Episode 10 - Brothers Keeper
28 March 2012
Synopsis: Nine weeks ago Mohinder learnt about Samuel Sullivan from his father’s films from Coyote Sands. He built a compass to locate the carnival and was warned away by Joseph Sullivan. Hiro jumps back in time to stop Mohinder from destroying the film and saves his life by giving him a Kevlar vest to wear. Hiro then drops Mohinder into a mental asylum so he can’t prevent Hiro from rescuing Charlie. The Haitian comes to tell Peter about who Nathan really is. Peter and Nathan go to see Matt and Peter heals him. Sylar manages to touch Nathan, leaving Matt’s body as Nathan flies away. Tracy is considering joining the carnival and seeks advice from Noah as her power begins to behave strangely. She finds Claire and they console one another on the lonely life of those with abilities.
The Good: Generally speaking Heroes has always presented one particular formula pretty well. And that is presenting new characters with a mysterious past and then pulling back the curtain to show you that past. In the cases of Sylar, Adam Monroe, Arthur Petrelli and now Samuel Sullivan, the revelation of the truth about them has been solid stuff. In the case of Samuel there is even a touch of class about it. The writing has constantly kept Samuel as a grey character, capable of both kindness and cruelty in equal measure, helped enormously by his measured performance. Little touches like showing him recycling the carnival’s garbage have really helped to make him an intriguing and more human character.
So here we learn that those with abilities give off a kind of magnetic charge and when all gathered in one place this can cause problems. Particularly in the case of Samuel who if surrounded by enough power can apparently increase his power to move the earth by a thousand fold. We can now see why he has been trying to recruit those with abilities despite the concerns of his existing family. The casting of Joseph was excellent. We have heard him talked about in revered tones and Samuel has behaved as if losing him was an irreplaceable blow in many ways. Here he comes across very much as the in control, calming influence that he has been portrayed as. I also really liked the fact that Mohinder provided a pseudo-scientific explanation for how the compass worked. It helps make the story seem more authentic.
Hiro of course does the right thing, as you would expect, by saving Mohinder’s life. I liked the way Hiro blew his nose, a quick reminder of the price he is paying for time travelling. It was a very nice touch to get the same actress who played Mohinder’s love interest the last time he was at home (108). Claire and Tracy sharing the pain of being different made sense.
The “showdown” with Matt, Sylar, Peter and Nathan was a pretty dramatic and interesting scene. Having built up Sylar’s desire to get out of Matt’s head there was a good sense of tension and consequence to everything that happened. I’m glad Peter healed Matt as well, rather than him somehow surviving multiple gunshot wounds. Peter remaining loyal to the brother he loves is plausible to despite the fact that Sylar could re-emerge any minute.
The Bad: As ever it is the lack of detail work which lets Heroes down. For example, it has never been established exactly how Claire’s healing power works. She did cut off a toe once and watched it re-grow (202). But in general I was under the impression that she manoeuvred disembodied parts of her back into position so that they could reattach (103, 301). Either way she grows a brand new ankle and foot after Tracy snaps one off. It would have been nice if she had just screamed a little to show us that this process is painful and disturbing. Otherwise it just comes across as lazy comedy.
Stranger than that though is Claire doesn’t warn Tracy about Samuel. Tracy says she met him and is thinking of joining him and Claire basically says – yeah why not. Umm, didn’t he and his deranged niece try and kill you and your friends last week? Even if she thinks he was relatively innocent in Becky’s schemes, it would probably be worth mentioning don’t you think?
Similarly, Peter seems to have absorbed powers from people by accidentally touching them (e.g. Emma’s in 405). Yet here he touches Nathan loads of times before he finally “decides” to take his ability. With more explanation this wouldn’t be a problem, but it just looks like they make up the rules as they go along. As patiently as the story has been told, for me the Sylar story still feels like time wasting. It feels inevitable now that Sylar will seize control of Nathan’s body and return to normal. It’s as if we are just waiting around for that to happen.
Finally Hiro drops Mohinder off in a mental asylum to live a scared and drug addled existence for two months. That is pretty cruel and unusual punishment for sweet Hiro. Not to mention the inevitable questions about how he secured that particular berth for Mohinder.
The Unknown: Although Samuel claims that Danko killed Joseph, it is worth asking if Samuel did it himself in a rage. Now we have to wonder what Samuel would do with enough power surrounding him. What is Samuel pitching to Tracy? Why is her power suddenly going haywire?
I certainly hope Matt Parkman isn’t headed home. He will be on Sylar’s list of victims one day and he has left his friends in a very vulnerable position. He better be on his way to track them down and kill Sylar.
Best Moment: The “showdown” was good, edge of the seat stuff waiting to see what would happen.
Epilogue: More solid stuff from Heroes, it’s usually one step forward and two back for this show. But this week I would say it was just a step sideways. They have some good pieces in place for the season to take off but I have so little faith in the producers.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
)