The Problems With Heroes Season 2

Sylar-MissingAlthough a TV Show, Heroes has a massive following amongst movie fans, and I have been one of the biggest fans. The first season of Heroes was one of the most well told, most brilliantly paced and compelling pieces of television that was only rivaled by Battlestar Galactica to me… and last night’s episode of the show was truly worth of recognition.

However, this second seas has been far from perfect. I looked around at some other sites today also talking about this season of Heroes which only has 2 shows left, and thought I would throw in my thoughts about what went wrong with Season 2. Don’t get me wrong, Heroes season 2 has been pretty good… but a FAR cry from the type of television we’ve grown accustomed to getting from Heroes. So here is where I think season 2 has gone wrong:

1) Unclear Plot from the start
In the very first episode of Season one, we are giving the MAIN PLOT LINE that the entirety of season one would follow. There is an explosion coming that is going to destroy New York, and the Heroes are running out of time to stop it. That’s the main plot. The episode set it all up for us so we could follow along with all the sub-plots and side stories in the light of the overall purpose. Not all shows need to, or even should, do it that way, but it is part of what made Heroes so addictive.

Season 2 on the other hands opened up as a bust. We see all the characters again… we clearly see there are some things going on… but we’re given nothing to KNOW. We just have lots of questions and no sense of direction like Season 1 established for us. The Season one premiere gave the show purpose… the Season two premiere just showed us everyone was still alive (except DL that is). We EVENTUALLY get the plot of the virus introduced to us… but not until well into the second season.

2) Hyper Annoying Kid Actors
Nikki and DL’s technology manipulating son (Micah) was a strong point in the first season. That kid was perfect. Understated, and just gave enough that kept him believable and likable. However, this season we got Micah’s annoying bratty cousin, and the unbearably irritating Molly. I understand that you can’t expect Oscar winning performances out of children… but good grief she was horrible. Whenever she was in a scene it actually took EFFORT to keep watching.

3) Boogieman Let Down
Near the end of season one Molly reveals to us that there is another person out there who is “much worse” than Sylar. We get into Season 2 and it seems like we have a new great villain on our hands surrounded by mystery. Turns out he was nothing but a drunk, pathetic loser who also happens to be Parkman’s dad. Such great promise ended up being a pathetic little side character who went even more quickly than he came. No great villain this season, which leads us to…

4) Where the Fuck Is Sylar?!?!?!
As in any great action movie, the key to Heroes was one of the most interesting and compelling villains in television. A simple man tortured by his own ordinariness who becomes consumed… not with power… but with the notion of having significance, purchased with power. Sylar was played BRILLIANTLY my Zach Quinto and has been PAINFULLY absent from this season almost entirely. Such a bloody waste. All they’ve had Sylar doing all season is sitting in a stupid car with a stupid set of twins… which leads us to….

5) Totally Useless Twins
YES WE FRIGGING GET IT! She gets emotional, black tar comes out of her eyes and people start dying. WE GET IT! You’ve only run us through this exact same scenario a dozen bloody times already. Not only are their powers lame and stupid, the characters have absolutely no significance, and yet they insist on giving them precious screen time while other much more important characters are invisible. Which leads us to….

6) Where the Fuck is Hiro?!?!?!
One of the two most important characters in Heroes. If Peter drove the show, then Hiro was the heart. Hiro is beloved by the fans, was one of the pivotal forces of all of season 1, and yet in season 2 he’s not seen every other episode. They had him loligagging around in the past for too long all just to introduce a character that could have been done in 1 episode.

7) Where the Fuck is Peter?!?!?
The other most important character of the show. Peter is the most powerful being on the planet, and he’s also the heartthrob of the show. Yet, they decided to use the “One episode on, one episode off” formula with him too. There have even been episodes where both Hiro and Peter were not present at all this season. Very frustrating. We needed more of Peter and Hiro and less of Micah’s “I can do anything I see” useless cousin.

Anyway, the show is still one of my favorites on TV right now, and I look forward to seeing how they wrap the season up (yet another casualty of the writers strike right now), but if there is going to be a Heroes season #3, I really hope they learn a few lessons from the failures (not that the season as a whole was a failure) of season 2.

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40 thoughts on “The Problems With Heroes Season 2

  1. any way i don’t have much to say ,however to mi side the season 2 wasn’t so bad like others have said.lol.coz personaly i love the series they r better than other series i have watched.so u guys don’t give up i know we all make mistakes.finally the heroe serie wasn’t bad on mi side so i encourage u to put more effort.

  2. I watched Season 1 on DVD and it was ok….like a 7/10 at best. And then Season 2 started and I watched it on tv and saw the first 2 maybe 3 episodes and I had enough.

  3. Well, I’ve quite injoyed season 2 so far. The only thing that has bothered me is the slow pregeshion of the story. It’s starting to remind me of Smallville and I gave up on it a long time ago. I keep wanting Peter to go all out with his powers and show us what he can really do. Hiro as well. But I guess or keep hoping they’ll get around to that at some point. And the heroes to form some kind of super hero team aswell.

    Smallville is on what, like season 7 or somthing like that and still is just as unexciting as ever? He’s still stuck in Smallville fighing the same lame ass villians with the same plot circles going around and around to nothing. I so hope Heroes doesn’t end up the same way. It does seem to be a build up show though. Everything in this season I think is setting up an even bigger and better story for season 3.

    Atleast I’m crossing my fingers that this is whats happening. But I like all the characters so far. Except for the twins, can’t see how they’ll become good heroes or villians. But I can see Syler using them for somthing insanely crazy.

    And yes Matt’s dad character was waisted, but it did help Matt find out his power was much more then just mind reading and now one of the coolest charcters on the show. If the creator/writer really is as big of a comic book fan as he seems to be, Heroes will stay true to it’s roots and this show will build up to somthing truly amazing.

    As a huge comic fan myself it seems to me everything seems to still be happening for a reason in Heroes, makes sense to me and should pay off in the end. The reason why I think season 1 was so diffrent then 2 is cuz it was written in a way to grab people’s attention and pull them into a comic book inspired show, comic book and non comic book people alike. Now that they’ve got people watching they’re able to branch out more and give us more story on less explored characters from the first season.

    Just hope it comes back around more to a main story in season 3.

  4. this is a just a continuation of the down hill slide the show took in the middle of the first season.

    the show was great to begin with but due to its sloppy terrible writing and jaw droppingly bad acting from just about everyone finally people are seeing the light.
    its a bad show. plain and simple.

  5. The Third World Wonder Twins are such a let down because they are so disconnected with the rest of “the crew”. I was even disappointed to see Sylar back so fast. Although I do appreciate the scenes with El Hottie Del Mui Naughty.

  6. Sophomore jinxes are a bitch. Agree with most here that season 2 has been a let down. Bad sign when you recycle season 1.

    Best addition – Elle. If you watched Veronica Mars you knew that already.

    The big issue facing the series is giving too many characters so much power. There is going to have to be a massive house cleaning of characters to get out of the dramatic corner they have painted themselves into.

  7. Well, I watched episodes one thru five and am only considering d/l the rest because the season has been cut short. Otherwise, I was just going to dump it.

    The problem is, to phrase it a little differently, that Kring et al are no good at creating tension with such a spread of events and characters. They got around it in season one by introducing the disaster in episode one, and allowing glimpses into potential futures throughout the season, all of which had us persevere through the poorer episodes in the knowledge something big was coming.

    In fact, the show tapped into our curiosity rather than trying to excite us, or create ever wilder cliff hangers (a la ’24’). However, all the writing faults of those have been exposed with season two’s lethargic and unfocused plotting.

    But then we should have expected this, since the first season went steadily downhill after the standout episode 17. If they can fumble a nuclear man going off in New York, is it any surprise they’ve cocked up this time?

    Season one rates an overall 89/100 to me. Season two, so far, is limping with about 45/100.

  8. Despite enjoying season two, I can’t help but be disappointed with the show. I feel like the show has many great characters, but a lot of time has been wasted this season on uninteresting characters and sub-plots.

    This is really too bad. The show has so much potential.

  9. What frustrates me about the Hiro storyline is he seems to completely forget the events he was embroiled in immediately before he dropped into the past.

    As far as HE knows, Sylar was still a threat. The city could still explode. The logical thing to do would be to go immediately back into the fight. He knows it is HE that has to kill Sylar. He’s been to the future where Sylar lived and he knows the consequences of failure. Ando is dead. A lot of other people are dead.

    But for some inexplicable reason, he forgets all about that just because he sees a bunch of Japanese warriors in the field.

    What the hell???

  10. “less of Micah’s “I can do anything I see” useless cousin.”

    I totally disagree. I feel like Monica is the most interesting and lovable of all the new characters. Muscle memory is a pretty sweet power. I say more of her and less of Elle (goodness she annoys me to no end!) and creepy West (however, he didn’t suck last episode)

    And here comes an unpopular opinion: the twins don’t annoy me. I’m intrigued by the concept of a good person having a power that is evil. And now with Sylar in the picture, it’s only going to get more interesting. But I know NO ONE agrees with me.

    I definitely agree with your first point though. It did take too long to get to the overarching plot this season. And we’re still not really sure what it is! (Is it the virus, or is it the elder heroes being killed off?)

    Another part of this season that’s annoying me: Mohinder. He’s still very pretty, but oh so dumb! He’s putting way too much trust into Ned Rhyerson (Bob), and he’s letting everyone push him around too much.

    The good points:
    *How bad ass is HRG this season? Especially last episode. I love that guy!
    *Adam is a pretty great villain
    *The woman who plays Angela Patrelli is really getting to shine this season. She’s amazing!

  11. You speak the truth. Almost all the episodes I’ve watched have been inexcusably BORING. Though the latter part has been more interesting, HEROES would benefit greatly if they took note of everything you just wrote.

    There is a simple solution, I think. Give Sylar back his powers and let him finish up his list i.e. kill crybaby twins, Molly (my God, if she grows up she will be an grade A whiny beeyotch), and stalker loverboy West. Then Sylar can go off and have fantastic cool battles, and maybe work with either Adam or Elle (who is the BEST, can’t understand why girls seem to hate her). That would be brilliant.

    We need more showdowns and less crying.

  12. One thing that really bothers me this season. The company was so shadowy and scary in the first season. This year it’s got “Bob” running things and all the heroes coming and going whenever they feel like it. It’s pretty lame now.

  13. To be honest, It took me about 4 or 5 episodes to get into the story of season 1, and so I have been much more forgiving of the downfalls of season 2. Personally, I disagree with much of what John said.

    First, I like that the plot wasn’t fully laid out at the start. Season 1 did its share of building-up as well, including not even showing Syler’s face until halfway through the season.

    Second, I love Molly. I think she’s an amazing child actor, and I found that watching Matt bond with her has been truly touching. Also, if you listen to the commentary for the season 1 DVDs, you’ll hear ALL of the adult actors GUSHING about how amazing the actress who plays Molly is.

    Third, I don’t really care to see much of Syler. I’m glad he’s been pushed to the sidelines. He dominated season 1, and he did it well, but he can’t own the entire series. We need new villain blood.

    Fourth, the lack of Peter has actually been refreshing. He’s far too powerful to be the centre of attention all the time, and taking away his memories was the best way to tame him until the rest of the cast could get their feet wet.

    Finally, Elle is freaking awesome. I love people who can shoot lightning, and when they’re hot, it’s an extra bonus. Can’t wait to see how her character develops!

    All in all, I still look forward to Heroes more than anything else on TV, and I’m very disappointed that the season is being trimmed down due to the writer’s strike.

  14. I disagree with #1. There are other shows like LOST & 24 which do not give out the entire plot or the threat of the season in the first episode, yet it is very compelling television. The problem for me is THE RECYCLING OF STORYLINES, last year we had Hiro accidentally goes into the future witness an apocalyptic earth and then go back in time to save the world, this year we have Peter accidentally go in the future witness an apocalyptic earth then go back in time to “save the world. Last year we had a hooded killer killing the Heroes and this year we have another hooded killer that is killing the Heroes. The looks like a variation of the same plot.

    I don’t mind them taking some time to build up the story, it is a serialized show and it takes time to set up all different aspects of the story for payoff. But the storylines they do bring should be good and not a variation on previous season’s plot.

  15. damn straight, what the hell was the point in not just letting him die the fist time when he got shot (and we all thought he’d died anyway). Why resurrect him for 5minutes of one episode only to kill him off again in weak fashion. I swear the writers guild already started industrial sabotage before they went on strike in the heroes team

  16. This season started with the episode “Four Months Ago” everything before that was just Kring basking in the glory of a successful Season 1. It’s good he got the bitch slap when he did and he recognized it. The show will be kick ass from here on out because he is listening (and reading) blogs like this. Not sure how the hell he plans to wrap everything up in two episodes but I think season 1 was so phenomenal that fans will write off season 2 as a fuck up and reattach to season 3.

  17. Come on people!
    Picking on HEROES Season 2 is like so 3 weeks ago!
    Even the creator of the show has now basically admitted that this season sucks.
    Stop treading a dead horse!

  18. I would assume the purpose of the cousins is to set up the virus. The guy is the cure and the girl is the virus. I’m sure they will have to keep Sylar from killing them because he will absorb the girls power and give the “virus” to the world….but i’ve been wrong about 90% of the plot points in this show.

  19. The first season is like many first movies of a trilogy or series. It was self contained. It was written to stand alone.

    This season is moving slower, and setting up more. It has the freedom to not be self contained because we know that there will be future seasons for these events to be fleshed out and their purposes revealed.

    I don’t think it’s worse, just different. Try and stop thinking as the show in seasons now. It’s moved beyond that.

  20. omg…this is so true! Last week’s episode should have been the season premiere in my eyes…I kept thinking I missed an episode in between before the 4 months ago episode.

    This week’s episode was AMAZING….I even got a little teary-eyed….it’s just a shame there’s only 2 more episodes to go. It was finally getting good again!

  21. I would like everyone to turn back the clock to last year and remember the early speculations of season 2 said that most of the characters would not return. They were planning all new plot lines with new Heroes all over. They responded to demand by keeping many (almost all) the heroes from the 1st season but at the same time introduce a new set of characters. I feel season 2 going much the same pace as season 1 did and the recent episode “Cautionary Tales” brings it back to the jam packed episodes like “Company Man”.

  22. I agree with the group. Season 2 has been a HUGE let down, except for the last 2 episodes. I think one of the major problems is TOO MANY characters! Hell, let Sylar go on a killing spree, and let’s see Bob turn someone into gold!

    On that note, I also agree with the last guy… Dexter is a great show that delivers every time.. but… the best show on television is still “The Shield”

  23. I think that this season has been so mediocre that even creator Tim Kring admitted to it.

    Things I hate about Season 2:
    1) The Wonderless twins (I gotta admit that they suck).
    2) Molly (She is so goddamn annoying).
    3) Micah and his dumbass cousins (A person who can completely other people’s actions. Big fricking’ whoop. On top of that, she begins emulating Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story, awwwwww HELL NOOOO!).
    4) D.L.’s death (for a guy who can let bullets through him, his death was really lame).
    5) West (I always kept on thinking that he was going to spit at someone the entire time. Watch Alex Payne’s Election for reference).

    Things I love about Season 2:
    1) Elle

    I gotta admit though that Cautionary Tales last night was a pretty good episode, almost on par with last season’s Company Man. I wished that they reshuffled the episodes a bit. Four Months Ago should have been the first episode of the season and then the surprise should have been that Adam Monroe IS Takezo Kensei and not that other way around. I also think that they should just stop creating new characters because focus is being lost on the main ones: Hiro, Peter, Nathan, Parkman, Mohinder, Sylar, Nikki, Claire, and others.

    I think that the dramatic show with the best season so far has been Showtime’s Dexter. Every episode has been ramping up the tension harder and harder.

  24. I haven’t been enjoying season 2 as much as I did with season 1 but I still watch and enjoy the show. Last night’s episode was phenomenal, it was everything that the rest of the episodes leading up to it should have been.

    I have been pretty upset with the lack of Peter and Sylar in this season. Not to mention like what you stated John about the twins and Micah’s cousins…downright annoying. Adam has been a good twist and like Mr. Bennett you’re unsure of his stance in the show, good or bad I like him as a character. Sadly there was just too much time devoted to setting up that part of the story.

    The twins are my least favorite characters on the show and right now I wish Sylar would just end them already and quit playing with them. Elle is just sexy and badass…such a good combination!

    The only good thing I’ve seen so far out of all this is that Tim Kring has somewhat admitted and apologized to fans about the slow start and story problems. So hopefully some fixes will come…however thanks to the writer strike we’re screwed.

  25. absolutely disagree with u. i loved season 1, but i enjoy watchin season 2 as much as i did season 1. u r right about the twins, but come on the rest was really good. the plot was unclear at the beginning, but gets more and more interesting, sylar was the main villain in season 1, so it would be boring to see him from the beginning in exact the same position, peter teams up with adam now which makes a rally awesome team ….
    and especially the last episode was so amazing (the episodes before were awesome as well) – it really blew me away

  26. I hope Sylar eats the twins brain before the proposed seasonfinale in two weeks, i don’t want to see them in season 3. I really don’t care about the newcomers except for Elle and Adam. at least West made himself useful last night

  27. I can’t believe Wes wasn’t mentioned once this whole article. He’s pretty much the worst character I’ve ever encountered in a relatively serious drama. The kid can’t act for shit and his character has the WORST lines I’ve heard in quite some time. Seriously, if he makes it any further than this season, I might just have to stop watching. What are they doing with this schmuck?

    Also, Mohinder is completely falling apart as a character. Remember when he was all for questing for his dad? Was he thinking about his dad when he shot Bennet last night? I mean, there’s motivation for anything he does any more. His blood is no good anymore either, so due to his complete irrelevance now, he should die soon.

    They should’ve aborted this season about 4 episodes in and retconned the whole deal. Forget it ever happen. Instead, we’re stuck recycling THE EXACT PLOTS from last season (save the world, peter realizes his powers, Hiro learns that he can’t save everyone, Claire fights with her Father over the work he did in the Company, Claire reveals her powers and gets everyone in trouble, Nikki battling inner demons, etc.)

    Otherwise, good summation.

  28. I have to agree that the show hasn’t lived up to par with the first season. But with them cutting the season short can we really blame them for all of these problems. Maybe is the season continued things would get clearer.

  29. Dear God, could you be more right?
    I would only emphasize that hiro’s trip to the past was way longer than it should be.
    But the last two episodes showed the last season’s heroes agian. Hopefully.

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