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"Landslide" or "It's All Set Up"

May 15, 2007 12:30 PM

he producers on Heroes have said that the season finale is three hours long but split up over three episodes. I think that a pretty accurate description: last week's episode was very expository and did little more than bring the main characters to New York to set us up for the big finale--the explosion (or the prevention thereof). This week's episode was a little bit more of the same, although there was more action, more revelations, and certainly more deaths. And it took the final step towards setting up next week's season finale.

Peter learned to control Ted's ability--he managed to turn off his glow hands before Claire had to shoot him. That's awesome, but does it mean that Sylar's going to be the one that explodes? How does this relate the the future timeline we saw?

I loved the discussion about capes and exposed underwear and whatnot, and I also liked the fact that Peter finally used Matt's power--although it's pathetic that the writers only have him use it when it fits the plot. I was overjoyed to see Audrey back! Oh man, that was awesome. Why the fuck didn't Peter make Ted invisible, too? Or fly away? I guess it was a stressful situation and Peter's first goal was to protect Claire. But, still. In any event, I'm happy Audrey's back--she's still way hotter than Parkman's wife.

Mr. Bennet and Matt's mission to destroy the Walker Tracking System was really good. The scene with Matt getting by the security guard was pretty good. "Didn't I throw you out a window?" was probably one of the better lines Jessiki's had on the show. And Matt's reaction, and the mood in the elevator, was pretty good.

I really like the little girl playing Molly Walker, and the interaction between her and Mohinder was pretty good. I hate the fact that she considers Matt one of her heroes, but that he showed up to kill her, even though he didn't know what was going on. Sorta shows what how Matt's changed over the course of the season.

Ok--it was fucking awesome the way Mr. Bennet just killed Thompson without so much as a second thought. Sure, Thompson deserved it, but, damn, Mr. Bennet's really, really ok with morally grey. And then there's Molly. I can't really believe that Mr. Bennet would kill her, although I guess he's willing to do anything to protect Claire. I'm pretty sure, though, that Parkman is going to come to and save Molly again. The question then is what happens to Mr. Bennet. I hope he doesn't die--that would be too bad for Claire.

I loved Hiro's story this time around, mostly because we got to learn more about Kaito Nakamura. Mr. Nakamura used the word "ascend" for developing powers--that suggests that, unlike some of the lower-level members of The Company, he thinks it's a good thing. Although I originally thought that Mr. Nakamura was a faithful member of The Company, it turns out that he defected sometime between giving Claire to Mr. Bennet and now. The question is when, and with who? Based on Mr. Linderman's comments to Nathan, I think that Mr. Nakamura and Mr. Linderman left The Company together, perhaps around the time Mr. Linderman and the rest started planning to blow up New York.

In any event, the training sequences with Hiro and his fatther were awesome. Still, how long did they spend together? Did Hiro freeze time? Or did he become an expert swordsman in a few hours? Or had he already taken some training so that his father just had to teach him a few things?

I never thought of Mr. Linderman healing Nathan's wife, but I guess I should have seen it coming. I think it's funny that, for all the lipservice Nathan gives to his regret over the upcoming explosion, he's doing exactly nothing to stop it and he's not about to concede the election or anything. His reaction to Hiro pretty much confirmed what Hiro said--Nathan's already a villain. And it makes the whole thing even worse that Nathan doesn't even know specifically how killing everyone is going to be good.

I wonder what's up with Linderman's comments about Nathan's dad. One can't take Linderman at his word, obviously. And, if Mr. Nakamura was involved with The Company fourteen years ago but then stopped his association with them, it's likely that Mr. Petrelli was associated with them, as well. So, if Linderman was talking about Nakamura when he said that some of the people in his old group lost their way, he probably meant that they stopped doing what he told them to. Since we now see that Mr. Nakamura's a good guy, I think it's very likely that Mr. Petrelli was a good guy, too. I guess we'll have to wait until next season to find out for sure.

DL and Jessiki were in the episode, although they weren't nearly as worthless as usual--though they were still my least favorite aspect. I guess that Nathan told them where Linderman was, but he was still a weenie about it. I wonder why Linderman arranged DL and Nikki's relationship. Did he somehow know that they would have a kid that would be able to control electronics? That seems far fetched.

It wasn't very surprising that Jessica would take the money and run. But it was fairly surprising that she gave control back to Nikki in order to save DL and Micah. Then Linderman shoots DL. That's fine. And then DL does the coolest fucking he's ever done--the fuck-up-his-brains-by-passing-your-hand-through-his-skull maneuver! Awesome.

Turns out Candice is actually fat. That's great. But she's also really dumb. And Micah, even though he's not as annoying as his parents, is nonetheless not that great. We've seen him be morally grey in the past, but I just hated the fact that he had exactly no problem rigging the election. An avid comic-book reader should know better.

Sylar's got Ted's ability. Why did he do that when didn't want to blow up New York? I guess he's changed his mind.

Sylar'd better watch out--Ando's hot on his track.

At the end of the episode, everyone's in New York, Peter and Sylar both have Ted's ability, Linderman is dead, Molly's being held at gunpoint (how is she going to help stop Sylar?), and Sylar's just about ready to go nuclear.

Altogether, this was an enthralling episode that sets up the last episode of the season unbelievably well.



3 Comments


Heroes watcher said:

I think Sylar decided to blow up New York after he killed his mom. Pretty sure that was supposed to be some transition, although it wasn't as clear as it should've been, IMO.

May 15, 2007 10:54 PM



Vice said:

A couple things I'd like to point out.

1. Is Linderman actually dead? That seemed like a completely inopportune time for him to die, when his plan is just about to come to fruition. I had gotten the impression that he was the one pulling all the strings, but if that's all it took to kill him, I guess not. Of course, it could have been Candace posing as Linderman, and that would be a way out of him being dead. Or something with his healing. I just don't think he's gone.

2. I was a little worried about Ando at the end. I know they made it seem like Ando took off after Sylar himself, but that story Hiro's father told him - the point was that the hero will cut out his own heart to fulfill his destiny. To me, that sounds like Hiro having to sacrifice Ando to fulfill his destiny. Maybe I'm wrong, but that story has to mean something, if not now, then later on.

3. PLEASE stop talking about Audrey as being hot. There is nothing remotely hot about her, unless you're attracted to dudes, because mostly she's just mannish. Granted, Parkman's wife is also unattractive, but still. Talk about Audrey's character if you want, that's fine. But on a show with a handful of legitmately hot chicks, Audrey is clearly not among them.

May 16, 2007 10:22 AM



Ismael Tapia II said:

Mr. Vice,
I think Linderman is actually dead. He might have been the one pulling all the strings, but that doesn't mean that he's the only one who knew what was going on or that he was the only one who was pushing for this plan to work out--Mrs. Petrelli was down, for example (unless that was Candace; god, her power can be really annoying). The Company seems pretty complex organizationally, so even if Linderman is dead, I'm sure there are plenty of people ready to take his position, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a designated successor. In any event, I like the fact that he died--maybe this means things are changing from what we saw in Five Years Gone. Or maybe DL and Nikki are just playing their part.

The point is, the way he died was awesome.

I'm with you on Ando. I wouldn't be surprised if Ando didn't make it through the end of the season. When we saw dead Ando in the comic book, he didn't look like he had been blown up by a nuclear bomb; could it be that Sylar killed him before the explosion?

As much as I love Ando, and as cool (but stupid) as it was for him to go after Sylar on his own, I think he's got about an 80 percent chance of biting it. Maybe that gives Hiro the final push to be able to kill Sylar? Or at least stab him?

Ok, Audrey. Maybe she's not hot in the conventional sense, certainly not compared to Claire. But I find her really attractive for some reason. I like this picture of Clea Duvall, the actress that plays Audrey.

May 16, 2007 11:09 AM



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