Originally Aired: November 26, 2007
Peter travels to Primatech Paper in Texas with his new friend to destroy the virus, which will kill 93% of the world's population in the future -- or so he believes. Niki returns to Micah with bad news. To right a wrong, Monica puts her abilities to the test. Hiro goes after his father's killer. Meanwhile, Matt uses his mental abilities to track down the last person in the Company photo. Nathan learns his brother is alive. Outside of New York, Maya must choose between Alejandro and Sylar.
Full Version: 2x10 "Truth & Consequences" Discussion
This is the kind of episode that leaves me conflicted. On the one hand, there were elements that I found exciting and more than worth the time, especially in terms of the current plot arc and the desire for closure. On the other hand, there were subplots that felt extraneous and predictable. “Heroes” has always been stuffed with more than enough plot material, but I’m concerned that this season finale will be just as anticlimactic as the first.
To be fair, the writers weren’t working towards a true season finale when these episodes were written; they had two plot arcs in mind with ongoing character threads linking them together. So the likelihood of satisfactory closure is low, just based on the circumstances of the writers’ strike. I’m also aware that Tim Kring has expressed similar dissatisfaction with the season, citing many familiar concerns. Hopefully that will play into the preparation of the third season.
On the positive side, the nature of the deadly Shanti virus has now been revealed, peeling back the layers of mystery surrounding the Twelve and their role in the formation of the Company. It all gels together well enough, even if some items remain vague, and it puts the current conflict into perspective. As we already know, Adam wants to use the virus to wipe out most of humanity and reset the civilization clock, and he’s duping Peter into helping him. Hiro is fighting to stop him, based on a desire for revenge and his own sense of responsibility.
If I have one issue with that aspect of the story, it’s Peter and his motivations. Understandably, he feels responsible for Caitlin and her welfare. He also wasn’t particularly bright in the first season, so his struggle to put things into perspective makes a certain amount of sense. Despite all that, he seems all too willing to accept Adam’s good intentions. It may seem simple enough to conclude that mutual captives of the Company were equally wronged, but when the world is at stake, a little due diligence is necessary. As far as we know, Peter has never tried to read Adam’s surface thoughts, which would at least bolster or challenge his assumptions.
The other side to this is the Company itself. They’re happy enough to allow Mohinder to discover a cure for the Shanti virus, but Bob resists the notion of eliminating all traces of the most virulent version of the pathogen. That goes far beyond any desire to help people control or eliminate their abilities. One possibility is that the Company has every intention of keeping the virus for their own use, but only after they have enough of the cure to control survival. After all, Adam might welcome a viral apocalypse, because he has every reason to think he will survive it. Bob and the others have no such natural immunity.
This supposition is based on what we’ve seen of Bob and the Company thus far. Bob knows how to use his hapless appearance to undermine suspicion, but his methods are questionable and suggest an agenda of personal gain. His treatment of Elle is the most obvious sign of his moral character. Elle is used as a tool, an asset to be manipulated and applied, with little or no concern towards her psychological health. One gets the feeling she would be discarded if she stood up for herself. If Bob treats Elle in that fashion, why wouldn’t he treat strangers in equal disregard?
On the less positive side, a lot of time was spent on material unrelated to the current crisis. Sylar finally fulfills his promise to kill Alejandro. As disappointing as it might be to have him die, he was designed as a stop-gap character; his only function was to control Maya until she could control herself. Since Sylar has seduced her to his side, and she can control her power on her own, he no longer serves a function within the story. One would expect Maya to be equally expendable, given that her current function is to help Sylar regain his abilities. Unfortunately, because the audience has been given very little reason to care about the characters, their deaths will have little impact.
Similarly, Monica and Micah’s misadventures were interesting up to the point of her capture. Not only is that completely predictable, but it seems designed to cause tension in Mohinder’s storyline more than anything else. The logic is blatant: Monica is kidnapped, Micah seeks Niki’s help, Mohinder will be torn between the desire to save Niki and save Molly. That such a progression hinges on Monica’s lack of preparation is convenience. It doesn’t take much to realize that Monica could have escaped the house in the time it took for the thugs to make it up the stairs; all she needed to do was wait on the roof until the coast was clear.
There’s also the small matter of Victoria Pratt. She was also a paper-thin character, developed to serve a specific plot function. This arc is designed to expose the secrets of the Twelve and deal with the concerns of the previous generation; one would expect that the legacy of the Twelve would be tangential to the next phase of the story. So the writers probably saw no need to develop Victoria beyond her role as the one who developed the virus.
In the end, this episode still suffers from the same problem that has plagued much of the season thus far: the scope is too wide to bring into focus when it counts. It was part of the reason why the first season ended on a disappointing note, and that trend may very well continue with the second season finale. Perhaps the extra time afforded by the writers’ strike will give the writing staff time to think of potential solutions to that problem.
To be fair, the writers weren’t working towards a true season finale when these episodes were written; they had two plot arcs in mind with ongoing character threads linking them together. So the likelihood of satisfactory closure is low, just based on the circumstances of the writers’ strike. I’m also aware that Tim Kring has expressed similar dissatisfaction with the season, citing many familiar concerns. Hopefully that will play into the preparation of the third season.
On the positive side, the nature of the deadly Shanti virus has now been revealed, peeling back the layers of mystery surrounding the Twelve and their role in the formation of the Company. It all gels together well enough, even if some items remain vague, and it puts the current conflict into perspective. As we already know, Adam wants to use the virus to wipe out most of humanity and reset the civilization clock, and he’s duping Peter into helping him. Hiro is fighting to stop him, based on a desire for revenge and his own sense of responsibility.
If I have one issue with that aspect of the story, it’s Peter and his motivations. Understandably, he feels responsible for Caitlin and her welfare. He also wasn’t particularly bright in the first season, so his struggle to put things into perspective makes a certain amount of sense. Despite all that, he seems all too willing to accept Adam’s good intentions. It may seem simple enough to conclude that mutual captives of the Company were equally wronged, but when the world is at stake, a little due diligence is necessary. As far as we know, Peter has never tried to read Adam’s surface thoughts, which would at least bolster or challenge his assumptions.
The other side to this is the Company itself. They’re happy enough to allow Mohinder to discover a cure for the Shanti virus, but Bob resists the notion of eliminating all traces of the most virulent version of the pathogen. That goes far beyond any desire to help people control or eliminate their abilities. One possibility is that the Company has every intention of keeping the virus for their own use, but only after they have enough of the cure to control survival. After all, Adam might welcome a viral apocalypse, because he has every reason to think he will survive it. Bob and the others have no such natural immunity.
This supposition is based on what we’ve seen of Bob and the Company thus far. Bob knows how to use his hapless appearance to undermine suspicion, but his methods are questionable and suggest an agenda of personal gain. His treatment of Elle is the most obvious sign of his moral character. Elle is used as a tool, an asset to be manipulated and applied, with little or no concern towards her psychological health. One gets the feeling she would be discarded if she stood up for herself. If Bob treats Elle in that fashion, why wouldn’t he treat strangers in equal disregard?
On the less positive side, a lot of time was spent on material unrelated to the current crisis. Sylar finally fulfills his promise to kill Alejandro. As disappointing as it might be to have him die, he was designed as a stop-gap character; his only function was to control Maya until she could control herself. Since Sylar has seduced her to his side, and she can control her power on her own, he no longer serves a function within the story. One would expect Maya to be equally expendable, given that her current function is to help Sylar regain his abilities. Unfortunately, because the audience has been given very little reason to care about the characters, their deaths will have little impact.
Similarly, Monica and Micah’s misadventures were interesting up to the point of her capture. Not only is that completely predictable, but it seems designed to cause tension in Mohinder’s storyline more than anything else. The logic is blatant: Monica is kidnapped, Micah seeks Niki’s help, Mohinder will be torn between the desire to save Niki and save Molly. That such a progression hinges on Monica’s lack of preparation is convenience. It doesn’t take much to realize that Monica could have escaped the house in the time it took for the thugs to make it up the stairs; all she needed to do was wait on the roof until the coast was clear.
There’s also the small matter of Victoria Pratt. She was also a paper-thin character, developed to serve a specific plot function. This arc is designed to expose the secrets of the Twelve and deal with the concerns of the previous generation; one would expect that the legacy of the Twelve would be tangential to the next phase of the story. So the writers probably saw no need to develop Victoria beyond her role as the one who developed the virus.
In the end, this episode still suffers from the same problem that has plagued much of the season thus far: the scope is too wide to bring into focus when it counts. It was part of the reason why the first season ended on a disappointing note, and that trend may very well continue with the second season finale. Perhaps the extra time afforded by the writers’ strike will give the writing staff time to think of potential solutions to that problem.
Another great eppisode, Can't hardly wait for the new one, tommorrow night! 
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