Mother’s Day: The Racialicious Review of Heroes 4.5
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also posted at
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
For the second straight week, a strong character showing from the Bennet clan buoyed the episode. But go fig, it wasn’t Noah.
After spending the whole of the series as little more than a doormat for her husband and her daughter, Mama Sandra stepped out and stepped up in “Exposed,” helping Claire get Aqualad Alex away from the feds (including webisode graduate Rachel Mills). We also got to hear waaay too much about her affinity for Def Leppard, but it was worth it to see Ashley Crow finally get to play a fully-realized character on this show. Hopefully we’ll see more of Sondra’s newfound strength during Claire’s confrontation with Doyle.
Elsewhere, off the beaten path, we got a glimpse of Sylar’s biological mother, as a roadside diner stirs memories of the day young Gabriel’s dad literally took the money and ran. Little Gabe runs after him just in time to see the elder Gray telekinetically slice his mom’s forehead open. In other words, HE LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU!
At this point I’d like to bring in our fearless Racialicious Roundtable. Though we haven’t been able to get the gang together the past couple of weeks — hey, they’ve got lives, too — they did chime in on last week’s lame-ass “reveal” of Matt as the latest Exploding Man. Here’s a bit of what they had to say:
Mahsino: When a show gets to the point where they’re ripping themselves off, they really need to re-evaulate the direction they’re going in.
Hexy: I groaned, audibly. Then thought “Well, at least it’s not Peter being painted destroying shit this season.”
Erica: Maybe for the next big twist they can hijack a plane. (Again.)
Surprisingly, writers Adam Arnus and Kay Foster gave us a good payoff for the vision of Matt as a pipe bomber: he’s actually been set up by the EEEEVIL Danko so as to justify the government’s superhuman roundup, after Parkman and Peter leaked security-cam footage to the media. So The Hunter dropped a doped-up Matt in the nation’s capital, thus “fulfilling” the vision, and sped off as Parkman collapsed, seemingly seconds before his predicted explosion.
We also got a bit of follow-up on last week’s meeting between Noah and Angela, as they seem to be pulling the increasingly wobbly Nate into whatever plan they’re concocting behind Danko’s back. Primatech 2.0, anyone?
Next Week: Sy and his eyebrows are seriously on the hunt now — will his family reunion be One To Grow On?
The Racialicious Scorecard
Okay, while this episode was well-executed, the utter absence of any characters of color (unless we’re counting “TV-US” reporter Andrea Charles) was more glaring, for me, this week than in previous instances. In fact, when Peter negotiated with his brother, he only asked for Matt and Daphne to be returned in exchange for the stolen camera footage. Dude, Mohinder was part of your team! Was he not eligible for the “One life at a time” policy?
Now, it’s reasonable to expect, I suppose, that Hiro and Ando were still in transit back from their Indian adventure; and The Haitian has yet to reappear. But, again, in the wake of Tim Kring’s declaration that this show is all about the Benetrellis, the shuffling off-stage of the few POCs left in the cast makes me leery about their future on this program.
To close out on a positive note, however, here’s a suggestion from Erica on how we might better navigate the weeks ahead:
We need to start a drinking game. If Hiro learns a lesson, take a sip. If Tracy is tortured while wearing a skimpy shirt, take a sip. If Claire rebels against her father then hugs him within five minutes, take two sips. If somebody has a gun to Sylar’s head and says something instead of just pulling the f-cking trigger, drain your glass. If a POC is killed, swig from the bottle while yelling at the television. (Actually, not that last one — we’ll die of alcohol poisoning.)
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Images courtesy of HeroesWiki.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Jus Plain Ol' Me wrote:
No mention of Claire and Alex’s discussion regarding Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Call me a cynic, but I think the reference probably went over most of the audience’s head.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 10:50 am ¶
Lisa J wrote:
Man, I just moved and had set up my DVR to record it, but then it wasn’t working right and I had to unplug it and thought my setting were wiped so I paid 99 cents to on demand to watch it b/c my wireless isn’t up yet and I was too lazy to go to Starbucks or some other “free” wi-fi place. I want at least half my money back.
It was ok, the whole Claire and Aqualad (I like that one Arturo) kissing underwater seemed lame. Like, once it got past him blowing air into her mouth and they were slurpy kissing away, wouldn’t she have gotten water in her moth? I assume Aqua would be fine with that, but what about her? And since she can heal no matter what, wouldn’t just drowning and letting her lungs fill with water not kill her? Not fun, but anywho.
I thought the same thing about Peter’s trade request, I was like WTF, what about Mo? He is the hottest guy on the show (no offense to Ando lovers) so an episode without him kind of sucks. And man, they are making that Danko guy super sick. And what was up with the Matt being oversensitive when turning minds? Did I miss something in the past? I never noticed that before. Boyfriend isn’t to bright, which makes me unhappy b/c when I took the “which Hero are you quiz” last year on Facebook it told me I was Matt. I used to like him but I’m getting sick of his hangdogness.
Jus, I agree on the Harriet Tubman reference and it seemed a little irritating, something about it rubbed me the wrong way, such a seminal character in the slavery struggele being reduced to a pop reference in a shallow unrelated circumstance on a tv just didn’t sit right with me entirely.
Oh and why or why did ya’ll have to point out Claire’s weave/wig/dead furry thing on her head? Now I spend half of every scene she is in staring at it and it driving me nuts. Dye her real hair blonde already or show a scene of her “dying” it to her naturally darker color for the love of GOD it is killing me (
not really but it is getting on my nerves),. I can’t stand trifling hair on tv. As much money as they pay those hair stylists on those shows they should be able to get someone who can do a weave or wig job without it being so obvious. But on the plus side, at least the Claire hair, Paris’ and Britney’s weaves prove that it isn’t just black women who rock the weave and fake hair.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 11:41 am ¶
cocolamala wrote:
@harriet tubman
i know, because, unlike the cheerleader,
Harriet Tubman had a gun.
That fool could have been shot, tryna turn around in her face — balking at the doorway of a secret hideout? please.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 11:56 am ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
..yeah, I heard the Harriet Tubman/Underground Railroad reference and thought, “Though I lurves me some Arturo–and I only watch this ish so I know what he’s talking about in his reviews–this show is dead to me if someone talks about being sent to the back of the bus like Rosa Parks.”
Mo and Ando got my eyeballs for another week….or whenever Kring & Co. decide to get their act together and put their sexy behinds on the screen again. Which needs to be very, very soon.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 12:07 pm ¶
Lola wrote:
Claire’s wig has made a come up. I think they had a few wisps of her real hair in front to had the glue line so it looked much better this episode.
Has it been 2 episodes without Hiro and Ando? Us Ando lovers need our fix.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 12:10 pm ¶
Sadface wrote:
Dude, Mohinder was part of your team! Was he not eligible for the “One life at a time” policy?
Now, it’s reasonable to expect, I suppose, that Hiro and Ando were still in transit back from their Indian adventure; and The Haitian has yet to reappear. But, again, in the wake of Tim Kring’s declaration that this show is all about the Benetrellis, the shuffling off-stage of the few POCs left in the cast makes me leery about their future on this program.
What really bothers me is that in the last few “Behind the Eclipse” Q&A sessions, whenever Mohinder comes up, the writers have said nothing but disdainful things. He’s weak, he’s a coward, etc. Everything is negative, everything he does is wrong, whatever.
This week, Mohinder didn’t show up, the other characters (his supposed “friends”) didn’t spare a thought for him, and then the writers insulted him on top of that.
At least with Hiro and Ando, the writers aren’t actively trying to ruin the characters, like they don’t want the viewers to like them… They just put them in separate, pointless storylines that are just meant to delay and distract and keep them away from the important characters. And no matter what Kring says, his focus does not lie on the Bennets and the Petrellis, but on the white characters. Matt and Sylar have prominent roles, after all, and they are not related to the Petrellis or Bennets (not this week, at least), they are just white Americans.
The Haitian is the lucky one, not being in this volume.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 2:34 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
The pool kissing was a direct ripoff from Waterworld. BOOOO.
Is anybody else noticing that Danko might be evil? I mean, it’s so subtle and artfully done, you might easily miss it. Real depth of character and all. [/sarcasm]
“Andrea Charles” wasn’t the only POC — there was also an Asian guy in Building 26 who said something to Danko. But I had to watch the episode twice to notice that. (The second time through was at high speed [I am so grateful for my DVR], I wasn’t going to sit through all that horrible dialog again.)
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 2:39 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
*bows head*
After my ranting and raving last week, I still ended up watching the show.
*le sigh*
With that said, I actually ‘liked’??? this episode??? Maybe the stars were aligned properly; maybe my ‘chi’ was in place and focused…or maybe I was just that bored.
A few scenes stood out to me, particularly the Nate-swipe of Peter from the clutches of eeevil Danko’s rifle, then the segway into momma and her boys talking it out, then Peter’s slick move with Natey, stealing his power…again, because he’s a little thief (key word on little); then Nate and Angela’s ‘talk’.
Last week, Natey was like, KILL PETER but this week, back to ‘dubiosity’ (not a word I know) and indecision. *le sigh* Still Adrian looked so sexy….mmmm
And where was Mo’ indeed?
Who the freaknik is REBEL? I’m hoping, praying it’s Micah. How awesome would that be? Obvious as hell, given the vehicle for the discourse with the escapees, but still, it’d be pretty cool.
This episode was heavily Benetrelli-infused, I agree; but somehow ‘this’ week didn’t get on my nerves. Surprisingly Claire and her patchwork-lacefront (which had a ’shining’ moment here and there…*check the hairline*) didn’t bother me. ‘This’ Claire reminded me of Claire from Season 1 and to a certain extent Season 2. The commonality? She’s being a typical teen…with powers, but a typical teen nontheless. Not some fake femme-fatale with a botched dye-job and too thick red lipstick, dressed all in black, moving under the cover of night; no, she was just Claire and I liked her. Now if they could just ‘keep’ with this version, I’ll be cool. I’ll even make it a point to look ‘beyond’ searching for the faux-hairline with the wig.
Also, Sandra…yes love her so much; and guess what? It only took four seasons for her to stand up and be counted amongst this cast! Woah! Next time writers…try not to take so long. *eye roll* And Mr. Muggles. The return of the favored pooch. And of course Lyle. Good stuff; good moments with all of them.
Then there’s Sylar. Oh, my, my, my Zachary! The eyebrows have it, I tell you! The eyebrows have it! and have me! He’s like soooo hot. Love this ‘exploratory’ journey he’s taking to find his devil of a father. Loved the flashbacks and the camera-works during.
All in all, loved the eppy; but lucky me, destiny be, next week’s will suck monkey balls.
Let’s hope not, shall we? Especially now that I’ve gone back on my “Never-Again” word. 
*bows head in shame*
My Guestimations:
-Danko is cut from the same cloth as the rest of these ’supers’.
-Danko is a dwarfed version of Sylar’s father…because he ‘is’ Sylar’s father.
-REBEL is Micah and Monica.
-The female agent outside of the Bennetts house is Danko’s girl and is also a ‘carrier of secrets’ (a super).
Questions:
-The folks on Chandra’s list, all present and accounted for at some point in the saga? I’m wondering how ’some’ of these newbies slipped through the cracks. If Molly made the list, being she was as young as she is, how did Aquaboy and Son of Sam slip through the old cracks???
-Project Helix. Yeah, I know it doesn’t belong in ‘this’ saga, but it was present in ‘Alias’. It dealt with physically changing the characteristics of one person to match that of another by tripping with the DNA and whatnot. Cloning, or ‘helixing’….has it occurred with Heroes? I’m waxing nostalgic over Julian Sark/Adam Monroe…and really there’s no point in this question other than to say that yeah, how cool it’d be if they brought David Anders back with no real reason than to appease my visual cravings and—forget it, I’m rambling. One more.
-Nathan’s chirren…how many more are there? supers in Simon and Monty? what would Nate do if his ’sons’ were targeted and he was no longer in the loop of things (as evidenced by Danko trumping his authority in this episode)? Again, just really wanna talk about Nate and his baby-making powers. But curiously wondering about the kids, as well as the MANY OTHERS who have disappeared from sight. Now how fcked would it be if REBEL was Simon and Monty tag-teaming behind daddy’s old laptop back in Chelsea?
(total Madame Z randomness for a Wednesday afternoon)
*carry on*
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 3:36 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
Randomness:
Danko is a derivative of “Daniel” which equates to “God is my judge”. “Daniel” was tried by fiery breath in the lions’ den, suffering at the hands of a flawed political system… Hmmm, coincidence much? Meh.
I’m so bored… 
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 3:47 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
@ #1,
I got the “Tubman” reference; lifted an eyebrow in derision and followed up with a slight eye roll at it all. Maybe Aquaman lurves Black American History.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 3:50 pm ¶
Lisa J wrote:
Madame Z, I got the impression from the very end of the episode that Rebel was creepy puppetmaster guy, who was obsessed with Claire’s bio-Mom, who popped up behind Claire when she was looking in the microwave for the popcorn he purloined.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 4:02 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@Madmae Zenobia–seeing that it’s Women’s History Month now, maybe dropping Harriet Tubman was showing both months some lurve.:P Honestly better lurve would be to…dunno…bring back the characters of color with some decent storylines! (Like the grande dame of sci-fi TV, Nichelle Nichols, and her fictional family back. Resurrect George Takei and Tamlyn Tomita as other characters. Something….)
Oh yeah…and showing Ando and Mohinder shirtless. Often.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 4:07 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
@TCS — Yes! I WANT NICHELLE NICHOLS BACK! Preferably with some rockin’ matriach-of-the-family powers.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 4:24 pm ¶
Fiqah wrote:
Wish I had something to contribute but I could never quite get into this show; the Pomeranian and the sammich intrigued me, though.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 4:25 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
re: Harriet Tubman getting name-dropped — sometimes, for my own sanity, it’s better to let a few things lie. Not knowing the quality of the public education system in the Heroesverse (did Claire even finish HS?), it sounded like the writers reaching for a reference *they* got, which just sounded weird coming out of the Little Merman’s mouth. But, like I said, sanity takes precedent.
re: Rebel. I’m definitely willing to believe Micah is behind the text messages themselves, but I don’t think he’s working alone.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 4:39 pm ¶
Lisa J wrote:
@ Arturo, she got her GED. That is why she was looking at colleges. I think most of the kind of prestigious schools she was supposed to be looking at and that Mama Pettrelli said she could get her into (did they say Princeton) usually look a little askance at GED’s especially for someone who hasn’t say taken the circuitous route (out of school for years, had some triumphal story of overcoming, had stellar grades when in school or otherwise have proved their brilliance). I don’t think they encourage taking the GED to get to college faster and prefer, skipping grades or going somewhere like Simon’s Rock college that lets you finish your last 2 years of HS and your first two years of college all in one. Tres unrealistic.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 5:07 pm ¶
Tracey wrote:
Uhmmm. Wow. I feel like watching Heroes is more obligation now than entertainment.
Mohinder: Wow. His character did so many stupid things last season I almost find it hard to find him attractive, almost. And yeah, given his evolution I do think the producers/writers are trying to make him unlikable, annoying and untrustworthy. At least in seasons 1 &2 when he was practically a double agent it was because he genuinely wanted to do the right thing and his actions were out of confusion not stupidity. Now? Maybe, super hot, hardcore Mohinder will reappear one of these days. What ever happened to the brilliant scientist that pointed a gun at an incapacitated Sylar?
I just let the Underground railroad reference slide to and also ignored the ridiculous analogs to the War on Terror. It’s getting kind of over the top and forced.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 5:30 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
Lisa J,
Oh yeah! Thanks much for the reminder.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 6:09 pm ¶
Sadface wrote:
Tracey,
I’ve given up hope that the real Mohinder from Season 1 and 2 will reappear. That way, I don’t set myself up for disappointment.
Especially since the ratings have been dropping. There’ve been rumours of cancellation (because the series has not been renewed yet), writers have been fired, and Bryan Fuller has stated that there is network pressure to reduce the cast, and that there will be at least one main character death at the end of the season (though they might change their minds).
Heroes is very much under pressure and will probably continue to play it safe by concentrating on the show’s supposed stars, Claire, Peter, Nathan, Sylar, HRG… I don’t see them do something as “risky” as giving a storyline to a character of colour. *gasp*
They obviously reacted to the Season 2 criticism by reducing the number and the importance of characters of colours, and retconning everyone’s backstories, introducing the concept of cockroach mutants, playing Sylar as “cute” because Zachary Quinto is in the media so much because of Star Trek, so he needs a big big role on Heroes… and making other stupid decisions. They just don’t function well under pressure, and the pressure keeps growing.
They were best in Season 1 when they did not try so hard to be edgy and awesome and cool, but let things develop naturally.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 7:43 pm ¶
Eric wrote:
I thought Sylar’s mom was latina. Is that my imagination? Not that she did anything except die, per usual.
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 8:49 pm ¶
Mahsino wrote:
Ok, so I might be the only one who loved the Harriet Tubman reference. This is only because they said it as I was writing “who does she think she is? harriet tubman?” for my round table notes. Like really, what were the odds?
Posted 04 Mar 2009 at 11:19 pm ¶
Robin wrote:
i thought the puppet master guy was dead? i’m confused!
Posted 05 Mar 2009 at 12:15 am ¶
Radfem wrote:
Mohinder got trashed when TPTB were putting on their rendition of The Fly.
I miss Andooooooo!
Posted 05 Mar 2009 at 7:26 pm ¶