Heroes: So Far, So Good in Season Two
But the Series Is Still On Notice
I would be a barefaced liar if I didn’t acknowledge that I’m one of the many people suffering from severe Heroes overload. My condition is primarily due to NBC and the series’ creator Tim Kring, two forces that literally assaulted TV fans over the summer with announcement after announcement and story after story about the latest new cast member or plot spoiler in a seemingly endless assembly line of future developments in the show’s notoriously grandiose—and some might say flimsy and/or poorly executed—story lines.
Much of the hyperactivity was understandable since it was likely a direct outgrowth of Heroes‘ piss-poor, tremendously disappointing first-season finale, an absolute downer for devoted fans that delivered on almost no front: Sylar (Zachary Quinto) didn’t die, for instance, and Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) certainly didn’t explode, at least not the way that viewers had been led to believe he would, with a mighty, blinding bang, right in front of our very own eyes.
Considering the rut that Heroes‘ first season ended in, as well as the glut of information that spilled all summer long, my expectations for Monday night’s second-season premiere “Four Months Later” were not all that high. What a pleasant surprise it was, then, to receive the gift of an interesting, well-told, and thoroughly promising season opener. Sophomore year might not be all that bad for Kring and company yet.
As this post isn’t intended to spoil details for those people who haven’t already seen the premiere, I won’t go into specifics. Suffice it to say that with the exception of the Hawkins/Sanders family—Niki/Jessica (Ali Larter), Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), and D.L. (Leonard Roberts)—the fates of all of our familiar genetically enhanced characters are more or less accounted for, even including Hiro’s (Masi Oka) father Kaito Nakamura (George Takei) and Peter and Nathan’s (Adrian Pasdar) mother Angela Petrelli (Cristine Rose).
The installment also introduces several of the series’ newcomers, specifically the legendary “Japanese” warrior Takezo Sensei (David Anders), fugitive Dominican twins Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro Herrera (Shalim Ortiz), and Claire’s annoying classmate West (Nicholas D’Agosto) at her new high school.
The top issue for the series as always remains the sheer number of stories it attempts to tell in single episodes. Sure, everything usually seems to wrap up neatly with a little bow on top … eventually. It’s the waiting for that ultimate dramatic payoff that can prove difficult for viewers, driving a significant number of them away in the process.
Now, with a whole slew of characters added to the already complicated mix—Veronica Mars‘ Kristen Bell and Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols haven’t even arrived—Heroes could find itself in great peril if the series veers off course too often. Only hardcore fans will have the patience to sift through the muck if any emerges again, which means there’ll be no room for a sophomore slump for Kring and his crew. I personally hope they manage to keep the plots tight and focused all the way through the coming season, however, and I’ll remain onboard as long as they do.
Related News: David Anders’ Takezo Kensei Emerging in ‘Heroes’ Mythology | ‘Heroes’ Trumps ‘Lost’ and Adds Kristen Bell
Heroes currently airs Mondays on NBC at 9pm EST
Heroes photo courtesy of NBC
