317: 'Cold Wars'
Wr: Christopher Zatta, Joe Pokaski & Aron Eli Coleite
Dr: Seith Mann
Synopsis: HRG and Matt are thrust into a series of mind games to uncover the truth about Nathan's plans. Peter gets to meet The Hunter in person.
Review: Remember season one? The supposedly hallowed days of yore in which Heroes was a refreshingly engaging take on the conventional 'superhero' narrative, full of lively, interesting characters, wonderful cinematography and boundless narrative possibility? Remember those days? Of course you do, fandom: it's all you've whined on about for the past five months. The production staff remember those days too; so well, in fact, that they have the self-aware tenacity to make the seventeenth episode of the show's third season an homage to the seventeenth episode of the freshman year, right down to the story focus, directive style and everything! Clever, huh? Shame it's not so much of an homage as a retread, trying its best to replicate the success of the phenomenal 'Company Man' but lacking some of the crucial ingredients. Still, this is what you wanted guys... you've got no one to blame but yourselves.
Perhaps pointing the finger of blame at the viewing audience is slightly harsh. After all, if the writers can't recapture the magic that used to be so inherent in the show, that's largely their problem. Still, as I illustrated last week, asking a programme to turn back when the natural course of any story's tide is to go forward seems rather counter-productive and is only going to lead to a fruitless uphill struggle. Take HRG's step up to the plate here as an example. 'Cold Wars' takes a story format that proved hugely lucrative back in the day and attempts to use it to expand and progress the current plot. Unfortunately, where in 'Company Man', opening the viewer's eyes to the history of the man with the dodgy glasses was completely unexpected and provided us with necessary exposition to advance the narrative - we had no idea where the guy's allegiances lay back then, how the Company was founded, how Claire was given to him and so on - there is nothing of any consequence in the flashback sequences we are presented with here. Oh sure, it all looks rather nice in delicious black and white (certainly a neat touch) and there are some well executed character beats in the dialogue, particularly between Bennet and the Hunter, whose smarmy, sinister self-obsession and inherent blinkered malice becomes ever more delectable with each passing scene (go Zelkjo, go Zelkjo), but really, what is the point? Detailing the process by which Nathan recruited HRG and he came to help set up the operation adds nothing at all to the central premise because the information we are treated to has been already been suggested in the dialogue in the preceding episodes.
Virtually nothing new is revealed here. There is no benefit in the sequence in which Nathan shows up on Bennet's doorstep other than to showcase Seith Mann's ability to nicely film a scene with an oscillating camera. The many encounters with the Hunter essentially replay the dichotomy that we saw play out between the two in 'Trust and Blood'. And okay, so perhaps there is something to be said for understanding HRG's personal machinations, his inability to return to the comfort of family life. The first scene with Angela is arguably the most effective of them all because it addresses something that is not immediately apparent from the extraneous narratology. It's a pity, then, that the revelation that Bennet is working against the occupants of Building 26 with Mama Petrelli falls utterly flat as it's been inferred to too great a degree since the start of the volume. Unfortunately, the other big 'reveals' in the flashback sequences are also damp squibs. Mohinder's awareness of the governmental plan is the only trope that's remotely unexpected but it is played out with such little gravitas in the scene and against so much dull interplay between HRG, Nathan and the Hunter that it doesn't have the desired effect. And as for Daphne being alive... can I get one huge "meh"? I was pleading for them not to do this, not to back track and resurrect yet another bleeding character but, alas, it seems njo one we care about will ever stay dead in the Heroes universe. It's tiresome, it's lazy and, above all, it's insulting to the viewer. Oh and furthermore, it negates the impact of any future culling as we won't be willing to accept it. When oh when oh when will they learn?
Apparently, not before the end of the episode. Putting aside the continued contrivance that is having Matt suddenly be able to paint the future ("oh, but he's a prophet!", I hear you cry. Um, how? Why? Whatever for?!), what exactly was the thought process behind having he and Petrelli return to Isaac's loft? Surely, if they wished to remain incognito, they'd head somewhere a little less, oh I don't know, blatantly obvious?! Somewhere that Nathan and HRG aren't aware of and wouldn't logically be surveilled? As one TV.com reviewer noted, the place has been an apartment, Company base, 'Mohinder's house of horrors' and now, apparently, it's an art studio again? While the reappearance of popular show staples can be pleasing and rewarding experiences for the long-term viewer, they need to be believable and organic in order to be convincing. This is neither. Sadly, this isn't the biggest problem with the scene: no, it's what comes in the very last moments that is truly objectionable. Matt, strapped with explosives, ready to suicide bomb (presumably, although it could be orchestrated by some other means) himself into oblivion? Okay, there's something slightly intriguing there. But a painting on the floor of an exceptionally large explosion, obliterating a city? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And no. Again. How many times is Heroes going to revisit this plot thread before the writing staff realise that they've turned it into the worst possible kind of cliché? It was engaging in season one because it was original; this is the third time since that we've seen it reoccur. It's older than my great granddad's family album and generates no interest whatsoever. The only reason I can conceive of for the production crew's apparent love of TEH EXPLOSION! is that the artistry looks kinda nifty. But cool drawing does not a satisfying story thread make.
Much as with 'Building 26', 'Cold Wars' is a victim of the show's shift in direction. There are some good moments, particularly in the character interplay between Mohinder, Parkman and Peter (Greg Grunberg is excellent as an infuriated Matt) and also in HRG's scenes with the Hunter, but overall, the decision to attempt to 'recapture' the elements that proved so successful in season one hampers rather than helps the episode's quality. Instead of attempting to imbue the character stories with original, engaging ideas, the writing staff return to strategies that they've successfully deployed before but where, initially, they were original and exciting, now they are simply tired and old hat. The attempt to echo the flashback narratology of 'Company Man' fails due to its lack of something to say and, most worryingly, the decision to reintroduce one of the most overdone tropes in the series' history at hour's end merely proves frustrating due to how achingly familiar it is. This is another casualty of a very vocal fandom's often exaggerated objections and while it isn't exactly bad per se, its sheer averageness is more than a little depressing. 6.6
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