Heroes Episode Review: Chapter 16 (1.16) Unexpected

In “Unexpected”, we see one of the best episodes in the series to date. There were plenty of things that weren’t unexpected — someone flying and someone dying (as per the show’s latest tagline) — but there were actually a couple of things that truly were unexpected — Mohinder is working on an inhibitor chemical and Dale (the arc-welder with hyper-auditory abilities) listens to rap music.

Meanwhile, Hiro is beginning to take more steps towards independence as well as having a more forceful personality. For such a nice character to stay tied to Ando’s side all the time would have made Hiro rather dull. Besides, he’ll never grow into the Future Hiro about which so many people rave if he doesn’t take steps in that direction. Of course, fatherly advice from bus driver Stan “the Man” Lee never hurts.

It wasn’t unexpected for HRG and the Haitian (to whom I still refer to as MBG because it’s easier to type) to find Peter and Claude. Heat-sensing goggles are the first answer given when asked, “How does one find an invisible man?” Unfortunately for Peter, HRG not only knows who he is by name, he also knows that Peter is Nathan’s brother (which would be public knowledge anyway), and now he knows that Peter can fly exactly like his brother. HRG’s conclusion? That Peter absorbs the powers of other heroes (which we already knew, of course). That makes Peter more valuable than Gabriel “Sylar” Grey, because Peter isn’t a homicidal maniac. We hope.

Matt’s character is still one I enjoy, because he follows Stan Lee’s general superhero character type rather closely. Superhuman powers do not automatically give you the answers to all of life’s problems; sometimes, they make them worse.

The most ironic aspect of an episode titled “Unexpected” is really one that isn’t all that unexpected — the show’s writing and directing is growing in skill and complexity. This was the first episode that really generated a feeling of drama and suspense; the use of off-center blurring in the scenes with Sylar highlights this feeling, and is a wonderful cinematic technique applied to the small screen.

And finally, it shouldn’t have been unexpected to HRG that his past would start to catch up with him. Now that the Terrific Threesome of Hana, Matt, and Theodore have him where they want him, maybe — just maybe — they can start getting to the truth. Unfortunately for them, the truth probably won’t be want they think — it will be something�unexpected.

(This episode review once again courtesy of MathSorcerer)