Band On The Run: The Racialicious Review of Heroes 4.1
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
Also Posted at The Instant Callback
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
No worldwide publicity tours. No hour-long infomercials. Heroes is now just another sci-fi show. And for this episode, at least, it was a decent one.
As it kicks off the critical “Fugitives” arc, not only did the creative team finally get the ball rolling on the various doomsday scenarios it had alluded to throughout the series, but it also skipped to a plot point that used to take at least 10 episodes – Superhero Team-Up Time!
Building on the fall finale, “A Clear And Present Danger” saw Nathan Petrelli, now the freshly-minted Homeland Security chief, begin to round up the other Heroes, with the help of Mr. Bennet and a new character, Danko (Zeljko Ivanek), aka “The Hunter.” In short order, Tracy, Mohinder, Hiro, and Parkman are picked up for shipment to … well, we never get to find out, thanks to the increasingly pugnacious Claire.
Previously spared by biological daddy Nathan, Claire stows aboard and initiates a jailbreak that goes wrong when Peter, after mistakenly making contact with Tracy (he thought she was Niki) ruptures the hull, which will apparently crash the plane — but not before ejecting one unknown hooded figure. Judging from next week’s previews, most of the core group will at least have survived the crash, and we can bet that the Mystery Masked Metahuman will make his or her presence felt later in the series.
Meanwhile, as predicted by our Roundtable in December, Sylar apparently fell through a plot hole and landed in Baltimore, eyebrows in mid-season form (and actually looking plural!), in the midst of his search for his own biological father, in between bouts of fending off government agents. The attack sequence on Sylar was actually a welcome touch of continuity and common sense, and it actually made one hopeful to find out how Sy survived the destruction of Primatech headquarters.
In fact, the episode was marked by a mostly logical progression of the primary storyline, believable interaction between most of the characters – alas, Greg Grunberg and Brea Grant just don’t seem to connect as an on-screen couple — and piqued enough interest in the other plotlines (Sylar’s search, the remaining Heroes “in play,” the unknown detainee) to already put this episode ahead of most of the previous volume.
Next Week: Would it jinx things to wish for a second straight good episode?
The Racialicious Scorecard:
Usutu: The Roundtable’s favorite character returns! Usutu is apparently still playing Obi-Wan to the newly precognitive Parkman’s Luke from beyond the grave. This time, Usutu’s spiel involves Matt becoming a “prophet” after inheriting his powers. Anybody else hear Unchained Melody playing whenever the two are on screen together?
Mohinder: Careful what you wish for, doc. After expressing support for Nathan’s ideas, Suresh is himself among the first to be tagged and bagged, and not even his super-strength (a remnant from his Spider-Mo days?) can save him from being betrayed by Noah. Mo did, however, share a nice moment with Peter before being captured. My only complaint was that he seemed to forget the whole “leave me face-down in viscous liquid in a burning building” thing a little too quickly. We’ll see how this plays out.
Hiro & Ando: When we rejoin Tokyo’s finest, Hiro’s mission is to help his buddy become a full-on superhero, complete with spandex, Ando-cycle, and fortress of geekitude. Fortunately for Ando, he’s aware his “super-charger” power is limited – and that women dig his groovy bike. Unfortunately for both of them, Hiro’s rounded up by Nathan’s Stormtroopers. (Another welcome bit of logic: Nate had no way of knowing Hiro was de-powered, or that Ando had powers now.) Hopefully this leads to an Ando/Daphne reunion, as Grant and James Kyson Lee actually did show chemistry during their scenes together last year.
Stay tuned later in the week for the return of the Racialicious Roundtable!
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Character Bios courtesy of HeroesWiki
Images courtesy of Comic Book Resources
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Niki wrote:
Is it too much to hope for that things may be *gasp* back on track for this show? I really enjoyed Monday’s premiere. I take it as a good sign that we don’t have to wait until the season’s almost over for the show not to suck.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 10:54 am ¶
Amused0472 wrote:
I’m hoping that Ando will have a strong plot line to help save the others. On another tip, did anyone think it was odd that Peter was an EMT in the episode. I guess being a nurse, with a degree and skills, just wasn’t macho enough anymore.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 10:59 am ¶
Jamma Mamma wrote:
I enjoyed it very much until the Gitmo-esque orange and the set up for a Lost rip-off….. other than that it was a good start…. now let’s see where they go wrong lol
was I the only one who had empty hopes of seeing Monica? and wanting to slap Claire if she whined about Sylar one….more…..time….??
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 12:01 pm ¶
Phil wrote:
Have to admit, I enjoyed the episode. Sylar’s segments were great and have opened up an even bigger storyline for him. I thought the Usutu/Parkman thread a tad much with the “passing on” of a power…although that does hint at another storyline, too, lol. The capture and plane crash were fantastic, too.
BUT, Peter’s dialogue with this brother was really cutting it close to the corny…
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 12:33 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
Of ALL parts, I enjoyed Sylar’s segments the most. Zachary Quinto and his awesome eyebrows can do no wrong for me.
Claire was the usual nuisance; but this time instead of her wig with glue-line showing distracting me, it was the god-awful pageant queen makeup, would-be Uncle Sylar’s eyebrows and Angela Petrelli 50’s lipstick-coated mouth that made me have to…look AWAY.
Peter and Mo’ I liked….HOWEVER, it bears mentioning. Can Mohinder do something OTHER than drive a f**king cab? He’s gone from being a professor at a school, to branching out with non-profit work of his own, to working for the Company, to working for Pinehearst, to pulling his own Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde experiments…but now? Now’s he’s reduced once again to driving an ‘effin’ cab? Hmmm…
Daphne and Matt and the Magical Negro Obi wan all put me to sleep. Envisioning Matt as a pre-cog, a spiritual leader in his own right, a mystic persona is just all kinds of wrong considering those ‘looks’ he gives…the blankness of his face and the ability of his voice to sound whiny while convincing… But perhaps I protest too much. And obviously didn’t sleep too hard if I cared to notice this change in his character’s storyline. LOL.
Nathan. Almighty Overlord, Dr. Moreau, Big Brother All-Migh-TEE. Dear Lord. Must we go through with the island? I thought it was a metaphor for things when he mentioned it to Simone in Season 1. After seeing previews for next week, I couldn’t help but think “Lost” and “Jurassic Park” and “Island of Dr. Moreau”, etc. Hell, even “Lord of the Flies” …. I just wonder who’s gonna get chased, beat-down and roasted? But then again, the preview showed “Tracy” baking in an oven……..or something.
Overall, I enjoyed it. Whatever. Mainly invested now in Sylar. Nathan’s play here is interesting. *flashes of Jim Profit* Mwhahahahahahahaha
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 12:49 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
I though Peter knew Tracy was Tracy. Didn’t he see her with Nathan last fall?
What I don’t understand is why he was holding on so hard. He can fly. He could’ve just followed them, or flown back in, or rescued whoever fell out…
Claire is on my last nerve, and her wig looks really bad. And why is she so slow? There was enough she heard on the phone to know that Nathan and his mom were talking about getting Peter too, but she didn’t tell him that.
I loved this epi, and hope it starts a trend. Although when Usutu showed up, I was like – are you effing kidding me? The board on his mugshot would just read: Magical Negro. [They only said his name once!]
I thought Micah was gonna be on the plane though. I thought I’d seen a commercial that hinted at that. Maybe not.
But how are they gonna survive a crash?
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 1:16 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
oh – and I heart Sylar.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 1:16 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
@ Amused0472,
My best friend’s an R.N. currently working trauma. She wants to be a flight nurse…which could be likened somewhat to what EMT’s do…
My point? I think it’s a bit of a natural progression….Peter worked with the elderly before; hospice rather, folks on the verge of death. He’s sort of doing the same here.
But it’s all MOOT as he is now living a ‘Survivor’-style fantasy on the island. It begs to question, why even bring it up? Why even have Claire “whining” about college if she’s going to be pulling an Indiana Jones in the jungle? *sighs*
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 1:40 pm ¶
Spicy_Carrot wrote:
It’s gotten to the point that whenever I hear the word “Heroes” I automatically think “Plot Holes.”
I couldn’t buy the so-called drama of Peter about to fall out of the plane because he can FLY (something that was even verified earlier in the episode).
How did Sylar survive Primatech unscathed? (And PLEASE make Claire STFU about Sylar).
Why didn’t Claire warn Peter that people were coming after him as well as Parkman? She had to have heard both names on the phone since they were said in the same breath.
Another complaint: GET RID OF CLAIRE. Her acting skills seem to be slipping further away with each episode. She’s whiny, annoying, and makes everything about her – Claire and her drama has dragged the show down for too long. Plus her wigs are horribly obvious and must go.
One final rant: I thought the writers would have learned that people don’t like the offensive Magical Negro cliche. Guess not. I groaned when Usutu came back. Why can’t they reverse his death (everyone else seems to have faked their death at at least one point) and he can get a meaningful storyline of his own.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 1:45 pm ¶
Mary wrote:
Mohinder should be angrier at Peter, but I can’t blame everybody involved for wanting to forget last season ever happened.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 1:45 pm ¶
Renee wrote:
I was a little disappointed to see that they still refuse to move Hiro out of his wonder boy like personality. One would believe that with the loss of his powers that he would have matured somewhat. Hiro and Ando continue to be my favorite characters.
I will say that I am increasingly annoyed with the tough guy image that they try to give Peter. The whole Keeanu Reeves a la Matrix thing is so unbelievable. He just cannot pull it off and I find myself wishing for a commercial break.
That said, this was the best episode that they have aired in some time and I hope that they are able to keep it up. Heroes has so much potential, if they could only stop relying on ridiculous plot twists and infantalizing their characters of color.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 1:51 pm ¶
StayingStrong wrote:
I may be incorrect, but from what I saw Peter can now only use one power at a time. Notice that after he touched Mohinder’s hand, he had super strength, but after he touched Tracy he could no longer fight the same way, but froze the plane instead. In short, I don’t thnk he could fly at the end.
Methinks this may be because he injected the synthetic serum so his power-gathering abilities don’t work the same way anymore.
I could be wrong, though.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 2:16 pm ¶
Jamma Mamma wrote:
I thought the idea that Peter flew was just a tongue in cheek reference to the fact that Nathan flys and Peter and do whatever the person he last touched can do. . . . if he still retained all those powers (like before) he wouldnt have needed to touch everyone on the plane to get their powers. . . .
Nathan answering with “you flew” was just a highlight of the fact that Nathan is capturing people just like him. . . .
No?
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 2:18 pm ¶
Jamma Mamma wrote:
Peter **can do
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 2:20 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
If Peter’s not retaining the powers he absorbs, sux to be him. I guess the shots are gonna change things. I’m still wondering about Mo’s residual powers and how all that works.
Nathan’s jump from trying to give everyone powers to putting all ’special’ people in internment camps is still kinda weird to me.
And did they land on an island? I thought they were flying over land and just crashed.
Who but Claire will be able to survive all that fire? [It'd be cool if her wig burnt up, tho]
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 2:33 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
I couldn’t buy the so-called drama of Peter about to fall out of the plane because he can FLY (something that was even verified earlier in the episode).
But hey, apparently they’ve totally retconned his ability (that touching business? bah!) so who knows.
I KNOW!!! I was yelling through the whole scene, “let go you moron, you’ll be fine, oh yeah that’s brilliant drag Suresh out with you IDIOT!”
I’m also infuriated at the concept that Nathan decided he needed to (very illegally) kidnap a foreign national in a foreign country. I’m a fangirl of Hiro, but not to the point where something so implausible is used to caused his presence.
I am continuing to give the show a chance, but I was more baffled by this season premiere than I have been in previous years. It felt far better than all the Volume 3 idiocy, but it didn’t do quite enough to make up for making us live through that.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 7:53 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Ok, I’m gonna jump in on the Peter thing with a theory: Perhaps, because of the syrum injection, he can only absorb one power at a time now — that being the power of the person he touched last. Since the hull ruptured after he made contact with Tracy, my guess is that he *wasn’t* able to fly at that moment.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 8:34 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
The one thing have learned from Heroes so far: don’t try to come up with logical theories. It never turns out to apply to how the plot goes.
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 8:45 pm ¶
Lisa J wrote:
You guys are funny. I never even noticed the Claire wig thing until people started mentioning it here awhile ago. Now everytime I see her I just stare at that horrible hairline. Why can’t she just die her hair? Sheesh. And has anyone else ever thought that Tracey/Nikki has the tightest 2 front big ass teeth in the world? Bad caps? Weird genetics? They just don’t look right to me.
, this was a pretty decent episode and the scenes with everyone in the orange suits and chains stirred up so many issues and seemed so Guantanomo like and even in touches reminded me of the capture of slaves for some reason. See if they’d had Nathan do all this in season one or two before all of that vacillation and seeming semi-nice/changed it would have been better. They made him almost likeable after originally making him seem like the villanous (sp) pol. Man he is such a hypocrite. I hope they decide to clap him in chains. This episode so unpleasantly reminded me of all of the horrible things our country does in the name of our “security” So wrong.
Ok, away from my catty superficialness
Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:19 am ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
Oh wait….stuff actually happened on the show? I missed it, between James Kyson Lee working his Akira-level hotness and Sendhil Ramamurthy just talking (hotness unto itself, IMHO).
@Madame Zenobia–lol @ “Profit.”
Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:16 pm ¶
Mahsino wrote:
@Madame Zenobia so glad i wasn’t the only one distracted by Claire’s Joan Crawford brows and cheap makeup, i’m sure even beauty pageant participants were disgusted by her hot pink lipstick
Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 3:47 pm ¶
Jeremy Pierce wrote:
Mohinder’s power isn’t a remnant of his Spider-Mo days. It’s what the power would have been if he’d used the correct formula to begin with. When he was exposed to the correct formula, it seems to have improved his situation. My understanding is that the writers still have some sort of struggle in mind for him related to the original defective formula, though.
I’m guessing they’ll do their usual flashback episode several episodes in, which will show how Sylar got out.
Mohinder probably realizes Peter’s main concern was with his brother, and he was probably grateful to have been exposed to the real formula. But it didn’t occur to me that there might be some resentment there for being left behind. Presumably there was some interaction shortly afterward before the few months of none, and maybe we’ll see that in the flashback episode.
Ando probably will find Daphne, or maybe she’ll find him. I’m sure she was the one who was ejected, because I’ve heard rumors that she’s going to be thought dead for a few episodes before resurfacing. If so, then she’s on the outside and will be able to work with Ando to try to find the others, who they presumably will think are still captured, but Ando will at least be able to find where Hiro is.
I heard Monica is returning, but it might not be immediate.
I thought the cab-driving was a reference to the difficulty many people have in finding good jobs when coming to the U.S., even if they have advanced degrees.
Where is this Lost and island stuff coming from? My understanding is that the plane crashes in California. Hardly Lost or island-like.
15: Nathan didn’t want to give everyone powers. He wanted a super-team run by the military to keep powered people in check (the way Primatech has always done so, I should note, but I understand why he wouldn’t trust them). Without that possibility, he’s trying to keep them in check by locking them all up, presumably somewhere not on an island that his brother could easily fly them off of or that Hiro (as far as he knows) could teleport them off of.
Peter may have had to touch people because he’s still weak from the drugs they had him on.
Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:57 pm ¶
Lisa J wrote:
Oh, and as for Mohinder driving a cab again, I’ve chatted with many a cab driver over the years and you’d be surprised at how many of them who are from foreign countries have PhD’s but have a hard time getting positions in keeping with their academic achievements. So, since he didn’t come to the US with a job already in his field, it isn’t too much of a stretch that he would be driving a cab again, especially since his only other jobs in the US have been for hush-hush secret private organizations that he can’t really put on the old resume.
Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 8:27 pm ¶
Kenny Darter wrote:
Has there ever been a show that squandered so much potential?
Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 12:16 pm ¶
Tracey wrote:
@ Renee: “I was a little disappointed to see that they still refuse to move Hiro out of his wonder boy like personality. One would believe that with the loss of his powers that he would have matured somewhat.”
I know!!!! However, I do think he’s matured, especially after realizing the effects messing with th past can have and after his father set him straight about his plan to prevent his death.
Also, I like his personality somewhat now especially in contrast to the other characters. But I must admit I know I am not the only one who would like to see hin morph into the badass type they hinted he would become in the future (season 1 where he uttered the line “Save the cheerleader save the world” to Peter). Or maybe that’s changed b/c the futre changed.
Also, I absolutely love Suresh but feel his character has been making so many bad decisions in the last two seasons, I hope that changes. I also think the cab driving might be a reference to the first season when he was driving because he couldn’t get a job and was following his father’s footsteps. I must admit when I saw that first season episode, I was kinda like “seriously? a cab driver”, but the someone explained the context to me.
And what happened to Micah’s mimic cousin? And that little girl who can find people’s location?
Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 4:59 pm ¶
Lola wrote:
I’m only watching for Ando and Sylar. And to stare at Mohinder’s hotness. I used to love Hiro but he has been completely emasculated.
Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 5:09 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Lisa & Tracey: I get your points in the sense of the bigger picture, but in the context of this group of characters, I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed that Suresh was placed back where he started. Hopefully we’ll get more of an explanation as to how he ended up there — after all, during the fall finale, he was last seen leaving Pinehearst with Tracy.
Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 10:46 pm ¶
Hibbs4Prez wrote:
Like “Lost” this show decided its black characters weren’t worth developing or keeping around. And its in stark contrast, for both shows, with their greater appreciation for Asian characters/Asian actors. Maybe that’s proof enough that white people tend to live, work and hang out more with Asian Americans than with African Americans. Anyway I got tired of being insulted and ignored so I left. It also didn’t help that the show’s writing took a nosedive.
Posted 08 Feb 2009 at 5:07 am ¶
Spicy_Carrot wrote:
@Arturo: One of the graphic novels on NBC’s site shows what happened after Tracy picked up Mohinder in the car. Basically, she wanted him to work on the formula again (ENOUGH WITH THE FREAKING FORMULA!!!) and he opted to jump out of the car instead. Not much explanation between that point and now, though.
Posted 09 Feb 2009 at 3:09 am ¶
Kendra wrote:
Referencing this week’s episode: sausage party!
Posted 10 Feb 2009 at 4:51 pm ¶
Jeremy Pierce wrote:
According to two of the writers, Molly no longer has her ability. Arthur Petrelli stole it. That’s how he’d been finding people so easily. They had to cut that scene for some reason. Of course, it doesn’t answer what happened to Molly unless he also killed her, which I don’t think the writers said he did when they reported why she doesn’t have her power anymore.
Posted 13 Feb 2009 at 7:09 am ¶