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May 1, 2007 7:00

Heroeswatch: Save New York, Save Your Soul

Posted by James Poniewozik | Comments (17) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This

NBC Photo: Chris Haston

Possibly the best Heroes episode yet--not as moving as "Company Man," but more thrilling and generally mind-blowing than any others. That's how you do it: take one compelling character, one compelling story, and follow it through from beginning to end. I accept that Heroes is wedded to the hopscotch, get every-storyline-in-every-episode formula, but I do hope they'll do this more often.

Having President "Nathan" turn out to be President Sylar was an impressive twist--maybe I should have seen it coming, but I didn't--but I was also a little disappointed. I liked the idea, as a philosophical exercise, that Nathan could have had it in him to turn on his fellow mutants (OK, X-Men term, but then... X-Men storyline). It would have raised an interesting question about character and fate: to what extent can circumstance change a good guy (or at least a generally decent, if morally conflicted guy) into a bad guy? Could it be that saving the cheerleader or not saving the cheerleader, killing Sylar or not killing Sylar, could not only change events but change characters' souls?

Then again, maybe we do still have to ask that question. Future Matt is clearly a changed, hardened man. And just before squaring off, Jedi-style (with complementary red and blue hands), Sylar told Peter, "When I killed Nathan, he'd already turned against his own kind." Sure, he could be lying, but like many good villains, Sylar is willing to tell the truth if it hurts enough.

There were so many nifty reversals, twists and what-ifs, I'm not going to try to mention them all. But speaking of reversals--what exactly happens to the people in a particular "future" when someone shifts a detail in the past, as when Peter ended up saving Claire? Would the people around Claire, to whom she had been dead, suddenly remember her as if she'd never died? And does the Peter in this alternative future remember having saved Claire, and if so, had there been another alternative Peter who did not remember? My brain hurts; I'm hoping some of our harder-core genre geeks can help me out here.

One detail that especially struck me, though, was seeing the future news coverage--"America Remembers: Five Years Later"--and how eerily it evoked the landscape, images and rhetoric of 9/11. Well done all around. If this five-years from now future didn't involve my being blown up by Peter Petrelli, I'd almost wish we could go back there next week.

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Reader Comments (17)

paul_lukasiak:

off-topic, but...

it looks like Drive is history. Last night, they had a rerun of House in its timeslot. and its website announces "Final two episodes to air this summer. Stay tuned" which I interpret as "we aren't going to leave this turkey on during May Sweeps"

Posted by paul_lukasiak | May 1, 2007 8:17 AM

Keith:

paul,

I saw an article late last week saying it was pulled after two episodes. It is a goner.

Posted by Keith | May 1, 2007 9:50 AM

paul_lukasiak:

Thanx Keith....I hadn't seen that.

Must suck to be a Fox executive, when you consider not merely the expense in producing the show, but how much "commercial" time on its biggest shows (like 24 and American Idol) was wasted on the relentless promotion of Drive, rather than sold to advertisers....

Posted by paul_lukasiak | May 1, 2007 10:54 AM

Jen:

Yup, this was a GREAT episode - loved every minute of it, and will have to watch it several more times when it is out to download to get a better handle on the show's space-time continuum. I LOVED the twists and turns, and Sylar as the President was a great surprise - as soon as Nathan started telling Claire about him being the most special, I started getting worried and remembered that creepy picture that Sylar had painted after he killed Mr. Isaac. Wow!! Can't wait for next week. I agree completely that Heroes is best in those few episodes that followed one main storyline, I think that they will be able to do that more as the connections between the characters become increasingly pronounced - one main character-storyline is so connected to the others that it is easy to include many characters in that one storyline.

So sad about Drive - I watched the show while it was on, I wasn't all that into it but I really liked all the actors a lot, and I wish it had been given half a chance. I am not as disappointed as I was about the Black Donnellys, which was an AWESOME, awesome show that got unfairly and prematurely cancelled.

Posted by Jen | May 1, 2007 11:28 AM

Tobias Funke:

Outstanding episode. Only would've been better if somehow it was in sync with a Pink Floyd album.

The actor who plays Hiro deserves a heckuva lot of credit for playing both roles.

As usual, the Jennifer/Nicki plotline left me underwhelmed.

Posted by Tobias Funke | May 1, 2007 11:37 AM

Anonymous:

You ask, "What exactly happens to the people in a particular 'future' when someone shifts a detail in the past?" My answer would be: That future never happens, so the question is meaningless. Make sense?

Posted by Anonymous | May 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Jen:

Again, the time shifting issues really put me in mind of the Desmond situation in Lost - changing details of the past rewriting the future that he already saw. . .

Posted by Jen | May 1, 2007 12:01 PM

Eliot:

I totally agree with the Jennifer/Nicki thing that "Tobias Funke" mentioned. I have been so confused about that whole deal the entire series. What exactly is her superpower? Strength?

A bigger question in my mind was... what is next after the next 3 episodes? Another season? New characters? Same characters?

Posted by Eliot | May 1, 2007 12:21 PM

matt:

I thought this alternate future was the result of not saving Claire...who was very much alive. How?

Posted by matt | May 1, 2007 12:21 PM

C. Brown:

The alternate future was the result of Peter blowing up, nuking half-two thirds of NYC AND Syler/Nathan becoming president. Saving Claire was only part of The Plan(tm). In order to prevent this dystopian future our heroes have to a.) Kill Syler and b.) keep Peter/Sylar from going KA-BOOM in the middle of Time's Square.

But this is my aboslutely favorite episode of Heroes EVER! I loved everything about it! It's fan-freaking-tastic! I have to admit that watching the preview with Nathan being all touchy feely with his estranged/forgotten daughter gave me creepy Law & Order SVU vibes so I kind of figured something wasn't right with him.

But I loved it! Wonderful! I can't wait for the next episodes!

Posted by C. Brown | May 1, 2007 2:32 PM

Tobias Funke:

Eliot - my guess is they'll do another story with the same characters. Other shows - like the Wire - have done this successfully (think of season 2 with the Sobatkas).

Once you establish strong characters, you can build off the original plotlines. Be interesting to see where they go from here.

Posted by Tobias Funke | May 1, 2007 4:51 PM

Sheila Levine:

If Peter went KA-BOOM in the middle of Time's Square, why is he there? He went KA-BOOM and lived through it, due to his ability to regenerate?

Posted by Sheila Levine | May 2, 2007 1:08 PM

AlisonRose:

My guess about Peter: Keep in mind that Peter has the power from Radioactive Guy (who may be dead in the future--he didn't appear in this ep). He could blast all kinds of things to hell (like HRG's house) and survive. So presumably Peter could go KA-BOOM and survive through a combination of Radioactive Guy's power and Claire's invulnerability.

All around rockin' episode--can't wait for next week!

Posted by AlisonRose | May 2, 2007 5:57 PM

Eliot:

Something to keep in mind -- saving the World shouldn't be confused with saving New York City.

Posted by Eliot | May 3, 2007 11:53 AM

Jane:

The episode 2 weeks ago explained how Peter could explode and regenerate... remember Nathan was willing to let it happen if Peter would be o.k. My question is, if Peter can "heal" like Clare, why does he have those huge scars on his face in the future?

Posted by Jane | May 3, 2007 8:31 PM

lallala:

He has the scar on his face cause hes a badass and he probably didnt wanna heal it cuase he thought he looked cool with it

Posted by lallala | May 11, 2007 5:01 PM

spiridon:

New site to watch free online tv
http://tv.stafex.net

Posted by spiridon | May 19, 2007 3:10 AM

About Tuned In

James Poniewozik writes TIME magazine's Tuned In column, about pop culture and society. Tuned In, the blog version, is about the stuff we used to call "TV," whether it's in your living room, on your computer or--once the networks figure out the technology and line up the advertisers--in your dreams themselves.