After last week's episode, this one was a terrible let-down.
Matt was the best part of the episode, I thought. He didn't have much to do, and was basically a set-up for Daphne's story. Still, he nailed it home as the guy trying to redeem Daphne, and she wasn't having any of it. I wouldn't say he's unambiguously the "good guy," but he's the closest thing they have on the show. Also, the turtle!
I liked Hiro and Ando up until the part where "African Isaac" (snerk!) was testing them. Otherwise, I thought it was a pretty interesting story - someone who can bend time/space versus someone who can see the future? Awesome concept.
Also, Ni... Tracy using her power was great. Also, great ducking action by Nathan - the look on his face was a perfect mix of "oh crap" and "uhhhh".
I wanted to see a battle royale between Peter and the Villains. That would have been sweet. The Peter/Sylar battle was pretty good in and of itself. I chalk it up to budgetary constraint, time constraints, and spreading an episode too thin with storylines.
The puppetmaster was very creepy. Excellently acted.
(The Bad)
Too many storylines: Matt/Daphne, Evil Suresh, Puppetmaster, Hiro, Peter/Sylar. At least one of those should have been cut to give the others more breathing room. I would have gone with Hiro's story; the rest of the episode was basically a decent into villainy, framed by Daphne's growing distress and her decision to push away Matt. Hiro was too much the hero.
I hate the fact that Adam died instantly. That makes almost no sense, given that his body is constantly being regenerated. He should have resumed aging normally, not disintegrated. I realize it was done because Anders is expensive and difficult to schedule, but it could have been handled much better. I've given Heroes a lot of passes, but I honestly almost turned off the television right there.
Arthur was pretty poorly acted. Also, yet another person who can accumulate powers? Ugh. The only good his story served was stealing Peter's powers... including (hork) The Hunger. I'd like Arthur more if he went completely batty and started on a rampage because of it.
Suresh... wtf? I feel bad for Ramamurthy, because Suresh is consistently the worst character written on the show. I almost hope he gets killed off, just to make it stop. Also, Pinehurst and the Company's bio-shenanigans pretty much neuter the character's main point - he's the one that knows about how powers work.
More thoughts later.
