Heroes #24:I am Sylar/Season 3/2009

[Truth Seeker]

I am Sylar

Sylar, still engaged in an unlikely alliance, faces an identity crisis as his newest power begins to effect him in strange ways. Hiro and Ando try to bring down Building 26 as Matt grapples with fatherhood. Nathan begins to unfold a plan to to set things right.
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[rowport]

Thumbs Up!

I really liked this one! Sure, it was a pretty transparent set up for the finale but still... lots of action and some decent characterization. I really enjoyed the crazy Sylar scenes. And, while I have mixed feelings about the execution, I did like that there was at least an effort to take the Ando/Hiro conflict somewhere.

Also, this webisode has promise (if you like Puppet Master as I do):
NBC Video Rewind

 

[Mark]

The Crimson Sneeze and Ando were fun.

 

[satori01]

Last weeks episode I think was the kicker that pushed me off the show.
Sure this episode was better...but I honestly think that when a show is called "Heroes"......to have your season 1 villain Sylar be the most interesting, reliably entertaining, and most driving force for the plot to be a problem.

I hate to be a glass half empty type of guy...but I find it very sad that we are down to rating individual episodes...oh this one was good....that one sucked....this one was blah....that one was good for half the episode.
I do not faith that the next episode will be good.

In sports you can always say, "next year"...but plotted TV shows the past matters a bit more. The writers lost "Sylar" last year....this year he is back to about the right feel....which makes this episode so ironic.....no Sylar, you are back which is why there is drama for you.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I'm tired of Ando and Hiro's bickering this season. It wasn't terrible, but it just didn't go anywhere. Ando should make like Batman and be solo. Also, Hiro impersonating the guard... really? That was just stupid. As for the nosebleed... eh, who knows. I like Ando.

I had heard that Micah would run into Sylar this episode, and I knew they wouldn't have Sylar kill him. There are things you can't get away with on prime-time, and violently killing kids is one of them.

Speaking of Micah, I love that he's still the hero, and still trying to convince everyone to be heroes, even Sylar. I hope that Micah's line, "You could save them all," resonated with him, and he'll turn into a martyr of sorts.

Sylar's personality crisis was an interesting outgrowth of the shapeshifting power. It goes a long way towards making me think they can handle it responsibly.

What did Nathan really think he could do to Sylar? You know what would have been the best thing? Make sure everyone knows there are two of him. Appear in the same place as him, or at the same time. Set Sylar up by having people see you fly. Stay and listen to the people that have captured Sylar. Something that doesn't involve you going head-to-head with him.

Last weeks episode I think was the kicker that pushed me off the show.

Obviously it wasn't, since you're still watching.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

For me, I am waiting till the end of the season before quitining. I may not quit, but they would need to pull off an incredble final episode next week to keep me. They need to have a cool battle, reset Sylar, mindwipe most people, and do it without a duex a machina, all in 1 hour. Personally from past experience I don't think they can pull it off, but I will give them this one last shot.

 

[Arnwyn]

Actual episode title: "I Am Boring".

Danko: "Muwahahaha!" (covers all his dialogue and actions for this episode, if not the entire season)

Sylar: "Whine whine whine. The writers are so incompetent that they don't know what to do with me, thus the excuse to go with a 'need to find myself' storyline."

My wife: "What a boring, tedious episode."

I'm with my wife.

Unlike others, I still really like Hiro and Ando... but only when they're buddies. When they're feuding, they're crap.

 

[satori01]

Obviously it wasn't, since you're still watching.

LOL...well played sir! I will watch until the season finale. When I get invested in something I tend to want to see it out to the finish.

The breaking the camels back comment was more about the fact I found myself through out this weeks episode, recognizing it was much better than many of the episodes this year....and not caring........emotional I just have an enduring lack of interest in Heroes. I have stopped watching a show I love due to lack of time, change in schedule, lack of TV set....but never have I had a show just drive me away......I find it odd and kinda sad.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Meh. I couldn't bring myself to care about this episode one way or another, which in itself says something. Unless the season ender is really dynamite (something for which I hold no hope) this season is a complete waste just like last season. I'll continue to watch because the show still has potential but it's yet to be realized.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Well, I checked out weeks ago, before the change in writers. Now I just can't seem to bring myself to care. But I gather that the change-up hasn't affected the quality of the show any, so I think I'm done.

It's a pity though. Surely this concept could have been done better than this! The first season still rules, but then they didn't know what to do with it.

 

[LightPhoenix]

LOL...well played sir! I will watch until the season finale. When I get invested in something I tend to want to see it out to the finish.

The breaking the camels back comment was more about the fact I found myself through out this weeks episode, recognizing it was much better than many of the episodes this year....and not caring........emotional I just have an enduring lack of interest in Heroes. I have stopped watching a show I love due to lack of time, change in schedule, lack of TV set....but never have I had a show just drive me away......I find it odd and kinda sad.

I've actually had much the same feeling about Heroes. More often than not I'm indifferent to discussing the actual episodes. I contrast this with the first or even second season, where I'd have all sorts of stuff to say.

Honestly, I'd rather see Heroes get the axe due to Leno's new show than some other shows (ie Life). That won't happen, of course.

 

[Krug]

I liked the way it came together, though the SWAT guys really set a new low in competency. Sylar going all Norman Bates/mom thing didn't quite work that much for me, but at least Quinto managed to pull it off.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I liked the way it came together, though the SWAT guys really set a new low in competency. Sylar going all Norman Bates/mom thing didn't quite work that much for me, but at least Quinto managed to pull it off.

The biggest drawback of the whole shapechanging stuff? Someone else but Quinto has to pretend he's Sylar, reducing Quintos screen-time and forcing someone to act like him.

I am not a big fan of this "identity crisis", especially since the relationship to Danko is still off.
Though generally, that Sylar has to do some soul-search about the fact that he killed his mother is... natural.

It appears to me as if Nathan got the stupidity gene now - what does he believe he can achieve against Sylar? With a gun?

I hope that Danko failed to kill Sylar is not just a result of his incompetence to hit the right spot, but of the fact that the supposed flaw of the regeneration ability actually is wrong.

For me, I am waiting till the end of the season before quitining. I may not quit, but they would need to pull off an incredible final episode next week to keep me. They need to have a cool battle, reset Sylar, mindwipe most people, and do it without a deus ex machina, all in 1 hour. Personally from past experience I don't think they can pull it off, but I will give them this one last shot.

I think mind-wipes and resetting Sylar are pretty much deus ex machina.

Maybe Sylar just has to die, as much as I love the character?

But in the end, they can mindwipe the characters and the population in the show as much as they like, they can't mindwipe you. So whether the characters forget or not is irrelevant, what they need to do is improve on their writing, avoiding making characters unreasonably stupid (if they make mistakes, they should be due to incomplete information, misinformation and misdirection of others.)

I think it would have been very well possible to display Danko, Nathan, Sylar and HRG as strategic thinkers that manipulate each other and the rest.
But the only guy that gets real manipulation done is Sylar. But that doesn't work that well with his identity crisis.

 

[Arnwyn]

Maybe Sylar just has to die, as much as I love the character?

That one single act will immeasurably improve the show.

 

[LightPhoenix]

That one single act will immeasurably improve the show.

I fall into the camp that believes Sylar should have died at the end of the first season. However, I don't think that killing Sylar off will do anything to improve the quality of the show. In fact, I think Quinto is a pretty good actor, and losing him would hurt the show.

The problems that I've had with episodes aren't the result of one single character. Rather, it's the writing. When characters get utterly banal storylines, of course we're going to hate the characters.

Removing Sylar from the awfulness that is Danko, this episode could have been a fascinating look into the head of a serial killer. I think the shapeshifting/losing identity thing is a pretty neat way of conveying it. The problem with this storyline is that we've already seen it a couple of times now. There's nothing really new here, and that lessens the impact. Now that the mystery of the why is gone, there's nothing really compelling about the character, and that's writing issue. That's why I said above that I hoped Micah would push Sylar towards sacrifice; having Sylar continue on without change is just boring. It doesn't help that they're moving towards the 5YG future, which we've also already seen.

 

[Richards]

I hope that Danko failed to kill Sylar is not just a result of his incompetence to hit the right spot, but of the fact that the supposed flaw of the regeneration ability actually is wrong.

I was thinking that maybe Sylar had used his shapeshifting powers to move his brain stem a little bit to the right or something, so that the "hit me here to kill me" spot is no longer exactly where it used to be.

And speaking of shapeshifting, I see that Sylar is now able to shapeshift the clothes he's wearing when he changes his physical form - something that the original guy with the shapeshifting powers was apparently unable to do.

Johnathan

 

[WhatGravitas]

The biggest drawback of the whole shapechanging stuff? Someone else but Quinto has to pretend he's Sylar, reducing Quintos screen-time and forcing someone to act like him.

That one single act will immeasurably improve the show.

Well, yeah, these two things contrast each other starkly, no? The character Sylar is worn out, outplayed... and right now, I start to think they should just rename the show "Sylar".

On the other hand, Quinto *is* compelling to watch. While my enthusiasm for Heroes went down, scenes with Sylar are still fun to watch. They're pretty much the main reason why I actually keep watching it at least casually (Parkman can be fun as well, but is a bit... anemic without Daphne, HRG has lost his touch, Ando & Hiro have some good scene occasionally, but the writers seem to hate "competent Hiro").

Cheers, LT.

 

[Krug]

Losing Sylar won't improve the show. I think all superhero stories need a villain, and Sylar's a pretty good one.

It's more that for the hero side, there's very little to root for, as others have pointed out.

 

[DonTadow]

Losing Sylar won't improve the show. I think all superhero stories need a villain, and Sylar's a pretty good one.

It's more that for the hero side, there's very little to root for, as others have pointed out.

True the show has many problems, but I'd say the fact that they have not established a serious contender for the next villian in four arches is a major concern. A big part of that is the show's unwillingness to kill off or get rid of Sylar. Sylar is a great character, but he has worn out his welcome. They have done all they can with him and are now just finding ways to do the same thing with him in different ways. He's already gone emo,but now its because he's haunted by his mom.. as opposed to before when it was because he wanted to know his dad... as opposed to before when he wanted to have a real mother etc. You get the picture. I wouldn't mind seeing sylar come back in a one shot a couple years from onw, but the best thing for the story is to move it in a different direction.

I do like that finally powerful powers are being regulated with a drawback. hopefully this will take away from the inconsistancies in powers.

 

[Mark]

And speaking of shapeshifting, I see that Sylar is now able to shapeshift the clothes he's wearing when he changes his physical form - something that the original guy with the shapeshifting powers was apparently unable to do.

That's right. He was Mister "costume."