Heroes Finale (The Last 3 Episodes)

With school and LOST fever starting up, I haven't had as much time to spend on Heroes as I would like. I started writing a blog for The Art of Deception, but then had a huge Advanced Anatomy test from the head of the department, so I kind of had to make a choice. Anyways, here is an abridged, but still heartfelt, reflection on the episodes "The Art of Deception", "The Wall", and "Brave New World".

The first episode of this set of triplets was so action-packed, it went by before I knew it. It starts off right after Samuel gets dumped and levels an entire city under the earth. He is pouting and freaking everyone at the carnival out. Lydia notices and isn't afraid to tell him so. She tells him that he made the wrong choice in destroying that town, and tells him that she no longer trusts him. He takes the news well enough, and walks away with a blanket over his shoulders like some sort of addict.

Claire visits her dad after a fight with Gretchen about not wanting her to steal her car, and she sees Noah's plans to infiltrate Samuel. He has a huge model of the carnival on his dinner table and Lauren tells her to stay and wait for him to come back. Apparently Noah was just out getting some bullets or beets or.... yams. Anyways, Claire gets her compass and goes to the Carnival to warn Lydia. She tells her that her father wants Samuel and only Samuel, and he would do best to turn himself in. Lydia somehow agrees with this crazy idea, and the two of them confront Samuel in a soft, monotone manner.

Samuel agrees to it a little too quickly, and smiled a devious smile. He knows in the back of his head that his henchman Eli overhead Claire and Lydia talking about how scary he is behind his back. How third grade of him. But then again, how third grade have all of this character's moves been, I mean, really?

Noah and Lauren scope out the carnival with some binoculars and a sniper rifle in the forest. Claire calls Noah and tells him not to harm Samuel, that he is coming peacefully to be taken in. Noah regretfully sighs and agrees to his daughters' pleas. But, even if Samuel does come quietly and peacefully, where is Noah taking him to? The company burned down a long time ago. Is he going to hold him in his apartment and make him eat cereal all day with him? I don't think the two of them would make very good roommates. Noah seems kind of clean, and Samuel is a little well.... on the messy side.

Claire hangs up the phone and Samuel makes it a big deal to tell his 'family' that he is surrendering himself to an agent. He says that Claire has failed them and has brought them there, but he will give himself up to keep the rest of them safe. He says all of this before shots are fired. He gets shot in the shoulder and Claire gets a bullet in the neck. The two of them fall to the ground under cover of some trash barrels and listen as more shots are fired. Someone runs up to Samuel (odd under gunfire, don't you think?) and tells him to come quick. Samuel follows his family member to find this:

Oh no. The most lackluster character on this show died. Darn.

But in all seriousness, Lydia was actually shot in the chest, and that is a pretty fatal wound. Claire sees her wound and runs off to go get some towels. Why she doesn't cut herself open and give Lydia some of her regenerative blood beats me, but she doesn't do it. She doesn't even think about doing it. Maybe she was in shock. Maybe she was too scared to think of it. Maybe no one liked Lydia, so the writers killed her off for us before she could ruin the finale. Good job, writers.

Lydia is dying in Samuel's arms, and I know I always thought there was something between the two of them, but I didn't want to see it like this. I didn't want to see Lydia all bloody and dying before Samuel planted his slithery lips on hers. I just..... I guess I was wrong about them.

Samuel looks down at her and says "You wanted to know what was in my heart?" And then he kisses her so awkwardly and grossly, it almost made me not like him anymore. Almost. Through her empathic powers, Lydia's last words are "You did this?!" And then she bites the dust before Claire comes back with some useless dishrags. Way to go Claire.

We then watch as Noah is shocked in the forest as shots are fired. He put his sniper rifle on safety, and was waiting for Samuel to surrender. He looks through his scope and sees Eli shooting at his own people with a similar sniper rifle. Lauren tries to go warn them, orhead him off, or something, I can't really remember, and gets shot herself. Noah is knocked out cold by one of Eli's multiples and is dragged to the center of the carnival while Samuel does one of his "See, I told you so" bits.

He tells his family that Noah has shot and killed Lydia, that he wouldn't take him in without a fight, and that they will never be safe until they show the world how powerful they are. Lydia, as annoying as she was, was right. In her dying words she spoke the truth. Samuel pulled a V for Vendetta, or a 9/11 as some of you dirty liberals would say. He staged his own disaster to solve. What a putz.

This is the end of this story arc in this episode, and then it goes to Matt Parkman coming home to Janice entertaining Sylar with some cookies in his kitchen. Sylar basically has had a change of heart and wants to find himself. His deep and meaningful talk with Claire makes Sylar force Matt to take his powers away. Matt is reluctant to do anything remotely close to the Nathan/Sylar/Matt debacle again, but is eventually convinced. He tells Sylar that he can put his powers in a secret place where he can never access them again. He says that he will be free until, well, he's not.

Parkman pulls a fast one on Sylar and leaves his house. But he's not just leaving his house. He's leaving Sylar's psyche. He tells him he's trapped him in his own nightmare of being alone forevere and he can never hurt anyone again. He says "Welcome to hell," which is one of my favorite phrases ever. Not only does he use a clever phrase before leaving him to rot in a decrepid coma, but he builds a wall around him. He traps him in his basement and builds a wall.... brick by brick around his unconscious body. How Caske of Amantillado? How dark and amazing is that? I love Edgar Allen Poe references, and this one was just subtle enough to make me smile.

The next episode is focused on Peter. All Claire does is watch a bunch of memories of her dad's in the house of mirrors. Samuel tries to get amemory of a previous marriage to make her turn on him, but it doesn't work. Duh. The cool thing about this part? We got to see some sweet Noah flashbacks. He had hairpieces, and a black wife that got killed by a super. We see where his original hatred of supers came from, and why he joined the company. We find out that he was getting sloppy and killing too many supers, so the company 'suggested' he take a wife. This all would have been heartbreaking if Sandra and Noah hadn't divorced a year ago. So, like Evita said in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production, "That's good to hear, but uninmportant."

Claire tells Samuel he is bad and that he's stupid for thinking she would turn on her dad. She tells him he couldn't show her a memory of him killing Lydia, and catches him in a lie. Samuel accepts his defeat, tells her that her father is in the souvenir trailer, and sinks it 40 feet below the ground once she is inside. How sweet.

Peter goes to his mother's house and demands to know where Sylar is. He has been having more dreams about Emma playing the cello and Sylar saving her. Angela tells him that just because he dreamed this, doesn't mean that he will actually save his friend. Wise words from a (sort of) wise woman, but Peter doesn't have time for it. He gets the information out of her, and heads to Parkman's house. Which is in LA. And Peter lives in New York. So I don't know how he got there so fast without Hiro's power considering he only has one power at a time and he only has his mother's power at the moment and..... My head exploded.

Peter knocks on Parkman's door, takes his power, and finds Sylar in the Caske of Amantillado. He tells Parkman of his dreams and that he needs to save him. Parkman tells him of the risks of where Sylar is. He tells him that if he goes in there, he may never come out. Peter doesn't listen to him, and goes inside. This action either shows how much he actually cares about Emma, or how rash and stupid he truly is. I am going to go with both.

Peter is in New York again, but it is a post-apocalyptic New York. He runs around for a while and finds a depressed Sylar... well I guess I would call him Gabriel at this point. Peter finds him reading books and tells him that they need to get out of there to save Emma. Gabriel asks who Emma is, and what's the point. He says he's been trying to get out of this place fore years and can't do it. He says it's hopeless and that Peter is stuck there with him. Duh, Peter, why didn't you listen to Parkman in the first place?

Peter and Gabriel run around, and realize that hours go by as years do, and that, like in the movie Pleasantville, only books they have read or things they have eaten manifest themselves in this nightmare. Gabriel gives Peter a book and tells him that his old copy has worn out. The two of them have truly been with each other for more than a few years. This sense of entirety and loneliness was portrayed beautifully, and couldn't have been done better.

The two men run into a brick wall when trying to leave the torturous city. Peter recognizes it as Parkman's wall in the basement. They have been beating it with sledgehammers for years to no avail. Peter gets frustrated and takes a break. Gabriel says that he knows that look well. He delves into one of Nathan's memories of him as if it were his own. His face has such happiness as he delivers this line, we believe he is truly genuine.

Peter explodes and says that Gabriel is nothing like Nathan. He says that Nathan looked after him, and that whenever he sees Gabriel, all he can see is him killing Nathan. He says that he has never been able to get past it, and all he can think about is him taking Nathan away from him.

Gabriel is crushed. He says that he has changed, and is a different person. However many years have past between the two of them, Peter still hasn't forgiven Gabriel for being Sylar. Not to say that I can blame him, but if I spent almost ten years trapped with him, I might somehow, you know, find it in my heart to do so.

Gabriel begs Peter to forgive him, and once he does, the wall is suddenly mortal. Peter makes headway on the bricks, and he and Gabriel make their way out of Parkman's trap.

It amazes me that Heroes can deliver such an amazingly spiritual message as this. Forgiveness does wonders for the soul. Grudges and hatred are not only ugly things, but can truly limit your perception of the world, and what you can do in it. "The Wall" depicts that theme quite literally, and almost brought me to tears. Peter forgiving his enemy and then breaking down the barricade to his true path was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen on this show. Bravo, Tim Kring, Bravo.

The two of them emerge from the basement, realizing they had only spent 12 hours together instead of 12 years, and find Eli the Multiplier. They were sent to stabilize them and Parkman, but were clearly no match for Sylar and Peter. I mean, come on. It's Sylar and Peter for crying out loud. Anyways, they go upstairs and eventually convince Parkman that Gabriel is a repentant sinner and a changed man. Parkman plays with Eli's unconscious mind, and the two of them leave for the carnival. Which has moved back to New York, so I don't know how they got there so fast.....

Betwixt Claire and Noah being buried alive, and Gabriel and Peter breaking down a wall, Hiro wakes up from his immortal fight with Kenzei and cancer. He receives an origami swan from a lady a few rooms down. The nurse said she read his name and wanted to talk to him. His eyes light up at the thought of Charlie finally finding him, and he runs to the room as fast as he can.

Charlie is sitting in the room next to them, covered in wrinkles. Hiro is excited to see her, but is sad that he could not save her from Samuel's time trap. Charlie explains to him that after they left the Burnt Toast Diner, an old man took her to a street corner in 1944. She said that she waited for him for a little bit, but eventually adjusted. She said she got a job at a factory like all of the other girls in that time period, and made a lot of friends. She said that she has led a wonderful life, and made the best out of what had happened to her.

Hiro immediately thinks that this is a challenge he can fix, and thinks about when he can go back and snatch her out of the hands of time. Ando tells him that he should just leave her alone because she seems happy, but Hiro persists. He tells Charlie that he can go back and save her, but she says no. She says that she cared for Hiro, but eventually married a great man. She says that she had three children and seven grandshildren and led a happy, wonderful life. She didn't want to mess with her family's lives, and has accepted her fate to die of old age.

I really liked this plot point. I always thought that Samuel had her killed, or put her into some weird sort of limbo, but this is much better. This way Hiro could still see her after some time, but their love would be tainted by her age and experience. They would have grown so far apart at this point, that there wouldn't be any way to save her the way Hiro had planned. So, when Samuel said "Soon" after Hiro asked when he could see Charlie, he really wasn't lying. Hiro could have seen Charlie at any time if he really wanted to, but it would be tainted.

Back at the carnival, Noah and Claire struggle to find a way out of their grave. Lauren calls Tracy Strauss and says that Noah told her to call her if anything went wrong. She meanders into the crowded carnival and finds Emma in the medical tent of the camp. Apparently Peter smashing her cello led her straight to Samuel. Shocker. Emma is confronted by Samuel as Lauren hides behind a cabinet in her tent. He tells her in sign language that Lauren is evil and wants to harm them. Emma, not knowing any better, listens to him and lets Lauren get caught by Eli and Samuel.

Shortly after, Eli reports to Samuel that Lauren "escaped" from his many multiple guards. How a human is a match for a superhuman is besides me, but who am I to judge? Maybe Lauren has some sweet CIA skills, and knocked the original Eli out? Either way, it doesn't really matter. Samuel got what he wanted, and tells Eli that he is moving the carnival to Central Park where he can bring everyone to see him.

Claire andNoah come to terms with the fact that Noah is going to die, and Noah tells her his dying wish. He tells her he wants her to hide herself so that the government doesn't do tests on her forever. He says he wants her to be safe. He almost runs out of oxygen when all of this water bursts into the trailer. All of this water then takes the form of Tracy Strauss, and she shoots them both through 40 feet of dirt. She ensures that they are safe, and then leaves. She is the only character on this show that is acting like a classic comic book character. She does what is needed of her in the situation, and leaves. She doesn't ask for a thank you, or go with them to stop Samuel. She just stays in water form until they leave on Lauren's secret helicopter. Awesome. This makes me like Tracy even more.

The rest of the heroes all end up at the carnival at the same time. All of them were at different places in the States, but arrive just in time for Samuel's "Coming Out" party in New York. Emma is playing the cello like in Peter's dream; only Doyle is using his puppetmaster ability to force her to do so. When Samuel asked her to Siren the innocent bystanders in earlier, she thought of Peter's dream and refused. She called Samuel a bad man, and told him that he could not force her to do anything. Or as they say in Anchorman, "I immediately regret this decision". Doyle forces her to play and to think about the innocent New Yorkers. She plays for so long that her fingers start to bleed, and her blood drips morbidly down the strings of her instrument.

Meanwhile, Samuel pumps up his family. He tells them that all of the people there tonight will see how powerful they can be. He tells them that the news cameras will witness their power, and they can finally be respected. Edgar comes back after seeing Lydia's dead body earlier, and voices his opposition. Samuel doesn't care about one person in the midst of hundreds of believers, and decides to go on with the show.

Claire, however, has other plans. She runs up to him before he can go onstage and outs him in front of his family. She tells them that he gets his powers from them. She tells them that he would be nothing without them, and that he plans to kill everyone there tonight. She tells him that he killed Joseph, and set up the shots that killed Lydia. No one believes her at first, but Edgar and Noah walk up together and confirm her information. Eli then steps up and tells everyone what Samuel made him do. Parkman must have done a Truth Trick on him.

Samuel freaks out and asks his family who they believed; him or Claire. The family starts to walk away, and Samuel says that they can never run fast enough. He runs out onto the stage and asks the public if they are ready for a show.

As evil as his intentions are, this imagery is absolutely beautiful. The lights and the colors and decorations are so gorgeous, I can't keep my eyes off of it. Maybe that is the point of it all.

Gabriel and Peter arrive at the carnival a little bit before Samuel's defacement, and Gabriel finds Emma. Just like in Peter's dream, he frees her from Doyle's grasp. He doesn't kill him or take anyone's powers. He just helps them. Maybe he has changed. Maybe 12 years with no one to talk to but Peter really has changed his heart. Maybe he is a round, malleable character after all.

Peter, on the other hand, finds Samuel onstage before he can do any real damage. He jumps on top of him and forces him to the backstage area. He takes his powers upon contact and wrestles him to the ground. The two of them get to their feet and battle it out with the earth beneath them. This fight was cool because it was Peter against the major villain of this season, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed. In my mind I think I was expecting a more epic Power battle between Sylar and Peter and Samuel and maybe Hiro or Edgar. But this show isn't the X-Men. This show is called Heroes, and shows how normal people would deal with powers if they were given to them. This fight sequence was more realistic and less epic, and I think it makes sense.

Hiro gets all of the Supers to join hands, and teleports them somewhere safe away from the carnival. The point of this season and this villain is that a dictator, or a villain is often nothing without structure. Without the power in their community, and their following of people with pull and power, a person is often left with nothing. And, once Hiro teleported the Supers away from him, Samuel was powerless against Peter and our friends. His powers of manipulation and lying were used up as well as those that moved the earth.

Samuel is soon taken away in hand cuffs, and Lauren is there to cover up the supernatural occurrences with the press. Gabriel takes Emma to Peter and they have a heartfelt reunion. Gabirel then tells Peter that saving her and sparing Doyle actually felt good. He walks around the carnival with Peter as if they have always been best friends and nothing was weird.

Hiro returns with Ando after his friend supercharged his powers. He watches as Gabriel, Peter, Claire, and Noah all recover from the intense chain of events that have just occured. He watches as Claire defies her father and goes in front of the news cameras to tell them what really happened at the carnival that night. She tells them that if they really want to know what happened at the carnival, that they should watch her as she clibs to the top of the ferris wheel.

Noah looks up at her and everyone asks what she is doing. Noah replies with a somber "She's breaking my heart."

Claire crashes to the ground and pops all of her limbs back into place. She walks in front of the camera as her face heals immediately and says the phrase that she said in the pilot episode.

"My name is Claire Bennet, and this is attempt number.... I guess I've lost count."

Gabriel says that after this, it is a Brave New World. Not only is this an Aldous Huxley novel, but the title of the episode. This statement is sad because rumors of this series being cancelled after this season's low ratings have been floating around. The ratings have fallen to 4.4 million viewers on the season finale, opposed to 17.3 million viewers of Two and a Half Men on the same night. This drives one to question the choices the writers have made with this show this season. Was the carnival a bad decision? Did they focus too much on Claire and Sylar when they should have kept their focus on Peter, our protagonist? Has America lost interest in Sci Fi altogether? Or has LOST's final season just finally taken its toll on it's split-decision demographic?

Either way, I hope that Heroes continues on for at least one more season. I don't want to see it end this way, but I guess I don't want to see it end at all. This season wasn't that great, but it was still pretty good. If this is the end, Goodnight and farewell. If it is not, I will see you next year.

Shalom