HEROES Recap: “The Second Coming” of “The Butterfly Effect”

HEROES is back! I know for some of our GMMR readers this is the one show they’ve been waiting a long, long time to have back in their homes. It’s an exciting time for our Heroes and our Villains. And it’s exciting time for GMMR as we welcome Randi, our new HEROES resident expert, Randi. A round of applause please!

Take it away, Randi……

Hi All, my name is Randi and I’m super excited to be writing about Heroes on GMMR this season. I love this show and have been waiting for it to come back since before the evil Writer’s Strike (yay writers, boo strikes!). I have just refreshed myself by watching (and forcing the boyfriend to watch) both seasons back to back on Blu Ray. And let me just say, Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) is looking mighty fine come Season 2 in high definition. I have to admit that I didn’t watch the pre-show event. As much as I love red carpets, I couldn’t sacrifice Gossip Girl for network filler. On that note, I’m going to get right into plot and don’t want to spoil those that haven’t jumped on the bandwagon so follow me after the jump.

When we last left our Heroes, Niki looks to have gone down in flames. Nathan had just been shot. Claire almost reached her goal of taking down the company only to be stopped at the last minute by her reanimated father. Sylar had killed the crying twin only to have her brought back to life in the final minutes. He did regain his powers in the process. (Foreshadowing the next installment: Villains) But the battle between Hiro/Adam/Peter was the one that was truly awesome. Hiro finally makes Peter come to his senses and so Peter incinerates the virus. Hiro then buries Adam alive in a Japanese cemetery plot.

Right away, the episode opens with badass Claire of the future. What did you think of the flash forward opening? Why did Peter have the post-bomb scar on his face again? And future Peter shooting Nathan? That was a strange turn of events. It makes sense though if Nathan’s press conference revealing the Heroes’ powers would put them all in danger. Zombie Nathan almost made me jump out of my chair. Holy cow! After some fun Hiro and Ando banter, Sylar and Claire meet up. Claire’s running away sequence was just like something from a bad scary movie but it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. She pulls the classic move and hides in a closet. Good or bad? She did violate the Scream rules of scary movies that Randy (Jamie Kennedy) so clearly laid out.

Great jump to another hiding lady. This time, Maya. She almost clubs Mohinder with a cricket bat. Are you happy that the female half of the “super twins” is back? I’m hoping that they give her more to do than cry this season. Hiro is back and his father gave him the duty to protect a secret half of some sort of formula with his life. How’d you like the introduction of Friday Night Lights alum Brea Grant, stealing the formula and jamming super speed out of there? I thought it was about time that someone manifested Flash Gordon-like speed. Let’s just hope that Sylar doesn’t catch wind of her.

The scene between Parkman and Peter didn’t really keep my interest. Something is lacking when they are on screen together. They won’t be having a bromance anytime soon, that’s for sure. And what’s up with Nathan going all born again? “Save ourselves, save the world?” Seriously? Just a little over the top there. No criticism to religion here by any means, but Nathan didn’t seem to have many redeeming qualities before this near death experience.

What about Mohinder going all mad scientist with Maya’s genes? He really is getting jealous that he’s not part of the in crowd. Being a geneticist in a room full of awesome abilities must be kind of crappy. However, I wouldn’t want to play Russian roulette with a vial of Maya, for sure. Back to Claire and Sylar. Sylar flips through some files, one of which contains a picture that made me squeal. Francis Capra of Veronica Mars fame. Hooray for Weevil! And then, gross. Claire’s brain is exposed and Sylar is playing around in it. Did you guys like the scene where he puts the top of her skull back on like a hat? Yuck. Lead to the big reveal: Claire is immortal. Does this mean that Adam is immortal as well? My guess is yes. Alternating baddies makes for better TV.

Linderman and Niki back again? And Niki (as Tracy?) hanging out with the Governor of New York? Though it explains how Nathan became Zombie Nathan, it is still rather shocking to see Linderman standing again and sitting vigil at Nathan’s bedside, for sure.

Overall this episode kicked some serious booty. It was better than all of Season 2 and probably the first few of Season 1. We were able to catch up with all of the characters (save for the kiddies – Micah and Molly…Bob and Elle were missing too) in an engaging and exciting way. There were plenty of thrills and chills for the adrenaline junkies and the plot kept moving along. Just a few questions to leave you with:

What is up with the Hiro/Ando future battle? Did Mohinder become Jessica? Damn that was a super power! How did Niki live through the fire? Did you enjoy the reveal of Mrs. Petrelli’s dream ability? How will Sylar ever be brought down now that he has Claire’s super healing? What about Peter being trapped in Weevil…good use of Francis Capra or sort of a waste?

That’s all for Episode 1, “The Second Coming”. The next episode, “The Butterfly Effect” starts…now!

The Butterfly Effect wasn’t just an Ashton Kutcher film but also a theory that something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings can have a sequential effect, changing the course of everything in its path. When Peter came back to kill Nathan, The Butterfly Effect was set into motion, altering the future that he originally came from. Mama Petrelli saw a dark world in her dreams, one where sides were chosen and villains didn’t just come in two flavors.In the last episode, Hiro also saw a dark future, one where Ando had the ability to shoot red bolts out of his hands. It makes sense now that Mohinder has figured out a way to isolate the gene. Ando has always had some “hero envy” and would likely go for the injection. On the other hand, I think that Mohinder is off of his rocker for injecting himself with Maya DNA. The ability was pretty incredible to begin with, then it got weird with Mohinder jumping Maya, then it got weirder with Mohinder’s skin peeling off. Still a whole lot of gross in this episode.

Poor Claire. She was so troubled by her powers to begin with but now that she feels no pain, it’s got to be even harder. On that front, I feel sorry for Elle too. Having to see her father with his skull off and then being ejected from the company by Mama Petrelli? Harsh! Claire’s moment with Noah was touching and it was nice to see her real mom back from South America. Hopefully fire balls will be able to protect Claire and her family.

I was wrong before when I said that Niki is back. It seems to be an entirely different person named Tracy Strauss. Or is it? I’m so confused. Nathan looks to be heading to Washington all over again. However, will the nurse that saw him playing chess with Invisible Linderman leak that he might be a bit cuckoo for cocoa puffs?

Daphne the super speed girl was back and turns out that she’s a super thief. I’m curious as to who her boss is. Parkman met the guy who has been painting all of the exploding earths everywhere in Africa. Guess we have another Isaac Mendez on our hands. What do you think about the new characters? I wonder where the Haitian is. And Molly and Micah for that matter.

The showdown between Noah and Sylar showed off Sylar’s new ability nicely. Elle is lucky that she discharged and knocked Sylar out because she was about to be taken down. We got some more time with our friend Francis Capra but not enough. Give Weevil more screen time!

Of course, the end of the episode was where the good stuff was. Can you believe who will be calling Mrs. Petrelli “mama”? Wow, that is crazy! I’d have to say that this episode was not as good as the first but it was still extraordinarily good. I feel invigorated after watching it and will be waiting on the edge of my seat until the next one is out. Till next week all, have a great week!

Randi works at a tech company by day and spends the rest of the night battling her boyfriend for the remote control. She usually wins. She’s still mourning the cancellation of The Gilmore Girls, regularly watches entire box sets in rapid succession, and likes to spend any free time in San Francisco.