Episode 8 - Four Months Ago...
30 March 2012
Synopsis: Adam tells Peter that the Haitian took his memory. But that he can repair his mind using his healing ability. By focussing on his love for Nathan he is able to recover his memory while we see what has happened to some of our heroes in the past four months. Nathan was badly burnt by Peter’s radioactivity. Peter took him to hospital before being abducted by Bob and Elle, his daughter. They convince Peter to let them take away his powers so that he can’t hurt anyone anymore. In the neighbouring room is Adam who says he has been there for 30 years. He convinces Peter that they are keeping him prisoner and to stop taking the medication they give him. He does and they escape. Adam uses some of his blood to heal Nathan and they run away from Elle and the Haitian. The Haitian catches Peter but takes his memories to give him a chance at a new life. Meanwhile DL becomes a fire fighter and Niki also takes medication given to her by Bob. The side effects are bad and so she stops taking them. When she does Gina, another former alias takes over and leaves DL for LA. DL follows and beats up her new boyfriend who then shoots DL in a nightclub. Alejandro is marrying a girl who Maya doesn’t trust. Maya finds her having sex with her ex and it triggers her first mass murder. Later Alejandro finds her and tries to hand her over to the police. But it is then that he realises he is connected to her and has the power to resuscitate people.
The Good: Though the synopsis is very long, this is surprisingly simple and straightforward storytelling. For the most part this is a good thing.
Peter’s guilt over burning Nathan gives him plausible reason to want his powers gone. Again the question of whether Bob is a force for good or not is handled very skilfully. While he again offers kindness to Niki, he clearly has no intention of letting Peter out of his “prison.” But because of the threat of nuclear melt down can we blame him? The brief development of Elle’s character gives us a fascinating insight into why Bob may have become who he is. She says that her powers developed when she was young and clearly Bob removed her from society in order to keep other people safe. It’s a tragic story waiting to be told and gives Bob ample motivation to keep the even more potentially dangerous Peter incarcerated.
This clever storytelling means Adam has the perfect alibi to convince Peter that he is a force for good. Saving Nathan explains to us why he was haunted with visions of a disfigured version of himself. We can now see the full picture of why he thought he was responsible for Peter’s disappearance.
DL’s death in an LA club is quite shocking. They film it really well as it comes suddenly and the blood splattering on Niki is effective and understated. The Sanders family story is very tragic and the knowledge that Niki could have prevented it by taking her medicine is more guilt she will have to bare. We also get an answer to a question which has hung over the entire show which is the nature of Niki’s split personalities. Here Bob states clearly that sometimes people can’t handle their new powers and so they suffer this kind of fracture.
The Bad: A couple of episodes ago I complained that the pandemic in the future was too similar to the nuclear bomb in season one. Here we have further evidence of the writers desire to keep Heroes in line with its established formula. In season one the episode “Six Months Ago” (110) did exactly what this episode does now, by filling us in on little details which we had been wondering about. However the difference in quality is marked.
The pilot of Heroes felt like the start of the show. So when ten episodes in we had an episode which jumped back in time we were overwhelmed with lots of character information which improved the show and made us understand our characters better. In particular that episode showed us how Sylar became who he is. This episode attempts to duplicate that success. But we don’t learn any more about Adam than we already did. He doesn’t behave particularly differently either.
Furthermore DL’s death is sad but hardly adds to the story beyond heaping more guilt on Niki. Alejandro and Maya’s story is simplicity itself. We don’t get to know them as characters at all. They remain overly dramatic and one dimensional.
The entire early part of the season feels like it was designed to facilitate this episode. In other words Peter losing his memory, Nathan’s haunting images and DL’s death were all designed for this episode to be the big “dramatic reveal.” Where “Six Months Ago” gave the impression of being organic and a reward for viewers, “Four Months Ago” feels too planned. It seems to confirm my suspicion that the first eight episodes of season two were designed to keep Hiro, Peter and Claire away from anything too dramatic or significant before slowly working them back into the plot. I have no problem with calming things down before building the drama back up but when it seems this contrived it is not fun to watch.
The Haitian’s decision to take Peter’s memories is very odd. As we know he is an ally of Angela’s it is not strange that he might help. But knowing Peter’s wide array of deadly abilities, what kind of new life was he expecting him to be able to make? Again it feels like a development planned for this reveal not one that makes much sense.
The Unknown: The scene with Angela and Heidi is potentially fascinating if they follow up on it. Heidi was healed by Linderman so she knows that something special is going on. Nathan tells her the truth and Angela tries to convince her that it is all his delusions. Heidi acts the scene as if she is humouring Angela in order to avoid conflict. If true then that is a good nuanced bit of writing, making Heidi seem smart. If on the other hand she believed Angela and not her own husband and suddenly healed legs, then it is pretty annoying.
How exactly did Niki explain DL’s death to his family? That must have been a good lie.
Best Moment: Elle telling Peter her life story. There is a real sense of the price of having powers and particularly the moral issues connected with how the company look after people with dangerous powers. Her tragic story combined with her flirtatious, sociopathic behaviour make for fascinating possibilities.
Epilogue: The flashback is a good trick. It can fill in all sorts of details which the audience have been desperate to know. I believe “Six Months Ago” is the best episode Heroes has ever produced. This, like season two as a whole pales in comparison. It feels predictable, derivative and almost too simple. If you don’t remember the first season very well then this is a passable flashback episode with some nice moments. But really this is a disappointment.
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