But I really don't understand all this hostility towards the show and some of its characters. I still think it's a great show with great characters, storylines and surprises.
For me, it comes down to trust. I trusted that Buffy and Angel, even in the weaker late seasons, made some kind of sense. I might not like the directions the shows took, but I trusted that the clues had been there, and that any surprises or shocks were generated by consistent character and plotting. I don't think this is true of
Heroes
Heroes just veers around maniacally, often leading to a circular plot in which little or nothing actually happens. Most surprises are retconned not a season later, but an episode or two later.
Ali Larter's characters are capable of anything because they're blank pages; Elle is capable of anything because nobody can be sure which Elle will show up on any given day. Sylar's path made sense until last night, largely on the strength of Quinto's performances - even he couldn't do much with the retcon-of-a-retcon swerve last night. Is Nathan still a born-again? Can the Haitian's evil brother have any dramatic possibilities when he's never been mentioned before last week, and will never be mentioned again? Maya left town to return home, and got as far as ... New Jersey. Claire is back in "you weren't there" whine mode. Hiro's character is rejuvenated by literally regressing his mental age (that it worked speaks volumes about the show).
The most insulting bit last night was the weak-as-water meta-fiction in which Seth Green, hero to uber-geeks, is called in to directly explain to fellow geeks why the plot changes actually make sense.
I voted "poor" this week for the first time, and don't think I'm happy about it. I liked this show, and I'd love to see it turn around and actually do something interesting. Maybe Nathan's super-army will help.
