TV Review: Heroes 3.4 - I am Become Death

Posted by Adam Sweeney (adam@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 7, 2008

Heroes, NBC, Airs Monday 9/8c

Episode: “I am Become Death” (Season 3, Episode 4)

Synopsis: The two Peters (Milo Ventimiglia) travel to a future where everyone has superpowers. Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) struggles to reverse his newfound abilities, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) and Tracy (Ali Larter) come closer to accepting their political destinies, and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) and Daphne Middlebrook (Brea Grant) find out that that love isn’t all it is cracked up to be.

Review: The latest episode of Heroes deals with an age old dilemma: If you could see the future would you want to? That doesn’t seem to be a problem for the show’s writers, who have seemingly shown us every version of the future we could think of save for a world where every human being worships High School Musical. (Don’t laugh too hard, there are a lot of Zac Efron fans out there.) In the latest future we see a division of our favorite heroes that reminded me a lot of the “X-Men: Age of Apocalypse” storyline. We also see Sylar/Gabriel (Zachary Quinto) doing his best Mr. Mom impersonation… until Daphne, Claire (Hayden Panettiere), and Knox (Jamie Hector) piss him off to the point that he becomes a human atom bomb. The effects of the bomb wipe out Costa Verde, which hit kind of close to him seeing as Galveston (which I live not too far from) lost hundreds of lives after Hurricane Ike.

In the present, Mohinder finds out that there is a price to the powers that come with his superhero serum. You know the part in those Viagra ads that say “Side effects may include dizziness, high blood pressure, eagerness to watch Steven Seagal flicks, and an erection that lasts longer than Return of the King?” Well, if Mohinder’s miracle drug hits the open market you can be pretty sure the consumer warning will be a little bit like that. The serum ends up making Mohinder a modern day lepur that hides in his apartment all day afraid to make contact with normal civilization. Basically he becomes the same as anybody who plays World of Warcraft.

Tracy Strauss proves that some coldhearted politicians do have morals, even if they are triplets that were genetically manipulated. But try as she might, her destiny seems to lead her along the same path as Niki’s and into a relationship with Nathan (who we find out will become President in the future.) I can imagine Nathan and Tracy having a conversation.

Nathan: “So let me get this straight. You are drawn to me just like Niki was.

Tracy: “Something like that.”

Nathan: “But our union could have grave consequences that would change the state of this nation.”

Tracy: “I know.”

(Nathan pauses and then watches the video of his sexual romp with Niki in Las Vegas hotel again. He goes to his bedroom, turns on ‘Hail to the Chief’ on his Ipod, and return with the lingerie Niki wore in Vegas.)

Nathan: “Umm, I don’t mean to go Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo on you, but would you mind trying this on?”

Tracy’s encounter with Dr. Zimmerman (Ronald Guttman) offers an interesting little puzzle for fans to figure out. I personally think Zimmerman is offering a little bit too much info. Could it be a trap? The talk reminded me of the Nazi experiments conducted on Jews during World War II. It was a harsh reminder of how far some people are willing to go in an effort to play God. Too bad Mohinder wasn’t there for the coffee talk. He could have learned a few valuable lessons.

One of the biggest surprises came in Matt Parkman’s vision. In the future he is married to Daphne, the speedster villain of season three. Well, a villain that wasn’t originally one of the show’s heroes. But in the future she seems like a hero… that is a villain on the side. In the future she is no longer playing Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote with Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee), which was a bit of a disappointment. But maybe this means the writers are planning on giving her a bigger reason to be around than playing tag, which is good. I know this, they better not just let her die off because of Sylar’s anger issues. If Neve Campbell can deal with a burnt up back in The Craft then damn it, so can Daphne. How will Matt prevent this from happening? We don’t know yet. He has to follow his Totem, a turtle, around in the desert for a few more episodes before he knows. Is it me or is this the equivalent of throwing a dog a chew toy and saying, “Go get it, boy,” as you sit down to watch TV?

The episode ends with Hiro digging up the key, Adam Monroe (David Ander), who will help solve the mystery as to who is after the secret formula. We cut to credits after he grabs Hiro by the throat demanding answers. Hmm, so that makes two Adams, if you count me, that were left wanting to know what is happening. This isn’t an indictment of the show. At this point the only real frustration I have with Heroes is that I have to wait another week to see what will happen next. Well, that and the fact that I am sick of seeing future Claire and future Peter constantly clench their teeth as they deliver their lines. Apparently this was taught to them in Villainous Acting 101. At least Future Peter is dead now so we have cured half the problem. Or… have we?

Up Next Week: Heroes stand at the brink, Claire battles her first villain, Peter flees a bleak future, and Suresh makes a dangerous gamble.

For more coverage of your favorite shows, check out the Control Freaks Archive.

Did you watch Heroes this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.

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