Heroes: "Fight or Flight" Episode Review
Oct. 22nd, 2007 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452The Heroisms: The Evolution Of Ourselves
Following the terrifying events of the last episode, Molly has slipped into a comatose-like state after trying to find Parkman's father who's been haunting her dreams; Matt goes off to Philadelphia, along with Nathan Petrelli, to find his father and stop whatever he's doing to Molly and his connection to the Group of Twelve and the murders. Mohinder stays behind to look after Molly, but becomes frightened about her current state and with a conflicted decision takes her to the Company for their help. There, Mohinder finds Niki as she's being held as a patient under the Company's care, and finds himself conflicted again with his involvement with these people. Meanwhile Monica and Micah share their abilities with one another, where Monica is learning just how powerful she is and gets a surprising visit.
In Japan, Ando and an expert are figuring out the rest of Hiro's messages, which have been nearly faded from the many, many years it's been hidden within the sword (still the best way of communication, ever). As Hiro is watching as Kensei fulfills his destiny, while envying him at the same time for falling in love with the princess.
Meanwhile in Ireland, someone hired by the Company is tracking Peter Petrelli down, and because he's part of the Irish family now Ricky has notified him by watching his back. Unfortunately this backfires when this individual comes looking for Peter, knowing where he's been seen and takes full advantage of making sure she finds him. Peter is instructed to hide away, and goes with Caitlin to her place where he finally opens the box contaning his identity/past life, and paints the future...and where he finally decides, upon witnessing the fate of Ricky, what he must do to confront his past demons and who he really is.
The Characters: The Big Bads, The Do-Gooders and Uncertainties
HRG and the Haitian: Only that limited scene with them, but it's still nice that they're back together again. I do hope there's more of these two in the next episode, because they are the ultimate Dream Team, likw whoa. Now I also liked that HRG is trying to steady down Mohinder's decision-making, because he knows all too from firsthand experience what the Company is capable of. Which brings me to...
Mohinder Suresh: In all honesty, I completely understand Mohinder's decision to bring Molly into the Company; he loves and cares for her deeply and he was frightened over her current condition of being trapped inside her own mind, with supposedly someone after her that could potentially hurt her, given if whatever power the predator in her nightmares has can hurt her physically from within her dreams. Sure, it might not have been the wisest decision on his part and definitely goes against what he and HRG are planning on doing to take down the Company, but at that moment he acted like any concern parent would: everything he did in that moment, it was all about Molly. Directly from his comment of "I'm on her side"; not the Company's, not HRG's, but for Molly's. He did it for Molly's sake and well-being, and knew that even in a hospital they wouldn't know how to deal with a child trapped inside her worst nightmare. So yeah, even if we're disagreeing with the Company caring for Molly at that time Mohinder knew it was the only option to insure her safety, which in my mind regards him as only a concerned, frightened parent doing what he believes is the right for his child.
Secondly, I consider this a pivotal moment for Mohinder, because he's conflicted between the "right and wrong" of his decisions. He knows about the Company and what they do and how dangerous they are, but then he meets Niki once again, this time as a willing patient who wants the Company to help her with her condition. So he's being pulled in two different directions -- one where he wants to destroy the Company for good, and the other where he's beginning to see that there are individuals where their abilities are too much to handle, and without proper treatment they could become a danger to others or themselves. And based on the preview for the next episode, I think Mohinder faces these conflicted decisions on whether his infiltrating the Company was a good idea and maybe, just maybe, he can fix things.
Matt Parkman and Papa Parkman: Matt definitely upped himself from the last episode, but he still has to deal with his daddy issues which are obviously still there even after confronting his own father (who is, indeed, Mr. Baddie McBad). I liked that Matt and Nathan teamed up, because going alone would've been a bad idea, but I kind of wished we knew more about Papa Parkman and his power. Obviously the mind-reading thing may be hereditary, but there's something else Papa Parkman mentioned that the powers progressed -- that either he was lying about the mind-reading or the illusions of fear are a side-effect from that original ability. Either way, it's mental and that kind of mental power that Papa Parkman has is scary. Like Matt said, no wonder Molly calls him the "Nightmare Man". Geez.
Nathan Petrelli: I'm loving Nathan more and more this season than ever before. I loved that while he and his mother have had spats and arguments, he's willing to defend her, and him going along with Matt was definitely an awesome moment. I liked that. That nightmare!fear sequence was just creepy...and I knew that the burned!Nathan reflection was his own guilt staring back at him; he blames himself for what happened to Peter, and I think this episode kind of had both Nathan and Matt facing those fears in some twisted, demented manner setup but Papa Parkman. And dude...didn't Nathan look hotter this episode than usual, or was that just me?
Peter Petrelli: I'm relieved that Peter has finally taken the liberty to look into his past life and wanting to figure things out. He might not have wanted to know, he might not like what he sees or witnesses, but sooner or later your past does come back to haunt you. Unfortunately for him, his so-called happy "family" in Ireland is paying the price for those after him, and even if he doesn't know or understand what it all means yet Peter knows that he has to do something about it. The relationship with Caitlin was his own stability in the midst of the madness of memory loss and not knowing who he was, now after that incident he has to figure everything out. And I'm glad he wants to. Also, what's in Montreal waiting for him? Hmmm....
Monica and Micah: They were so utterly cute together! I loved that Micah understood precisely what Monica's power was, using the 9th Wonders! comic too. Awww, and I love Monica. I love how they both connected with each other, and Micah looked so happy when she was double-dutching! Both of them smiling, laughing. They need that, after all they've been through, and I'm happy that Micah and Monica can confide in each other with this special bond between them now.
Niki Sanders: So apparently she, along with the Company, believe that her condition is a multiple-personality disorder. Huh, I kind of am confused about this because we know that Jessica is more violent and aggressive whereas Niki is the passive side, but both exhibit superhuman strength. Although it would make sense, considering her childhood trauma. Though actively going to the Company does mean that she's tried everything else, I mean we know that she willingly went to prison to not allow Jessica to hurt anyone else. It also makes sense when she says that she's found the only people who could help and understand her condition, because obviously the psychiatrist in the mental ward of the women's prison wasn't prepared for what Jessica was capable of while the people at the Company do. But I'm saddened that Niki/Jessica couldn't have adjusted themselves to work together as one, like what happened in the finale. Still, it's nice to see Niki/Jessica back onscreen again.
Ando, Hiro and Kensei: Way too little screentime with them, just like with HRG and the Haitian, but still interesting nonetheless. And I'm speaking more of Ando's discovery of Hiro's adventures written on the ancient parchment scrolls. I do hope they move forward with the adventures of Hiro and Kensei, because it's almost the same thing every episode (much like the Claire/West stuff). If they don't progress soon, it'll get boring.
Elle: Meet new character Elle, played by Kristen Bell. Elle is a Special, she has powers of shooting electricity through her fingers. Elle works for the Company. Elle's "daddy" may be the boss running the organization, and had the mission of finding Peter Petrelli. Elle is nearly exactly like Veronica Mars, except she ruthlessly kills and has abilities to do it. Not sure I'm sold on Bell's Elle, but we'll see.
The Episode: Hitting The Points Head-On
Another episode I thoroughly enjoyed, and I think this mainly has to do with the lack of those painful West and Claire scenes which have been invading each episode so far aside from this one. Here, "Fight or Flight" actually deals with the more interesting stuff and moves the overall storlyine of this season along. Matt confronting his father and actually realizing that his father, and the others of the Group of Twelve, may have been involved with something bad. Of course, we knew this from Linderman's speech last season, and it seems that Papa Parkman may just be the Big Bad we're dealing with. Though one wonders what he does and how he's doing it, and if not him he's helping the real perpatraitor in these murders. He may be the one getting the Molly through the dreams, but my question is why? Why attack Molly? From the last time Molly did actively seek him out on Matt's instructions, but that doesn't include the multiple nightmares she's been having. That's what's bugging me, why target a little girl -- or did he know that getting to Molly would allow Matt to find him, therefore having these chain of events take place? Hmmm, interesting.
This also gives light to the hereditary line of abilities; so far we haven't seen any particular Special having the same abilities as their parents (ex. DL and Niki creating Micah's technopathic powers; Nathan and Meredith creating Claire's invulnerability, etc.) We've seen duplicates, like West's ability of flight like Nathan's and Kensei experiencing the healing ability like Claire, but having the same ability as your parent is something new. Or at least, what we've seen so far. But Matt's father seems to exhibit more than just the mind-reading power, if that's what he really has. I seriously think that his power progressed into something more as time went on, or is another variation of his original power that became dangerous. Gah, this is going to burn my brain just thinking about it, so I'll save my theories for another time on this one.
Moreover is the progression of Mohinder's involvement with the Company, now that he's fully engaged because of Molly's unconscious state he's willing to do anything at this point. I have a feeling that Mohinder's going in the direction that HRG had gone through to protect his Claire-bear; do whatever the Company asks of him as long as Molly isn't placed in any particular danger. I still love his storyline this season, have ever since the premiere, but because of what happened to Molly his world is crashing down in front of him; he's beginning to see things from the other side, and while I would hope that because of Molly he would do whatever it took to take down this organization and whoever is responsible with it. I also say this in defense of Mohinder because I know some people are thinking what he did was mindless and going against HRG's orders (and you seriously don't disobey HRG), but Mohinder is just a regular guy. Smart and intelligent as he is he can make simple mistakes or the choices that others wouldn't even think of making; he rationalized the situation, and him taking Molly to the Company was the only option he felt was the right one since they know what to do if something unusual or unexpected happened to her.
I also say this in his defense because I love Mohinder, and yes so far this season he's been a complete badass with partnering up with Bennet and infiltrating the Company and living with Matt and Molly and their little domestic family. But knowing this show, not everything stays the same, and somehow I knew that somewhere down the line Mohinder was either going to be found out or faced with something he couldn't look back from. He'll be torn now, with working with Bennet and knowing that while the Company is evil in their intentions, perhaps they can provide solice for others who want an out from their abilities, like in Niki's case for instance. It'll be interesting to watch, and I have faith in Mohinder that he'll eventually do the right thing. I hope.
The Glees and Squees!
++ Yay, the return of the Mohinder VoiceOvers! :D :D
++ That entire illusioned sequence was some freaky scary shit, but in an awesome kind of way. The choreographed fight scenes, where it appears that Matt and Nathan are fighting their own personal demons where in reality, they are fighting each other? So incredibly trippy, like whoa. Papa Parkman, your power is some fucking nightmare mindtrip, no wonder Molly is afraid of you!
++ Mohinder and a taser, not exactly as sexy as him holding a gun but the effect is still pretty badass nonetheless. Also, a complete shoutout to Veronica Mars. I mean really.
++ I'm saddened that the House of M3 has been broke apart, though only temporarily until this big mystery is solved and Molly awakens safe and sound, where Mohinder and Matt comfort her and take her back home and they have a nice, loving domestic family unit again complete with homemade cooking by Mohinder, Matt/Mohinder squabbling and to ever-so-wanting-by-fandom wish of a parent-teacher conference at Molly's school with both Mohinder and Matt attending. At least, that's what I'm wishing for before the season ends, or when we go back in time in the "Four Months Ago" episode. Needless to say, while I'm devastated that they've kind of split up, it was an inevitable choice from what they're all going through; the family needed to break up in order to restore themselves back together again.
++ Also, I'm glad that Mohinder placed the bitchslapping smackdown on Matt for making her do that
++ "I'm not a cargo jet!" Hee! Oh Nathan, how I love you. XD
++ Nathan + rifle = totally hot and badassery. Seriously, he was all ready to use that thing in case Papa Parkman went over the line, and it was really frakking awesome. Yay, badass!Nathan.
++ There seems to be a connection here: the Company knows about Peter's whereabouts and that he's alive, the same with Sylar. So it seems that they've been planning this all along, also I think the person running the organization might be someone we already know, and that Elle is his daughter and has plans for both Peter and Sylar. I won't say who it is, because my theories tend to be out-there but still...I has theories, and I shall write them later this week. Oh yes, there will be speculations abound!
++ No Claire/West this episode, which makes me happy. I feel like they're scenes together have been dragging out the episodes, because there's nothing of substance except the same old thing. So I'm glad they weren't in this episode so we would get more answers and more action and interesting storylines in.
++ But I'm sad that there was no Sylar. *sniffs* Oh well, we'll get him in the next episode. Whee!
++ Monica is love. 'Nuff said.
++ I loved Mohinder and Niki's interaction in this episode. Perhaps it's because I wanted more interaction between Mohinder and the other Specials, but because having two incredibly hot people together in the same room is just awesome. Plus, I liked that he wanted to help Niki out of that room -- and now he's even more conflicted then ever before on his real duty of being assigned there. Also, now I kind of want some Mohinder/Niki. I'm also interesting on how Mohinder got to New Orleasn so quickly, and whether he knows that Micah, Niki's son, is inside the house where Monica is. Should be interesting to find out what's going on with that.
++ Niki/Jessica was TOTALLY going Six on them. Just saying, superhuman strength with raging confidence and being sexy to boot? Yep, totally channeling Six there.
++ I don't know about anybody else, but I got the feeling of the parallels from "Five Years Gone", aside from Nathan's little illusion. So many little connections to the AU future, which I'll get to later but just...whoa. Freaky.
++ What is waiting for Peter in Montreal? And were those tickets from inside the box from his possessions or were they planted on him, or both? What happened to Peter during those four months before getting locked away in that metal crate? Gah, too many questions swirling around, so many possible answers and twisted relevations to be uncovered before the season is over. Just, gah!
Overall: This show continues to blow my mind. I'm loving the little twists and turns, and just when you find something out you don't get all the answers and suddenly when you think you've discovered something or that something has been revealed, it turns around to leave you with more questions and twisted plotpoints. I say this with Papa Parkman's involvement and if he's the actual killer or he's working for the one who is, along with his grudge against the others from the Group of Twelve along with what is up with the Company and who is really running that operation (i.e. who was on the other line with Elle, could it be the same person who was talking with Candice on the phone too? Because it can't just be Bob interacting with everybody, that's like impossible). Also, Mohinder's judgment and perhaps becoming TOO involved with the Company to be sucked into their ploys and assignments, though I don't think he will; he's too honorable for that and is doing this for Molly and for everyone else on the List.
Next week: The return of HRG's badassery, Mohinder's personal conflictions of the disturbing assignments he's being asked to do, and the Sylar/Maya/Alejandro roadtrip!
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 05:34 am (UTC)*I know! HRG and Haitian! luff! They looked so cool walking along together along the street! ^.^
*gah! I only see harm in Mohinders future!!! T.T I dunno... I'm really seeing him joining the company for real... *doesn't want to* ;.; No Mohinder!!! T.T
*I liked Nathan the most in that scene! I really liked how they tied the two dreams together only to show that they actually were fighting each other! How cool! ^.^ But, his hair is a bit much for me... I really liked put-together-politician!look better... but thats just me, lol. And I know! You were right!
*I'm glad Caitlin's coming along for the ride... I also liked Peter's pulling her into the bedroom scene! hahaha! what the heck no-memory!Peter! lol!
*My favourite part about Niki's scene... DEFINITELY when Mohinder said 'what the hell?' ahahaha! so funny! Keep throwing about mild curses Mohinder!
*I didn't understand what the deal with the scrolls was... why were these ones damaged and the others he could read perfectly fine in his office? The text-reader was funny though! tee! Ando!storylines!
*I feel bad because I want Hiro to find love! ;.; But, Kinsei and Yaeko are such a cute couple the more they're on-screen! ♥
*Elle was annoying and predictable. When is she gonna die? >.> I did like how connected everyone in Cork was though! ^.^
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I think that he went after Molly after he found out that she was able to find him... he said he was hiding from the real BigBad, which is probably a lie, but he is hiding and is obviously preparing himself for confrontation... Although, your theory is so cooly complex ^.^ Maybe he's just that good???
I wonder if its because Parkman's mother didn't have any powers? Or does she and we just have yet to find out? That would explain that though, I think...
Oh Mohinder, why? Why couldn't things just continue being well and good with you being a kickass secret agent? T.T It was the only choice he could see, though, and I can see why he would feel it necessary... but, oh no! He even used the taser!
***
oh, have to make a separate comment for the rest... apparently theres a character limit to comments @.@
is this too long???no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 06:01 am (UTC)Our poor Mo will probably get roughed up a bit, given him risking everything for the sake of Molly, but he won't die. He can't, he's too vital to the show (and too pretty) to die. His character will be going through the motions much like HRG had done to protect his Claire-bear, so those parallels are very much visible there, but I doubt he'll become a member of the Company. Even if he does, it'll be because he'll be working to do things for THE GOOD, not the bad the evildoers of that organization want him to do. Which, in a sense, goes directly with his infiltrating and being a double-agent spy gig.
Nathan's look reflects his current mental state at the moment. He's no longer that put-together politician, he's a mournful man who is looking for answers and placing together pieces to this gigantic puzzle. I did love that scene with both Matt and Nathan facing their nightmares, it was ultra cool.
Yeah, the scrolls issues is confusing. Though I would assume some were perfectly intact while the others were smudged and unreadable. It's all for the sake of the show, I guess. Heh. I just wish Hiro would return back to Ando already though. I understand he wants to be with the princess, but still.
Eh, I'll give Elle one more chance. She's evil, obviously, and possibly her "daddy" is either Bob or someone else at the Company. But I agree, she seems very cardboard right now; one-sided of evilness. :/
I find Papa Parkman VERY interesting and VERY scary. He's a liar, a con and a criminal, and spins these lies. But he spins the lies with truth, concerning his abilities and the inheritance of them. Concerning the abilites of parents, since we know Mohinder's sister, Shanti, was special neither Mohinder or his parents have abilities; it could've been natural selection, or skipped generations of some kind. Now THAT would be an interesting case to investigate.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 07:02 am (UTC)lol, I suppose... though I'm always so worried! Like, 'Oh no! Don't disrespect or go against them Mohinder!!!' What would we do? I suppose that since his blood is so important (as well as the pretty, lol) he won't be killed off though ^.^
I know, I know... I just wish he could look hot being mentally distressed, lol. And that was *such* a cool scene!
lol, but wouldn't that majorly change history though? I'm kinda surprised it hasn't already... maybe it'll end up bringing his father back to life or something cool, though?
lol, cardboard and stuck-up... she's like one of those little rich girls, to me... hmm... maybe she will get better, though the only interesting new characters that are in the US (other than Monica and co) have been pretty disappointing... hmm...
Maybe they do have abilities that just aren't unlocked yet?
other than the power of narration, that is... It would be interesting to see, though I have to wonder about all the heroes *with* it in their genes... hmm...no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 07:23 am (UTC)Hiro changing history...but how do we know that if he didn't go back that the history he knew would ever have taken place? Perhaps all that's happened was supposed to have happened, he just didn't know it yet. It makes sense, with time travel and all. He didn't want to go to ancient Japan -- his powers did it for him, like it was DESTINY telling him "yo, go back to this here time period and make history as you know it!" XD This is why I theorize that Hiro is actually the Kensei, and that Hiro is his very own childhood hero from the stories he grew up with. It's a mindtwister, isn't it?
True. Elle's very straight-up evil. There's no morally grey areas for her like HRG. She's just...bad to the bone, and not in a good way. I'll wait and see where this leads her character, since she IS going to be staying for the rest of the season.
That WOULD be interesting, Mohinder having a power without realizing it. Though his only power seems to be his blood carrying the antibodies to cure the virus (somewhat like the Alejandro being the cure for Maya, except not quite). It wouldn't surprise me if Chandra had been trying to hid or subdue Mohinder from discovering of his truest potential, which would explain his cold distance from him all those years to protect him from ever finding out. I REALLY want this to be explored deeper, more into the Suresh family and what kind of ability Shanti had, other than carrying the virus within her....
But I kind of like Mohinder not having an ability. I do see him as the hero of the story, but not because of powers but because he's essentially the goodness of the whole show and uses his brain and intelligence and common sense of morality to figure things out.
Although he does have the power of being absolutely HOT and GORGEOUS and making everyone bow down to him in his presence, but that's neither here nor there....XDno subject
Date: 2007-11-01 05:48 pm (UTC)I was thinking that that must've had something to do with it, especially before Kensei found out he had powers... but, what about the other Kensei? I wonder what will happen... and if Hiro falls in love with her, how will he leave her in the past?
she is??? x.x oh good... I think her 'evil' stems mainly from her spoiled attitude and getting whatever she wants because of her father's part in the Company, personally... aren't all the people in the picture rich too?
ooh... that would be interesting! I wish they just had a Suresh-show, lol!
True, if he had a power he would also be more in danger of the Company trying to run tests on him! 0.0 *flails*
He does!!! And what a great power that is! Nathan lost his... also the narration and foreign languages!!!^.^no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 08:25 pm (UTC)Yeah, Kristen Bell said in an interview that Elle is an evil kind of character who's committed some really "bad crimes". So yeah, not exactly a villain but still....evil.
Mohinder Suresh: You just cannot resist him. :D