Heroes Commentary 4x04 - Acceptance
Oct. 8th, 2009 09:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaune_chatWe're getting into a groove. And it's starting to work!
Fan service this episode provided by Tracy solidifying after a bath. Hmm, does she even need to take a bath anymore? Just curious. Doesn’t she worry about getting sucked down the drain? I mean, wouldn’t that be kinda awkward, to go down the drain and end up naked in the sewers without your keys? Do you walk up to the street and try to explain or do you just hope you can go liquid again and shimmie your way back up the pipes, hoping to hell you remember to take the left at Albuquerque? It’s questions like this that allow me to ignore the cute but anvil-subtle pop song about how “She’s trouble.” Oh, for serious reals? We’re just now discovering that, show?
Tracy also discovers, through a series of really skeevy meetings with her old bed-buddy Governor Malden, that her job consisted of being a highly paid whore. Dunno why it took her so long to realize that she was degrading women everywhere and disrespecting herself like whoa, but after an almost inadvertent trip down the drain and a short conversation with Noah spouting teenage philosophy, Tracy gets her head screwed on straight. There ya go girl, go be trouble for someone who deserves the newer, less slutty, more helpful you. Like Nathan. ;-D
Ma Petrelli is desperately trying to hang onto her eldest son. The “trip down memory lane” might have been a good idea in principle, but I don’t think she stopped to think that Nathan was going to get slammed with these memories as vividly as if he’d just gotten HDTV downloaded into his brain. Of course, if she’d stopped to think about the consequences of this charade of her family, this show would be a lot different.
I have to say, Millie is fabulous! Even when she’s casually explaining about her apparent failures in the parenting department. Don’t feel too bad Millie! Angela’s getting a stronger and stronger lock on “worst parenting decisions ever” every episode. Because deleting a life-changing event such as the inadvertent death of a peer from Nathan’s mind is almost as bad as some of the shit Arthur used to pull on Angela.
Yes, Kelly’s death would have ruined Nathan’s reputation, and he probably wouldn’t have gotten into politics. But assuming it didn’t break his spirit, and he was able to bear the burden, I think he would have been a hell of a better man. One who appreciated life a lot more, because he’d know how easily and suddenly it could be cut short. One that was closer to his family, and wouldn’t forget about his wife and children. And maybe half or more of the world-shattering crises the Petrellis have been at the center of could have been averted! Just saying.
One nice thing about Nathan, unlike Peter’s endless emo wrangling about his abilities, once Nathan figures out he can get the history of objects from touching them, he uses it to figure out something important. There ya go, Nate! Yes, in your teen years, you got drunk, were about to have sex, and then inadvertently killed a girl. Sucks to be you, but hey, some truth in your life is better than none.
Ma Petrelli tartly informs Nate that Mother’s Day cards might have let him in on the secrets in the family. Man, I cannot wait until the lie-detecting power starts kicking in for him. Because that’s going to be hilarious. I wanna see Angela’s face when Nathan starts going super-guru, “Ma, why’re you lying to me again?” Yes, I’m mean.
After having his calls dodged for weeks, Nathan finally shows Peter he has Sylar’s signature power and explains he’s showing a new power every day. Peter’s like, “Huh, that’s nice bro. Good for you. What, you’re having random new memories too? About things in your past? I’ve heard something about that. ‘Cause, you know, I’ve been studying up on powers. Mohinder totally left me his notes before he left for India to get Molly. [BECAUSE THAT’S TOTALLY WHAT HAPPENED AND I REFUSE TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE!] Say what, you think something horrible happened to your old girlfriend Kelly? Oh, I’d say tell the unvarnished truth to her mom. Because that always works out great in this family. There couldn’t possibly be any more secrets we haven’t uncovered!
“Well, would you look at that, I have to go on shift. Well, bye Nate! I totally don’t need to talk with you further or anything, considering this is the first time you’ve genuinely reached out to me for help about anything involving your powers since this whole thing started back in Season One. Because, damn, that used to be the only thing I wanted from you. But now I’m so thoroughly self-absorbed with my need to save people that I won’t even try to save my brother, because my feelings might be hurt again and I’m not down with that anymore. Bye-bye Nate, I’m sure nothing can go wrong!”
Oh, Peter. You’ve been overtly or covertly begging for Nathan to open up to you about this craziness in your family since we’ve known you, and now when he comes to you for help, you act like a mildly disinterested social worker. Well, this is going to suck for you next week when Nathan shows up DEAD!
I snorfled when Peter shows up at Noah’s and is like, “There’s something weird going on and since you’re not technically a member of my family, I have to talk to you. Because I’m severing all relationships with my blood family, as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t seen my niece in weeks and barely say hi when she pops in.”
“That’s a very nice arm.” BWAH! Show, dammit, stop giving me new ‘ships! Because my plot bunnies are fertile and horny and they never stop breeding.
Luckily, Noah is there to help. “Wacky road trip? No thanks. It’d only end in tears. Seriously. I just did this shit. Did not help.”
Sometimes it’s the little things about this show that I love. Like when Peter says he has to be in New York in ten minutes and Claire is like, “New power?” in the same tone one would use to say, “It’s a new haircut, right?” Hee!
Ok, I love Noah and Claire. Really. Their interactions make me giggle. I like Noah having his midlife crisis and Claire trying to be a counselor. “If they don’t buy from me, I can always shoot them.” So… you’re going to be a used car salesman?
On the other hand, “My job consisted of lying to my family, breaking down doors, bagging and tagging…” Hey Noah, have you ever thought about being a U.S. Marshal? Bounty hunter? Or, oo, I know, what about an undercover cop? Because you’d be about twenty times better than Matt and a hundred times more sensible and sane. That’d be a perfect job for you. Seriously. Do that. Or be a private investigator, because then you wouldn’t have to worry about following the law all the time. Even better!
Maybe if I kept completely current on all the Heroes comics and the webisodes I’d feel more invested in the Sullivan Brothers’ Carnival, but… I’m not. There’s some tension. Ok. Not everyone agrees. Ok. Clearly Samuel’s a bit off his rocker in terms of stability. Yeah, saw that last episode when he killed a house full of people because he had a bad day. But… why? I don’t flipping know these guys yet! Come on dudes, give us some flashbacks, just don’t dangle this potential conflict in our face without good cause! (A few Lost-style flashbacks would help here. A lot.)
Hmm, Noah is going to help the carnies now? Maybe? I… don’t see him as a carnival barker. At all. Of all the professions he could be, public entertainer is definitely not one of them.
Oh, Hiro. My sweet little boy. I haven’t wanted to hug him this hard in a while. I really liked how they used the futility of butt-copying man’s plight to basically wear down Hiro’s stubborn resistance to accepting reality. Ando’s repeated words of wisdom really brought home the best friend dynamic to me in a way where Hiro wasn’t just running roughshod over him all the time.
I’ll admit to wibbling a little bit when Hiro was telling Kimiko he was dying. It so worked, and I love it when Hiro acts like a grown-up instead of man-child. Hiro disappearing on them and the expressions on Ando’s and Kimiko’s faces just spoke several volumes of future conversations.
Kimiko - “Oh my God, my brother just vanished before my eyes!”
Ando – “Damn it, he did it again.”
Kimiko – “Wait, you don’t look anywhere near as freaked out as I am. As any sane person should be. What just happened?!”
Ando – “Do you remember that time when I said Hiro was at a carnival in the past? I actually wasn’t kidding.”
Kimiko – “Ok, you better sit down and explain it to me from the beginning and how we’re going to get him back and exactly what in the world you two have been up to because we’re not getting married until you explain this situation to my satisfaction, because I just learned my baby brother is dying and he is gone!”
The minute I saw Nathan in a parking garage, I knew things were bad. Particularly after he made a failed confession. Parking garages = death in TV and film. Nothing good happens. Aaaaand… nothing good does, as he is syringed and stuffed in a trunk.
Millie and Angela talk about closure. I start getting a bad feeling about this. Millie, it seems comes from the school of thought that revenge is best served both cold, and poetically. Angela took her daughter. Millie took her son. And his class ring too, oh noes!
Unfortunately, Millie killed Nathan 2.0, Sylar edition, which resets to its base physical state when catastrophic damage ensues. Thus we end the episode with an homage to Night of the Living Dead. Further wackiness with Sylar acting like Nathan with Sylar’s face will ensue next week!
(Kudos to both Adrian Pasdar and Zachary Quinto for being willing to have their lovely faces covered up with dirt. That’s a real dedication to acting right there!)
Fan service this episode provided by Tracy solidifying after a bath. Hmm, does she even need to take a bath anymore? Just curious. Doesn’t she worry about getting sucked down the drain? I mean, wouldn’t that be kinda awkward, to go down the drain and end up naked in the sewers without your keys? Do you walk up to the street and try to explain or do you just hope you can go liquid again and shimmie your way back up the pipes, hoping to hell you remember to take the left at Albuquerque? It’s questions like this that allow me to ignore the cute but anvil-subtle pop song about how “She’s trouble.” Oh, for serious reals? We’re just now discovering that, show?
Tracy also discovers, through a series of really skeevy meetings with her old bed-buddy Governor Malden, that her job consisted of being a highly paid whore. Dunno why it took her so long to realize that she was degrading women everywhere and disrespecting herself like whoa, but after an almost inadvertent trip down the drain and a short conversation with Noah spouting teenage philosophy, Tracy gets her head screwed on straight. There ya go girl, go be trouble for someone who deserves the newer, less slutty, more helpful you. Like Nathan. ;-D
Ma Petrelli is desperately trying to hang onto her eldest son. The “trip down memory lane” might have been a good idea in principle, but I don’t think she stopped to think that Nathan was going to get slammed with these memories as vividly as if he’d just gotten HDTV downloaded into his brain. Of course, if she’d stopped to think about the consequences of this charade of her family, this show would be a lot different.
I have to say, Millie is fabulous! Even when she’s casually explaining about her apparent failures in the parenting department. Don’t feel too bad Millie! Angela’s getting a stronger and stronger lock on “worst parenting decisions ever” every episode. Because deleting a life-changing event such as the inadvertent death of a peer from Nathan’s mind is almost as bad as some of the shit Arthur used to pull on Angela.
Yes, Kelly’s death would have ruined Nathan’s reputation, and he probably wouldn’t have gotten into politics. But assuming it didn’t break his spirit, and he was able to bear the burden, I think he would have been a hell of a better man. One who appreciated life a lot more, because he’d know how easily and suddenly it could be cut short. One that was closer to his family, and wouldn’t forget about his wife and children. And maybe half or more of the world-shattering crises the Petrellis have been at the center of could have been averted! Just saying.
One nice thing about Nathan, unlike Peter’s endless emo wrangling about his abilities, once Nathan figures out he can get the history of objects from touching them, he uses it to figure out something important. There ya go, Nate! Yes, in your teen years, you got drunk, were about to have sex, and then inadvertently killed a girl. Sucks to be you, but hey, some truth in your life is better than none.
Ma Petrelli tartly informs Nate that Mother’s Day cards might have let him in on the secrets in the family. Man, I cannot wait until the lie-detecting power starts kicking in for him. Because that’s going to be hilarious. I wanna see Angela’s face when Nathan starts going super-guru, “Ma, why’re you lying to me again?” Yes, I’m mean.
After having his calls dodged for weeks, Nathan finally shows Peter he has Sylar’s signature power and explains he’s showing a new power every day. Peter’s like, “Huh, that’s nice bro. Good for you. What, you’re having random new memories too? About things in your past? I’ve heard something about that. ‘Cause, you know, I’ve been studying up on powers. Mohinder totally left me his notes before he left for India to get Molly. [BECAUSE THAT’S TOTALLY WHAT HAPPENED AND I REFUSE TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE!] Say what, you think something horrible happened to your old girlfriend Kelly? Oh, I’d say tell the unvarnished truth to her mom. Because that always works out great in this family. There couldn’t possibly be any more secrets we haven’t uncovered!
“Well, would you look at that, I have to go on shift. Well, bye Nate! I totally don’t need to talk with you further or anything, considering this is the first time you’ve genuinely reached out to me for help about anything involving your powers since this whole thing started back in Season One. Because, damn, that used to be the only thing I wanted from you. But now I’m so thoroughly self-absorbed with my need to save people that I won’t even try to save my brother, because my feelings might be hurt again and I’m not down with that anymore. Bye-bye Nate, I’m sure nothing can go wrong!”
Oh, Peter. You’ve been overtly or covertly begging for Nathan to open up to you about this craziness in your family since we’ve known you, and now when he comes to you for help, you act like a mildly disinterested social worker. Well, this is going to suck for you next week when Nathan shows up DEAD!
I snorfled when Peter shows up at Noah’s and is like, “There’s something weird going on and since you’re not technically a member of my family, I have to talk to you. Because I’m severing all relationships with my blood family, as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t seen my niece in weeks and barely say hi when she pops in.”
“That’s a very nice arm.” BWAH! Show, dammit, stop giving me new ‘ships! Because my plot bunnies are fertile and horny and they never stop breeding.
Luckily, Noah is there to help. “Wacky road trip? No thanks. It’d only end in tears. Seriously. I just did this shit. Did not help.”
Sometimes it’s the little things about this show that I love. Like when Peter says he has to be in New York in ten minutes and Claire is like, “New power?” in the same tone one would use to say, “It’s a new haircut, right?” Hee!
Ok, I love Noah and Claire. Really. Their interactions make me giggle. I like Noah having his midlife crisis and Claire trying to be a counselor. “If they don’t buy from me, I can always shoot them.” So… you’re going to be a used car salesman?
On the other hand, “My job consisted of lying to my family, breaking down doors, bagging and tagging…” Hey Noah, have you ever thought about being a U.S. Marshal? Bounty hunter? Or, oo, I know, what about an undercover cop? Because you’d be about twenty times better than Matt and a hundred times more sensible and sane. That’d be a perfect job for you. Seriously. Do that. Or be a private investigator, because then you wouldn’t have to worry about following the law all the time. Even better!
Maybe if I kept completely current on all the Heroes comics and the webisodes I’d feel more invested in the Sullivan Brothers’ Carnival, but… I’m not. There’s some tension. Ok. Not everyone agrees. Ok. Clearly Samuel’s a bit off his rocker in terms of stability. Yeah, saw that last episode when he killed a house full of people because he had a bad day. But… why? I don’t flipping know these guys yet! Come on dudes, give us some flashbacks, just don’t dangle this potential conflict in our face without good cause! (A few Lost-style flashbacks would help here. A lot.)
Hmm, Noah is going to help the carnies now? Maybe? I… don’t see him as a carnival barker. At all. Of all the professions he could be, public entertainer is definitely not one of them.
Oh, Hiro. My sweet little boy. I haven’t wanted to hug him this hard in a while. I really liked how they used the futility of butt-copying man’s plight to basically wear down Hiro’s stubborn resistance to accepting reality. Ando’s repeated words of wisdom really brought home the best friend dynamic to me in a way where Hiro wasn’t just running roughshod over him all the time.
I’ll admit to wibbling a little bit when Hiro was telling Kimiko he was dying. It so worked, and I love it when Hiro acts like a grown-up instead of man-child. Hiro disappearing on them and the expressions on Ando’s and Kimiko’s faces just spoke several volumes of future conversations.
Kimiko - “Oh my God, my brother just vanished before my eyes!”
Ando – “Damn it, he did it again.”
Kimiko – “Wait, you don’t look anywhere near as freaked out as I am. As any sane person should be. What just happened?!”
Ando – “Do you remember that time when I said Hiro was at a carnival in the past? I actually wasn’t kidding.”
Kimiko – “Ok, you better sit down and explain it to me from the beginning and how we’re going to get him back and exactly what in the world you two have been up to because we’re not getting married until you explain this situation to my satisfaction, because I just learned my baby brother is dying and he is gone!”
The minute I saw Nathan in a parking garage, I knew things were bad. Particularly after he made a failed confession. Parking garages = death in TV and film. Nothing good happens. Aaaaand… nothing good does, as he is syringed and stuffed in a trunk.
Millie and Angela talk about closure. I start getting a bad feeling about this. Millie, it seems comes from the school of thought that revenge is best served both cold, and poetically. Angela took her daughter. Millie took her son. And his class ring too, oh noes!
Unfortunately, Millie killed Nathan 2.0, Sylar edition, which resets to its base physical state when catastrophic damage ensues. Thus we end the episode with an homage to Night of the Living Dead. Further wackiness with Sylar acting like Nathan with Sylar’s face will ensue next week!
(Kudos to both Adrian Pasdar and Zachary Quinto for being willing to have their lovely faces covered up with dirt. That’s a real dedication to acting right there!)
