In The Round: A Very Special Racialicious Roundtable For Heroes
Hosted by Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
We’re all about shaking things up here at The R, so last week your Friendly Neighbo(u)rhood Roundtable got together to chat about not only the recently-concluded two-parter, “The Eclipse,” but other issues surrounding the show, including:
• Our old pal Mohinder, who was a hot topic in last week’s recap thread.
• The Petrellis’ vacation in Haiti, and the faceoff between The Haitian & Baron Samedi
• Hiro’s regression, literal and figurative
• The series’ increasing, and unsettling, penchant for scenes that ring of implied sexual assault.
Here are some highlights from the discussion – the original transcript was 19 pages from just an hour-plus of conversation — for your reading pleasure …
So, Mohinder: Tragic figure or brainy schmuck?
Erica: I have a lot of fondness for Mohinder, but I think that he’s been written rather poorly this season. Turned into a schmuck instead of just being gullible.
Mahsino: I file him into minor annoyance. I can’t bring myself to care about him either way.
Hexy: I’ve always liked Mo, criminally levels of gullibility aside, and I don’t seem to hate his current storyline as much as most.
Robin: Power-hungry or irresponsible. I think they’ve consistently portrayed him as looking for answers, to finish his father’s work. But I think Mohinder needs a little WWMDD – What Would My Dad Do? — before he makes any more hasty decisions.
Erica: I was confused by Arthur’s statement that Mohinder needs to deal with his monsters. He had beaten up Flint because they were holding him against his will, not for fun or anything.
Hexy: I agree with that! I’m not sure if the intention was to highlight Papa Petrelli’s manipulation, or if they’re trying to go down some weird path of suggesting Mo has a deep dark evil side.
Arturo: I think [the creative team is] taking pains to show practically everybody’s dark or light side this year. They basically made Mo out to be power-hungry, what with injecting the serum right out of the blue. and the thing with Maya just kinda came out of nowhere.
Erica: They’re definitely taking pains — and making it painful for us all.
Robin: I’m surprised Mohinder hasn’t melted into a giant puddle of puss yet. Like that guy in the hospital bed. Who was that?
Clara: I feel like they put in the Mohinder/Maya relationship to boost Mo’s masculinity or something. Like, right after he injected himself, Mo’s chest was a lot more visible, and they complemented this by giving him a lover.
Erica: I think that Mohinder and Maya could have been an interesting couple, but their plotline was just so clumsily put together.
Clara: Yeah, Mohinder’s ambitions definitely slid from “must continue my father’s legacy” to “I want to be just like the cool kids …”
Hexy: And then to “it’s all about Maya!”
Robin: Remember the plot line with his younger sister? The Shanti virus? What happened to that plot?!?!
Mahsino: You’re supposed to forget all about that.
Erica: Stephen Canfield sucked it into a vortex.
Arturo: Back to Maya for a second. NEW JERSEY?!
Hexy: Yeah, wtf?
Erica: She can go anywhere and she hangs out in Jersey?
Arturo: Well, I’ve long thought people need to apologize for New Jersey.
Clara: Are all y’all from NYC? Haha. Maybe one of the writers is from Jersey and wanted to make a shout-out.
Mahsino: But Jersey? I understand the low cost of living, but come on now.
Robin: But she’s a wanted woman in Guatemala?
Hexy: Yeah, I can’t imagine she’d want to go home, what with the pile of corpses and people hunting her for murder.
Erica: Except it makes sense because she’s just a plot device for Mohinder and therefore she must be conveniently at hand whenever he requires. (gag)
Clara: The bit at the end when Sylar’s slicing Elle’s head had strands of rape in it. Like I know they were just kissing, but he had her pinned down with his body when he started.
Erica: I am unsure why Sylar needed to check out Elle’s brain, since he’d already empathically gained her power. But maybe he was seeing if she knew who his parents were.
Hexy: It was a bit too rape-referencing for me to be comfy with
Robin: I agree about the rape bit. It was disturbing.
Erica: There’s lots of pseudo-rape going on this season, and I’m not pleased with it.
Arturo: Maybe it was the Sylar aspect of his personality “reclaiming his territory.”
Mahsino: They love themselves some rape or rape-like situations on Heroes.
Hexy: It’s disgusting. They can’t show any scene in which a woman is engaged in a conflict in a non winning role without sexualising the hell out of it.
Robin: I have to say that sexualizing violence against women is a problem in a lot of media. Heroes is guilty of it, but it happens a lot.
Hexy: Oh, absolutely. But I don’t think that means we should give it a free pass when it shows up in our favourite shows.
Robin: Yeah, like those girls in Haiti?!
Arturo: Robin, truth be told, I thought Nathan was about to hit on the older sister.
Mahsino: Me too.
Clara: Me three.
Erica: OH — the girls in Haiti. Anybody else go “ARGH” when the white man pointed out to the black woman that “Someone like me should be protecting you”?
Robin: I thought the Haiti stuff was unfortunate. Plot line centered on a guerrilla dictator character in a third-world country? Check.
Robin: Non-white characters used as foils for the white characters? Check.
Mahsino: The over-sexed, aggressive, black male? Check.
Andrea: “We’ve defeated Baron Samedi, Haiti is safe!” Ugh.
Arturo: It wasn’t even Haiti, though. It was, like, one town.
Erica: No, no. Haiti is safe. Nathan saved Haiti. No problems there anymore.
Robin: Has Nathan ever spent a single day in the Senate?
Mahsino: Probably not.
Erica: Jeez, Baron Samedi didn’t even get a real name. I guarantee that’s not what his parents called him, but The Haitian calls him Samedi to his face.
Robin: Did they ever name The Haitian?
Mahsino: No.
Hexy: Nope. They threw in some waffle about Names Being Powerful to cover their asses, but the two brothers never named each other.
Robin: It would have been beautifully intimate if they actually used a fraternal relationship between those characters to draw out “The Haitian” and flesh him out more.
Mahsino: I like how they called The Haitian “The Haitian” to his face.
Arturo: Not even a “Hey man, I never got your name.”
Erica: Yeah, I was wondering if they were sort of thinking, “Damn, this is awkward. What do I call him? I only heard him called The Haitian. Is that his name?”
Robin: You know, the writers could never get away with that if he weren’t a foreigner. Can you imagine them referring to a character as “That black guy”?
Mahsino: You’d get it confused with Knox.
Arturo: Ok, creepier relationship: Claire and Peter or Claire and Noah?
Mahsino: Claire and Noah
Robin: They’re both pretty bad.
Hexy: I love how Sylar will just believe people telling him he’s a Petrelli … and then immediately believe anyone who tells him he’s NOT a Petrelli.
Arturo: I actually liked Noah calling him out on that.
Robin: Paging paternity test.
Hexy: Oh, absolutely, but come on. Did he chop open Mo’s head and steal the gullibility? I wouldn’t be able to resist constantly telling him sh-t that wasn’t true. “Oh, hey Gabriel … Say, did I ever mention that you’re heir to the throne of a small pacific island nation?”
Mahsino: Give Claire/Peter some time, they’ll work out the kinks. I think Peter’s adopted anyway.
Erica: I’d say Claire & Noah is creepier, just because Noah is such a total jackass.
Robin: You know, I have to say that I kind of love Claire’s mom. Although she puts up with too much BS from her hubby.
Arturo: Not to mention the occasional mind-wipe.
Robin: Ha, oh yeah, that too.
Mahsino: Seriously — How have they not gotten a divorce?
Arturo: That had to have been a great honeymoon: “No, really hon, we went to Disney World. It was awesome!”
Hexy: She certainly forgave that near-fatal level of mind-wiping thing pretty quickly.
Robin: She takes everything in stride, once she learns the truth.
Clara: I wonder if Noah would even allow Sandra to divorce him if she really wanted to. I think Noah would say “You know too much. If you leave me, I’ll have to kill you because it’s too risky.”
Robin: So much for protecting his family.
Hexy: How romantic :/
Mahsino: There you go with that memory and logic …
Hexy: Sorry, sorry.
Robin: I think that the writers made a big mistake with Hiro this whole season, taking him out of play and turning him into a 10-year-old. It’s been boring as hell.
Hexy: I agree with that … Hiro was on his way to awesome.
Clara: Especially the line in Monday’s episode: “I don’t want to grow up!”
Arturo: The 10-year-old [mentality], the writers say, was a mistake by Arthur. He was supposedly going to totally erase Hiro’s mind, but was distracted by Usutu’s painting of the eclipse.
Erica: No, it was a mistake by the writers.
Clara: Granted, it was right after he saw the Charlie storyline in the comic book. I can imagine he wouldn’t want to experience that again.
Hexy: But he WON’T experience it again. It’s already happened.
Arturo: Maybe Ando should’ve told him he totally saw her boobies.
Hexy: Hee!
And that’s it for this week. Join us after this week’s episode for more snark-tastic goodness!
Images & Character Bios courtesy of HeroesWiki
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Mary wrote:
OMG, you guys. This is the point where I had to step away from the computer because I was laughing so hard.
Can you start recording Mystery Science Theater 3000-style commentary tracks to go along with these episodes? That’s the only thing that would make this show bearable anymore.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 11:31 am ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
I’m cracking up here at your chat.
I agree about Nate and the two girls, I thought the same, too. And then I thought, geez, YT coming through to save poor Black women folk.
*rolls eyes* Then Nate taking claim to saving Haiti. *eye gouge*
Noah and Claire, about as weird as Noah and Peter in scenes together; but it’s worse because like one of you mentioned, Noah’s supposed to be this ridiculous badass… Just weirdness all around.
More later.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 11:42 am ¶
jen* wrote:
I think I’ll continue watching, just cuz I want to get to the second half of the season and see if there are any redemptive qualities there. The writers have completely let me down, to the point where I only like 2 or 3 characters – out of the 15 or 20 still possibly alive.
The rape overtones have especially been present in a lot of Sylar’s attacks, IMO. And he remains my fave villain anyway. The only other story I care about is Hiro and Ando.
Otherwise, I’m moving on to TNT’s ‘Leverage’.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 1:15 pm ¶
Radfem wrote:
I find the show too difficult to watch now, especially the infantizing of Hiro. At first I was a slight bit troubled at the vision of Ando zapping Hiro with super powers but now I hope it’s one precognitive vision that actually comes true.
That was Haiti? I went to the frig to get some snacks and came back with Peter, Nathan and the Haitian guy running around with some women. I guess I missed something.
Syler killing Elle. Totally for shock value as it made little sense whatsoever but then this latest chapter in Heroes made no sense at all. Season 2 made no sense.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 1:40 pm ¶
Jaya wrote:
I stopped watching about 4 episodes ago. I tried to give it a chance after that awful 2nd season, but this season is so much worse.
I officially do not care if it gets canceled or not.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 2:04 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
There was one — count ‘em, one! — moment that I really liked in this episode: when Noah gets home, and Claire mentions that she died. The little light clicks on, he screams, “WAIT, YOU DIED?”, realizing that Sylar’s death during the eclipse will now be reversed… priceless.
Other than that, I’ve realized I’m really watching the show only because I really enjoyed Season 1 and parts of Season 2. Aside from the characters, Heroes doesn’t resemble itself anymore, and so my viewing is based entirely on zombie loyalty to a brand.
(Well, to be fair, it’s also based on being able to make snarky commentary about the rampant goofiness on display every week. That chat was fun!)
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 2:49 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Hope everybody’s enjoying the piece so far, but I must confess to two egregious errors, and apologize. First, I did not include our panelists’ respective links, so let’s do that here:
* Clara!
* Erica!
* Hexy!
* Mahsino!
* Robin!
Also, there is no “Andrea.” Somehow I got that name mixed up with Erica, who should get credit for the awesome “No, no, Haiti is safe” line, among others, in the discussion. Shoddy editing on my part, everybody, and for that I am sorry.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 2:51 pm ¶
Mahsino wrote:
@Erica
“my viewing is based entirely on zombie loyalty to a brand.”
Thank you. I’ve been trying to formulate into words why -except for the roundtable- I watch this.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 2:57 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
BRAAAAAIIINN — I mean, whatever do you mean by ‘zombie’?
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 3:06 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
@Arturo — Andrea must be my super-secret power-endowed twin, er somethin’… You’re forgiven
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 3:06 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Speaking of zombie, we should start a pool: which cultural meme will the show try to play on first: zombie, ninja, pirate or Chuck Norris?
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 3:06 pm ¶
Aliza Hausman wrote:
Am I horrible because I didn’t even think of all the racial undertones of any of this? I’m just so glad that there are any people of color on any of shows that I’m not looking too closely to see whether or not the characters have any depth worth a damn. I’ll be watching with a different eye after this post.
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 3:50 pm ¶
Mahsino wrote:
How about Chuck Norris as a zombie-ninja-pirate/general douche? I wouldn’t put it past them
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 8:59 pm ¶
ConspicuousViewer wrote:
-why is Mohinder’s apartment all light and fluffy while the Bennetts are in it, but it looks like a hovel as Mohinder presently resides?
-why must minorities sacrifice themselves, their ‘gifts’ for YT?
-Peter kill Nathan? Right. What the f*ck ever. Use the Haitian and his brother to set up their sibling-play.
-how in the HELL can Daphne carry both Ando and Matt? GTFOH with that mess!
-why is Tracey pulling an ‘Audrey’ (re: 24) with the whole, “I just got off the phone with the DOD?” is she really that important?
-why is Sylar, so far, about the only character I can tolerate during this episode?
-when Claire mentioned crushing on a boy in fifth grade…what she really meant was crushing on a boy in his last year in high school. *jab at Hayden and Milo*
-people on this show have absolutely no problem with their children showing up from the future.
-the moments with Hiro for the most part were nice. being able to reconnect with his mom was nice I guess.
-how many of the Company members lived in Charles Deveaux’s apartment?
-give Hiro the catalyst!!! and not YT!!! Yay!!! I love it!
-doves…what’s the significance?
-Why does Tom Cruise sound like Tom Cruise and not the German soldier he’s supposed to be portraying?
-Peter, we don’t believe you…you need more people. Not just the Haitian.
-Sylar has regressed……………what’s the point of these few with powers?
-Claire is a very old looking 16-year old
-Claire is so disappointed that she’s not ‘the chosen one’. This makes me giggle.
-Hiro? Gone? No, he’s just hanging tough……….*tells self to suspend disbelief*….shiiiiiiiit.
-I like Ando…more and more.
-Ando, baby, how in the hell can YOU go back in time?
-Tracey is so not relevant to me.
-Claire is no longer relevant and hasn’t been for a minute. She’s been reduced from a cheerleader to a messenger boy.
-Here’s the Haitian (with no name) to save the day! LOL. Dude is sexy. Peter’s faux-badassness is killing me softly.
-shouldn’t Mohinder be giving himself that serum to clear up his acne?
-Sylar? WTF? Oh, now I see why he got the ‘lying’ power…
-goodbye Robert Forster. *sniff sniff*
-Why go after Sylar? Haitian must you take orders from an idiot who has no powers???? (i.e. Peter) Servant boy much? me thinks so.
-soldier boy just reached ’super-power’ climactedness in his pants. Cobra Commander anyone? He’s super strong! LOL
Posted 08 Dec 2008 at 11:03 pm ¶
ieishah wrote:
@radfem
‘that was haiti?’
lol!! i know. i love how ‘haiti’ is all makeshift military compounds and barren land. this was the first free black nation in the americas. show some respect.
now, on claire and the petrellis. yes, claire and nathan are creepy because nathan is a complete tool. how on earth he got from ’saving’ two mixed girls to thinking he could save the world is way beyond comprehension. i see we haven’t moved far from the days when land was ‘virgin’ and mountains were ‘breasts’. unbelievable. yes. fly away, little chiseled face man. fly away.
still, i cannot get the picture of claire rubbing peter down with baby oil or whatever after sylar pitched him out the window, out of my head. nothing’s creepier. nothing. except maybe sylar and elle having sex on the beach. oh . . . that wasn’t sex? my bad . . . i’ll stop here.
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 7:31 am ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@ ConspicuousViewer–
You are waaaaay too much, and I love it!
To some of your questions:
-Why does Tom Cruise sound like Tom Cruise and not the German soldier he’s supposed to be portraying?
Tom Cruise’s power is being Tom Cruise. That power blinds people to the fact that he can’t act except up.
-I like Ando…more and more.
Co-sign! Even though he’s on Hiro patrol, he seems to be the most mature of the characters. Then again, I’m just sorta partial to James Kyson Lee, esp. his arms. I’ll thank Akira’s Hip Hip Shop for that.
-how many of the Company members lived in Charles Deveaux’s apartment? Three words: polysexual swingers’ commune.
-shouldn’t Mohinder be giving himself that serum to clear up his acne?
Oh, see. That’s just so wrong, CV.:D I was hoping that serum would regrow the hair on his chest. That would be the bigger improvement.
@ieishah–fly away, little chiseled face man. fly away. I felt that way about Nathan since Season 1. He ain’t going nowhere. Unfortunately.
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 11:47 am ¶
jen* wrote:
I felt like last night’s epi was the best this season – I finally got to see Hiro take center stage, and I was loving it – until he ended up powerless on a flagpole.
Sylar back to being evil took over as the best part after that. Can’t wait for the commentary!
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 12:51 pm ¶
ConspicuousViewer wrote:
Where IS that re-cap? I’ve got to done my erstwhile disguise as another poster who frequents this site so that I might really let loose with my responses
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 3:23 pm ¶
ConspicuousViewer wrote:
-how many of the Company members lived in Charles Deveaux’s apartment? Three words: polysexual swingers’ commune.
I love it! And probably true! LOL
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 3:31 pm ¶
Jeff wrote:
My favorite part(s): Tracy calling a group of white male Marines “the best people” and using the “All-American” code for “white male”
Lovely.
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 4:02 pm ¶
Radfem wrote:
Oh Jess, absolutely hated that part. But I can’t stand Tracy. I liked Jessica/Nikki much better.
The Haitian’s one of my favorites and why is he allowing Peter to give him orders? And I love Ando. Totally wish they’d give him more to do, because he’s the only character on the show who makes any sense.
Hiro, they’ve kind of ruined him but some parts of the scene with his mom were sweet. The only time I liked Clare is when she hooked up with her adopted mom. I like Sandra when she’s allowed to kick some butt rather than continuously have her memory wiped of everything but yeah, the family vacations.
Syler’s got a body but his killings of these women is really creepy.
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 5:44 pm ¶
Radfem wrote:
Ooops, I mean Jeff.
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 5:45 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
co-sign, Radfem, I hate Tracy. Jessica/Nikki was so way better – more interesting. Maybe that’s cuz she wasn’t a prop for the skeevy senator?
Loved Sylar and Hiro and Ando last night. Everybody else = eh. Just wondering how the 2nd half of the season is gonna go…(what’s the name of the next chapter? Refugees? wev)
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 10:07 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Apologies for the delays, all — WordPress and I do not get along — but the latest review is up!
Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 12:30 am ¶
hexy wrote:
Yay! This was fun and we should do it again. Especially since I got my technical kinks worked out!
I wish I had a chatlog, though… any chance you can post my theory about what the writers intentions were with Hiro’s de-aging, Arturo?
Posted 10 Dec 2008 at 8:44 am ¶