For months now the buzz around Heroes’ third season, Villains, has been out of control. Everyone who had already seen the two-hour season premiere could not stop talking about how great it was, and NBC was really emphasizing to fans how accessible this season would be to new viewers. It was almost the anti-Lost marketing campaign, telling anyone who would listen that you don’t need to have watched any of the show’s previous episodes to enjoy this season.
I have to say that I was really impressed with what a great job the show did last night in establishing its large cast of characters without bogging down the season premiere and boring loyal viewers. Monday night’s episode actually lived up to the hype and did a good job of introducing a handful of new characters in a way that was not off-putting. Both Heroes and Lost have had a hard time in bringing in new core characters to their respective shows and I think Heroes did a nice job of it Monday night.
Best of all, I can honestly say I am really excited to see what’s coming up next. The introduction of future Peter brings a whole new dynamic to the show and I am really jazzed about potential pairing of Noah Bennet and Sylar by the Company as it tries to round up all of its recently released villains. I am a little annoyed that Heroes decided to rip off the recent X-Men Summers brothers (i.e. Cyclops and Havoc) plot line and tease the fact that Sylar may be Peter and Nathan Petrelli’s long lost brother.
But, all in all I’m happy with the new direction the show has taken. Mohinder is finally being given an interesting storyline, Wonder Twin Maya is no longer a whiny cry baby, Linderman sort of returned from the dead, and Zachary Quinto’s Sylar looks to become a major focal point of the show. I just want to know how the Company plans on keeping Sylar under control.
As for the show’s female characters, the only one that really seems interesting to me anymore is the multifaceted Angela Petrelli. Ali Larter’s Niki Sanders lost my interest long ago and it always seems like Hayden Penettiere’s Claire’s storyline moves at a snail’s pace. Although, she did have some pretty cool scenes with Sylar this week.
So, what did you all think? Hopefully most of you saw this week’s season premier as Heroes has definitely gotten out of its sophomore slump and back on track with the same quality storytelling that made Season 1 so popular with television fans. I’d love to hear some other viewers’ takes on the show, so give The Blot a shout or leave a comment.Heroes airs Monday nights on NBC at 9/8c.