Resolving that he's doing it for the greater good, Mohinder preps Monica for her anti-power shot. She's all, "nuh uh, I don't do needles" but Mohinder tells her it's the last phase of testing before she gets to go home, lying that it's to see if her abilities improve. He doesn't even offer her a lollipop for being brave. Predictably, Mohinder reverts to being a pussy and chickens out- he confronts Bob and refuses to go through with the plan, flinging a stool into the fridge full of the virus. Guess someone grew a pair - Mohinder naively declares that he won't continue with the research and is leaving with Molly. Right. Bob's expression is priceless:
Mohinder tenderly kisses Molly on the forehead when he really should be swooping her up and getting the eff out of The Company. Bob wants a word, and says he owes Mohinder an apology, saying he's been with the group for 30 years and isn't proud of everything he's done. Yawn, heard it all before. He says he's dealing with someone who's a real danger to them, and he overstepped their bounds in the desire to keep Adam Monroe in line. Bob "offers" Mohinder someone who can ensure there's no further misunderstanding, and Mohinder has no choice but to accept. Unfortunately, Mohinder's new partner is Niki, who has joined the Company. If The Company's rid Niki of Jessica, how is Niki supposed to beat up people and protect Mohinder while on assignment? Tasers!
Back in New Orleans, Bob returns Monica to the house with trippy purple wallpaper, and gives her the cover story of Burger Bonanza training at corporate. Guess it must be Management Training Month in the US or something. He gives her The Company directory of helpful phone numbers and hands her a "fully loaded" black video iPod so she can keep training her muscles and pick up new skills. Seriously, don't tell me that color choice is not intentional, we already had the African-America girl with the chocolate cupcake shoved in her face earlier. "You're like my own personal Oprah," says Monica, whose distrust of white people seems to be fading. Bob tells her to save N'awlins, and seems slightly nicer - what's going on?
Odessa, Ukraine
On a recycled set from "Anna Karenina," a woman bundles up her blonde grandson, who looks like a slavic Naruto (ten points if you get this anime reference). She kisses her husband goodbye for the last time without knowing it, because Bennet and The Haitian are paying the guy, whose name is Ivan, a little visit. And by visit I mean slap, restrain, knock around and threaten. Bennet was Ivan's protégé at The Company. Ukrainian is the only official language of the country, but it's probably cheaper if Bennet and Ivan speak in Russian.
Bennet starts questioning a tied-up Ivan about Isaac's paintings, the series of 8 - he's not taking any crap from Ivan, who claims he's retired. Ivan dilly-dallies, hedging that Bennet won't go through with his plan, pulling the "I made you who you are!" card, and insisting that old people be given respect. Bennet adjusts his glasses and hardens his resolve to get the information about the paintings. He also points out that old people without memories should kill themselves, because they are generally useless and run people over at farmer's markets. The Haitian mindsweeps Ivan of memories involving his wife Katarina.
In Soviet Russia, memories forget you!
The interrogation is interrupted by a call from Claire, who needs to borrow the car for some "cheerleading" stuff. Seriously, the phone reception is insane - he didn't even need an international calling card for this. Claire and Bennet start swapping major lies about their plans - Bennet fibs that he's at Copy Kingdom management training in Tulsa. Bennet tries to get Ivan's empathy by asking about the daughter Ivan never mentioned, one that died (virus victim? bad caviar?), implying that they'll take his memories of the daughter if he doesn't fess up. "Take the daughter" is the new "Take the cannoli."
Ivan reveals the paintings are in the warehouse near the train yard where they tagged the liquid man (ANOTHER hero?) and offers Bennet and his family a chance to stop hiding. He pleads with Bennet, doing everything short of serenading him with the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." Bennet considers it for half a second, but decides it's better just to find out where the paintings are and not leave any incriminating evidence like traces of mind-sweeping. He takes a cue from The Phantom of the Opera's "The Point of No Return" song and then shoots Ivan in the head, making it look like a burglary/homicide. Badass.
Outside Parcela Delgada, Mexico, or nowhere near the U.S. Border
« Friday Night Lights: Shark Bait | Main | Desperate Housewives: Fountain of Anything But Youth »
Comments (18)
This season of Heroes is quickly turning in to the season of Teh Suck.
Too many characters, too many long-winded story lines, too many locations, and WAY too many subtitles. Indeed, it was torture watching this episode.
1 of 18 | Posted by Firthguy | Posted on November 1, 2007 7:43 AM
This season of Heroes is quickly turning in to the season of Teh Suck.
Too many characters, too many long-winded story lines, too many locations, and WAY too many subtitles. Indeed, it was torture watching this episode.
2 of 18 | Posted by Firthguy | Posted on November 1, 2007 7:52 AM
This show is tearing me apart. For example, after I got done watching this episode, with the paintings, and HRG, and the future destruction thing, I thought WOW! It is finally going somewhere! Great episode.
And then I look back on the episode and realized that aside from the HRG storyline, I hated all the subplots. It has been that way all season.
I hate Claire and emotard, I hate Molly, I hate Hiro and Kensei, I have the wondertwins, I want the Peter storyline to speed up, and although I like Monica's power, I really don't like her storyline.
Watching the episode, I thought it was good, but looking back, not so much. Shouldn't there be a shelf life longer than three days?
Friday Night Lights on the other hand, I have been thinking about that for a week, and, as dumb as it sounds, Supernatural.
What has happened to TV this year? Everything is going downhill. (Insert overwrought sob here).
3 of 18 | Posted by fnllover | Posted on November 1, 2007 11:36 AM
Yeah... I'm tired of the Claire/Emotard storyline... I can't stand the whiney twin duo and can't wait for them to die (get im sylar!)..
I don't mind the Hiro storyline though... but I wish it would speed up a bit... Get to a point.
And yeah... HRG storyline is good, also like Monica and I like the Peter storyline as well, but also wish it would speed up some.
They spoiled us the first season with how fast everything happened and then decided to sloooooooow it down too much this season.
4 of 18 | Posted by shollia | Posted on November 1, 2007 11:48 AM
i'm sure you meant bring it on 4. there already is a bring it on 3....and claire bennett is in it.
5 of 18 | Posted by kevintheomanharris | Posted on November 1, 2007 11:53 AM
I still think that people are being too hard on this show.
I hate the emotard, as you all know, I think he's a horrible actor. But I like Peter's story line.
I think that the Hiro story is about to kick into second gear, and we can't compare the future devestation to last season. Last season we delt with an explosion in a city. This season is about a plauge that knocks out 93% of the world.
6 of 18 | Posted by neillfilm | Posted on November 1, 2007 12:18 PM
kevintheomanharris: Thanks for reminding me, sometimes I try to forget there are already 3 Bring it Ons. That, and there are 3 Free Willy movies...
Do you think this season can be salvaged? Or at least turned into a drinking game? Sweeps are here.
7 of 18 | Posted by T.Vo | Posted on November 1, 2007 12:20 PM
Great recap T.Vo! Umm loved the "in Soviet Russia, memories forget you!" Hilarious.
I want so badly to like this season. I keep giving it more and more chances. I think they can still bring it back if they introduce one driving force behind all of the heroes... is it too late for that?
I thought they partnered Mohinder with Jessica, so if he tries to flip she can school him...
Sylar is a MEGA CREEP! Although, how exactly does he intend to get his powers back from Mohinder when M would kill Sylar if he had the chance?
Way too much going on, Claire is lame and Feudal Japan makes me want to rip out all my hair and light myself on fire.
Oh well. I'll give it a bit longer (read: rest of the season).
8 of 18 | Posted by pachita | Posted on November 1, 2007 1:09 PM
The Yako Smirnoff reference was hilarious, and I hope more plotlines take place in the old Soviet bloc so you can re-use them. In any case, the HRG storyline is the only well deveoped one. I cannot stand the way blackpeople are written in this show. I am suprised she didn't pop open an OE 40, sew a uniform out of FuBu gear and have a training montage to "Mamma said knock You out."
2 storylines that have to go or speed way the f up is Hiro's bs and Claire's bs. The only thing I like about these scens is it gives me a chance to refil my Brita and take a crap.
9 of 18 | Posted by mattypopo | Posted on November 1, 2007 4:06 PM
About the canadians not locking their doors thing, in the documentary bowling for columbine, he actually asked some canadians about that and most of them said that they do not lock their doors. I guess I am different from pretty much everyone else who reads your recap, because i actually like claire and this season.
10 of 18 | Posted by preppyboy6 | Posted on November 1, 2007 7:56 PM
This season does seem to drag (maybe it needs an injection of shark stem cells, ala FNL), but it is too early to give up. I did lower it's priority on the DVR record list.
Thanks for the recap!
11 of 18 | Posted by fire@will | Posted on November 1, 2007 8:51 PM
I really wanna enjoy your recaps, but...
Enough with all of the racial references when recapping Monica's character. She's black. We get it. Har har. What makes your remarks even more obviously racist (and unfunny) is that Monica doesn't even use the typical hip hop slang, so when you use it - it just reads as ignorant:
1. "Girl just wants to manage a Burger Bonanza, yo."
2. "Monica should trust her gut instinct, which is "Don't trust white people" and get the hell out of there."
Mohinder's not white, hun. And he's fine, so duh. A teenage girl would have no problem following him to show him some of her EXTRAORDINARY "moves".
3. Also, Bring It On 3 (Jump or Get Served)? That movie actually already exists, so yet another lame, racist joke.
Re: "Worst. Plotline. Ever."
No, that award goes to the Fake Feudal Japan Where the Amazingly Useless Yaeko Who Can't Tell the Difference Between Round Anglo Blue Eyes and Squinty Japanese Brown Eyes plotline.
Seriously. It took her hand over Hiro's nose and mouth to see that he was Mr. Cherry Blossoms? It was at that moment, that my suspension of disbelief with this show was unsuspended...forever.
12 of 18 | Posted by blahblah | Posted on November 4, 2007 9:59 AM
So I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and keep reading this lame-ass recap and you do it again!
"Seriously, don't tell me that color choice is not intentional, we already had the African-America girl with the chocolate cupcake shoved in her face earlier. "You're like my own personal Oprah," says Monica, whose distrust of white people seems to be fading. Bob tells her to save N'awlins, and seems slightly nicer - what's going on?"
Really, ENOUGH already about Monica being black. The only person who's noticing all of these "racial coincidences" is YOU. Black is the most popular iPod color. Only a racist person would equate the black iPod with a black person. Also, whenever someone keeps referring to a black person as "African-American", obviously that person is trying too hard to be PC. The show's not obsessed with race, YOU are.
13 of 18 | Posted by Blahblah | Posted on November 4, 2007 10:09 AM
"Except the well-endowed part."
Is this your idea of funny? Referring to a stereotype of Asian men's small penises? Btw, it isn't like white men (Kensei) are known for large penises. You are just unbelievably racist and your "jokes" are very offensive.
14 of 18 | Posted by blahblah | Posted on November 4, 2007 10:20 AM
don't kill the messenger: she's just fulfilling her duties as recapper with an opinion.
keep it up, t.vo. youre awesome.
if there are any complaints, id take it up to NBC brass -- they could use a reality check on the way they greenlight depictions of other races.
t.vo doesnt air heroes. the peacock does.
hugo
15 of 18 | Posted by jooce129 | Posted on November 4, 2007 10:51 PM
Seriously, I think this show is the one employing retarded racial stereotypes and not our recapper. This whole New Orleans plotline designed play on our heartstrings and sympathies by exploiting the tragedy that has happened there has rubbed me the wrong way since the beginning.
16 of 18 | Posted by dreamstorm | Posted on November 5, 2007 10:54 AM
The show does seem to be fond of racial (and other) stereotypes. T.Vo takes it a bit further but I always saw that as making fun of the stereotypes portrayed in the show. For instance, the black iPod comment was too far out to be taken seriously. Also, I didn’t know that doubledutch and skateboarding were seen as typically "black" activities. Anyway, it gets kind of tiring.
And Blahblah, I don’t think T.Vo is the only one obsessed with race. You interpret almost everything in a racial context and most of the time it’s probably not meant that way.
And you and T.Vo both see things I don’t see, like the girl with the cupcake being black.
Like all discussions about race, this is probably going nowhere, but feel free to tell me if I’ve misunderstood any one of you.
17 of 18 | Posted by Bonk | Posted on November 8, 2007 5:14 AM
The show does seem to be fond of racial (and other) stereotypes. T.Vo takes it a bit further but I always saw that as making fun of the stereotypes portrayed in the show. For instance, the black iPod comment was too far out to be taken seriously. Also, I didn’t know that doubledutch and skateboarding were seen as typically "black" activities. Anyway, it gets kind of tiring.
And Blahblah, I don’t think T.Vo is the only one obsessed with race. You interpret almost everything in a racial context and most of the time it’s probably not meant that way.
And you and T.Vo both see things I don’t see, like the girl with the cupcake being black.
Like all discussions about race, this is probably going nowhere, but feel free to tell me if I’ve misunderstood any one of you.
18 of 18 | Posted by Bonk | Posted on November 8, 2007 5:16 AM