Heroes – ‘Landslide’ Recap and Analysis

I can only speculate at this point, but it is my belief that some people will be upset with tonight’s penultimate episode of Heroes, “Landslide.” Because, although this was touted as the first half of a two-part finale, this particular episode had almost no dramatic climax and was really just one last hour of setup for the final showdown yet to come. And, to an extent, the complainers have got a point. If you were to watch commercials, or read the hype from producers, this WAS supposed to be the first half of the two-part finale (The final hour of Heroes airs next week). You could argue that if you’re watching a landslide, you don’t want the rocks to all suddenly stop before they smash into the helpless village below; you want to see the carnage, you want to see the mayhem. And, well, you’ve got a point…but I have to respectfully disagree.

For me, the show wasn’t yet to a stage at which it could really be ready for that final confrontation between Peter and Sylar which is arriving next week. Sure, Peter’s been ready for it for weeks, and even Claire has been (They spent the episode running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and it showed). However, although the show hasn’t really been spending much time with it as of late, I believe that the show’s most important character, Hiro, wasn’t ready yet.

I decided midway through the episode that I wished that Hiro had his own show. His arc over the past season has been fairly well played out. Starts out discovering his powers, losing control along the way, loses his powers, regains them in order to assist a friend, travels forward in time to get a glimpse of what he could become, faces a final test but fails, and then finally through his father learns the skills he needs to succeed. That right there? That’s something tangible, something real, something interesting.

The problem is that it has been drowning within a million other storylines, and Hiro’s been left to the side of the road for awhile. In this episode, his arc was the only one working at normal speed while the rest was rushing all over the place. He’s been disconnected from it all, but for me all that has shown is that the rest of the plot is too chaotic, too lost in itself.

This was seen especially within Niki/Jessica, by far the show’s worst character and unfortunately one who survived to the end of the hour. Perhaps the worst piece of acting the series has seen thus far was found in the moment when Niki took over from Jessica. It was an orgasmic sigh straight out of a cheap porno, and Ali Larter deserves to have things thrown at her for it. Her entire arc has been a colossal waste of time, and this apparently “redeeming” moment for Jessica only made that more clear. D.L.’s death had no resonance, and the fact that he got to kill Linderman is absolutely ridiculous.

Speaking of which, Linderman and Thompson both bit the bullet in this one…and this is a colossal mistake for the series (I like the word colossal today). On one hand, yes, Thompson and Linderman both complicate things moving forward: the producers are setting up Sylar as the only villain moving into the finale to simplify things. However, I think that Linderman and Thompson each represent a worthwhile force that is neither pure evil nor pure good, but rather something in between. This isn’t Spider-Man 3, you could balance these three individuals without the finale seeming too bogged down. Killing them off just limits your options, and makes for a more predictable finale.

But still, we’re moving towards that finale at a fairly fast pace; in just one week, Heroes ends its first season with an hour-long showdown between good and evil. Sylar vs. Hiro and Peter [Who was noticably absent this episode: honestly, his biggest contribution was RENTING A CAR], with the winner deciding the fate of an entire city and an entire country. The “Landslide” may not have reached the bottom of the hill tonight, but rest assured: it will crush some civilians in a week’s time.

For a recap of some of the episode’s big events in case you missed it or want to job your memory, do continue on.

Nathan Wins the Election

Nathan Petrelli can thank Micah for his victory, however, as the youngster (with Candace by his side as an elderly black woman) rigged the voting machines in order for Nathan to secure a “Landslide Victory”. Of course, this made very little sense (What would happen if those people tried to vote? Did he just vote for the lazy people who refuse to exercise their democratic rights like the worthless slackers they are? We aren’t told), but that’s par for the course. Interesting in this bit is that we learn that Candace has some depth of character after all; she’s a compulsive eater, and her “base” model if you will is in fact a replication. She’s really fat like all of the other snackers out there. It was a subtle development, something I like to see from the show.

Meanwhile, Nathan also won a bit of a lottery when his wife was magically healed by Linderman, but yet he worries about the repercussions he will face from Linderman…or he does when D.L. and Jessica show up in his campaign office for Linderman’s location. He gives it up, and gives his victory speech not quite knowing what the future hold for him.

Hiro and the Dragon

Hiro needs to get his sword fixed, so he heads to the conveniently located store that fixes Japanese samurai swords and has a nice big ad in the yellow pages. It appears, however, that Hiro’s father (Stick with me here) is waiting, and has been watching his journey all along. He tells him it is time, and he lets Hiro in on his secret: he used to work with Linderman, Thompson, but after they went the way of evil he went the way of good. Now, he believes it is Hiro’s time, and through some childhood memories of a Dragon story and some kickass swordplay between him and Sulu (Go Sulu!), Hiro finds himself ready to face his greatest challenge and save Ando. However, saving Ando is now even more pressing: he’s run off with another sword to kill Sylar himself after getting impatient with Hiro’s closed door meeting apparently sending him back home. Ando needs to learn to wait it out a little. This, Hiro rushes into the streets with a newfound strength and a newfound goal: saving Ando’s life.

Niki/Jessica/Idiot

She’s stupid, ignorant, and just about makes me want to wretch. However, Niki/Jessica meant business this week. As Jessica, she and D.L. pressured Nathan into giving up his location, and then they headed to Linderman’s location. After meeting up with some old friends, the two barged in on Linderman and Jessica had her big moment. Faced with the opportunity to take a pile of cash and kill D.L., Jessica chose to go away (for good?) and stay with her husband. Linderman then shot D.L. anyways, but D.L. was able to suck out his brain with his crazy hand thing before he falls himself. I think it was supposed to be a final tragic arc for Niki: personally, I wasn’t buying it. She ended the episode with a bloody D.L. on the ground before her, weeping into his corpse.

Mr. Bennet, Matt Parkman and the Magical Tracking Device

So, remember how Bennet has been talking about that tracking device? Well, it’s Molly! Yep, Bennet worries that they will use her to find their location at any time, which is their plan post-Sylar. Of course, Bennet doesn’t want it to come to that point. Yep, that’s right, Bennet’s plan is to kill her…well, he didn’t know it was a little girl, so that complicates things. Bennet and Parkman make their way into the Primatech headquarters (the building by the orange stairs) through some clever manipulation from Parkman and an assist from D.L. Unfortunately for them, Thompson lies in wait and has brainwashed Mohinder just a little bit as well. Thompson is easily dispatched thanks to a couple of gunshot wounds to the head (If only Linderman was around to cure him…can he resurrect? We haven’t seen, and he could be, you know, dead), but Mohinder knocks out Parkman and holds a gun to Bennet as Bennet holds a gun to a terrified Molly. And she was just starting to get better too, and hasn’t been able to locate Sylar yet. Pity.

The Ted, Pete and Claire Bear Show featuring special guest, Sylar!

First Pete (predictably) calms down from his nuclear episode, and then Bennet sends them to…Hertz to rent a car? Um, okay. Sylar is following, and tips off the FBI to Ted’s location (Where Clara, our FBI agent from out west, is present for the arrest). This leaves Peter and Claire off on their own in their rented car, driving aimlessly before stumbling on the scene. Sylar flips Ted’s transport vehicle, and as he hangs suspended by chains he eats him some Ted brains. Peter and Claire can only stare in fear at the scene before them: Sylar is the bomb, and he’s going to kill them all. He ends the episode practicing his power on a rooftop.

“Boom.” Boom indeed, Sylar. Boom indeed.