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.
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