TV REVIEW- HEROES: Dual - Mania.com



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Mania Grade: C

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  • TV Series: Heroes
  • Episode: Dual
  • Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Ali Larter, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Jack Coleman, Leonard Roberts, Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar
  • Written By: Jeph Loeb
  • Directed By: Greg Beeman
  • Network: NBC
  • Series: Heroes

TV REVIEW- HEROES: Dual

So it ends here...

By Stephen Lackey     December 18, 2008


Daphne and Ando stand by as Matt tries to save the day in his own special way in HEROES: Dual(2008).
© NBC-Universal

 

What a rocky volume of Heroes this has been. Looking back at this season, it has many similarities to the path of season one. The first several episodes were slow paced and often lead us on unimportant plot paths and just when you think it’s time to stop watching the series things get interesting. Characters and stories begin a fairly dramatic and suspenseful build up only to lead to an anticlimactic ending. That’s season one in a nutshell and the formula holds here too. At the same time though, the ending still featured some fantastic moments and the teaser for the next chapter was interesting even if it did feature a character that just feels out of place in the series these days.
 
The best thing about this episode is the game Sylar attempts to play with Noah, Claire and the rest. Sylar is back to being a monster but add to that the additional mind games that have been played on him all season long and you get a really ticked off super villain. His antics fall somewhere between Doctor Doom and a Bond villain. Angela Petrelli gets to show her true abilities again here by being more manipulative than Sylar could ever hope to be. Sure, she has powers but her mental trickery gets much more use here and it’s enjoyable. There is some weirdness here though. For example, just because you can heal and not be hurt does that mean you’re able to fling yourself through bullet proof glass? Sure, the glass had been weakened but Claire is still only made of skin and bones and if a bullet can’t break through glass, it doesn’t seem like her body would be able to break through.
 
Ando, Daphne, and Matt make a fun team too. The three of them work well together and were fun to watch, more so when Hiro wasn’t around. Again this time around Hiro is able to simply save the day. What’s most irritating is that he and Daphne do something that’s just so simple that they could have done it at any point throughout the adventure. The path to their final mission doesn’t make much sense. There’s no reason it should have taken so long to get too. Hiro and Peter do the same job in different time periods but they have no idea about what the other has done. At least in season one the anticlimactic finale found all of the heroes coming together for a common goal. This time around everything is just sort of spread out.
 
Now to the teaser for the next chapter. Again we’re in X-Men territory with the government going out to deal with the super powered individuals. This story and all of its themes have been beat to death in comics but mainstream fans of the series may not be as familiar with the story although it was touched on in the X-Men movies. The problem with the teaser is that Nathan Petrelli at the center of the plot to capture all of the heroes and lock them away. His character development this season was a mess and it doesn’t appear to be on a better path for next year. First, he’s a puppet for villainy, then he’s a hero, and suddenly for no apparent reason he switches back to the side of the villains because he suddenly believes that his father has the right idea. Now, since his father is dead, he doesn’t appear to be trying to continue his father’s work. He’s switched directions again believing that powered individuals need to be locked away, more of a company idea.
 
Finally, what was the catalyst and where did it come from? The answer is that it was nothing more than a plot device. The African painter appears at the end of the episode for no real reason. This episode of Heroes was much like the season as a whole. It featured some really great moments, but in the end, it’s flawed.

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

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DayDrumFour 12/18/2008 1:11:42 AM

This was one of the better episodes. Still had the plot flaws, but headed in the right direction.

It was good to see certain matchups and situations. Even better to see a reduction in characters.

 

Sanity 12/18/2008 6:40:12 AM

The (still employed) writers have been trying to salvage the series these last couple of episodes.  I can understand why they wanted to wrap up this arc quickly, even at the expense of some things not making sense.  They seem to be trying to set up the next chapters as though Villains (for the most part) didn't happen.  And I'm fine with that, because it had gotten way out of hand.


Remember when in season one, Hiro saw a future where empowered people were being registered, and Nathan (Sylar) was the president?  That's looks a bit like the teaser for the next chapter.  By the way, doesn't Sylar still have the ability to shape-shift?


Looking forward to next year.

dante83 12/18/2008 8:50:42 AM

I've always found the season finale's to be quite disappointing my case when it comes to "Heroes."   Season 1's Kirby Plaza battle should've been bigger than what it all came down to.  Season 2 petered out *no pun intended* obviously because of the writer's strike.  But it wasn't any different here.  Although it was nice to see the heroes not in one location like previous seasons fighting the final battle. 

 

And yes Sanity Sylar still has a whole bunch of powers that he gained back in the first two seasons he hasn't used, I don't think it was shape shifting but more like creating the illusions around him.  Does anyone else wonder if Ando will be able to keep his powers and Hiro will be the side kick?  Since Arthur's dead there was no way to get his abilities back, and does Peter have his original powers back?  So many plot threads that weren't taken care of, the writers better get back on track or else it's going to be cancelled by the end.

Does anyone else find it funny that Heroes is the Star Trek dumping ground?  First George Takei, next Nicholle Nichols, now Michael Dorn as the president?  I wanna see Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis next.  Or logical choice, Brent Spiner he could fit in.

 

 

hockeygirl52 12/18/2008 8:59:46 AM

I too have been really disappointed.  As stated above why does Sylar  not use his other abilities?  Ok so Peter takes the

serum and gets his powers back.  That was fast.  Good thing he got the orginal powers instead of some random ones.  Plus, honestly

did he really need to save Nathan?  Last time I checked Nathan can fly too.  The Mutant Registration Act thing has been done

before.  They could not come up with anything more original?  I am happy to see Sylar back to being bad and Angela is as devious

as always, but  the rest of the cast is .........  well it is boring.  Good thing I have TIVO or I wouldn't be watching anymore at all.

oh little side note....  Nice to see Michael Dorn.  =)

Hobbs 12/18/2008 9:23:15 AM

Holy crap this show is turning into Smallville.  When does Loeb's last epsiode air so they can finally MAYBE turn this thing around? 

So now Nathan is the bad guy after he couldn't live with himself in season one if he let New York blow up so now he's okay with rounding up a bunch of Mutants ala Nazi style.  Though it's good to see them going back to X-Men comics with the Mutant registration act.  The writing on this show just plain sucks.

At least Worf became President of the United States.  I thought he was destined for the Kingon council but life throws curves at ya....  :)

This season is pretty much another throw away season...that's two in a row.  Can you say cancelled?

samson 12/18/2008 9:52:19 AM

The last two episodes were the worst of any season. It was starting to get good. Then, they threw the whole thing out of window.

I may not tune in next year.

aegrant 12/18/2008 9:56:22 AM

First my normal rant: When do we get to see the bad ass Hiro? I am tired of the silly one

Okay Heroes is one of the few shows I watch live (I usually dvr the others and watch a marathon of episodes on the weekend) and I had so much hope for this season but for the year I give the series a C .

So many avenues were not used - what happened to the girl who could mimic anything from last season? The little boy was in one episode (who leaves a kid in the house by himself with his dead mother's coffin in the room with him?).

They could have introduced more new characters or at least smarter ones. They get points for the Sylar story line but the Peter and Nathan (or as we call him my house - The Pimp - 2 out of 3 triplets while you are still married to a cripple (and where is she?) is straight pimpin') story loss some points. I liked Hiro going back in time but the acting like a 10 year old was stupid. Daphne and the cop was good but the African was a rehash of the guy from the first season - and he still wound up in this season (the finding the last comic arc). I did enjoy Arthur (btw: did anybody notice his body was gone when Nathan was awaken by the Marine?) but the whole catalyst thing was not planned out well.

All in all I still like heroes but they need to step up their game for next season or they may loose me.

aegrant 12/18/2008 10:15:14 AM

First my normal rant: When do we get to see the bad ass Hiro? I am tired of the silly one

Okay Heroes is one of the few shows I watch live (I usually dvr the others and watch a marathon of episodes on the weekend) and I had so much hope for this season but for the year I give the series a C .

So many avenues were not used - what happened to the girl who could mimic anything from last season? The little boy was in one episode (who leaves a kid in the house by himself with his dead mother's coffin in the room with him?).

They could have introduced more new characters or at least smarter ones. They get points for the Sylar story line but the Peter and Nathan (or as we call him my house - The Pimp - 2 out of 3 triplets while you are still married to a cripple (and where is she?) is straight pimpin') story loss some points. I liked Hiro going back in time but the acting like a 10 year old was stupid. Daphne and the cop was good but the African was a rehash of the guy from the first season - and he still wound up in this season (the finding the last comic arc). I did enjoy Arthur (btw: did anybody notice his body was gone when Nathan was awaken by the Marine?) but the whole catalyst thing was not planned out well.

All in all I still like heroes but they need to step up their game for next season or they may loose me.

whoisnavenjohnson 12/18/2008 10:41:09 AM

I didn't think this season was as good as the first one, but atleast it was better than the second season.  The plot holes and inconsistencies with powers have gotten so confusing because they have allowed people, like sylar/peter/hiro to name a few, have too many powers and to make those powers so ambiguous that its just silly.  Lets start with sylars powers: super strenght, healing, the brain thing, nuclear power, electricity, gold touch, super hearing, telepathy, truth telling, super screaming, "shape shifting", painting the future, the bug thing, alejandro's death eyes thing, any many untold others....so therefore we are to assume that Peter had or now has again the same powers as sylar, plus more, since he can absorb them from others.  With all of those powers, it eliminates all reality or plausability for those two characters because a) they should never be caught off guard, beaten, or even so much as be approached by a foe without knowing they were coming b)whatever task they set out to accomplish, seems to me that it could be done in the middle of a desert, or without ever coming into contact wtih another person.  c) Hiro's ability is too powerful/confusing to comprehend or to be put to good use, which is why they need to keep coming up with silly story lines and plot twists to make him seem like a bumbling idiot.  The characters really should only have one ability, and one ability only.  that ability can be strengthened, but one ability per hero would make the show much more interesting, and allow for teaming up to become effective and necessary. 

This being said, I do love Heroes, despite the execution of the past two seasons.  Fugitives looks to be a much darker, grittier plot line with the heroes being backed into a corner and having to fight for their survival, rather than just for the greater good or the "threat" of some cataclysmic event.  If this show wants more "realistic" and relative story lines, this can be the great savior. 

whoisnavenjohnson 12/18/2008 10:42:42 AM

I didn't think this season was as good as the first one, but atleast it was better than the second season.  The plot holes and inconsistencies with powers have gotten so confusing because they have allowed people, like sylar/peter/hiro to name a few, have too many powers and to make those powers so ambiguous that its just silly.  Lets start with sylars powers: super strenght, healing, the brain thing, nuclear power, electricity, gold touch, super hearing, telepathy, truth telling, super screaming, "shape shifting", painting the future, the bug thing, alejandro's death eyes thing, any many untold others....so therefore we are to assume that Peter had or now has again the same powers as sylar, plus more, since he can absorb them from others.  With all of those powers, it eliminates all reality or plausability for those two characters because a) they should never be caught off guard, beaten, or even so much as be approached by a foe without knowing they were coming b)whatever task they set out to accomplish, seems to me that it could be done in the middle of a desert, or without ever coming into contact wtih another person.  c) Hiro's ability is too powerful/confusing to comprehend or to be put to good use, which is why they need to keep coming up with silly story lines and plot twists to make him seem like a bumbling idiot.  The characters really should only have one ability, and one ability only.  that ability can be strengthened, but one ability per hero would make the show much more interesting, and allow for teaming up to become effective and necessary. 

This being said, I do love Heroes, despite the execution of the past two seasons.  Fugitives looks to be a much darker, grittier plot line with the heroes being backed into a corner and having to fight for their survival, rather than just for the greater good or the "threat" of some cataclysmic event.  If this show wants more "realistic" and relative story lines, this can be the great savior. 

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