Heroes had it's season finale last night and while I will say more about the show in my usual TV Thursday post,I couldn't wait to talk about my inital reaction to the wrap-up with so much commentary buzzing about online at the moment. Frankly,I'm surprised to see such negativity being spread around,complaints like"They hyped up some big Sylar/Peter fight and we didn't get one!"-actually,we did,just not a big showy summer movie type of deal-or(spoiler alert)"Why didn't Peter just fly off by himself?"
Well,for one,it's been established that Peter doesn't have a strong grip on his multi-abilities,unlike Sylar(whose great weakness is his pumped up pride and narcissism) and that the nuclear power is quite overwhelming. Even Ted,the original Radioactive Man,had trouble reigning his explosive skills,especially when stressed. Fighting Sylar and trying not to blow up the city at the same time can be a tad stressing there,folks.
I'm not going to get into a whole bunch of other details but let me just say this: one of the oldest themes in any tale of a hero is self sacrifice. What is the one thing that drives people to self sacrifice? Love,as corny as that sounds, Love for others and the willingness to spare them from harm or death is what makes a hero. That was the purpose behind that vision that Peter saw,when he spoke with Simone's father(I knew that Peter had absorbed his ability unknowingly)who told him that"your heart has the power to love unconditionally". That unconditional love was powerful enough to inspire Claire,who in turn inspired Nathan to not be the "villian" that Hiro once accused him of,and step up to be a real leader.
I,for one,did not expect that from Nathan. Up to now,Nathan's been in my bad guy corner,right there with Sylar(wonder if we've really seen the last of him)and Mother Petrelli(total ice queen),not to mention Linderman himself. I should've known better,after all-I had pegged Mr. Bennet as a major baddie early on,but we've seen him cross over to the good guy section during the season,motivated by his love for Claire. That really should have given me a heads-up,but hey,even us savvy storyline spotters can not see the forest for the trees sometimes. It's good to be humbled there,builds character.
And character building is what Heroes is all about. "Ordinary people with extraordinary abilities" was,and is,the central slogan of the show. Not pumped up action figures playing some flashy video game,regular people being challenged with powers and situations that lead them to make crucial choices that reflected upon their true nature. When Stan Lee did his cameo bit a few episodes back,it was not just a nod to the comic book fans,it was a tip of the hat to the Marvel comics style of keeping their characters grounded by having realistic angst and life probelms to contend with. Nothing against DC but most experts agree that Marvel was the first to use that approach and it's one of their strengths still to this day.
So,while some may find last night finale to be less than satisfying,I count myself amongst those who were truly thrilled and eagerly await Volume Two of the saga. The Season One DVD of Heroes will be available August 28,and yes,my pre-order is in. This is one of the best shows I've seen since Buffy and even Smallville felt smaller to me this year with Heroes making such amazing creative strides. If this last scene between the Petrelli brothers doesn't make you just a touch weepy,I don't know what will:
SUPER SPOILER ALERT-KEY SCENE OF THE SEASON FINALE!
2 comments:
Screw all the hyper critical arm chair critics. Heroes was the perfect blend of resolving questions and creating more. Well done!
Heroes was a perfect blend of mystery and discovery,I do agree. We need to encourage networks into keeping and finding more quality shows like this,not whine about "the fight wasn't cool enough!'. Geez.
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