Heroes 1.7: "Nothing to Hide"

Written by Jesse Alexander
Directed by Donna Deitch


This feels like another transitional episode, but the story is definitely building. Niki’s personal issues have led into an interesting look into how super-powered individuals might deal with relatively mundane situations, while Matt’s fortunes continue to rise and fall in complex and unexpected ways. For every relatively predictable element, there’s something completely unseen around the corner.

Niki gives a little clarification into her mental state. While there were indications in previous episodes of long-term stress and psychological trouble, she states rather definitively that her current “split personality” began manifesting six months earlier. This appears to be when everyone starting showing abilities, which gives the writing staff a big question to answer in future episodes. Her darker side is called Jessica, and all of her more extreme psychological and physical aspects come out when Jessica is in control.

Interestingly, Micah is not only super-powered, but he’s perfectly aware of the difference between Niki and Jessica, and he’s not particularly concerned about Jessica. Perhaps he recognizes the fact that Jessica is dedicated to his protection. After seeing his father rescue perfect strangers, knowing Jessica’s nature, why is he so sure that it’s a good idea for Jessica to come calling?

Speaking of DL’s actions, we get another good look at how well the heroes can use their abilities. Hiro and DL act together, without intending to do so, and give the audience a taste of what a larger gathering of heroes could do on this series. Matt, similarly, gets the chance to handle Syler (or whatever his real name is) and open doors for future opportunities to use his gift.

With Syler in custody, there’s no guarantee that the threat has been contained. After all, Syler is unstable and incredibly powerful, and if he chose to escape, there’s not much that could be done to prevent it. Never mind that Syler’s motivations are still unclear, and he could be under the manipulation of someone else. Claire’s father comes to mind, but up to this point, there seems little reason for him to unleash a killer on the “hero population”.

Claire is simply trying to keep her ability a secret, which once again raises the question of why she was videotaping her “suicide attempts” in the first place. It’s too easy for someone (like her bother) to find the footage unintentionally and open her up to exposure. Then again, her plot thread has a few holes left to fill, since they still haven’t explained why no one reported her death or why the coroner hasn’t come around looking for answers.

Once again, the least effective subplot belongs to the Brothers Petrelli. Nathan’s political and family issues aren’t particularly interesting, despite the intriguing metaphor of a rising political star trying to hide some personal secret from the public eye. The biggest problem is still Peter; his character just isn’t interesting enough yet, and his scenes with Simone are excruciating.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Heroes”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10