Heroes 1.11: "Fallout"

After a brief but informative trip into the recent past, the writers return to the “present day” aspects of the story and focus on the consequences of the incident at Claire’s homecoming. There’s a certain chaotic quality to this episode, but that makes a great deal of sense, especially as characters begin to maneuver around each other.

There has been speculation that Mr. Bennett is working for someone else, perhaps a government agency charged with the task to control or examine super-humans. They see a lot more potential in Sylar, probably because they have no idea how dangerous he can be (or they don’t care). Eden’s death proves that the precautions taken were inadequate, and it should be interesting to see how Mr. Bennett and his superiors respond.

We see a lot more of Mr. Bennett’s activities in this episode, and that helps to shed light on the Haitian working with him. Apparently he has been working with Mr. Bennett for a long time, wiping memories and potentially canceling out abilities in the process. But he also has his own agenda, which adds a lot more complication to the story. At first glance, it would appear that the Haitian has been slowly building a resistance against Mr. Bennett and his superiors, possibly because of his first-hand experience with their methods and decisions.

All of this complexity involves Matt (his experiences shed light on the Haitian’s abilities) and Peter. Peter’s power is still very hard to understand, but there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that he is not just a simple “leech”. He appears to assert some degree of subconscious control or influence on those around him. He may also retain certain aspects of a power he previously absorbed. His “dream” of the future seems more like something Isaac would see.

Isaac is now less drugged and more confident, and that helps make him a more viable character. Since it seems that the timeline is crawling along at a very measured pace, there’s plenty of time for Hiro to jump around in time, learning his lessons and gaining vital experience. I’m not sure how the series will manage to cover a swordfight with a T. Rex, but it’s quite possible that things are not what they seem. After all, have we encountered a shapeshifting super-human yet?

While it still hasn’t managed to thread into the main plot structure yet, Niki’s situation continues to be intriguing. Not only is Jessica stronger and more confident than Niki, she’s also a lot less stable. The effect on Micah was an obvious example of that, but she’s always been impulsive and violent. The jury is still out on Jessica’s true nature, but if Niki and Jessica ever managed to merge into a single personality, a more confident Niki could be a lot of fun. (Hopefully, she’d gain Jessica’s wicked streak in the process!)

(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: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10