Heroes: A Bad Farewell

You know that feeling after you turn 21. You reveled in a ton of debaucherous build-up, only to be left with the thought, “What‘s left?” It really is the last, truly exciting age milestone. Moreover, most people would feel pressed to come up with an older age that could complete with that level of excitement. Well, that is the exact feeling I had after watching Heroes‘s season four finale. What’s left? How much more can the show butcher itself before there’s nothing left, not even season one?

There are a ton of things to knock about this season’s Heroes finale. Therefore, I’ll start with some of the good things.

1. It’s over. Look, I know that I am being harsh, but to be honest, this season tried my patience more than any other did. It was wildly uneven, often relied on clichéd plot development and recycled character stories and wanted too much to be too many things. It’s an oft-repeated problem with Heroes, and it’s hard to fault them. The ones at the helm do try to push the envelope and take chances. (See: all time travel storylines) However, they often go too far. The arcs tend to start well but then spiral out of control, and it’s hard for the viewer to feel fully invested when things jump so swiftly. And tonight’s episode is a perfect example.

Hiro’s storyline could only be resolved in so many ways, and the question most fans wanted answered: Will he save Charlie? Can Hiro actually get his happily ever after? For those of us who can’t help but head to the net and magazines once our favorite shows go off, see Jayma Mays on a Golden Globe winning, little show called Glee. It promptly makes the idea of Hiro and Charlie growing old together seems highly unlikely. Therefore, the writers had to come up with an intriguing way to have the hero save the girl, but also have the girl exit. They also had to wrap up that ever-elusive time travel issue since Samuel dropped her who knows when.

I would say they accomplished part of this storyline’s mission. Charlie wasn’t a cliffhanger. Hiro did in fact find her once he woke up in the hospital and convinced Ando that he was cured. A sweet origami bird is hand delivered to him, and he knows Charlie is near. Now, I guessed the big reveal, partly because hospitals only make me think of one thing….old. Therefore, Charlie ended up being an old woman in her late 70s or 80s. Did the writer’s take the easy way out? Yep, but I didn’t really expect much less since they had to stuff so much into one episode, and there were many other heroes to focus on. Charlie, having been left in the 40s and never recovered, got the chance to live like Hiro always wanted for her, even if it was without him. He did pause for a long moment to think about time traveling again to pick her up and right her life. Smartly, she pointed out her family and full life, all a product of what happened to her, and reminded him that they were important too. At least they had a calm chance to say goodbye before Hiro was off to help the others on the quest to defeat Samuel.

2. A second, major issue is with character development. Part of the reason Season 1 was such a success was due to the beauty of unraveling the depths of characters that had just uncovered new, amazing abilities. Each person was so unique and, for the most part, intriguing. Peter and Hiro searched for greater purpose. Mohinder attempted to decipher his absent father’s mysterious work. Claire had begun to feel like an outsider in a world where she used to belong. Isaac battled an intense drug addiction. This list could go on. Yet somewhere along the line, the writers took the spotlight away from the characters, focusing more on mythology. And while some of the mysteries were definitely inspired, they were often poorly executed or dropped with no explanation and the characters were the ones hurt the most.

Sylar’s evolution has jumped all over the place. First, he’s a baddie. Then, he’s a reformed Mama’s boy and sidekick and next a villain again. Oh, wait! Only to have his personality recycled once more. (Zachary Quinto, you are a champ.) All of this I could accept if they would have displayed these changes with more poignancy. During this final showdown, Sylar did, in fact, save the day. He did what Peter’s vision promised and saved Emma from death/mass genocide by cello. He even restrained Doyle and left him alive. As I said earlier, I often champion such a drastic change in a show. Nevertheless, this went from a great idea to being a lost opportunity because I wanted to see and know more, instead of seeing the change happen over the course of one, boring episode.

The Claire/Gretchen storyline was also another that the writers teased all season, but the writers just dangled the carrot in front of us and expected us to keep running. When I can see the effort of a storyline completely downgraded, then I feel downgraded. They could have gone so many places for Claire with this one and ways that stayed away from being cheap and fake. At least they focused more this season on her relationship with her father, Noah. She was whiny most days, but her father’s almost death brought out the best of both worlds: the emotional daughter and the determined, independent lady. Having them buried in a big tin can under 40 feet of solid dirt was even claustrophobic for me! The uncomfortable situation gave Claire a chance to express that she truly loves her father no matter what and gave Noah the chance to tell Claire that she’s the bright spot in his otherwise dark life. He was almost gone, but there’s no way I could buy them killing off one of the most beloved characters on the dying show, so it wasn’t unexpected when Tracy showed up to save the day. She did her Alex Mack thing and made her way into the trailer to help them get out. Tracy let it be known that she doesn’t just do things for no reason and that he owed her. They made a point to have her say it and then Claire repeat it so I see big things in Tracy’s future. (Not that I’m excited about it or anything, but you might as well know too.) This escape was all a little dodgy, though. How did they really get out of there? We’ve never seen her power translate into morphing others.

3. Though there are a slew of reasons why Heroes should kick the bucket, my final point will focus on the final battles. Every season the story is supposed to lead up to some epic battle, and it’s always a letdown. This one was especially so. Samuel made right on his promise to bring the carnival to Central Park and get Emma to draw in the masses. All this lead to a showdown that included Claire giving a soapbox speech denouncing Samuel to all of his followers, and Peter and Samuel in the most ridiculously boring earth vs. earth fight EVER! I always wanted Samuel’s power to develop into something more than just moving earth. But truthfully it was a limiting power from the beginning. On a small scale, it’s boring, and on a grand scale, it’s pretty much too destructive to use.

Plus, for the first time, getting all the heroes together didn’t result in fireworks. You’d think a ton of people with crazy powers, fighting for the survival of thousands of people, might cause a massive raucous. Not really, since they all used them in the smallest of ways. Claire convinced all the carnies to leave Samuel, weakening him. It helped that Noah and Edgar teamed up and brought Eli into the fold. (Barely a blink was given to this.) Peter did…whatever that was subduing Samuel. Hiro helped teleport all the carnies out so that Samuel would be powerless, and he wouldn’t have been able to do it without Ando’s supercharge. Yep, that was it.

WRAP IT UP
Of course, in the end, we always get to peak into the first moments of the next installment. In this case, news vans flocked to the scene of the “commotion” to find Claire ready to show the world that she is different. I didn’t gasp with everyone on screen as Claire flung herself from the tallest thing she can find, but I loved to watch the expressions on their faces. The final moments were by far the most unsettling and interesting, always the case with this show.

Overall, this season had some highs in the beginning but it couldn’t sustain them. The writers started with a strong idea, hindered by putting out a weak product, therefore leading to a mediocre season. I always want shows to have the opportunity to end their tales on their own terms, so I’m up for another Heroes season, if only for some resolution. However, I accept that I’ll have to force myself to watch. Though as a TV lover, I’m okay with that.

PARTING SHOTS
“I gotta say. I never liked carnivals.” – Noah
“Yup.” – Peter

“What is she doing?” – Lauren
“Breaking my heart.” – Noah

“What the hell does she think she’s doing? She gonna change everything.” – Peter
“That’s right. It’s a brave new world.” – Sylar

“This is Claire Bennett, and this is attempt number…I guess I kind of lost count.”

Season 4, Episodes 19: Brave New World (originally aired February 8, 2010)

For more on Heroes, click here.

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Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal, Chris Haston, and Trae Patton.