Heroes: Episode 3.05

Angels and Monsters

Maybe it's because I've accepted that the show isn't what it once was - and perhaps that it never really was what it once was - and my expectations for it are lower now, or maybe last night's episode was actually pretty good, or maybe it's because Peter was in a drug-induced coma; whatever the reason, I enjoyed it.

For me, the show is usually at its best when things get dark and creepy, and there was some seriously dark shit last night: Peter trying to kill his mother, the Vortex man killing himself (or making himself disappear), Mohinder's nest of victims, HRG's old ruthlessness, the Puppet Master's spaghetti-eating-forced-makeout scene, and Mrs. P's bloody vision of Nathan, Tracy and Peter's murders and her paralysis at the hands of Mr. P were all high points of the episode. I'm sick of hearing these people whine about their abilities and it's fun to see them actually use them, even if it's for nefarious purposes.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: When they give the heavy-lifting acting jobs to the better actors - e.g., HRG, Mrs. P, Nathan - the entertainment level rises to point where the writing inconsistencies don't matter a whit to me.

That's not to say I didn't have issues with certain aspects of the episode. Mohinder's story has now shifted from being what could be called a ripoff of The Fly to something resembling the movie Aliens. If some little monster Baby Mohinder pops out of the chests of Maya and the other cocooned people, I'm outta here!

Speaking of Mohinder, what is he supposed to be turning into? The soundtrack plays what I thought was rattlesnake-ish noises during his scenes, but he seems to be acting more like a bug or spider.

I'm not sure what to say about Hiro killing Ando.   It pisses me off because it seems unnecessary and completely out of character.  Hiro has pledged to not go back in time anymore because it causes so many problems, so how does he get out of this one?

One other issue I have is with the formula, and it's a big one: Supposedly, there was only one hand-written copy of the formula in existence, right?  Nothing on a computer?  Considering Nathan and Tracy's probable ages, the formula was used 30 - 40 years ago, which would be some time in the 70s, so maybe this evil high-tech superhero company didn't have computers in the 70s.  Mhm.  Even if I buy that, why in the WORLD would they keep the only hand-written copy when it could be so easily destroyed?

See, now I've gone and started thinking too much and it's seriously harshing my Heroes buzz. You can't do that with this show anymore, or you'll make yourself crazy.

How did you like the episode?