Broken Frontier

Ironically, the best character on Heroes this season isn’t all that heroic. Sylar, played to devious perfection by Zachary Quinto, is simply always entertaining to watch. In “Building 26,” the third installment of Volume Four: “Fugitives,” Sylar ventures across the country to find his father with the help of Luke, a teenager that seems to look up to the “technical” serial killer as an older brother. It’s not yet known whether or not Sylar will slice the tyke’s skull open and steal his microwave powers after he’s led him to dear old dad, but for now the two seem to be getting along just fine on their little road trip.

Unfortunately, Claire and her adoptive father Noah—known affectionately in fan circles as HRG (Horn-Rimmed Glasses)—aren’t getting along nearly as well. With HRG acting as a consultant in her biological father Senator Nathan Petrelli’s crackdown on all people with super powers, it’s more than understandable why Clairebear is a little on-edge. Mysterious text messages from someone known only as “Rebel” advising her to seek out and protect fellow super-powered people is only making matters worse.

One particular text leads Claire into a comic book store where she meets up with Alex, who is doubtful that a beautiful blonde has wandered into his store perusing the racks in search of the latest copy of Uncanny X-Men. Stereotypes aside, he’s right to be suspicious, as HRG arrives in the store just moments after Claire with less-than-noble intentions. The two escape, and Claire learns that Alex has the power to hold his breath underwater. Both of Aquaman’s hardcore fans must be thrilled.

Another large chunk of the episode focused on Nathan, who continues his crusade against super-powered individuals much to the chagrin of Abby Collins from the Department of Homeland Security. She’s been sent in to investigate Nathan’s team, which has taken Tracy Strauss in custody and is torturing her with intense heat (she has ice powers). Through Abby and Nathan’s dialogue, the episode examines whether extreme circumstances—such as an increasing number of people with dangerous abilities throughout the globe—call for an equally extreme response. Whether or not audiences are looking for sociopolitical commentary in their superhero television programs, “Fugitives” seems to have it in spades, and is thus far using it in a way that is at times thought-provoking without getting in the way of character-driven storytelling.

The only storyline in “Building 26” that seems dull and borderline unnecessary is Hiro and Ando’s trek to India, spurred by one of Matt Parkman’s prophetic paintings. Essentially, the two arrive in New Delhi to stop a wedding. The point here basically seemed to be that Hiro can affect real change in the lives of others even though he is now powerless. In addition, this sequence further cement Hiro and Ando as equals. Let’s just hope the pair is given more to do as this season progresses.

With “Fugitives,” it seems as though Heroes is resolving a lot of the issues fans had with the past two storylines, namely its former preoccupations with introducing new characters and juggling too many unrelated storylines at once. After three episodes, Volume Four seems far less disjointed with its streamlined narrative that unites characters under a common goal: Survival.