How to stop an exploding man... without really trying

[decadentdream]

I hate that I'm trying to do this 24 hours later, but I'm switching the vid onto my computer now so I have something to "remind" me. I haven't read many reviews, but I have discovered through my f-list that apparently there's a lot of dissappointment going around about the finale. I must admit I'm a little surprised by this as I was not disappointed at all. In fact it felt like the end of some climactic movie that I applauded at the end for a job well done and am heartily looking forward to the next season. I've also realised I have a very unique view on what happened.


So the opening was rather interesting, replaying the pilot opening to give us a feel of the show, a reminder of where we've been, Mohinder's speech I believe was almost entirely the same but with a noticable difference displaying how much he has learned along the way. In effect it was a nice summary for each of the characters showing us their journey and how we have followed them.

DL and Niki, I have to give credit to them, they make a good team. I think I have never liked these characters more than when they're facing something in a scene together. Though I was probably too quick to jump to the conclusion that DL was dead from the slaughter that was last episode (which left me speculating at that rate if anyone would be alive for the next season), I was actually cheering these guys on as they tried to escape.

Good to see Matt (recuperating rather quickly from that concussion haha) put a stop to the killing Molly thing. I knew as soon as he recognised her, remembered his promise and reflected on the fact he was soon to bring a child into this world that he would in no way allow a child to die.

Hiro defying his father once more to save his best friend was totally in character, a great way to show the strength in their friendship. I however am not finding it easy to be very fond of this first generation of Heroes who all appear to be rather selfish and self-serving. I do hope our guys do not end up like this.

Wasn't so pleased to see us open up on a painting palette and having it not be Isaac painting :( Though the layover of future images (ie. the end scene) over Sylar's white irises was indeed a touch of brilliance. The painting of the face-off in Kirby Plaza to me appeared to be a visionary thing, as happened with Peter when he finished off the painting of the dead cheerleader. However I'm not going to write-off the fact that ppl suggested he was painting telekinetically. It would have been interesting to show that though (via flying paint or, dare I suggest, droplets of paint dripping onto the canvas like blood).

Mama!Petrelli is such a cold bitch and I can't believe Nathan walked right into it. But yes we do know the influence she has over him, and I did wonder if Nathan's wife and children were at risk whether he would reconsider saving his city. He was able to answer this for me quick enough this episode by sending them away, and his plan to leave with his mother. Though here's me shouting like Nathan's self-serving concious "You're just going to leave your brother here to die?!?!?!?" Funny how Claire brought this up later, and made a point of telling him Angela was the one keeping them apart. She said everything I wanted too, though if I were in her shoes I doubt I would have been so vocal about it. And I did wonder how Claire knew the hold Angela had over him. But nevermind, it was something that needed to be said. And I was glad that the writers made these people voice those questions and provide that sense of reality (yeah who needs Simone for that anyway *cough*).

Peter running to Nathan for support... although we were all being like Claire with the "Nathan is evil dude!" kinda thoughts, I was still all for the yay factor of having the two Petrelli brothers together again. It would not work if they turned away from each other. They're the stronghold that the other needs. And I love how no matter who tries to dissuade Peter from trusting Nathan, that he relies on his own heart continually puts faith in his brother even when it isn't warranted. And just for the glee factor I also loved how he escaped from him - that was a beautifully shot run into invisibility. But because Peter is so fearful and overwhelmed he ends up having a nice little panic attack out in the street. Sadly Nathan was not there to catch him as he fell this time :( I felt quite saddened to see him out there all alone. I do love how Milo portrays this though - the radioactive power obviously runs strongly on emotion (as witnessed with Ted) and whenever Peter needs it to die down he has to calm down, and you see Milo express this through trying to sink into some kind of meditative state. Then of course there is the other end of the scale where he is completely frightened and unsure of himself which leads to panic, and because of that dream he instantly starts thinking "OH FUCK I'M GONNA DIE!!!" which of course freaks you out more. I know Peter has Claire's regeneration ability, but there's no guarantee that blowing your body to smithereins will enable you to piece yourself together again. We saw how badly it effected Claire just by being close to it - she came out all skin and bones and charred remains before she was slowly able to heal. So getting back to the freakout in the middle of the street, you'll notice as soon as he passes out that the power fades again. It's Peter's worry that spurns it on, and as it's only a new ability Peter hasn't found the key to controlling it just yet.

Molly - "Cause when I think about him... he can see me!"

Sixth Sense moment anyone? *chills* So I figure from this we're either setting up the big bad billan villain for next season, or my instant thought was this was actually the Haitian. Mainly cause he's the only one who has mind-blocking powers and knows how to mentally screw you up. He's dropped off the scene of late, and being as everyone who has affiliations with "the company" has a sense of being good & bad/morally grey it could just very well be likely. Mainly my reason for thinking of him so instantly was because he would probably be the only one who can sense if you're trying to delve into his brain. Then again, if it is another villain, he must have some awesome power they're working damn hard to come up with in the writing rooms over at Universal. ;)

Matt - "He's a bad guy, I'm a cop. I'm going after him."

Understatement of the century LOL MATT you do realise he has SOOPER powers don't you? You saw the heads he cut off! The aversion to bullets! The people he skewered! The bloody mess he made! You're gonna risk it all for that???

Ahhh now dream!Peter. I was amused to no end how he was hiding from himself (though mocking the fact that his hair was long like now considering it wasn't that long all the way back when we were pretending to be). I gave score one to everyone else for saying Peter got his dream ability from Charles Deveraux because that appeared quite clear to me that this was what it was. I certainly hope Charles can't deliver messages beyond the grave (or he'd be the scary god-like guy who can see everyone! :| ). I'm glad he has some confidance in Peter. I could really empathise with him at this point in time, especially watching his mother say he was tied up in his own insecurities. I, speaking on behalf of the dreamy folk, came to the realisation within my own life today that that is how a lot of people view us. They can't understand that need to be seperated from everything else, to have so much hope and to want to do something good. Peter is the epitomy of all that, and I never viewed him as insecure - he's done so much on his own without his family. Is it wrong just to want a little support and reassurance sometimes?

Oh back in Isaac's loft. Okay I can't remember when it was, but I made the whole point of "Erm doesn't someone want to come and claim his body so he can be officially pronounced dead?" I don't like the thought of my handsome boy rotting away on the studio floor. Although it clearly looks like Sylar has moved in... (and then future!Hiro. This place certainly gets around without a real estate term of lease LOL). Ando is so awesome going after Sylar like that. He is definately a hero, no longer scared, all because he followed and was inspired by his good buddy. It's quite clear within seconds no ordinary human can match Sylar, and that's pretty darn realistic if I must say so myself. Hey I just realised that comic is so out of place with the images - the president, then the saving the girl with the red bow in the past (already in the other comic) then Hiro stabbing Sylar on the next page? DUDE Isaac you so did that on drugs LOL It makes no sense (except to us who knows what each image means).

Sylar - "Please, what would I want with your brain?"

*applaudes Zachary Quinto* Oh dude that's like the perfect response to a stupid question! I can imagine some non-caring/non-understanding Heroes passerby who'd question why Sylar wouldn't take Ando's brain. He's not special. Easy. And to me that adds more weight to the theory that he removes the brains to analyse them and see what makes them work like they do, not just to be all cannabalistic and eat them. Sylar is definately a smart cookie. And we love smart, stylish villains, don't we? And I have to say I had a minor giggle as soon as he raised that finger remembering the picture from that comic convention (was it?) with Zachary doing that to James. And I'm thinking "Zach made a spoiler without telling anyone" heh. It wasn't actually until Hiro dropped Ando off that I realised he'd been attacking Ando's neck, so effectively Sylar was trying to behead him. Nice work.

Niki/Non-Jessica face-off. Was I the only one going "That's Candice you fool!!"? LOL I know we've had seperate entity Niki/Jessica's before, but she was always a reflection of the other. Same clothes for a start. And maybe Ali is that good an actress that I can tell when she's playing Candice playing Jessica as well? hehe. Did not fall for dead Micah one bit. But man was it EVER bittersweet to see Niki smack her down (heh at least for Candice-haters like me)! Though I thought she'd at least now discovered how to channel her power, from the look in the mirror behind Micah when she rescued him (and as my brother said) it seems the two have merged into one now. So perhaps Niki just needed to recognise and accept that that was a part of herself. If we want to get all psychological on it, perhaps Niki refused to see that violent side of herself because then it would make her like her father. But she needed to realise it's a strength, not a weakness, and she can use it to protect not just to hurt.

HRG's name is NOAH!!! I so didn't pick that... But who else was with me suddenly going "Yup, it's another religious name from the bible!" haha guess it fits they picked the most obvious one (well one of... we coulda called him Adam *-) That makes me think of Adam West/Batman though LOL). And *yay* that he was going to take on the duty of his daughter. I find that much more fitting and sacrifice worthy. Also had me wonder for a moment whether he was chancing killing himself this way being as he's only a mere mortal with a dark past.

Micah + Molly = CUTEST OTP EVAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously how ADORABLE are they? My brother instantly went "oh are they gonna be like future boyfriend & girlfriend?" LOL I hope they both stay next season. I can just imagine those two getting up to so much mischief together. They could break into a video arcade and play games for free all night while Molly makes sure nobody comes to find them (and DL can just walk through the wall and grab them - man am I getting into fanfic land or what? LOL).

So now we're getting into absolute use of powers and I'm all bouncy cause everyone's working together towards something which is TEH AWESOME. That's all I ever wanted to see from this show. And there's a Sylar/Peter showdown. Though contrary to popular belief it's not a "who can burn brightest fastest" boom!fest like I suspected it to be. Now, admittedly, my brain turned into Charmed-lore when Sylar started telekinetically choking Peter (Wyatt/Chris fight anyone?) but then Matt come along firing like a madman and unlike the last time he had managed to shoot Sylar down, he's telekinetically stopped it this time. Which makes for a good attack. As beautifully done as this was, I'm a little saddened by the abandonment of Sylar being impervious to bullets thing that we had developed earlier on. I had hoped it was another nifty little power he'd picked up along the way. Now with Peter still choking I began to wonder why he wasn't attempting to pull another trick out of the bag that Claude had been training him to do. Though thinking on it now, I don't know what he really could have done to pull himself out of it. He's never teleported so he wouldn't be able to pull that off like Hiro. And I guess lack of oxygen to the brain wouldn't help the thought process *-) Anyway, I was glad to see Niki get up and whack Sylar one with the parking meter. That rocked. And then instead of using some nifty power Peter goes all fisticuffs on Sylar. WTF?? LOL For someone who's meant to be a peaceful kinda guy that was surprising. But perhaps he didn't want to factor in his powers because he was afraid of losing control. And I notice they're really trying to keep everyone's powers seperate here just so you don't get confused over who is using what.

Hiro's sudden appearance and subsequent skewering... something I did not expect. I don't know why. It was in Isaac's comic (oh can I just mention how I loved that it seemed like a little acknowledgement to him and the part he played, even though he couldn't be there). Maybe we just weren't convinced he could do it. And I loved the dark turn of "Yatta". Throughout this season they've always kept a strong-hold on Hiro's catchphrases which is cool. Knowing the nerdy type he is they would be important to him (just like us repeating them a zillion times over LOL).

Ohhhh I missed a speech. Okay, from memory, Sylar telling Peter that he was the villain and Sylar was the Hero. Now that I found interesting - I never actually had the time to say, but when I saw the preview for the future episode I had actually thought that. From the news cast it made me think 9-11 and that Sylar's picture was there not for destroying the city, but trying to save it from Peter (being as he proclaimed himself the bomb). So um yes nice little segue.

Sylar dying... is he really dead? He was able to spirit Hiro away from Peter (who seemed to have come up with a much better plan of getting Hiro to kill him). Thanks to canadian_turtle I now realise he was having visions of everyone he'd killed (I thought I saw screaming Claire, obviously not). Bearing that in mind I was thinking "That's a little Ghost Rider" - every soul he hurt eating him up.

So Peter is back to square one, trying to be rational and calm himself down. Me - not helping by yelling at him to jump in the water or something LOL Claire's inability to shoot him reflects her apology to him in his dream and the fear she has at carrying this out. With good cause may I add - does everyone remember what happened to TED when THOMPSON SHOT HIM??? That's right, Bennet's house exploded, family nearly ended up dead, Claire was fried to a crispy. Should the Bennet's not be having second thoughts about shooting a radioactive man? Absolutely, they should be. And then Nathan jumps in all comic book style and we're like "YAY REDEMPTION!" And I knew from that second he was definately going to fly Peter out, just as my friend and I worked out 12 episodes ago. I actually rang to congratulate her this morning on her theory being right. I don't know if they'd planned it all along, it really was only a crack in the windowpane, but I feel the theory got so much support it was as if they had listened to us and... it was like an acknowledgement, as if we'd taken part in the writing process ourselves, and I can't tell you how awesome it was to see that on screen and feel like a part of something. Every fan out there is being heard in the masses and they are paying attention (while staying true to their guidelined story). So replaying the dream sequence in a slightly different way (as is the awesomeness of Peter's visions) helped build that excitement, and the "I love you's" had me going "awww" reflecting back on the ORIGINAL pilot script and in the back of my mind I heard "Petrellicest" echo LOL I'm so not in support of it, but damn you shippers for making me think of things like that at moments like this :P

In afterthought I wondered why Peter, who has the ability to fly, didn't just fly himself out of there. Well, first answer - BECAUSE US FANGIRLS DEMANDED IT. Think of it this way - when my friend and I originally saw the clip we said it was Nathan flying Peter out of there because it looked like his "sonic boom" trail of smoke. Peter only has a degree of Nathan's ability - he can hover, he can fly (like Superman *giggles*) but I don't believe he can fly as fast or push himself as high as Nathan. Everytime Nathan flies he has that smoke ring effect to show this and we've never had that with Peter. So, to get him the furthest away, Nathan may just very well have shot him out of the atmosphere. And bearing in mind Peter does have Nathan's ability, it's also likely that once up so high in the air and away from endangering everyone else, Nathan would have been able to sonic boom his ass far enough away from Peter to leave him to explode mid-air on his own. But that's just a theory. There may be some scientific explanation with air compression or such which could explain the bright light *waits patiently* Now the second thing all I can think of is Peter is just too overwhelmed to think clearly, and knowing the mental state of his brother (plus now reflecting on the huge amount of guilt and personal anguish Peter would feel over killing thousands but I don't think anyone's gonna dispute having badass future!Peter around), Nathan finds the easiest way he can help him is to just take him away from everything. And now he can pay back the mistakes he has made, free from any hunt-you-down behaviour by the now dead Linderman (though his mother is still one to worry about).

I LOVE how they ended with the cockroach. Both a nod to the series and a little kindred kinda feeling for Sylar. I was just so in awe of the wonderful finish I failed to comprehend what was going on there. I thought we were meant to be looking at something in the sewer. I now realise a bloody Sylar had dragged his way down there (though one must wonder how this went unnoticed). My brother even suggested he liquified himself and drained his way down there. In a way I guess that leaves it open for him to make a reappearance in season 2. It also makes me wonder if blue-light taxi that Isaac painted was Sylar exploding underground... but I guess we'll pass that one over. Like the exploding man. It doesn't always happen exactly as Isaac paints it, we know that.

Now, on to chapter two (which provided much glee because I thought we had another hour instead of 5 minutes LOL). Initially I thought it was Peter's bloody body which fell to the ground (yes let's blame our theorising that Nathan would fly him to the middle of nowhere). To see Hiro - man this scene provided a lot of good comic relief and instilled some excitement awaiting next season. This all felt a little "Army of Darkness" which I thought was just awesome that they'd mistaken Hiro for their leader (Kensei), though I do believe he appeared on the hill shortly after that so that kinda blew that theory while it was still fresh. However the Heroes dream I had (where Hiro faced off Jessica - though she wasn't there in this) was on this grassy green hillside we were watching which just astounded me, and Hiro may not have said what I said he was going to, but the very picture around it of the small army and him but one solitary man rung the words true in my head. So I find that really cool.

Anyway this is loooooooong and I've spent my WHOLE night typing it so I should probably end it here. In conclusion HEROES IS AWESOME!!!!!

Comments

[alenah.livejournal.com]

Wow this is long, and I will give it my full attention sweets....I've got to eat and then go to physio, so I will read and reply tonight, I am hoping you can convince me that the finale less of an antimclimax than I and many others felt it was .... as I said on my LJ reply to you , I am more than excited about the season 2 spoilers so I will still watch it for sure

[chrryblssmninja.livejournal.com]

I don't know...I liked it, but something was just a bit low-key and scattered about it to me. I still liked it, though!

Oh my gosh scary guy could be the Haitian! No Haitian, be somewhat good guy!

Good Niki theory.

Claire's inability to shoot him reflects her apology to him in his dream and the fear she has at carrying this out.
ooh true didn't think of that

Molly/Micah mischief yay!

Peter is just too overwhelmed to think clearly, and knowing the mental state of his brother (plus now reflecting on the huge amount of guilt and personal anguish Peter would feel over killing thousands but I don't think anyone's gonna dispute having badass future!Peter around), Nathan finds the easiest way he can help him is to just take him away from everything
That's what I thought.

However the Heroes dream I had (where Hiro faced off Jessica
Cool! And cool coincidence too!

Aack, Heroes is sucking our time like Sylar sucks brains...

[decadentdream.livejournal.com]

hehe NO HAITIAN BE BAD!!!! I'm starting to doubt its him though. Sounds like a new character from what I hear...

Thank u *bows* I only came up with that while writing amazingly. The dots jusdt never connected b4.

M/M FTW!

Ahh well Heroes is a deserved cause for time consumption *nods*

[alenah.livejournal.com]

Let me just say that your summation is sublime, and made me love the epsiode, which is great after having felt all anticlimaxy

I loved your psycho analysis of Niki and how she resolved her split personality, it is true that she would associate that side of herself as being like her father, DL even alluded to it. She healed her fractured mind, and now she and her family are one of the collest aspects of the show for S2, especially with gorgeous Molly in tow. Molly and Micah OTP for sure!!

That Nathan, Mama Petrelli and Claire scene was amazing, poignant and very Shakespearean. Angela being Lady Macbeth, and Nathan taken in. These last few episodes have really shown how much Nathan is at the bidding of his parents, and is lost, unsure of his own mind and conscience. Peter, though seemingly softer, is the black sheep of the family, and has always gone against the grain.

His struggle to control the radioactive power, was tangible, and is so attached to heightened emotion, as you say. That "dream sequence" was bizarre, what power is that exactly? was it the real past, or just a manifestation?... I did not enjoy the unconditional love speech, too saccharine for me

Going back to Claire. I think her insights into Nathan was by being an observer in the Petrelli household, and seeing who really weilds the power.She is one of the smartest and bravest characters in the show. It pained me that her grandmother would let her go, knowing she could die in the explosion. Cold bitch indeed, I wonder what her power is?

Sixth sense Molly was super cool, and chilling....and really made me and Pete (my one) sit up and go "Oooooh". We are gagging for a new super dooper villain, I hope it isn't the Haitian, becuase I would like the mystery that comes with a new villain. What about Papa Petrelli? I feel him lurking in the shadows somehere...people on the 9th fanboard are talking about the human equivalent to Uluru, but that is too far fetched for me...

Peter vs Sylar was my biggest let down of the show, I wanted more of a showdown, I can tolerate the comic book cheesy lines, but I wanted some SFX to go with it, and for that scene to have been longer. I loved the Niki and Hiro involvement, very clever....though Sylar would surely have easily been able to dispatch of Hiro before the sword went through, have you seen what the power he has in the crook of his little finger...maybe it was the editing, but I felt he had ages to stop Hiro there....he went down too easily for me.

I don't know whether he was dragged into the sewer, or pulled himself along with his arms, it astounds me that other Heroes didn't take him out when he was uncosncious!! Regardless, we know he is alive and around for S2...is the cockroach symbolic only or does he use them? oh and yeah, I loved his sneer at Ando's impertinent suggestion of taking his brain LMAO!!

The Claire running up to Peter saying sorry, was beautifully echoed when she struggled with the gun, poor baby. And yes, I was in tears when the Petrelli Bros finale speeches happened, I think it was the way they flew off, and the anticipation of the explosion, it was surprisingly tragic, even though it was so predictable. I think when Peter says he cannot do anything, means thathe cannot use anyothr power because the radioactive one was overwhelming, thats why he didn't fly off himself, he would have done otherwise

Someone commented on my LJ about Mohinder in S2 going round the world recruiting annd finding more Heroes, I think he was so inspired and amazed by what he saw , and could see the potential to help the world if Heroes pull together.

I think DL will be OK judging from the comic books...did you see the amazing fate of Hana?

Hiro in the 17th century, I am unsure yet, how good a plot point this will be, but I will be there for S2 to see it pan out. Thanks for your wonderful rec, I really loved your deeper insights <3

[romancebuff.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a really good summary! I cried too during the whole Nathan/Peter scene, was so beautiful! I think Peter got the dream power from Charles too, and it's cool that they do have a stronger connection than just his being Charles's nurse, makes me wonder about Simone as well. The whole thing was just incredible, loved the way Nathan just swooped down to save his brother and the whole battle with Peter and Sylar rocked! I kind of saw him punching Sylar as maybe seeing what Nikki did with the meter and going, "Aha, I bet I can use that!" which is why he told her to go back to her family! Loved Claire, she just knew she had to get away from Angela and Nathan so she jumped out the window! I totally whooped out loud when Bennet said his name was Noah, that's awesome, and little Molly hugging Nikki at the end, was so cute!

Hiro and Ando are so awesome together, I loved the whole scene with Sylar where he was taunting Hiro, "Can you do your little trick before I do mine?", and then Hiro fulfilling his destiny and "killing" Sylar, had to rewatch the part at the end because it looks like the big splotch of blood was maybe in a certain shape, but I couldn't tell for sure.

[decadentdream.livejournal.com]

:O I think this is the longest comment you've ever written me! haha

Ahhh so you have new theories on punching Peter *-) Cool idea :D Though I thought the reason Micah was all "MOM! DAD NEEDS YOUR HELP!" (cause really what could she do? LOL) was so they could get her out of the way so Peter could do something. I don't think they really thought that bit through properly. They were just like "I want this, and this, and this" and didn't put much logic into it. Anywaysssss....... Yes Molly is awesomely cute! :D

haha yeah cocky!Sylar is so much fun. I really didn't know what Hiro would do at that point. Either way, he'd have to use a power to be quicker. And yes that was a big splotch of blood at the end - it was the bloody imprint of Sylar on the pavement with a trail leading down to the sewer so he's either been pulled away or dragged himself down there. I didn't even realise it was blood at first either that we were meant to be looking at, I was looking down the sewer wondering what was meant to come out! LOL