Heroes - Shades of Gray - 3/9

Does anyone else get the feeling that Heroes has some major daddy issues? The overreaching father theme can escape no one's notice and if I had my say, they would change the title from Heroes to Sins of the Father. Week after week, we're intently watching the immoral actions of daddy dearest more so than the beneficial actions of our heroes. As far as I can see, Heroes now contains far more morally gray characters (half of which are key father figures) than outright GOOD characters. I guess the title of the episode kind of gave that away though, huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm a sharp one. Anyway, where was I? Oh right...

Sins of the Father

Not exactly the most original overriding theme, but Heroes has always been focused on generations and origins (Volumes both), so it makes sense that it would eventually delve deeper into the background of our most mysterious character, Sylar. We come to find, via the last two episodes, that Sylar's biological father, played brilliantly by the one and only John Glover, is one very sick (literally and figuratively) and twisted individual. So, as suspected, Sylar is a regular chip off the ol' block. And so, for the third time, Sylar faces off with his father (the first time being with Arthur Petrelli and the second being with his adopted father) and for the second time, he finds the killing of his "father" beneath him. Apparently, as far as fathers go, Arthur is the only one worth the effort of killing (not that it takes much effort on Sylar's part). As with his adopted father, Sylar gets what he came for and then leaves his father to wallow in his painful misery.

It's sad really, how even his bio father with the exact same power, does not pose even a small threat to Sylar. All I could think was, "He is gonna squash you like a bug, creepy and dirty John Glover". Still, I can't help but feel grateful towards Mr. Needs-a-Bath Gray. It's long past time for Sylar to join the previously-Nathan-now-Danko game. His mission to find his lost parents and discover the reasons behind his own malicious character was an exciting idea in theory but, interestingly enough, I found that I didn't really want to know. Not only did the story-line drag on longer than it should have, but Sylar has always been at his best when he's been a mystery. Think back to Season 1, when all we saw of Sylar was a ticking watch and a hat-clad shadow lurking in the corner. I'm not saying that some revealing facts didn't up his character's creepy ante (honestly, the eyebrows do all the work), but sometimes it's better to leave things a mystery. There is nothing scarier than a villain who is evil just because he can be (hello, the Joker anyone?).

Rebel With a Cause

Rebel is popping his (or her or their) head up more and more as each episode goes by and I gotta say, he/she/they are extremely helpful. I think it probably goes without saying that Rebel is not working alone. Plenty of suspects have been thrown out there, but my own best guesses are Micah, Molly and Angela Petrelli. With Rebel pushing Doyle in Claire's path, it's becoming obvious that he's/she's/they're not discriminating between "good" specials and "evil" specials, which I believe is a good thing. If the previously-Nathan-now-Danko Project isn't turning anyone away, whether they be heroes or villains, I don't believe Rebel should either. It's no longer Heroes vs. Villains, it's now Humans vs. Mutants and the Mutants can use all the help they can get. Still, Rebel seems to be pretty on top of things and I personally can't wait to see who's behind the computer.

Claire's Daddy Issues

Claire's story is slowly snailing its way in the direction I want it to go. I guess my Jedi mind tricks are starting to work. Or else I'm the other not-so-secret child of Matt Parkman (more on that later). Either way, Claire is beginning to whine less about wanting to be normal and is starting to accept her inevitable destiny as a hero. However, every hero needs guidance and it's only natural to turn to your father for that guidance. And yet, I found Noah's advice seriously lacking (probably because it was), despite the pile o' shit that's on his own plate. Still, apparently Claire heard what she needed to hear in order to step-up and accept her hero-ly duty. Again, I feel a wave of gratitude for one of our more gray-ish father figures for pushing one of my characters in the right direction.

And here comes another wave, this one chalk-full of surprise, gratitude and some serious "awwwwww" feelings. As soon as Nathan's secret is discovered, he Superman's (not the dirty one, get your mind out of the gutter!) his way to Claire, saving her from Danko's agents just in time. That shot, with the camera slowly panning backward, away from Claire's window, to show Nathan holding her in his arms while he floats by a nearby tree, is one of my all-time favorite Heroes shots. It was unexpected and unexpectedly sweet. When it seems like either one or both of her fathers are always letting her down, here comes a day where both support her in unexpected ways. *tear*

Whose Baby Daddy?

Here's a shocker, yet another "special" kid with yet another absent "special" father. I'm going to start counting daddy figures instead of sheep at night. I kid, I kid! I don't actually count sheep. That never works. Anyway, with all Matt Parkman is dealing with at the present, why not bring up that whole "the past is going to come back and bite you in the ass" thing? Luckily, he has Hiro and Ando to babysit for him while he's being held prisoner for being a terrorist. Thank goodness for close friends, eh? So, I sort of jumped the gun earlier. We don't actually know if Parkman's baby is "special", but I'm willing to bet $2 that that cute chuck of smelly baby is in fact mentally gifted like his father. I just hope Hiro and Ando know how to change a diaper. Or do I...

Okie dokie, that's all for this week. Next week, our whole week will be ruined due to the loss of a new Heroes episode, but stay strong, Heroes lovers. We'll make it through this dark time together.