Heroes 2.10 Truths and Consequences

[selenak]

Still busy, still short review, still out of tune with fandom at large, I bet.



Because I loved Mohinder's unrepentant "Well, tough" attitude towards Noah Bennet after he resurrected him. Especially after reading all the bashing last week. "You have nobody to blame but yourself." Because, you know, it's true. (Incidentally, since Bob delivers the fake ashes and since Mohinder has the blood to resurrect Noah first and then try it out on the virus, I'm assuming the Noah body snatching and resurrection was with Bob's full knowledge. I'm curious whether or not Bob told Mohinder first that this was plan B in case Noah got violent, or after Mohinder shot.) There were other factors as well, but mostly Noah chose the path that led him to a Company cell.

Loved Mohinder's attitude towards Bob as well, and may I say, for everyone screaming about his "stupidity" re: working with the Company for real, here we see he took the trouble of a little research and found out how the virus got into being to begin with (i.e. whose fault that was - theirs), and then does something about it, something constructive, such as getting Bob to tell him where the various samples are, as opposed to, you know, shooting the guy "so my family will be safe". I continue to marvel that this season made me into a Mohinder partisan, but it has. Go, Mohinder's storyline. Which is why as opposed to 99% of fandom I'm actually a bit disappointed about the impending Mohinder/Sylar reunion, because you know, we've tread this ground before. Double Agent!Mohinder is way more interesting than last year's Mohinder, and I still think they should have killed Sylar off in last season's finale. I'd rather have his volume 2 storyline end with Company scenes than in yet another Sylar showdown. Is it too much to hope that at least this one will end with Sylar really really dead? (Killed by Maya, Mohinder or himself, I don't care, just as long as there is no more Sylar.)

Bob was again extermely interesting this week, manipulative with Elle, apparantly honestly interested in stopping the virus with Mohinder (and hey, the story he told Nathan re: Adam and Adam's motivations gets verified elsewhere), and chancing it out with the grieving Bennet clan. Sandra was great in that scene, and I think her shooting Bob was a genuine probability. He didn't have to deliver the "ashes" in person (presumably he has enough flunkies who could have done that for him). And of course we don't know yet why he went to the trouble to resurrect Noah to begin with (I doubt it was just to indulge Mohinder).

Speaking of Elle, Claire had her best scene this episode with her, and I hope that's an omen for things to come, because their interaction has sparks, no pun intended, and besides, I'm really curious whether Claire is angry and vengeful enough to go further in her threat to tell the public about the specials.

I made a bit of fun of Peter in wee_warrior's lj for his out of sight, of of mind attitude towards girlfriends a few days ago, and hereby apologize. Mind you, I know fandom and it's going to complain about this, but I think Peter being shown to a) attempt one more time to retrieve Caitlin from the virus-ridden future and b) being concerned with saving her later on was the right narrative choice, because it is completely his responsibility that she is in this situation. Now I don't find Caitlin a very interesting character, either, but to just ignore her and forget about her would have made Peter look very callous, so I'm glad this didn't happen. Moreover, given that he got a graphic illustration that the virus will wipe out 93% of the population (and got told Nathan died in the first wave), I'm not surprised he puts "stop the virus" before any family reunions.

Of course, he's currently travelling with Ras Al'Gul. Am feeling a bit smug that I put my money on Adam being eviler than the Company when everyone else wanted the reverse to be true. My reason for this, btw, was admittedly reverse shallow one: I didn't want a division where Good Looking Adam is just misunderstood whereas paunchy balding and middle aged Bob is evil (tm). Anyway, I was wondering how Hiro would find out that Takezo Kensei is now Adam Monroe, and just where to find Adam, and hadn't bet on that time trip, which was a neat flashback to Ye Olde Days. I loved the consistency of Kaito being all for locking up Adam, but not of getting rid for the virus for good or for parting ways with the others, because we know he didn't do that for many years to come. Most intriguing was Victoria's observation that Adam had allies among the twelve re: virus. Obvious suspects would be Linderman and Maury, but I'm wondering whether or not Angela was one back then (but not now) and that's why she got away with wounds but wasn't killed yet currently.

Current day Victoria certainly doesn't trust anyone named Petrelli (which is interesting, considering Angela's determination to keep her secret from Matt last week, but then again Victoria also makes the "you look like her" observation to Peter, in which she sounds ambiguous). Peter at this point trusts Adam over her, for which he'll undoubtedly get bashed, but Adam has the "healed Nathan, was fellow prisoner" advantage, and I think given Peter's reaction to Adam shooting Victoria, he's actually suspicious by now. But again, destroying the virus takes precedence.

I loved Niki's reunion with Micah and Monica deciding to get his father's medal back for him. Yes, she gets captured, but give the girl a break - she's not immune to bullets, is she?

So, predictions:

- Depending on whether Mohinder is at the airport of New Orleans or in New York (I didn't get that, will have to rewatch), he'll deliver the antibodies to Niki first before turning back in the first case, or will turn around immediately in the second, but I hope in either case, he'll remember he's living with a cop and will call Matt about the Sylar-has-Molly situation immediately

- Micah will get his Fantastic Four minus One team-up, as Niki will save Monica

- Hiro's attack on Peter will be stopped by Peter zapping Hiro, which in turn will break the time freeze, at which point a Hiro-Kensei/Adam encounter won't be the only one to happen, because I'm pretty convinced this will be the point where Nathan shows up

- why is Nathan in Odessa? Because Bob by now has to know about Victoria's death (complete with photo, thank you, Adam) and can deduce Adam has teamed up with Peter and will go after his old goal, the virus. Which makes getting Nathan to Odessa the smart thing to do, because that at the very least will rob Adam of his multi-super-powered ally

- either Peter or Claire or Adam will consume the fatal strand of the virus, because of the emphasis on the regenerators this season, and I'm thinking Alien III and Ripley pregnant with the Alien flinging herself into the fire

- oh, and Noah B. will rejoin the Company, concluding that the way to REALLY get safety is to get to the top spot himself.

And again, as opposed to the majority of fandom who hopes Sylar will kill Maya, I hope Maya will kill Sylar. Or someone else can kill Sylar. As long as someone does.

Comments

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Most intriguing was Victoria's observation that Adam had allies among the twelve re: virus. Obvious suspects would be Linderman and Maury, but I'm wondering whether or not Angela was one back then (but not now) and that's why she got away with wounds but wasn't killed yet currently.

*starts to say something, thinks better of it*

Then again, I suppose you know who I would suspect of being an ally anyway. I blame Twin Peaks, it just got me fixated on the idea that BOB=pure evil.

And I haven't watched the episode yet (no Nathan dwindles my motivation considerably), so I can't really comment, except for this:

And again, as opposed to the majority of fandom who hopes Sylar will kill Maya, I hope Maya will kill Sylar. Or someone else can kill Sylar. As long as someone does.

You have no earthly idea how much I'm with you on this one.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

This episode is more like The Line than like Kindred to me than while there is no Nathan, there is still enough to keep me interested, and I like it as opposed to most other people.*g*

And yes, I know you want Bob to be the ultimate bad guy, but leaving my own bias aside, I really, really doubt it. They have been rather consistent with him ruthless but not interested in wiping out populations, and while he probably still would like a version of the virus that allows him to take away others' abilities if he deems it fit, the concern about the whole thing getting out of control seems to be stronger.

Mind you, I wouldn't put it past the show to pull another surprise, i.e. reveal that one of the twelve isn't as deceased as we thought and was/is allied with Adam, but not Bob.

Sylar's demise: the two of us against the fannish world.*g*

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

You know, I have some hope that Maya's reaction to Sylar in this ep (complete with S's obvious evil leering) is intended as a meta-sendup of the fannish woobie-love of Sylar. I don't have much hope they'll kill him for good, but I'm hoping the setup is leading to Maya overcoming her illusions and defeating him.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Well, one of the two promos shows her shouting at him "you killed my brother", and given that he taught her how to control her abilities, it would be a fitting irony if she used them against him and killed him. Or at the very least, if we can't have that, put him into a coma for the next season or two.

Maya's Sylar adoration so far as a send-up: maybe. It definitely is a direct anti Sylar/Mary Sue story, i.e. the "Sylar meets this nice girl who truly loves him and gets REFORMED!" plot.

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

I liked all the things you liked from this ep, including Peter worried about finding Caitlin, but the bad overwhelmed the good for me.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

You know, I've been wondering whether I'm too lenient, but when I watched Torchwood's first season, I found many (but not all) episodes mediocre to bad (and making this one look stellar by comparison), and I do have problems with some elements of Dexter this season. So it's not that I automatically like everything I'm served. I will say that I'd have loved no Sylar and instead Nathan en route from Ireland back to the States or Nathan confronting Matt about his interrogation of Angela instead, but I can see that they needed to do the Sylar scenes more, given they needed to resolve the twin thing, having set it up, and needed to get him to New York, having let him survive to begin with. I do wish neither the twins nor Sylar were around in the first place, absolutely, but since they are, that has to be wrapped up. (I do hope for good, and that volume 3 will start without either. My ideal solution would be for Maya to kill Sylar and then decide that she needs some time alone to deal with her grief for Alejandro and her powers, far away from where she can hurt anyone, and go to Tibet. (= where all the tv people go to meditate, ask Angel). That way, we have her out of the story but without mysoginistic or racist implications as there would be if Sylar kills her. AND we're finally rid of Sylar, too.

Anyway, back to the episode: rewatching, I also noticed that when Hiro says his variation of "he killed my father, he must die" to Peter, Peter doesn't say, as he did to Victoria, that Adam is on the contrary a good guy determined on saving the world from the virus, he says "I can't let you do that" (i.e. kill Adam), which is a different issue. He does owe Adam Nathan's life, even if Victoria and Hiro are right about him, so he can't let Hiro kill Adam.

[srichard.livejournal.com]

I hope Sylar will try to eat something exotic that he's unknowingly allergic to in an attempt to impress Maya and he will swell up like a giant tic and asphyxiate. Or die in some other embarrassing, useless way that will dispose of him entirely and for good. But then, I am petty like that.

And your proposed scheme gives me some good Nathan screen time, so I really can't object.

[kathyh]

Bob was again extermely interesting this week, manipulative with Elle

That was a creepy little scene. He knows exactly how to get her to do what he wants.

He didn't have to deliver the "ashes" in person

No, he really didn't. I wonder whether it was because it was a chance to assess Claire's mood and to see if there was any chance of playing "the greater good" card with her. Looks as if he decided not.

I hope Maya will kill Sylar. Or someone else can kill Sylar. As long as someone does.

Oh so do I. So far this whole storyline is quite superfluous to what's going on everywhere else where various threads are now being pulled together. I can even see the necessity of Caitlin (just) at this point, but the Twins and Sylar are sticking out like a sore thumb! More Nathan, less Sylar, say I.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I wonder whether it was because it was a chance to assess Claire's mood and to see if there was any chance of playing "the greater good" card with her. Looks as if he decided not.

He's flexible that way.*g* But yes, I suppose that was one reason, for his telling Elle to watch Claire for the next 24 hours as well. He is probably wondering how she'd react and what she'll do. Given that, you know, he found her in Costa Verde to begin with because of the infamous prank, and if Elle tells him about Claire's threat to go public, I think he'll take it seriously and believe Claire would do that.

[mimesh.livejournal.com]

here we see he took the trouble of a little research and found out how the virus got into being to begin with (i.e. whose fault that was - theirs), and then does something about it, something constructive, such as getting Bob to tell him where the various samples are, as opposed to, you know, shooting the guy "so my family will be safe".

I agree and that's why it's all the more tragic that they push him in HRG's role with Sylar threatening his daughter. Judging from the promos I think this leads to Mohinder sacrificing Niki in order to save Molly and do whatever it takes (or Sylar makes him do). If there is a possibility for his character to come out strong from this, I wouldn't mind the Sylar reunion but I have my doubts that this will be the case.

And of course we don't know yet why he went to the trouble to resurrect Noah to begin with (I doubt it was just to indulge Mohinder).

I'm puzzled by this turn of events myself and I wonder if they resurrected other people before using Adam's blood or if this was their first try. What value does a resurrected Bennet have for the company?

Obvious suspects would be Linderman and Maury, but I'm wondering whether or not Angela was one back then (but not now) and that's why she got away with wounds but wasn't killed yet currently.

Yep, I have been thinking about Angela (and possibly Arthur) as well. Although given how afraid Angela appears of Adam and how fiercely she tried to protect Victoria it's possible that she turned on Adam when he attacked Victoria in order to get the virus. It seems that the remaining elders were all behind the decision to lock Adam away and their group remained together for many more years as you pointed out.

Current day Victoria certainly doesn't trust anyone named Petrelli (which is interesting, considering Angela's determination to keep her secret from Matt last week, but then again Victoria also makes the "you look like her" observation to Peter, in which she sounds ambiguous)

We didn't see Peter telling her his name, did we, so does she identify him solely by his resemblance to Angela? Could you elaborate why you think she sounded ambiguous?

Sylar didn't really have a purpose this season. I'm sure Maya would have found her way to NYC sooner or later. The only redeeming factor of Sylar's story line this season would be if they used him to set up Maya as the next villain and she goes darkside after realizing Sylar's betrayal. Her power makes it difficult to imagine her in any other future story line.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I agree and that's why it's all the more tragic that they push him in HRG's role with Sylar threatening his daughter.

It does make storytelling sense, though, to test Mohinder this way, putting him in Bennet's situation in this way, too. Still, I wish it wouldn't be Sylar and the test would come another way.

What value does a resurrected Bennet have for the company?

We'll probably find out next episode, and I still think there has to be a drawback to the use of the blood which Bob didn't tell Mohinder about, which doesn't matter in regards to Noah - because while there has to be a reason why he's useful enough to resurrect, if there are ill after effects it's not like they affect someone they can't spare. I am afraid, though, we'll find out via Nathan why Adam's blood at least (not sure about Claire's) has said drawbacks.

Although given how afraid Angela appears of Adam and how fiercely she tried to protect Victoria it's possible that she turned on Adam when he attacked Victoria in order to get the virus. It seems that the remaining elders were all behind the decision to lock Adam away and their group remained together for many more years as you pointed out.

Yes, and not a single one of them tried to break Adam out. Which really makes me suspect that Angela (with or without Arthur) originally helped him but changed their minds after Adam attacked Victoria and after they found out the virus would have wiped out everyone, including them and their children (well, child in this case - Nathan would already be there, though not Peter), no matter what he promised. And that Angela went to such lengths to protect Victoria because she felt she owed her for this.

We didn't see Peter telling her his name, did we, so does she identify him solely by his resemblance to Angela?

No, he doesn't tell her his name. They come in, he sees the article about Angela confessing to Kaito's murder together with other articles lying on the table, and Victoria says "You look like your mother" *short pause* "After Kaito and the others died, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone came after me." (Peter then confirms who he is by telling her the last time he saw Angela was a year in the future where she told him about the virus.)

I thought she sounded a bit sad when she said "you look like your mother", but that's probably a matter of interpretation. He does, of course. (Look a lot like Angela. Awesome casting.)

Maya as the villain for the next volume: well, that would make sense of the Sylar storyline, but otoh the problem is that it wouldn't make much of a story. Yes, she can kill anyone around her, but either Hiro or Peter could freeze time, to which she has no immunity.

I could see another point, which is that maybe Maya's power, if controlled, somehow can be used to counteract with the virus, two negatives cancelling each other out, and then Sylar would have been at least useful in as much as he helped her learn to control it. Still. Die, Sylar, die!

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

If you're out of sync with the rest of fandom, then so am I. I love your episode reviews--they're pretty much *exactly* my opinion of things.

And AMEN to Sylar. I was really hoping to just... ignore him. Also, I was kind of fond of Alejandro, so he was the only reason I found those scenes at all watchable--in that I kept going "oh, please don't kill him." Except we all knew he was a Red Shirt.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, his death was pretty much a given from the get go, like Ted's last season, yes. And hail, comrade. *g*

[kernezelda]

*waves small flag of Heroes-fondness solidarity*

Hey, now that the show is almost over, possibly forever due to writers' strike, I finally got around to making an icon. *rolls eyes at self*

[silverblade219.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen the episode yet, so can't comment on that but I just wanted to add my vote for Sylar getting kill Maya or anyone else ^^

[taxidryer.livejournal.com]

I continue to marvel that this season made me into a Mohinder partisan, but it has. Double Agent!Mohinder is way more interesting than last year's Mohinder.
Yay! I'm totally with you on that. I always thought they should have made Mohinder The Scientist and only The Scientist in season 1 (as opposed to the Scientist's-son-who-believes-and-then-doesn't-and-then-believes-again-and-blah) and that's exactly what he's doing this season. Science and morality only, thanks.

I still think they should have killed Sylar off in last season's finale.
Thank God, I'm not the only one to think so! I love Sylar, but that's the problem when you start loving your characters too much. It weakens the story.

Now I don't find Caitlin a very interesting character, either, but to just ignore her and forget about her would have made Peter look very callous, so I'm glad this didn't happen.
Oh, how much do I love you tonight? I think the problem with Caitlin is that they made her a love interest instead of simply a friendly girl who helped him deal with his memory loss. Or something. I don't know, but the romance is hard to buy between these two. It's sad because Caitlin could have been such an interesting character. But hey, I agree Peter forgetting about her would have made things worse.

Speaking of Elle, Claire had her best scene this episode with her, and I hope that's an omen for things to come, because their interaction has sparks, no pun intended, and besides, I'm really curious whether Claire is angry and vengeful enough to go further in her threat to tell the public about the specials.
That was definitely the best scene in my opinion. Pissedoff!Claire versus Clumsy!Elle. How unexpected and interesting was that to watch?!

:o)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

that's exactly what he's doing this season. Science and morality only, thanks.

Absolutely. This year's Mohinder does not stare endlessly on a computer screen, and his dilemmas aren't "so was Dad on to something or wasn't he?", it's "there are only bad choices I can make in the situation I'm in, so which ones help more people and get less people killed?" Way more interesting.

I think the problem with Caitlin is that they made her a love interest instead of simply a friendly girl who helped him deal with his memory loss. Or something. I don't know, but the romance is hard to buy between these two. It's sad because Caitlin could have been such an interesting character. But hey, I agree Peter forgetting about her would have made things worse.

Restrospectively, the main reason why Caitlin became a love interest was obviously so Peter has additional personal incentive to stop the virus future, and I don't think that would have been necessary - 93% of the population plus Nathan would have been enough. But be that as it may, once you establish something like this, you can't let your character simply ignore it without making him look bad. If you want to maintain credibility for Peter as a caring person, you can't just let him abandon a girl he brought into a hellish world (and who has just lost her brother thanks to him already). Now I think that as with Simone last season, the fact the romance doesn't work as a romance hasn't been lost on the producers, and I doubt Caitlin will be back to settle down with Peter any time soon, but he had to try to rescue her and continue to remember his responsibility for her fate.

(My ideal scenario would be: once the immediate crisis is dealt with, Peter manages to successfully transport into the future again, retrieves Caitlin, who is shaken enough by everything that happened to say she'd rather be back in Ireland and single and far from any people with superpowers for the rest of her life, thanks, we get a farewell scene, and that's that. I don't want her to be dead in either the future or the present, because that would heighten the killed women quota even more.)

Pissedoff!Claire versus Clumsy!Elle. How unexpected and interesting was that to watch?!

And talk about good chemistry. There aren't nearly enough interesting relationships between women on this show, and I hope for more between these two.

[ainsley.livejournal.com]

And again, as opposed to the majority of fandom who hopes Sylar will kill Maya, I hope Maya will kill Sylar. Or someone else can kill Sylar. As long as someone does.

Please, dear God. Please.

[weirdofromafar.livejournal.com]

And again, as opposed to the majority of fandom who hopes Sylar will kill Maya, I hope Maya will kill Sylar. Or someone else can kill Sylar. As long as someone does.

You don't know how happy I am to hear someone say that. IMO, the problem with Sylar is that he just doesn't work as a long-term character. Not unless they can find a way to make him less one-dimensional., which they haven't. I think his real curtain call came when Hiro ran a sword through him. *sigh*

[cadesama.livejournal.com]

Which is why as opposed to 99% of fandom I'm actually a bit disappointed about the impending Mohinder/Sylar reunion, because you know, we've tread this ground before.

I'm interested in it for scientific and comparative purposes! How much has Mohinder really changed? We can't know until we put him back into old situations and see how he reacts!

I'm really curious whether Claire is angry and vengeful enough to go further in her threat to tell the public about the specials.

This is a girl who filmed herself dying in a million different ways, so it's not like she's the most careful in the world on this aspect. I don't actually think she'll do it, but she might put a few things in motion that eventually lead to everyone being outed at the end of the season (between the explosion, Monica's vigilantism, the virus, and whatever Claire does, I think they have to get exposed).

I didn't want a division where Good Looking Adam is just misunderstood whereas paunchy balding and middle aged Bob is evil (tm).

What about those of us who want everyone to be evil, yet on the good side? *pouts*

but I'm wondering whether or not Angela was one back then (but not now) and that's why she got away with wounds but wasn't killed yet currently.

I seriously would not be surprised if Angela was the season's actual Big Bad, assuming Adam is actually dealt with semi-permanently in the next episode. Which, you know, sucks for the world. Because no way in hell would Peter or Nathan let anyone hurt Angela, even if she is a genocidal megalomaniac. Can you imagine how awkward the holidays would be if they did let someone hurt her? Ouch.

Peter at this point trusts Adam over her, for which he'll undoubtedly get bashed, but Adam has the "healed Nathan, was fellow prisoner" advantage

Not only that, but Peter tried earnestness and honesty on Victoria, and he was snubbed without her even knowing about Adam. Which gives credence to Adam's statements about the way they should handle it from the beginning. I do think he's getting suspicious, probably enough to be on his guard at Primatech and want to take care of all the virus destroying personally; but, at the same time, I think he doesn't care about whether Adam is a bad guy. He saved Nathan.

Yes, she gets captured, but give the girl a break - she's not immune to bullets, is she?

Exactly! (There was some booing of that from my friends when we watched.) Most people get scared when a gun in shoved in their face, and especially in the position she was in, where was was trapped in an awkward position and outnumbered.

- oh, and Noah B. will rejoin the Company, concluding that the way to REALLY get safety is to get to the top spot himself.

Agreed. Although I generally think our heroes will end up in charge of the Company by season's end, anyway.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

What about those of us who want everyone to be evil, yet on the good side? *pouts*

I really think all of the Elders are evil to a certain degree - well, excepting probably Vicky, given that she really seemed to be the Mohinder of yesterday - and to me the difference between Adam and Bob is mostly that I find Bob more interesting, and Tobolowsky scarier than Anders (I don't mind Adam, but he reminds me too much of Sark to really take him seriously. Anders was a lot better as Kensei). Oh, and that if Bob is insane, he hides it a whole lot better than either Adam or Linderman, which makes him more dangerous. In fact, I think of him as the first person who might just be Angela's match.

Exactly! (There was some booing of that from my friends when we watched.) Most people get scared when a gun in shoved in their face, and especially in the position she was in, where was was trapped in an awkward position and outnumbered.

Besides, it's hardly as if she is a seasoned crime fighter or a cop; she's just a normal college-aged girl who is reasonably frightened of armed thugs about to commit arson.

[unlovablehands.livejournal.com]

I was just poking around at your fanfic and decided to look at your recent posts and ahahahaha. I'm not the only one hoping Maya will kill Sylar. *high fives!* And yeah, I think Mohinder sometimes seems dumb because he genuinely thinks he can fix things and this is a generally pessimistic sow about those sort of things so he comes across as naive, but the suggestions/plans he comes up with are not bad, they're just usually undermined by the show's overriding aesthetic sometimes. Which is an entirely different problem.

Anyway, hi.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*high fives back*

Although going by the reactions to this post, the hopes for Sylar's demise are more widespread thanI thought. (Though we're still in a minority, going by the message boards.)

but the suggestions/plans he comes up with are not bad, they're just usually undermined by the show's overriding aesthetic sometimes. Which is an entirely different problem.

Although I don't think the narrative has not put Mohinder in a position where he comes across as dumb this season. I mean, unless we get a scene next episode where Bob suddenly starts mustache-twirling and muwahhahahing and tells Mohinder that the new cure he found for the virus is REALLY an even deadlier version and that was all he wanted Mohinder for, and throws him into the cell next to Noah's, and Mohinder ends the episode by saying "if only I had always done what Noah Bennet told me to". Which I don't think will happen. On the other hand, he has been given enough reason on screen, not just in a tell instead of show way, to doubt Noah, plus his ambiguous decision of the season, the one that started the "dumb!" cries again, bringing Molly into the Company when she was in a Maury-caused coma, did not result in what both Noah and the audience expected to happen, i.e. Bob using Molly as leverage to make Mohinder do his evil bidding. Or Bob using Molly in an evil experiment. On the contrary, Molly came and went without a scratch and had medical care without the questions a hospital would have asked during the time she needed it.

Not that Bob would have been incapable of using Molly against Mohinder, obviously. And he certainly wouldn't have been restrained by ethics. But the point is, he didn't do it. And thus Mohinder's risky decision to use the Company to help Molly paid off. In the current situation, if it had gone Noah's way, Bob and Elle would both be dead, and whether Mohinder would have survived is up to debate. Instead, by acting as he did, Mohinder achieved the end result of Noah, Bob and Elle all being alive AND, most importantly, a cure for the mutated virus. Which he wouldn't have gotten if he hadn't cooperated with Bob. Now his conversation with Bob made it clear he knows the fact the virus still exists in various mutations is Bob & the Company's fault to begin with, but Bob has also been willing to do something about it via hiring Mohinder, and to let Mohinder do something about it. Whereas Noah did absolutely nothing in this regard. His orders to Mohinder were solely concerned with his own and his family's safety. So I really don't get why Mohinder is called stupid right now.

Also, hi.*g*

[12-12-12.livejournal.com]

Like you, I really enjoyed this episode. But then, I've been enjoying all the episodes from "Out of Time" onwards, because that's when Hiro, Peter, (and to a lesser extent, Claire) finally got out of limbo and started getting in on the action. They really make Heroes what it is, for me, and now that even Claire is starting to be her badass Season 1 self again I really have no complaints.

I really like what they've done with Matt and Nathan and Mohinder this season, but until 2.07 or so all those great scenes felt like...isolated pockets of goodness. Now each episode seems tighter, more cohesive. A great example would be Hiro's voiceover at his father's funeral in 2.09--it really made me think, "Ah, my show is back."

I love the way they're developing Elle's character--she's such a child, in so many ways. That moment where she drops her Slurpee in the car was fantastic.

Peter at this point trusts Adam over her, for which he'll undoubtedly get bashed, but Adam has the "healed Nathan, was fellow prisoner" advantage, and I think given Peter's reaction to Adam shooting Victoria, he's actually suspicious by now. But again, destroying the virus takes precedence.

I think they could have made Peter's trust a lot more understandable if they'd just included a line or two about the bomb plot. Because as far as we know, this is the first time Peter really understands that Linderman, his parents, Bob, Victoria Pratt, Nakamura and Charles Deveaux were all involved in The Company together, and were presumably complicit in Plan Blow Up New York. Now, Adam's description of the Virus Plot sounds eerily similar, and it makes sense that Peter wouldn't trust any of the Elders after what he saw in the finale.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I love the way they're developing Elle's character--she's such a child, in so many ways. That moment where she drops her Slurpee in the car was fantastic.

I'm a bit reminded of Drusilla with her in this regard. (Does that make Bob Angelus and Peter a potential Spike?*g*) Psychotic AND a (broken) child at the same time. You can also see it by the way she hugs Peter after they did the finger spark; it's not one of her "trying to be sexy" moves but an exuberant hug.

Re: the car scene, in addition to the Slurpee dropping what made it to me was that in the end, she didn't wait for Claire to arrive but got out. And she and Claire really spark, pun intended. I hope for much further interaction!

Bomb plot & virus plot: the problem is that I'm not sure how much Peter understood of the former. What he saw on the roof was a conversation between his mother and Charles Deveaux, which told him she knew there would be a big catastrophe wiping out most of New York, and that Charles thought it could be avoided. In addition to that, he also got to hear the acid "I love Peter, but..." statement and that his mother thought Nathan was a future leader. I don't think that part was strictly news to Peter, though she might never have put the "weaknesses" assessment so bluntly out loud in front of him. (Except if the deleted scenes count as canon, because then she says something similar in the pilot, i.e. that she loves him but has given up expecting something special from him. But do deleted scenes count?) Oh, and of course he read Nathan's mind in the garage, but Nathan didn't think about Angela or Linderman telling him about Plan Blow Up New York, he thought "there's nothing anyone can do, they're all going to die". And all of this directly before the big showdown at Kirby Plaza. What I'm getting at is: he might not have processed this as more than: my mother knew this would happen, and she was willing to let it happen. Not: My mother, Linderman, and probably a couple of other people...

Mind you, I'm also perfectly willing to go with the interpration that he did understand and that he remembered that along with everything else post-4MA. I'm just not sure. Anyway, I noticed Peter wasn't exactly shocked to see the article with a big Angela photo saying "Petrelli confesses to murder" on Victoria's table, but he did sound very amazed indeed that Charles was on the group photo. (Presumably because he still had the idealized image of Charles as the Good Father to his less than stellar parents.) So I think what he took from that rootop revelation was mostly the personal, i.e. Mom knew, not the big picture, i.e. there was a larger conspiracy.

Granted, they could have given him a line similar to Nathan's "sounds like Linderman" observation in Nathan's scene with Bob - but Peter never heard Linderman talk about the plan. The only thing he did hear were Nathan's thoughts in the garage and the Charles and Angela conversation, in which it didn't sound like a conspiracy, given it ended with "well, in a few years we'll find out which of us is right, and who is wrong" and Charles good humouredly saying "thankfully I'll be dead by then". So I'm not sure whether Peter making the comparison could have been justified based on what he knew.

As I said in other comments, I had no problem with Peter trusting Adam up to this point of the story. He spent months in prison with him, so far Adam's assessments and predictions turned out to be correct, and Adam kept his promise of saving Nathan. On the other hand, Victoria admitted to creating a lethal virus, she's a co-founder of the suspicious institution that kept him prisoner and oh, got Ricky killed more recently, and she tried to kill Peter (twice - she didn't know he could regenerate the first time she shot him). They did make it clear he was shocked at Adam shooting her anyway, and he looked and sounded troubled after Adam's "she was about to blow off your head" explanation, just replying "I'll get the car", but doubts or not, at this point, Adam's general trustworthiness still is there. What's more, they're on a schedule, given that Peter knows the virus will be released very soon.

[leviathanmuse.livejournal.com]

Most of what you say makes a lot of sense. I'm really kinda hoping that Sylar and Maya take each other out. I don't like her and I agree that Sylar should have remained dead as of last season. Sigh...

Of course, he's currently travelling with Ras Al'Gul. Am feeling a bit smug that I put my money on Adam being eviler than the Company when everyone else wanted the reverse to be true. My reason for this, btw, was admittedly reverse shallow one: I didn't want a division where Good Looking Adam is just misunderstood whereas paunchy balding and middle aged Bob is evil (tm).

I agree with this only to a point. I would rather both Adam and Bob be grey where their various agendas are not purely evil, but not necessarily good. I'm not a huge fan of the pure black hat myself, so I'd rather that they'd add a few more strands to that motivation/agenda to make the villains if not a bit more sympathetic, at least a little more understandable.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd be fine with Adam being grey in addition to Bob. (Just as long as we don't get a good looking equals goodness equation.*g*) And I agree about added strands. Pure black hats are useful in some stories - LotR comes to mind, with Sauron - or the Borg in early TNG, when they were still scary - when you need that kind of overwhelming inpersonal threat. But most stories benefit from villains who are more interesting and complicated than that, and I'm always glad to find them.

[gelasius.livejournal.com]

I loved Sylar as a character last year -- he was a wonderfully creepy villain, the bit with his mother is something I'll never forget, and his earnest manipulation of Mohinder was wonderful for me to behold. BUT I'm so far really really disappointed in the lack of new direction for the character, and unless there's some ridiculously awesome plot twist regarding him that I haven't even thought of, I'm hoping Sylar will be finally killed off well before the end of the season. Killed by Maya as part of her journey would work. Or DL coming back from the dead and taking him out Kitty-Pryde style, but it's possible that's a ridiculous fantasy.

Of course, he's currently travelling with Ras Al'Gul.

Wow, he totally is. Win. :)

...and also,

[gelasius.livejournal.com]

Someone else may have already answered this, but based on the background of the cab scene Mohinder was definitely in New York (he passed through what looked very much like Times Square).

I think given Peter's reaction to Adam shooting Victoria

It's very possible I'm over-interpreting, but I think Peter's reaction before Adam shot her indicates his suspicion. When Adam is undoing Victoria's bonds, and says "We're not hurting you, we're letting you go," Peter's "What are you doing?" said to me that he suspected Adam's motives in untying her (you're setting her up, aren't you!), not the wisdom of releasing her. Which would be so much more awesome, so I'm going with that for now.