Tim Kring Spoils ‘Heroes’ … Literally
Series Creator Reveals Lots of Goodies for Fans
Heroes series creator Tim Kring recently spoke about the forthcoming final five episodes of the best new show on television from the Fall 2006 season. As observant fans know, the March 5 “Parasite” episode—which seems sooo far away now—was the 18th of the season. NBC ordered a total of 23 installments, meaning that we have five more left when the series finally returns on April 23 with “.07%” (which, again, seems sooo far away now).
Sci Fi Wire’s article “Heroes Finale Details Leaked” features numerous comments by Kring that give away some more-or-less unanticipated information. Avid viewers have likely already heard the company line about no actor being guaranteed that their character will survive in the future when it was made public before February 19′s pivotal episode “Unexpected” that a major character who had been with the show from the beginning would die. Of course, Simone Deveaux (Tawny Cypress) was accidentally killed by her estranged boyfriend Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) in the installment.
I personally thought that revelation about the death of a “major” character was a bait-and-switch tactic to drum up viewer interest because, although Cypress has been a regular cast member since day one, Simone in no way figured or figures as heavily in the overarching plot as the other principal characters, including Ando (James Kyson Lee) and Sylar (Zachary Quinto), both of whom are technically only guest stars (unbelievable, right?). Prior to her demise, I sometimes wondered why Simone was even there, and other times I wished she and her annoying disbelief would just take a hike. I guess I kinda got my erstwhile wish then.
Blatant Spoilers Ahead—Proceed with Caution or Not at All
Having said that, the details that Kring revealed about the remainder of the season are as follows:
- The final two episodes are named “Landslide” (which is in production now) and “How to Stop an Exploding Man” (which starts filming next week and will air on May 23).
- The season finale will actually consist of a three-episode story arc that builds up to all of the characters with powers arriving in New York and one or possibly more of them dying. Remember, however, that this is science fiction. Dead doesn’t necessarily mean completely gone from the series, just no longer alive in the traditional sense.
- Other characters besides those with powers will die, as well (Duh!).
- The season finale will serve as a precursor to season two—or “Volume 2” in Heroes speak—giving viewers a small (I’m sure) indication of what is to come after the summer break.
These interesting tidbits certainly supply Heroes fans with something to ponder during this seemingly interminable hiatus. Yet, if Kring and company intend to lead viewers on in this season’s last episodes with more of those unresolved, cliffhanger-type plots that will force the audience to wait all the way until Fall 2007 to see how they unfold, NBC might find itself in the most unfortunate position of directly causing a ratings decline for its hottest new scripted show in ages.
NBC’s Heroes returns from hiatus on Monday, April 23
Heroes photo courtesy of NBC
