Broken Frontier

Heroes kicked off its fourth season (and fifth volume) this week but, judging by Monday night’s ratings, viewers are less than enthused. According to The Hollywood Reporter, viewership for the premiere dropped 46 percent compared to last year’s season opener. But while the series still has some major structural problems it needs to work out—namely its disorienting juggling of storylines and slow pacing—this season shows promise. Whether it actually lives up to that potential is another question.

This fifth volume of Heroes, appropriately titled “Redemption” picks up six weeks after the conclusion of the last story arc, “Fugitives.” In it,  the principal characters are separated (again) and many of them are grasping for something resembling normalcy in spite of their superhuman attributes (also, again). Quick-healing former cheerleader Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) is beginning her freshman year of college while time traveler Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) and his best pal Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee) are starting up a hero-for-hire business (an unsuccessful one). Psychic detective Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) has reconciled with his wife and is trying to quit using his power, which he believes he may be addicted to. Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) has once again become a paramedic, using his powers for the greater good.

But Heroes would be boring without super-powered conflict, and these first two episodes—“Orientation” and “Jump, Push, Fall”—ratchet up the tension fairly quickly. Viewers might remember that at the end of the last season, Peter’s senatorial big bro Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) was killed in a throwdown with the villainous Sylar (Zachary Quinto). To bring him back to life, Matt, Noah and Angela Petrelli (Christine Rose) brainwashed Sylar and abused his shapeshifting ability to transform him into Nathan. Now, Matt is haunted by what is apparently Sylar’s psychic imprint—which desperately wants to return to its body—while something sinister is brewing within Nathan.

Meanwhile, Claire’s adoptive father is still reeling from the split with his wife, eventually teaming up with the totally-not-dead Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter), who made a watery exit at the end of last season after shattering into tiny pieces of ice. Hero hunter Emile Danko has been killed by a pack of evil carnies (yep), which includes the slimy Samuel (Robert Knepper) and the knife-wielding Edgar (Ray Park). Why did they kill him? Noah and Tracy learn the carnival folk were after a strange compass that can seemingly only be used by people with super powers. This group and this device will likely play a major role this season, and it will be exciting to see that mystery unfold.

There are quite a few story elements introduced thus far that make this season worth watching for Heroes fans—namely Peter embracing his powers and Matt’s psychic conflict with Sylar—but others are already falling flat. Hiro, who was once the geeky heart of this series, is continually wasted. This season, he’s saddled with a terminal illness (the apparent result of too much time travel) while grappling with an inability to fully control his powers. As per usual, he’s questioning the ethics of bending time and space, particularly since going back in time could potentially save his life. If anything, Hiro’s illness is indicative of the show’s writers having absolutely nothing more to say with this character, resorting to a soap opera cliché to make him interesting again. Unfortunately, it just isn’t working.

Another character already suffering this season is Claire. Save for the unexpected death of her roommate, it seems like the sole purpose of her college scenes is to tease the much-publicized pseudo-lesbian storyline between her and her new friend Gretchen (Madeline Zima). How desperate are we to see girl-on-girl action in prime time? Wait, don’t answer that.

The season premiere of Heroes has set the stage for what could very well be a return to form for the ailing series. Let’s just hope it keeps that momentum going.