Episode 3 - Ink
28 March 2012
Synopsis: Samuel sues Peter, claiming he was injured when Peter pulled him from a train. He fixes the evidence to fool Peter and test his reaction. Peter discovers that his co-workers are now suspicious of him because of his record of rescues. He apologises to Samuel and shakes his hand, absorbing the “compass” power. Samuel is denied entry to the house where he grew up and so he turns the area into a sink hole, killing three people. Sylar tortures Matt from inside his head, forcing Matt to use his powers. Claire tells Gretchen the truth about her power and tells Noah not to interfere.
The Good: In the second half of last season Heroes slowed right down, focussed on a few stories per episode and produced some good television. Here they recapture that spirit and how with an episode of some substance and depth.
Top of the good pile are Matt and Sylar. The story required that Matt be forced to return Sylar to his body. Of course Matt would never return a deadly killer to the world and so Sylar had to find a way to force him into it. The way he did was brilliantly written.
Matt tracks down a drug dealer and Sylar begins to make Matt’s life miserable by appearing all around him and almost causing him to make mistakes which could have been very costly. Seemingly bored of that Sylar helps Matt to find the drug dealer’s hiding place. Sylar continues to play bored until finally telling Matt that the dealer has actually kidnapped a child. Matt finds evidence to support Sylar’s theory and uses his power to extract the girls location. Finding her dead he beats the man’s face in only for Matt’s partner to return and point out that there is no girl. From within Matt’s mind Sylar had found a way to use his powers against him.
The way viewers and Matt were misdirected was beautiful. The narrative made it clear that Sylar had become bored of torturing Matt and had decided to help. The focus of the story remained on the suspiciously silent drug dealer so that when the girls body appeared it seemed like Sylar was going to become Matt’s unlikely new partner in solving crime. The deception was deliciously fitting for Sylar and even better you can now remember him holding and playing with the stuffed teddy bear. The bear had been a big clue in pushing Matt in the right direction, but of course Sylar isn’t real and can’t touch anything. There he was flaunting his own deception in Matt’s face.
The beautiful result of the deception was that Matt now has to get Sylar back into his body. This incident shows how lethal Matt will be with Sylar inside him, altering his perception. This story really is one of those rare gems in television. It entertained royally for this instalment but fed the arc story ideally. Great writing, solid acting.
Matt’s situation had a wonderful sense of tragedy for him. And almost as good was Peter’s discovery that his selfless heroics were now being viewed as glory hunting. In a wonderful idea straight out of comic books, Peter’s powers, far from raising people’s opinion of him, have made them suspicious. His super human speed make people question whether he caused the accidents which he is so swift to arrive at. It’s such an understandable response from people who have no reason to believe in super human abilities. It’s the kind of reaction which would fuel Sylar’s hatred of people but for Peter is just another cross he has to bear.
The suspicion falling on Peter comes at the same time as Samuel shows up. He arrives in a suit suing Peter for hurting him during a rescue. He tampers with Peter’s press cutting to “prove” he was there and test how Peter will react. Peter is a stand-up guy and so immediately finds Samuel and apologises, he only wants to help. Intriguingly this pleases Samuel who claimed all along that he wanted to test if Peter was worthy of taking his brother Joseph’s place. He shakes Peter’s hand transferring the strange looking compass to Peter’s forearm. Throughout Samuel plays his role superbly, subtle and natural, never betraying his true intentions.
Samuel remains intriguing and like all great villains seems utterly convinced of his own actions. It would seem a painful upbringing as the child of a butler and maid (presumably some time ago) is at the core of his anger. He turns his old house into rubble proving that he is more villain than hero. It was predictable that he would be but at least he has a clear if not forgivable motive for doing what he did.
Claire gets a new roommate in Gretchen and tells her all about her power. Although this part of the story wasn’t compelling it underlined an important aspect of her character development. Noah understandably wanted to take away Gretchen’s memory of Claire’s power. But after the pain it caused her in the past to see him do that she refused to let him. Instead she points out that she will have to tell some people if she is to ever make a life for herself. It’s a mature statement and entirely plausible. Her power doesn’t harm anyone else and so it’s much easier to imagine people coping with it.
Finally we have the understated introduction of new hero Emma, who works at Peter’s hospital. She is deaf but seems to have developed the ability to “see” sound and make beautiful music. Her deafness is introduced in very subtle fashion and viewers may not have realised for several scenes. It’s not at all clear how she fits into the show or its stories which makes her pretty intriguing. She is also a woman over the age of thirty, who looks pretty normal and plays her role with little flash. Or in other words, an unusual choice for a new character. Her introduction slotted nicely into Peter’s story and seemed to recapture the spirit of season one when the discovery of powers could bring real joy to someone’s life.
The Bad: The Gretchen story is difficult to get too interested in. Heroes track record suggests she will betray Claire or possibly be killed to make her suffer. Similarly as intriguing as Samuel is, that Heroes record suggests he will start to behave more and more generically evil and never be given a fully rounded story. Danko for instance veered between being developed properly and being used as a plot device before he was unceremoniously killed. That past does hinder the ability of the show to make these new stories resonate. But that shouldn’t stop the writers from trying.
The Unknown: What is the compass power? We know Samuel moves earth but how does he control ink too?
Best Moment: The revelation that there was no girl under the stairs. Just a gut punch for Matt and a genuine shock for the viewer.
Epilogue: A superb episode on so many levels. It’s so hard to have any faith in Heroes to follow up on this. But for now it’s worth saying that this episode is written about as well as anything you will see on TV in a given week.
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