'Heroes' returns with season two to save the world
By Nick Knittel, Staff Writer
October 1, 2007 | 10:14 a.m.
The second season of “Heroes” has returned and promises a much meatier (and more climactic) story arc than last year, introducing new heroes, new twists and the same terrible dialogue we’ve all grown to love.
To review last season, a seemingly random group of people from all over the world inexplicably begin developing superpowers of various kinds, from flight to time travel to near invincibility. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), an Indian genetics professor, takes it upon himself to finish his father’s work on genetic mutation by tracking down these people and keeping them safe.
As the series progresses, more and more heroes are introduced, and their destinies begin to wind around stopping a massive explosion in New York City, the beginnings of doomsday, that only they can prevent. The only thing that stands in their way is the psychopathic Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a superpowered badass who gains abilities by killing the heroes that possess them. He’s intent on becoming “perfect” by absorbing every power possible, and he may hold the key to the world’s future.
“Heroes” is a comic book show that borrows heavily from other sources in the genre, most notably that of Alan Moore’s epic “Watchmen,” the graphic novel that revolutionized the genre with its story and characters. Where ”Watchmen” is a slick literary piece, “Heroes” is very much a work of popular culture, aimed at keeping audiences interested with twists and turns instead of character development, and insistent on keeping the comic book dialogue that’s fun for the eyes but agony on the ears.
Season two seems to be much of the same. It deftly moves off the anticlimactic finale of last year and straight into the action, introducing two new heroes. Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) are a brother-and-sister pair from Mexico who attempt to cross into the U.S in order to get help for their powers.
From Maya and Alejandro's story, we learn the fates of many of last year’s characters, such as Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), still missing after his sacrificial explosion over New York City in order to save the city. With him gone, the role of whiniest character goes to his brother Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), who has resorted to growing a beard and getting super drunk to ease his pain.
Matt (Greg Grunberg), newly divorced and still part of the New York Police Department, begins to take care of Molly (Adair Tishler), a seemingly psychic young girl whose disturbing nightmares of a “boogeyman” begin to reveal this year’s villain, a character with glowing eyes and a mysterious symbol, not unlike a DNA strand, perched above his forehead.
Meanwhile, Hiro (Masi Oka), the time-traveling favorite from last year, is still stuck in ancient Japan after a bogus, "Army of Darkness"-style time trip. He meets his own personal hero, Takezo Kensei (David Anders), who turns out to be 1) white, 2) British and 3) an asshole. Much to Hiro’s chagrin, Kensei has no desire to be a hero himself, happier to drink sake than to help the nearby villagers from bandits, a role Hiro himself has more interest in pursuing.
And finally, we move to Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), the cheerleader who’s practically un-killable, as she and her family relocate to California from Texas in an attempt to pull a fast one on her stepfather’s (Jack Coleman) evil, hero-hunting paper corporation (not making this up). Things don’t go as planned when it’s revealed that high school sucks, and Claire has trouble fitting in. Boohoo. By the end, we’ve got a murder on our hands, a new conspiracy underfoot, and a major character is somehow found in a locked storage container in Ireland, making us all wonder, “Why can’t he just stay dead?”
The new season of “Heroes” looks to provide more of that delicious superhero fix for those of us too lazy to pick up a comic book. NBC promises to up the ante with more action, more characters and more answers, ensuring that these heroes are here to stay.
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