Heroes Volume Three, Chapter Ten: The Eclipse, Part One

As an eclipse looms, Arthur Petrelli sketches prophetic doodles of doom. He orders nauseating lovebirds Sylar and Elle to find Claire so Mohinder can use her as the catalyst in his formula. Meanwhile, Mohinder conducts an autopsy on the test subject he snuffed last episode. Mohinder’s own transformation is accelerating--he’s developed a hacking cough, and the scaly crud has spread over his hands and face--which spooks him deeply.

At Primatech, Angela Petrelli gathers her forces together. She sends Nathan and Peter to retrieve the Haitian, then assigns Bennet the task of protecting Claire from Arthur. Bennet takes Claire to Bubbles’s old house to give her a crash course in self-defense, which entails calling her a spoiled brat and goading her to hit him with a floorboard. Which Claire does, repeatedly and with much gusto.

Sylar and Elle, in pursuit of Claire, try to rent a car in Los Angeles. Elle, who is back to her usual gleefully bonkers self after two episodes of baffling and distressing good behavior, provokes a confrontation by telling the rental car agent that Sylar is a serial killer. When the guy tries to apprehend Sylar, Sylar decides being good is for suckers and embraces his old evil ways. And about time, too! After apparently murdering the poor guy, Elle and Sylar zip away in a sporty convertible.

Hiro, meanwhile, still thinks he’s ten years old, thanks to the whammy Arthur placed on him. Guided by the prognosticative 9th Wonders comic book, Ando takes Hiro to New York to seek help from Matt. In the middle of all this, Daphne pitches a fit that Matt doesn’t trust her (which, considering she was still trying to betray him as recently as last episode, seems only sane and reasonable of him) and speeds off to her Kansas home, which is apparently smack in the middle of Smallville. At Matt’s request, Hiro teleports Matt, Ando, and himself after her. While they stand around in a corn field and ponder their next move, the eclipse comes.

The eclipse makes Mohinder dissolve into a puddle of goo. He walls himself up inside a cocoon, from which he later emerges, sticky and naked, but no longer covered in unflattering scales. I feel it is very important and necessary to point out that we catch a precious glimpse of Mohinder’s bare ass. Post-eclipse, his corrupted abilities have gone into complete remission. Hooray! He’s dewy and beautiful again! Giddy with delight about no longer being a crazy bug-man, he decides to leave Pinehearst and go search for Maya. Arthur and Flint, both powerless and not at all happy about it, manhandle Mohinder and bully him into searching for a way to reverse the effects of the eclipse. This is oddly satisfying: as much as I adore Mohinder, he could stand to be manhandled at least once every episode.

At Daphne’s home in Kansas, Matt (hilariously) tries to use his mental abilities to persuade Daphne’s father to let him inside, but discovers the eclipse has made him powerless. Dejected, he rejoins Hiro and Ando in the cornfield. After Hiro gives him a rousing pep talk, which somehow involves pelting him with ears of corn, Matt marches back to the house and convinces Daphne to let him inside. He finds her powerless and crippled.

Hiro takes Ando to a comic book store to pick up the new issue of 9th Wonders. Hiro is instantly recognized as 9th Wonders’s time-traveling hero by the store clerks, who are played, in a bit of sheer casting brilliance, by geeks extraordinaire Seth Green and Breckin Meyer.

The effects of the eclipse hit Nathan as he’s flying with Peter over Haiti. They plunge into a lake, then bicker their way through the jungle. They locate the Haitian and tell him Arthur Petrelli is still alive. Gun-toting lackeys of the Haitian’s evil brother, Baron Samedi, open fire on them. The Haitian and Peter escape, but Nathan gets nabbed.

In Los Angeles, Claire and Bennet reenact pivotal scenes from The Karate Kid, only with an added dose of tedious inter-familial squabbling. Sylar and Elle burst in and attack them (Elle greets Bennet and Claire with a saucy “Hey, girls!”, which reminds me how much I like Elle when she’s not baking pies and fretting over Sylar). Mid-attack, it belatedly dawns on Sylar and Elle their powers are gone. A fistfight ensues, which culminates when Elle swipes Bennet’s gun and shoots Claire. Bennet manages to incapacitate Sylar and Elle, then carries a wounded Claire back to his home. He slaps a bandage on Claire’s bullet wound (Claire, by the way, is overjoyed about feeling pain again. This is kinda weird and loopy, but bless her for not complaining about no longer being able to heal herself), then storms off to wreak terrible vengeance on Sylar and Elle. When Sandra checks up on Claire, she finds her unconscious and hemorrhaging.

Bennet spies on Sylar and Elle making out. He trains a sniper rifle on them, then pulls the trigger.

Hey, that was pretty awesome, from start to finish. It was fast-paced and funny, Sylar and Elle were back in fine evil form, and Mohinder showed his ass. As far as I’m concerned, these are the ingredients for an instant classic. Heroes, you’re on a roll; let’s hope Part Two next week keeps up the lunatic energy.

Comments

Ingrid Richter said…
Fine, fine episode and review, Morgan! Got quite a kick out of watching it with you last night :-)

(I'm out in LA with Morgan right now for the week of Thanksgiving)

Strange that I liked everyone even more *without* powers. Maybe the show should just be about ordinary people who think they have extraordinary abilities?
Morgan Richter said…
Yeah, just to let everyone know, Ingrid is out here with me, causing mayhem all over the city, so if my responses to comments are a wee bit tardy this week, it's not because I don't care.

(On Sunday night, Ingrid and I were going to wander up to The Grove to see Pasdar and Grunberg perform with their band at the annual tree-lighting celebration, but we decided to stay in and drink wine and watch Doctor Who instead. I'm sure the guys were disappointed.)

I thought it was an awesome episode, though much of that may have been simple relief at seeing Elle being cheerfully nutty and destructive once again. Here's hoping the sentimental pie-baking era of Heroes has come to a close.

Also, Mohinder was naked. I'm not sure if I mentioned that in my review.
Lou said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lou said…
Maybe the show should just be about ordinary people who think they have extraordinary abilities?
Wait isn’t that Lost?

Oh crap. I was trying to add a new comment (the stunning 4 words above) and instead I managed to delete my previous one. I swear some days me and technology are on different planets. Apologies for cluttering up your blog with my incompetence...
Morgan Richter said…
Heh. No worries, Lou. Your original comment was preserved in my in-box. I've reprinted it here for everyone:

From Lou:
Must... not... read...

Am resisting the temptation to spoil myself until I get home to see the show tonight. I have heard on the grapevine that Mr Mookie appear sans vêtements, how delightful.

I'll be back tonight to read this (no doubt fab) review & comments. (nope havent read them either).

Toodles.

PS Yes this post was in some ways pointless, apart from the fact it distracted me from work for a few minutes. Hurrah
Morgan Dodge said…
Blog clutter? Here? Never! It's just a little extra curiosity is all.

I'm sorry, we can't save the world right now, Hiro has to pee. And then he has to bond with Skulky. You know, ten year old Hiro kicks ass. He's turticular even.
When he needs to make a point, what does he do? He throws corn cobs at you. Lots of them, hoping you wont beat him to a pulp for it as he makes his point. I think that if Hiro were to throw corn at me I might have to relent that he was right. How can you deny the power of corn projectiles with a ten year old mind behind it? How!?!?

All that Richter-girl-power, in one place. Look out LA, they're on the loose!
Anonymous said…
For the most part I actually enjoyed this episode too. I feel like Mohinder got hit with the reset button this episode and normally (like if this were season one) I'd be annoyed with how it was handled but I'm kind of just happy to have him back...naked...in goo...and getting manhandled :-)

I found myself interested in most of the other storylines as well (the Petrellis bitching at each other and The Haitian showing up), Matt working with Hiro and Ando (and I got a good laugh out of Matt trying to use his power on Daphne's dad only to have the man say, "Why are you turning your head? What's wrong with you?").

Again though the Sylar/Elle storyline is confusing me. I can't get a read on the characters and it would be one thing if this show had hooked them up as nutjobs on the road together, but we got all this "heart of gold", "the hunger made me do it", "nothing is our fault it was everyone else, but I forgive you and you need to forgive yourself" crap. Elle's characterization was all over the place in this episode alone and I'd buy her as nuts except that we've seen two episodes of the writers telling us otherwise. Are they throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks? I like Bell and all but I kind of just want her off my screen now so that we can move past this storyline.

And Sylar saying he's relieved to not have his powers? To be ordinary? Absolutely no way do I buy that. We have two seasons telling us otherwise. But hey, perfect time to make out, right? What the hell? Would someone shoot one of them already.

This leads me to the other thing I find annoying. Besides the fact that the Sylar/Elle storyline as it's currently written does not make sense (based on totally altered characters), I know a storyline is in trouble when the writers have to tell me what I'm supposed to be able to see for myself. Sylar going on about how Elle is the one who showed him love or what he could be without his powers, not feeling this way since they first met is the writers telling me I'm supposed to buy them together...and I don't. Too much has been changed and now ordered from me and I'm not biting.

With that said, I was surprised that I enjoyed most of this episode.
Morgan Dodge said…
Interesting how everyone is happy with Mohinder's story line... as long as they find a way to strip him of every thread. I kinda wanted to see a more final product in his decline into icky-ville. Oh well. He can be naked and gooey if that's what the masses want.

I think that Sylar is a conflicted young man. I think that Elle is a conflicted young lady. I find it perfectly viable that he'd bust out singing "I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me" to her. Right there the writers of Heroes lost their best opportunity to turn it into a musical.

Did I mention that I'm easy to please?
Lou said…
Morgan, thank you for covering my earlier stupidity.

I just watched the ep. Loved it and loved your review. So much I could twitter on about but I'll just pick out some highlights:

- Hiro and Ando are Heroes very own Shaggy and Scooby!
- Psycho Sylar-Elle, what fun they are. I laughed at Sylar getting pissed his powers wouldnt work.
- The Petrelli jungle bitchfest was good too, those two are only a couple of handbags away from a hair-pulling catfight.
- The Haitian rocks.
- HRG rocks even more, I think Im developing quite a crush on him.
- Aww Daphne, petite, blonde, spunky attitude, living in a cornfield with her dad, hiding a big secret... she's the Chloe Sullivan of Heroes. Bless her cotton socks.
- Mohinder naked. Awesomeness defined.... Except he wasnt. I checked (yes a few times) and he definintely had well disguised boxers on. Oh well its great to see the pretty back and manhandling is always a bonus. I hope this newfound ability to shed clothes every few episodes doesn't disappear with the eclipse too...

Cant wait for pt2.
Anonymous said…
Morgan - easy to please...well at least you're honest and not all "But of course it's true love forever" :-) Keeping my expectations in check helped me enjoy this episode for the most part. Let's see how part 2 does.

Damn Sendhil wearing boxers! Still, all in all, I was okay with his storyline getting to a point where I can get more behind it.
Morgan Richter said…
Heh. I step away from my blog for a few hours, and the party kicks into high gear without me.

Boy-Morgan: Being easy to please is an awesome character trait. You know, I had been spoiled for the Hiro-thinks-he's-ten plotline ahead of time, and I felt certain it would be pretty barfy. I don't know if it's the writing or just Masi's inherent awesomeness shining through, but I've been getting a kick out of it. Any episode where Matt gets pelted with ears of corn is a good episode.

levitatethis: For me, except for the opening scene where they're snuggling and playing around with Elle's powers, and for Sylar's post-eclipse claim that he doesn't really want powers, Sylar and Elle's scenes worked well for me within the context of episode. Taken in conjunction with the past two episodes? Yeah, totally nonsensical. However, I liked their dynamic in much of the episode (I bought them as a couple of dangerous loose cannons), so I'm perfectly willing to just sort of ignore all the nonsense that took place between them up to this point.

Lou: Boxers? Boxers??? That's an outrage! I will have to rewatch the naked goo scene (over and over and over again). So disappointing. Nonetheless, it was a stellar naked goo scene.

Loved Peter and Nathan squabbling their way through Haiti. Loved Daphne's dad calling Matt out on his squinty mind-control expression. Loved Crazy Elle and Crazy Sylar discovering they'd lost their powers midway through their attack on Claire and HRG. The episode had a bunch of moments that made me very happy.
Ingrid Richter said…
Dang, it's hard following directly after Morgan (and on dial-up too! Got to get my sister on broadband for 2009)

So what's this about a full shower being installed in Mohinder's lab at Pinehearst? Doesn't Arthur keep all sorts of video cameras around the place?
Morgan Richter said…
Also, Lou, you're totally right about Daphne being the Chloe Sullivan of Heroes, corn fields and all. I've often felt that Claire is the Lana Lang of Heroes, i.e. the hopelessly self-absorbed and sullen character who is constantly reassured by every other character that she's really very, very special.

Yep, Ingrid, I too liked how Mohinder has a shower located... right in the middle of his lab at Pinehearst? A trifle inconvenient, I suppose, but if it leads to more naked goo scenes, I have no complaints.

Ingrid and I giggled our way through Mohinder's rather cavalier autopsy technique. Um... Arthur Petrelli knows Mohinder's not a medical doctor, right?
Lou said…
Morgan you are so right - Claire IS Lana. Come to think of it Peter is a bit like Clark, a sucker for helping people, the weight of the world on his shoulders and shirt falling off quite frequently for no discernable reason.

The autopsy was funny, very much high school biology, clearly the man is clueless.

Back to the very important Mo's pants issue - Here's a screencap Doesn’t it look like he's wearing see-thru boxers here? Damn it’s a nice shaped butt tho…

*wanders off to take a cold shower in the very convenient lab shower*
Anonymous said…
Crashing the party without a google account. I hope I'm not angering anyone but I have this insane urge to get in on the under-ware issue.

Sendhil and Greg did the commentary for this ep. and Greg described It as a tiny thong, which offended Sendhil who said it wasn't THAT tiny. Greg amended that it was HUGE in the front but like floss in the back. I'd have to watch again for exact wording. Sendhil was his usual snarky self. Actually kind of adorable in this one. He didn't like the goo.

End babblefest crash.

lalunelune
Morgan Richter said…
Oh, cool -- thanks, Anonymous! Sendhil and Greg give good commentary, so I'll have to check that one out. Very good to have a decisive answer to the underwear controversy -- Ingrid and I spent some dedicated time this afternoon carefully reviewing that scene and squinting at the screen trying to figure out what was covered and what wasn't, and we couldn't quite suss it out.

That is one hell of a screencap, Lou. I think I just found my Christmas card for the year. I just need to photoshop a Santa hat on Sendhil, and I'm good to go.
Dan said…
Okay. Late to the party as ever. But a fine, fine episode. Here are the things I liked:

* The triumphant return of Skulky the Turtle Wonder. Is he about to take on a new protege in Hiro With The Ten Year Old Mind (who still remains delightfully indistinguishable from Original Recipe Hiro)? I sure hope so.

* The spot-on characterisation of country folk as people who can't abide high-falutin', head-tiltin' city slickers. You keep your head at 90 degrees when you come to my farm, lad.

* HRG as Morpheus: "Stop trying to hit me and hit me."

* The orbital path of Earth-Heroes' moon. I mean, how many eclipses must have taken place over the last year? One (as per Peter) when Nathan flew for the first time (which I thought was the car accident, but no matter). One during the pilot. One tonight. Not sure of the exact timeline there, but I'm saying that's at least one solar eclipse every six months. Go you wacky satellite, go!

The things I disliked:

* Daphne's dismissal of Parkman's vision of their InstaLove™ future together as a 'dream'. With Skulky right there in the room! It was a kick-ass, turticular spirit walk and I'm glad Matt set her straight

The things my wife liked:

* Nude Mohinder (quote: "Naked Suresh! Woo-hoo!!")

And is it just me, or did the phrase 'the corn will keep coming' ring particularly true?
Morgan Dodge said…
That's what I'm sayin' Dan! The corn will keep coming! It will!
Morgan Richter said…
For as long as there are fresh new episodes of Heroes, I feel quite confident that, yes, the corn will keep coming.

As much as I snicker at lovely Mohinder for being a miserable excuse for a scientist, I was 100% in his corner when Arthur was being snippy with him for not knowing eclipses affect powers, and Mohinder was insisting he figured it was just a coincidence. Because, y'know, it really doesn't seem like they'd be linked.

Dan, I'm glad to hear your wife is firmly on the pro-Naked Mohinder bandwagon. The episode could have been a whole lot worse than it was, and I still would look kindly upon it, just for giving us that gift.
Ingrid Richter said…
I'd like to think that Mohinder's bare bottom caused this eclipse (heh-sorry. Couldn't help myself).

So Daphne, with her Paris apartment crammed with objets d'arte, can't seem to toss a little money her Dad's way. Hmmm....
Morgan Dodge said…
Yes, Ingrid. You might say that Mohinder was the new moon on Monday. (I crack myself up sometimes.)

I like to think that Daphne's father, with his head-vertical-only ways, isn't the sort of guy who is going to want shiny bobbles and trinkets. He's got his field of Hiro-ammo and that's all he really needs.
(In a later Daphne flash back we'll find that the last time there was an eclipse her father was yelling "run Forest, run!")

I'm trying to wrap my brain around an eclipse that that can be seen in both Kansas and Haiti at the same time (and wherever everyone else is, I can't keep track any more). I'm no astronomer, but isn't that sort of thing usually a little more localized than that? That's one hell of an eclipse.

And what about the older generation of Heroes and Villains? You'd think that at some point in Arthur Petrelli's life there had been other eclipses.

But then maybe expecting solid science out of a show where only those on the odd side of the street are getting powers is barking up the wrong tree to begin with?

Still a most excellent episode Ted.
Morgan Richter said…
Tying in a Duran Duran reference to Mohinder's naked fanny! Great work! Boy-Morgan for the win!

Ingrid and I debated whether Kansas and Haiti were sufficiently close to each other for an eclipse to affect both places at the same time. We remain somewhat unconvinced on that point. Also, if eclipses giveth and/or taketh away amazing powers (and apparently have done so for at least the past four hundred years, if Adam Monroe is anything to go by), you'd think someone would have documented this rather remarkable phenomenon before now.

I've found that singing a rousing chorus of the Mystery Science Theater theme song ("Repeat to yourself, it's just a show, I should really just relax...") is useful in such cases.

Also: Daphne needs to chill about Matt not trusting her entirely. Face facts, Daphne: you've been kind of evil up to this point. You can't fault Matt for having a healthy skepticism.
Dan said…
Aye. I think this whole 'Eclipses = Power' notion falls apart on any kind of closer inspection.

Granted, even given the greater prevalence and geographical coverage of eclipses in the Heroes universe (the pilot one was seen in Japan and the US was it not?), the link should probably have still been noticed before now.

And, Girl-Morgan, I respectfully disagree on the Matt-Daphne trust front. Once you've succumbed to InstaLove™, all previous betrayals and unmitigated evil should be set aside.

But, yes. Down Under, there seems to be a school of thought that Naked Mohinder is a good thing (given that he is so very physically attractive). I'm not sure if there's a similar school of thought in your hemisphere. Certainly I've never seen any reference to his attractiveness on this blog.
Lou said…
This eclipse thing is bugging me too. Weren't some of them showing abilities before the last one? Why would one eclipse give powers and next one take them away? Do totals ever happen that close together? And why do I keep asking questions no one can probably answer?

Naked Mohinder? Are you sure? Hmmm I must've missed that...
Morgan Richter said…
Dan, I bow to your superior knowledge of InstaLove. Yes, clearly Matt was in the wrong for having a teesny flicker of uncertainty about the treacherous blonde cutie suddenly professing her love for him.

Ah, yes. I'd forgotten the eclipse in the pilot was seen, presumably simultaneously, in Las Vegas, New York, and, uh, Tokyo. You know, I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't look to Heroes for science-y realism.

You know what I absolutely should look to Heroes for? Naked Mohinder. Yeah. That was awesome. Strange how it took them three seasons to realize maybe, just maybe, viewers would be interested in finding out what Sendhil looks like without his clothes on, but I'm ever so glad they finally figured it out.
Ingrid Richter said…
Mohinder was naked?! When was this? I can't imagine anyone would want to see naked Mohinder writhing around...on the floor...naked.

Actually, after seeing Mohinder's autopsy techniques, I'm starting to see why Heroes has a great fear of doctors (i.e. not taking Molly to a doctor; not taking Claire to a doctor).
Ingrid Richter said…
P.S. Boy-Morgan, your Duran Duran reference cracked me up. A lonely satellite indeed!
Ingrid Richter said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
Okay so I finally got to see this episode (bless you, Hulu!). It was remarkably good TV. There's just a few things I'm curious about:

While watching bald-stupid guy rough up Mr. Dewy Goodness, I very vividly imagined Girl-Morgan rocketing to her feet, throwing ears of corn at the TV and shouting "DON'T YOU HURT MOHINDER!" Needless to say I was surprised to read that she seemed to enjoy it. This confused me until I concluded that her pleasure at seeing Mohinder slammed up against glass might have been erotic in nature. Girl-Morgan, if that is the case, please tell me and I will tease you and make jokes about it at every opportunity.

I want to broach the subject of naked Mohinder, since nobody else wants to even comment on it. Did anybody notice the bloody clump of, something that fell out of the cocoon right after he did? Being refreshingly heterosexual, I'm free to notice other things in the scene beside his nekkidness.
Josh's prediction: the Mohinder-afterbirth thing will grow into an evil twin Mohinder. I'm not sure that our X-chromosome viewers would appreciate twice the Mohinder, but it just might work.

This, for the sake of tying storylines together, is what I believe Skulky was communicating to Kid Hiro using Morse code.

Skulky: B-E-W-A-R-E O-F E-V-I-L N-A-K-E-D M-O-H-I-N-D-E-R

Hiro: 私は遅れる

And you thought Skulky was merely bonding with a time-traveling simpleton. HAH!

So has the new season of Doctor Who started? Curse this South Carolina cable tv!
Anonymous said…
OH! Do the cameo appearances of Seth Green and Breckin Meyer mean that we can look forward to seeing a Heroes sendup on Robot Chicken? Oh I sincerely hope so.
Morgan Richter said…
To clear up your confusion, Josh, re: the satisfaction I took in seeing Flint manhandle Mohinder:

a) Much as I love Mohinder, he sometimes acts like a destructive nitwit who blunders his way through life, cheerfully leaving a string of disaster in his wake. Therefore, it's nice to see him occasionally get clobbered. I'm pretty sure the powers-that-be at Heroes know and appreciate this, which explains why Mo got his nose smashed up twice last season.

b) It's erotic in nature.

Yep, you're right about the clump of afterbirth or goo or whatever that fell out of the cocoon after Mohinder emerged. Perhaps it was the dissolved remnants of his clothing? Still, I like the idea of an Evil Twin Mohinder running amuck. Heck, if Ali Larter can play, what, eighty-seven different characters on the show, surely Sendhil can extend himself to play two.

(No new Doctor Who yet, Josh. Ingrid and I are blasting through Season Four on DVD.)

Ingrid informs me she's seen an episode of Robot Chicken with Zachary Quinto appearing as Sylar in one of the segments. That must of been part of the Seth-Breckin quid pro quo.
Anonymous said…
b) It's erotic in nature.

Pooh Pooh. Like I'm really supposed to believe there are two reasons. ;)

The finale of Doctor Who series four was fantastic, by the way.

Ingrid informs me she's seen an episode of Robot Chicken with Zachary Quinto appearing as Sylar in one of the segments.

This led me to a frantic search on youtube for said segment. Nothing so far...
Ingrid Richter said…
Happy Thanksgiving, U.S. people! And, er, happy Thursday, everyone else!

SPOILERS:
------------------------------
The Sylar cameo on Robot Chicken was pretty short and crude: Sylar accidentally steals the powers of flatulence from a large, beer-swilling man. The end.
------------------------------


Actually, thinking about it, it does seem rather appropriate for Thanksgiving....
Morgan Richter said…
I have not seen the Quinto Robot Chicken cameo. And, you know, after reading Ingrid's summary, I'm okay with that.

I was satisfied with where this episode left off, with everyone powerless and grumpy (or, in the case of Claire, bleeding out). If our merry gang never gets their powers back and are forced to spend the rest of the series hurling ears of corn at each other, I'll consider it a success.
Anonymous said…
The Sylar cameo on Robot Chicken was pretty short and crude

I think I have to go with Morgan on this one. As much as I dig Robot Chicken, I don't think I'm missing a lot. I never got the whole fart humor, thing.

For this episode, part of me wishes Seth Green would revive the role of James St. James in Party Monster

Back to Sylar for a moment. I'm so frustrated with him that I was actually yelling at HRG to pull the trigger.

"Shoot him! In the face! A lot! What do you mean, 'to be continued?'" Expletives deleted.

Although it was refreshing to see him go back to being a bad guy, I'm really annoyed at how easy it is to turn his head.

Angela: Follow me.
Sylar: Okay.

Artur: No, follow me!
Sylar. Okay.

Elle: No, follow me!
Sylar: Okay.


I think the best way to defeat Sylar is to have two people stand on either side of him and say "No, me!" over and over again. After a while, I think he'd cut his own forehead off.
Dan said…
Merry Thanksgiving, Americanos! May your turkeys be long dead before you start eating them.

Question: How does the Haitian feel about eclipses?

Does he

a) hate them - Talk about being made superfluous

or

b) love them - Oh? You guys lost all your powers? Not me. In fact, it looks like my powers have been magnified, like, a million-fold. So suck on that, y'all!

(Note: I'd also like to hear the Haitian say 'suck on that'. I don't know why, I just would.)
Morgan Richter said…
Ingrid and I were pondering how the Haitian would deal with the eclipse. We figure he'd sort of shrug, wonder what everyone else was whining about, and then proceed on his way, unconcerned. But I do like the idea of him saying, "Suck on that." I think that would reveal heretofore untapped dimensions to his character.

Sylar really is pretty suggestible and flaky for a hardened psycho killer, isn't he? He's just so danged needy and eager to please. Which is sort of counterintuitive, actually. Hopefully, Sylar has wrapped up his flirtation with being one of the good guys. Heroism just doesn't suit him.

Merry Thanksgiving, everyone, and thanks to y'all for being so damn funny and witty and insightful on my blog. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Lou said…
Nothing can phase The Haitian. Not an eclipse. Not an earthquake. Not even Mohinder's naked ass. He is the king of cool. But yes I'd pay good money to see him say "Suck on that" (in a strictly non-slashy way of course)

The secret to Sylar's evil lies in his eyebrows. As long as they are bushy he shall never be good. Shave them and he'd turn into a timid mouse. Everything would shock and surprise him. Although ironically you'd no longer be able to tell...

I hope all you American folks enjoyed your day of apology to the natives.
Lou said…
Oh and Girl-Morgan, Ive been meaning to say, you should send your treatment for Preppy of the Apocalypse to my company. It sounds a damn sight better than anything we usually do. Sex Lives of the Potato Men anyone? No Im not kidding. We actually funded a film called that.
Morgan Richter said…
For the record, Lou, I think Sex Lives of the Potato Men sounds awesome.

The Haitian is massively cool. Even still, I like to think he'd at least raise an eyebrow a millimeter or two when confronted with the sight of Mohinder's ass. He of course wouldn't say anything, but I imagine he'd be quietly impressed. Due respect for natural wonders and all that.

I saw Quinto last year when the Eyebrows of Doom were shaved into the Spock points. And it just seemed wrong, like all his innate awesomeness was diminished. Very sad.
Morgan Dodge said…
One more vote to see Sex Lives of the Potato Men. Where can I get my copy? No, seriously, I gotta see it.

I think Quinto looks swell with his Spock-brows! (Sprows?) Then again maybe I'm not the target at which is eyebrow awesomeness is aimed? And I'm certainly not one to question the implications of his brow-power. (Brower?)

I think that were the Haitian faced with Mohinder's bared backside he's offer a quiet nod of respect.
Morgan Richter said…
Oh, hey, so you know how I mentioned upthread that on Sunday night, Ingrid and I flaked out on going to see The Grunberg and The Pasdar perform with their band at the tree-lighting at The Grove? Turns out the lovely and talented Sendhil was there as well, shaking his tambourine onstage with the boys. This only sounds like a euphemism for something cheeky.

(I live mere blocks from The Grove, so it wouldn't have killed us to toddle up there. Still, hiding inside with a bottle of wine and fourteen episodes of Doctor Who was more appealing than battling vast hordes of holiday shoppers -- even factoring in Sendhil and his amazing tambourine skills).

Heroes death pool: who's not going to survive to the end of this volume? My spoiler-free speculation is that Meredith (does Claire need a backup mommy?), Knox (underdeveloped cannon fodder), Flint (cannon fodder part deux), and Arthur (the Big Bad who must get his comeuppance) will all buy the farm.
Ingrid Richter said…
Meredith definitely strikes me as a character that will suffer a noble, self-sacrificing death. Especially since we now know her back-story.

And, Lou, I'm putting a third vote in for Sex Lives of the Potato Men - just how do Potato Men get down and nasty?

(BTW, Preppies of the Apocalypse is a hell of a lot of fun to read and I'd love to see it made into a movie. And I'm not just saying that because Morgan is my sister)...
Morgan Richter said…
BTW, Preppies of the Apocalypse is a hell of a lot of fun to read and I'd love to see it made into a movie.

I'm slow this morning. Because my first thought was to wonder why on earth my sister thinks my blog should be made into a movie. Then comprehension dawned: "Oh, right! I do have a screenplay named Preppies of the Apocalypse." I could probably use a third cup of coffee.

I figure there's an outside chance of spunky Daphne biting it, because the path of InstaLove is sometimes fraught with epic tragedy (cue weepy Matt holding Daphne's crippled, crumpled form in his arms, looking up at the heavens and howling, "Nooooooooooo!"). Also, it would help thin out the surplus of tiny blondes. Mind you, there are tiny blondes I would put on my own personal hit list much higher than Daphne, but the powers-that-be are still not asking my opinion about such matters.
Anonymous said…
My picks for the dead pool are Ando, Arthur, and the Haitian.

I think Ando is going to drink a bullet next season, and I think that Arthur is going to do him in for helping Hiro get his adult brain back. Then The Haitian is going to kill Arthur just as he is about to do in someone on Angela's side (probably Claire, who will sadly and predictably survive). Finally, some bad guy lackey is going to kill the Haitian in some frustratingly unremarkable way, like shooting him.

Oh yeah, and Mohinder will be roughed up by either Sylar or Nathan just as he's getting out of the shower. This will, of course, make Morgan's head explode from the surge of hormones.

I can actually see a movie made about this blog and the lives of the people who regularly follow it. Some artsy, plotless indie movie with brilliant writing and cameos from the cast of Heroes.

If I were fortunate enough to be portrayed in such a feature, I'd want my username to be Snipe Vermin.
Morgan Richter said…
Another pick for the death list: I'll bet you anything an upcoming episode will feature Matt and Daphne celebrating their InstaLove in the traditional fashion: by chowing down on steaming bowls of savory turtle soup.

(Please note: I don't actually want Matt and Daphne to butcher and eat Skulky. I'm just trying to provoke Dan and Boy-Morgan into posting their own picks.)

Josh, I'm trying to decide whether an episode featuring the senseless deaths of Ando and the Haitian would be worth it, just as long as it also featured Naked Mohinder getting manhandled by either Sylar or Nathan (heck, why not both?).

My honest answer: Yeah, probably.
Morgan Richter said…
Oh, also, Lou, thanks very much for your suggestion to send a treatment for Preppies to your company. If you're serious, please email me with the details (me_richter at yahoo dot com). It's an old script, but a good one.
Lou said…
Aww Skulky cannot die. He will live forever in the tank of love & happiness with Mo the lizard. It's destiny.

I agree Ando, Flint, Knox and Meredith may have outlived their usefulness, much as I like all of them. Sadly we may need to add Mohinder to the possible death pool. Whilst his increasing lack of clothes is a joy to behold I'm worried it smacks of creative desperation.

Writer 1: So, what are we going to do with Mohinder this week?
Writer 2: Jeez I have no idea. Give him a power?
Writer 1: Uh been there
Writer 2: Give him a girlfriend?
Writer 1: Done that
Writer 2: How about a boyfriend?
Writer 1: So season 2
Writer 2: A nemesis?
Writer 1: So season 1
Writer 2: Send him abroad?
Writer 1: So season 1 and 2
Writer 2: Hmm. (pause) How about more gratuitous nudity?
Writer 1: Fuck it, yeah that works...

The power of the pretty is keeping him afloat methinks. Oh and naturally I second him being man-handled by both Sylar and Nathan. Simultaneously.

Sex Lives of the Potato Men does indeed sound awesome. Alas the title is the only thing good about it. Just count yourselves lucky it never made it to your shores...

I just checked and sadly we only fund people based in the UK/Europe with UK-centric stories Morgan. Tis a shame. You could of course move over here, make at least one of the characters British & set it in post-apocalyptic London, but frankly that seems like a lot of effort for a shot at £25,000... Sorry :( If it were me in charge, I'd change the rules. But then I'd also make sure every movie had gratuitous male nudity so perhaps I'm not the best judge of quality film-making...
Anonymous said…
Lou, any movie with the guy who played Gareth Keenan can't be that bad. Here, as a public service, I have provided a link for all to download Sex Lives of the Potato Men.
You know you want to. Must... resist... morbid... curiosity...

Also, I think Skulky should be given immunity, lest there be a deluge of angry emails from viewers. I'd also like to see a subplot involving some kind of enmity between Skulky and Mo, like a hardcore staring contest.
Ingrid Richter said…
The power of pretty is a strong force indeed! Here's to many more seasons of Mohinder...

Lou, I can't tell you how sad I was that they Potato Men only deliver potatoes, and aren't actually made out of potatoes.

Good find, Josh! Netflix doesn't seem to own a copy...
Morgan Richter said…
Lou, I think the only sensible course of action is to form our own production company, whereupon we can cheerfully greenlight all scripts featuring generous doses of gratuitous male nudity. Thank you for checking with your company. Yeah, by the time I change the setting (I'm sure London has preppies, right?) and come up with a fake UK-based address for myself, it starts seeming like a lot of fuss and bother.

On the positive side, I think Mohinder's power of the pretty is so remarkable it might just keep him afloat a while longer. For all the viewers who demand Mo's pretty head on a platter for his continued nitwittery, there's an equal pool of viewers who are in thrall to that magnificent bone structure.

(As far as what to do with Mo plotwise, that's easy: just always keep him teamed up with his Volume One nemesis/ex-boyfriend. Because there's no such thing as a dull Sylar-Mohinder scene. Between the Montana road trip and the duct-taping to chairs and the impromptu spinal tap and the pinning to the ceiling and the neurotic post-Isaac's-murder phone call and the Evil Alternate Future where Evil President Sylar has apparently spent the past five years messing with loyal advisor Mohinder's head and the ill-advised attack with a butter knife over an otherwise civil breakfast of chilequiles, these two are just an awesome good time together).

I, too, am saddened to learn that the Potato Men are not made from potatoes. Life is full of disappointment.
Dan said…
I'll tell you who is not disappointed by the Potato Men not being made of potatoes: Dan Quayle.

Boo-yah! Extremely dated political joke!

And, alas, I have no idea who will die in the upcoming episodes. But I do know who will later be revealed as, in fact, not quite dead (possibly in increasingly implausible ways): Everybody.

At this point Skulky cannot die: he is now more than a turtle. Or, indeed, a tortoise. He is a point of view. A way of thinking about life. A philosophical approach to dealing with the madness that always surrounds us.

He is Skulky the Turtle Wonder.

And he will never die.

(Sorry - just got back from my father's 60th birthday party and I may well still be inebriated.)
Lou said…
Girl Morgan what an excellent plan! How does MBS (Magnificent Bone Structure) Productions sound? I’m happy to do some casting too. Gratuitous male nudity needs quality control afterall. London does indeed have preppies. They tend to wear boat shoes without socks. Even when it’s snowing. Very mysterious.

Long live Sylar-Mohinder! Love those two together. I’ve heard it’s called ‘Mylar’ out here on the internetz. Which is rather distracting as over here Myla is a brand of saucy lingerie…

A film about potatoes having sex would indeed be awesome. Josh I’m impressed you found it to download but honestly it’s really awful. Don’t trouble your bandwidth.
Anonymous said…
A film about potatoes having sex would indeed be awesome. Josh I’m impressed you found it to download but honestly it’s really awful. Don’t trouble your bandwidth.

Lou, my discovery was really just an exercise in boredom. I don't think my already fragile and precarious IQ could take the blow of watching it. I'm guessing the title is the best part of the movie, so I'm content with that.

If you think potato sex would be cool, let me direct your attention to this internet gem (to burn time until tonight's episode of Heroes). I triple dog dare you to watch all the clips.
Morgan Richter said…
let me direct your attention to this internet gem

Heh. Isabella Rossellini. She's nutty! Josh, my friend, where do you find these things?

Relax, Dan, Skulky's invincible. If you kill him, he'll only come back stronger. Like Obi-Wan, or Madonna. (What? If Dan can make a Dan Quayle joke, surely I can throw in a Madonna reference. Topical!)

Magnificent Bone Structure Productions! That's marvelous! I can picture our logo already.

I’ve heard it’s called ‘Mylar’ out here on the internetz.

Indeed. Though Quinto and Sendhil, cheeky devils, prefer to call it "Sylinder". They also are firm proponents of a Sylar-Mohinder sitcom, which is an idea I can totally get behind.

Shiny new episode tonight! More eclipse madness! Can't wait.
Lou said…
Josh I will peruse your linkie the minute I get home. Risking such activities at work might be a little too daring, even though I have handed in my notice.

Girl-Morgan thanks for edumacating me about Sylinder. Kristin can barely contain her glee talking to Sendilicious™ can she? Poor Zach is sidelined somewhat. I would LOVE to see them in a sitcom. MBS Productions first commission methinks! Im excited to see the logo too...

Im also very excited about more Heroes tonight - only a few hours now!
Morgan Richter said…
Kristin can barely contain her glee talking to Sendilicious™ can she?

She's a heartbeat away from asking if she can check to see what his hair smells like. I won't judge.

(I will, however, point out that I myself was Joe Cool when I met Sendhil. I introduced myself, we chatted amiably about the WGA strike, I wished him well and strolled off, dignity intact. The closest I came to gushing was to tell him he was awesome, but, as is obvious from this blog, I use the word "awesome" in an all-purpose kind of way -- nine times in this comment thread alone. In any case, Sendhil is awesome. And no, I didn't sniff his hair.)

Hey, we've got tonight's episode, then two more, and then Volume Three is over and the show is off NBC's schedule until Volume Four kicks off -- which will probably be February! I'm already feeling the first faint tug of withdrawl.