3x04 - I Am Become Death

I always try to be relatively professional with these reviews. I don't swear, I don't spend an inordinate amount of time discussing the relative hotness of the male characters, and there isn't an excessive use of capital letters or exclamation marks. But this episode ranks up there as a Top 5 for me, so this is my apology for throwing the professionalism out the window--just periodically--throughout this review. There were just some moments when I geeked out so much it bled right into what I was typing. Plus, I'm still grinning like a goofball, so I can't even try to tame it down. The review will have to stand as written. If I try to alter it, I'm afraid I'll just end up adding more exclamation marks.

One of the first scenes we get takes us to Dr. Zimmerman's house where we find out that it's just Niki, Tracy, and Barbara! Good, only three of them... I was worried that there would suddenly be 80 of them running around. But DNA manipulation? So they weren't just born this way? The other heroes were. There was no genetic manipulation at all. I'm betting Linderman was the guy who requested the triplets, though, what about you? And when do we meet Barbara? Is she the First Lady, or was that Tracy? What can Barbara do?

Two Peters is just the most fun I've ever had watching Heroes. That first few minutes rocked! I'm in. Awesome episode from the very start. We had both Peters discussing their fundamental differences and outlook on the world, we had a fabulously brunette Claire going very homicidal on both Peters, and we had an offering of information about Future!Sylar. Which we all knew from last week's Next Week On Heroes was going to be phenomenal. Can't tell you how inappropriately angry I got when that first commercial break came. ;-)

Speaking of future characters... Future!Mohinder was very cool. Very creepy, and very cool. Wish we had seen a little more of him, but the crawly, rattle-snake sound effects and animalistic movements they gave him in the shadows and under that hood worked really well, too. I suppose some of the creep-factor would have been taken away if we'd seen him in all his glory, unless they poured a ton of money in and got the special effects perfect. Another nice touch was having Peter mirror the stance of Sylar in the Homecoming painting behind him as he leaves for the Bennet house to find his brother.

DAD?? Sylar's a dad? I can't express how much I loved this. He's so cute with that kid! And Mr. Muggles! Some questions: Who's he married to, if he's got a kid? Or at least who's the mother? Where are HRG and Sandra and Lyle? We better get more explanation on what went down to evict the Bennets and allow Gabriel to move into their house. Why didn't Gabriel realize Peter was a past version immediately, without the scar? (And without the 'tude? Because it's pretty obvious.) The discussion between the brothers was wonderfully done by both actors, and Gabriel's warning that Peter doesn't want his ability--that there's a hunger and addiction that comes with it--was touching. It's as if Sylar's a recovering addict and he doesn't want his new life to know what he was before, and he wouldn't wish that suffering on anyone else. The fact that he doesn't let his son see what he can do is sweet. But speaking of the son! Noah! Gabriel named his son after HRG? Why? And no wonder Gabriel went nuts: how horrible, killing his own son by mashing him against a wall--

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming of Fangurl Uber-Admiration to bring you a criticism. I know, I know, shocking. But I didn't like Gabriel's reaction to the death of his son. I mean, (momentarily back to the Love Fest), I loved how his hands glowed as he punched Knox, and the symmetry to 1x17 Company Man was lovely: the Bennet house explodes again because of an emotional nuclear meltdown... But I think Zachary's a better actor than what he gave us. He should have gone completely evil. He should have burned from the inside out with rage and pain and reverted back to the biggest, baddest Sylar ever. He shouldn't have just kept punching Knox, he should have ripped his throat out... and then given us the primal nuclear bellow and explosion. His anger should have been more. Not sure exactly how, just more. Closer to his "My name is Sylar!" or "Just give me that list so I can sink my teeth in!" Zachary hit the right notes there, I wanted more of that. He looked a little goofy, really, the way he was wailing on Knox. Kind of girly. :-/

Matt and Daphne! We all totally called that after the painting last week. But I have a couple more issues with this future storyline, too. First off, Molly didn't look any older. They should have padded the bra a little more and put some heavier make up on her. Not that I was the curviest girl at 14 (or 20 for that matter... hell, I'm 26 and still pretty aerodynamic), but just for the sake of things... This was a cute future to see, but it felt under-developed (no Molly pun intended). They need to bring us back to the Matt/Daphne relationship later this season in order to make this flash-forward work. I also wanted Molly to "look" for Daphne after the explosion. She would have been able to tell if she were dead, as she did with Alejandro. Plot hole. And finally, I adored Daphne's quiet, apologetic "I wasn't fast enough..." Total tissue moment, there. So sad! I was misty.

Ali's "So... you can fly?" followed by a quick, wide-eyed gulp of her drink was cute, and I love that these two crazy kids are finally getting together. From the very first time we saw them together in Linderman's hotel in 1x05 Hiros they had amazing chemistry. Ali and Adrian work very nicely together. Both characters have pasts and kids and complications, they've both made some morally ambiguous decisions, but Niki and Nathan always felt like they could be a really wonderful romantic storyline for the show. So much better than the Mohinder/Maya lust fest we've been getting. Tracy brings up some interesting questions, though, because Niki was always on the side of good, no matter what Jessica was up to. She and Nathan were both good people deep down who wanted to save others and live a good life. But in Angela's vision of the future we have an Ali Clone siding with the villains in the Level 5 Slaughter and looking pretty pleased with herself. Is that Tracy? Is that Barbara? And which one is the future First lady? ...Nathan's true path is really just always going to be the Presidency.

Ouch! Claire torturing Peter was really creepy. Nice delivery, though, Hayden, "Is this the President or my father speaking?" This whole scene was disturbingly perfect, with a dead Future!Peter lying on a slab next to the tortured Past!Peter. I didn't understand exactly what Nathan was trying to tell him, though, that part of the scene was awfully jumbled and vague (may require a second viewing on my part). And the final pinnacle of the whole scene was (please avert your eyes: embarrassing fan moment approaching) SO COOOOL!! When the Sylar theme music and ticking played while Peter uses The Finger Move to kill Nathan? I was bouncing around on my sofa like a madwoman, let me tell you...

The final scene we have between Peter and Sylar back in Level 5 was a fabulous note to end the episode on. The way Peter crossed Sylar's cell was a fantastic effect, I'm psyched that they know they're brothers now, I adore that Peter's all set to have an inner battle with the dark side, and I'm lovin' where this season is going... :-)

Bits and Pieces:

* Sunny episode title, guys. Not dark and depressing at all.
* "Few adverse reactions"? Seriously? Looks a little more severe than a few, Mohinder.
* How did Future!Peter die in the opening? Did Claire really get a bullet in the base of his skull? I liked her moment later when she told Knox off for being hard on her after she'd had to kill her own uncle. Claire's a badass when she's brunette. I love it. Blondes may be cool, but brunettes are hot. :-)
* Still enjoying the Hiro/Ando rift... Plus, total comedy, Ando lifting Hiro to the grate in the ceiling. So hysterical.
* Ali is wonderful... I missed her last season. Her frozen phone confession earns her The Weepy Blonde Moment of the Week.
* Cockroach Tally! Climbing over Mohinder's old tape recorder in the future (8th).
* Future!Sylar reminded me of someone when he was being normal, but I can't put my finger on it... Another actor. He sounded like someone...
* What is Linderman? Why can Nathan see him when no-one else can? This needs to be explained pronto, I'm losing patience. This is the biggest stretch this season for me. I don't like this ghostly guide business, and I need some details on it now.
* Maya is seriously bothering me... Mohinder, too, but especially what they've done with Maya's character. Your brother's dead, you were shot, you're in a strange city in a strange country (illegally), someone has stolen your accent, and you're just happy to do Testosterone!Mohinder's dishes? I have major issues with all of this...
* Very funny Usutu line: "You don't read much, do you?"
* Turtle totem!
* Love that Peter's using Flint's ability that he must have absorbed in his time in the Level 5 gang, and I love that it ties into the blue glowing hands during the Sylar/Peter showdown in 1x20 Five Years Gone.
* Why didn't Hiro just teleport into the grave and teleport back out with Adam? Why did they have to dig? Adam's reaction was fabulous, though: "Hiro, you son of a b--" It's always funny when swear words are cut off by the end of an episode or the opening credits. Always. :-)

Freakin' sweet,
GG