Heroes - Company Man

This was one of, if not, THE best episodes of Heroes so far. We learn so much about the company that runs Primatech Paper Co. We learn parts of HRG guy's past, and of Hiro's father's affiliation with the company that strives to protect us from the people that aren't like us.

Just as a further note, I found it so great that we see how everyone is starting to fit together. Hiro's dad working for Primatech, HRG and Claude being partners, the place where HRG gets Claire for the first time being where Claude loved to go (the place with the pigeons). It's all coming together. Can't wait for the next episode...

Alas, I'll be gone for a week or so, so I won't be doing updates till I get back. Hope you can hold out.

Jericho - The Day Before

Okay, let me start off by saying that this was one of, if not, THE last show to come back after hiatus, so it's a little tough for me to get back into it seeing as I forgot most of the characters. So, I guess I'll catch you up...

The basic story is that there have been some sort of explosions throughout the United States and very few towns are actually left. One of these towns is a small town by the name of Jericho, KS.

The main character is a man named Jake, played by Skeet Ulrich (who has not had a very good streak when it comes to TV shows - take for instance the short-lived show called "Miracles". Which I thought was actually not bad, though I beleive it didn't even last a season). Jake is driving back to Jericho when the explosions occur, after having been away for about 10 years, if I recall correctly. Basically, the plot of the show is him and his father, who is the mayor of the town (and played by the same actor who plays George Hearst in another great show called Deadwood, which I HIGHLY recommend), trying to get things as back to normal as they can, and trying to learn what exactly has happened.

The other main character (the bad-guy if you will) is a shady guy by the name of Hawkins. He seems to either be some sort of military agent or an agent of a rogue group. One thing is sure though, and that is that Hawkins is irrecovably tied to the explosions.

So, having caught you up in a VERY quick synopsis, I'm going to discuss this weeks episode called 'The Day Before'. If you want to watch it for yourself, DON'T READ ANYMORE. If not, enjoy.

This episode gives us the back story of Jake and Hawkins (and to a very small extent, Jake's brother and his family). First of all, we find out Jake was a pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is trying to get a job flying planes, but when the guy interviewing him asks about it, he says he didn't fly for the military but some other organizations. We find out later in the episode that he was running weapons for some groups and is being recruited for another group called "Ravenwood". The organization seems to be selling drugs to insurgents, at least that's what is described to Jake.

Hawkins, on the other hand, seems to have some affiliations with some sort of cell, that looks like it was at least partially responsible for the attacks. In the days leading up to the attack, he learns that he is to transport some sort of canister to an unknown location. He senses that these attacks are going to be really big, so instead of moving the canister, he finds his ex-wife and his children. He basically holds them at gunpoint and makes them drive with him to what I think is Jericho. I'm not sure though, because the drive from where he was in D.C. to Kansas would have taken much longer...but I guess that's why it's a TV show.

So, as for the episode itself, I thought it was pretty good. I can see that the drama of this show is not nearly as engaging as say a '24', but it's got a good story. The plot development in this episode especially was really well done. Basically, all of last season, we were left wondering exactly what happened. And in the beginning of season 2, we learn what it was. I guess Jericho is learning from the mistakes of shows like "Lost", that seem to go on and on forever, without giving too much away.

Heroes - Unexpected

Tonight, we learned of a new hero by the name of Hana Gittelman. I'll update this in the morning with more info.

Flashes Before Your Eyes

First thing we see is Locke, Desmond and Sayid telling Charlie and Hurley of Mr. Eko's death, though they don't initially seem to beleive Locke's theory that the island killed him. Suddenly Desmond runs past them and into the ocean. The camera pans in closer and we see someone is drowning. Sun walks up to the emerging crowd and is holding Claire's baby, thus telling us who it is that Desmond is trying to save. He pulls her out of the water and starts to give her CPR while Charlie wants to help but knows he can't. After he asks how Desmond knew she was drowning Hurley responds "that dude see the future".

Desmond now sits on the beach looking at a picture of him and someone he calls "Amy...Penelope". After Charlie and Hurley offer him a drink in order to get him to talk about what happened in the hatch, we see that as soon as he turned the key in the hatch he went back to his flat with his girlfriend.

It seems that the microwave in Desmond's (we learn his name is Desmond Hume) flat has the same annoying sound as the clock in the hatch. He also tries to work for Mr. Whitmore, walks past a man who's making a delivery for 815. While "interviewing", he says a painting of two polar bears. He comes clean with Mr. Whitmore about being there to ask for his daughter's hand. Whitmore basically starts to belittle him and telling him he can't marry his daughter or drink his McCautchten 60-year-old whiskey. After leaving the office, he sees Charley playing "Wonderwall" in front of the building. He starts to remember everything about the island and it seems that he basically got caught in some sort of time warp where he has to relive everything over again.

We are introduced to Desmond's friend Donovan (who I recognize from something), a physicist, who Desmond tries to prove that he is traveling through time and can see the future. After failing to predict the score of a soccer game, he starts to doubt himself. To prove that he can change things, he goes to buy a ring to marry Penny. The woman trying to sell him the ring tells him that he cannot buy it, because if he does he is supposed to have second thoughts about Penny, enter the sailing competition, and punch the numbers in the computer for three years. And if he doesn't, we all die.

The old woman tells Desmond that the universe has a way of making things happen, even if we try to avoid our paths. Hint, Hint: Claire keeps needing to be saved. Desmond tells Penny that they're not supposed to be together and throws away the ring, thus sealing his path.

Soon, we learn that Desmond wasn't trying to save Claire. He was trying to save Charley...but he tells him "you're going to die".

All in all, a great episode. This may have saved me from tuning it out. What'd you guys think?

"Distraction" - Claire's family tree branches closer to home and Peter gets his wings

In general, this episode Heroes seems to me to be following what I like to call 'the rule of 24'. That is to say that, for most of it, it's methodical and somewhat slow at times. But then, right in the last few minutes, it takes you and bashes you right into a wall, hoping you'll be yearning for next weeks episode. While 24 is much better at this, I think, Heroes is still in it's infancy, so it can still develop this better over time.

****SPOILER ALERT****
Don't read any further if you haven't seen the episode. You've been warned.

Well, we finally figure out who Claire's father is. Claire's father is none other than...drum roll, please.... Nathan Petrelli. This seemed like a half-assed attempt at bringing the group closer together, if you ask me. Seeing as the internets was buzzing so much around the fact that it was Nathan, it seemed kind of predictable that something would bring these two groups together.

Also, we learn of Sylar's ability to pretty much be the laziest villain the world has ever seen. The guy just has to use one finger and he can do pretty much whatever he wants...rip someone's head open, make things fly through the air, etc...

Peter gets his wings...sort of. As the invisible man pushes Peter off of a 30 story building, we learn how he can hold on to people's abilities. While the invisible man tells him to forget them all, we find out that the way he can recall powers is recalling the way the person makes him feel. I thought this was a really interesting idea. Definitely a little different from the comics, which I liked.

Finally, we learn more about Hiro. His father has come out to US and A to make Hiro the executive vice president of a GE-type company in Japan. Not wanting to disappoint his fellow mankind, he thinks of a plan to get him off his back. He basically shows his father he knows nothing about the company, while his sister knows everything. It was an interesting plan here, though I think this was slightly forced, as well. First of all, from what I understand Japan is still very male-oriented, and would never let a woman run a company.

*Update* Just got word from a fark article that the license plate in the episode may look familiar to some...Here is the said license plate . Bonus points if you know what it's from...Shouldn't be too hard.