Last year, Heroes aired to rave reviews from around the world. This year, with the airing of the second volume of the series, the reviews were somewhat more tepid. Now that the entire volume has been seen, are the plot decisions that were made justified, or should the writers have taken a different approach?
The beauty of the first volume of the show, Genesis, was that the plot built and built and built across twenty two episodes, before it finally exploded in a massive crescendo. Re-watching season one from the beginning is something of a tedious exercise, as the viewer once again navigates through the patient laying of plot foundations. The excitement of the end of the season seems far away and the viewer is almost urging them to get to the point. It appears that season two suffers from a similar fate.
It was back to the laying of careful foundations, a sharp decline in adrenaline from the fantastic finale last year. It was four months later when we were reunited with some familiar faces. Mohinder is embedded within The Company. Michah is dropped off with family while Nikki finds help. The Bennett family are set up in a new town, Hiro is adventuring in seventeenth century Japan and Peter Petrelli finds himself in Ireland. The problem with this is that the audience is suddenly out of their depth. Characters that they'd followed every step of the way in the past year have suddenly moved on on their own. This is further compounded by the introduction of new characters and new plot lines. Maya and Alejandro, dubbed the Wonder Twins by some, trundle around Central America, Takezo Kensei saps Hiro of any real fun and Peter has to find himself all over again, while finding love, in Ireland.
The thing is, it all worked and all paid off in the end. 'Out of Time', the seventh episode of the volume and conclusion of a first arc of the volume was glorious, wonderful and magnificent. Every step of the some what tedious journey was justified in one of the finest hours of television that I've seen in the past 12 months.
'Four Months Ago...' kept up that pace, but there was another slight lull before last night's excellent finale. Little was really concluded, but lots of exciting things happened at a frightening pace, bringing the entire volume to a tumultuous, if shocking, conclusion. Bravo, I say.
David Anders and Kristen Bell were fine additions to the cast. Anders plays a fine villain. He's boyishly handsome and charming, which creates something of an unassuming air around him. His leading of the audience in to a false sense of security about his characters is a gift and he's been wonderful to watch through several years of Alias and several episodes of this volume. The character himself, Adam Monroe was fascinating, displaying the same power as Claire, but with a more sinister agenda than boys and cheerleading. Kristen Bell was wonderfully refreshing. She drove boys across internet message boards wild with her flirtatious, cheeky ways, particularly in helping The Company detain Adam and Peter. She's done her own stock a world of good and I wouldn't be surprised if she lands a few more movie roles as a result. Watch this space.
Now, a concern. An article appeared on the BBC about Tim Kring, Heroes creator, and an apology made by him to the fans in regards to the slow start to the season and a willingness not to make the same mistake again. Wanting to please the fans is understandable. However, that should never be at the expense of the integrity of the plot. Clearly, Tim Kring and the other Heroes writers and creators know what they're doing. They have a vision and a plan that they enact with a finesse that is the rival of Lost. I can accept the patient build ups, but maybe others can't. Either way, it's a tough line for the creators to tread.
Finally, this volume reiterated the Heroes writers' talents for developing morally ambiguous characters. An initial assumption that Adam was evil was challenged by some actions that suggested he was actually on the side of the good guys, before bringing it back full circle when his true desires were realised. The same thing can be said of The Company. I truly believe that they think they're doing the right thing. I'm not convinced that they actually are, which makes it very interesting to see how the characters respond to their actions. There's no cut and dry answers here and it's up to the audience to really decide where their morales lie. Matt Parkman in particular showed how easy it is to take the wrong path. He tries to do good, but can using his power to manipulate the actions of others really be morally justified? In this case, they were, but what about the next time and the time after that? Eventually, he might find himself in the shoes of his father. It's seemingly easy to make one choice that turns you closer to being Sylar than, well, one of the good guys, whoever they are.
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