Episode 2 - The Butterfly Effect
11 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: Angela dreams of our heroes being brutally killed. She blames this premonition on future Peter. She tells him that he is having a negative effect on the timeline and that it was his fault that Sylar took Claire’s power. Hiro sets a trap for his nemesis Daphne and manages to put a tracking device on her. The tension is growing though between him and Ando after he saw Ando kill him in the future. Mohinder feels super fit and energetic and has sex with Maya. But he wakes in the night suffering some discomfort and with nasty welts on his back. Tracy Strauss (or Niki as we think of her) recommends Nathan to fill the position of Junior Senator. He agonises over the decision but accepts. Meanwhile a reporter confronts Tracy about Niki’s past as a stripper, assuming they are the same person. When she angrily grabs him she freezes him to death. Nathan learns that only he can see Linderman. Parkman is in Africa and is taken on a walk by a strange man who claims to paint the future. Sylar arrives at Primatech and kills Bob. He tries to kill Elle but she lets off a huge blast of electricity knocking him out and accidentally releasing all the inmates of Level 5. Angela tells Sylar that he is her son.
The Good: The idea that future Peter has caused all sorts of changes makes sense and is obviously the reason he came back in the first place. But regardless the sense of consequences for his actions are good to see. The point is made well that he caused Sylar to capture Claire by interfering. It’s also pleasing to see Mohinder suffer some negative consequences for his rash decision to give himself powers. Hopefully the madness of Mohinder can help better define his character in the future. Now that he is going to suffer from trying to get powers perhaps he will gain a new perspective on his work and its importance.
Claire is also dealing with the consequences of Sylar’s attack and questioning whether she is really human. It’s hardly handled in depth but it is good to hear one of the heroes raising the question of who they are and showing a real emotional reaction to their powers. It’s a really nice moment when Mrs Bennett asks if Sylar raped her. She doesn’t even use those words but it’s clear what she is asking and she absolutely should. There is obviously a sexual undertone to what Sylar does sometimes but more than that it is what a mother would worry about when her daughter is attacked.
Sylar does play a good creepy bad guy and his greeting to Noah is well written (see Best Moment). His attack on Level 5 is the most enjoyable part of the episode. The story is simple, the unstoppable bad guy storms the headquarters of the good guys and begins killing people. Elle is able to stop him at the last minute but only by releasing all the other bad guys. It’s a classic plot device allowing the season’s title (“Villains”) to begin playing out and providing both Sylar and Peter with new stories. The sound of Peter (in Jesse’s body) screaming at Sylar as he kills is an effective way to build more tension into the scene. Now Peter has to stick with the bad guys in order to avoid being killed while trying to prevent them from killing too many people on the way. It’s a good hook for the next episode and a simple way for us to get to know the new villains. Meanwhile Sylar may be a Petrelli and will have to deal with whatever that means. I don’t think that is as jaw dropping a twist as the writers do because since Star Wars that revelation will always feel derivative but it should be interesting to watch.
Parkman has a decent sunburn going on to show he has really been suffering under the sun all this time. The little joke that he thought he was talking to a tortoise is fun. With his mind reading powers it wasn’t implausible that he might believe an animal was talking to him.
The Bad: Having jumped magically from New York to California, Sylar now arrives back in New York in no time at all. Have I forgotten someone’s power that he took? He would need to fly or teleport and I am pretty sure he can’t do either. That’s really lazy writing if it is the case.
I am sad to see Bob dead because he brought a good morally grey dynamic to last season’s stories. Didn’t he and Mohinder develop a virus which could take away people’s powers last season? Then Mohinder found the cure which allowed Sylar to get his powers back (211). In which case why does Mohinder say he needs to work on this new formula to find a way to take away Maya’s power?
Why doesn’t Parkman read the new guy’s mind? The reporter calling Tracy an ice queen just before she freezes him to death is pretty cheap writing.
The shot of Claire’s mother walking in and lighting a fire in her hand is a really contrived piece of television. For those who don’t remember Meredith Gordon (last seen in 115) she has the ability to create and manipulate fire. The producers didn’t want the audience to be in any doubt about that so they had her whip up a little fire to remind you. But it looks completely ridiculous for Claire’s mother to walk in and say hi and give a demonstration of her powers for no reason. It’s one of those contrived moments which make Heroes so annoying at times.
The Unknown: Did Sylar turn off Claire’s pain nerve endings by accident? Is Angela’s dream unchangeably the future? Does that mean Tracy is going to be a bad guy and that Adam is coming back? Is Linderman a figment of Nathan’s imagination or a ghost or being planted there by someone? What is Jesse’s power? Why is Elle responsible for Sylar being who he is (as he claims)?
Best Moment: Elle finds her Dad’s head cut off by Sylar. She walks through Level 5 and lets Noah out to help her catch him. But Sylar is already behind her. Noah shoots him eight times. He slumps to the floor but the bullets pop out one by one. “Ouch! I got that from your Claire” he says in creepy fashion.
Epilogue: A bit more logic and sense of purpose for episode two which is a relief.
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