October 24th, 2006
Heroes Episode Review: Chapter 5 (1.05) Hiros
Episode Title: Chapter 5 (Episode 1.05), “Hiros”
Best Line: “Up, up, and away.”
Best Moment: Seeing Nathan fly away with a sonic boom.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Someone at NBC has finally realized the power of the sci-fi geek demographic. How else can you explain the excellent writing, awesome casting, and great production values that go into Heroes each week? As I watched the latest episode, “Hiros,” I felt as if the network had made this television series just for me.
When the last episode ended, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) had been visited on the subway by Hiro (Masi Oka). Not the Hiro we know, but one from the future. Hiro, now speaking perfect English and carrying a nifty katana, came to give Peter a message: “Save the cheerleader. Save the world.” Peter learns that he must return to Isaac (Santiago Cabrera) to discover how.
The key for Peter is in Issac’s paintings, which he sees as panels in a comic book. The story is laid out, with everyone searching for the cheerleader, whoever she may be, and trying to protect her from an unknown presence. This seems to be the driving story of the series � or at least this season. The unknown threat may be the much speculated about villain Sylar.
It may also be someone closer to her. Certainly there is a conflict with Claire (Hayden Panettiere) being the daughter of the enigmatic Horned Rim Glasses (Jack Coleman). Not much is known about HRG, but he doesn’t seem to be one of the good guys. He has exhibited ruthlessness in dealing with people. Not only did he kidnap Matt (Greg Grunberg) and spy on Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), but this week he uses
Mysterious Man (Jimmy Jean-Louis) to clean up another problem.
As with last week, this episode brings together more heroes. Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) narrowly escapes from Horned Rim Glasses by exhibiting his flying prowess, then � in a bit of cosmic serendipity � lands outside a diner where Hiro sees him. Hiro, having had an argument with his friend Ando (James Kyson Lee), bums a ride back to Las Vegas when a car arrives to pick up Nathan.
When Nathan returns to his hotel, he again bumps into Niki (Ali Larter). Having paid her debt to Mr. Linderman, she gives Nathan the only help she can by tipping him off about the videotape made of their night together. Returning home, Niki finds more trouble. Police have staked out her house because her ex-husband D.L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) has escaped custody. Evidently D.L. is quite the escape artist, and undoubtedly will become a big part of her story.
In “Hiros,” the show became a little more personal. Matt used his telepathic powers to heal the rift between he and his wife. Niki learned that her murderous ex-husband is loose and in the area. Hiro and Ando resolved their differences. Yet, these moments remind us that these heroes are people first. They have lives and families as well as powers. They are ordinary people, trying to come to grips with the changes in themselves.
Ordinary people are discovering amazing things about themselves, and they still don’t believe it. Take, for instance, the look on Nathan’s face when Hiro confesses that he, too, has special powers. Despite the fact that Nathan just flew away from his kidnappers, he seems to think Hiro’s claim that he can bend time and space is ludicrous. This kind of
skepticism by some and total acceptance by others is what keeps the series grounded in reality, and helps separate the pragmatists from the idealists.
In each episode, the unspoken question to the audience is, “What would you do if you had powers?” Would you try to make the world a better place, would you use them for personal gain, or would you just try to forget that you had them and lead a normal life?
While the individual stories help drive Heroes, it is the overall story � the need to save the world � that fuels the series. I think this is the strength of the series. It’s still too early to tell, but my guess is that the season’s story arc is, “Save the cheerleader. Save the world.” Don’t expect any quick resolutions for Claire or New York’s apparent destruction. If Heroes follows a comic book format, as the show often suggests, expect the end of season one to be like the end of a first issue with all the heroes coming together for the first time to stop the villain.
Heroes continue to exceed my expectations every week. Despite the numerous storylines and characters involved, it moves at a good pace and never feels drawn out. It is the only television series that has me shouting “Noooooo!” at the end of an episode, and waiting in
anticipation for the next.
Until Next Week,
