Commentary: Heroes 3x24: I am Sylar

[brighteyedjill]

Previously, says Nathan, Gabriel chats with his mommy. And then stabs her in the heart, Baby Touch and Go is super adorable (which I say every week, but is true every week), Micah is back, being Rebel, Sylar and Danko team up, and we see part of a cut scene in which Sylar takes over the identity of some poor government peon. Two weeks in a row they've included deleted scene footage as part of the previouslies... Hmm.


In the Coyote Sands diner, Sylar is on television, impersonating Nathan.Yes, we saw this last week, but I don't mind another excuse to drool over the scuffed-up Petrelli clan.



Sylar wakes up as Agent Taub, and he’s a little upset that he doesn’t look like himself. For just a moment, I tought Taub was being played by Lee Tergeson. But maybe that's because Danko/Devlin is around, and I'm having Oz associations left and right. Anyway, Sylar's having trouble with his body not being like his own any more. He pulls an extra tooth out of his mouth to prove it. Ew.



Matt and Matty talk to Janice on a pay phone, and Matt suddenly has something to live for, so he won’t be storming Building 26. He claims that he doesn't want to miss Baby Matty's first steps, first baseball game, aw isn't this adorable EXCEPT THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE A KID! Remember last season when you went through the character arc of discovering empowerment through fatherhood of your adopted daughter Molly. No? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.


Matt makes the point that they have no plan, and Ando actually seems to be concerned about this. That's cuz Batman usually has a plan. Despite Matt being a total downer and refusing to tell them where the bad guys' lair is, Hiro and Ando, want to storm the castle and save the princess. I hope that Hiro’s power keeps working, even without the baby.


Danko and Sylar chat in a garden. Sylar seems emo. He’s upset about his DNA getting weirded out when he shifts so much. Danko tries to pep-talk him into staying as Taub to keep his freedom. And then he not-so-subtly threatens him. Which is funny, because I don’t so much think that Sylar would be scared of that. Still, Sylar is cowed, and changes back into Taub.



He uses telekinesis to carve “I am Sylar” into his forearm. Um… self-harm is not good, Sy. Get help. I know a place. Seriously, I am concerned about you. Just say the word, and I'll be here, buddy.



Tom Miller, Richmond, Virginia, is the old man version of a crazy cat lady. He gets a text from Rebel telling him to run, but he doesn’t run before Sylar appears (as himself!) in his house. This time, when Sylar shifts, his clothes shift with him. Uh… continuity fail, show. Last time he had to go out and buy a replica of Sandra's coat? The original guy with the power had to keep a closet full of costumes? And suddenly... what now?



Sylar misleads Tom into thinking he’s there to help, and Tom shows him his neat-o sonic disintegration power. Sylar then gives Tom a choice: me, or those government agents. In the great Indiana Jones tradition, Tom chooses...poorly.



When Danko shows up with his boys, “I am Sylar” is scrawled across the wall in blood, and poor Tom’s head is ripped open. Danko is pissed. Especially when “Taub” keeps passing remarks about Sylar’ ego. Heh.



In Building 26, Sylar is a little misty-eyed as he waits for Danko. He’s losin it, man! No, he is seriously emo. I’m a little worried for him. Sylar hands over Tom’s phone, with a text from Rebel, as a peace offering.



Danko, master of the double life, advises Sylar to find an anchor: something that reminds him of himself, so that he can remember who he is. Danko shows Sylar a watch his father gave him. Aw, Danko had a father and was not hatched from an egg in a secret government installation and raised to be the perfect soldier! Sylar analyzes the watch: running three minutes fast and gaining a second every hour. He then explains that his original power is that one: knowing how things work. It’s kind of sweet, actually.



Crimson Arc is the hero name Ando has given himself. Hiro dubs it, “Dangerous yet ladylike.” I think it sounds like a euphamism for menstruation. Ando and Hiro go over their plan, which is to get Ando captured. Ando is understandably not cool with this. Are we really having the sidekick arguement again? How many times must we repeat the same arc? Get a new schtick! But when the agents burst in and Hiro freezes time, Ando is immune. Bwah?



Sylar has ordered the file from his mother’s unsolved murder. “What’s the Federal government care about some dead old broad from Queens?” asks the poor cop who presumably had to shlep that box of evidence all the way down to DC. He gets a door slammed in his face for his trouble.


Sylar creepily smells his mother’s blood-stained shirt. Oh Sylar baby. He looks at the scissors that killed his mother, and replays her death in his head. But the Eiffel Tower snow globe upsets him, and he smashes it against the wall.



He hallucinates Virginia there and talks with his dead mother about his real parents. But wait! It's ont a hallucination! Sylar was transforming into her. Um… *is skeeved out* Shades of Norman Bates, much?


Danko stops by to get Taub so they can go arrest Rebel.

Danko: What are you doing?

Sylar: Nothing.

Danko: Is it something that would creep out even me?

Sylar: ...Yes.



Apparently when Hiro’s touching someone, they also don’t freeze. Is that true? *Tries to remember all freezing instances in the past* It seems like he's been grappled before when freezing time... Although I could be mistaken. In any case, I guess if he can touch someone and teleport with them, it sort of makes sense that he could take someone out of time with him.


Ando calls Hiro fascist, coming dangerously close to violating Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies. But apparently he's on the right track, because Hiro purposely lets Ando get shot. It’s uncool.



Team Hunter is on their way to get Micah. They cut the power to the building where he’s staying: no electricity=no machines. I mean, except his batalion of Spring phones, which presumably run on batteries, but I guess they're no help to him all by their lonesome. Sylar beats them up there, and comes face to face with Rebel!Micah.




Sylar seems disappointed that Rebel is just a kid. Micah begs for his life by telling Sylar what he wants to hear: he’s special, and he can save them all.




Somewhere on the Baltimore/Washington Parkway, Ando and Hiro are in a transport van. Hiro freezes time so he can stop the flow of the woozy-drug and wake Ando up. Luckily for Hiro, Ando has his back, and prevents him from getting tazed by Crimson Arc-ing all the soldiers. Which was perhaps not the wisest plan, but when has either of these characters had a prayer of doing better?



Micha’s running away from the commandos, but it’s really Sylar looking like Micah! One hunter seems reluctant to shoot a child, but Danko is having none of it. "Shoot the bastard," he screams. "And shoot any puppies you see lying around, too! Or little kitties! In fact, where's that Parkman baby? Death for everyone!!" Or something to that effect.



Sylar lets them shoot him so they’ll think Rebel is dead! Go Sylar! Way to do something useful.



Micah goes home with Sylar, nad he gets freaked out watching Sylar do his Norman Bates routine. He mentions that his mom was also schitzophrenic, so he has some experience with this shit. Sylar feeling very vulnerable, so he threatens to kill Micah. Micah takes his chance to leave, but not before suggesting that Sylar become someone who can make a different (i.e. Nathan Petrelli). Great going, Micah. That will probably end well.



In Nathan Petrelli’s office in DC (where, apparently, he has many pictures of himself), Nathan finds a portable toothbrush with enough DNA to help him transform into Nathan. Damn your festidious dental hygiene, Nathan!


There’s the picture again, of the brothers Petrelli. Sylar misses being brothers with Peter, obviously. Cuz when he thought he was Peter's brother, he was like, "Sweet! Now I can totally tap that!" Now that they're not related, he has no chance of getting Peter into bed.



Virginia talks about how proud she is of Sylar becoming a Senator. Sylar gets all Fruedian, talking about how he really wanted his mother to die. “I killed the only woman who ever loved me.” Two women, friend. You also killed Elle. Fucker.



Sylar, very excited about the idea of being President, so he transforms into Nathan. “I won’t let you down, Ma.” Wow. That’s resonant in so many ways.



Matt arrives at Chez Janice and explains to baby Matty why he can’t just put the whammy on Janice. There are, however, agents watching the house, so they must flee to the summer home (where the federal government will for some reason be unable to find them). Matt awkwardly invites himself along.



Sylar!Nathan is being political and presidential! This is a Nathan we haven’t seen in a while. His hair is shiny.



Danko is not so down with this fuckery. He's sorry he let Sylar eat the shapeshifting math teacher. And I wonder how Nathan’s name is worth anything after Danko got footage of him flying away? Hm... Plot hole cleanup, aisle three!



Sylar!Nathan says that president “likes to talk about change.” Is that a dig at Obama?



Everyone in the universe is watching this broadcast of Nathan’s speech. It’s amazing, actually, that it’s being shown on anything except C-SPAN Just some random Senator talking in oblique terms about random shit? Nathan is not amused at this fuckery, either. In fact, he's holding his hand to his face in a very, "This is SO not going to end well" say. It's endearing.




Commerical break:Doyle has his own webisodes now? Cool.




At the diner, HRG advises a plan, but Nathan wants to do this himself. Angela reminds him that he can’t do this shit alone, because he has a tendancy to suck, and that's sad. Peter offers to go with, and Nathan turns him down and storms out, being all manly and impulsive. Everyone looks at Peter, as if to say, “Well, go after him, dummy!” And he does! Yay!




At Building 26, when Hiro tries to stop time, he gets a nosebleed. And just when Ando and Hiro were getting along, too! So they cuddle, hoping that this will stop the bleeding and restore Hiro's powers. My two guesses: 1) an awesome anti-power field around Building 26, or 2) Baby Touch-and-Go's effect has worn off.




Matt and Janice are getting ready to go, but Matt glances at his old police badge (which Janice has kept?) and has a crisis of conscience. Matt decides he has to go back and face his fears, etc., etc. Janice is like, "You love me, you don't, you want to be a part of your son's life, you don't, you want to protect us, you want to run off and be a hero. Make up your damn fool mind!"




Nathan flies back to DC, we get a lovely shot of his ass as he bends over to look in the drawers of his desk. Sorry, I'm shallow. Then it’s hot Pasdar on Pasdar action all the way. You know what this means, kids? The potential for Sylar!Nathan/Nathan action in canon! “You loathe yourself so much,” Sylar observes.When did he get all insightful?



“You have been a bad boy,” Sylar says. Um... is it getting sexy in here, or is it just me? His power to read the history of objects has given him insight into Nathan’s life. For one horrible moment, I think he's going to kill Nathan. No, I really thought they were going to do it. Then Danko tranqs Nathan, much to Sylar’s chagrin.




Now we're to the voiceover/montage part of the episode:

*Mohinder is busy looking at an old filmstrip when agents come and take him down again.

*At Chez Janice, Matt mind-whammies the agents into leaving them alone.

* HRG, Claire, and Angela run into a roadblock, and SO get captured.

So, it's just like the first episode of this volume? Everyone is in Danko's clutches... Again! Just in time for the big final battle!



Danko has had enough of this crap, and stabs Sylar in the back of the head. Cuz Sylar forgot the safeword. But Sylar gets right back up, and he’s mad. Uh-oh for Danko!


Next week, no Petrellis had better die, or I won't survive the summer!

Comments

[sarkywoman.livejournal.com]

I shouldn't have read this, but it'll be ages before I see the ep, and this was just too funny.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Heh heh. Glad I could lead you into temptation *wiggles eyebrows suggestively*

[miss-miso.livejournal.com]

Crimson Arc is the hero name Ando has given himself. Hiro dubs it, “Dangerous yet ladylike.” I think it sounds like a euphamism for menstruation.

LOL, I think you've nailed it. And so did Hiro! Nice one writers.

Love your recaps. They always make me smile :)

It's gone a bit crazy in the middle there - it's making serious statements like "irreparable invalid markup" before it starts to repeat script...yikes! LJ is pissed at you today!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up on the LJ vomit. I mopped it up.

The writers can be funny! I know they can! On occasion!

[kelleah.livejournal.com]

And I wonder how Nathan’s name is worth anything after Danko got footage of him flying away? Hm... Plot hole cleanup, aisle three!

I'm not sure how Nathan's name isn't mud in D.C. right now after he was forced to flee for his (and Claire's) life, but there isn't any footage of Nathan flying away.

In "Shades of Gray," Rebel turns off the camera in the hallway over Danko's head. So others may know what happened, but there isn't any video proof of it available.

Just Danko and HRG's word.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Huh. I thought they made a point of showing that the video camera was blinking with a red light and so on. But I could be mistaken.

In any case, his name really should be mud. Wasn't there any kind of political fallout form all the detainee footage Peter put out?

[kelleah.livejournal.com]

I agree. I wanted to see some backlash about the detainee footage myself, or at least an explanation about how Matt's "attempt" to blow up a part of D.C. somehow deflected the fallout from the video.

But we gots nuttin'. TBH, I'm not surprised.

I thought they made a point of showing that the video camera was blinking with a red light and so on. But I could be mistaken.

I thought so too. But cadesama suggested I go back and watch it again. Which I gladly did because "SoG" is easily one of my favorite episodes this season/volume.

If you just watch the hallway camera during each shot of Danko, you'll notice it blinks red right up until the moment before Danko has his last line before the camera cuts back to Nathan and Danko fires the gun.

During that moment, the hallway camera stops blinking exactly when you assume it will blink again. It's very subtle. I missed it the first time too. I think the writer/director wanted us to notice the camera actually turned off, but most of us didn't.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Hm... I'll have to call Heroes on sloppy filmmaking at least, if that's what they wanted us to understand from that scene... It seems that for as many shots as there were of that camera, they didn't put much effort into making us understand it was turned off. *le sigh*

Yeah, the whole media-circus aspect was applied pretty haphazardly to the events of this volume. It was an issue only when the writers wanted it to be, and the rest of the time we were supposed to forget about it, it seems. Ah well. At least someone was covering some unknown junior Senator's boring press conference and broadcasting it directly to Coyote Sands for our convenience...