Heroes
Mondays 9PM
“The Dying of the Light”
Written by Chuck Kim & Christopher Zatta
Directed by Daniel Attias
Warning: this review contains some spoilers. If you’d rather not know what the story is going to include, bookmark this page and read it after viewing.
Anyone who has been watching Heroes season three is sure to notice how the writing is swinging back and forth between storytelling and moving the characters around from situation to situation. The last two episodes, “Angels and Monsters” and “The Dying of the Light” are perfect examples of the rollercoaster storytelling style that has become a hallmark of this season.
In the episode titled “I Am Become Death,” the writers moved the characters around the world, setting up events by bringing characters to critical locations. However, the episode never really felt like it went anywhere because most of the scenes were expository. The following week, in “Angels and Monsters,” the writers did exactly what was necessary. They dished out action that paid off viewer expectations by revealing Arthur Petrelli as the bad guy, throwing Peter and Sylar together, and giving Claire the opportunity to spread her wings and chase down her own “villain.”
Following that pattern, “The Dying of the Light” offers very little action other than Daphne recruiting new members to the group and Peter getting his powers stolen by his father. One of the best moments is when Claire saves her two moms by making their mind-controlling captor think she is dead. Other than that, the episode plays more like pieces being moved around a chessboard in preparation for the next series of events.
Heroes has become an epic story, spanning multiple timelines with dozens of characters. It’s too much for any show to accomplish within one-hour. Many of the characters continue to be compelling such as Peter, Sylar, and Claire. However, other characters like Hiro, Suresh, and Nathan have been watered down compared to previous seasons. And then there are too many new characters that distract attention from the story, such as the guy whose power comes from other people’s fear, Claire’s real mom who has no real purpose, and the invention of Tracy. There is no reason at all why Tracy had to be Niki’s twin sister. The Tracy/Niki twin factor is distracting.
The best thing that could happen to Heroes is an immediate focus on smaller storylines that overlap. It’s the best way for the season to avoid fluctuating between exposition and action. The developing conflicts between the various members of the Petrelli family look to provide the framework for the season finale. Hopefully, this gem will provide more focus in future episodes.
In addition, there are too many good scenes that are stretched too thin in order to fill time in an episode. These scenes need to be trimmed in order to give more time to events that provide action and resolution. For example, the scene in which Hiro and Ando travel to Africa is too long, and Hiro’s responses are all wrong. When Hiro sees the two pictures of himself being hit over the head with a shovel, he should stop time or immediately teleport. He shouldn’t wait for the shovel. This isn’t Hiro. This is a dumbed-down version of his first season character.
More time should be given to Peter, Sylar, and Arthur Petrelli. The season finally seems to be headed for a showdown with these three characters, and they should be given more airtime for their storylines to develop. If the writers don’t want to trim back the number of characters, they should at least trim back the scene length and eliminate unnecessary exposition.
Even with its flaws, Heroes is one of the most engaging shows on television. The fluid storytelling style of season one has been restrained by the large season three cast and by sweeping plots, but at least Heroes is still entertaining. Plus, the core characters continue to compel audiences to return to find out if Sylar will reform, if Peter will get his powers back, and if Hiro can get back to what it means to be a hero. Hopefully, future episodes will have a better balance between story set-up and story action.