Commentary: Heroes 3x23 - 1961
Apr. 19th, 2009 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brighteyedjillPreviously, Angela had a dream about Petrelli reunions and concentration camps. That scene in the previouslies with Mohinder and his landlord talking about Chandra’s nightmares did not happen! I call editing liberties!
The Petrellis are still digging (unfortunately, still fully clothed). Oh yeah, and HRG is there helping, as an honorary Petrelli (gee… thanks?).
The title card comes up inside a rib cage: “1961”. Pete digs up a baseball glove, and he does not appreciate the fucked-up-ness of digging up these bodies. So Princess Peter whines about it, and refused to dig any more.
Claire tries to talk Peter down about being pissed at Nathan. Because he’s trying, really he is! Peter gets that knowing look in his eyes. “He charmed you,” Peter says. “It happens to all of us.” Translation? “You totally had sex with him. Yeah, me too.”
Peter sees pensive!Angela brooding among the abandoned buildings, and goes to her for answers. Angela stares off into the desert, aaaaaaand…
We’re in black and white, in 1961. Namaste, everyone! It’s the
Dr.
In the way of all concentration camps, Coyote Sands separates the children from their parents. I half expected Angela’s mom to have to choose one daughter to send to the gas chamber. I mean, not to make Holocaust jokes or anything, but seriously, that was the vibe. Way to creep me out, Heroes.
Charles Deveaux, Bob Bishop, and Daniel Linderman walk into the girls' bunk and flirt with Angela. Alice is not so sure they’re cool. I’m not so sure about Young Linderman’s accent. I am sure that if I were Angela, it would have taken Arthur a hell of a lot of effort to drag me away from hunky Young Charles Deveaux.
Alice, Angela’s younger sister, has serious doubts about this place. But the government told Angela that they could make the dreams go away, so she has to stay here. And besides, because what she has is genetic, the whole family is involved. Uh huh. Come to our camp in the middle of nowhere for your gene therapy, kiddies! It’ll be fun!
Adorably, Young Alice packed only toys and dolls, no clothes. Notably, no socks. This will be important later. Angela comforts her sister, saying that she’s always protected her (Indian burns are srs bzns, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) and outside, the sun comes out. She promises Alice that everything is going to be okay, but it won’t, Angela reveals. Because they all died here.
And history might repeat itself! I like the parallel here of Nathan and Peter fighting while Alice and Angela are also having a little disagreement, but eventually (in 1961) Angela reminds Alice how much she loves her and cares about her. *sniff sniff*
Peter apparently doesn't find the moment as touching as I do. He ungraciously asks why the hell she had to bring them out here and dig up the bodies. Couldn't she have just, y'know, told them this? But Angela had a dream about Alice, and thinks she has to give her a proper burial. Which is a nice sentiment, actually.
Angela explains that the company started here, to help make sure this would never happen again. That’s kind of a noble goal. Nathan agrees that Angela had every right to do what she did. Peter doesn’t agree. He especially resents the fact that Nathan, Noah, and Angela were continuing, in their own ways, to try to keep the existence of people with abilities secret.
Claire: That’s what you were trying to do.
HRG: Yeah.
Claire: But you blew it.
HRG: Yeah.
Claire: You suck.
HRG: Yep.
Peter storms out, determined not to be a part of this fuckery. He flies away, but Nathan goes after him.Just like when they were little, except 10,000 feet up!
Back in 1961, Angela has a bad dream. She flees the bunk and runs into the boys. Linderman touches her ankle oh-so-tenderly and heals a scar from a bicycle accident to prove that they have abilities, too. She warns them not to trust Suresh. It might have had something to do with her dream, which was confusing. “Banana” is Angela’s nickname? Yeah, I've heard that one before. I guess it makes about as much phonetic sense as "Bob" for Robert or "Sasha" for Alexander.
In the Girls Only Super Slumber Party Bunk House, Alice has a power too. She confesses that she can control the weather. She makes it snow to prove it. Angela says, "That's the last X-men ripoff you get. If Charles Deveaux turns out to have an adamantium skeleton, I am out of here."
Back at the same set, only a little more decayed, Angela and Claire are left to do some bonding after Claire sends her dad away. Angela explains that she wishes she’d been more like Claire. Angela insinuates that she did something really, really bad that she doesn’t want to confess. A duststorm springs up, which is what happened in Angela’s dream. Angela runs outside, but Claire pulls her back so she doesn’t get blown away to Oz.
After the commercial break, Nathan catches up with Peter in the Coyote Sands Café, which looks surprisingly like the Burnt Toast diner, and all other Heroes diners. Peter and Nathan glare soulfully at each other. “Nobody can look down your nose at me better than you,” Nathan says. They argue about the 1986 Mets, because Peter has never forgiven Nathan for allegedly tricking him into seeing a playoff game instead of the World Series. But considering that Peter was only SIX YEARS OLD when that happened, you think he would have gotten the hell over it. His lips are really, really red in this scene. It’s kind of distracting.
Managing to think despite the pretty, pretty lips, Nathan begs Peter to forgive him. Then the emergency warning system goes off on the television, announcing a high wind warning. Uh-oh! Let's go back to the concentration camp and make sure everything's okay!
HRG is caught out in the storm. The smoke monster…I mean Mohinder grabs him. They shout at each other over the wind. It’s kind of comical, and I bet it was pretty comical to shoot as well. Mohinder says some stuff about his dad, HRG says some stuff about he's so over working for the government. Whatever. Back to the Petrellis.
In 1961, the sign above the door in the Girls Only Super Slumber Party Bunk House says, “Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.” Well, at least it doesn't say, "Work will set you free..." Dr. Suresh takes Angela away for testing. She says that she had a dream about him killing everyone, and the creepy guys in the corner get it all on tape. She warns him that this is going to get out of his control (shades of Nathan). He repays her by injecting her with a huge needle.
In color, Angela rushes out into the storm, looking for atonement, and disappears. Nathan and Peter, however, have returned. In fact, they land very close to each other, which apparently means that they were holding hands as they flew (so they didn't lose each other in the storm, obviously!) They all spread out to look for Angela.
Bennet shows Mohinder the bones they’ve dug up. Mohinder concludes that his father was Dr. Mengele (note: that's Josef Mengele, evil Nazi bastard doctor who killed and experimented on people at Auschwitz-Birkenau. HRG urges Mohinder not to condemn his father too quickly.
“Working with the enemy doesn’t necessarily make you the enemy,” HRG points out. Mohinder's all like, "Keep telling yourself that, dude."
When they're all together again, HRG towers over the rest of the cast, and Nathan sends Mohinder after Peter, since he realizes that Peter isn’t listening to him too well right now. And he probably hopes they'll have some epic hate!sex that will leave Peter feeling a bit more relaxed.
In a derelict cabin, Mohinder laments the inevitability of repeating their parents’ mistakes. Peter says he’s being too hard on himself. I disagree.
“I know what it’s like to have parents who are ‘less than,’ Peter says. Amen, Peter. I mean, Arthur was certainly less than. Angela's a certifiable badass. Don't badmouth her. Mohinder believes that there’s redemption for Nathan, but Peter still doesn’t buy it. He'd better start buying it soon, I say.
In another derelict cabin (or the same, redressed cabin), Noah and Nathan have a heart-to-heart, and Noah points out that Nathan has made a mess of things. He warns Nathan about the shape-shifting thing. Claire laments that she doesn’t get a chance to read much anymore. Claire tried so hard to impress her daddies, and they try to give her some parenting. It’s cute. Now I want fic where Noah and Nathan raise Claire together.
By the way, these people aren't doing a very good job of looking for Angela. Probably you could stick your head into a cabin, notice that there was nothing to hide behind, and move on. Instead, they seem to be walking through the camp going, "Is she under this piece of paper? No. How about behind this tumbleweed? No. Well, let's sit down and have some tea. Nothing that bad could possibly have happened to Angela." Aren't they worried that the others took he?
In 1961, Charles Deveaux tells Angela it’s time for their escape attempt. He advises her to lie to Alice. And she does. She lies her ass off.
Alice: Are you going to make out with those three teenagers?
Angela: Yes, but that’s not the point. You’ll be fine. Promise.
Alice: Is that true?
Angela: I had a dream. You’re totally going to be okay. If you stay here, you’ll be safe. Would I lie to you? I'm not a Petrelli yet! I'm completely honest!
In color, Angela wakes up in an underground lair. It's an old bomb shelter full of old newspapers and canned goods. It sort of reminds me of my Great Aunt Pat's house. I'm surprised there are no cats. Anyway, down the stairs comes Alice, looking very weather witch.
In 1961, at the Coyote Sands Café, the escaped teenagers are eating burgers and shakes. Angela’s trying to convince the cops that all is not right, but Charles distracts her with a dance. Wait, now how did she end up with Arthur? Charles is definitely the way to go. Anyway, when the cook objects to their dancing, Deveaux mind-whammys the racist diner employees and patrons. So that's his power! Telepathy and mind-wipe power for everyone!
Angela, though, will not be distracted from her responsibilities. “Socks! We need socks for Alice!” Oh, that’s where her socks obsession came from. Awww. But the radio announces that there are sudden flash floods and high winds, and Angie knows that's not good news.
You see, the night Angela left, Suresh came for Alice. She got freaked out, and accidentally started a chain reaction of craziness, with specials powers going off, and the soldiers shooting everyone. Oops! But Alice decided that staying at the camp was the thing to do, since that's what Angela had assured her would keep her safe.
“I have socks for you,” Angela says. That’s the cutest things ever. Then she proceeds to explain the reasoning behind her propensity for sock theft, saying, “There are simple ways to protect the ones we love.” Awww.
Angela was actually doing okay, until she gets the horrible idea that complete honesty is the best policy for dealing with the mentally ill. Wrong, Angela. Wrong.
When Angela admits she lied about dreaming this place was safe, Alice gets upset. Peter and Suresh come in, but Alice reacts poorly to the professor’s son. Angela tries once more to talk her down, but she’s gone. Farewell, Crazy Alice! You are another proud, twisted branch of the Petrelli family tree!
Mohinder stares soulfully out into the desert. Alice's reaction hurt his feelings, you see. He thinks his father was a monster. Personally, I think he might want to be thinking more about the guy who injected himself with an unknown formula, started growing scales and webbing up drug dealers, and experimented on human subjects at Primatech. But maybe I'm judgmental. Peter found a film reel in an old office, and he gives it to Suresh. I think it's the orientation film for The Orchid. Mohinder isn’t ready to forgive himself, so he stays at Coyote Sands, and Peter goes off with his family.
At the diner, Angela watches her family chowing down together and flashes back to the genesis of the company. At the diner (in black and white) it was her idea to make sure no one found out about special people. So she recruits Charles, Bob, and Daniel to her cause. It's kind of stirring, actually.
Nathan sees her brooding, and goes to give her the old copy of Alice in Wonderland. He totally understands the guilt of betraying a younger sibling. She goes to join them at the table. I hope they saved her a milkshake.
Peter points out the important differences between Company and family and says that families have the capacity for forgiveness. And he totally means that, Nathan! I see smex in your future!
Nathan says that he’ll totally go to Washington and take responsibility for his mistakes. Except that someone already has! Sylar is in Washington, Five Years Gone-ing it up. Oh no! What will happen next! Tune in next week for another exciting edition of Heroes!
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-20 02:49 am (UTC)Well, at least Angela's obsessive klepto-ing was of socks and not, say, that other wardrobe necessity, underwear. Imagine the pilot episode if Peter and Nathan go to the police station to find out their mom's been arrested for shoplifting crotchless panties again.
Another brilliant commentary! I live for these things.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-29 10:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-20 03:06 am (UTC)It totall screamed it, didn't it =D
I am sure that if I were Angela, it would have taken Arthur a hell of a lot of effort to drag me away from hunky Young Charles Deveaux
Or Young Linderman for that matter. Or Young Bob. That poor boy did NOT age well, but he was cute at the time in a dork sort of way.
Nathan agrees that Angela had every right to do what she did.
Because Nathan just couldn't kiss ENOUGH ass in this episode.
or "Sasha" for Alexander.
I've never heard that one before. I do know a girl named Sasha Alexander though, as in, her full name. Odd.
It’s kind of comical, and I bet it was pretty comical to shoot as well.
I bet there was ten thousand fucking outtakes. I wouldn't have been able to do it with a straight face.
Wait, now how did she end up with Arthur? Charles is definitely the way to go.
And sleep with Kaito. Who wasn't Angela with? Really. No way in hell are Peter and Nathan full brothers, lol.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-29 10:18 pm (UTC)Yeah, all the Young Company folks were sexy. No wonder Adam wanted to hang out with them.
Sasha for Alexander might be a Russian thing. They also use Sasha for Alexandra... Don't know the origin of that.
Heh, now I'm trying to imagine Sendhil and Jack trying to scream at each other over the sound of a wind machine, and cracking it up.
And due, Angela totally slept with everyone in the Company. I bet half the characters in Heroes are really her children.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-21 08:01 am (UTC)Wait, now how did she end up with Arthur? Charles is definitely the way to go.
I know! But, young Robert F was pretty hot too. Threesome, anyone?
no subject
Date: 2009-04-29 10:19 pm (UTC)And oh, narrative resonance... Sometimes Heroes does it, sometimes not. But I like to give them credit for smarty-pantsness whenever I can.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-21 01:54 pm (UTC)i know why i dont need comedy and crack.
heroes beats them all!
no subject
Date: 2009-04-29 10:20 pm (UTC)