Heroes Review: “Acceptance”

The show moves at a slow rate, but the writing represents a consistent improvement over the last two seasons. If you gave up on Heroes, there is some hope.

Title: “Acceptance”

Cast and Crew

Jack Coleman as Noah Bennett
Milo Ventimiglio as Peter Petrelli
Adrian Pasdar as Nathan Petrelli Sylar
Zachary Quinto as Sylar
Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennett
Christine Rose as Angela Petrelli
Ali Larter as Tracy Strauss
Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura
James Kyson Lee as Ando Masahashi
Saimi Nakamura as Kimiko Nakamura
Robert Knepper as Samuel Sullivan
Cacho Ribeiro as Lydia
Akihiro Kitamura as Tadashi of the Famous Butt1

“Acceptance”

Nathan: Every time there’s a secret, I find you with a shovel behind your back.
Angela: You should writer Mother’s Day cards.

Premises

  • Peter visits Noah.and tries to convince him that the compass holds significance.
  • Claire visits Noah and encourages him to take a new direction with his life.
  • Tracy visits Noah after getting her old job back. She also experiences some difficulties going with the flow.
  • Hiro’s attempts to help a disgraced worker move from annoying to amusing to meaningful.
  • Angela’s attempts to bring back Nathan/Sylar’s memories uncover an old, unsolved mystery—with unforeseen consequences.
  • We get confused again by cheesy promotional material for the online tie-in series, “Slow Burn.”
  • High Point

    A very silly and derivative time-travel plot actually develops into something meaningful….

    Low Point

    …though I wonder if they’re ever going to address what has happened to the show’s established history, given Ando and Kimiko’s retroactively altered relationship.

    The Scores

    Originality: 4/6.

    Effects: 6/6.

    Story: 5/6. The story takes some unexpected twists as it crawls ever forward. Generally, I’m impressed by this seasons’ writing.

    Acting: 5/6. The show has strong actors. Masi Oka, in particular, stands out this week. I wish Coleman and Panettiere had done even more with their father-daughter bonding scene—this had so much potential—but series television is hard on actors, and they do a pretty good job.

    Emotional Response: 4/6

    Production: 6/6

    Overall: 5/6.

    35/42.

    Notes

    1. There’s a twisted joke of sorts in the casting, given Kitamura’s involvement in the controversial Human Centipede (First Sequence). DO NOT click on that link if you’re squeamish. A Rick Roll, this isn’t.