Inglorious Bastards: The Racialicious Review of Heroes 4.6
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García, also Posted At The Instant Callback
Writer’s Note: There were moments this week where I considered not submitting this review to the site — not only was this a horrible episode (more on that below), but the white-washing of the series has seemingly gone into overdrive. It’s gotten worse as the series has stumbled along, don’t get me wrong, but there’s just something extra creepy about it this year. It doesn’t help matters that the early rumors about the season finale and next season center on Those Damn Bennetrellis. This sort of willful ignorance is building to another piece later in the year. But, before that, our weekly tradition.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
There was a lot of bad to go around in “Shades of Gray” — too bad only some of it was intentional.
Like a reject from Volume 3, this episode was a mess “anchored” by a bunch of bad personalities. Topping your sh-t parade was the much-ballyhooed reunion between Sylar and his father Samson, finally revealed as being played by Smallville escapee John Glover.
Unlike Lionel Luthor, though, Samson is holed up in a van down by the river in the remains of a trailer, hammering home hunting metaphors when not wheezing his way through cancer (while still smoking, of course, to remind us he is A Very Bad Person). After teasing both a reconciliation and a fight between the two men, in the end Sylar just … uh, walks out. We’re supposed to believe Gabe gleaned some insight from his dad turning on him, but it amounts to, “Well, I’ll just keep on being EEEEVIL.” And I know that letting the sickness take his father slowly was supposed to be ironic or whatnot, but the Sylar we’ve known wouldn’t care about making a statement; he’d just take the righteous kill — and the bunny.
Speaking of righteous kills, both we and the Bennet family thought we’d seen the last of Doyle last year … only he pops up in their kitchen looking for help from Clairiet TubBennet, referred by the mysterious Rebel.
Hemming and hawing ensues, as Claire-Bear, after spending weeks wanting to take a more active role as a hero, is disturbed by the thought of helping Doyle. Again, the material was designed to create an emotional response here, but Claire’s character has become so unsympathetic over the past couple of volumes it was hard to empathize with her. And this was before the utterly pathetic scene at Sam’s Comic Book Shop.
See, in order to forge a “secret identity,” Claire takes a job at the shop. Which is fine. But when the manager decided to frame his interview around asking “What Type Of Hero Are You?” and the group of male customers were presented as little more than leering shut-ins — which the manager encourages — I actually cursed at my screen. Writer Oliver Grigsby may not have realized that it’s the fan community that still gives two craps about this series, despite its’ critical and commercial downward spiral and continuing shoving-aside of characters who aren’t white or named Benetrelli. The joke is old, people. And in this particular instance, creepy as Doyle.
ANYWAY.
The only bright spot in this episode was the graduate-school session in evil-cool given by Mrs. Petrelli, as she brushes off Danko The Gnome Of Doom without giving up any intel — or skipping a bite of her dessert. The Hunter does get the last word in, however, as he outs Nathan as a metahuman just after Sen. Petrelli (DK-NY) gets Danko fired. Unfortunately, we’re spared a scene where President Worf strips Danko of his rank for bringing dishonor to Homeland Security. And how does POTUS not even have a name? Never mind.
Speaking of never mind …
The Racialicious Scorecard:
Hiro & Ando: Hey boys! Good to see you back in action … uh, how did you get to L.A. from India? Wait, how’d you get to India in the first place? Have you checked in with the rest of the Soggy Bottom Boys? How did you two get stuck babysitting Little Parkman instead of, oh, his actual father? Will we get answers to any of these questions?
Mohinder: Suresh was better heard than seen, I guess, this week, as we got the return of his “deep” voice-overs. But here’s the thing: did we really need to spend so much SEXY TORTURE TIME with Tracy without even a mention that he was still being held prisoner?
Next Week: Sylar and Danko’s First Date? Anything has to be better than this mess of a week.
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Images & Character Bios courtesy Of HeroesWiki
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Lisa J wrote:
Ahh, I was wondering where your review was and waiting with baited breath for it. As always, spot on. It was all over the place and why did Bennet just stand there like a goofus when Danko had the gun pointed at Nathan? I’m sure he knows how to shut someone with a gun down when it isn’t pointed at him. And I know Danko is supposed to be driven but is he really supposed to be so much of a loose cannon that he will throw a man out of the window without knowing for sure that the guy can fly? There are some crazy guys in special forces but they usually aren’t reckless like that. I guess they want to go back to a more morally grey Nathan by having us sympathize with him now that he is on the lam too.
I didn’t get the Parkman baby thing. So his ex-wife was actually pregnant with his kid and not Matt’s “friend”? Wouldn’t that kid be older than a newborn by now? Or is this just some other kid from a dalliance we never saw.
SMH, and the lack of Mohinder, short screen time of Hiro and Ando and the one shot of the Asian-American (or maybe half-Asian, I couldn’t tell) DHS agent who Danko orders around, is making the show hit a new low in overwhelming whiteness. On the other hand, maybe since the show can be so bad sometimes, maybe we should be glad there are fewer minorities involved in stinking up what was once a brilliant show!
Posted 13 Mar 2009 at 10:23 am ¶
PPR_Scribe wrote:
What is everyone complaining about? Sure the POCs seem to have disappeared from the storylines. But they did give us the Parkman/Hiro funky beat box NBC chime promo.
Geesh. Give you people an inch…
Posted 13 Mar 2009 at 1:37 pm ¶
thew wrote:
This week’s “Cold Snap” will be the first episode Bryan Fuller’s written since “Company Man” in Season 1. Here’s to hoping he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, if someone as talented as Fuller can’t scrap together a good episode out of Heroes, then there’s nothing left to salvage.
Posted 13 Mar 2009 at 2:00 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
Thanks for the great review. I actually ‘forgot’ to watch Heroes this past Monday. FORGOT. Hmmm…guess I’m not ‘that’ addicted to it, am I?
Posted 13 Mar 2009 at 5:23 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
It’s kinda funny to still have a Racialicious Scorecard when Heroes is clearly not even trying to score
@Lisa J — Actually, with the amount of time that has “passed” in Heroes, a 9-ish month old baby is about right for Parkman Junior. Remember, Claire’s still (allegedly) only 17 (despite Lyle suddenly being 16+). They aren’t keeping the time flow on-screen consistent with “real world” time. But why the former Mrs. Parkman would give the baby Mr. Parkman’s last name instead of her maiden name is rather beyond me.
Posted 14 Mar 2009 at 2:56 pm ¶
MelMel wrote:
Oh Sylar. You’re absurd and the only reason I watch anymore. Watching Sylar senior hack through his oxygen mask and cigarette drags was … hilarious too, but in a disgustingly sad way.
Someone get Mo to take off his shirt again.
Posted 14 Mar 2009 at 7:25 pm ¶
Tracey wrote:
Great review and I have only this to say:
Whoever came up with the Heroes drinking game a week or two ago should be ashamed of themselves. If the game had been strictly adhered to you would be partially responsible for two alcohol poisonings and at least 5 people waking up in a giant champagne glass not even caring how they got there.
Yeah, they need to bring this season back and quick. I mean I think they did a great job reviving season two towards the end, but then I don’t think season two ever got this bad. I’m a Trekkie and even the introduction of new Star Trek actors no longer excites me (I’m lying,it does).
Posted 15 Mar 2009 at 10:21 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
I do not feel sorry for Nathan – even if he IS on the run. I think he was stupid for getting caught in the first place, since he could’ve fallen and then just stopped right before he got to the ground, and then gently landed in a funky dead looking sort of way. [Then sneak off when people were freaking about a rogue dude pushing a senator out of a building!!!]
Danko seems to be unraveling so quickly, I don’t understand what the writers are doing with him. I can see him and Sylar as friends or enemies, but don’t really get how they’re going to keep both of them alive if they’re enemies. And if they’re friends…just…huh? That wouldn’t make sense either.
But I thought they said heroes would be back in 2 weeks. Meaning not tonight…is that right?
Mod Note: Just checked NBC’s schedule, and it is on tonight. Yay? — AG
Posted 16 Mar 2009 at 4:35 pm ¶
Introspective wrote:
I was watching first two seasons breathlessly. I haven’t seen something so interesting for a while. I couldn’t wait for a next episode. But when the third season started I was so disappointing. I couldn’t believe that they can make such a big turn to worse. Pity.
Posted 14 Sep 2009 at 7:52 am ¶