellis, super-soldiers and more Petrellis!

Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive

Haitian image courtesy of Comic Book Resources
All other images and character bios courtesy of HeroesWiki