lirazel: An outdoor scene from the film Picnic at Hanging Rock ([tv] fangirl)
lirazel ([personal profile] lirazel) wrote2007-09-29 09:25 pm

Let's Talk Heroes

So this past week, in between reading hundreds of pages and working, I managed to finish up the first season of Heroes.  And I like it.  Quite a lot.  It's everything Lost used to be and isn't anymore.  Except maybe even prettier.

Let's break it down by characters, shall we?

Let's see.  Let's start with Peter.  Because he's Milo.  Or Milo is him.  Which pretty much guaranteed that I would love him.  The thing that I love about Peter (besides the whole Milo thing) is his heart.  His faith, his absolute willingness to put himself in harm's way for others.  He's selfless and unafraid of unabashedly loving people.  I loved that he never really listened to anything Claude said about distancing himself.  He knew that wasn't right, and so he rejected it.  Love and compassion only make you stronger.  That's a beautiful thing to stand up for.

I didn't really like him with Simone all that much.  I was actually pretty indifferent to her, really.  And Isaac bothered me at the beginning of the season, but I got to the point that I really sort of liked him.  Especially the way he met his death with his eyes open and no regrets.  You go, Isaac.  And your paintings were fabulous.  I love them.  If I was Mr. Linderman, I'd buy them all, too.

Nathan...oh, what can I possibly say about Nathan?  I'm never, ever sure where I stand with the guy.  He's too reptilian to every really like, too willing to sell out, but he made the right decision, ultimately, there are the end of the season, and I was so proud of him.  That's leadership, sweetheart.  Good for you.  And as for Angela, meh.  Whatever.

Mohinder is the prettiest man ever.  Ever, I say.  His smile is blinding.  He may not be the hottest, but the prettiest, yes.  And I like his integrity, his willingness to speak the truth, even if no one else is listening, even if everyone thinks he's crazy.  Yes, he tries to give up a couple of times, but he can't.  I love that about him.  I also love that he's always smarter than I give him credit for.  Like when he was running around with Sylar without knowing it was Sylar, I was so annoyed.  I was sure the writers were going to drag that out forever.  Instead, they let Mohinder be the smart guy he is and figure it out.  Yay for him.  And I really liked him and Eden.  I feel like she changed because of him.  She tried to do the right thing.  Even if (*sob*) she got Sylared for it.

Hiro!  Is so full of awesome!  And so cute!  And optimistic!  And naive in the best way!  And Masi Oka deserves any and every award he gets.  How can you not just adore Hiro so very much?  He sort of reminds me of a Wallace, very pure of heart and out to do the right thing.  And Ando's a fantastic sidekick.  Very underrated, as far as I'm concerned.  And how great was it the first time we saw Hiro's father and realized how genius the casting was on this show?  Love. 

Niki/Jessica got ooooold.  Like, real quick.  I think Ali Larter is an incredible actress--how different Nikki and Jessica are, how you can always tell which one is which.  She changes her body language and the way she speaks when she flips characters, and that's amazing.  But I just got really bored with that whole thing.  Until the end, where Nikki asserted herself.  Then I was cheering.  She always was strong enough.

Micah's cute.  And not nearly as annoying as he could be.  And I like that most of the people in his life realize how smart he is and don't talk down to him.  And I love D.L.  Like lots and lots.  I was really happy he didn't die there at the end of the season as far as we know.  I was pretty sure he and Ando were both going to bite the dust this season.

The Bennets are love.  First of all, Noah? HRG, whatever we're calling him?  One of my favorites.  Because we start out thinking that he's going to be the bad guy, and then you can't decide whether he's good or bad, and then he's completely good.  I love changing my mind about characters.  And when, at the end of the season, we realize that Mrs. Bennet whose name I can't remember is so much stronger than she let on all along...I was so happy for the two of them.

Claire's cool.  I really thought Hayden howeveryouspellherlastname was going to really annoy me (mostly because she annoyed me in a couple of lightweight movies I'd seen her in), but she's quite a good actress.  And she actually looks like a high schooler, which is important.  Although I tend to get really grossed out whenever she gets hurt.  Gah this show is gory.

But will somebody please explain to me why everyone's shipping her with Peter?  He's her uncle!  Like, I know they probably have more chemistry than they should.  And before we knew who her dad was, I was all okay with it, despite the fact that he's waaaaay older than her.  I thought, let's wait a few years, let her at least be legal, then they can hook up if they want.  But then we find out they're related?  I know incest is like a huge thing in various fandoms, but it totally freaks me out.  No thank you.  Besides, I really, really like Zach.  He's completely devoted to her, and he's not afraid of being who he is.  I miss him a lot.  I think he's pretty much gone for good, but that doesn't mean I can't miss him.

Matt Parkman is just a straight up and down regular guy.  And I like that.  I like that he screws up, but is ultimately a good guy.   I like how hard he fought for his marriage.  I just like him.

Sylar.  Great bad guy.  But I think I'm in the minority that doesn't want him to come back this season 2 (though I know he will be).  I feel like he'd played his role and it's time to move on, probably to this person that Molly can't look at without him looking back (which is, by the way, very Frodo and the Ring, don't you think?).  Sylar is just too powerful.  And we've seen him doing the same thing over and over again--his death in the last episode was perfect, but then they had to do the whole manhole thing?  No love there from me.

Heartbroken over Charlie dying.  I loved her.  She was cute and sweet and she and Hiro were cute and sweet, and I hate that he couldn't save her.  I would have loved for her to stick around.

Question:  How does everybody know the Haitian is a Haitian before he starts talking?  It isn't by the accent.  Is there some other way of telling that someone is from Haiti that I don't know about?

Did anybody else think that the season finale had like a bajillion plot holes?  Why is Claire all upset about shooting Peter if she knows he can heal?  If he can heal and fly, which we know he can, than why does Nathan have to "sacrifice" himself?  Why doesn't Peter just shoot up into the air on his own?  Is anyone else a little unnerved by their relationship anyways?

And as for the whole "Save the cheerleader, save the world" thing does no one not notice that if Sylar lives, none of that makes any sense?  They were supposed to save Claire so that Sylar could be defeated.  But if he isn't defeated, if he can survive a sword through his body, he didn't need Claire's power to begin with.  So what was the point of that whole subplot?  There was none.  Sorry, y'all.

But I still like the show.  As [profile] ava_leigh_fitz says, half the fun is wondering when these people are going to meet up, how their paths will cross, when they'll figure out about each other.  I think the other half of the fun is when two people you like completely have diametrically opposed missions.  Like, for instance, when Noah, Matt, and Ted are trying to destroy the thing that traces people.  And you want them to, so they can be free.  But Mohinder's with Molly (and aren't they cute together?) and you realize that you obviously don't want them to kill an innocent little girl.  I really like how things like that seem to work out.  I like these people as a group, as they try to figure out what their relationships are to each other and how they're going to cope with who they are.  Like X-men, only better.
 
Then today I got on NBC's website and watched the season 2 premier.  And I was, on the whole, pretty happy with it.

Two favorites parts vying for prominence:

1.  Noah totally letting his boss know that he wasn't going to take anymore of his crap.  I was in pain watching Noah take orders from that chump, and I was so proud of him when he let the guy know who was really boss.

2.  Hiro's hero turns out to be Sark!  Who's hot!  And snarky!  And just...Hiro's all confused and trying to make things work out and Sark is just not interested.  So. Much. Fun.

Claire's potential boyfriend is cute, but I miss Zach.  I know he's not coming back, though, so I'll make do with this new guy.  At least he isn't her uncle.

Um, where are Nikki/D.L/Micah?  Do we not care about them anymore?

Nathan's hobo beard is fantastic!

Shirtless Peter with a haircut?  Awesome!  Shirtless Peter not knowing who he is?  Not so awesome.

I'm am so insanely curious to know what this Maya chick can do.

Mohinder is still pretty.

Matt and Mohinder taking care of Molly?  Too much cuteness.  "I miss Mohinder.  He cooks."

Oh, and what was Nathan seeing in the mirror for that split second?  So confused.

I cannot wait for Kristen Bell to show up, because that girl is way too much awesome.

I guess that's it, really.  I can't wait for Monday night!
ext_41724: (ms [just off the key of reason])

[identity profile] ineffort.livejournal.com 2007-09-30 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, you just reminded of all the reason I love this show. Seriously.

But will somebody please explain to me why everyone's shipping her with Peter? He's her uncle! UM, we found out too late lol. Really, it's Milo and Hayden's fault. They are the ones with the crazy chemistry and when she did find out he was her uncle and he took his hand and brushed away her single lone tear rolling down her face THAT kind of gave all the Paire shippers all the ammunition they needed. It's horrible, but there you have it.

How does everybody know the Haitian is a Haitian before he starts talking? It isn't by the accent. Is there some other way of telling that someone is from Haiti that I don't know about? Well, I think from the Company's standpoint, they found him in Haiti...maybe. I just remember the episode with Claude and Noah and that creepy guy that heads the whole operation.

Mohinder is the prettiest man ever. Ever, I say. His smile is blinding. He may not be the hottest, but the prettiest, yes. And I like his integrity, his willingness to speak the truth, even if no one else is listening, even if everyone thinks he's crazy OMG, THANK YOU. I love love love this man and no one else does (well, I know two) and yes, thank you. And god, don't remind me what they did to poor Eden. I just-ARGH. My ships never live, literally. *puts the bitterness away*

Um, where are Nikki/D.L/Micah? Do we not care about them anymore? Exactly what I was thinking. I miss Micah. I think a lot of the newer characters are pushing them out for the time being. I think they had 16 plotlines going in this one.

Did anybody else think that the season finale had like a bajillion plot holes? YES. YES. YES. But, I treat this show the same way I treated Alias. Suspending all belief and going with it.

Yay! I'm happy you're enjoying Heroes and you catch up quick. It takes me ages to start a show from the beginning.

[identity profile] penny-lane-42.livejournal.com 2007-09-30 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, you just reminded of all the reason I love this show. Seriously. Glad to be of service.

UM, we found out too late lol. You know, that's probably legitimate. I know they have a pretty huge following. I wonder if the writers will ever have it turn out that they were mistaken about who Claire's father was. In deference to the fans, you know. Probably not, but it's possible.

And yeah, I get that they have waaaay more chemistry than an uncle/niece should have. It just gives me the willies. I'm hoping they'll right somebody awesome into the show for Peter. Somebody way cooler than Simone was.

I just remember the episode with Claude and Noah and that creepy guy that heads the whole operation. Yeah, but I feel like that when, like, Matt and maybe Claire had just seen him, didn't know anything about him, that they started calling him the Haitian. Maybe I'm wrong.

OMG, THANK YOU. You're welcome! I adore him, too; he really only does have people's best interests at heart. He's a good man, and interesting, and I didn't know that people don't like him, but now I'm wondering why, cuz I think he's awesome.

You do seem to have unfortunate luck with your ships. I mean, if Cassidy wasn't enough....

I miss Micah. I think a lot of the newer characters are pushing them out for the time being. It's true. Micah is lots of fun, and I hope we don't lose him in the shuffle. I want to see lots more of him and Molly, because omg, future OTP for sure.

I think they had 16 plotlines going in this one. I adore ensembles and lots of plotlines, but I hope they don't go too far with this like they did with Lost. They've maintained a nice balance so far, and I hope they don't throw it off.

YES. But, I treat this show the same way I treated Alias. Suspending all belief and going with it. Glad someone else felt that way. Up until that point, I thought they'd been really good about it, but that episode? So many. But I enjoyed it all the same.

Oh, when I start watching a show, I will watch it compulsively till I finish. It's ridiculous. I should stop. I realized that from now on I'll have a show on every night except for Tuesday. I don't have time for this! I might just catch up on the weekends on the websites or something.