"Heroes" Episode 11

Chapter Eleven “The Eclipse – Part 2”

Spoiler Alert

Summary: The eclipse is still messing with everyone’s powers. With Nathan captured, the Haitian and Peter make plans to rescue him from Baron Samedi. Hiro tries to get his memory back with the help of a couple of comic geeks. Furious with their part in Claire’s struggle to survive, Noah goes after Gabriel and Elle with plans to destroy them. Matt must come to terms with Daphne’s condition. Mohinder tries to escape confinement.

• The eclipse goes away a little more than halfway through and everyone gets their power back. I personally would have wanted them to be powerless until at least the very end of the episode. I would have wanted to see their vulnerability go on longer, but perhaps with the volume coming to an end before the six-week hiatus, that wouldn’t be a good idea.

• I really liked Hiro’s scenes in the comic store with comic geeks Sam and Flack . Some are complaining about the “Hiro-thinking-he’s-10” arch, but I think he’s adorable. The Masi Oka does such a good job at portraying a both childlike wonder (examining a box full of comics and chanting “Best. Day. Ever.”) and vulnerability. Hiro locking himself in the bathroom because he doesn’t want to grow up was very touching. What child can look at what his adult self has done as a hero (remember that the Hiro’s story was seen ahead of time by the precog who died in the first season, Isaac Mendez, and he drew it all in the “9th Wonders” comic books) and not wish for them to not happen? Sam’s speech about the Hiro giving people hope really echoes what fans love about the series in general. After examining the very first “9th Wonders” issue, Sam and Frack realize that Hiro must take Claire to the past, and does so without hesitation.

• Nathan gets captured by Baron Samedi, aka the Haitian’s brother. I have to tell you, I give the writers props for writing such badass villains this season. Samedi has just the right amount of arrogance and brutality to make you hate him without overdoing it. Peter’s character does a fine job at expressing why he came with his brother: to prove that he could be a hero without powers. He and the Haitian manage to rescue Nathan, and with the Haitian’s powers (taking memories and making powers ineffective), the Baron, who called himself a god, is vanquished. In only one of the week’s many “wth” moments, Nathan decides to join his dad, saying that with Formula H they can give powers to good people and keep bad ones from getting them. I’m sorry, as much as Nathan wants this to be true, it’s extremely naïve. The fact is it’s not whether your good or bad that determines whether you get something, it’s those who have the money. If someone has the money, they’ll get powers, I guarantee it. My hope is that Nathan will see the light before it’s too late.

• Turns out before Daphne got her powers, she couldn't walk, and with the eclipse, she has to walk on braces again. She’s scared that Arthur did this to her, and thinks deserves it. She tells Matt that he can’t help her, and to stop trying. Once the eclipse is gone, she has her powers back and she disappeared. Matt has his powers back, so he realizes her dad thinks it’s his fault she left, and hears Daphne’s thoughts in the cornfield. In a really touching scene with Daphne, Matt, and a scarecrow named Ray (Daphne made him when she was 13 to save the cornfield), Matt convinces her that powers or not, they’re all flawed, but where it counts she’s a good person. He tells her she needs her father’s forgiveness, and Daphne goes back to the house to hug her dad. It’s funny how amongst all the drama, fights, rescues, etc., the Daphne/Matt arch can still be sweeter than a jar of honey and not seem out of place.

• When Matt and Daphne go to the comic book store, Hiro has disappeared. Sam tells Matt, Daphne, and Ando that the latest issue is the last one Isaac Mendez created, but that he “heard it from a dude, who heard it from a dude, who heard it from another dude at a convention somewhere” that the day Isaac died, he gave is sketch book to a delivery boy. Find the sketch book, and they can find the last story. I’m really interested about this. It should be really interesting to see where this goes, because I don’t think they would have mentioned this if they weren’t taking it somewhere. My question is though, are they going to show it this volume or the volume that states in February?

• Claire is taken to the hospital after the gunshot she received last episode causes her to have an infection in her body. (A shot out to the make-up people who did a great job making Claire look like absolute crap.) Her body overcoming to the wound so quickly might point out that her power’s are blocking off something wrong with her body (or more likely that the wound was worse than her dad made it out to be). She eventually dies, but once the eclipse is over, she comes back to life. When her dad returns, she’s angry that he wasn’t there for her. Then Elle and Gabriel turn up, powers now a-blazing, to take Claire to Pinehearst. Hanging from a wall, Noah shouts that Gabriel is NOT a Petrelli. Another “WTH” moment. I don’t buy it. Sorry, but Noah has a history of being a notorious liar, so unless otherwise proven, Syler's still a Petrelli. Then Hiro interrupts, and takes Claire to the past, where it looks like he and Claire will be working together for the first time next episode.

• Elle and Sylar are getting it on, but are interrupted by Noah, who’s not happy at them for shooting his daughter. I’m sorry, as good as the intentions of Claire’s dad are, it kind of proves he values vengeance over his daughter’s life. His daughter’s in the hospital and he decides to go man hunting? It’s no wonder Claire is ticked. Noah follows the two of them to the storage room of a grocery store, and while Gabriel locks Elle in a lift, he fights Noah. Obviously he looses, and Noah slits his throat. But once the eclipse is gone, he comes back to life (remember that he has Claire’s invincibility power) to chase after Claire. Hiro interrupts the fight in Claire’s house. The look on Gabriel’s face when he appears, along with Hiro calling him “Bad Man” before taking him and Elle to a beach somewhere, is hilarious. In perhaps the biggest “WTH” moment, perhaps because what Noah yelled to him about not being a Petrelli or because his powers came back, he decides that his “good guy” personality was just temporary, and starts his head-slicing trademark on Elle. The writers took a big risk getting rid of Elle. She has a massive fan base and the writers can't afford to loose anymore viewers. Personally, I can do without her. What I've a problem with is the sudden turn around. (I'll explain more in "Complaints.")

• Through out this whole thing, Mohinder, who was turning into some scaly thing from the Black Lagoon, lost his ability and went back to normal, and made attempts to escape Pinehearst (he’s being held there against his will). He does by beating the crap out of Flint, only to come back again when the eclipse leaves and he gets his powers and scales back. Now the scales are growing on his face. His ability to beat up Flint even without his powers perhaps shows that he’s not only turning into a monster, but that there’s an emotional monster inside him. I’m interested in seeing the full effect of his transformation, but on the other hand, I’m not.

Praise: Like I said, I really was interested in the whole showing the heroes in their most varable, and I think Papa P got it right when the eclipse showed them who they really are. Some appeared to pass the test, while some didn’t. It’s all apart of the heroes journey.

Complaints: This whole ending was my only complaint about the whole episode. I actually liked “Good Guy Gabriel” vs. “Evil Sylar” (though I’m sure the “Evil Sylar” fan base are having a party about now), and I’m not quite sure what caused the sudden change. With two more episodes, I hope they explain this properly, because I don’t like this flip flopping when it comes to him. Is he a Petrelli, or isn’t he? Can he be a good guy or is he doomed to be evil? We'd like to know!

Favorite Part: Lot’s of good ones, but I have to say my favorite was the scenes that took place in the comic books store. Sam and Frack were really enjoyable and I hope we’ll see more of the in the future.

Grade: B+

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