Volume Three: Villains
Tonight’s episode – Eris Quod Sum
It’s usually a good thing when your television show is the cover story of a major America magazine. Not so much this week with Heroes, as Entertainment Weekly‘s cover story asks: can Heroes be saved? If you haven’t read the article, you can find it here on their website.
The articles makes some great points, and I think that the problems with Heroes all pretty much boil down to this: the runaway and unexpected success of the first season caught everyone off guard and altered the creative side of the show. The most egregious example would be the death of characters. Originally, executive producer Tim Kring said that the stakes would be high because there would be real consequences — main characters would die and new people would be introduced all the time. This idea seems to have gone out the window once the first season hit it big. I can imagine the story meetings: “Wait, we’re a hit now, we can’t kill [insert character here] off!” Now you’ve got a show that is so bloated with main characters and storylines that they all feel aimless. Now Kring is trying to sell the show as some kind of grand, Dynasty-esque family drama between The Petrellis and The Bennetts and that’s just silly.
Can the show come back creatively? Absolultely. With a tightened focus it totally can, but it will require a lot of hard choices by the producers. The more important question is, can the show come back in popularity and in this new age of fractured entertainment, that’s far, far less likely.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts, opinions, gripes, live-blogging, etc.
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I couldn’t agree more time has definitely come to trim the fat as they say. I think scaling down the cast would totally help with tighting up the storylines.
I say kill Claire, Peter, Tracy, Sylar, and probably Nathan, too. I mean, I for the most part enjoy this season but I’d be really happy if Claire and Peter especially died for good. I’m thinking disintegration, personally.
Yes and no. I like this season far better than season two, and season two was all about introducing new characters… except I hated most of them. And I do still get upset when they kill characters I like, such as Adam or that shape-changing chick… who admittedly I only cared about because she was played by Missy Peregrym. There are some characters I definitely want to keep around (Hiro, Peter, Sylar, Parkman, Daphne), some I really, really, really want to die, including Mohinder, Maya, Claire unless they change her whiney, stupid character and anyone played by Ali Larter… even though I like her better now that her power isn’t just schiztophrenia.
I don’t need them to constantly be killing and introducing new people. Just… SOME killing.
pick like five caracters to build the show around then kill everyone else. You can always introduce ancallary characters but for tighter storylines less is more.
It’s not even the killing of people so much as the constant shifting of powers. It’s ridiculous. On top of that, the writers gave abilities to some characters that are so far over the top as to be ridiculous. Peter and Sylar should simply dominate power-wise. What they need is a big reset button that allows them to bring everything back to the baseline.
It’s especially funny when you see them thinking ‘oh that was a mistake, let’s fix it’. So, we get another painter with the ability to see the future, ‘dead’ characters coming back to life, and people playing their twins (or triplets). Gob Bluth voice: Come on!
One more gripe. It’s a show called Heroes, but who are they heroes to? Themselves? Why the hell isn’t doing some sort of "morning edition" thing so he can figure out who needs saving every day? Why isn’t Parkman actually doing his detective job and solving crimes? What the hell happened to all the interesting story threads from season 1? Wasted.
I’m still watching this season, but the leash is getting short.
Here we go…
"I will not go back in time" should be the new mantra for this show.
Thank god, Parkman and Hiro rapping.
Do you think that Robert Forster has to give Tarantino 10% of his paychecks?
Fuck yeah Elle!!
Some kid with a power, say…. the power of exploding when in contact with fire, wanders into a room where a few main characters are fighting and he gets his in the cross fire! Everyone goes boom! The fat can just be burnt away! By exploding teenagers!
Super hot girlfight? A man can dream can’t he
You’d think that if you were a girl who couldn’t feel pain and ou lived in a world or super powered heroes and villains, if you came home and saw all your lights flickering you might suspect that something was up. Probably not the best move to just go barging through the front door.
They discover that clare’s brother has the power to create a pool full of jello. and then the puppet master shows up and voila ratings explosion.
Elle is the wicked witch of the west!
I think that my only gripe with Claire is that I don’t buy her as a tough, badass chick.
Wicked Witch of the West!
"Probably not the best move to just go barging through the front door."
It’s ok. Her character is an idiot, so it fits.
Damn my slower connection speed!
You know.. Claire’s mom DOES sort of look like Glenda the Good Witch.
"What could possibly cayse a father to put his children through so much pain?"
"Have you met their mother?"
Claire’s mom also seems decreasingly concerned with Mr Muggles.
I thought Mya was dead. Spider-Mohinder food.
i loled at "have you met their mother"
You know what? We might have found the solution to this show’s problems. Have Papa Petrelli go around and depower all the dead weight on the show and then they can exit stage left.
shhhhhh sylar time
"I’ve been down this road before.. there’s always a hidden agenda"
SO, i’ll save you the trouble of convincing me and just jump right in. Come ON hidden agendas! Woohoo!
Is that the same guy who directed Jaws 2.
"Don’t trash the set, Sylar! It’s only one of four that we have!"
She’s playing favorites again. I love Angela.
mama Peterlli is so good at playing up peoples emotion
He took a real shine to the broad that gave him away all those years ago.You would think he would hve been a little more pissed.
Level 5…no better place for us superpowered to escape from.
So, Claire will be able to help Elle … because of…. um… her recent taser use?
Weird…. a WIZARD OF OZ reference…
level 5 is now offically a walk in clinic
I hope Sylar kills at least 4 characters.
I REALLY want to be the meat in a claire elle sandwhich.
ooo Parkman’s dad has a heart
But back to Level 5 for a moment… seriously, are there just not any guards… doctors… general personel, etc. around there. No one?
and hes dead
Oh shit!
Okay, I officially like Papa Petrelli.
I know this is the Heroes board… BUT… two (3?) weeks ago, The Sarah Conner Chronicles had a complete Wizard of Oz episode too!
Wow. I expected him to be used more before they killed him.
1 down 20 to go
Just don’t kill Daphne, Papa. She’s fast and cute.
Maybe the character culling starts with this episode?
No more fake Linderman i guess
Damn it. I screwed up microwaving my sausages because of you, Heroes. Clearly, that was not at 50% power.
See, that’s a senseless death, unless they bring him back somehow. Why use Parkman’s dad if he’s going to die before even running into his son again?
Papa is cool…he gets things done on a show the doesn’t.
I wasn’t a fan of Parkmans dad, but I kind of felt bad for him.
Im offically hopeing for a Sylar/Papa fight
Does anybody name their kids Mory anymore?
@Crippler My thoughts exactly. Unless Parkman gets mad that his dad died without a chance for reconcilliation, and it motivates him to take his powers up a notch.
Superpowered Road trip
Maury Povich’s parents did!
with 2 blondes
oooo poor Parkman’s in love
Maury Povich was born the same year that Batman first appeared, so… that’s not recent. 🙂
SHOOT HIM!
I really hope they don’t off Ando or Sylar. I don’t mind about everyone else.
NICE he knows about his dad now
Ah! Dead dad motivation!
I was just about to comment on that.
Papa is offically an awsome villian
HAHAHA – That was like Han trying to shoot Vader in EMPIRE.
I want someone to have a ridiculous power. Like turning things into pudding.
peter gets new abilitys?
They should bring on a guy whose power is that he can draw perfect circles freehand.
Aww yeah!
SYLAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Hello Mohinder."
Oh, hell yeah.
"Can we not talk about this now, Peter?"
damn mohinder took him out like a punk
Damn. Commenting makes the show go by quickly.
I think that the most common fighting tactic on this show is "throw people into the wall."
So, did Sylar’s powers reset when he lost them at the beginning of season 2, or did he get them all back?
In the future, he used ted’s power… but other than that, I haven’t seen him use any of the powers we’ve -seen- him acquire. At least I don’t remember that.
That’s what brothers do – they stick together…. um, Peter?
*SLAP SLAP slap slap* ….. sound of running feet.
yeah they took that from smallvilles book, i dont think clark has ever punched someone on that show
Like the super-hearing? Whatever happened to that?
That would make a great heros drinking game. have to take a shot everytime someone gets thrown into a wall
@TonyStary4prez – Clark has punched Brainiac and the body of Zod. … I think that’s it. Hoping for more punching this season! Come on Doomsday!
@wilson and every time Claire makes a bad or impulsive decision. I’d be drunk by the first commercial.
Wait… they’ve just been sitting there the whole time?
lmao weakness for blondes
NO PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES DURING TAKE OFF AND LANDING.
Hmmm… ex-girlfriend who can create fire… That might be my worst nightmare.
Oh oh.. time for Mohinder spider babies to hatch!
This scene needs a Hicks.
Game over man! Game over!
Creed as the joker, hilarious.
New Spinoff-Clair and Elle-Blondes with Powers
See, I told you.
Nice, Claire. Make fun of the jittery flying Electric Girl while you are 30,000 feet up in the AIRPLANE.
@Templar.
I believe his powers reset.
out of control electrical powers ride on an airplane brilliant!
Was there not a train they could take? Or a car? I drove from Los Angeles to Upstate New York in three days!
If that’s what they can accomplish with just hand-holding…
That plane scene annoys me. It’s an example of cheap writing.
Knox is a creeper
I bet the plane was Calire’s idea.
Drink!
shes down
Um, now I’m not an electrician… but since Claire is touching the plane…. wouldn’t the electriciy just pass from Elle to her and into the plane?
love Parkman
OMG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Aw. Parkman was almost awesome there.
Hell yeah! Another one down!
HEROES: SEASON 3, EPISODE 7 – The episode where EVERYONE DIES!
i hate knox now
tell me parkman made him see that.
You know what the real problem with the show is? All blondes. let’s get some redheaded heroes!
Start with that chick from Mad Men.
@conor-lmao
Nice to see Parkman building family powers some more.
@wilsom6923 – That’s a distinct possibilty…
yeah that would be good
@wilson Is there really a doubt there?
I haven’t seen a short clothesline that devastating since BamBam Bigelow!
How about Alicia Witt? Her power could be to make my pants smaller.
He just killed Parkman like a Terminator
Okay, guys… let’s be adults.
Did Daphne die too? Awesome.
nice
Oh, fakeout!
im loving Parkman in this episode
Major characters are only allowed to die in season finales or during sweeps.
He redecorated too? Also, he is only about ten feet down the hall and the door is open…
what power is holding Sylar there?
Oh, Sylar. I see you’re still HANGING AROUND.
My biggest problem with Heroes seasons 2 and 3 – Why the hell are they still hanging out at that shitty apartment?
@TonyStark4prez – Telekenesis.
@Tony Telekenisis, which Papa got from Peter.
Sylar dont turn to the dark side
Jinx.
@Crippler Isaac’s loft? I think it bothers me that it gets, like, passed down.
ahh i see, didnt even know Peter had that
Sylar’s always been dark.
are we turning Sylar back into a villain???
Maya: "And now, I am leaving forever, going back to South America never to be seen again"
Me: YAY!
Please?
HAHAHAHA
The evil mutants building directory! 5th floor – weapons research, sub-basement -dungeon and oubliettes
@Tony Peter got it from being near Sylar, so… small world.
reminds me of Mary Marvel….. good 1 day, evil the next
Goodbye, Maya! When I was told she was going to be on the show anymore, I assumed it was with last week’s "death". Either way, she’s gone now.
And… cue Claire’s blood.
Sylar cant make up his mind on what side he is on
Uh oh, Conor. Sylar missed the wall.
I wonder if this is all a trick on Sylar’s part….
HEROES: SEASON 3, EPISODE 7 – The episode where EVERYONE DIES!
Sylar, like the show, needs to pick a direction.
@conor-lmao….again
@Rei Nah, but he fell right in front of Claire, so he’ll be ok.
How are they gonna bs their way out of throwing peter out the window?
@Templar –
Sylar: "Dammit, I thought there was a wall there!"
Papa Petrelli: "That’s okay, son. Next time. You just need to learn the layout of the room."
I wish Maya had been spider-Mohinder food instead.
so Claire is going to…..what, start a blood transfuison right on the sidewalk?
yay he’s "misguided" again…for now. Now, we have a villains arc going on!
@Templar – Let me have my hope!
@Conor – Ha!
She just has to get some of her blood in his blood. Doesn’t have to be a whole lot.
does a window count if so
drink
Wait, WHAT?
no way he only got that hurt
Um… yeah, no. He should be street pizza.
THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!
Good question… How is Peter still alive?
lol that was a funny line
Okay, well they acknowledged it… so… there’s an explanation coming. I’ll grant them that.
Three’s company.
Hmm. So it’s looking like it may be a trick by Sylar after all.
Ok, or not.
This episode is awsome but wtf!?!
Maybe Sylar floated him down at a slower rate to fool Papa. Although Papa is not an idiot…
lol yes Sylar still playing for the right team
I think Sylar is totally working undercover.
mabey
Ha! It was an act!
Ok, I guess he did, but the way they wrote it made no sense.
lol dads alive
"Disturbing the peace? I got thrown out of a window! What’s the fuckin’ charge for getting pushed out of a moving car, huh? Jaywalking"
Good. Maybe Nathan will get killed.
They better not kill Nathan, he’s one of the best actors on the show.
African Isaac!
Nathan is one of the good ones
Oh, yeah, I forgot – Hiro is on this show!
oh and i though Hiro wasent going to be in this episode
Hiro’s going on a peyote trip!
Nathan should have been dead two times over. I would have been sad to see him gone two seasons ago. Now…eh.
i love how Hiro dosent even like to use his own power
Actually, I just don’t like how they’ve used Nathan. Same with Claire. And if they’re not going to use them well, kill em! 😀
2 weeks….damn
Oh. That SNL special is next week.
so-so episode in my opinon
What is this "before" business?
Decent story, sloppy execution.
Okay, one good thing that this episode did was take like three seperate storylines and merge them into one. So now we’ve basically got an A-plot and a B-plot. That was a good and important bit of streamlining.
Next week we go back in time and that’s something to look forward to, when they did that previously (with the episode that focused on HRG’s early days) that was one of the best episodes of the entire series.
another "4 Months Ago" type episode, im guessing
Prequels! Everybody loves prequels!
@Templar – When they did a prequel episode before it was one of the best episodes, maybe the best one, they ever did.
I love Prequels…as long as the words Wars, or Stars isent in the title
Ando is the Jar Jar of these prequels
Ando-Weesa People going to die?
Canadian trailer showed a shot of the Nathan car crash from 4 months ago, and Gabriel in the future acting very friendly with Elle. Methinks she’s Little Noah’s mother.
Conor I completely agree can’t wait to see where they take it.
I think that this episode was good for what it was… this seems to be the first indication that they recognize some of the problems and are doing things to rectify them.
I had hope that they would kill Claire off this season.
Nevre gonna happen. She’s the face of the show.
And by "never" I mean "no time soon".
dammit gotta wait 2 fucking weeks. but lots of twists and turns in this ep. i had like 3 heart attacks
If they make it seem like a character almost dies one more time im done with this show.
@Conor
I should have used quotes… that was fromThe Simpsons. The episode where Homer and Mel Gibson are making movies together.
And for my money, I think the best episode ever was "Five Years Gone", the first future episode.
I feel like a need a score card after this episode to keep track of who is in league with whom. So <a href=”http://vacelts.newsvine.com/_news/2008/10/27/2046358-alliegences-formed-broken-on-heroes-eris-quod-sum”>many alliances were formed, broken and double crossed</a> in this episode that I’m not sure who is on whose side anymore.
The best line of the whole night was when Mohinder asks Arthur how he could put his son through his fake death. Arthur replies “Have you met their mother?”
The episode title Eris Quod Sum means “I am what you will be” and I understand that it’s a motto often used on gravestones. Does that mean there will be more deaths?
I loved when Lyle doused Elle with water – apparently it not only put a damper on her power, but her chronic bad mood. Unfortunately, I’m not impressed with Elle’s latest storyline.
I want Arthur Petrelli to say "We’re on a misson from God" just once.
I have so much and so little to say about this episode. I really, really hated it. It was just awful and bad writing. Awful and bad. I’m watching next week, but begrudgingly. They need to not blow it. I want to like this show, but I just can’t…. I hated this.
The show is so bad it has become enjoyable to me, a guilty pleasure. Much in the same way that Sarah Conor, Alias, and Lost are……. In Sulu’s words, "if my partner sucked this much I would never leave my chateau….
I would’nt mind if a few characters died. The only characters I don’t want to see go are Matt, Nathan, Hiro, Ando, Mr. Bennett, Elle, Daphne and Papa Petrelli. And Sylar, as long as he goes back to being evil, and not this shades of gray, can’t stop himself wimp.
And that is the problem with this show. Too many characters that I don’t care about and would’nt mind seeing them leave. That’s a major problem when half your cast is disliked by so many people.
time travel is a big problem with many shows and movie franchises (star trek.) it is an uncreative way to attempt a compelling story line. terrible, but I understand the new star trek also utilises this gimmick.
Time travel isn’t a problem, inherently, it’s how it is used (or misused) which is the problem.
I guess I really want to love this show. If at the end of this season it hasn’t improved, I give up. Still, glad to see Elle back.
No Fringe tonight ><
(yeah, Fringe is way better)
There is a reason that Sylars real name is GREY, its not supriseing that they want Sylar to be on the good team because he’s such a great draw but.. I think they can easily change him from semi good back to bad when its needed. At this time he’s needed as a hero so he is one. At the end of the year when they confront Arthur Petrelli they then can do the choose your side (Luke i am your father 🙂 ) story and we will see what happens then. I am still enjoying the show, i never have cared what the critics say (Because half the time they dont have a bloody clue anyway!!) But yes Maya had to go , dam bad character!! Yes they do need to kill more people off as there are just too many cast members. It might not be the worst thing to restrict Hiro’s ability so that he can stop time and teleport but not travel in time, it really is being misused in the show.
@conor9935 The X-men fan in me feels compelled to point out that Sylar’s real name is actually "Gray," not "Grey". The red-headed telepath clan informs me they want no part of him ;).
Still enjoying the show. Reading the above it’s interesting how opinions on acting and who should die differ so much. I like the people switching sides, it makes it much more involving than simple bad v good. Many are just out for themselves. Elle has never switched allegiances. She just wants her powers gone because she’s living in pain. Sylar is so hungry for a mother’s affection that he’ll believe anything she says. He wants a family. We saw him in the future with a family and what happened when it was taken from him.
Trying to doublecross a mindreader seems iffy. I like Parkman being effective. I hope he reads Daphne’s mind, knows she’s working for Pappa P, knows she’s only doing it in fear of his life, lets her play it out to get to a position where he can hurt Pappa P.
I agree with Conor. This was a good episode for streamlining plot. Wise decision to stay away from Hiro so everything else had more time.
I felt like this was the worst episode of the season. I just found myself going, "gah Jesse Alexander you stink!"
And the "cliffhanger"?? Is Hiro going to be okay? Well yeah, we KNOW he is. Parkman’s already done the drugged up future walk.
But even after hating the entire episode I’m excited for more. Call me crazy.
I enjoyed this episode and, like Conor pointed out, I am glad they took the time to streamline the plot and pull it all back into a more focused story. I think they will benefit from that.
They introduced some good premises in my opinion as well. Was it Sylar who eased Peter’s fall so that he didn’t die or is Peter got something else "special" about him? Could Sylar possibly be working "under cover"? Will we finally get to see Nathan become somewhat badass? If Elle chooses to have her powers taken will there even be a use for her anymore?
I think this was a solid episode and definitely kept the show moving in the right direction.
Of course I am not as hard on TV shows or quick to judge like it seems most people are. I am still overjoyed that the entertainment industry still has room for shows like this. Who would have ever thought there would be a weekly primetime show like this? Yes it has suffered…but I would much rather have it, stumbles and all, than for it to not be on the air at all.
The good still far outweighs the bad for me.
@MaddieDaddy – Not that this is the case with HEROES, but you shouldn’t accept lower quality just because a super hero TV show exists. That’s the same line of thinking that says people shouldn’t complain about bad super hero movies. There’s no incentive to make good product when the makers know that the audience will accept anything just so they feel a sliver of approval.
@Conor – Yeah I understand that and I am sure there would come a point even for me that if it got so bad I would not watch it anymore. But what I was saying, more for just me, is that I am not quick to look for those things. It seems that some people watch a show intentionally looking for holes and flaws. They proceed to pick it apart to the point where, of course it is not enjoyable. Not that anyone should keep their opinions to themselves because they are obviously free to express those. But there are things that jump out at me and that I get a little frustrated at. But I was saying it is more in my nature to let that stuff go, as long as it is not dragging the show down and as long as I have more positive points about it all then negative. But I try really hard to not get myself to a point where I am so critical that I remove all enjoyment for myself.
Just watched the episode… thank you DVR!! I do enjoy the way this plot is progressing, but I do also agree there could be some trimming of deadweight… I guess that’s the hazard of 20-some episode seasons.
I guess the first thing I’d change is that Sylar and Peter are simply way too powerful. This was a mistake from the first season… it would make Arthur Petrelli seem that much more dangerous had we not already seen two all-powerful characters.
Speaking of things that the producers/writers/ actual characters have forgotten: What the crap happened to Nathan’s wife and children. He has two little boys if memory serves, and a hot ass wife. I mean she’s not BLONDE so maybe Nathan’s just forgotten about her in the whirlwind of sexy blondes he’s slept with. Was she even in the second season? I liked her and honestly all I want is some confirmation that she left his crazy, slutty ass and is living in like Brooklin with her family or something. ANYTHING!
@CatEyedFox – In an episode, I believe it was last season, they talk about how they have gotten a divorce and it even shows Nathan going up to the fence at his kid’s school and trying to talk to them and he is told he is not supposed to be there.