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Heroes, NBC, Airs Mondays 9/8c

Episode: “A Clear and Present Danger” (Season 3, Episode 14)

Synopsis: Three weeks after the destruction of both the Primatech and Pinehurst, and the death of Arthur Petrelli (Robert Forster), the now-villainous Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) returns with a vengeance by persuading the U.S. President and the government to round up all people with abilities, leading to Claire (Hayden Panettiere), Ando (James Kyson Lee), Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), as well as Tracy (Ali Larter) to become fugitives from the people who were their former allies.

Review: Harrison Ford didn’t make a guest appearance in last night’s beginning of the Fugitives storyline, but the big question is whether you’re still watching Heroes. The show has seemed to lose a bit of social currency, but hey, everything it going to hell with the economy. What can ya do, right?

You know that uber-talented friend that you grew really close to in high school that eventually dropped out of school, and started getting high off whip cream bottles? That’s kind of what season 3 of Heroes was to us. The show broke ground as a primetime series center around superheroes, but lately it’s been downright normal. You kind of feel sorry for it.

Normalcy is something our heroes now want after the death of Arthur Pertrelli (Robert Forster). Thank God he is finally gone, by the way. Claire and friends, which would make for a hell of a spin-off (Spider-Man has already done it.), are busy trying to focus on ordinary issues such as college prospects, but their true destinies aren’t too far off in the distance. Neither are their enemies, as Sylar (Zachary Quinto) is more than happy to show us as he goes on a hunt for yet another family member. Oh, the family issues this show has.

The fourth season seems to be prepared to offer some believability in an otherwise believable world, and we couldn’t be more grateful. We can believe that Nathan would turn on Peter, because Nathan is a douche. We can believe that. We can believe that Ando and Hiro (Masi Oka) think they can save the world. They’re dreamers. What we want to believe is that this show will slow down a bit, focusing on simple stories. You know, like they did in the first season, when we loved the show. Maybe the fifth season should be titled Redemption. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That is what got us here in the first place.

Even though the beginning of the Fugitives storyline is a blatant rip-off of the “X-Men Genosha” storyline, not to mention the ending of the episode is painfully similar to the pilot episode of Lost, the Clear and Present Danger episode banded the majority of heroes together in entertaining fashion. Too often, the characters have lacked any real purpose, and fans have grown tired of the “He’s dead. Wait, not really” gimmick that the writers seemed happy to do. This episode didn’t have that, although it did make me wonder why characters like Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and Peter would be in contact without even discussing anything from the past. Couldn’t we have had a “Hey, my cab driving friend. Remember that big fallout we had, oh, less than a month ago? Sigh. Good times.” I know the show wants to act like the Villains plot didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean the characters should act that way as well.

The addition of Zeljko Ivanek as a superhero hunting commando ups the stakes considerably, and we look forward to seeing the relationship that grows between him and Nathan. His presence created a sense of urgency in the story as we saw each hero be torn away from the routines they had desperately fought for. It’s not exactly the most original story, as we said before, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. Watch kidnapping scenes in V for Vendetta, or even Taken, and you get the picture.

At some point you have to think Senator Pertrelli will realize a re-enactment of the Holocaust, or most recently Guantanamo Bay detainees, can’t be a good thing, right? If so, get prepared for the Star Wars references (Vader saves Luke. You know this.). It looks like we will find out if blood is thicker than water.

It’s appropriate that the new volume of Heroes started on Groundhog Day, because we’re all wondering if the characters that had fascinated us will be able to shake the shadow of mediocrity that has followed for them for some time now. If the Clear and Present Danger episode is a glimpse into the future, winter may soon be over for Heroes.

Up Next Week: Following a chain of unexpected events, the Heroes are on the run from Nathan and the Hunter. A series of prophetic paintings reveals the tragic fate of someone close to Matt (Greg Grunberg). Elsewhere, Sylar continues the search for his father and encounters an outcast with information and an ability of his own.

Read More: Heroes Recaps

Did you watch this week’s episode? What did you think?