Heroes Volume Three, Chapter Seven: Eris Quod Sum

Mohinder faces off against Tracy and Nathan. Using his bug-man super-powers, he rips Maya out of her cocoon and leaps up through the skylights (Mohinder’s lab has skylights?). He takes Maya to Pinehearst and meets Arthur Petrelli. Arthur steals the Black Eye Goo of Death power from Maya and cures her, then puts Mohinder to work perfecting Pinehearst’s version of the power-giving formula. When Mohinder confronts Maya later, she’s monstrously peeved at him for turning evil and sticking her in a cocoon. Equipped with cash, a wheelie suitcase, and a shiny new American passport, she storms out of his life. Vaya con Dios, Maya! May you find happiness and a decent character arc elsewhere, because you sure weren’t finding either here.

When Claire and Sandra return home from tangling with Doyle, they discover their lights on the fritz, Lyle unconscious, and crazy Elle hanging out in their living room. A super-powered catfight between Elle and Claire ensues. Lyle takes a baby step toward justifying his existence by tossing a bucket of water on Elle and shorting out her powers. Elle asks Claire for help: she’s lost control over her abilities. Claire whines a bit about how she can’t feel pain anymore; Elle, who is in constant agony from the bajillion volts of electricity coursing through her body, fails to give her much sympathy. Elle and Claire decide to go to Pinehearst together to seek a cure. Sandra objects, which provokes one of those Bennet family domestic squabbles I love so much. Because the entire family remains in thrall to the whims of a sullen teen girl, Claire prevails.

Arthur Petrelli and Maury Parkman bawl out Daphne for discouraging Matt from joining Pinehearst. Arthur orders her to kill Matt. When Maury objects, Arthur breaks his neck. Wow. Adam Monroe last week, Maury Parkman this week, and it looks like Maya’s been booted off the show as well. They’re just systematically purging any lingering stench of Volume Two, aren’t they? Elle, hon, I’d watch your back if I were you.

Arthur gives Peter to Mohinder as a test subject for his diabolical experiments. Peter tries to stop Mohinder by warning him about the evil alternate future. He makes the strategic error of informing Mohinder that, thanks to the mistakes in the formula, he’s no longer dewy and beautiful in the future. This only heightens Mohinder’s resolve to correct the formula by using Peter as a lab rat.

Sylar escapes from his cell on Level Five with the psychic help of a still-comatose Angela Petrelli. At Angela’s urging, Sylar arrives at Pinehearst to rescue Peter and gets into a super-powered scuffle with Mohinder. Defying all conventional logic and a few laws of physics, Mohinder defeats Sylar. Arthur eventually has to haul Mohinder off of a bloodied and unconscious Sylar. Peter escapes in the melee.

Arthur and Sylar have a father-son chat, during which Arthur warns him of the inherent danger in trusting his mother: Angela tried to drown Sylar at birth because her precognitive dreams told her what a creepy monster he’d become. When Peter bursts in to rescue his brother, Sylar decides to toss Peter out a high window instead.

Peter lands in front of Claire and Elle, who’ve arrived at Pinehearst following a harrowing journey in which Elle’s short-circuiting powers almost crashed their plane. Elle interprets the fact that Peter doesn’t have his healing abilities anymore and, indeed, is hemorrhaging blood all over the sidewalk as a positive sign Pinehearst can help her. Above Claire’s protests, Elle scampers off to get fixed.

Mr. Bennet and Meredith show up at Mohinder’s lab to help Tracy and Nathan sort through the chaos and cocoons Mohinder left in his wake. Tracy is somewhat nonplussed to discover Nathan and Meredith are the biological parents of Mr. Bennet’s adopted daughter. Bennet wants to take Nathan and Tracy to Primatech to make sure Mohinder’s experiments on them haven’t had any adverse reactions.

Matt returns to the apartment he shares with Mohinder, where he’s confronted by a gun-toting Daphne. When Daphne can’t bring herself to kill Matt, Knox arrives and murders them both.

But wait! Matt and Daphne aren’t dead! Matt just did one of his psychic projections to make Knox think he killed them so he’d go away. Matt wants Daphne to go with him to Primatech so they can find some way to escape Pinehearst for good.

But wait! Daphne secretly calls Arthur and tells him their scheme to ensnare Matt is proceeding exactly as planned. Keep an eye on Daphne, Matt. She’s a tricky one.

Claire and a somewhat mangled Peter hide out in Peter’s apartment. Peter wonders how he survived a seven-story fall without his healing ability. He thinks Sylar protected him by using his telekinesis to slow his descent. He also thinks this is proof of Sylar’s secret brotherly love for him. Oh, Peter, Peter, Peter. When will you ever learn? Claire calls Nathan, who shows up with Tracy. After Peter tells Nathan their father is alive and evil, Nathan and Tracy (who reveals she’s been working as a consultant for Pinehearst for the past year, which seems like a mighty convenient way to get her more fully involved in the action) head off to confront Arthur.

In Africa, Usutu convinces Ando and Hiro to eat some kind of foul paste, which will enable them to go on a mind-expanding spirit walk. Hiro’s eyes turn white, and he passes out.

A fine episode, and one that handily defeats my theory that pretentious Latin titles are a harbinger of pretentious episodes (I offer Battlestar Galactica’s “Sine Qua Non “ and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges” as supporting evidence). “Eris Quod Sum”, by the way, apparently means “I am what you will be”, though it could just as easily be translated as “Mohinder straddles Sylar and punches him in the face a bunch of times.” Either variant works for me.

Comments

Anonymous said…
A fine episode, but I'd argue that a cute, short-circuiting superhero should avoid planes altogether and find alternate transportation to Pinehearst.

So the Bennets are in Califorina, Pinehurst is in New York, and Level Five of Primatech is... where? Sylar seemed to make it to Pinehurst in almost no time...

Thought for the day: is Mohinder becoming a larger version of 'Mohinder' the lizard?
Morgan Richter said…
I believe Pinehearst is actually in New Jersey, but I could be wrong. I've been getting very, very confused as to the location of Level Five. Primatech Paper is in Texas, and initially I thought that's where Level Five was located, but earlier in the season when Sylar killed Bob, Elle found him sitting in his chair in his office -- which looked exactly like his office in the Company facility in upstate New York -- and then promptly ran downstairs to warn HRG that Sylar was loose in the building.

I'm inclined to think Level Five is in New York, if only because I can't picture Angela Petrelli voluntarily hanging out in Texas. Perhaps once she took charge of the Company, she had the entire facility airlifted to the Upper East Side.

If anyone can shed some light on this, or at least offer up some preposterous theories, I'd be much obliged.

Another thought for the day: Why does Mohinder assume he got the formula wrong, and that's why he's turning into an evil cockroach/spider/lizard/whatever? Isn't it possible the formula is correct and his super-power just involves turning into some kind of icky creature?
Dan said…
Okay, Level Five clearly stretches across the entire North American continent, just five levels beneath the surface. Hence, anybody can emerge anywhere.

Why does Mohinder assume he got the formula wrong

Because Mohinder is not a very good scientist. Which makes it even more surprising that Papa Petrelli (who, BTW, has rapidly become my favouritest villain on television) hired him to make the formula better.

Other things I enjoyed:

* Elle's reasoning: "My powers are on the fritz and your dad's the one who seems to have all the answers about everything so, naturally, I broke into your house, knocked out Lyle and kicked Mr Muggles." Oh, Elle. I'm pretty sure that's poor etiquette, even in California. Next time, just call ahead.

* OTOH, big thumbs up for the 'Shut up Claire-Bear about your lack of pain. I'm in freaking self-electrocutin' agony over here' comment.

* Papa Petrelli and Sylar remind me of The Emperor and Darth Vader circa The Empire Strikes Back. A fun, evil pairing with the junior partner ultimately destined to betray the senior one and throw him down an unimaginably long space chute.

* I liked Elle shorting out the plane. I found it actually rather believable that this was the kind of thing you'd only think about after you were 30,000 feet in the air.

Things I didn't like:

* The shameful lack of screentime for Skulky The Turtle Wonder. No wonder your ratings are in decline, Heroes!
Morgan Richter said…
Well, Texas and New York are pretty close, after all. If Level Five stretched underneath the earth's surface just for that distance, you could zip around in a golf cart and get from one end to the other pretty quickly.

Alternate theory: inter-dimensional vortex in Level Five. Spews you out in whatever state you desire.

For being such a miserable (but beautiful!) excuse for a scientist, Mohinder is always in hot demand to do vital scientific research for the bad guys. Thompson in Season One, Bob in Season Two, now Arthur Petrelli. Seriously, Arthur, do you really want the guy who mistakenly turned himself into an evil bug-man to be in charge of debugging (ahem) your formula?

(Apologies. Didn't see the ghastly pun until I was midway through the sentence, and by then I was committed.)

Favorite line: Peter's trying to talk Mohinder out of injecting him by babbling about his visit to the future. Mohinder leans in close to him, deadly earnest: "What do I look like in the future?"

Arthur Petrelli is The Man. I loved the way he was firing off the bon mots in between dastardly deeds ("I'm going to kill your son, Maury. Do you have a problem with that?"). He should probably stop killing off his henchmen, though, and start focusing his energies on killing the heroes.

Was it me, or did Matt stash Skulky The Turtle Wonder in Mohinder's lizard cage? Couldn't quite tell, but that's what it looked like.
Dan said…
If there is an inter-dimensional vortex in Level Five, I'm assuming The Guy Who Vortexed Himself Rather Than Listen To HRG And Claire-Bear Squabble (or TGWVHRTLTHACBS for short) set it up.

And I can only assume that the evil scientists mistake Mohinder for his dad. And then when they later realise they've hired the wrong Dr Suresh, just let him go because, really, look at him in that lab coat mucking about with beakers and bunsen burners. Isn't it adorable?

Papa Petrelli's bon mots made me laugh out loud (LOL!!) twice. Twice. On Heroes! No wonder I love him already.

And yes, Skulky The Turtle Wonder was imprisoned in the lizard cage. I bet there's an awesome deleted scene of the pair's fight to the death.
Morgan Richter said…
My theory is that Mohinder's lizard has been dead for at least a year, and that Skulky is currently snacking on a dessicated lizard corpse he found at the bottom of the cage, right next to that flash drive with Chandra's research that Mohinder keeps hiding in there.

Well, sure. If I were an evil mastermind, I'd want Mohinder around for window dressing. He could pose for the cover of my company's annual report. But I'd think twice before entrusting him with life-changing scientific research.

Also, and this is something Ingrid and I have been bouncing back and forth via email all day, but isn't Sylar strangely gullible for a psychotic super-villain? Angela tells him she's his mom, so all of a sudden he's devoted to her, but then Arthur tells him he's his father and that Angela never really loved him, and bam! Sylar's tossing Peter out the window just to spite Angela. It'd be awesome if we ever find out he's not really a Petrelli at all -- Arthur and Angela have just been having a bit of fun stringing him along.

The Petrellis probably used to throw really great cocktail parties.
Anonymous said…
Speaking of TGWVHRTLTHACBS (The Guy Who Vortexed Himself Rather Than Listen To HRG And Claire-Bear Squabble), Morgan and I also have a theory that the vortex merely opened up in a different part of Los Angeles, where Bubbles found all of his furniture and one very pissed off neighbor waiting for him.

Gullibility is a dangerous weakness for a super-villian, Sylar ("Oh no! Don't kill me! You're my brother! Or cousin!")
Morgan Richter said…
Hey, speaking of Bubbles, the current Entertainment Weekly has a big snarky cover story about how Heroes has jumped the shark (or "nuked the fridge", I guess the cool kids are saying these days -- thanks, Indy IV!). One of their particular examples of how lame Heroes has been this season was Bubbles's power. Which: really? Because I sort of think the ability to create your own personal vortex is pretty damn awesome and vastly more original than, say, having super-hearing. I think there are plenty of things

I'd be delighted if Bubbles (okay, TGWVHRTLTHACBS) showed up again. Between Bubbles and Marlo (aka Knox), I love how they just kind of raided the cast of The Wire to find guest stars this season.

Seriously. If Sylar ever tries to lop the top of my head off, I'm going to save myself by insisting he's my brother. It just might work.
Morgan Richter said…
To continue my broken thought there: I think there are plenty of things that might be considered fridge-nukey on Heroes, but I'd argue that Bubbles's power shouldn't rank too high on that list. (The EW article also suggested getting rid of Mohinder. Preposterous! Those cheekbones are performing a valuable public service!)
Anonymous said…
Would you really trust the future of a TV show to a magazine whose initials are pronounced "Eeeeewww!"? For shame, EW. For shame.

Er, I just realized I misspelled 'villain' and probably a thousand other words on your blog comments. Curses, Internet, for my lazy typing habits.

Flowers for Ingrid...
Morgan Richter said…
Typos in blog comments are an inalienable right. It's in the Constitution.

Entertainment Weekly also voted Mo one of TV's 25 most annoying characters. More annoying than Claire? More annoying than Molly? Really, EW? Are you sure you want to go there? I'd go ahead and classify Volume Two's "I'm infiltrating the Company! Now I'm working for the Company!" Mohinder as annoying, sure, and here's hoping this evil bug-man plotline wraps up soon before it wears out its welcome, but still, was Flip-Floppy Company Man Mohinder more annoying than Bank-Robbing Irish Amnesiac Peter? More annoying than Faffing About In Feudal Japan For No Damn Reason Hiro? Or Volume One's Stuck In A Loveless And Naggy Marriage Matt? Or I'll Do Anything For My Claire-Bear HRG? Even the generally awesome Nathan trod very close to annoying territory earlier this season with his God kick (speaking of, is that all over, now that he knows his powers came about via diabolical experiment? If so, what was the point? Also, if Linderman has been nothing more than a psychic construct all this time, how did Nathan come back to life? Also, why isn't Nathan as awesome this season as he was last season? Is it because he shaved off the beard? Discuss).
Dan said…
I assume that I can answer all your questions effortlessly:

Q) ... is that all over, now that he knows his powers came about via diabolical experiment?

A) Yes, but I think it's not so much the source of his powers, but instead because Ali Larter (I refuse to keep track of the names of all her multiple identities) lent him her copy of Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion'.

Q) if Linderman has been nothing more than a psychic construct all this time, how did Nathan come back to life?

A) A special visit from the Red Cross Claire-Bear Magic Blood Division

Q) Also, why isn't Nathan as awesome this season as he was last season?

A) Because he shaved off his beard.

Q) Is it because he shaved off the beard?

A) Yes. Also, he's less drunk now.
Morgan Richter said…
...instead because Ali Larter (I refuse to keep track of the names of all her multiple identities) lent him her copy of Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion'.

I would have gone with Christopher Hitchens' "God is Not Great", but whichever. Tomato, tomahto.

A special visit from the Red Cross Claire-Bear Magic Blood Division

I believe Magic Blood has been retconned out of existence this season. Volume Two? I have no memory of a Volume Two.

Props to HRG in this last episode, BTW. When he's: a) far away from Claire-Bear, b) given limited screen time, and c) running amuck with a taser, he can be delightful. I tend to forget how much I like him, thanks to all the time he spends tediously squabbling with and/or devotedly overprotecting his daughter.
Anonymous said…
I'm a bit embarrassed to say that (without having opened the cover of an Entertainment Weekly) I too wondered if this show hadn't jumped the shark. Maybe the Soap network will pick it up?

Two scenes really stand out for me in this episode. One was Nathan on the verge of being tough. Nathan, please don't attempt to kick down doors at Pinehearst, or anything thicker than, say, a blade of grass. I remember your dopey, resigned, “guess I have to let the city blow up” attitude from season one. Maybe if they cancel the show Adrian Pasdar can go back to playing Jim Profit? Hmm, never mind.

The second was Arthur wondering aloud how Nathan survived a seven-story fall. “Hell of a thing, huh son?” “I don't know...” Oh Sylar, please just go back to cutting people's foreheads off. We miss you.

Okay three things. Were they trying to be funny with the awkward recap between Meredith, Nathan, HRG, and Ali/Ali/Ali? Because that was awesome! I think they should pitch that scene to the Soap Network. They'll pick up the series on the merits of that scene alone!

Finally, how long can Peter hang on with no powers? At what point will he live out his ability-groupie usefulness and go back to being a CNA, or whatever he did for work.
Morgan Richter said…
A Profit reference! Outstanding! Ingrid and I faithfully watched Profit during its oh-so-brief run on FOX lo these many years ago. We both enjoyed it, even if what we mostly remembered about it was Naked Pasdar. So a couple years back, Ingrid got me the complete series on DVD for my birthday. And... it doesn't hold up all that well. Remember in the nineties how television pacing wasn't all it could be? Profit has that problem, with scenes that drag on forever and ever and ever.

Still, Naked Pasdar. That's something.

I'm assuming at some point Peter will get his abilities back. Or, better still, someone will give him some brand-new ability that doesn't center around him becoming uber-powerful and hence impossible to defeat.

I'm inclined to think the concept of shark-jumping/fridge-nuking is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to Heroes: from the very start, it's been all about nonsensical plot twists, ludicrous use of science, and histrionic melodrama. It's hard to go off the rails when you were never on the tracks to being with. While I wish the writing would be less sloppy overall (Mohinder injecting himself for no special reason springs to mind), the only time I lose patience is when the pacing slows, like in Volume Two when there were three simultaneous plotlines -- Hiro in feudal Japan, Peter in Cork, and Maya & Alejandro in Central America -- where very little progress was made from episode to episode. Right now, Hiro and Ando have the stagnant plotline... but because every other plotline is moving at a zesty pace, I have no real complaints.
Anonymous said…
Adrian Pasdar will always and forever be Darstar from Solarbabies for me. He just needs to grow dreds, keep a pet owl and rollerblade everywhere.

Good to have you onboard, Josh! Couple other questions about this episode:

1) Who was narrating it at the beginning? I don't think it was Mohinder. Has he become an unreliable narrator due to the icky bug factor?

2) Did anyone else think of Claude the Invisible Man during some of the scenes? There was some funky camera angles (i.e. behind windows/ potted plants/ support beams) that made me feel like the camera was spying on the action. Wish I could come up with exact scenes, but I forgot :-(
Morgan Richter said…
For the past few episodes, they've had the NBC announcer do an extended "Previously on Heroes..." recap, most likely because of complaints the plot has become too convoluted for new viewers. In either the episode before last or the episode prior to that, they had the NBC narrator followed by a Mohinderlogue, which was frankly a little much. So I think we're going to get fewer opening narrations from Mo.

(I just now coined the term "Mohinderlogue". I'm not sold on it yet. What do we think: keep or toss?)

Solarbabies is an awesome movie, thanks in no small part to The Pasdar. I was going to call it the best futuristic-teens-on-rollerskates movie ever, but I didn't want to shortchange Prayer of the Rollerboys.

Heh. I thought fondly of Claude when Sylar tossed Peter out the window. Remember when Claude dropped Peter off the rooftop to teach him how to fly? I think that was one of the flaws of Volume Two: at no point did anyone drop Peter off of a tall building.
Anonymous said…
Maybe "Mohologue" for the openings? So they have a strange guy recapping everything and *no one* is suspicious...

Technically speaking, the teens in Prayer of the Rollerboys used rollerblades instead of rollerskates. Heh. And now that I've shamelessly linked to my own site twice, I think it's time to leave...
Morgan Richter said…
"Mohologue" is much better. Yes. Thank you. Actually, if you go way back to the early days of Volume One -- the second episode, I believe -- they had the NBC announcer guy do the recap then as well. It's just pretty much a dry summary, though, unlike Mohinder, who gets to yammer on about, like, evolution and stuff.

Heck, what's the point of commenting on someone else's blog if you can't shamelessly self-promote?
Dan said…
I do enjoy waking up on a Friday morning (yes, I live in the future - but unlike Hiro, I'm willing to travel back in time to talk to y'all) to see the conversation has taken all-new turns.

Random points:

* Kudos on spotting the link between Peter being thrown off buildings and general pacing of the season. More Plummeting Pete, please!

* If (okay, when) Peter's powers return, could he take just a few seconds to time-travel to the future and save his Irish girlfriend from last season. I know Season Two's been officialy excised from continuity, but still... somebody should speak with an Irish lilt on the show, and if Ando starts doing it, I'll go mad.

* I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am both saddened and relieved to have never been privy to Naked Pasdar.

* I'm okay with jumping the fridge and nuking the shark, but if anybody refers to Heroes as having 'talked the turtle', I'll get cross.

* The Mohologues are awesome! It's like each episode of Heroes is topped and tailed with a free science lesson. If only there was an exam in the closing credits

* I'm sure you all know who I think is narrating the openers these days (hint: S----- the W----- T-----)
Morgan Richter said…
Has the Australian tourism industry ever adopted "The World of Tomorrow" as the official country slogan? I'm still mired in a slow Thursday afternoon, whereas you're breezing through a Friday morn.

At this point, I'd be happy with a throwaway line re: saving Peter's Irish girlfriend ("Hey, sorry I'm late for brunch, Nathan. I was rescuing Caitlin from that horrible plague-ridden apocalyptic future I stranded her in a while ago").

It's hard to go wrong with dropping Peter off a building. That's ratings gold.

I'm downright fond of the sciencetastic Mohologues, but that's mostly because of the (fake) accent. Hey, remember way back in the pilot when Mo had an Indian accent? And then the focus groups didn't like that the character who was born and raised in India sounded like he was, y'know, Indian, which is why he's now inexplicably English? Ah, focus groups: bringing the xenophobia.

That said, I don't think I've ever actually paid attention to a Mohologue. I am only human.

I'm keenly feeling the absence of Boy-Morgan here this week. I'm sure he'd be willing to throw some support to your (crackpot) theory as to the identity of the narrator.
Morgan Dodge said…
I think I just figured something out. Squirrels don't believe in time travel. Everyone knows it, right? And THAT is why there are no squirrels in Australia. Dig?

That is also why when Hiro discovers who his spirit guide is, it will NOT be a squirrel. (Besides, I think Peter already has Rocky as his spirit guide.)

I would also like to throw my complete support behind Dan's theory that there's some turtle talk going on there. Who doesn't love a talking turtle?
Dan said…
Sadly, Boy-Morgan, I think there are many people out there who don't like talking turtles.

Some of them (no names) may even be part of this comment thread!
Anonymous said…
There was one line in the show that had such subtle brilliance, I only realized it this morning while driving on a busy street in the dark. One should not laugh hysterically while trying to negotiate traffic. I'm just saying.

In response to Hiro's question about how to go on spirit walks, the African Guy simply says, "You eat a disgusting paste made from (some) tree root and the dung of a hyena, and wait."

That is quite possibly the greatest line of the entire series. I just might have to adopt that as my stock answer for all stupid computer questions.

By the way, I vote Mohinderlogue. Marginaly harder to type, but I think it captures the essence of our favorite Chicago-born Indian actor (well, I don't know if he was born there, but I hear tell he's from there).

Also, bring back Profit! Although I personally could do without the nakedness...
Morgan Richter said…
Hooray! Boy-Morgan has joined us! It's like magic -- all I had to do was mention his name, and maybe possibly send him a naggy email, and here he is!

It's just that I don't see how Heroes would be improved with the addition of a wisecracking turtle. Even one who narrates a helpful summary at the start of each episode. Perhaps this is just a sign of my limited imagination.

The indignities Grunberg puts up with on the show. You just know if Nathan were assigned a spirit guide, he'd get a lion or something, and Sylar would get a panther, and Mohinder would get a gazelle, and Claire would get... I don't know, Mr. Muggles or a chipmunk or whatever. But Matt? Nope, he's a turtle. There's just no way to put a good spin on that, even though I'm sure the writers tried ("It's because you're steadfast and durable! Glamour is overrated!").

Peter's spirit guide: a Welsh corgi or a schnauzer. Didn't Claude once refer to him derisively as a poodle? I miss Claude.
Morgan Richter said…
Josh: Yeah, that was a good line. This episode actually had a handful of lines that made me giggle. And, as Dan points out earlier in this burgeoning thread, it's a rare day when Heroes produces a LOL.

Hey, Josh, what time zone are you in? Are you up freakishly early too, or are you in some part of the country/world where it's a perfectly reasonable time to be online?

Mohinderlogue, Mohologue... the debate continues.
Anonymous said…
Doesn't Satan also have to appear when you mention his name? (heh-heh - sorry, Boy Morgan). I know Chrestomanci also had that problem in the Diana Wynne Jones books.

I'm going to throw another term in the mix: MoVo (for Mohinder voice-over).

Happy Halloween, everyone! (except mysterious, future Dan)
Morgan Dodge said…
You know that's not the only thing Satan and I have in common, right?

"...wisecracking turtle?" You make it sounds like we have the Don Knotts of the terrapin world here. Skulky is clever and snarky and self confident and did I mention snarky? Everything I wish I were. (Except the slow and grey part, I suppose.) He's not a character actor. He's iconic and revolutionary. He is the future of acting as we know it.

Just watch his scenes again. He plays the quiet, stoic spirit guide perfectly. You think anyone else could play a better spirit guide? I think not! He wins!
Morgan Richter said…
I've long suspected Boy-Morgan of being Beetlejuice and/or the Candyman. Either seems appropriate for Halloween.

Show of hands: Mohinderlogue, Mohologue, or MoVo?
Morgan Dodge said…
I'm liking "Mohinderlogue."
Then again I may just be old fashioned?
Ingrid Richter said…
I'm raising my hand furiously to vote!
- Obnoxious Ingrid
Dan said…
I'm sorry, I have to go with 'MoVo'.

Just so I can say 'ooh, there's some bad MoVo going down here tonight.' And, y'know, have the missus stare blankly at me (she does that a lot)

Re: missing Claude. I like to think that he's there, in the background somewhere, being invisibly awesome.
Anonymous said…
Hmm, I don't know. MoVo is really clever. Plus Dan is on to something. I think it has the most potential to be used beyond it's original intended purpose. MoVo could evolve into other parts of speech and new expressions. "I MoVo'd that girl and she gave me her number!" or "My MoVo is stronger than yours!"

Okay fine. I vote MoVo too. *runs off to brainstorm ways to use new word*
Ingrid Richter said…
Mohinder could really start working the MoVo mojo next episode.

Everyone needs a Mohinderlogue in their lives. I've even prepared a mohologue for myself today...
Morgan Richter said…
I'm torn (where "torn" might be interpreted to mean "I actually don't care all that much"). On the one hand "Mohinderlogue" is the most self-explanatory: you run into the word "Mohinderlogue" in a sentence, and you instantly know what they're talking about. "MoVo" is the most evocative, and possibly the most versatile. And "Mohologue" is closest to the root word, plus it's funny because it has "ho" in it.

No Heroes tomorrow night, which is devastating. Stupid life-changing, groundbreaking election.
Morgan Richter said…
Ahem.

I just checked my keyword search statistics.

Amazingly, and rather preposterously, people have discovered this site using these two search phrases:

skulky the turtle wonder
skulky the turtle wonder who

Boy-Morgan and Dan, one of you has too much time on your hands.
Morgan Dodge said…
I would NEVER try and skew your analytics. Ever! What could lead you to even suggest such a thing?
Ingrid Richter said…
Yeah, Morgan. It could be *anyone* looking for Skulky the Turtle Wonder...
Dan said…
Hey, all traffic is good traffic. And traffic sent to your site by following arguably the greatest turticular spirit guide in the history of television?!

Why, that's possibly the finest traffic of them all.

(Yes, 'turticular')
Anonymous said…
I think you should post a mock update in protest. Just make stuff up.

OH! Dan, Boy-Morgan (who I think I might have to refer to as Other-Morgan from now on, sorry), Ingrid, let's make it a collaborative effort. We can each pick a character and just make something up! How about it Morgan?
Morgan Richter said…
I actually used to refer to Boy-Morgan as The Other Morgan. But it seemed so easy to just divide it up along gender lines.

I'm game for brainstorming our own episode to fill the horrible void. Here's where everyone was by the end of last episode:

1. Hiro & Ando are in Africa with Usutu.
2. Peter & Claire are in Peter's apartment.
3. Nathan & Tracy are en route to Pinehearst.
4. Sylar, Elle, Mohinder and Arthur Petrelli are already at Pinehearst.
5. Matt & Daphne... didn't Matt yammer on about wanting to go to the Company for help getting Pinehearst off their tail? I might have napped a little at that part.
6. Angela: still in a coma.
7. Noah Bennet & Meredith: last seen in Mohinder's lab.

I'd suggest everyone grab a plotline and put forth your most preposterous theories as to what happens next. What do we think?

(No, Dan, you can't be Skulky. Boy-Morgan, you can't be Mr. Muggles. Don't even ask.)
Anonymous said…
Dibs on three and six!

Nathan takes off (literally) for Pinehearst carrying Tracy, a.k.a. AliAliAli, but they are soon forced to land when Nathan's arms begin to cramp from carrying her. After several minutes of Nathan insisting that his fatigue is not some veiled comment about Tracy's weight, they rent a car and become hopelessly stuck in traffic. Nathan needles Tracy about not having a more useful power like her dead sister's strength. Tracy retorts with a veiled threat about bringing frigid to a whole new level. Nathan shuts up.

Angela uses her ability to once again break the confines of her coma to reach out to Sylar. She is horrified to find him on the Pinehearst lawn with Arthur playing an old-fashioned game of catch. Sylar ignores her pleadings to run away, instead raving about the Walmart baseball glove that Arthur bought for him. Angela returns to her body, muttering something about preferring the oblivion of a coma.
Dan said…
Peter picks an iron up and starts beating Claire's head in, telling her to stop whining all the time.

Claire gets better. Peter repeats as necessary.

"Why are you doing this to meee-eee-eee?" says Claire. "Is it because you've been consumed by Sylar's hunger?"

"Uh, sure," says Peter.

"But wait," Claire. "Wouldn't the hunger for evil have been removed along with your powers?"

But Peter's already left to find a cheese grater and his hair-straightener (the one with the frayed electrical cord).

"I can't feel pain," whines Claire.

Peter emerges from the kitchen and throws an oven at her.
Morgan Richter said…
Sylar is still stunned--stunned!--about the terrible beating he received at the hands of Mohinder. That can't possibly be right, he thinks to himself. I'm clearly bigger and stronger and more competent! So he marches right back into the laboratory to teach that know-it-all geneticist a super-powered lesson in Darwinism.

However, Elle arrives at the lab first. She convinces Mo to stop using so much gel in his hair ("But it's so the audience will know I'm evil now!" he protests as she cheerfully shampoos it out). Mohinder is skeptical at first -- after all, he remembers how silly Peter looked after Elle chopped off his long emo bangs last season -- but then he remembers how fetching he used to look back when he had a wild mess of thick, luxurious curls.

Elle also loans him her tube of Palmers Cocoa Butter Lotion, which does a marvelous job of clearing up those patches of scaly skin on his back. When Sylar bursts in, he's momentarily blinded by Mohinder's outstanding pulchritude (as anyone would be), which gives Mo the opportunity to once again get the drop on him. They engage in another vaguely homoerotic round of fisticuffs, which ends yet again with Mohinder straddling Sylar and punching him many times in the face.

Meanwhile, Elle wanders off to give makeovers to Arthur Petrelli and Knox.
Anonymous said…
We should totally write for Heroes. Or we could write a parody and call it Antiheroes.
Dan said…
I'd be happy just writing 'The Peter Petrelli-Claire Bear Torture Hour' (with end episode homilies by Skulky The Wonder Turtle, obviously)

Don't tell me that's not ratings gold.
Anonymous said…
Oh that's awesome. Skulky could could introduce segments, maybe give us a little song here and there. Then he could appear at the end of the show (wearing a red sweater or something) to give us an uplifting message of hope.

I'm pretty sure that Skulky hosting a variety show focusing on torturing Claire is genius.
Ingrid Richter said…
Hiro & Ando are in Africa with Usutu.

Turns out, Hiro's an affable, brain-munching zombie now. He's not much of a threat to anyone, but Ando wants to take him to to the Forest of Resurrection for a cure. Along the way, Hiro accidentally bites both Ando and Usutu...
Anonymous said…
I dig zombies. But is Hiro a slow, lumbering George A. Romero zombie, or a fast, scary Alex Garland zombie?

This is so much better than some stupid election coverage...
Morgan Dodge said…
I'm still trying to decide if I'm ok being the other white Morgan... I'm also very tired. But happy to see the quality work being done here. So good!
Morgan Richter said…
"Other white Morgan"? Which of us is pork, and which of us is chicken? There's no correct way to answer that, you know.

Meredith and HRG set about cleaning up the cocoony mess in Mohinder's laboratory. They take down the tinfoil from the windows, toss all the cartons of spoiled milk, and spray all exposed surfaces with Lysol and Febreeze. They even thoughtfully refill all of Mohinder's test tubes and beakers with that brightly colored sugar water he keeps in them.

While they're doing this, Meredith points out that HRG is doing a piss-poor job of raising her daughter, as Claire has evolved into a self-involved, sullen brat. She gives him a few pamphlets she just happens to have in her purse for a military academy in the Adirondacks. While HRG is on the phone with the school scheduling an entry interview, the door to the lab flies open... and an irate Isaac Mendez storms in, his floppy hair almost covering the stitches across his forehead from where the top of his head was surgically reattached, demanding to know why there are cocoons in his studio.
Anonymous said…
Yay! Isaac is back! Startled, Meredith reduced him to a charcoal stain on the spot. In an ironic twist, the stain that used to be Isaac neatly covers up a painting depicting Meredith burning him to a crisp.

I thought Other White Morgan was pretty clever. How about M-Morgan? It could eventually evolve into Eminem
Ingrid Richter said…
Although he's unable to concentrate properly due to advanced zombification, Hiro manages to jump about a foot in random directions while lurching towards possible victims. The effect is unsettling.

Ando and Utusu hack off their infected limbs and chase after Hiro in an attempt to subdue and cure him.
Dan said…
Daphne and Matt make sweet, inexplicable love.

"Boy," says Daphne when it's over. "I thought I was supposed to be the speedster."

"Zing!" says Skulky the Turtle Wonder, who had been forced to watch all ninety seconds of the horrific display.

PETA is outraged!
Morgan Richter said…
To stray off topic for just a minute here: I just checked my Google keyword stats again. People from the following cities have found this site searching for skulky the turtle wonder:

San Francisco (Boy-Morgan, you're sooooo busted)
New York (et tu, Ingrid???)
and, mysteriously, Melbourne.

I'd suspect the resident Aussie in this bunch, but Melbourne is not Sydney, or so I hear. Any explanations, Dan?
Ingrid Richter said…
New York is such a large place, Morgan. Any number of residents could be looking for "skulky the turtle wonder"...
Dan said…
No, you're right there. Sydney and Melbourne are, indeed, different cities. That's just the way we do things Down Under.

I think you might just have to accept that Skulky The Turtle Wonder is a craze that's about to (justifiably) sweep the world. You should be happy you're getting on at the ground floor.
Morgan Dodge said…
You make it sound like I'm the only one in the greater San Francisco area that might be interested in Skulky the turtle wonder. I don't even live in San Francisco. Oh my how the blame flies. Oh my!
Ingrid Richter said…
I think it's entirely possible that three random people from San Francisco, New York and Australia who aren't connected to three heavy posters on this message board could be looking for Skulky.

That makes at least six of us out there interested in him (her?). The excitement grows...
Morgan Richter said…
You're right. I humbly bow to your arguments. Obviously I've greatly misjudged the broad -- international, even! -- appeal of Skulky the Turtle Wonder.

Wow, long week without Heroes, huh? Oh, sure, there was that ground-breaking, barrier-smashing election to entertain us, but it's not the same without my weekly dose of super-powered cheeseball hijinks.
Dan said…
What about when President-Elect Obama saluted the crowd, roared 'Yes We Can!' (similar to 'Shazam!'?) and flew off into the night sky? That was pretty cool.
Anonymous said…
Well I'm glad somebody finally posted here, since there's absolutely nothing else to do on the internet.

So I guess there was an election or something. I understand this Mr. Obama is some person of renown, but I've never heard of him.

Oh wait! He's my new boss! Huh!
Morgan Richter said…
Oh, for crying out loud. "Skulky the turtle wonder" is now the third most popular term used to find this site, narrowly edging out "heroes is adam really dead??". New cities added: Sydney (hi, Dan!) and, more inexplicably, London. The legend grows...

(I am delighted at the possibility of having UK-based lurkers who just want to mess with my head a little. Whoever you are, I salute you.)

Dan, we have street art plastered on street corners here in L.A. of Obama as Superman. It's pretty awesome. I've been trying to get a good snapshot for you, but... crappy camera, crappy photography skills. You know the drill.

Going into mild Heroes withdrawl. Topic: best and worst plotlines overall. What are your picks?

Best: The Sylar-and-Mohinder roadtrip from Volume One. That was pure gold from start to finish. It was creepy, it was funny, it was preposterous, it featured heads being cut open, and it was overflowing with that inappropriate sexual chemistry these two always bring to the table (Mohinder crouching behind a bound Sylar, hissing, "It's going to hurt!" Hello!). Oh, sure, it ended a touch anticlimactically with Mohinder knocking out Sylar with, ahem, a map (??), but up until that part, it was awesomeness incarnate.

Worst: Feudal Japan. What a wonderful way to squander all the goodwill Hiro had earned from audiences in Volume One. Fun fact: the Volume Two DVDs have deleted scenes from this plot that are even more pointless than what we saw onscreen.
Anonymous said…
Hey you come up as the second search result on ask.com (provided I search for skulky the wonder turtle)!
Morgan Dodge said…
I think the notion that there is more than one search result to be had for "skulky the wonder turtle" says something right there. Viva le Skulky!

(Where exactly did you get that name from Dan?)
Dan said…
Well, 'the Turtle Wonder' is obviously a riff on Robin The Boy Wonder (not that Skulky should ever be considered Parkman's sidekick)

'The Wonder Turtle' is an obvious acceptable variation on that, but mostly an alias he uses when he hosts daytime television shows.

And 'Skulky'? Well, he just looks like a 'Skulky', doesn't he?
Dan said…
Oh! And favourite/least favourite plotlines...

Hmmm...

Least Favourite: Pretty much any of the ongoing threads of the new Season Two characters. I didn't care about Mikah's cousins. And I certainly didn't care about our South American siblings. And, as you say, everybody in Feudal Japan (bar Adam Monroe) was awful. Flip a three-sided coin. Comes down Mikah's cousins.

Most Favourite: Gosh, it's hard to remember Season One, isn't it, but they did build to this awesome run from about Company Man to Five Years Gone where I thought Heroes was going to overtake Lost as my favourite show on television. Then Lost kicked it up a notch and Heroes kicked it down several and that was that.

But my favourite parts of that particular run were always HRG, who, with nothing more than brains, ruthless efficiency and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope (and/or Claire Bear), was able to, again and again, come out on top. Breaking out of the Company. Outwitting Parkman and Ted, Home Invaders At Large (not a huge feat admittedly). Faking his own death. Etc.

HRG when he was awesome, people. That gets my vote.
Morgan Richter said…
Okay. I've never been a fan of Skulky, granted. And sure enough, I've mocked and derided you all for all the Skulky-centric discussion here.

But you want to know what's just plain unfair? You want to know what the #1 Google search result for "Skulky the Turtle Wonder" is?

Dan's site.

My site mentions Skulky about eight billion times, thanks to all of you. But I'm stuck in the second-banana spot. Dan mentions Skulky once on his site, and snags the golden apple. You know what that means? It means that Dan's site is eight billion times more popular than mine.

Curse you, Dan Liebke!

Ahem. Apologies for the outburst. I just got back from a very long walk, and I'm a little heat-dazed and cranky.
Dan said…
Also, Google knows I love Skulky. That helps in the rankings (Google can read our minds and hearts these days).
Ingrid Richter said…
Darn it all, my favorite/least favorite plotlines mirror yours exactly, Morgan. Nature *and* nurture, I think...
Morgan Richter said…
Jeez, Ingrid, you'd think we were related or something.

A plotline I thought showed great potential at first, but soon grew to loathe: HRG and Mohinder conspiring to take down the Company. My hopes were high for some super-spy action, perhaps culminating with them tied together and dangling over a shark tank and/or lava pit while Bob and Elle cackle maniacally and Angela coldly fixes herself another martini. Instead, we got several episodes of both of them acting like total dicks while making criminally dumb moves. And then Mohinder shot HRG in the eye. Gah! A year later, and I'm still peeved about it.

At least it was more watchable than Feudal Japan.
Anonymous said…
Yay! I finally get to watch Heroes along with everyone else! Bless you, cable TV!