It has to be said that a good hero is only as cool as his villain. With every season of Heroes so far the show has lived and died by that sentiment. This season of Heroes leads us toward a new character poised to fill the villain role, and does so admirably. Let’s do a recap of the new season and then take a quick look at some of the new cast members.
The upside
The best part of the show is that the characters have returned to their more comfortable elements, as if everything has come full circle ala your favorite comic book. It is an interesting way to tell stories and so far it’s working. Seeing Peter do his part to be a hero is by far the most important part of the story because without his actions the show is grossly mis-titled.
The coolest dynamic on the show right now is the back and forth between Sylar and Matt Parkman. The two characters hadn’t had a lot of time together on screen and it was a pleasant surprise to see them work so well together, despite the fact that Parkman gets a raw deal this season.
Noah is exploring his humanity this season, which is interesting. Claire is a huge part of Noah’s continuing development as she herself is also moving forward as a character quite nicely, there is something obvious about her new friend but I don’t want to speculate yet.
Finally, the villains this season are pretty cool if just a bit mysterious still. The idea of a carnival of super humans is a compelling one that I hope bears fruit as the season progresses.
The downside
Can I find a hero? Outside of Peter in America and Hiro in Japan there are no other heroes on a show called ‘Heroes’. E very season thus far has basically been about inner turmoil and the cleaning up of messes that the ‘heroes’ started, something that plagued the god awful Fantastic Four movies. While the show in and of itself isn’t nearly as bad about it as the FF movies I would like to see more heroics and less damage control and spin. It feels like the writers are unsure whether or not the people are ready for that kind of fantasy, which is sad because I think the people are ready.
It also seems like every season one character gets the short end of the development stick. This season the poor fellow is Matt Parkman. What the hell gives with the whole sobriety kick? The sheer idea of it is ludicrous, and how they force it into his dialogue is even worse, the wording just makes me cringe. Trying to draw an addiction parallel with super powers is weak territory and Parkman’s powers don’t lend themselves to that kind of dynamic. In a nutshell, it’s an ok idea but with the wrong character.
Finally, I’m not sure how I feel about comic book clichés repackaged for a television audience. When you consider that there’s a high likelihood that your core fanbase is comic book readers, your using old tricks on a savvy audience. Hiro and the whole ‘I’m dying now’ situation is dangerous territory that is shark filled if you know what I’m saying.
In all fairness
There is something strange about fiction in the sense that the more you play with the rules, the more rules seem to matter. Especially when you deal with fiction in a ‘real’ world setting like Heroes does. Every season the writers of the show have a difficult task that some might consider impossible and that is commendable. Despite my misgivings on a whole the show is tip top and you should check it out.
But what about the new cast members?
Robert Knepper brings a new flair to the cast. Samuel Sullivan is everything that Robert Petrelli wasn’t in the sense that he is far more subtle than dear old dad was. He’s still every bit as sinister but tragic at the same time. While Sylar is still my favorite character on the show, Mr. Sullivan is quite the scene stealer. He also plays great opposite Milo Ventimiglia (Peter). I can’t wait to see where the story takes those two characters especially.
So, you might be surprised to know this, but Ray Park can in fact speak. Not only can he speak, but I might go as far as to say the man can act. Truthfully he doesn’t get a lot of material to work with, but we’ve seen other ‘action guys’ try their hand at real acting and fail. Ray Park just doesn’t fail. While he doesn’t exactly steal any scenes, he doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb either. He comes across as comfortable in front of the camera and believable as a somewhat reluctant hunter/assassin/courier.
Madeline Zima works as Gretchen but like I said before there is something rather obvious about her that I won’t go into now. She’s an interesting character nonetheless and her part in the show should make for some interesting situations for Claire.
All in all the new season of Heroes is starting off quite nicely. Is the show perfect? Probably not. But I will contend that it’s wildly entertaining and the perfect way to end a Monday night.
