Thoughts on Heroes 5th Episode

Upon seeing the latest episode of Heroes, I was slightly let down at the fact they just tried to cram a lot of random things into this one. For example, having Niki just break down a door, toss Suresh aside, throw "Bob" up against a wall then get tasered down by Suresh. Apparently, Suresh is great at subduing those with superhuman powers, because he was able to knock out Sylar before, something Peter Petrelli and others have had difficulty with! But that's besides the point, we also saw Peter just happen to have a blank canvas to paint on in a room. How coincidental! Then there was Monica Dawson. One minute she's telling Micah, "I just want answers". The very next minute, she's met the guy with answers, as Dr. Suresh just happens to arrive at the home right then. What gives?

I hate being skeptical or pessimistic about a show I love, but we can definitely expect so much more from this show. A recent critical article I read discussed how the show was dumbing down a bit, and tonight seemed to involve that just a bit. Kristen Bell's character is somewhat interesting with her lightning power, and you wonder if she was in contact with Peter before since he had some sort of lightning bolt shoot from his hand on Episode 1 this season. Elle seems crafted in the same way as Drew Barrymore's "Firestarter", a young girl studied and exploited for her dangerous powers. Quite possibly her father is "Bob" at the company.

If Matt Parkman's dad is the "Serial Hero Killer", it makes this season less fun for guessing about. I was beginning to zero in on 2 suspects as the "Hooded Heroes Killer". Dallas Petrelli (father of Peter and Nathan) makes some sense. Nobody can confirm his suicide/death, so it is very possible he isn't dead. He's back extracting revenge on all those who were trying to make his sons responsible for such a terrible explosion scene in New York. Remember, he wanted to save the world according to Mr. Linderman. Also, we were lead to believe Angela Petrelli and Kaito Nakamura had a bit of an affair. There's some motive for Kaito's murder and Angela Petrelli getting attacked.

The second suspect who could be interesting is Takezo Kensei. A lot of people seem to believe he's the culprit, and one theory I've developed is that maybe he is at the end of every hero we met's "family tree". Perhaps they are all in Kensei's lineage, as he was present with that original eclipse. He may possess or acquire powers as time goes on, similar to Peter and Sylar. Or he may just have the one power we've seen, healing himself. Either way, if he couldn't be killed back in time, what's to say he didn't age much and that he's not still alive in present time? Makes you wonder. The question would be what is his motive though? Seeing what Matt Parkman's deadbeat dad was capable of on this past episode and the photo Parkman and Nathan found of "Bob" with a red helix on it, seems to lend credibility to Matt's dad as the killer.

On a few final notes, Heroes won the "Best TV Show" award at Spike's "Scream 2007 Awards" show. Hayden Panettiere won "Breakout Performance". The show featured the best in Horror, Sci Fi and Comic Books. Maya, Sylar, Peter, Niki and Claire went up to accept the award with Peter giving a brief speech. Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia and Zachary Quinto were also presenters. See more about the Scream 2007 awards show here.

Also, TV Guide has opened up voting for the 2007 Online Video Awards.

Heroes is nominated for the following:

Best TV Show Site for Heroes Evolutions at NBC.com
Best Extras for Heroes Character Profiles at NBC.com
Best TV Drama Webisodes for Yamagato Fellowship's "Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint" at NBC.com

Vote for Heroes here at TVGuide.com!