Tuesday, October 23, 2007

HEROES: Fight or Flight

Amazing. Two good episodes in a row with forward narrative direction. Two annoyances--a Hiro appearance that amounted to little more than a glorified cameo, and Veronica Mars' departure from Ireland without a throwdown vs. Peter Petrelli. Turns out that Veronica's secret identity is that of Lightning Lass, so now we know where Peter got those wacky electricity powers. At the end we see her speak to her "Daddy" on the phone, so I'm wondering if King Midas with the agency is her father figure? It'd make sense, since most everyone in the photo of the older generation has kids involved in the show.

Speaking of which, could Parkman be any more of a wuss? He badgers the poor little girl into locating his missing father, who she insists is worse than Sylar, and gets all namby-pamby when pops puts little Molly in a brain-lock. Fortunately, Mohinder gives him some much-needed backbone and as a result Parkman and Nathan Petrelli go confront the old fart. And get their heads handed to them. In classic Brainiac form, the father ego-boogies them into thinking the other is an enemy and they beat the crap out of each other as Brainiac slips away. This happened to Superman and Wonder Woman in the first season of the Justice League cartoon, so Parkman and Petrelli shouldn't feel too badly. The good news is that Parkman went into Petrelli's mind to break the illusion, which shows him finally showing some initiative and developing his abilities into something more than a passive plot device.

The New Orleans subplot was a bit thin, and Mohinder showing up right at the end to pick up the Taskmaster provoked a "What the... huh?" reaction from me. But overall, I'm enjoying this season's writing more than last year's. One quibble: Nichelle Nichols has such a commanding presence in all of her scenes, you'd think they'd expand her role. Right now she's being wasted.

Now Playing: Dave Davies Rock Bottom: Live at the Bottom Line

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