Four major series wrap-up their seasons. Spoilers below. I mean it: Real spoilers. No way to discuss the shows in any meaningful way otherwise.
HEROES: After 22 episodes of build-up, “Heroes” was faced with the almost insurmountable task of providing a climax that on the one hand is surprising and unexpected, but at the same time conforms to the many visions that we’ve already had of what will happen (Peter going thermonuclear, Hiro killing Sylar, the Cheerleader’s being saved resulting in saving the world, etc.)
In my view, they came about ninety percent of the way toward pulling it off.
The episode was by turns compelling, gripping, and rife with unexpected moments. Ando survived, which was a relief, because as high as his coolness factor was, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing our Hiro transform into his future version courtesy of Ando’s demise (although one wonders, considering how easily he saved him, how the alt future Ando wound up dead.) And I was taken with the notion that saving Claire resulted in New York’s salvation, not because of any physical action she took, but rather because of a compelling emotional presence she presented.
Still, I find myself left with disturbing questions. If the solution to the problem was something as simple as taking Peter into the stratosphere so he could detonate there, why couldn’t he just fly himself? Is he only capable of using a single power at a time, and because he was heating up, that precluded his using other powers? Okay, I can buy that, but it would have been nice if they’d spelled it out. Did Peter survive the explosion? If so, what’s to prevent the same thing from happening again? For that matter, since Sylar survived, there’s nothing to stop HIM from going nuclear as well. When you give it some thought, nothing was really resolved; merely delayed, like “The Terminator’s” Judgment Day. I’m just saying that, after a season of time invested, it would have been nice to feel like I’d witnessed something other than a stopgap measure. Which doesn’t mean I’m at all deterred from tuning in next season. Hiro jumping back three hundred years really does seem to be underscoring the idea that he’s under the control of some sort of unseen hand of destiny, moving him around to various points in time where he’s needed. I wonder if we’ll ever actually see that hand.
LOST: High marks for turning the season around. I pity folks who tuned out months ago and have missed out on a series that has totally recaptured its mojo in the past seven weeks. The season ender was no exception, accomplishing with even more confidence that which “Heroes” was a bit hit-or-miss on: Addressing what seems inevitable while simultaneously surprising and shocking.
Milking what appears to be the long-established formula, “Lost” contrasts the castaways seemingly doomed-to-fail escape attempt…because if they get off the island, one figures, the show’s over, so it must be hopeless–with yet another flashback, this time focusing on a dissolute, suicidal Jack. It’s only in the brilliant final minutes that we realize, oh my God, it’s a flashforward, as we learn that Jack, Kate et al have in fact escaped the island, and he’s literally “Lost” even though he’s returned home. How tired are we of promos that claim “This episode, everything changes,” but this time out the episode lives up to the advance billing.
Only downside: The death of Charlie. Now I’m all for the notion of “Ha! We defied fate!” only to discover that, crap no, fate will have its way. But the way in which it happened made no sense. Faced with an imminent explosion and flood, Charlie slams the door to the communications chamber with HIMSELF on the INSIDE? It was like watching Daffy Duck sawing off a tree branch to drop it on Elmer Fudd, only to realize that he’s sitting on the section of the branch that’s going to fall. Two seconds for Charlie to step to the other side and pull the door shut behind him, and instead he locks himself in with impending disaster? It was one of those awful moments that comes from writing necessity rather than intelligent character action (as we saw Hurley display earlier, nonchalantly saving the day.) In a series as clever as “Lost” has proven itself to be, one wishes we’d seen such cleverness displayed regarding Charlie’s fate. He deserved better.
SMALLVILLE: “I know you’ve had a rough year,” Mom Kent consoles Clark. Yeah, like this year is different from any other. Events of the season rocket toward an unexpected conclusion, and once again the fates of a half dozen regulars is left teetering on the brink.
The only thing I find disconcerting is that, after numerous season cliffhangers, I find myself kind of going, “Okay, yeah, but two or three episodes into the next season, the status quo will be reset.”
Ohmigod! Lana’s dead! Killed in a car explosion! Yeah, except Chloe–a far more disposable character considering she doesn’t appear in Superman continuity–had a whole house blown up around her, and she survived. Notice that a delivery truck blocked Lana from Lionel’s view at a crucial moment. My guess? Her seeming “death” was arranged by the neo-JLA, the truck driven by Cyborg, the explosion courtesy of a concussive arrow, and Lana whisked away by the Flash. In one stroke they get her out from under Luthor’s thumb and set Lex up to take the fall for her supposed death.
Ohmigod! Chloe’s passed out, maybe dead! Well, probably not.
Ohmigod! Lionel’s in danger of imminent demise! Well, probably not.
None of which detracts from the fact that this has been one of the best seasons of “Smallville” thus far, as Clark takes more steps toward a destiny of superheroing that STILL makes no sense since in this continuity, people will take one look at Superman and say, “Hey, that’s Clark Kent” unless he manages to totally change his face somehow.
And I will say that they definitely got me with the end. I did a 180 as my initial thought of, “Oh jeez, ANOTHER iteration of Evil Clark Kent” gave way to, “Wait…Bizarro?! How cool is that!” I’m definitely aboard for next season, even though I’m still expecting the restore status quo button to be pushed.
AMERICAN IDOL: Someone named Jordin won.
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“I’ve watched Episodes 3 and 4 a couple times, and the more recent “.07%” twice, and both times Peter and Claire had objects stuck more exactly in the back of their necks, more in the brainstem. Moreover, the objects were conveniently lodged there, stopping further regeneration. Would the bullet just stay there or burrow through Peter head and go out the other way? And then he would regenerate right there.”
If this were all true, it would just prove my point even, which is that Claire has no reason not to shoot him. Her problem is that he might die permanently, not that shooting him wouldn’t work.
“I’ve watched Episodes 3 and 4 a couple times, and the more recent “.07%” twice, and both times Peter and Claire had objects stuck more exactly in the back of their necks, more in the brainstem. Moreover, the objects were conveniently lodged there, stopping further regeneration. Would the bullet just stay there or burrow through Peter head and go out the other way? And then he would regenerate right there.”
If this were all true, it would just prove my point even more, which is that Claire has no reason not to shoot him. Her problem is that he might die permanently, not that shooting him wouldn’t work.
I think Peter’s brain would regenerate if the bullet went through. It wouldn’t be much of a power if they had to worry about brain injuries all the time. The chances of brain injuries in the life of a superhero is very likely. I can’t see Claire walking around with a helmet all the time. It wil ruin her hair.
However, there is another problem. If the bullet stayed in the brain or had fragmented in it, it would require surgery to take it out. This would be a good way to put Peter on ice (maybe literaly) without killing him.
“But that isn’t my main objection to this absurdly harebrained plan, but more the fact that neither Peter nor Claire were going nuclear in the occasions they had objects suddenly stuck in their brainstems. Wouldn’t Peter explode if he were suddenly shot?”
Both plans have problems if viewed ‘realistically.’ Nathan’s plan caused an explosion in the sky over NY, and Peter’s plan wasn’t guarenteed to work. But for two chapters they’ve sold us the ‘just shoot him’ plan, as the plan. Claire was all prepared for this role. Nobody said it was a bad plan. Her hesitation didn’t seem to have been because she started questioning the plan. Yet then they switched plans. Why? To save her the trauma? To give Nathan the chance to redeem himself? To kill 9or remove temporarily) both Patrellis?
So the real question is not which plan is better technically, but which is better for the story: Claire being traumatized or Nathan being a martyr(as far as we know). I prefer the first plan, or a variation of it, both for Claire’s character’s sake and for Nathan’s. But this is a matter of preferance.
I think Peter’s brain would regenerate if the bullet went through. It wouldn’t be much of a power if they had to worry about brain injuries all the time. The chances of brain injuries in the life of a superhero is very likely. I can’t see Claire walking around with a helmet all the time. It wil ruin her hair.
However, there is another problem. If the bullet stayed in the brain or had fragmented in it, it would require surgery to take it out. This would be a good way to put Peter on ice (maybe literaly) without killing him.
“But that isn’t my main objection to this absurdly harebrained plan, but more the fact that neither Peter nor Claire were going nuclear in the occasions they had objects suddenly stuck in their brainstems. Wouldn’t Peter explode if he were suddenly shot?”
Both plans have problems if viewed ‘realistically.’ Nathan’s plan caused an explosion in the sky over NY, and Peter’s plan wasn’t guarenteed to work. But for two chapters they’ve sold us the ‘just shoot him’ plan, as the plan. Claire was all prepared for this role. Nobody said it was a bad plan. Her hesitation didn’t seem to have been because she started questioning the plan. Yet then they switched plans. Why? To save her the trauma? To give Nathan the chance to redeem himself? To kill 9or remove temporarily) both Patrellis?
So the real question is not which plan is better technically, but which is better for the story: Claire being traumatized or Nathan being a martyr(as far as we know). I prefer the first plan, or a variation of it, both for Claire’s character’s sake and for Nathan’s. But this is a matter of preferance.
Why would he? He’s a nuclear bomb, not a stick of dynamite.
C’mon. He is neither. He is a superguy with powers out of control. Look at it this way, we have a whole city in danger, and we have two plans to deal with it.
Plan A, that is Nathan simply flying Peter out of the city, is completely fool-proof and involves no risk to New York City whatsoever. The only life in danger here is Nathan’s, and the only danger to the people around them is having to witness a soppy brotherly love scene.
Plan B, involves Claire putting a bullet through Peter’s head just when he is struggling desperately with his nuclear powers. Read the last phrase aloud, think about how it sounds, and then thinks that there is a whole city in the brink of destruction if it doesn’t work.
So the real question is not which plan is better technically, but which is better for the story: Claire being traumatized or Nathan being a martyr(as far as we know). I prefer the first plan, or a variation of it, both for Claire’s character’s sake and for Nathan’s. But this is a matter of preferance.
Now we’re talking. What is better for the story is a separate question and is also totally subjective. The dramatic consequences of what you say are cool and interesting to me (even as I suspect far many other people would find it anti-climatic and depressing if a series named ‘Heroes’ ended with a girl traumatized for shooting her beloved uncle, while his brother comes too late).
But from a pratical standpoint, Nathan’s plan is flawless, safe, and foolproof. His life is in risk, but there is zero risk to the city. That is a no-brainer. Now, Claire’s plan is all sorts of desperate and involves many “ifs” and “maybes”. And there are millions of lives at risk.
Rene, from a purely technical perspective you may be correct that Nathan’s plan was better. Although the boggest disadvantage of the plan is that it not prevent the explosion, only it’s location. But it seems to me that the premise of the show was that Peter’s shooting plan was the one that was thought through, while Nathan’s plan was the last minute improvisation. Never did they suggest that Peter’s plan wouldn’t work, or that Nathan stepped in for that reason. The shooting plan also seems consistent with the idea that disabling the hero disables his powers. So, although when we think about it, Peter’s plan was not so great, I don’t think that’s the reason it was discarded.
“many other people would find it anti-climatic and depressing if a series named ‘Heroes’ ended with a girl traumatized for shooting her beloved uncle, while his brother comes too late.”
I don’t know: traumatic childhood events are a recurring theme with super heroes. Maybe the trauma could have been reduced if Peter would have reached out with his radioactive hands and helped Claire pull the trigger.
In any case, they made their choice. I didn’t like it, but I still enjoyed the chapter and the entire season, and am looking forward for the next.
I don’t know: traumatic childhood events are a recurring theme with super heroes. Maybe the trauma could have been reduced if Peter would have reached out with his radioactive hands and helped Claire pull the trigger.
Now, wouldn’t that be a cool scene? Strong, dramatic, even controversial. Particularly if, as you suggested, Peter didn’t come out of it immediately, and had to have surgery or something.
But as cool as that one scene would have been, I’m still not sure about the long-term consequences. For starters, I suppose we’d have as many nitpickers complaining that a louse gunshot stopped the explosion, or something like that. After one year of waiting for the explosion, I think the episode would have disappointed many, no matter what they did (in the actual version at least the much-anticipated explosion happened, in a fashion).
If Peter came out of being shot alright though, I suspect it would have strengthened the bond he had with Claire, particularly if he told her she did the right thing by shooting him, saved the city, etc. Peter’s ambiguous relationship with Nathan and Nathan’s moral standing would have remained relatively the same I suppose (“Oh, you finally decided genocide wasn’t cool and now you came? Too late to have helped your brother and daughter, buddy,” etc.)
The one fault I can find in your ending is that it potentially doesn’t change any of the characters that much, except it hardens Claire a bit. Whatever can be said of the ending they actually came with, it’s truly life-changing event for Nathan.
“For starters, I suppose we’d have as many nitpickers complaining that a louse gunshot stopped the explosion, or something like that.”
It’s true. I have the advantage of being in the nitpicking camp and not in the actual writing camp. It’s much easier. I bet the writers hate the nitpicking camp. I wish I had the will power to get myself into the actually writing camp. Well, so long as I’m in the nitpicking camp:
“After one year of waiting for the explosion, I think the episode would have disappointed many, no matter what they did (in the actual version at least the much-anticipated explosion happened, in a fashion).”
I think audiences would have been satisfied if Peter would have reached close to an explosion, like Ted did before, and would have already glowed and emitted radiation. That would have made Claire more important, highlighted her powers, and came close to Peter’s own vision of the event.
“Peter’s ambiguous relationship with Nathan and Nathan’s moral standing would have remained relatively the same I suppose (“Oh, you finally decided genocide wasn’t cool and now you came? Too late to have helped your brother and daughter, buddy,” etc.)”
Peter sounds here a litte bit like a Jewish mother in a Woody Allen movie. (“Vat was so important that you couldn’t come over and help your little brother before he explodes? I explode so hard all day and you don’t care.”) Seriously, I think if Nathan would have come to save Peter, but too late, it would have accomplised his redemption + guilt(if Peter would have still died or been incapacitated) + Nathan not dead. Some of the ambiguity of his character would have remained,which is good — dead characters are usually less ambiguous than live ones — but it would still have been a major transition in his character. I see him crounching next to Peter’s body, arm aroun the weeping Claire. I think this would have been pretty dramatic.
“The one fault I can find in your ending is that it potentially doesn’t change any of the characters that much, except it hardens Claire a bit. Whatever can be said of the ending they actually came with, it’s truly life-changing event for Nathan.”
I think this ending offers greater changes for Claire’s character and Nathan’s. By keeping Nathan alive i allow hom to opportunity to change. But I think the biggest fault with my solution is that I don’t really have to do the work, just nitpick others. I don’t know what I would have come up with if I had to think of everything myself.
I suspect that one of the reasons they want Nathan dead or missing is so they can persue a story of Candice or Syler taking over Nathan’s life temporarily. Maybe the writers have an image of Nathan returning and confronting the doppleganger that I’m not aware of while I speculate here.
Ok, on shooting Peter in the head…
Claire was holding what looked to me to be a .45 auto, which ain’t a little pistol. Know, if you shoot someone in the head with that, a few things happen…
First, it will penetrate the skull, and if it is a soft nosed bullet, expand and/or fragment. When this happens, it ain’t like a nice dagger of glass or stick that just separates the brainstem, instead if is like a small explosion going off at the base of the brain. It will scramble the brain structure, causing massive brain trauma throughout the skull case.
Now, since we know that Claire’s power isn’t invulnerability (never being hurt) but instead regeneration (recovering from hurt.) And, we know that the power resides in the brain, I feel that having the brain damaged ‘beyond repair’ will pretty much nix the regeneration power. Basically, the only way to kill Claire is decapitation or brain scrambling/removal.
Charlie