Changes

Heroes has definitely improved, but it's clear there's no way for it to escape from its malaise before the season ends. The trouble is not only are the characters tired (as we see them go through their umpteenth change on a dime), the threat against them is incoherent. It's okay--even good--for the danger to be mysterious, as you cut through layer and layer to get to the center of the threat. But for a while now we've had this government organization rounding up special people that seems to be run on a catch-as-catch-can manner, by two or three guys at the top who've never agreed on what they're doing. And the heroes drop in on the main guy, Danko, whenever they want--piece of cake to take him out if they really desired. With no framework to hold together the plot, every scene seems to operate independently, not adding up to anything.

Still, the latest episode, "Turn And Face The Strange," was pretty good, at least by this season's standards. It was a parallel story, where a good guy--Parkman--and a bad guy--Sylar--both used their powers to get revenge.

Sylar got yet another power last week (really time to kill him off) and, in part of his unending tango with Bennet, set out to use his shape-shifting ability to destroy Noah. Bennet saw through the dead Sylar ruse (which Danko, destroying the consistency of his character, agreed to last week) and sought out the real Sylar. Meanwhile, Sylar pretended to be Noah's wife Sandra and asked for a divorce. (You don't find out it's Sylar till afterwards, which makes a tiresome scene, in retrospect, work.) This starts a downward spiral that's well plotted, since Noah goes into attack mode, which leads him into trouble more than once. He even believes he's killed an agent. (And we find out among Sylar's powers are the ability to turn off his healing and know how to bleed. I wouldn't have guessed that.) It was a good back and forth that kept the viewer guessing.

Matt Parkman's story didn't work quite as well. So angered by Daphne's death, he went crazy with hatred (after Mohinder failed to stop him--in the past others were unable to stop Mohinder going nuts--that's how the show works). So he went after Danko--as noted above, no trouble getting to him and killing him any time anyone wants. He found Danko's secret girlfriend, and brought her to Danko's place and threatened her with a gun. There was no way Parkman was going to kill an innocent person, he'd become too unsympathetic. (And I had no trouble with Sayid shooting young Ben Linus.) In fact, even threatening her went too far. So Parkman stands down and Danko shoots him. Except he's saved at the last millisecond by Hiro (this isn't the first bullet frozen in midair the show has had), who's regained some of his powers. Parkman wants to die, but seeing his baby son for a few seconds (he didn't now about him?) makes him change on a dime and love life again. So much for Daphne.

Hiro and Ando had a cross-country trip with Baby Matt (they used to be faster, but it doesn't matter--Heroes regularly has characters, even those without power, get across the country in no time flat). It was mostly played for laughs and didn't add much.

And the Petrelli clan is gathering at a spot out west called Coyote Sands, yet another one of those mysterious places where "it all began." Mama Petrelli has her kids dig up a bunch of bones. They have no special digging skills. Couldn't she have just told them what happened?

Anyway, we'll get more backstory next week, and soon the season will be over. Ali Larter may yet return. And I hope with their renewed plotting skills, they'll come back next season ready to go.