Heroes 2.03 Kindred

[selenak]

Firstly, I'm not going to complain about the lack of Nathan in this episode. This is because I remember there were several season 1 episodes in which he didn't show up at all or just for two seconds (Better Halves and Distractions come to mind), which were usually followed by episodes in which he showed up a lot. So there.

Secondly, I am going to exhale a huge sigh of relief about the relative lack of Sylar. From the second trailer, I was afraid this was going to be Sylar-centric, and no offense, Sylar-fans, he works better on small doses for me. Plus I still think they should have killed him off in the season finale. However, since they didn't, I'm cautiously optimistic because the what they did with him in the few scenes he was in was promising. Why? Because he doesn't have his powers anymore/can't access them. This is not just suitable irony but actually interesting in terms of character development, especially since he also finds out his usual opus moderandi for acquiring powers, killing people, doesn't work right now (or anymore?). Which could bring us the answer to the question whether this particular serial killer is killing for the powers or for the kicks of killing by now.

Meanwhile: alas for Candice/Michelle/Betty (if the comics count). I had an ominous feeling as soon as she said who she was, considering who we knew killed her in the Five Years Gone verse. And Candice, Candice, you should have known better, and so should your employer(s); you were candy, no pun intended, Sylar was never going to be reasonable and see you as a person instead of food for being special again. From a Doylist perspective, it's as good a way to write out the character as any, because keeping her might get too tricky in terms of story telling - i.e. the Sylar/Nathan reveal in 5YG was so dramatic it could hardly be topped, and afterwards everyone wondered whether Angela or *insert character* was really them or Candice and would be forever. Also, this time the show does make it clear she meant what she said when she told Micah she was heavy, which means my story isn't Kring'ed; I'm selfish enough to care about that. Candice, you were a fun character to write, and I will miss you, rationale-understanding as I am of your demise.

We catch up with Micah and Niki at last, and find out DL's full name and his death. This makes me immediately suspicious that they intend to pair Niki up with someone else, but thankfully this episode does not set her up for romance or flight. Instead, she seems to have inherited Mohinder's role of picking the wrong people repeatedly, but without this season's Mohinder's deliberate agenda there. On the other hand, we could be wrong about that. The fact that she wants a cure: I'm torn about that. On the one hand, I'm against it for gender reasons, plain and simple - female character rejecting her power was done enough with Niki last season, and I thought the finale was about her embracing her other self without losing her ethics through doing so. On the other hand, I also can see the reasoning. Niki found out her entire life was manipulated, supervised and messed with BECAUSE of her superpower, as was her late husband's, and their son's, and Micah got kidnapped because of that. Basically, this means a life on the run versus trying to get rid of what makes her and her son a target, and I can see her choosing the second option. Not that she's going to get what she wants; it's pretty obvious the Company isn't interested in losing a valuable tool unless it turns against them.

Maya y Alejandro: at last something happens in this storyline other than them being on the run. To wit: Maya for the first time kills deliberately, or at last risks doing same, though how strong she counted on Alejandro being able to reverse it is open to debate. Also, she's taking the initiative. Again, I'm torn; it still sounds too much like Niki's storyline from last year. Give the twins something uniquely them, scriptwriters!

Matt and Mohinder: awwwww. They are an adorable domestic unit. With disagreements, which is good as it makes them not too fluffy. Am amused that Matt basically sees Mohinder as as helpless as Molly, which will probably result in both of them rescuing Matt at some point.

Clever Hiro has worked out a method to communicate with Ando through the centuries, which is a neat twist and believably set up by Hiro giving Ando the sword in the season finale. Kensei's reaction to discovering his superpowered nature is somewhat Nathanian, though Hiro can't know that. Otoh, the big plot hole in the Japanese section was that everyone seemed to have forgotten about Yaeko's father. (Doesn't he still need rescuing? Did they cut that scene?) Considering that Kensei has now supposedly learned how to do heroics, I'm more sure than ever he'll turn out to be one of the villains in the current time line, because the more he and Hiro get to be buddies, the deeper the shock and horror will be on Hiro's part. Already he has forgotten something important: dumping Kensei among 29 (or however many) ronin so he can fight them, knowing he can't die anyway, doesn't teach the man anything about selflessness and honor and all those other things his historic hero is famous for, not even bravery, it just teaches him some more fighting skills.

Claire and West: go from him going too far in provoking her to bonding a bit too fast, plus she really should have asked the "related?!?" question, no matter how unlikely it would be, BUT I'm positively delighted West is used to do something I've been hoping, but not believing would happen, to wit, confronting Claire with her father's actions towards other specials. Last season, she could dismiss them post-Company Man as "the Company made him do it, and he only did it to protect me anyway", but we already know, and she'll have to go through realizing it's not that simple. Noah Bennet joined the Company years before getting Claire as a child, he did sign on for the morally grey without anyone forcing him or blackmailing him, and he did treat a lot of people as lab rats. West had it relatively easy with just being tagged and losing a day; I don't think Sylar was the only one who went through the experiments stage, considering Claude's remark about the vivisections getting to him and HRG's very detailed description of what the Company would do to Claire. And I very much doubt the other experiment subjects were all crazy serial killers.

Anyway, this makes the West/Claire romance immediately into something more than just a teenage romance for Claire which plays with the subtext of West having some traits from other family members. What's more, I doubt Noah B. will see West as something other than huge security risk for his family, West not having the benefit of having saved Claire Bear and thus earning Noah's benevolence. Which means he might do something unpleasant to West, which means more Claire confronting the ruthless side of her father and what morally grey can mean.

Now I had predicted that the eight pictures would not actually be showing the eight remaining elders, but that some of the dead people on them would turn out to be members of the younger generation. I just thought they'd bluff about this a while longer. So colour me surprised in a good way when Mohinder unearthed Isaac's rendition of Dead!HRG. That's a great shocker and setting up of suspense. Mind you, I think this picture will turn out to be misleading, as the one of the dead blonde cheerleader did which turned out to be Jackie, not Claire, or Claire and the shadow, which turned out to be Peter's, not Sylar's. But... on this show I wouldn't exclude completely they'd actually kill Noah off. I think it's highly unlikely. But not absolutely impossible.

(Oh, and also: in the background we have Claire and a dark haired male; given the content of this episode, I think the writers want us to think it's going to be West, but it will turn out to be either Peter or Nathan.)

Lastly, back in Ireland, the show answers fannish speculation about tattoos on self-healing individuals.*g* (Having it turn into the "Godsend" symbol/genetic marker before dissappearing was another neat teach. Is that how Jessica got hers?) Peter not opening the box at the end is frustrating but in character, or rather, it shows that Peter's insecurities and tendency to want someone else to control him (which goes along with rebellion but only until appropriate control is found) aren't the result of being the younger Petrelli, at least not completely, but are his nature. And you know, his reasoning - that if he did enjoy that display of power and the near death of another human being, his old self might be someone he doesn't want to be, a killer - makes sense; of course he also combines it with a breathtaking bit of Peter-typical illogic, since hanging out with a gang is bound to get him into more violence. But again, the someone else's control thing.

And very lastly: yay for Nichelle Nichols! What are the odds she's another elder, hmmmm?