I'm out. This past week's Heroes episode was my last.
This show started out in Season One as if it had been written with me in mind. I love a good superhero story. I loved that Twilight Zone, "something weird is happening, but we don't know why" element of super power discovery. I loved that the show understood that good superhero stories are always about the people and not the powers. Season One focused on a few fascinating characters and the intriguing plot behind their newfound powers.
Season Two was a mess. Blame the writers' strike if you like, but other shows seemed to do just fine in spite of it.
Regardless, Season Three has had ample opportunity to make up for whatever went wrong in Season Two and it hasn't. And while a lot has gone wrong with this show, it's what (or who) was at the heart of this show that serves as a metaphor for all that's gone wrong. The hero at the heart of Heroes is Hiro.
Hiro was the best part of Season One, a guy who had grown up on the stories of heroes and knew, when his powers began to develop, that it meant something big was coming. No one had to explain to him that "with great power comes great responsibility."
Season Three finds Hiro without any big problem to solve. So, instead of doing what any hero (and, for that matter what Hiro) would do and train patiently for whatever is coming next, Hiro creates an unnecessary problem in order to have something to solve. This problem begins (and continues to be) the main conflict of Season Three.
So, I'm done. I don't like the characters I used to like nor any of the new ones I've met. I hate the meandering purposelessness of these heroes every bit as much as I loved the resolve and purpose of the first season ones. I don't mind when Zach Braff's characters don't know how to move forward or serve as their own worst enemies, but Zach Braff's characters were never billed as heroes (and they tend to be funnier). This thing has gotten convoluted and frustrating and boring. I'm out. I'm done.
6 comments:
gave it up after week 2 this season and haven't missed it. Glad to have that hour back to be honest.
I'm this close to giving up. The main problem for me is Hiro's time travel ability. As you say, he simply creates his own problems. And I'd much rather that simply not be an ability. It's too much of a crutch to storytelling....if something goes wrong, all you have to do is go back (or forward) and try to prevent it. Also, as a trivial pursuit, someone should edit together everytime the phrase "Save the World" has been used, it would be hilarious.
Agree 100%. The writers forgot what makes a good story it seems. Sure, Hiro (let's say) did have flaws as his encounter with Adam bore out in season 1, but at core had a sense of purpose, focus and genuine resolve. What supported this even more was the friendship with Ando who kept Hiro real. But the direction he's been given this season doesn't fall in line. He's been made frivolous and petty. And when can we have a story with a true friendship like Tolkien's Frodo and Sam on the (big or little) screen? (This is my one great bash against Jackson's LOTR who decided to exalt Gollum instead.)
Also, making the characters ambiguous appears to add complexity and seems to lend credibility to your story, but not really. A hero might be boring if he always makes the "right" choice, but he becomes nonsensical and marginalized when you can't wishfully predict his next action. Too many fall into that category. You must continue to allow some to know and remember that you don't overcome evil with evil, but evil can only be overcome by good.
So verbose.
Guess that was more like 4¢.
I agree with some of your points, particularly those regarding Hiro, but I do enjoy this season more than Season 2.
I'd enjoy a root canal more than Season 2.
Fun little bit of minutia - part of the "secret formula" from season three is the chemical structure for caffeine.
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