Heroes: "Once Upon a Time in Texas" 11/2 - Grading & Discussion
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I won't get to see this until tomorrow, but here's hoping it doesn't suck. I know, I know, when will I learn my lesson? 
I wonder how accurate tonight's episode is compared to three years ago.
Where people are, the set etc
Where people are, the set etc
Average. First episode this season that I found my attention wasn't wandering watching an episode.
A lot of that had to do with going back and milking my sentimentality for season one--Eden, Isaac, Claire in her Union Wells outfit, Sylar back when he was an intersting and mysterious villian, Hiro back when he was likable and not an annoying goofball.
But once you step back and look at what really transpired in the hour beyond the wrapping it amounted to not a lot. I have no idea why they even bothered with Noah or Lauren in the past to focus on. I'd much rather have had Eden or the Haitian which we did see in season one working with Noah. The Lauren scenes were dull. The Noah/Claire scene was pretty stale.
Nice touch with Sylar claiming to be a doctor since it harkens back to how he loved adopting different identities such as Zane Taylor or Noah's co-worker in season one.
The episode did have one of the more intriguing cluffhanger endings in quite some time. What they choose to do with it could go either way though.
A lot of that had to do with going back and milking my sentimentality for season one--Eden, Isaac, Claire in her Union Wells outfit, Sylar back when he was an intersting and mysterious villian, Hiro back when he was likable and not an annoying goofball.
But once you step back and look at what really transpired in the hour beyond the wrapping it amounted to not a lot. I have no idea why they even bothered with Noah or Lauren in the past to focus on. I'd much rather have had Eden or the Haitian which we did see in season one working with Noah. The Lauren scenes were dull. The Noah/Claire scene was pretty stale.
Nice touch with Sylar claiming to be a doctor since it harkens back to how he loved adopting different identities such as Zane Taylor or Noah's co-worker in season one.
The episode did have one of the more intriguing cluffhanger endings in quite some time. What they choose to do with it could go either way though.
THAT WAS NOT A MISTAKE, SAMUEL! You did the absolute right thing, something viewers wanted to see for years on this show.
Engaging return the Hiro/Charlie relationship. Loved the bit with Sylar and Charlie in the beginning. HRG's "mistress" was cool too.
Charlie was right to call Hiro out on being selfish. About time someone did. I don't see how killing Sylar would have much of an effect on things. It likely would prevent what happened in the season finale...or maybe it wouldn't of.
"Forget the sword!"
Funny line but indicitvie of what's been wrong with the show.
Engaging return the Hiro/Charlie relationship. Loved the bit with Sylar and Charlie in the beginning. HRG's "mistress" was cool too.
Charlie was right to call Hiro out on being selfish. About time someone did. I don't see how killing Sylar would have much of an effect on things. It likely would prevent what happened in the season finale...or maybe it wouldn't of.
"Forget the sword!"
Funny line but indicitvie of what's been wrong with the show.
I thought it was going to be a boring retread but I was mostly entertained, except for the pointless Noah stuff... yet another blonde, sigh.
the best was the last scenes with Hiro & Samuel & eek! Mohinder!? what's going on there!?
the best was the last scenes with Hiro & Samuel & eek! Mohinder!? what's going on there!?
Above Average
I have to admit, I wasn't going to give this an above average at first. HRG's subplot was a pointless waste of time. And after Charlie "broke up" with Hiro shortly after he saved her, I was wondering what the point of this episode was.
Then came a point which actually surprised me. (Something that doesn't happen too much with Heroes). Charlie has a change of heart and decides to go away with Hiro. That made me sit up and notice. Then Samuel abducts her so that he has something on Hiro. This was also an interesting development. Also interesting is that Samuel finally seems like a bad guy (or at least more like one). Before this episode, I didn't really understand what the whole point of the carnival was. I still don't, but at least now I'm interested to find out more.
Now Charlie is stuck somewhere in time, kind of like Peter's Irish girlfriend in season 2, so I'm kind of worried that Charlie will be forgotten about and written off the show. But I hope that this Charlie/Hiro plot does return at some point so that Hiro can finally get his happily ever after ending. Though if Hiro dies, Charlie may be consigned to the nether world of forgotten characters.
Anyway, for once I'm hopeful for Heroes that they have finally changed the status quo. I hope they keep it up. And that's why this episode gets an above average grade from me.
I have to admit, I wasn't going to give this an above average at first. HRG's subplot was a pointless waste of time. And after Charlie "broke up" with Hiro shortly after he saved her, I was wondering what the point of this episode was.
Then came a point which actually surprised me. (Something that doesn't happen too much with Heroes). Charlie has a change of heart and decides to go away with Hiro. That made me sit up and notice. Then Samuel abducts her so that he has something on Hiro. This was also an interesting development. Also interesting is that Samuel finally seems like a bad guy (or at least more like one). Before this episode, I didn't really understand what the whole point of the carnival was. I still don't, but at least now I'm interested to find out more.
Now Charlie is stuck somewhere in time, kind of like Peter's Irish girlfriend in season 2, so I'm kind of worried that Charlie will be forgotten about and written off the show. But I hope that this Charlie/Hiro plot does return at some point so that Hiro can finally get his happily ever after ending. Though if Hiro dies, Charlie may be consigned to the nether world of forgotten characters.
Anyway, for once I'm hopeful for Heroes that they have finally changed the status quo. I hope they keep it up. And that's why this episode gets an above average grade from me.
Like I said, I liked the woman but what was the point of the Noah storyline if things weren't going to change and he wasn't going to have an affair? I guess they were going with a parrellel to Hiro.
Well, you know, no one can stay dead on Heroes...
Then again, I guess Charlie is proof of that.
Nathan. This was suppose to be shocking?!?!? He died last season so they expect the fact that Adrian Pasdar is off the show for good *this* time is suppose to shock us. He hasn't been around all that much this season anyway. I'd rather have Peter, Angela or Matt be killed off because that would at least be surprising.
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/wat..._major_death_revealed_heroes_killing_off.html
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/wat..._major_death_revealed_heroes_killing_off.html
I think in Hiro and the writers' minds that saving Charlie and Ando finding love were such isolated events in the scheme of things that fiddling with them wouldn't cause great shifts in the timeline whereas killing Sylar could have devastating consequences given how central he was to so many characters' lives and actions they took. That is basically what I'm going to roll with it because I really don't have the inclination to mull over the various changes Sylar's death might have resulted in.
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I enjoyed this one, although I can't help but wonder if that's more out of nostalgia for Season 1 than anything else.
Also, that scene with Noah, Eden, and Isaac was a direct clip from a Season 1 episode, yes? I can't help but notice Noah stated that no one knows what Sylar looks like; the Season 3 flashback episode directly contradicted this, showing Noah and Elle spying on Sylar when he was first experiencing his new abilities (Elle even interacted with him more than once, so she would certainly know what Sylar looks like). This is more of a problem in that third season episode, though (IIRC, there were a few details in that episode that seemed inconsistent with what was presented in Season 1).
Also, I don't think a full three years have actually passed since the events of Season 1, given that there were only four months between Volumes 1 and 2, virtually no amount of time between 2 and 3 (the "Nathan getting shot" cliffhanger), a few weeks between 3 and 4, and again just a few weeks (five, I think) between 4 and 5. The storylines don't seem to be set over a period of many months, so the current season should only be in 2007, maybe 2008 at the latest.
Eh, I should stop complaining about continuity issues -- I'm beginning to sound like a Star Trek fan!
So Mohinder's dead, is he? I guess that explains why we haven't seen him lately. I'm curious to see why Samuel considers this to be such an egregious error on his part.
Charlie is lost somewhere in time, eh? I guess she can just hang out with Caitlin if she gets lonely.
So now Hiro has made some fairly significant changes to the timeline. Does this mean that things will be different in the present. Knowing this show, probably not -- plus the writers probably fear it would make things too confusing if the storyline changed all of a sudden (well, gee, don't you think that might happen when you incorporate time-travel into your series so often?).
And yeah, as for the "big death" coming up,
Also, that scene with Noah, Eden, and Isaac was a direct clip from a Season 1 episode, yes? I can't help but notice Noah stated that no one knows what Sylar looks like; the Season 3 flashback episode directly contradicted this, showing Noah and Elle spying on Sylar when he was first experiencing his new abilities (Elle even interacted with him more than once, so she would certainly know what Sylar looks like). This is more of a problem in that third season episode, though (IIRC, there were a few details in that episode that seemed inconsistent with what was presented in Season 1).
Also, I don't think a full three years have actually passed since the events of Season 1, given that there were only four months between Volumes 1 and 2, virtually no amount of time between 2 and 3 (the "Nathan getting shot" cliffhanger), a few weeks between 3 and 4, and again just a few weeks (five, I think) between 4 and 5. The storylines don't seem to be set over a period of many months, so the current season should only be in 2007, maybe 2008 at the latest.
Eh, I should stop complaining about continuity issues -- I'm beginning to sound like a Star Trek fan!
So Mohinder's dead, is he? I guess that explains why we haven't seen him lately. I'm curious to see why Samuel considers this to be such an egregious error on his part.
Charlie is lost somewhere in time, eh? I guess she can just hang out with Caitlin if she gets lonely.
So now Hiro has made some fairly significant changes to the timeline. Does this mean that things will be different in the present. Knowing this show, probably not -- plus the writers probably fear it would make things too confusing if the storyline changed all of a sudden (well, gee, don't you think that might happen when you incorporate time-travel into your series so often?).
And yeah, as for the "big death" coming up,
have they forgotten that Nathan is already dead? Except now I guess it'll be more permanent, no more "he's sort of alive, but in Sylar's body". And Adrian Pasdar is off the show for good, which, if the rumours are true, he only found out about when he read the script. Hm. Anyway, this is kinda lame -- do they expect us to care that they're "killing" Nathan for, like, the fourth time? Ugh. Come on, kill someone else off, someone we wouldn't expect, and whose death might actually mean something to us.
It looked like they did an overall good job. I think Claire had her hair down not in a ponytail but I suppose she could have taken it out of the ponytail right before homecoming that night. I guess it was easier to do a ponytail clip on than a weave or wig to give her back her long locks.
And as Daneel mentioned there was the whole notion they didn't know what Sylar looked like. However that is consistent with season one. It was season three that messed that up so I just see this episode righting that mistake thankfully.
Seriously. As much as I don't like the show anymore, I must admit I nerded out when I heard that.
Why not? Since he made a BTTF reference.
Seriously, this is like the most nerd pandering episode of a TV show that I've seen in a while.
Seriously, this is like the most nerd pandering episode of a TV show that I've seen in a while.
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