March 6th, 2007
Heroes Episode Review: Chapter 18 (2.18) Parasite
You can’t escape your destiny. Or can you? That seems to be the question running across Chapter 18, “Like any Parasite” (or according to the episode title card, just “Parasite”). As for our heroes� Hiro’s quest to find his elusive sword and save New York City continues in Vegas, where he bumps into a familiar face, Nathan Petrelli, who has come to Vegas to meet with the elusive Mr. Linderman and give us our first glimpse at Malcolm McDowell in the role (but then again, if you read this site, you already know who is playing Linderman).
Back in New York, in the aftermath of Simone’s death, Isaac gets a visit from The Company’s representatives, HRG and his new partner, Candice Wilmer (Missy Peregrym, who joins the cast). Meanwhile, Claire wants to go hide out with Peter Petrelli in New York, but the Haitian insists her only option is to leave the country; also, the Haitian’s “higher power” can speak French, and it’s someone we have met before. And no, it’s not God as some have speculated.
As the last episode before “Heroes” goes on another long break (5 weeks without a new “Heroes” according to some, 7 weeks according to others), “Parasite” is a keeper. More than that, it’s an edge-of-your-seat “Holy crap, I can’t believe all of this is happening in this one episode!” keeper.
Let’s run down the progressions:
HRG and his wife develop a new rapport that stuns HRG as well as the audience. It goes to show you — the wife always knows more than you think she knows. Keep that in mind, married guys. As well, HRG comes to the realization that he is not as smart as he believes, and The Company is not as dumb as they appear. Should I even mention that Candice Wilmer is going to be fun to follow in future episodes? The girl’s got spunk, not to mention rampant bad girl sex appeal. The guys are gonna be soooo happy with her. (Dear Powers That Be: Don’t you dare pull an Eden with her! You have been warned.)
Peter is getting really, really used to his powers. The man now vanishes and reappears with the ease of his absent mentor, Claude. Speaking of whom, not a single mention or glimpse of our original Invisible Man. Then again, maybe he’s always around but � well, you know. And who would have thought that it would be Hiro who pinpoints the central fault of our other favorite Petrelli, Nathan. For a guy who can barely speak English, Hiro certainly gets to the heart of the matter regarding our “selfish” politician. Oh, and Claire, say “Hi” to Grandma. It isn’t exactly a happy reunion, alas.
As for our favorite schizophrenic killer/concerned mother, things are not nearly as in control as she believes. Niki is beginning to assert herself, and Jessica is starting to think that she’s not the dominant personality as she originally thought. This is lucky for Nathan, who has a not-so-chance second encounter with his one-night fling. Remember their little get-together early in the season? Let’s just say the reunion involves a gun and a punch to the face — not necessarily in that order.
The introduction of Linderman does what it was designed to do: introduce a formidable villain that can sustain the show for an entire season. Linderman is a cunning, ambitious, and devious. And what makes him even more dangerous? He’s extremely intelligent. His confrontation with Nathan, in of all places, a kitchen, is ripe with tension and…cooking?
“Heroes” is going on hiatus for a little while, and won’t be back until sometime April. This means it’s time for everyone who hasn’t been following along to catch up on the episodes they might have missed, or didn’t watch too closely the first time via various outlets. NBC’s website has all the episodes for you to view, as well as daily Friday re-runs on the Sci Fi Channel. And of course, you can always download new episodes from iTunes.
Get ready, folks, because the final 5 episodes is going to be bumpy. And really, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
