It has been two weeks, three episodes kind of, since the launch of the new season of Heroes. I thought I would take time to delve into this latest season and whether or not this season can make a return to its first season roots, or whether it will instead mirror the dullness of season 2. Warning to any potential readers out there, this may contain spoilers.
This season is aptly titled “Villains.” The creator, Tim Kring, has stated that this will follow his previous season where the book will only be about a half season long, therefor there should be a second book this season, of course barring any strikes. In the first episode you see a slew of new and old villains. 4 from the famed “Level 5,” Sylar, the return of Mr. Linderman, Elle, and of course the speedster named Daphne.
As it turns out, Daphne is very much a bright spot of this new season. She is perfectly suited to match up with Hiro. She can’t use her powers when he “freezes” time, but she can still move in this slower time which means that she has a natural counter to him. A perfect arch-nemesis as he often will point out. But moreover, the actress, played by Brea Grant, is perfectly suited as well. She mirrors his cuteness, and humor that makes the two play extremely well against each other. She is a welcome addition to the show and I look forward to seeing more from her.
The four from Level 5 were made a big deal in the commercials leading up to the premiere, however it wasn’t until episode three that they were finally let loose and it was a bit of a disappointment. They made them seem like they were supposed to be worse than Sylar, but all of them had fairly weak powers except for one named Alex whom conveniently is the only one who is really still loose and in the show anymore. He has the power to feed on fear which could be a very cool little power addition to the show. In reality though, the only reason I could think of that these guys were put down so lower and were considered a larger threat was only because, unlike Sylar, they killed anyone and everyone. Sylar only really kills other gifted people.
As for Sylar, turning him into a more neutral or “good” character seemed very likely in a season that would explore the darker side of all the heroes around us. After all, if they seem more “evil” than he should seem more “good.” I like this season with him so far a little better than season 2, but I still wish they would have killed him off and am disappointed they haven’t. And I abhor the fact that he now seems to be yet another Petrelli son. I mean good god, is everyone related to the Petrellis in this show? (Granted I have a feeling she isn’t meaning literally with Sylar quite as much, I think we are going to find out something truly interesting this season with the mother).
Linderman I actually think was kind of an interesting way that he returned, and I look forward to seeing what they do with Nathan this season. That character has taken a true turn and should prove to be one of the more interesting new turns this year. Elle I am glad to see come back, I think she offers us another fresh and interesting take on a person with powers.
Things I’m not particularly fond of so far this year are really three things.
Ali Larter with yet another personality to play. I was actually kind of happy they got rid of the dual-personalities last year with Nicki and we finally had her play an honest role. Now she is playing a completely different role, yay.
The constant writing out of characters without dramatizing it. By this I mean how characters are constantly disappearing in off seasons of the show never to return. This year it was the girl who could detect other gifted people, though I would guess she comes back at some point. The flying boyfriend seemed to vanish a little too soon for my taste, I mean I guess he sort of broke up with her towards the end? Did he? I mean they didn’t seem entirely broken up did they? The black Louisiana family is also MIA but given that MIcah just showed up in episode three, I wouldn’t be surprised if they came back soon. Previous seasons have seen the disappearance of Nathan’s family and Matt Parkman’s wife, just to name a couple. I wish if they were going to do something dramatic like Parkman leaving his wife that they would actually show it on TV.
Lastly is Shuresh. Oh Shuresh. I feel like I’ve missed an entire season with this guy. I can understand why he might have been weird after he took the drugs, but why was he so weird before he took the drugs? When did he become the psycho mad scientist? He took a complete 360 with no reason whatsoever! I don’t get what happened with his character at all and I don’t like it either.
Overall this season is way better so far than season 2. It is far more intricate and detailed than the second season was which makes a far more interesting. One major concern I have going into the future is that they may be relying too much on time travel which is always a sticky thing to delve into in the first place. I mean, I LOVE what they have done with Peter this year, but how many times can you have someone jumping around in time to “fix” things?