Heroes season two, episode three: Kindred

All right, so I really liked the first season of NBC’s Heroes (even if the writing did get sloppy toward the end) but I am having a really hard time getting into this season. It seems even more scatterbrained than the first season, and is throwing characters and situations at us like wildfire. There are the South American twins Maya and Alejandro, whose powers seem to work off of each other. They have gotten significant screen time thus far, probably close to thirty minutes (at least) and yet they have gone nowhere. Trying to get to America, they are on the run from the cops and wanted for murder. Each time they get in trouble, Maya’s eyes go black and people die. I might find this story line compelling if the actors weren’t so annoying, and if I felt like they were going to play an important role in the story. I am sure they will, but for now their progress is painstakingly slow, and not very rewarding.

Peter has been hijacked into a gang of Irish thugs (in Ireland) who are interested in money. He does not remember who he is, but the leader of the group has a box, which contains Peter’s license and other personal affects. They promise the box to him if he helps out. Of course he does, even though he has discovered that he can shoot electricity (probably the low emp burst that Ted used in the first season) out of his hands. Soon, he learns that he can read minds, heal, and use the power of telekinesis. The kicker: he doesn’t open the box. Now I know this is in keeping with Peter’s character (especially since he has amnesia), but it is once again a case of the writers of this show drawing things out too much. I am sick of those Irish thugs, and I am sick of all the pouty and whiny acting–this show has always had a bit of melodrama, but this season really ups the ante in the first three episodes.

Speaking of melodrama, that stupid West guy (the one in Claire’s class who can fly) is really getting on my nerves. He is obviously an attempt to put yet another spin on the outsider with powers archetype, and in this case the spin is that this guuy may be a little weird and way creepy (he’s been hanging out at night outside Claire’s house, spying on her) but he’s really not all that bad. Really, he’s just the stereotypical high school male misanthrope, except he can fly. Oh, and he knows Claire’s secret.

The one good thing about this episode is that Sylar finally showed up. Any fan of the show has been waiting for this guy–the master villain from season one–to show up and wreak some havoc. Well, the true havoc will have to wait, but he does return to form quite quickly. It was not enough to make me say I liked this episode, but at least it was something.

Hiro’s story continues to be the only one worth really caring about, and even that one is getting a little long in the tooth. I mean really, how much time do we need to spend with Hiro trying to get his idealized hero to be the hero he idealizes? I know this is a television show and there are twenty one or so more episodes, but thus far things do not bode well for Heroes season two. I know the first season went slow, but at least it felt like things were happening, and there was a true sense of suspense and excitement. I’m still waiting for those things to happen in season two.

And the cameo by Nichelle Nichols was kind of fun too. She plays Micah’s grandmother, and he and Niki travel to New Orleans to find her. Now if they could only get William Shatner and that fat Scottish guy–then this season would truly be epic. 

Episode rating 6/10