“Must rescue Watson… Beam me up, Scotty.”
Cast and Crew
Zachary Quinto as Sylar
Adrian Pasdar as Sylar/Nathan Petrelli
Milo Ventimiglio as Peter Petrelli
Jack Coleman as Noah Bennett
Robert Knepper as Samuel Sullivan
Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennett
Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura
Christine Rose as Angela Petrelli
Madeline Zima as Gretchen Berg
Ashley Crow as Sandra Bennett
Dawn Olivieri as Lydia
Andrew Connolly as Joseph Sullivan
Sasha Pieterse as Amanda
Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh
“Thanksgiving”
Premises
- A lost film reveals just how powerful Samuel is.
- Noah invites family and friends over for a Thanksgiving dinner that goes somewhat awry. Some of the show’s strongest characters are present, but the writers and actors still cannot manage the feel that Joss Whedon gave such scenes in his fantasy and sf series.
- Hiro quietly exposes Samuel’s evil side to some of his close followers, but refuses to use his godlike powers against Samuel’s godlike powers because he remembered recently he is in love with Charlie. At one point Hiro virtually gives away to the others that he knows Samuel killed his brother, but apparently, they’re all clueless.
- Not only has Parkman/Sylar survived, but we now have Nathan/Sylar in schizophrenic1 combat.
- Claire and Gretchen head out on a road trip, not realizing how much danger awaits them.
- Something really weird happens to Hiro at the end of the episode and we have to wait at least one week to find out what it is.
- As an apparent tie-in with the home-video release of Star Trek, lens flare abounds
High Point
As poor as I find the handling of Hiro’s character, the developments in the carnival have potential. Samuel has a rebellion brewing, and doesn’t really understand it. He has the power to handle it, but, as his character has been written (which, I concede, guarantees nothing in this show), he may lack the insight.
Low Point
As the show once again follows Fonzie over that ramp, it becomes difficult to find one low point. However, Samuel’s referencing of Hiro’s heroic samurai past serves to remind everyone how inconsistently the show has been handling characters, to its general detriment.
In a related development, the failure of certain characters to use their super-superpowers has more to do with the demands of the script than the personalities of the characters.
The Scores
Originality: 3/6.
Effects: 5/6. The CGI is fine, but I’m docking this episode a point for its cheesy use of the Highlander effect.
Story: 4/6. This episode features too much uninteresting expository dialogue and too little effective natural development of story.
Acting: 5/6. The better actors do their best with an uneven and awkward script.
Emotional Response: 3/6.
Production: 6/6
Overall: 3/6. This may be the final full review of Heroes this season. Discussion will continue.
29/42.
Notes
1. Yes, I know. I’m misusing the word somewhat.
Effects score: …. Highlander effect …
…
Now, I’ve made it no secret that I gave up on Heroes and just periodically check the write-up here. But I’m a big Highlander fan. And I can’t figure out what “the Highlander effect” is… Are you talking about the CGI of a dying immortal?
??
lighting bolts, just not as destructive to the enviroment.
Exactly. It’s one of those references that you’ll get immediately if you ever see this episode (and if you know Highlander).
I liked seeing Elizabeth Rohm. Mostly because I just like seeing her, but also because I thought she was a good counterpoint to Noah. Social skills, pretty, but ex-Primatech and current CIA. If they let her be Badass too, they will make a formidable team. Someone Noah can share his hard day fighting bad guys with and she’ll understand :)
Momma Petrelli was a little too brittle at the Thanksgiving dinner. Too determined to “have a nice dinner, dammit”. Sure she wants a happy family again, but she’s never been in denial like this before.
Hiro is becoming Resourceful Hiro of the future. At a few points the tentative Hiro voice dropped and he became a man of action. Or at least determination. He stood up to Samuel to his face, and thwarted him in a couple of backdoor ways. He was not so good with Lydia, but he didn’t just fold either. We may yet see Future Hiro from the first season, sans the big scar (I hope).
Ooops. First season big scar was on Peter, not Hiro. Hiro just mentions it. ::Failing memory is never a good thing::