Heroes 2.03 "Kindred" [2007-10-08]

[hermionesviolin]

Hi, GoogleAlerts ForTheWin. Someone asks in a Heroes discussion thread what the words are to the song Alejandro sings to Maya in the previous episode, and a respondent cited my post (which they found from a Google search).

Oh, ann1962 posted: "A small collection of links about Mayan culture, twins, South American deities and how I go in circles."

And last week I debated whether Caitlin's a Mary Sue.

---

[comics]

52: "Flying Blind"
This doesn't tell us anything new about West (and implies that his only power is flight). Meh. I liked him in his first ep, despite myself (I hate the necessity for Claire to have a boyfriend) but after the second ep I was growing less fond of him. And I like liking the characters in my shows.

53: "The Crossroads"
Mohinder: "I don't know about God, but my father used to say that all men deserved a second chance...Good men deserved three."
Random bolding, what?
Haitian: "Consider yourself blessed to have had...such a compassionate father."

Haitian: "I want to beg for forgiveness, but I must not. Penitence is weakness according to the old ways. To survive, I must accept what the spirits give me and endure who I have been...if I am ever to become something else."
[...]
Haitian: "I came for a blessing."

---

The Previouslies included Sylar getting stabbed, so I called that he returned this episode. We knew he'd be back this season eventually, given the dramatic shot at the end of the S1 finale of the cockroach at the manhole. I was really done with his arc after S1, so we'll see.

Peter hears Will.

"Somewhere in Mexico"
Alejandro: "I don't know if you're gonna last a few days."
[...]
Maya: "Since when are you a car thief?"

Niki & Micah
As soon as Micah said his line about family saying together, I called graveyard.
gravestone:
DANIEL LAWRENCE HAWKINS
1976-2007
HUSBAND - FATHER - HERO

I was impressed with myself that I called that this new red-headed chick was Candice. (Now going by Michelle.)
"8 surgeries later, here we are."
"I make illusions. It's kinda my thing."
"Show me what's really going on here." / "Honey, you really don't wanna know."

*

Claire calls West on sneaking around. Good on her.

[Nichelle Nichols in credits!]

Mohinder: "Someone's grouchy when they don't get enough sleep."

Mohinder: "And why would I need baby-sitting?"

Matt's annoying me a little. I understand his concern that Mohinder's in over his head (does he know that he's working with a former Company Man?), but it's not like he's any more skilled at this than Mohinder is. What kind of "baby-sitting" him does he think he's gonna be able to do?

And when Molly comes out all excited? Yeah, Matt is totally jealous that Mohinder's the "favored parent."

Ando: "Oh. Hiro, I hope wherever you are you are doing better than me."
on sword: "Ando, open."
on paper: "to make him into the man that history needs him to be."
Kensei: "Lazarus risen -- you've cursed me." [rides away]

Wow, that was a short scene set.

*

prisoner: "Dude, you look like ass."
Alejandro: "No English."

West cracked me up with his "lizard girl" thing. Though dude, Claire, just ignore him, otherwise you draw attention to yourself (even if the Company's not watching, you're making it clear that he's interested in getting you riled, which is totally high school speak for flirting -- at least the way a lot of people see it).

Takezo Kensei: "How angry are they?"

Claire's been crying. And she looks like she has freckles or something. Very different than the porcelain look she had last season.
West: "I take it you're annoyed."
I like that she admits to being a freak and points out the fact that she can't draw attention to herself because otherwise she'll get locked up in an experimental facility somewhere -- and she also gets to vent about how much she hates having to hide.
West: "Claire, shut up."
I thought he was gonna kiss her, but he picks her up and flies, which is better.

***

Aww, Ricky slaps the guy who hit the alarm rather than shooting him.

And Peter moves the armored truck.

When Bob said Sylar had killed Isaac, tell me Mohinder realized that now Sylar can "see" the future.

Bob: "Every space has some unhappiness in its past."
Bob: "Supervision is in your best interest -- and in ours -- you're part of the family now."
"Family" has never sounded creepier.

Yaeko, on a moment under the cherry blossoms: "I felt like I was home."

Hiro's heart breaks when she kisses Takezo Kensei.

New Orleans -- "no powers" -- "The point is staying safe."
Niki: "I have to do this."
Micah: "That's what you always say before you do something bad."
dramatic door knock I realized it was gonna be Nichelle Nichols

Maya in alley -- she sees the poster and uses it. Good for her having some agency (though obv. she still has hella guilt).
Alejandro: "You killed them."

*

Maya: "I couldn't leave you."

prisoner: "Take me with you. I have a gun car." [edited because I can't type]
I'll be interested to see if he sticks around, and to see if he turns out to have a power if he does.

I LOVE that Peter's body spits out the bullet.

Peter lets Will go at Caitlin's indication.

Hiro's "Yes, I have another life to go to -- my father, Ando, they're all waiting for me."
And the audience feels that knife twist, 'cause we know his father was waiting for him, and is now dead.
Oh, that's how you make the cherry blossoms fall.

Sylar: "I can't make it move."

"Or something more familiar, if that's what you're into." (Fanservice, what? ;) )

I am choosing to see Sylar's killing of Candice as in part a reaction to the massive fangirling of Sylar. I mean, she's being all seductive, and yes that could totally be part of an act (she has to keep him happy, after all, since there doesn't seem to be anyone around to protect her), but it honestly seems not to occur to her that he might try to take her power.

*

We know have onscreen canon, not just the comics, saying that her "true" form is a fat white girl. Sigh.

At first I wondered if the Haitian had found him, even though that wouldn't really make a whole lot of sense. I'm intrigued now as to where he is and, more importantly, what's up that he can't acquire people's powers. (Also: If they really did stitch him back up, and Candice/Michelle seems to imply that they're paying some attention to his progress, where are they?)

Caitlin: "Would you quit being such a baby, pretty boy?"

Ricky: "And we have no secrets among family."
I was mildly worried he would try to convince Peter to not open the box -- being all, "We're your family now, what do you need that for?"

Peter: "What it's a life I don't want?"

Peter: "I wanted to. What if that's who I am?"
Dude, Peter, you can always choose to try to be better. Opening that box doesn't condemn you to return to whatever situation it indicates, nevermind what personality it implies. (Though maybe he does recognize that he would feel an obligation to return to that life -- including to make things right if that's needed.)

Caitlin: "Then maybe for now just leave it be."
I really want to like Caitlin, but I'm coming to dislike her -- I think because Knowing is so important to me, so that anything keeping Peter from opening that box bothers me. Plus it's just such classic romance trope.

His tattoo morphs and vanishes?! I really hope the producers have a coherent idea in mind for this symbol and aren't just like, "Let's put it everywhere, and do cool stuff with it all the time."

Claire: "I feel pain. I just get over it quickly."
I'm glad we got that established officially, 'cause it had seemed somewhat inconsistent whether she felt pain or not.

Mark on his neck! It's been a while since we've seen that. Doesn't that mean the Company can track him? Or did Hana destroy that system? I'd have to go back and check.

He used to be in St. Louis.
HRG looked at him like he was "like an animal he wanted to trap."

Edit: Oh! And I totally forgot to mention HRG being "dead" in the 8/8 painting. This really surprises me because he seemed to be way lower on the totem pole, totally not as looped in, etc. as compared to Kaito and even Thompson. /edit

Niki wants the cure! Why? It seemed liked she had integrated "Jessica" by the end of last season, and it was never clear whether that was even part of her power at all.

Comments

[athene.livejournal.com]

i thought the guy in the jail said that he had a car not a gun. Wouldn't they have taken a gun away from him?

Comics are cannon, as far as I know.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he did say car. Sorry, I totally mistyped.

And yes, I'm sure the creators consider the comics canon, but I feel like it's kind of a grey area since not everyone watching the show knows about them, or has the access to them, or cares to keep up with them, or whatever.

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

I still find myself curiously wondering whether Candice is just ALLOWING him to think he killed her. Mental illusionist, after all. *grin* Truthfully, I expect she's dead as a doornail.

Psychopaths are reeeeeeally tough to manipulate whilst remaining alive. *rolls eyes*

Edit: Oh! And I totally forgot to mention HRG being "dead" in the 8/8 painting. This really surprises me because he seemed to be way lower on the totem pole, totally not as looped in, etc. as compared to Kaito and even Thompson.

The question in my head, though, is whether the Big Bad that's killing off the previous generation's Heroes is the same thing that'll kill what we presume to be Bennett. I really need to torrent the ep so I can take another look at that painting. Isaac's paintings almost always come true, in one way or another -- but if the horn-rimmed glasses are the clearest "feature" there, they could be worn by anyone (say, Sylar? though that's rampantly silly speculation on my part) and Bennett could actually be there in the background trying to comfort Claire.

It certainly sets up an intriguing cascade of possible events. : )

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I still find myself curiously wondering whether Candice is just ALLOWING him to think he killed her. Mental illusionist, after all. *grin* Truthfully, I expect she's dead as a doornail.

Yeah, she seemed too naive re: Sylar to be doing something that clever, though I wish she were.

The question in my head, though, is whether the Big Bad that's killing off the previous generation's Heroes is the same thing that'll kill what we presume to be Bennett.

That would make a lot of sense -- for that painting to not actually refer to the set of Kaito etc. deaths (and would make me feel better about the plotting). I suspect it really does refer to Bennet being killed somehow, though, and I fear West is gonna be involved (though that could be an intentional misdirect, since it seems so obvious given the juxtaposition of the scenes). I know it's gotta be hard for Claire to stomach how horrible her dad was working for the Company, and she's already upset that he's making her hide, but . . . .

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

True, but he's sacrificed his whole career AND taken a bullet for her to help her hide her secret. That counts more for his benefit, in my book, than young-Superman-clone with his snarky attitude and his voyeurism and his smooching her on the beach.

Unless, of course, he has a second power -- to seduce women with his kiss! Muahahahaha! *evil grin*

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely choose Mr. Bennet over West and wish Claire would as well.

[paper-crystals.livejournal.com]

But see if they know our inner fan psychology they may very well pull a Joss Whedon and kill the character that we have most come to like just at their best moment.