NBC's drama "Heroes" chronicles the lives of characters who discover that, aside from their uncanny physical attractiveness, they also posses superpowers. Returning from a brief hiatus, "Heroes" continues to depict the world with circumstances that seem practically unfathomable. The principal characters somehow gain superhuman qualities from the passing of a solar eclipse and are later expected to unite in order to save the world. That sounds simple enough.
The whole matter is complicated by an "X-Men"-esque plot twist that includes a battle between those who desire to use their powers for evil and those who want to do good. Special attention is also paid to the struggles that the "good" people face in order to overcome their new duty to humanity, as well as to cope with such a sudden supernatural phenomenon.
This particular episode sets up an interesting sequence of events that will unravel in the next few weeks. The placement of a bomb that will destroy all of New York looms on the horizon as the superhero cheerleader, Claire (Hayden Panettiere), is confronted with her true genetic history.
After finding out that her birth father desires to relocate her to Paris while he tries to win the city mayoral election, she is distressed by the prospect of having to live with her grandmother. Her adoptive father remains a prisoner at Primatech Paper and communicates an escape plan for himself and the other people being held there through the ESP powers of another captive hero.
This storyline is contrasted with an interesting portrayal of Claire's birth father, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), who discovers a plan by another "hero," Linderman (Malcolm McDowell), to blow up all of New York City in a misguided attempt to instill integrity and goodness in the world. Linderman hopes that this explosion will force people to unite in fear and cause people to want to be good.
Despite his knowledge of the plan, Nathan does little to stop the explosion. He is preoccupied with the idea of winning the election and sees little else of what is going on around him. His attitude and actions seemed quite unrealistic, as he is supposed to be faced with the challenge of saving the world, but instead ignores this pressing task in favor of becoming the future mayor of New York. He asks Claire to go to Paris so that his illegitimate daughter's identity does not surface during the important election week.
While Nathan is campaigning, his brother, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), literally fights for his life. Sylar (Zachary Quinto), one of the cruelest villains in primetime television, proceeds to attempt to kill two of the major characters within the brief hour time span of the show. Nearly successful in his murderous plan, he is foiled by Claire's healing powers when she helps bring Peter back to life.
Sylar then goes on a rampage to find Isaac (Santiago Cabrera), the foreseer, who pens comic books about the future. Isaac is murdered in Christ-like fashion, crucified on the floor of his art studio, sacrificing his life for the good of the world. The tragedy of this event is only magnified by the explosion and an actual view into the future. Hiro (Masi Oka), the Japanese businessman who has the ability to travel through time, confronts his future-self as the "to be continued" screen flashes. The next "Heroes" episode will take place in the year 2012, after the great explosion.
With its science fiction ambiance, "Heroes" proves to be an entertaining escape from reality. The show maintains a consistently serious tone, unlike other dramas, such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Smallville," which tend to put a comedic twist on the somber issues at hand. "Heroes," however, earnestly attempts to look at issues of good and evil in the world and analyzes the concept of heroic - or cowardly - super-humans who have the power to control their own destinies as well as the fate of the entire world.
That said, it is quite difficult to follow the show if you have not watched the other episodes, because heavy emphasis is placed on the development of the characters. Since there are so many, it's often challenging to keep names and faces straight.
Nevertheless, this television and comic book hybrid conveys a very powerful message about the world, and though circumstances are presented in extremes, it is clear that in a time of need, there will always be a few heroes around.
