HEROES: Fight or Flight

Finally, Heroes returned to its old form...at least somewhat. This was the best episode of the season.

I didn't read the review just by the grade but I actually thought this was the best episode this season. I thought the past four episodes dragged mighty bad. So, yeah.

I just wanna say I'm so glad to see a backlash against the awful Heroes. The review's comments that events were played out that ultimately had no dramatic or storyline purpose has ALWAYS been the problem with "Heroes"; it's always been a series of "wow" action events with no real meaning other than superficial entertainment; how many deaths occurred in Season 1 that were simply shrugged off by characters to whom the deaths should have been significant, for example the black woman's death and Peter barely mentioning it. This show is much like "The O.C." that way with tons of melodrama in the moment but no emotional realism or people honestly dealing with that pain. They just move on or it's simply overdone with Nathan guiltily mourning Peter.

That said, despite the preposterous, formulaic, unrealistic characters, I was slightly saddened by the bar owner's death and was interested in Matt Parker's father. I also was happy to see Nathan back in action. He's one of the few decent actors. Hiro's story, as usual, played like a bad videogame and not like believable history, and I was also happy to see Claire ignored. It also looks like stripper mom is going through the same storyline as season 1 -- wanting to eliminate Nikki, but ultimately she'll realize she has to embrace her to find her own strength; same damn thing! I will grant that they actually gave Micah something to do and he wasn't as unbearable as usual.

I just hope they do SOME political discussion about Katrina's wake and the failure of the Bush administration to help, and aren't just using Louisiana as a setting for nothing. Yet that's what I fear, as Micah's cousin has the same cheesy "I have faith" speech we see in so many shows that get the complex nature of faith wrong. The 4400 gets faith right; it is always complemented by practical considerations; absolute faith is non-existent. Still, best episode of the season!

Things are heating up for the Heroes, and for a genre show, they handle the issues raised in a more mature manner then most of the nonsense on T.V.

First, I do empathize with many who wonder why we should be skeptical of a build-up or hype for an episode that may only dissapoint? I have been talking with a cohort who feels NBC does its darndest to really set people up for revelations that aren't necessarily "there" in some of the episodes ("whats inside the box" being a most recent example).

As for the writing, Mudfeld above me made many points, and while I agree that this was one of the better episodes of the season as we get an idea as to Matt's dad and all that.

I think it has been the show's greatest strength that during a period in our history where cheap shots and soon-to-be-dated references to real world political figures may tickle the fancy of some, the rest of us find it refreshing that the writer's express themselves the way that they do. It adds a more 'timeless' feel to the story and while it may upset some (see above) that for one time the "Bush Administration" (said with all the appropriate thunder and background crying of babies to satiate the needs of some) is NOT blamed as a villain and that maybe people would rather dream of a better life by making it happen for themselves (Micah's cousin).

Heroes has always been a show about embracing our connection to each other, looking forward and learning to understand the past, not illustrating single minded partisan politics. But most importantly it is entertainment; entertainment that thankfully sidesteps many of the cliches that riddle much of modern television and seems to have better sense then to give in to what seems to have become the norm on lesser programs.

Kudos to the writers for that.

I for one believe the handling of the "Katrina" aftermath is being handled well, it is not glib, nor is it preachy about how needy micah's family is to better its outlook. Just my opinion, althought I agree; one of the best episodes this season.

Keep 'em coming.

The one thing I loved about Heroes last season was that I cursed at the end of many of the episodes because I had to wait a week to see what happened next. Not many shows can keep me firmly planted throughout an entire season. This was the first episode this season that had me cursing. I'm happy !

That's the very problem with Heroes, though. It divides the world into simplistic notions of good and evil people like Bush exploit in times of tension for war, when life is more complex. Watching this show, one might be convinced that Heroes are morally flawless and capable of being right all the time; they may be convinced that Americans are capable of this unlike other races. This show also posits that there is absolute evil, and then accept a certain administration's attitude that Iranians are such. It's bad trite writing that reflects all the gutlessness of cliche comic books. The best of sci fi can deal with the most important issues of our time, as does The 4400 and BSG, but this is just more cautious "let's not offend anybody" run of the mill minless nonsense. It goes nicely with whatever Chuck Norris movie you have on your shelf, though it's a bit better.

This show doesn't say anything about human nature and we have to think deeply about these issues if we are going to survive as a species! Thankfully, The 4400 and BSG do, in portraying the world as it is; no absolute good and evil; just terrible things done by flawed human beings and violence arising from conflicting interests. Far from drawing simplistic conflusions and taking pot shots at the Bush administration, these shows convey complexly the issues of our time and how government might have good reason to place security above freedom, but it makes viewers conscious of that fact.

Still, if you're not going to get mad at the Bush administration's fascistic policies, when are you going to get mad? When it's your children and siblings being bombed and tortured? There's a word for that kind of morality that can only disapprove of the conjured-up evil occurring in fiction or from foreign sources, but not the evil acts (not to be confused with evil people who don't exist) among our own: hypocrisy.

This should have been the first episode of the new season. As far as I'm concerned, they could have burned, and or, lost the 4 episodes that the season started out with... and we never would have missed them.

I posted this in another article so I`m reposting it.
Not every show has to have a political agenda.
As far as Heroes goes ,I don`t think some people get the point of the show. Its not about "Superheroes" coming together to form some sort of "Justice League". Its way more reality based in my opinion. They are or at least were normal people until something was activated in them. They have manifested these powers now have to figure out what to do about it. What`s interesting and more poignant to me is how the various people deal. Some become murders(Sylar), and some become Heroes(Hiro), and some just want to be left alone(Nathan, Claire to an extent). Its more about the human dynamic then big mutant type battles. That`s why I love the show. It totally captures the huiman element in a fantastical scope.
This week`s episode was very good and probably the better of the 4. We obviously get some more insight into Parkman`s father who is clearly a douchebag and we also see what Matt`s power could potentially do. We get a reason for Peter to come back which is good, because even though this is an ensemble cast, I just see him, Hiro , and to a lesser extent Claire to be the main characters. Sort of like how Wolverine, Jean, and Scott were at the forefront of most X-men comics. We also get to see whom Peter must have absorbed those electricity powers from. Kristen Bell`s character is pretty evil right off the bat and I wonder who her father is?
As far as Monica going out and trying out her powers, I liked it. I mean come on, if you just figured out that you had some cool power, wouldn`t you test it out. It reminded me of Peter jumping from rooftops in Spidey 1. I didn`t find "mundane" at all.

This was my favorite episode of the season so far. It's funny because I think I'm the opposite of the reviewer. Last week was his favorite episode while this week was his least favorite, and I'm the exact opposite.

I felt like a lot happened this week and I really enjoyed it. I especially liked the parts with Nathan and Matt. I also really liked Monica's story. I did feel like the Peter parts of the story were filler though.

I think unlike most, I actually enjoy the other lesser characters stories. While Peter, Hiro, and Claire are my favorites, I also enjoy Matt, Nathan, and Nikki. Micah is alright. The twins and Monica are good. Sylar is good. Monhinder is aOK as well IMHO.

I kind of agree with the review. This was episdode was ok but not great. Was it just me or did it seem like it had a ton of commercials, more than normal? I'm sure it clocked in at the same time as most episodes, but it just seemed they were going to break a lot.

I agree with Ponyboy, not every show/movie has to have a political agenda. There are shows that do this and reflect current events. I like that there are some shows that focus on the story they want to tell. If they were to write in current political events, it could easily bog down the show and polarize viewers. Some shows are good as a form of escapism. I get enough current events when I watch the news and read the newspaper. Also, suppose they did focus on current events and took the opposing view to yours?