Episode 7 - Out of Time
30 March 2012
Synopsis: Hiro and Yaeko escape Kensei’s clutches. Hiro returns and destroys White Beard’s guns. He returns to the present where Ando tells him of his father’s death. West invites himself round for breakfast and Claire has no time to explain before he sees Noah and freaks out. Nathan and Matt come to see Bob and tell him that Maury is on his way to kill him. Bob explains that it is really Adam Monroe who is behind the killings. Maury fools Niki into attacking Bob but she injects herself with the virus to stop from hurting anyone. Matt manages to stop Maury and trap him in his own nightmare. Mohinder finds that his blood can not cure the strain of virus which Niki has. Bob tells him to get Claire Bennet because her blood can cure the virus. Mohinder tells Bob of Noah’s plans to bring down the company. Peter and Caitlyn discover that the Shanti virus has wiped out 93% of the world’s population. Peter ends up accidentally jumping back to Montreal in the present and there he meets Adam Monroe or as we know him Takezo Kensei.
The Good: The big twist that Takezo Kensei is Adam Monroe is a good one. It could be even better (see The Bad) but as twists go it is strong. It will certainly provide an interesting story to see when Peter realises who he is allied with. Peter’s story is strong, especially the piles of dead bodies he sees which bring home the dangers which the Shanti virus represents. Despite its similarities to season one the pandemic in the future is an effective plot device. Just as in season one it gives us a concrete reason to see our heroes actions as significant and world changing.
His story also manages to make Mohinder’s plot more important. Mohinder seems to be a key figure now having been slightly on the periphery in season one. His morality has driven him into the difficult position of not knowing who to trust: Bob or Noah. The writers have done an impressive job of keeping Bob’s true agenda as grey as possible. Despite him asking Mohinder to use the potentially deadly virus we also hear Niki testify to his kindness. What Bob tells Nathan about the split between the founders of the company also leads us to assume that Bob is more or less on the side of good.
What makes Mohinder’s dilemma compelling is the painting of him firing a gun with a broken nose. Now we know he needs Claire’s blood it seems he may be the one who shoots Noah through the eye. When Niki breaks his nose and Bob hands him a gun it all seems to be falling into place. It is a clever story because Noah knows more about the company than Mohinder but we have been given good reason to believe that Bob might be taking the company in a new better direction.
The dramatic scenes at the company are really enjoyable TV. Niki’s visions of DL are all the more sad because she believes she has been cured by the company. As flippant as it is (see The Bad) Matt overcoming his father is nice to see. As is Niki’s decision to inject herself to try and save more lives. These scenes feel like the most significant action we have seen all season and it is fun for a viewer to see a group of our heroes working together to overcome a common enemy. The show also feels like it is moving forward to more interesting places.
The Bad: As I have said in other reviews the problem with Takezo Kensei is that his story has been too brief and he is not a well defined character. Here he says the he will become ruler of half of Japan in exchange for handing Hiro over. It was never clear before this point that he had a megalomaniacal streak. He was presented as a drunk in search of his fortune, not power mad. This change in tone follows on from his unconvincing hurt at being betrayed by Hiro.
So the twist that he is alive in the present doesn’t have as much impact as it could if he was better defined. Adam as we now know him doesn’t have the imposing presence to seem like a threat either. Linderman had a powerful aura about him, where as Adam looks more like the fair, slim, posh actor which he appears to be. It may be a harsh criticism but so often the key to a character is looking the part. Nathan looks to me very much like a New York lawyer, just as Matt looks like a cop who eats too much because his father abandoned him. Adam so far doesn’t look the part of an evil villain which seems to be how he is portrayed.
Matt Parkman has barely begun to scratch the surface of his own powers. He says to Bob that he can only read minds and no more. Yet it only takes him one scene to overcome his father (who has been using his powers for about thirty years) and trap him in his own nightmare. The implication is that his father’s guilt and fear over leaving his family makes him somehow more susceptible to being trapped like this. It feels like this is expediency for the sake of the soap opera aspect of the story rather than the science fiction part. The ability to manipulate people’s minds doesn’t seem like it should be so easy to learn as Matt does here. It’s far too quick a development and feels rushed.
West is pretty unlikeable and ridiculously forward here. He turns up for breakfast despite Claire warning him that her father didn’t want her dating. In fact the whole charade to fool Debbie was done in order to keep her father in the dark. So for him to turn up unannounced is foolish both in terms of real life behaviour and as part of the plot. Claire should really be more upset with him than she is. Later on he implies a bit of frustration that things aren’t moving quicker physically between then. It looks like an attempt at humour but as they have only been together for a week it makes West look like a jerk.
The Unknown: Has Adam never grown old and lived for the last three hundred plus years? Will the same happen to Claire? How does he know Peter? What will happen to Caitlyn now?
Best Moment: The twist at the end. Seeing Takezo Kensei turn up in Montreal is a shock and a clever twist. It also makes Hiro’s plot seem a lot more relevant than it has done so far.
Epilogue: Heroes kicks up its pace a gear in this episode which is good. There are problems with this approach (such as Matt’s powers) but generally it is successful and delivers an entertaining episode. The twist at the end would be so much better if they had developed Adam’s character more than they have. Still the intrigue is high and viewers will want to see the next episode.
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