Considered by many fans of the series to be the
weakest season of Heroes, while in its
third year it did take us in some unexpected
directions, it delivered more of the same fantastic
twists and turns its audience has come to expect, as
well as a re-envisioning of some of the characters.
Just as Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) is just
about to announce to the world that he has super
powers, a mysterious figure in black shoots him
several times in the chest and escapes into the
panicked crowd. His brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia)
and his telepathic friend Matt Parkman (Greg
Grunberg) are determined to get to the bottom of the
attempted assassination, but fail to realize that
the murderer is actually an alternate Peter, back
four years from the future to prevent the truth from
coming out, since it has disastrous and
apolocalyptic consequences. Nathan winds up
hospitalized and dies -- only to reawaken convinced
that God has brought him back to complete a profound
mission. Peter is trapped by his future self in the
body of a dangerous inhabitant of Level 5 in the
Company -- a high security unit meant to protect the
population from the most murderous "specials"
(individuals with abnormal powers). And Matt gets
too close to future Peter and is sent thousands of
miles away to Africa, where he encounters someone
who has the power of precognition and wants to show
him a vision of the future.
Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) has once again
moved in the hope of escaping the attention of the
Company, but happens to be home alone when the
psychopathic serial killer Sylar (Zachary Quinto)
comes for a visit. He has desired her power of
regeneration from the beginning and intends to
obtain it at any cost -- Claire is held down and her
brain "explored," before Sylar reveals to her that
she is one of the most unusual specials he has ever
encountered. He believes she literally cannot die --
and now thanks to her, neither can he. Intending to
murder all the leaders of the Company, Sylar then
turns up at headquarters and inadvertently releases
all the Level 5 occupants. He also crosses paths
with Elle Bishop (Kristen Bell), who intends to make
him pay for the murder of her father -- and then
encounters Angela Petrelli (Christine Rose), who has
a shocking revelation for him concerning his
parentage.
Thousands of miles away in Japan, Hiro (Masi Oka) is
attempting to get used to running his father's
company. But upon opening the safe and removing a
slip of paper concerning half of a formula that his
late father wanted him to protect with his life,
Hiro is horrified when a speedy thief named Daphne
zooms through his office and makes off with it. He
vows to recover it and "save the world... again!"
not realizing that the formula is something Dr.
Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has been
searching for: a way to give ungifted people special
abilities. But his experiments have gone horribly
wrong...
Recovering from a truncated second season thanks to
the writer's strike, the writers of Heroes
had a lot of material to run with and while there
are a few downright boring and or stupid plot lines
this season, overall they hit it out of the ballpark
with their decision to incorporate Sylar into the
primary cast and pursue more of the Petrelli family
secrets. There are a lot of skeletons in that closet
to play with, and the format of the show allows them
to do whatever they want -- in past, present, or
future time. One would think so much time traveling
would be confusing but it's not, and how they return
to former situations and change or even involve
characters that weren't there the first time is very
clever. However, unfortunately this also leads to
plot holes and in some instances, timelines not
matching up when it comes to various individuals
(primarily Sylar and Claire). The bad thing about
this season is how characters from the former
installment make momentary appearances or none at
all. Maya is barely present in a handful of episodes
and then we never see her again -- the same goes for
Niki's relatives. We also never learn the reason
Nathan survived or "returned from the dead." But the
season premiere is absolutely terrific and the
audience is once more reminded just what scares us
the most about the "villains" in the story. It's
also neat how they play mind games with their
audience -- Sylar makes a valiant attempt to be one
of the good guys, but never can quite get rid of his
nastier tendencies, while our view of Claire's
father fluctuates as we question his motives. Even
Claire goes through a darker period as she attempts
to come to terms with the latest consequences of her
abilities.
Where the storyline falters is in the plot
surrounding Matt. His scenes of wandering in the
desert and making friends with turtles are extremely
boring. I was also disappointed that more
time was not spent capturing the escaped "specials"
(although there are several fantastic
showdowns between the good and bad guys).
Fortunately, on two episodes drag right at the start
of the season and then it picks up the pace. I also
had a bit of trouble believing Mohinder would so
irresponsibility injecting himself with an
untested serum; it doesn't seem in character. His
behavior afterward as a result of the drug is far
from admirable, but the constant bait and switches,
manipulations and mind games of the Petrelli family
are magnificent. There's also a new character played
by the same actress who brought Jessica and Niki to
life (Ali Larter). Her name is "Tracy" and she has
an unusual connection to the other two that
ultimately lead us to a different organization
dedicated to all kinds of evil. Unfortunately,
various characters this season meet rather brutal
ends -- two individuals we have come to like don't
make it to the end of the season, one of them in a
rather demented twist.
While this season is not as gory as the first or as
tame as the second, it does have moments of
gruesomeness. Andrea Petrelli experiences dreams of
the future which involve her walking down a corridor
and finding the dead, mangled bodies of her friends
-- including Claire, whose head has been severed
from her neck. Other characters have been shot,
stabbed, and bludgeoned. It's not the last time we
see decapitated remains; unattached heads are seen
on several other occasions. Sylar continues to
remove abilities through cutting into people's
brains; he removes the top of Claire's head (she is
still conscious) and examines her exposed brain. He
then returns her severed scalp and it heals without
a scratch. Other victims of his violence are not so
fortunate -- we watch him start to cut their
foreheads open many times (sometimes he is
interrupted; other times blood spatters against
walls and windows). He emerges from a crime scene
covered in blood. Individuals are shot and killed,
have their heads bashed against hard surfaces, or
experience broken necks. Characters are electrocuted
and sometimes explode. One character can turn people
into ice; they shatter into a million pieces. A man
stabs his arm through someone, leaving a gaping
wound in his chest. Two characters have their
throats cut; the later instance is far gorier than
the first, as we watch blood gushing out from the
slit in his neck. There are also several instances
of implied sexual content. Mohinder and Maya kiss
passionately and he tears her shirt off (we see her
bare back); they are shown the next morning asleep
in the same bed. Nathan and Tracey also wake up
together. We see portions of the suggestive security
camera footage between Nathan and Jessica from the
first season. One episode opens with Elle and Sylar
"in bed" together, passionately kissing. Our
introduction to Tracy is wearing revealing
undergarments; it's implied that she is sexually
involved with the governor. We see her bare back on
one occasion. There are a few mild sexual references
and a modest amount of profanity. Animal lovers will
be disturbed by an instance in which it is implied
that a live rabbit is "gutted" (unseen). We see a
taxidermist sewing up dead animals.
Religion is addressed more seriously this time
around and I was pleased that it doesn't go out of
its way to disprove the existence of God. Mohinder
and others doubt His divine intervention but the
Petrellis are Catholics who speak of heavenly
guidance and are even shown on occasion engaging in
deeply moving prayers. But it should also be
mentioned that there is an element of "magic"
involved; Matt is encouraged to find his "spirit
guide" and he and Hiro are both given a paste to eat
that will provide them with the ability to paint the
future. Other characters also possess precognitive
skills (Angela Petrelli often has dreams that
foretell what will happen); if it has not
disconcerted you in previous seasons, there is
nothing additional in this one that would turn you
aside.
Season three has its moments of absurdity and
predictability, but it also has some great twists
and turns. I won't lie to you -- there were some
episodes that were "snoozers" as far as plot
development goes, and the second half of the series
heads in an entirely new direction by involving a
plot in which people with abilities are being hunted
down and imprisoned by the government. There are a
few tedious additions but once the story gets back
on track and leaps into intrigue and further
revelations concerning the parentage of various
individuals, it became interesting again. If you
enjoyed the first two seasons you will undoubtedly
like this one, even though it does bring about the
"end" of certain characters.
