Broken Frontier

While last week’s episode of Heroes took viewers into the past, the latest installment, titled “It’s Coming,” is all about moving forward. I’m happy to report that the future looks good for this season, which started strong but limped along for the last few episodes with little indication as to where this series is ultimately going.

By the end of this episode the lines between good and evil are clearly drawn, and it seems that fans can finally look forward to less angsty introspection and more meaningful action. Earlier in the season, it was revealed that a formula was responsible for giving the show’s characters their extraordinary powers but, as Mohinder learned firsthand, the chemical compound is not enough to give powers to someone without them suffering some very undesirable side effects. In order for powers to take hold successfully, a catalyst is needed. But what—or who—is the catalyst? The episode suggests that it might just be Claire, which may either be an intriguing parallel to the first season or a tired, desperate storyline recycling. More likely than not, the catalyst has something to do with an upcoming solar eclipse, which fans will remember as being fairly important to the show’s first few episodes. Only time will tell what it all means.

Last week’s episode, titled “Villains,” centered on Hiro’s vision of the past, and introduced to viewers a great deal of unexplored relationships and story territory. Of course, being the man that he is, Arthur Petrelli wasn’t all that happy about Hiro dreaming about him and wiped his memory. Now, Hiro is convinced that he is 10 years old, and it’s up to his best friend Ando to pick up the pieces. One of the early pleasures of this series was Hiro’s discovery of his teleportation and time-stopping powers from the perspective of a comic book geek, and this episode rekindled that necessary spark. Earlier this season, when a trip to the future made Hiro suspicious of his friend Ando, Hiro’s journey became an unnecessarily dark one. In this episode, Hiro is once again the wide-eyed manchild that we know and love, who views a comic book store as “the source of all knowledge.” Comic book fans would have a difficult time repressing a grin when a befuddled Hiro—now apparently out of the loop—tries to wrap his mind around a dead Captain America, an unmasked Spider-Man and a red Hulk.

Another bright spot in this episode was the interaction between Sylar and Elle. Not only is Sylar’s transition from ultimate evil to repentant savior fascinating, but his relationship with Elle makes both characters all the more tangible. Elle’s initial anger over Sylar murdering her father blossoming into their eventual reconciliation and possible romance may be one of the series’ most powerful sequences, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

“We’re all at war with ourselves; that’s what it means to be human,” he says. “The trick is figuring out how to be on the winning side.”

In addition, it was fun seeing Matt Parkman doing something worthwhile for a change in entering Angela Petrelli’s subconscious to snap her out of her coma, as was Tracy’s alliance with Pinehearst and Peter standing up to Flint and Knox without powers. Heroes has a lot to build upon this season, and it will be exciting to see where these characters end up.