Up In Smoke: The Racialicious Review of ‘Heroes’ 4.12
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
Also Posted At The Instant Callback
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
A note about this week’s especially tardy report: Monday morning I had to undergo an emergency wisdom tooth extraction. The procedure required more than the usual amount of local anesthetic to prep me, because for most of the previous 10 hours, I’d felt like the tooth had grown flaming tendrils designed to stream shards of glass down my jaw and up my temples, despite my efforts to contain the pain; literally, I was popping antibiotics and pain relievers at a rate that would give Hollywood starlets pause, and it didn’t help.
I tell you all this because the experience was less frustrating than the latest season finale for Heroes.
True, “An Invisible Thread” did give us a pair of sincere OHMYGOD moments. But even when it’s good, this series can leave you dissatisfied. Why all the filler between the killer? The best and worst aspect of the episode was, it made stuff like 1961 look even more pointless in retrospect. And it brings other uncomfortable questions to mind:
1. Will less episodes mean more good episodes?
Advertising Age recently reported that the show is getting trimmed from 25 episodes to 18-20 eps next season. From the examples given us by British television, that could bode well.
At the very least, it could mean we don’t have to wait for months while the Benetrellis and friends run around in circles before finally getting their crap together in the proverbial nick. This time, the First Family ended up outwitting Sylar before he could fulfill his Presidential aspirations.
Again, though, let’s stop and think for a sec: exactly why did Sy want to usurp President Worf’s form? If his motivation had been to follow through on Micah’s idea to repeal the persecution of metahumans, that might have made things more interesting. As it was, we got a solid 40 minutes of Zachary Quinto getting his Snidely Whiplash on – which, hey, the guy is good at. But we’ve been here already.
This time around, the Heroes’ victory was costlier than usual. As Roundtable member Mahsino predicted last week, Nathan and his eyebrows were cut down by Sylar and his, eyebrows. The scene and its’ aftermath, with Angela losing it at the sight of his body, were each gruesome in their own ways. But Angela’s and Noah’s idea to “save the day” — using Parkman to brainwash Sylar into believing he is Nathan, was, admittedly, clever in its’ own ugly way – it’s the kind of f’d up gambit the two old pros are used to after 20 years in the life, although Parkman, still very much a do-gooder, is already chafing under the guilt. But HRG’s explanation is the right one: Sylar becoming a news story would only have made things worse for everybody with powers, and their families.
So, in the next volume, “Redemption,” one can expect to see Mr. B and Mrs. P try to both keep SyNate under control and guide Primatech’s rebirth as a government agency. But, see, consider one thing about these past few grafs …
2. What will the series’ POC characters matter in the grand scheme of things?
Now more than ever, the answer seems to be: not much. The overarching plotline would seem to not feature any POCs. And in Volume IV, remember how Rebel and his mission – shepherding metahumans to safety – was seemingly so important early on? As soon as we saw it was Micah, the character and the story were dropped, aside from last week’s run-in with Sylar. Previously, Claire and Hiro had received communications from Micah; do their cell phones not have a Reply button? And this is without bringing up the rest of Micah’s family being brushed off over the course of the series.
In “An Invisible Thread,” Hiro manages to get his own mini-arc, as he defies the pain his powers are now causing him to “shut down” Building 26 and free Mohinder and the other imprisoned superhumans. He also saves Noah from getting betrayed by Danko. But witness the cremation scene: only Hiro, Mohinder and Ando are still part of the main ensemble, three characters out of a POC group that numbered seven in Season One – nine, if you count Charles and Kaito.
And of these three, only Hiro has been mentioned as having a subplot in the upcoming season, as he continues to struggle with his powers. Some predictions: next season, Hiro’s going to go through a Flowers For Algernon-like journey designed to be “emotionally wrenching.” Ando will get his own costume. And Mohinder will get manipulated by somebody while providing the voiceovers.
3. Why should anybody stick with this show after the past couple of seasons?
Honestly, I couldn’t tell you right now. And coming from a guy who was positively enthralled by Heroes’ first season, that’s a tall statement to make. The show that seemed to be on a path to expand racial dynamics in sci-fi on tv isn’t even a very good sci-fi show anymore – let alone a positively diverse one. The show has lost its’ direction, its’ heart, and most damningly of all, it’s lost its’ point. It has been passed by, creatively and/or commercially, by the likes of Lost, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, and, hell, arguably even Dollhouse.
So we come to you, dear readers, and ask: should we even care about recapping this show anymore? Several people at The R have written in that they don’t even watch Heroes anymore, or only watch it because they want to snark at it with our Roundtable. That is the saddest commentary of all on a show that once held so much promise: that it’s just around for us to laugh at. Much like my Monday morning, after the pain and the frustration, the season and this series have only left me numb.
Next Week: A special chat with the Racialicious Roundtable
All images courtesy of HeroesWiki
Previously: Racialicious Heroes Archive
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Astraea wrote:
I haven’t commented here before, but I’ve been reading the Heroes posts. I loved the first season! The second was all right. But I have been disappointed since then as more and more characters of color and women have disappeared from the show. Several times this season I forgot about watching the show until I saw a post on Racialicious.
Hiro & Ando have been the biggest disappointment. They’ve become so cartoonish and ridiculous now that it feels like they’re just providing some funny Japanese people for white viewers to laugh at.
All in all, though, the show has become so inconsistent and reptetitive that it’s just boring. The characters are used to serve whatever plot they’ve come up with, instead of the plot serving the characters. So we have things like Matt forgetting his wife exists when he finds Daphne. And then forgetting Daphne existed when he goes back to his wife because of the baby. (Um. doesn’t he read minds? Didn’t they communicate at all? How did he not know she was pregnant?)
And speaking of making previous episodes look pointless, bringing back the Company makes the whole FIRST SEASON look pointless. (Maybe even the entire series).
I had a point here somewhere. oh. I love reading the Racialicious reviews and roundtable on Heroes! I will miss it if you don’t continue, but since the show itself is really not worthy of anyone’s time I wouldn’t blame you for washing your hands of it.
Posted 04 May 2009 at 8:59 am ¶
Ishtar wrote:
Please keep reviewing Heroes. I am one of those who no longer watches the series but I religiously read your reviews because they’re so damn entertaining and acerbic.
Posted 04 May 2009 at 9:54 am ¶
Renee wrote:
I cannot give a solid reason to keep watching but somehow I cannot seem to stop. I need to know how this ridiculous journey ends. I also hope for more of Miccah. Something good has to come out of all the nonsense we have been subjected to.
Posted 04 May 2009 at 11:22 am ¶
PPR_Scribe wrote:
I have been disappointed, but yet I keep tuning in. I cannot tell you why. But I, too, enjoy these posts here on Racialicious.
One way I think I may have stuck with the show is by not being at all hopeful that the program will depict the rainbow that it did first season. I just look at it as another show with White people and enjoy what I can of it.
For depictions of folks of color I have been far more interested in blogging about HBO’s “True Blood” and “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.” As such, I am very much looking forward to the TB season premier later this summer!
Posted 04 May 2009 at 3:32 pm ¶
Erica wrote:
As a Roundtable contributor, it’s rather hard to fire myself by saying we shouldn’t cover Heroes any longer
It’s certainly beginning to feel a bit repetitive saying “Hey look the Petrellis are idiots” every week… However, there is certainly value to pointing out the utter failure that show has become in its treatment of POC and women, on top of just being bad television. There are many ways to bring diversity and positive characters back to the show, we’ve covered them frequently — and those improvements would likely incidentally make the basic plotlines less ridiculous.
But with every episode recently I was just getting more and more disgusted. I’m not wondering “can Heroes turn itself around” any longer — I’m wonder just how low they can go before they implode from the density of their own STOOPID.
@PBR_Scribe — I am a huge fan of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books, and the HBO series is making me seriously consider getting cable again. I don’t know if I can wait a DVD release.
Posted 04 May 2009 at 7:32 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
The show that seemed to be on a path to expand racial dynamics in sci-fi on tv isn’t even a very good sci-fi show anymore – let alone a positively diverse one. The show has lost its’ direction, its’ heart, and most damningly of all, it’s lost its’ point.
*applause applause applause*
And YES you must continue to re-cap; because I might forget to watch an eppy or twenty. LOL. Also, them cutting back on the number of episodes won’t guarantee that fewer eppys will equal greatness. Hell, they had greatness in Season 1 and there was like what 30 episodes
I’m exaggerating but you get my point.
I think over the month and a half-long break I shall endeavor to review the saga from jump. Really watch the turn it made during Season 2 and the resulting downfall for Season 3 and 4??? I mean, Haiti, WAS THAT EVEN NECESSARY? Boy-Wonder Petrelli brothers saved the day! Really? Word? For real? Likewise I agree with you about “1961″. What was the point of it all? That was gas money wasted—you know Angela is broke as is Noah I’m sure and Peter, but they rustled up enough dough to somehow DRIVE all the way out to the desert because they didn’t have the luxury of flying from sunny-Acapulco like Nathan and his daughter “Eclair”. *insert eye roll* Was MEXICO even necessary for that matter? Was the crash in ARKANSAS necessary? How long did they ramble in the wilderness? Like 5/6 hours over the course of a couple of episodes?
If you compare season 1 to this season, note the selection of settings. They use specific ones: Isaac’s loft, Nate’s headquarters, Charles apt., Claire’s house, the school, the place she jumped from repeatedly…then Primatech and of course Mohinder’s place and then Mama P’s house. Maybe this “all over the place” that has constituted the general malaise surrounding this season and the last has to do with them literally ‘jumping all over the place’ in terms of setting? Or maybe I’m reaching…maybe I’m just wanting Season 1 and my hypothesis here to lay waste to this recent season…yeah, I think that’s what I’m doing so I’ll just stop it right now. LOL.
But surely there’s some truth to it; something there worth investigating.
Less is more.
This season was done on a more stringent budget I read, but that does not excuse Claire’s bad wig………….now I’m just raggin’ on the show.
In all seriousness, I await its return like I await the freakin’ Apocalypse or Doomsday or the end of days or the inevitable alien invasion… I know it’s coming; I’m both terrified, horror-filled, yet anticipating, craving its arrival just to ’see’ what it’ll look like…
With that said, PLEASE CONTINUE THE RE-CAPS!
Posted 04 May 2009 at 9:47 pm ¶
Renee wrote:
I agree please continue the re caps. I really look forward to reading them each week. My brother and I go through it with a fine tooth comb each week.
Posted 05 May 2009 at 12:51 am ¶
Peter wrote:
Heroes has become so wincingly bad that even Claire’s blood can’t resurrect it (or Nathan???). Drop it. They obviously don’t know how to fix it and we shouldn’t encourage them any longer with pity-watching. I’d like to forget I ever told everyone to watch it after Season 1. Your time would be better spent elsewhere.
Posted 05 May 2009 at 10:03 am ¶
Tracey wrote:
If it’s not an an inconvenience please continue to re-cap. Or, if it is either:
1. guess what the episode was about and critique accordingly, you’ll probably be pretty accurate.
2. Do some form of fan fiction. Either write about what the episode should have been like , or , to hell with it, film your own episodes. I don’t care how infeasible it is, make it happen. Put a bunch of individually done videos together, whatever. It will probably be better than actual show.
I really enjoy the round table and plan to try to catch up on episodes I’ve missed. Heroes really annoys me too b/c there are so many ways to reintroduce really great POC characters that would give the show a huge lift. I mean, the Haitian is a character I would love to see again, and I think one that could be explored in a great manner. I mean, what was up with him anyways? Micah’s cousin? Giving Mohinder back his brain and hard core edge? What happened to the Mohinder that sedated Sylar and aimed a gun at his head ready to avenge his father (not gonna comment on number of guns that have been aimed at Sylar’s head). It’s like the writers have just given up. IDK, it makes me think this show is headed for cancellation and no one even cares about saving it.
Posted 05 May 2009 at 2:52 pm ¶
Lilith wrote:
I still love the show. (Shame). I know why I shouldn’t… I know all the reasons why. But yet I still can’t stop watching it. It sucks me in, despite often… well… sucking.
Aside from just finding the reviews/roundups extremely entertaining, as a non-POC I think I’m sometimes less likely to notice some of the more subtle issues with the show that Racialicious points out. Not to say that you should care about my “education” but I am grateful for the opportunity to be enlightened and entertained simultaneously.
Posted 05 May 2009 at 4:05 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
you know, if they’d cured Nathan with Claire’s blood and brought Peter in to take some more Sy-power before they put him under mind control as Gabriel-the-watchmaker, they could’ve moved on to the next big bad, and let ZQ out of his contract gracefully – with built-in visitation rights.
Why can we come up with this stuff, but the writers/producers keep giving us dreck?
Posted 06 May 2009 at 2:11 pm ¶
Lisa J wrote:
I just watched this last night b/c the Roundtable review reminded me I had it saved and then I figured, I’d come back and read this and I’m glad I did, thank you Jen & Peter for mentioning that they could have used Claire’s blood to save Nathan. When they picked the Matt pushing Nate’s memories on Sylar I remember thinking, “there has to be another way, this is crazy!” And you guys are right, I’d forgotten she could do that and it makes so much more sense than what they did. So lame.
Like I said in the Roundtable discussion, I was sort of bummed to see Tracy back, since they always bring the white folks black but none of the POC’s, but it was kind of cool looking, made sense in a weird way and I thought it was a little fitting for her to get those guys. I just hope they don’t keep Danko around, he gives me the willies and he doesn’t seem to bright either.
I would miss the roundtables and reviews if they stopped but I hate the idea of putting you through that torture and I’m still on the fence about whether or not to keep watching. I don’t want to but then it is so hard to look away from a train wreck. I just hope this is the last season or they figure out a way to make this show good again. They are smart enough and have the writers, they just need to stop being so lazy!
Posted 21 May 2009 at 12:16 pm ¶
Lisa J wrote:
whoops, Freudian slip, meant to say “they always bring the white folks BACK” not white folks “black. Hee-hee, says where my mind is.
Posted 21 May 2009 at 12:17 pm ¶