Broken Frontier

Okay, even the most hardened Heroes devotees must admit: the show is downright silly these days. Heroes was once considered an important series that helped legitimize prime-time science fiction on a major network (alongside Lost and a few other genre pioneers). Now, it’s a sometimes-thrilling guilty pleasure. But as this season—and likely the series—draws to a close, we should probably enjoy it while we can, right?

One of the primary story threads this season has been Hiro slowly dying of a brain tumor, and in “Pass/Fail,” it seems as though his time is up. He collapses in Peter’s apartment and is rushed to the hospital for surgery. While this is going on, Hiro imagines that he is on trial for using his time-travel abilities selfishly.

Presiding over the trial is Hiro’s late father Kaito, played by the incomparable George Takei of Star Trek fame. Hiro’s prosecutor is his arch nemesis, Adam Monroe (David Anders), who is also dead. It’s up to Hiro to prove that he did not use his power for personal gain by traveling back in time to save his beloved waitress, Charlie. The penalty for his temporal transgression? Death.

Hiro’s trial is the strongest storyline in “Pass/Fail,” largely because it reminds us why Hiro was once this series’ most likeable character. Here is someone with an intense desire to use his ability for good who, thanks to his unflinching geekiness, actually embraces the idea of being a superhero. Having that heroic desire put on trial is surprisingly poignant, especially considering his terminal illness. At the end of the trial, Hiro is found guilty of breaking the hero’s code, but after Hiro admits to his wrongdoing, Kaito pardons Hiro on the condition that he defeat Adam in a swordfight. Hey, an action scene!

Hiro wins the battle, and is apparently healed by his mother from beyond the grave. The reunion is a sweet moment, and it looks like Hiro’s going to be okay as long as he can rescue Charlie, wherever and whenever Samuel stashed her.

Speaking of Samuel, he’s busy this week trying to woo his former love Vanessa (Battlestar Galactica’s Kate Vernon). Long story short, he’s built her dream home and wants her to come live with him, but she rejects him. In anger, Samuel uses his power to destroy an entire town. While it’s nice to get a better glimpse at why Samuel is such a psychopath through this past relationship, we’ve known he’s a tad unhinged since the beginning of the season. The more we learn about this once-mysterious carny, the less we care. 

The other storyline this week involved Claire and Sylar. You see, Sylar learned from Lydia—the tattooed carnival chick with the power to show people what they want through her body ink—that he needs Claire’s help. He tracks her down at school, and reasons that he and the former cheerleader are very much alike (invincibility, being adopted, etc.). But the primary connection the two share is that their powers keep them separated from everyone around them. To regain his humanity, he must get rid of his powers. Through their conversation, Claire realizes (again) that she needs to make more human connections and decides to be more open about her feelings toward Gretchen. It looks like Heroes is actually pursuing the pseudo-lesbian storyline between Claire and Gretchen. Well, that’s one way to boost declining ratings.

“Pass/Fail” is pretty average as far as Heroes episodes go, but the overall narrative this season is growing stale fast. But we get to see Claire and Sylar kiss this week in suitably creepy fashion. So that’s a plus. Sort of.