Saturday, May 19, 2007


HEROES
Volume One
Chapter 22
(WARNING:
SPOILERS)
“Landslide”

“… episode 21, 22 and 23 are three parts of one story. In fact, it’s less of a trilogy, and more like, Act one, Act two and Act three of a film.”
-- Greg Beeman
Director, “Landslide”

So here we are in the second act of the final story of Volume One, and all the plot threads move quite nicely towards that final shot of Sylar above the NY cityscape, his hands crackling with the nuclear energy he’s stolen from poor Ted. (I’m gonna miss the schmo.)

And in all of this major plot motion, it’s the small moments that stand out, particularly Candice’s, as she finally becomes a real person to me, with the intimation that she’s not actually the hot Missy Peregrym, but quite possibly a lonely, overweight social pariah, who’s helping Linderman because he’s promising to change the world and its prejudices.
And it’s in this plot thread where we also see what Linderman really wants with Micah. So that was it. I actually thought he wanted Micah for, like ICBM missile control or something, in case he needed a contingency plan for the Big Boom.

A bunch of covergences in this chapter as well, as all the major players are in New York. And where people meet and collide, there are bound to be casualties. I’ve already mentioned Ted, but we also lose Thompson (good riddance), D.L. (though I’m not 100% certain on that, cause didn’t he move a little in that last shot of Niki cradling him?), and, most surprising of all, Linderman. (Come on! He can’t die like that! Please tell me that was Candice covering for her boss. And even if it was her, I’d still feel like we were losing a lot of potential by icing her. Kind of like Eden all over again; except I really love Nora Zehetner, and I’m only kind’a warming up to Candice at the moment.)
Still, I hope that wasn’t the end of Linderman… (And if it was, at least he healed Mrs. P before he bought it.)

And, in the Hiro plot thread, we hear Daddy Sulu sing the same song Linderman did, about trying to save the world and people losing their way. So really, who lost whose way?
Presumably though, Daddy Sulu’s one of the “good” guys, as he’s willing to help stop Sylar, while Linderman is one of the “bad” guys, as he’s all too willing to have the city blown up so he can have a man inside the White House. (Of course, he claims to be doing it all for the greater good, so is that justification, or does he really believe his own press?)
Then of course, Grandma P. knows about Linderman’s plan and is all for it, so what does that make her? “Good”? “Bad”? (And what would Peter think if he knew that his mother was in on that plot? I mean, Peter is her favorite son; or so she claims.)
Oh, and Linderman confirms that Daddy P. did have some power or other…

Also, among the cliffhangers of this chapter, Ando most unwisely going off to face Sylar with a purchased katana (please don’t kill Ando!), and Mo and Mr. Bennet in a Mexican stand-off, Mo pointing his gun at Bennet, Bennet pointing his gun at poor little Molly Walker (can anyone say “trauma” and “therapy”?).
At least these are cliffhangers that will take a week to resolve.

Onward ho! Final chapter!

Parting shot 1: “Mr. Claremont,” huh? Gee, I wonder who he’s named after… (And appropriately enough, something to do with samurai swords...)
On top of getting Kirby Plaza last chapter.
Sweet.

Parting shot 2: The scene with Hiro and Nathan was just heartbreaking. The sense of betrayal Hiro feels is nearly palpable, and given that past Hiro-Nathan scenes have always had an element of comedy, this one’s all the more potent. (And it’s a play on their previous “billen” scene as well.)

(Image courtesy of comicbookresources.com.)

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