'Heroes': Battlelines are drawn for 'Villains'

Hey "Heroes," it's coming. In the episode's title, 'it' could be a number of things. 1.) The upcoming power-draining eclipse being foretold on walls and rocks, in sketches and in comic books. 2.) The inevitable collision of good and bad super groups that was enticingly set up by the slow-motion camera at the end of the episode. Arthur, Knox, Flint, Tracy, Sylar and Elle vs. Angela, Matt, powerless Peter, Nathan, Daphne and Claire. 3.) The end of the show.

With series-low ratings last week, even stalwart fans can see "Heroes" rushing toward a cliff.  Oh who can save it from falling into the abyss of beloved shows canceled too soon (recent inhabitants include "Jericho" and "Firefly")?  Arthur Petrelli, the most vile of the villains, could be the savior. He seems to have contact with all of the heroes and villains. Everything is swirling around him, and one of the things this show has needed is something of a center. An evil through line to focus on now that Sylar is an empathic power stealer (and where did this come from?!).

Love is a battlefield.  No, Pat Benatar didn't have a sonic scream, but she may have been a precog for "Heroes" story lines.  Matt loves Daphne, Nathan doesn't love Arthur, Elle kind of loves Sylar, Tracy loves Tracy, Uncle Peter loves Claire, Arthur and Angela have some kind of love in there somewhere, and Hiro loves waffles and comic books (wow, me too!).  Weirdly enough, all of this is what's shaping the show.

Was it love that spared Hiro?  Arthur Petrelli leaving him alive was way out of character.  Maybe he was distracted by the painting, maybe there was some loyalty issue with Kaito Nakamura or maybe it was Ando's brave defense of his friend ... wait, that's not it.  Regardless, Hiro should be headless, and this has to be explained.  Good luck, writers!

And do we have a new motto?  Save the catalyst, save the world. Claire is, again, the center of the universe.  Maybe.  Yes, she was handed off, Moses-like, down the river as Kaito gave her to HRG to raise -- and now we find that Kaito was the only one who knew who the powers-giving catalyst was -- but still, Claire could be jumping to conclusions. Marc Bernardin over at EW has some interesting theories on who it could be and a tidbit about Nathan's parentage.

The Elle-Sylar showdown was spectacular.  Her constant flame-broiling of him was cathartic in so many ways, but as usual, he kept coming back.  And they even got to nuzzle.  Awww, and what?!?!  Their emotional release was maybe understandable, but neither should turn their back on the other.  When the x-teams face off, look for this to be thorny duo.  With Arthur Petrelli and HRG, these two are the best reasons to watch, and it seems the writers/producers know this.

Speaking of ... Mark Verheiden, onetime "Battlestar Galactica" guy, and now a writer and consulting producer for "Heroes," writes about the upcoming "Fugitives" storyline:

Without giving anything away, it will also be a good jumping-on point for folks who may have missed a show or two.

We all hope that is the case, Mark.  Another hint to future episodes was revealed on E!'s "Watch With Kristin" when she says that the Haitian will definitely be identified as a hero.  I think we knew that, but it'll be good to get it confirmed.  They'll need all the help they can get.

-- Jevon Phillips

P.S.: Oh yeah.  Wrapup of storylines that we might not have cared about: The Daphne-Matt-Angela mind-meld got Angela free and united the future lovers.  The chase scenes from Claire, Peter, Knox and Flint didn't really do much. And Mohinder ... do we really have to talk about him? Well, he did serve to usher in another layer of story with the catalyst.  He's good for that, at least.

Photos: NBC

Comments

[Jake]

This was a lot of set up for little pay off - and the logic ballons are still coming down without any obvious hellium to keep them up. For example, since Arthur killed Murray (without seeming to take his power), how is it that he's the one keeping Angela locked up? There making him a little too god like (able to see what is going on everywhere at the same time) when that isn't apparently one of his powers. There are simple technical things that they messed up, for example, why would Elle's electrical power distroy Sylar's hooded jacket and t-shirt but have absolutely no impact on his denim jeans? At the very least, the jeans should have shown some damage and wear and tear.

It was a better episode than the usual; I've missed the last three, keeping up here and there with recaps; I'll likely watch the next two to see how it settles, but if it doesn't get much better than this, I'm goin to be one of those folks who stops watching completely.

[Allison]

Claire wasn't born the catalyst, she's just the host.