Heroes: Looking Back, Looking Forward

 

As of 9:00 PM last night, Season Two of NBC's Heroes officially got underway and, from early indications, it looks as if the series is off to a solid restart. That said, as the opening credits rolled we couldn't help wondering if it would have that same creative punch it had back in September of 2006.

 

Season two's first episode picked up four months later (which mirrors the four months the show was in reruns) and jumps back into the lives of Mohinder Suresh, Hiro Nakamura, Claire Bennett, Matt Parkman, Peter Petrelli and the rest of the ever growing crew of meta-human heroes. The story has momentarily shifted from the destructive force that is Syler and has begun focusing on a rumored plague and the somewhat less than random killing of more vintage heroes.

 

In this first hour we also follow Claire, Bennet and their family as they try to fit back into some semblance of a normal life (and occasionally fail). We learn that Bennett and Mohinder are working together to infiltrate the Company. We catch up with an alcohol laden Nathan Petrelli who seems to have a better head on his shoulders than last season, but looks a little silly with the far-to-bushy facial hair. Add to all this a new brother and sister act racing toward the US border and Hiro's emergence in feudal Japan (let the hip deep accidental temporal chaos ensue) and you have a fun kickoff to the new season.

 

Sure, there are some things we didn't mention here, but you really need to see the show. There's no substitue for the real thing and by the end of that first hour, I was no longer worried. Heroes was back and it left me looking for next week's show which is all I can really ask for from a series.

 

At the end of season one, we were provided with just enough answers that we felt satisfied that the creators closed the first chapter of this book confidently. It may have been a functionally weaker episode that the season that led up to it, but I still called it a solid finish. That said, one clear question lingered... Can Heroes reopen season two and enjoy the same runaway success as season one?

 

The number are in and we have that answer. The ratings from Monday night were unveiled today and Heroes did not lead last night's 9PM hour. That honor went to reality television and The Bachelor. Heroes tied for second place...

"The season opener of Heroes drew an 8.1/12 for NBC, tying for second in households with Two and a Half Men, 8.4/12, and Rules of Engagement, 7.7/11, on CBS" - Zap2It [link]

Not a bad start. We'll see if they can't build on those numbers. Where are we headed from here? NBC recently released descriptions for the next two episodes... Lizards and Kindred. Here are all the details:

Lizards (October 1st):

With one person dead, Matt (Greg Grunberg) enlists some unlikely help as the attacks continue on people with abilities. Claire's (Hayden Panettiere) efforts to hide her healing abilities at her new California high school are jeopardized by a fellow student with a secret of his own. As part of his new job, Dr. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) must track down The Haitian (guest star Jimmy Jean-Louis). While crossing into Mexico, Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro's (Shalim Ortiz) abilities prove to be a threat to those around them.

 

Meanwhile, disappointed by his hero Kensei (David Anders), Hiro (Masi Oka) resolves to rectify any damage his presence in feudal Japan has done to history. And another lost Hero falls in with a gang of Irish gangsters with clues to his past."

 

Kindred (October 8th):

Upon his return to New York, Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is unnerved to find an undiscovered Issac Mendez painting that foretells death of someone close to him. Both Claire (Hayden Panettiere) and H.R.G. (Jack Coleman) pursue their own secret personal agendas. Determined to make it to the U.S., Maya (Dania Ramirez) uses her deadly abilities to free Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) from a Mexican jail. Ando (James Kyson Lee) returns to his job in Japan and makes a happy discovery.

 

Meanwhile, in Japan's past, just when Hiro (Masi Oka) had written off Kensei (David Anders), his childhood hero surprises him. Niki (Ali Larter) and Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) leave Las Vegas in an attempt to start over. Later, Niki and a lost Hero individually strike shady bargains to reach their goals. Two familiar people with abilities make an unexpected return.

The Vancouver Sun offers up a few more details on season two in a recent article [link]...

"Press the series creator a little harder, and some other details emerge. Veronica Mars's Kristen Bell will appear in a recurring role, beginning with the fifth episode, as a mysterious siren, Elle, with cryptic ties to the Petrelli and Bennet families. The new season will incorporate storylines based in Egypt, Haiti, Mexico, Ireland, Lithuania and the Ukraine, in addition to the U.S. and of course Japan, where, in May's season-ending cliffhanger, Masi Oka's character, Hiro, found himself trapped in time, back in the 16th century and facing bushido blade-wielding characters straight out of an Akira Kurosawa samurai epic."

We openly and warmly welcome back Heroes!
It looks like this season is going to be a very fun ride.

 

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