Whats Been On and What's Good: Heroes

Heroes -- Monday, March 9 -- "Shades of Gray"

Highlights
We continue to wonder if Nathan Petrelli is a good guy or a bad guy. Noah is another big question. Matt's been framed with a bomb stapped to him; and we meet Sylar's dad played by John Glover (who was Lionel Luthor on Smallville). Claire gets a job working as a hot girl in a comic book store, a ruse so that she'll have extra time to help those with abilities hide from the government. Also, a mysterious person named "Rebel" has been texting all the heroes to help them on their different paths. The ending is such a cliffhanger....I'm not going to even describe it.



Reasons to like it:
Claire really epitomizes the question of youth, asking our parents which direction to take and being utterly confused on what to do next in our lives. In a respect she epitomizes the ideal Barbie doll, even being called Barbie by some characters. Blonde haired, blue-eyed beautiful cheerleader girl who is smart -- who doesn't want to be saved but instead takes on the role of a Harriet Tubman for those with abilities. Claire is clearly a super hero and is the girl so many of us want to be, the person we would turn our Barbies into.

Sylar is also questioning his life path and trying to talk to his parents. His quest to find his father mirrors Claire's bonding with her mother, Mohinder and Hiro with their deceased fathers, as well as the fucked-up Petrelli family bonds. In talking with his father, Sylar brings up his healing ability. His father's reaction "well you just have that much longer to suffer" brings up an undiscussed question of how long Sylar will live. Will he be like Adam in that he doesn't age? Are Peter and Claire going to do the same? This gives room for any of them being brought up in any time period, completely ageless. Will Heroes at somepoint make a jump, like other popular shows like Desperate Housewives -- and suddenly start a new season with several years having passed?

Another interesting issue in the character Danko, the FBI operative whose sole mission is to prosecute the heroes. He comes across as so apparently evil, so focused in nature -- you wonder what his backstory is. If he can be good. What his perspective is. Heroes is a show about families, about generations of abilities and lies, politics. How will things play out with Danko given this older format?