Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for Heroes through the current episode, “Eris Quod Sum,” originally broadcast October 27th, 2008.

According to the Internet the title to this episode, “Eris Quod Sum,” is Latin for “You will be that which I am” and is a maxim from Roman poet Horace. However, I have been unable to find any literary source for this quote. It seems that while the quote is often attributed to Horace, it may not be something he ever said and/or wrote. I did find one reference to a longer quotation, “es quod eram, et eris quod sum,” which can potentially be translated in Ye Olde Englishe as “For as I was, so now thow arte, and as I am, so shalte thow be.”

The best part of this episode was the return of Elle (played by the wonderfully versatile Kristin Bell). During the past few weeks I have been watching the second season of Veronica Mars, which Ms. Bell starred in for three seasons (2004-2007). If I believed in coincidences, I would certainly call this one. But I don’t, so I won’t. Nevertheless, it is always a joy to see Ms. Bell on television and the character of Elle is a personal favorite. The budding relationship between Elle and Claire seen in this episode, even if it fell apart at the end, was a lot of fun. The scene on the airplane (although obvious) was touching. As much as Claire thinks she is losing her ability to feel, she is still a good person at heart.

The same cannot be said, in any way, shape or form, of Arthur Petrelli. He actually seems to exude villainy. The way he snapped Maury’s neck without hesitation was far creepier than anything Sylar has ever done. Still, am I the only one who finds Arthur little more than a stock villain, his only depth coming from his connection to Peter, Nathan and Sylar? If he wasn’t their father, he’d be a really boring bad guy. Part of the problem may be the way the show is trying to portray Arthur (and Angela) as enigmatic characters that are neither truly villainous nor truly heroic. We have seen Arthur do some pretty nasty things but he still maintains he’s doing the right thing, just like Angela. For all its the-battle-lines-will-be-drawn rhetoric, Heroes has a tendency to keep things baffling.

Take the character of Mohinder, for example. Is he really the monster he thinks he is or just a weak-willed scientist who has lost his idealism and optimism? After being tricked into working with Sylar, Mohinder has to be constantly worried that he will make the same mistake. Indeed, he points this out to Arthur, who tells him to leave if he doesn’t want to work with Pinehearst. Sadly for Mohinder, the thought of being able to keep his new abilities without worrying about the icky side effects is enough to overcome any qualms he has about working with Pinehearst. He stays. Even learning from Peter that in the future he’s a monster isn’t enough to stop him from moving forward.

Peter, meanwhile, nearly becomes a guinea pig for Mohinder, only to be rescued by Sylar (who, in turn, was “rescued” by comatose Angela and sent to help Peter). The brotherly bonding is almost heartwarming. I do hope Peter is right — and there seems to be evidence that he is — about Sylar wanting to get him out of Pinehearst alive. Because it would really mean Sylar’s growth of late has meant nothing if he has truly gone over to the side of Arthur. If he hopes to fight Arthur and Pinehearst from the inside, he may be in for a surprise. For all his power, Sylar doesn’t seem to be a match for Arthur, who easily kept Sylar hanging in midair, somehow.

Although the comparison isn’t a fair one, there are some similarities between the Arthur/Sylar dynamic and the Daphne/Matt dynamic. Sylar may be trying to trick Arthur, just as Daphne is trying (and succeeding) to trick Matt. I actually enjoyed Matt’s scenes this episode, and that is saying something. When he and Daphne were “killed” by Knox, I automatically assumed somehow Hiro would change the past/future and save them. I did not see it coming that Matt would be able to completely fool Knox with his mind powers. Nor did I see it coming that Daphne would still be working with and for Arthur, tricking Matt into going to Primatech (a.k.a. The Company). Poor Matt.

I was less impressed with the Nathan/Tracy storyline this week. Learning that his ability wasn’t a gift from God seems to have taken all the wind out of Nathan’s sails. He didn’t even seem concerned that the people stuck to the walls of Mohinder’s apartment/lab might be dead. At least Tracy had the decency to worry. Still, Nathan flying off to confront his father could be good, especially with Peter unable to come to the rescue.

Not much happened this week with Hiro and Ando. Hiro is still certain that by traveling to the past he will disastrously alter the future, despite having done so twice in the past few episodes (first to tell Ando about his fake stabbing plan and again while attempting to capture Usutu). Ando’s reaction to the goop Usutu wanted them to consume was great. Hiro probably would have downed the whole bowl if he hadn’t keeled over first.

I am getting a little sick of the perfect timing with which our heroes run into one another. Claire and Elle just happen to be right outside Pinehearst when Sylar tosses Peter through the window? It’s a bit much, really, and Claire went through an awful lot of trouble to get to Pinehearst, only to be forced to leave the moment she arrives. I also found it laughable that Tracy just happens to be a consultant with Pinehearst. The character needs to do something, I suppose, and although the fire and ice confrontation between Meredith and Tracy (and the line about Meredith being the mother of Nathan’s daughter Claire, who is Noah’s adoptive daughter) worked, Tracy has been even less impressive than Niki.

So far, Season Three has been a vast improvement over Season Two, with the past few episodes really starting to shine, but there are still problems with Heroes. There are far too many characters needing to be addressed each week, especially with so many supporting players and character growth has been spotty. Hiro, the breakout start of the first season, has seemingly regressed in the third season, and is really just running around spouting out lines about being a bad hero. Sylar, who I still maintain should have died after the first season, is suddenly a conflicted soul who strives to be good but can’t help but be had. He was a compelling villain for our heroes to tackle during the first season. Everything has gone down hill since then.

Likewise, Peter hasn’t done all that much in the way of developing lately. He’s grown more and more powerful with every passing episode, it seems, but the poor guy just can’t catch a break. And whatever happened to his girlfriend stuck in the future timeline where the Shanti virus was unleashed? Is she in limbo? Does he even care? If he spent less time being angry or depressing, maybe things would start going his way.

The one character who is evolving is Claire, who has truly shown a lot of growth over the course of the series. She has grown into her abilities, although certainly since her encounter with Sylar she has reason to fear what she’s becoming, and she is more than a match for Elle these days. The scene when she started dragging Elle out of her house by the hair really showed this.  And even though she told her mother she didn’t trust Elle, there seemed to be a bit of trust involved on the plane and walking towards Pinehearst. It has been a long time since Claire has had a girlfriend and learning a little about Elle’s past seemed to help the two bond.

I can’t say Heroes is in top form again, but at the very least there are a few characters (Claire, Daphne/Matt/The Turtle, Noah/Meredith) whose stories are engaging and intriguing.