Heroes 4x01-4x02 (Spoilers)

So according to Herosite.net, the two-hour premiere didn’t do too well on the ratings front…not surprised considering the unheroic quality of last season.

The episode starts off with Samuel Sullivan, a carnival leader of sorts, who subs in for Mohinder in the monologue front. It’s a whole lot of ‘huh’ happening but Robert Knepper looks like he’s going to be a promising villain, assuming he is going to be one.

Heroes’ Season four opener is very much like Alias’s Season four. There are lingering plot threads from last season that are continued but the series is more or less rebooted.

The first two episodes play very much like a Season 1 episode. The show takes a much more laissez faire approach with the pace and it tries to shoehorn in the idea of ‘Ordinary people with extraordinary abilities.’ While people might get all grumpy pants over this, I’m pretty happy with this. The whole appeal of comic book characters is the double life that they lead (costume or no costume). They are essentially us, the reader, except they’ve been thrust into this world of the supernatural. They are relatable because they are flawed.

Here’s the rundown of the Heroes:

Claire: Now enrolled in college with an insane, overachieving roommate. If you’ve seen Buffy’s Season 4 opener, The Freshman, this is pretty much a rehash of that plot line…minus the growing toe nails…and demon room mate.

Peter: Now a paramedic again. He still has his Rogue-like, one-touch, one ability thing. He has no social life but he has more of a sense of humour now. We even see him smile numerous times. Emo is out, snarky is in.

Hiro: Post-time freeze nosebleeds are now replaced with random moments where Hiro ends up being frozen in time. Oh, he is also dying, apparently because his doctor told him so. No details. He travels back in time and changes the past at the behest of Samuel. Pretty much The Bucket List with Hiro

Mohinder: Is not mentioned or seen in the episode. Thank goodness. This character should be written out and sent into whatever creative purgatory that Season 2’s Maya and Lost’s Paulo and Nikki came from.

Samuel: Can apparently make tattoos that can strangle people. He also moves earth too.

Nikki, er, Tracy: Is more liquid than ice.

HRG: Living on his own…trying to start The Company again whilst avoiding death.

Matt Parkman: is back with Janice but is seeing visions of Sylar. He goes bonkers and starts talking to thin air.

Sylar/Nathan: Sylar-as-Nathan is discovering his powers and becoming increasingly dark.

Danko: is dead. Good riddance. We never really found out why he was so adamant on capturing supers.

So far the season is shaping up much better than the previous one. It’s grounded in reality a lot more and that’s what made Season 1 so awesome. And what’s even better is Ray Park as the knife-wielding speedster, Ray Park. The fight scenes in the first two episodes show more action than ever, the kind that comic book nerds geek out over.

Also, Tim Sale’s pre-cog paintings have yet to surface but I hope it stays that way. Sure Tim Sale rocks at comic art but it became a narrative crutch way too many times. Instead of characters finding their own motivations, they were told their motivations via these paintings. Looks like the closest thing to the paintings this season is the random tattoo lady who has shifting visions that manifest as tattoos.

Looks like the season will play out with Samuel trying to recruit our Heroes into his circus ‘family.’ Let’s see how this plays out.

-LV

P.S. CH got a copy of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 yesterday on DVD. I’m envious but happy that a fellow nerd got a freebie.