The Racialicious Roundtable for Heroes 4.1
Hosted by Arturo R. Garcia
Apologies to all our readers for the late start; the recap of Monday’s episode should be up on the site soon. Meanwhile, let’s welcome back our fearless band of critics and kick off another round of critiques!
Mohinder just seemed to dismiss his last encounter with Peter quickly, didn’t he? But I do wonder what he’ll do now that he’s been captured by the very program he expressed support for. Also, touching on a comment from Madame Z. in last week’s recap thread: your thoughts on his working as a cab driver again, as opposed to being … well, a DOCTOR?
Erica: Mohinder probably isn’t really qualified to be a practicing medical doctor; few geneticists and biochemists are. Even in India, he was a professor. While he knows his way around a lab (and doubtless could find his way around the human body if necessary), I would be shocked to see him in a hospital setting. That being said, though, there are a LOT of job options between M.D. and cabbie… oh, wait, unless you’re Indian in New York City, HAHAHA. *sigh*
Mahsino: A part of me wants to be mad that Mohinder is a cab driver again, but the part of me that asked for more logic to be applied to the show is in agreement with his present state of employment. Let’s face it, Mohinder isn’t the sharpest crayon in the box, and in this economy, I’m guessing he was taking what he could get. Besides, it’s not like he has a history of long-term employment anyway. I mean, look at his resume: professor, cab driver, top secret work for top secret company, touting his dad’s crazy ideas, top secret work for top secret government project- I personally wouldn’t be impressed. He did get over his beef with Peter a little too quickly. I mean, the dude left you in a vat o’ chemicals, you could at least give him the ol’ shifty eye.
Hexy: Working as a cab driver both works and doesn’t work. If his aim is to not draw new attention to himself, avoiding applying for science-type jobs is a good idea. Of course, if his aim is to not draw attention to himself from the existing networks of evil that know everything about him including his past as a New York cabbie… well, then he’s an idiot. Dear gorgeous, stupid Mohinder. Never change.
As for the bit where he’s been captured by the same program he expressed support for, it’s all very typical Mohinder, isn’t it?
Speaking of Peter, that exchange between himself and the EMT of Iranian descent just sounded *so* awkward — but how do you feel about the show acknowledging (or exploiting) the Gitmo parallels in “Fugitives”?
Mahsino: Unnecessary. That’s all I could think when I was watching that. It seemed like a remnant from the Law and Order cutting floor. It was so forced. Maybe if they had a history of acknowledging current events I might have been okay with it, but this seemed so wrong.
Hexy: It was so, so forced. I hope it was a one-off line.
Erica: Peter is supposed to be the empathetic, caring Hero who helps people feel good; he fell down on the job. Compare the “uh-huh, whatever, gotta go” response he gave there, to the compassion he showed to Simone as her father died, for example. He’s gone from Nice Guy Who Wants To Help to Dreamy, Ineffectual, Confused Wannabe — not an improvement.
Let’s talk about Hiro and Ando: As a comics fan, I thought Hiro’s acquiring all the gear and setting up the Hirocave made sense from the wish-fulfillment standpoint. Do you feel that this development further infantilizes him? And how swank did Ando look with the bike?
Hexy: I don’t think it infantilises him, I think it makes PERFECT sense for the uber nerd who has enormous financial clout due to owning a multinational corporation. In fact, I can very easily picture the scene in which Hiro was glumly musing on his new lack of the powers he’d always wanted, then suddenly lights up as he realises he can now be the Batman…. or at least Alfred.
Erica: High-tech crime fighting gear is a reasonable step; however, all the equipment is set up without giving thought to how this crime fighting might actually work. As Ando sensibly pointed out, a solo “super charger” is next to useless. The impulsive move by Hiro is fairly middle-ground immaturity for him (he’s been smarter, but he’s also been stupider).
Mahsino: I wouldn’t say that this whole twist infantalizes him, it made sense that a rich comic book fan would get a lair. I’m just surprised it took this long. The spandex exchange was awesome. The only thing that confused me at the beginning was the fact that I forgot Hiro didn’t have his powers anymore, I mean really, they could have made it so that once Arthur died, everyone got their powers back. Also, Ando was kind of an ungrateful bitch at the beginning of the episode. Dude, you just got an Ando-cycle and the first thing you do is go to a strip club!? Classy. Did you learn nothing from your 1st season adventures with Nikki?
Usutu. Um, what do we say at this point?
Erica: *sigh* I will give them a tiny minor fraction of credit for keeping a POC character on the show. However, that is overwhelmed by TEH STUPID.
Mahsino: Okay, the whole prophet thing makes no sense. I can’t even muster the energy to rally about him any further. They know they’re wrong, no need for me to belabor the point this week.
Hexy: I presume you mean apart from “please stop”? I hope we find out that part of Usutu’s power was the giving of visions, and that he had the capacity to imprint himself on an appropriate mind. THAT would make more sense than “African ee-sock sticks around after death, unlike regular ee-sock, for no adequately explainable reason.”
Open mic!
Mahsino: I’m pleasantly surprised they just let the plot play out instead of having Peter time travel to an apocalyptic future. Although this was one of the best episodes in a long time, I had a few
issues (in order of appearance).
1. Claire’s cheap makeup, she looked like she stepped straight out of a 1996 Seventeen Magazine photo shoot.
2. Was that Rufio from hook on the 1st NBC/TurboTax commercial?
3. Either Claire is the worst eavesdropper ever or Angela is the worst secret keeper ever – ever hear of another phone line, fuck even a cell phone would work.
4. Am I seriously supposed to believe Claire sneaked past trained guards, bsh plz
Hexy: I think we’ve been shown that Peter’s powers have actually changed. He now needs skin contact to take a power, for one thing, and i get the impression he can’t “stack” them like he used to be able to. If this is the case, I’m pleased. Most of my reasons for wanting Peter gone related to him being WAAY too powerful. I think they can potentially do some awesome with a storyline about him adjusting to being a “regular” hero, rather than the slightly dim god of heroes.
Erica: I doubt I was alone in yelling at Claire to taze her father when she discovered him in the cockpit. Seriously, you find him kidnapping “special people”, you’re already annoyed at him for many other things, AND YOU DON’T PUNCH HIM? (I’m just tired of the Benetrelli relationship angst baloney.)
I am annoyed by the premise that this special project of Nathan’s was deemed so serious that the USA violated numerous laws to kidnap Hiro from Japan. It’s such a stupid way of bringing him into the plot — couldn’t they have grabbed him while he was visiting New York on a business trip or something? They conveniently put EVERY SINGLE OTHER HERO in the city for ease of kidnapping. Anyone can be a hero… as long as they live in NYC.
I laughed at the idea of Claire getting her GRE and applying to Dartmouth, Princeton, etc. Privileged much, Angela? And it was framed as, “college is the thing you do at this age,” not, “college will teach you useful life lessons while you learn how to make money” — again, some glaring privilege. If that’s the best motivation put forward, I fully support Claire’s lack of academic aspirations. (Being a grad student makes me overly sensitive to undergrads who whine about how hard school is and how it interrupts their drinking and their parents won’t buy them a new car every semester … boo-freakin’-hoo!)
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Character Bios courtesy of HeroesWiki
Images courtesy of Comic Book Resources
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Jamma Mamma wrote:
RUFIO!!! Yessssss. I spent the last week trying to figure out why I knew him and why it seemed like a downgrade. . . .
LOL @ mahsino and ’shifty eye’ comment
I agree though. . . the whole Gitmo thing is useless and slightly off-putting
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 12:41 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
second on the Rufio! He should freakin’ be ON the show.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 1:12 pm ¶
Nu wrote:
It seems to me like the writers just don’t bother with Mohinder anymore. He is no longer in contact with Matt, but Matt is still living at Mohinder’s apartment? Where is Mohinder living? Do the writers just hope that we don’t remember they lived together or that this was once Mohinder’s apartment and all his possessions are still in it?
What about Molly, his daughter by adoption?
Mohinder did not go back at all to his normal life… he adopted a completely different, superficial existence as a cab driver, and all the things he’s worked for and achieved throughout the first two seasons have been stripped from him without even an explanation. His job, his goals, his apartment, his friend, his girlfriend, his daughter. His history with Sylar, which made for some of the greatest scenes in the first two seasons, seems to have disappeared in favour of a Claire/Sylar connection that just… fails to be convincing.
It’s like the writers are deliberately trying to push him into the background.
He’s just a token minority now. One of the remaining three (six series regulars of colour have been killed off or written off so far, as opposed to zero white regulars, unless you count Niki). He’s been reduced to “Indian taxi driver”, no story or goal of his own.
Maybe that means his situation has slightly improved over last volume’s trainwreck storyline they gave him, but it doesn’t exactly fill me with joy and enthusiasm, or hope for the character’s future.
At least it looks like Sendhil got himself a movie deal.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 1:26 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Nu,
To answer your question re: Molly, I read last week a statement by two of the writers that, unseen by us, last year, Arthur located her and stole her power. This, they said, is the reason Arthur was able to locate and assault Hiro and Usutu. So, Molly is presumably off the board for the bigger story.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 2:03 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
And how swank did Ando look with the bike?
Swankier would have been Ando *shirtless* and with the bike. ::blush::
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 2:12 pm ¶
Jus Plain Ol' Me wrote:
Regarding “I laughed at the idea of Claire getting her GRE and applying to Dartmouth, Princeton, etc. ”
Did anyone catch the credits at the end of the show. I believe they said that the universities mentioned (which included Georgetown, I think) paid “promotional consideration.”
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 3:37 pm ¶
JC wrote:
I think I’m going to drop this show soon. The POC characters are being gradually reduced to token roles while the white cast members are still the main story line. If they kill off either Ando or Hiro then I’m definitely going to stop following this show.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 3:41 pm ¶
Kay wrote:
“…in favour of a Claire/Sylar connection that just… fails to be convincing.”
Agreed. But really ANY connection that Claire supposedly has with… hell, anyone in the cast, fails to be convincing.
WHY WHY WHY do they persist in keeping the Benetrellis in the foreground?! None of their relationships are either healthy or convincing enough for me to care about.
And although I’m glad they’ve kept some POCs, I’m sad that they’re exclusively Asian! (sry- I don’t count the one dead black guy who shows up in that white guy’s hallucinations as having an actual part)
Its as though they’re trying (and failing) at diversity… now that I think about it, it kinda reminds me of the UC system. All they need now is for Usutu to be holding a basketball or football (oh yea, I went there heh)
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 4:51 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
And although I’m glad they’ve kept some POCs, I’m sad that they’re exclusively Asian!
Ummm…explain this one because I’m confused as to why it’s “sad” that the PoCs “Heroes” is keeping are “exclusively Asian”….
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 5:47 pm ¶
Kay wrote:
I’d just like to see a little bit more diversity is all.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 5:53 pm ¶
Kay wrote:
…actually I’d REALLY like more gender diversity. As much as I adore Hiro and sexy sexy Mo’ and Ando, what of the women?
and for the record, I’d express the same kind of “sadness” (read: disappointment) if they had killed off or dismissed all the Asian actors, along with the token Latinos, and left only 3 Black dudes in the periphery…
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 6:02 pm ¶
Barbara wrote:
not for nothing, but I believe Claire got her GED. GRE is a whole different kettle of fish.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 6:56 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
Hmm, good point, all the minorities are non-Americans at the moment — even the dead guy.
The only major female characters at the moment are Tracy, Claire, and Angela (and I guess Mrs. Bennet if you stretch “major”), now that Daphne’s dead. And they fit into some very neat boxes — the hot blonde being tortured, the rebellious teenager sassing her father, and the manipulative matriarch. I don’t know, are we supposed to applaud the writers for attending Stereotypes 101?
I believe they said that the universities mentioned (which included Georgetown, I think) paid “promotional consideration.”
That’s just ridiculous. And you KNOW that Heroes approached the schools to ask for a “consideration” to be included in that list… sad!
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 7:46 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@Kay–thanks for the clarification.
@Barbara–yeah, I heard GED, too. (And saw the I mean, there are plot holes and logic leaps, and then there are plot and logic vacuums. Admittedly, Heroes has many, many of the former, but Claire going for the GRE would definitely fall into the latter. I just wish her hideous wig would get sucked into a vacuum….:p
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 7:50 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@Barbara–this:
(And saw the I mean, there are plot holes and logic leaps, and then there are plot and logic vacuums.
should read
I mean, there are plot holes and logic leaps, and then there are plot and logic vacuums.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 7:52 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
@Barbara — OOPS. You’re completely right. I just took the GRE a few months ago and it’s obviously still on my mind
Thanks for the correction, it’s a big difference…
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 7:52 pm ¶
Trey wrote:
They really need to flesh out these characters. I still have no idea how they could make the idea of having superpowers boring. Can we get Joss Whedon or those BSG folks to come in and give the writers pointers?
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 8:13 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Trey,
Actually, this week’s episode, “Truth and Blood,” was written by Galactica vet Mark Verheiden.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 9:22 pm ¶
JC wrote:
@Erica
At least they’re letting Ando speaking in an accent that’s closer to native speaker. Even though Masi Oka has zero accent, he still have to say his lines in the best Engrish he can muster. Sad. I would love to see more minority women in LOST, as long as they’re not being used in the “White Guy’s Sex Interest” kind of roles. I’m already pissed at that Japanese Princess being used in that role for last season’s utterly ridiculous White Samurai plot line. Gosh I’m still kinda fumed about that.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 10:13 pm ¶
Joseph wrote:
Ya know, I was going to comment on last week’s episode and then the week got away from me but: I still can’t decide if Mohinder driving cab is a witty comment on race/ethnicity or a sad stereotype. At first it raised my hackles but then I thought again…The theme of this arc directly references Guantanamo and the policies that enable it to exist and maybe this is not a bad thing? I loved the little moment with the Iranian EMT saying “I know what this is all about” re: Nathan (funny since Adrian Pasdar is Iranian) and then the orange jumpsuits…Could this be the first deconstruction of the fucked-upedness of the Bush years? Kind of an anti-24? Am I just so starved for the MSM to openly acknowledge the horrors of Gitmo that I am celebrating something that might be exploitative?
I dunno. One of the things about the unevenness of the writing is that it makes it very hard to suss out the race/politics stuff. I really appreciate these wrap-ups for that reason.
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 11:02 pm ¶
Mike R. wrote:
I’m new to this blog and unfortunately don’t have much in the way of intelligent and/or constructive contributions…however, I will say that I live in Japan and my biggest frustration with ‘Heroes’ is that my cable provider repeatedly shows season one over and over and over and when Hiro speaks Japanese, they don’t translate it into English!!! (lol)
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 11:10 pm ¶
Madame Z wrote:
I still think Mohinder could be doing something ‘else’ rather than reverting back to Season 1 in almost every aspect of his character save for his “Sylar killed my father” mode. However, I do like what Mahsino posits, so I’ll leave Mo’ and his employment alone.
I have to wonder and I suppose ask everyone, is seeing the future? (basically Isaac’s power) a natural progression for someone who can ‘hear thoughts’? Or is there something special about Matt…maybe he’s a bit of an empath, like Peter and his latent absorbtion-power is just now kicking in. Have I missed something? Did they explain this at some point? Or is it all a ploy to keep his character in rotation because perhaps he’s a fan-favorite? or…
Erica: Peter is supposed to be the empathetic, caring Hero who helps people feel good; he fell down on the job. Compare the “uh-huh, whatever, gotta go” response he gave there, to the compassion he showed to Simone as her father died, for example. He’s gone from Nice Guy Who Wants To Help to Dreamy, Ineffectual, Confused Wannabe — not an improvement.
I totally agree and it’s saddening really. Takes away from the ‘magic’ of the character as evidenced in Season 1. Peter was perhaps ‘the’ character I fell in love with as far as ‘the magic’ goes. He was the one I wanted; he was the one I had to have!
But now? I can take or leave him 
Great review all. Can’t wait for the latest episode’s recap.
Posted 12 Feb 2009 at 12:00 am ¶
Leila wrote:
I should not even be commenting, as I stopped paying attention to Heroes when it started to turn into yet another “pretty white people ruminate on the profoundness of their problems — while being pretty and white” shows, and can’t provide much in the way of informed commentary.
But the part about Claire’s going to college – and ivy league no less! – floored me. I would say that verisimilitude flew spectacularly out the window long ago when it comes to Heroes, but by now everyone should know that the only college students who should have outside responsibilities like financially supporting themselves, raising children, and/or saving the world, are minorities and the working-class.
Yet I hope with utmost sincerity that Claire’s seeming necessity in all circumstances relevant to the preservation of humanity does not preclude the show from featuring several long, drawn out scenes depicting the many lascivious amusements which are so integral to television and film producers’ understand of college life.
–end of self-indulgent sarcasm–
@ Erica: Many congratulations and best of luck in applying to graduate school!
Posted 12 Feb 2009 at 2:13 am ¶
jasmine wrote:
i never comment on blogs anymore but i think it should be noted that many cab drivers have a wide range of experience often times that’s outside of driving cabs – especially immigrants. if you talk to many cab drivers, especially men of south asian/middle eastern descent, you’ll find they used to be teachers/doctors/etc. before coming to the states. when they do come to the u.s. in hopes of a “better life,” they often times find that the u.s. won’t accept their certification. i don’t know if the writers thought this deep into it, but i can definitely see how mohinder is driving cabs as a way to earn income to stay in the states since he probably can’t become a professor right away.
Posted 12 Feb 2009 at 3:07 am ¶
Erica wrote:
Am I just so starved for the MSM to openly acknowledge the horrors of Gitmo that I am celebrating something that might be exploitative?
I want that too! What I’m afraid of is that, while it may look like they’re acknowledging the reality that has happened recently and saying it’s bad — it may just be an excuse to sexily torture Ali Larter. And that’s really not the right message.
Plus the dialogue so far just feels so second-rate and kludgy, it’s hard to see it as a resounding statement against torture and extraordinary rendition, rather than “we’re saying this because we have to”. Waiting to see what the next few weeks hold will be interesting.
Posted 12 Feb 2009 at 9:56 am ¶
Lisa J wrote:
@Jasmine, you took the words out of my mouth. I’ve taken lots of cab rides and used to have a job that required me to take 3 or 4 cab rides a week and often I chat with them and I’ve talked to countless cabbies who are immigrants who have PhDs, MDs, law degrees etc who are unable to use those credentials here without even morew study or exams. I think being a cabbie especially in some cities, is somewhat easy to get into and even though the cab driving test (learning all of the streets,etc) is hard, for the well educated it isn’t too difficult, so even though it sucks to see a brilliant scientist like M in that situation it is realistic. I think unless you are brought over by a unoversity or company it is hard to break in. Sad, and it is probably easier for say Western Europeans with similar backgrounds to regain a footing on par with what they had in their homeland. Perhaps for Easten Europeans too but I’ve found many of them with advanced degrees in similar situations to people of color from abroad
Posted 14 Feb 2009 at 8:51 pm ¶