Heroes 2.10 - Truth and Consequences

[weewarrior]

Another short review this week. Spoilers for the episode and very vagues ones for the promo behind the cut.

All setup and no Nathan makes wee_warrior a dull girl, that's why there are only random bits this week:

- Ashley Crow was awesome all-around. Seriously, wouldn't she make a kickass regular? Sandra's steeliness and resolve in her scene with Bob and the kids were spot on, and I really hope we'll continue to see more of her once the writers' strike is resolved.

- Loved the scene between Bob and Elle in the car, how it is clear that he loves her in a skewered way, but still has no qualms to manipulate her if it suits him. I can totally imagine Bob, Angela and Arthur exchanging parenting tips back in the day.

- Mohinder saved Noah! And totally lies to him about trusting the Company, since he's obviously been doing some virus research of his own, becoming the second Disregarded Scientist warning of the lethal danger of the virus.

- Victoria Pratt was fun, and certainly a fountain of useful exposition. Too bad that Peter really doesn't listen once he has focussed on some goal. Also slightly sad that she didn't manage to blow Adam's head off, but I guess we still need him for the finale.

- So, the Petrents were evil killers? Hmm, why doesn't that surprise me the least.

- Young Vicky's suspicion about Adam having help with stealing the virus among the Elders naturally points to Linderman and Maury, which likely means it was neither, or at least that they weren't the only ones. Which... I find it awfully suspicious that Angela didn't warn Peter of Adam in the future. I mean, it's possible that she didn't know about him, but still... I'm not liking this. My other prime suspect is as usually Bob, but I don't want it to be him, either, because he's just way too amusing to be a champion of Mission Finale Solution. Sigh.

- Since our merry Ethical Scientists were so adament that the virus will kill everyone, but Adam still wants to brighten the world with it, I assume he (and by proxy Claire, and possibly Peter) can survive it after all. What about his disciples though? I can hardly believe they would actually take part in the plan if they were cleansed away with it, would they?

- Micah's and Niki's reunion was very sweet. Nana Dawson was awesome as usual, and Carlton seems to have visited the First Season Ando School of Dumb and Reckless Sidekicks Who Cause Trouble. Too bad it's Monica who has to suffer from it.

- Loved Monica's resolve, loved the costume, but, seriously, honey, why did you think it was a good idea to break into some thugs' house and bring Micah along? Who is the eleven year old here again?

- I was interested in Maya's storyline for one brief second, but then they threw it all away by having her moon over Sylar. Also, Alejandro can't understand spoken English, but he can read it well enough to understand a newspaper article? Jesse Alexander, have you been keeping the bad crack from the old Alias days?

- Goodbye to Shalim Ortiz - I won't say you were an interesting part of this storyline, but I'm glad you can now go on to better and brighter things. Too bad you couldn't give Sylar a good ass-kicking first.

- Also, I hereby acknowledge the show's attempt of mirroring Adam/Peter/Victoria (and, er, Nathan) with Sylar/Maya/Alejandro and will say that they at least succeeded in repeating the underlying structure. Yay.

- I'm ignoring that they had to ruin Claire's desperate grieving scene by including her boytoy of one whole week(!), and won't tell anyone if you do, too. Liked her scene with Elle, though.

- That finale scene between Peter and Hiro: oh boys. Can't you just talk about it?

Next week: no more secrets. Sure, Nathan, that's likely.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

More Sandra is a must, definitely. Noah, you so underestimated your wife for decades. (Seriously, his "I didn't know I could talk to you this way" to Candice!Sandra in "Parasite" is one of the most devastating things he says, without realizing it.) And did you notice Lyle carried Mr. Muggles not just then but during the burial, too? Methinks Mr. M. will have to live with less Sandra now she's taken on the head of the family job.

I can totally imagine Bob, Angela and Arthur exchanging parenting tips back in the day.

Oh yeah. Another reason why Peter hit it off with Elle. They have so much in common!

I'm itching to write a Bob, Angela and Arthur conversation, but I think I'll wait till the finale. And whether or not we get info on Elle being Bob's adopted or biological daughter. Because if she's his bio daughter, then she'd have been the first child of the twelve to manifest; if she is adopted and he was the one to discover her, there's a better HRG parallel. Can't decide which one I want to be true.

And totally lies to him about trusting the Company

I think at this point, he decided to trust no one but himself. Can't say I blame him. And as I said in my own review, I loved the anti fanfic thing where he instead of going "oh woe is me! Noah, I'm so terrible for having doubted you for a single moment and shot you!" says "you have no one to blame but yourself" and leaves him locked up after saving him.

Since our merry Ethical Scientists were so adament that the virus will kill everyone, but Adam still wants to brighten the world with it, I assume he (and by proxy Claire, and possibly Peter) can survive it after all. What about his disciples though? I can hardly believe they would actually take part in the plan, if they were cleansed away with it, would they?

Which is probably why Adam remained locked up for 30 years without Linderman, Maury or Angela or whoever else was on his side originally trying to save him. I can see Linderman saying "Adam, you know, I'm so with you, a catastrophe is needed, BUT NOT ONE WHERE I DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

Jesse Alexander, have you been keeping the bad crack from the old Alias days?

Definitely an Alias leftover. But he wrote "Nothing to Hide", and for that I will always love him.

...um, on second thought, come to think of it: I've met several Japanese people who could understand written English perfectly well but not spoken English. At least not when I spoke it to them. So yeah, it's possible to know a language at least well enough to get "G.G. killed his mother" from an article but still suck at understanding it when it's spoken out loud.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

And did you notice Lyle carried Mr. Muggles not just then but during the burial, too? Methinks Mr. M. will have to live with less Sandra now she's taken on the head of the family job.

That would not only mean that Sandra gets more to do, it also means that Lyle finally has a function on the show!

I'm itching to write a Bob, Angela and Arthur conversation, but I think I'll wait till the finale. And whether or not we get info on Elle being Bob's adopted or biological daughter. Because if she's his bio daughter, then she'd have been the first child of the twelve to manifest; if she is adopted and he was the one to discover her, there's a better HRG parallel. Can't decide which one I want to be true.

So far, I'd say she's his biological daughter, or they would have clearly mentioned that he adopted her. It also has a different impact on her re: Bennet's accusations; if he experimented on her she can just shrug it off as Bob not being her real father and her actual parents never doing something like that to her.

I think at this point, he decided to trust no one but himself. Can't say I blame him. And as I said in my own review, I loved the anti fanfic thing where he instead of going "oh woe is me! Noah, I'm so terrible for having doubted you for a single moment and shot you!" says "you have no one to blame but yourself" and leaves him locked up after saving him.

Yeah, I loved that, too. I definitely think he's come into his own now, and seeing him stand up to both Bob and Noah was a good thing.

Which is probably why Adam remained locked up for 30 years without Linderman, Maury or Angela or whoever else was on his side originally trying to save him. I can see Linderman saying "Adam, you know, I'm so with you, a catastrophe is needed, BUT NOT ONE WHERE I DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

However, Past Victoria said that Adam clearly had help in locating/stealing the virus, and that means they knew how lethal it was and still helped him. So, they're either completely nuts - certainly not impossible with Linderman - or he convinced them that he would have a cure for them.

So yeah, it's possible to know a language at least well enough to get "G.G. killed his mother" from an article but still suck at understanding it when it's spoken out loud.

Hmm. Even things like "I will kill you?" On the other hand, it doesn't really matter, the poor boy is toast, linguistic wonderboy or not...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

That would not only mean that Sandra gets more to do, it also means that Lyle finally has a function on the show!

Indeed, but alas, I fear both Sandra heading the family and Lyle's holding Mr. Muggles days will be over as soon as Noah returns to the Bennet clan...

So far, I'd say she's his biological daughter, or they would have clearly mentioned that he adopted her.

You don't think the way she said "dad(dy)" is an indication? Also, no evidence of a Mrs. Bishop, though of course she could be dead, either way.

It also has a different impact on her re: Bennet's accusations; if he experimented on her she can just shrug it off as Bob not being her real father and her actual parents never doing something like that to her.

Ah, but I saw it as a parallel/contrast to Claire asking Matt "did my dad make me this way?" in "Company Man", the idea that her father experimented on her to make her a super, and clearly the fact he's her adopted father didn't make the suspicion less horrible for her.

If Elle is Bob's biological daughter, I could see him bringing her in for the experiments not just because she showed signs of manifesting - that fire at her grandmother's house and the power grid (which must have happened, since the Haitian can't fake memories, only take them away) but because HIS daughter being the first of the next generation to manifest, whereas those Petrelli boys at that point showed no signs yet and neither did Matt or Hiro, would have been a big thing. And so he didn't just allow but conducted the experiments to prove she did indeed manifest etc., and then was confronted with the result and a daughter who was indeed powerful but completely psychotic.

(At which point not just Noah but probably Angela and Kaito thought: nope. Won't deliver mine, have other plans. Maury probably didn't care one way or the other.)

So, they're either completely nuts - certainly not impossible with Linderman - or he convinced them that he would have a cure for them.

Well, his blood would be the obvious thing to promise. He could have told them it would immunize them permanently. And then Linderman and whoever finds out via Victoria that no, it wouldn't, they still would have died and it's no rescue attempt for Adam in the next decades.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Indeed, but alas, I fear both Sandra heading the family and Lyle's holding Mr. Muggles days will be over as soon as Noah returns to the Bennet clan...

I don't know if he will. I mean, if there are really no consequences of his shooting at all, what was the point of it?

You don't think the way she said "dad(dy)" is an indication?

It didn't sound particularly non-biological to me, but it could probably go either way.

(At which point not just Noah but probably Angela and Kaito thought: nope. Won't deliver mine, have other plans. Maury probably didn't care one way or the other.)

That seems likely.

And then Linderman and whoever finds out via Victoria that no, it wouldn't, they still would have died and it's no rescue attempt for Adam in the next decades.

I don't think so, considering the way this was set up. What comes out of it for the audience is that Adam had helpers, and I think this has more impact if some of them are actually still alive in the present. Maybe they didn't make any rescue attempts because they were afraid the others would catch them and disable them for good? They could be killed, after all.

[adinarj.livejournal.com]

I'm considering making a more coherent and less fangirly and less slash-friendly post about the show later. Or maybe I'll just say everything here. But first I'll comment on your comments.

Sandra is as kick-ass as her husband. We need more of the awesome ladies.

I can understand Alejandro knowing enough English to get the gist of a newspaper article but not understanding it when it's spoken. When it's written, he can take his time trying to figure it out and skip over the words he doesn't know. He doesn't have that much time when it's being spoken in real time. And with accents and stuff, it's not easy.

one whole week(!)
You know, if they'd just said "One month ago" as opposed to "one week ago" with that, it'd make everything much more believable. I'm going to pretend it's a month. A lot can happen in a month. In a week, not that much.

About Monica... it took me until Micah said "You're Saint Joan!" that I realized that the comic was Isaac's, and not, like, Marvel or something. Yeah, I'm kinda slow. Also, if the guys were in the house, why couldn't she have gotten out the same way she got in? No one would have seen her.

Next week: no more secrets. Sure, Nathan, that's likely.
Maybe he meant between himself and Peter? They need no more secrets.

I can totally imagine Bob, Angela and Arthur exchanging parenting tips back in the day.
Hee. That's amusing. I wonder if Peter and Elle ever had playdates when they were teeny.

And my comments, since they're too short to post in my own journal.

I didn't like the "young" actors. Mostly I didn't like that they were different actors, whereas the picture taken in that time period showed George Takei and Joanna Cassidy. I was too annoyed at not!Takei to pay much attention during that scene.

Ando gets the short end of the stick, being left behind and cut off when he's trying to talk sense. He also got the best line since "I wish Destiny would lose our number" - "Why is saving the world always your responsibility?" (Paraphrasing; I don't remember the exact wording.)

And finally... I adore your icon. I could stare at it for hours. (And just might.)

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Sandra is as kick-ass as her husband. We need more of the awesome ladies.

hear, hear.

Maybe he meant between himself and Peter? They need no more secrets.

Given that Claire brought it up, I actually thought he meant going public with superpowers, but who knows.

I didn't like the "young" actors. Mostly I didn't like that they were different actors, whereas the picture taken in that time period showed George Takei and Joanna Cassidy. I was too annoyed at not!Takei to pay much attention during that scene.

I found it interesting for the information, but would have liked if they had taken another actor for Kaito, mostly because he didn't look like Takei at all.

Ando is getting neglected indeed.

And finally... I adore your icon. I could stare at it for hours. (And just might.)

*g* Feel free to steal it.

[cadesama.livejournal.com]

Re: your cut, I absolutely loved that line from Peter. Because it's some of the most bizarre grammar I've heard on Heroes, but it makes sense to him. He doesn't have any of the usual time travel related confusion about how to phrase things. Just, last time I saw my mother in the future... :D

Ashley Crow was awesome all-around. Seriously, wouldn't she make a kickass regular? Sandra's steeliness and resolve in her scene with Bob and the kids were spot on, and I really hope we'll continue to see more of her once the writers' strike is resolved.

They should all move in with the Petrellis for maximum hilarity!

but Adam still wants to brighten the world with it, I assume he (and by proxy Claire, and possibly Peter) can survive it after all. What about his disciples though? I can hardly believe they would actually take part in the plan if they were cleansed away with it, would they?

Hmm, but who are the disciples who are left? The only founders still alive at the moment are Angela, Maury, and Bob. Angela was still alive in the future, so she might well have been sending Peter back purposefully to make sure the virus actually was released. Of course, assuming that Peter was removed from the time line, those events would happen even without him, so that doesn't make sense. Future!Angela and Present!Angela could be at odds, however. Perhaps she thought that being dosed with Adam's blood would protect Nathan, but it didn't, so she changed her mind about killing all of humanity?

Also, Alejandro can't understand spoken English, but he can read it well enough to understand a newspaper article?

Well, *raises hand* I actually have a lot of trouble understanding spoken Chinese, and do a hell of a lot better reading it. I have more time to process it, don't have to deal with the millions of different accents and ways to phrase things, and in this case, Alejandro really only needed to read the headline. Which he could babelfish if all else failed.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Re: your cut, I absolutely loved that line from Peter.

Me too! I also found it less pompous than "Parents sin, children suffer" which would have been my second choice.

They should all move in with the Petrellis for maximum hilarity!

Best sitcom ever.

Hmm, but who are the disciples who are left? The only founders still alive at the moment are Angela, Maury, and Bob.

My point is that either someone is secretly still alive (Arthur), or it is indeed either Angela or Bob. Both of them seems unlikely, since, again, they are the only ones left.

Angela was still alive in the future, so she might well have been sending Peter back purposefully to make sure the virus actually was released.

That's what I'm suspecting, yes. I mean, why didn't she warn him about Adam?

Well, *raises hand* I actually have a lot of trouble understanding spoken Chinese, and do a hell of a lot better reading it. I have more time to process it, don't have to deal with the millions of different accents and ways to phrase things, and in this case, Alejandro really only needed to read the headline. Which he could babelfish if all else failed.

I see that the joke really doesn't stand very well. From my experience, even people with very bad English understand words like "I", "kill" and "you," but that sentence was precisely what Sylar said to Alejandro and he absolutely did not react to it, not even scornful. The same person, though, can read an article in English? I think that's a really wide gap in knowledge, which is what I made fun of. Or tried to, anyway. *g*

[mimesh.livejournal.com]

Huh, I must have missed your previous review but onto this one:

Ashley Crow was awesome all-around. Seriously, wouldn't she make a kickass regular?

Yes, she would. And as much as I would love Claire visiting her other crazy family and spending time with Nathan, I fear that would mean Sandra and Lyle disappear from our screens for a while. Therefore I'm torn on this one.

Young Vicky's suspicion about Adam having help with stealing the virus among the Elders naturally points to Linderman and Maury, which likely means it was neither, or at least that they weren't the only ones.

Actually, my first thought was that Peter's parents helped Adam. Victoria says helping Adam makes Peter a killer. Just like his parents. That's why I assumed Angela and Arthur were not only killers but also helped Adam getting the virus. Along with Linderman probably judging how tightly they were still connected 30 years later and how Angela and Linderman were stuck on the creating havoc for the greater good mind set. And perhaps that's the reason why Angela felt the need to protect Victoria so fiercly because she feels guilty for failing her 30 years ago?

What about his disciples though? I can hardly believe they would actually take part in the plan, if they were cleansed away with it, would they?

Adam probably offered them some of his magic blood, so there would be around to rebuilt the world after the pandemic.

Also, Alejandro can't understand spoken English, but he can read it well enough to understand a newspaper article?

Ahahahaha, I totally missed that. Oh show.

That finale scene between Peter and Hiro: oh boys. Can't you just talk about it?

Yeah, I was not happy how the fight was set up because it was so OOC for both characters. I could appreciate the tragic angle of seeing two heroes finding themselves on opposing sides while both of them are trying to do what they believe is right but this didn't work. Peter and Hiro both want to stop the virus and I'm sure if they could talk for a minute instead of going full blast in attack mode, they would have figured that out. Okay, maybe I could buy that Hiro was overwhelmed by his urge for revenge over seeing Adam and instantly attacked instead of telling Peter that he was there to stop the virus as well. But still. I also hope they give a good reason why Peter didn't bother reading Adam's mind after two people told him he is evil and after witnessing how easily he kills someone. I know they can't have him turn on Adam for storytelling reasons just yet but I wish they wouldn't sacrifice their characters' common sense so often for the story like they did on so many occasions throughout the season.

Another thing that doesn't make sense to me is Bob:
What do you think is his agenda? I honestly doubt he would leave Claire alone. It doesn't even make sense to blackmail Bennet with her safety because she and her blood is so much more valuable than Bennet's services. So why leave her alone but setting Elle up to watch her?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Peter and Hiro both want to stop the virus and I'm sure if they could talk for a minute instead of going full blast in attack mode, they would have figured that out. </i< But Peter doesn't attack Hiro. He's strictly defensive, and also, he doesn't reply to Hiro's "he killed my father, he must die" charge with "Adam? No way!" but with "I can't let you do that", i.e. kill Adam. I think at this point he is suspicious, especially given his reaction to Adam killing Victoria, but however the case may be, he still owes Adam Nathan's life, and can't just let Hiro kill him. Using Elle's electricity in a non lethal way to stop Hiro from killing Adam is absolutely in character, and I have no problem with that, especially since Peter is waiting, not attacking, and doesn't conjur up the sparks until Hiro runs directly towards him with his sword. As for Hiro: he put all his faith in Kensei being redeemable the last time they met, and refused to kill him then, and from Hiro's pov, this resulted in Kensei killing his father basically five minutes later (in Hiro's timeline). Which is why he does what he did with Sylar - he attacks directly. Again, with Sylar, he hesitated and couldn't do it the first time around, and Sylar killed his mother, so the second time, at Kirby Plaza, he struck right away. Precedent, not ooc.

[mimesh.livejournal.com]

But Peter doesn't attack Hiro. He's strictly defensive, and also, he doesn't reply to Hiro's "he killed my father, he must die" charge with "Adam? No way!" but with "I can't let you do that", i.e. kill Adam. I think at this point he is suspicious, especially given his reaction to Adam killing Victoria, but however the case may be, he still owes Adam Nathan's life, and can't just let Hiro kill him.

I expected Peter to remain defensive and not being the one to attack but I hope that he doesn't harm any of his friends out of self-defense either. He has a short temper after all.
And I hope you are right but if he really were suspicious of Adam why would he lead him directly to the virus? Especially after Victoria told him that Adam tried to steal it all those years ago? It made sense that he trusted Adam over her in that scene but seeing Adam kill her so easily should not only raise doubts regarding Adam's integrity but also about bringing him anywhere near the virus.

Look at that. I can't believe I'm so pessimistic concerning my favorite character and you are the one who is defending him. ;)

As for Hiro:
Yes, his hesitation to kill Sylar and Kensei right away had severe consequences and therefore I would understand that it steeled his resolve to immediately attack them upon encountering them again. But I still think it's slightly out of character for him to go against Peter in a matter of seconds without trying to solve things by convincing him of his cause or at least ask why Peter is in Adam's company. As far as he knows Peter is not the megalomaniac serial killer that Sylar or Adam is, so his rush to attack him is not warranted in my opinion. Granted, Kensei showed him how quickly people can turn on you but Hiro knows that Peter wasn't a drunk and into the saving the world thing solely for money in the first place and that they were friends five years from now.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

It made sense that he trusted Adam over her in that scene but seeing Adam kill her so easily should not only raise doubts regarding Adam's integrity but also about bringing him anywhere near the virus.

Well, Adam killing Victoria doesn't prove anything but that Adam had it in for Victoria, who self admittedly was one of the founders of the Company and one of the group that locked Adam up. Killing her without hesitation makes him less of a misunderstood "they locked me up because I wanted to heal everyone!" figure than he claimed, and means one should keep an eye on him, but it doesn't necessarily mean Adam does not genuinenly want to stop the virus. Lastly, there is also the chance that Adam could simply have said the truth - he killed Victoria because she would have killed Peter. Peter simply doesn't know at this point, but I think the fact Adam saved Nathan still tips the balance in Adam's favour.

(Sidenote: yes, Peter could try to read Adam's thoughts. But I suspect Adam is thinking in Japanese right now, plus Peter still has irregular access to his powers, as demonstrated by the inability to get back to the future properly.)

Hiro: well, he met Peter exactly twice, once in the future and once on Kirby Plaza for a matter of seconds. And knowing Future!Peter is friends with Future!Hiro is no guarantee of good guyness - Future!Hiro killed far too easily, something Hiro told Ando upon their return, and in any case Present!Hiro spent most of that episode interrogated by Matt, it was Ando who actually spent enough time with Future!Peter to get to know him. What Hiro does find out via that particular look at the future is that Peter can regenerate, incidentally, so it's not like he thinks he'll kill Peter. (I seriously doubt he'll try to behead him.) But at that point, I think he'll want to disable Peter, then kill Kensei/Adam as long as he still feels able to. Because killing doesn't come naturally to him, and I think he's afraid that if he does take the time to talk, he won't be able to go through with it anymore.

P.S:

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add: in the "Adam's credibility versus Victoria's and Hiro's" stakes, there is also the time factor. Peter spent four months with Adam. He spent a few seconds with Present!Hiro, and about two or three minutes with Future!Hiro. And only a few minutes with Victoria as well. During those for months, Adam told him Bob wouldn't let him go if Peter wanted to be released, which was true, he promised to save Nathan, which he did, he enabled Peter to get his memories back, and he said that the virus was originally created by the Company, which turned out to be the case. Victoria, on the other hand, while confirming she created the virus and was one of the co-founders of the Company, tried to kill him and Adam (she had no idea Peter could regenerate; if he had not met Claire, that first shot would have killed him) and paints Adam as the bad guy. Under these circumstances, it would have been more than surprising if Peter had believed her. Again, I think his reaction when Adam kills her - "You didn't have to kill her" - and then his reaction to Adam's justification (i.e. that Victoria would have killed Peter by blowing his head off) - giving him a look and saying "I'll get the car" indicates to me that he starts to wonder, and definitely thinks Adam is more ruthless than previously assumed, but again, Adam still has the advantage of credibility and longer aquaintance by having proven himself several times.

Re: P.S:

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

For me personally, I sometimes find it a little difficult to understand why Peter does the things he does, mostly because I am way more suspicious than he is. For instance, I absolutely would have asked myself if there isn't more to Adam's imprisonment, especially if I had around three months to brood about the idea.

That said, I can see why he would be pretty hellbent on getting the virus right now, and seeing that Hiro isn't really in talking mode either, they're bound to collide. That doesn't make them look excessively clever, but most of the viewers, specifically those with a genre background, put a lot of "gamer mentality" into watching the show - you want the characters to think strategically, when they think emotionally.
(And really, I'm not excepting myself here, because I did think both of them were acting a little dim. I can excuse Monica a lot better, because she is alone in a house with a bunch of armed thugs. The last thing I would think about in that situation would be my recently discovered muscle mimicking powers. Her I can understand, them I mostly want to smack a bit.)

Re: P.S:

[mimesh.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm basically with you on this. That's what I have been preaching over the last two weeks when people bashed Peter for trusting Adam in 4MA. I also expected him to side with Adam over Hiro or Matt because he shares a deeper bond with Adam after spending four months with him and Adam has done a lot more for Peter than either of the other two. I can also see how the writers tried to set up the Victoria and Hiro confrontation by either let them lying to or instantly threatening Peter that switching his alliances would not make sense for Peter. I would even go as far as say that given Adam's experiences with Maury he could easily deflect Peter's attempts to read his mind by thinking in another language or projecting thoughts - even Angela and HRG could trick Matt this way.

Again, I think his reaction when Adam kills her - "You didn't have to kill her" - and then his reaction to Adam's justification (i.e. that Victoria would have killed Peter by blowing his head off) - giving him a look and saying "I'll get the car" indicates to me that he starts to wonder, and definitely thinks Adam is more ruthless than previously assumed, but again, Adam still has the advantage of credibility and longer aquaintance by having proven himself several times.

If they had managed to make this a little clearer, I would have no problem with this and the following scenes at all. Perhaps they have been too subtle here. I could buy that even a suspicious Peter would stay loyal to Adam because his mind is set on destroying the virus first and foremost and because he still owes him big time but I wished they showed a little more qualms on Peter's part that he aligned himself with a murderer. The way Adam released Victoria only to kill her to "defend" Peter was fishy (and Peter seemed to think so, too). And even though Adam could chalk Victoria's and Kaito's murder up as part of the "save the world and take down the evil company guys" plan, I expected Peter to start questioning Adam's methods.

Hiro still attacked Peter too quickly for my taste but I also realize that we wouldn't have a spectacular fight next week if they had let them behave rationally and talk things over calmly.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Huh, I must have missed your previous review

Not surprisingly, since I posted it yesterday. *g*

And as much as I would love Claire visiting her other crazy family and spending time with Nathan, I fear that would mean Sandra and Lyle disappear from our screens for a while. Therefore I'm torn on this one.

Well - they could move in with them...

Actually, my first thought was that Peter's parents helped Adam. Victoria says helping Adam makes Peter a killer. Just like his parents. That's why I assumed Angela and Arthur were not only killers but also helped Adam getting the virus. Along with Linderman probably judging how tightly they were still connected 30 years later and how Angela and Linderman were stuck on the creating havoc for the greater good mind set.

This would actually make a lot of sense.

And perhaps that's the reason why Angela felt the need to protect Victoria so fiercly because she feels guilty for failing her 30 years ago?

Either that, or she wanted to keep Matt from finding Victoria so that she couldn't reveal that they were working with Adam back then. I have to admit Angela's current alliances are still a bit nebulous to me.

Adam probably offered them some of his magic blood, so there would be around to rebuilt the world after the pandemic.

That would make the most sense to me.

Peter/Hiro: I think right now Peter's mostly concentrating on securing the virus, but I wished he were a little more suspicious of Adam. The only thing I can imagine is that he is really too desperate to think tactically right now - he does tend to get very overwhelmed by his emotions, and he currently feels guilty about stranding Caitlin in the future and killing not only 93% of the world's population, but once again Nathan (which, as we all know, is usually the really important thing with the Petrelli brothers). In short, he's panicking, and can't see anything other than must.stop.virus. Now, if Hiro on the other hand wasn't so hellbent on killing Adam, instead of just stopping, telling Peter about the virus, destroying it together with Peter and then killing Adam, the whole situation would be far easier, but then we probably wouldn't have any plot next week.
So, it does hinge on both of them behaving like headless chicken, but I wouldn't exactly say that's out of character...

Another thing that doesn't make sense to me is Bob:
What do you think is his agenda?

Personally, I think he is a compulsive control freak, who would like to keep everything nice and orderly and wants everyone to live happy and in peace - according to his own rules of course. He might also just be even more machiavellian than Angela - speaking of whom, I really would love one of the boys to ask her after her relationship with Bob some time, because I seriously want to know what these two think of each other. Not to mention that a scene with Tobolowsky and Rose is currently my No. 1 on scenes I need to see on this show.

And I don't think he would leave Claire alone entirely, but maybe it's good if he strikes a deal with Bennet, so that he can use him as a reliable agent? Noah is good at that, after all, and Claire won't get old that fast.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Also, I hereby acknowledge the show's attempt of mirroring Adam/Peter/Victoria (and, er, Nathan) with Sylar/Maya/Alejandro and will say that they at least succeeded in repeating the underlying structure. Yay.
Ooh. Interesting. I am less annoyed with the Adam/Peter than with Sylar/Maya, I suppose.

I'm ignoring that they had to ruin Claire's desperate grieving scene by including her boytoy of one whole week(!)
She's losing everything she cares about! Like her MOM, and her BROTHER, and...wait. (Also: I guess Lyle finally knows??)

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Interesting. I am less annoyed with the Adam/Peter than with Sylar/Maya, I suppose.

I'm okay with Adam/Peter, as long as they drive the plot forward. Maya could go back to her convent for all I care, and Sylar can die in a ditch (not that the character annoys me or anything. ;)).

She's losing everything she cares about! Like her MOM, and her BROTHER, and...wait.

I found the scene itself okay, because it's kinda crappy to lose your parent at that age. I just wish West hadn't been in it, because the boy can suck tension out of pretty much anything.

(Also: I guess Lyle finally knows??)

I basically think Lyle knew all the time - unless the writers forget that he knows, which is nearly always.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Oh right, didn't he find out last season? But then he got Haitianed, right?

[adinarj.livejournal.com]

Didn't he find out around the time that Sandra did? During "Company Man"? He'd have to be really dense not to know something was going on then.