Heroes Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2 Review

Well the wait was about nine long months....almost like for a child to be born....but it finally ended last night, Monday September 22, 2008, in a 3 hour event. Did it live up to the hype? In my opinion: Yes! Questions were answered and more questions posed to viewers. One thing for sure is that the world again hangs in the balance and "saving the cheerleader" will not fix things this time. I am interested in what other people thought about the episodes The Second Coming and The Butterfly Effect. What was your favorite parts? What questions do you have? I don't want to spoil things for those who have not seen them yet so I will list my specific remarks at the bottom of the post so you can stop reading if you want.

But first I just want to make general comments concerning some of the theological issues brought up in Heroes. There are themes that permeate the whole series. These themes revolve around relationship: Father - Son; Father - Daughter; Mother - Son, Brothers, Husband - Wife; Friend to Friend; Individual - Community. The characters constantly make choices and wonder how their actions affect others and sometimes wonder if they should care. I love watching the characters wrestling with those questions. I don't always agree with the conclusions they reach, but I enjoy watching them do it. I believe that these questions are things that God expects us all to consider. Other questions being wrestled with are Who am I?; What are my talents?; What am I supposed to do? The Bible has answers to those questions. In season one, we saw Peter, Sylar, Hiro, and all the other characters struggle to find the answer. Same thing in Season 2, and continues in Season 3. It makes people think about and discuss what makes one a hero. What makes one a villain.

The story basically says that their powers are a product of evolution, yet many of the characters seem to believe in God and look for direction from God. I think the show is a metaphor for America's schizophrenic theology. We can't make up our mind as a nation. When something horrible happens like a terrorist attack or natural disaster we quickly turn to God. Otherwise we ignore Him and teach each other and our children that there is no God and you can do and be what ever you want - accountable to no one - as long as you don't harm other people ( and even that part is changing).

SPOILERS - Do not read this if you don't want to know what happened on the show
1. How come Nathan did not die? It's hinted at that Linderman (who died at the end of Season 1) healed him. That and is it conclusive that no one can see Linderman but Nathan
2. What happened to Micah? Neither he or Monica have appeared yet
3. Is Nikki dead? If she is, then how is Tracy Strauss connected to her? They look identical and her powers are different - she can freeze people (that was a cool effect by the way)
4. Mohinder took the serum to give himself super powers (kinda like Spider-man) but there seemed to be icky side-effects. What are they? He seemed to be in pain.
5. In the future Peter still has that scar....I wonder how he gets it? He has it in two different timelines....does that mean he can't avoid it?
6. We finally know what Bob's power is: turning metal into gold
7. Sylar to Elle: "Look at what your daddy used to could do!" (after Sylar killed him and took his power)
8. We finally know what Angela Petrelli's power is "clairvoyance" in dreams. How do they work?
9. How did future Peter put our Peterinto Jessie's body?
10. What about Kaitlin from season 2? the timeline reset when Peter stopped the Shanti Virus mutation from getting out, what did that do to her? Why hasn't Peter thought about her. He did love her right?
11. Is the formula future Peter was talking about, that his mom and her friends were trying to keep under wraps, the same formula stolen from Hiro and Ando by the speedster (liked her by the way)? Is it related to the same breakthrough Mohinder injected himself with?
12. How does this formula destroy the world? It sure made a mess in Tokyo. It was funny how when Hiro went to take a peek we don't know how far he went, but future Peter is from 4 years in the future. Maybe they are 2 separate timelines?
13. Nathan had a near-death experience. What exactly did he experience.
14. When Sylar took Claire's power, did he mess her up so she no longer feels pain, or is it a natural progression for her power? How is she going to adjust to it? Is it even possible for a human being not to become twisted under those circumstances? It may explain why she was behaving and dressing like she was 4 years in the future.
15. Could Peter be causing the future he is trying to avoid?
16. The real kicker for me was that Sylar tried to kill Elle but ended up releasing the supervillians instead and ended up getting captured.
17. With Bob dead, Angela really stepped up. How much of the Company's activities was she and Kaito privy to?
18. Angela told Sylar that she is his mother!!!!! what????!!!! I was speechless.