Everyone involved with Heroes is aware that the show is off track. After enjoying critical acclaim, big ratings, and fanfare through all of Season One, something--maybe it was that big Petrelli Brothers explosion in the sky at the end of that season finale--unaligned, ever so slightly, the fabric of the Heroes universe. Whatever it was, the general consensus was that Heroes had lost its magic, and hardcore fans have been jumping off the train left and right ever since. Everyone had his own breaking point. For some, it was a general time-space confusion, or inconsistent writing. Some jumped after Hiro's extended adventure in feudal Japan in Season Two; others held on until they saw a big vat of magic red jello called "the formula" in Season Three.

But life is even harder for those of us still on the Heroes train, who spend so much time defending, attacking and endlessly debating the remaining merits of the show that we can't even enjoy the genuinely good episodes--even when the magic seems to have reappeared, the pressure for an epic comeback is too great.
The expectation of failure casts such a shadow that the writers seem practically blind in their attempts to get us back to where we used to be. Those fans who have never wavered in their adoration aren't necessarily wrong to do so, but they seem to possess a combination of flexible standards and steadfast loyalties that you're more likely to see in someone who is in love with a human train wreck, not a televised one.

The conductors of the Heroes train aren't oblivious--ratings have been steadily dropping, critics put them through the wringer each week, and talk of cancellation has been termed a "mercy killing" more than once.  And now they're doing something about it: they're making explicit promises to realign. This year, as if they're running for re-election, they've been sending their stars on interviews with rhetoric of faith, hope, and change in the series. Jack Coleman, Ali Larter, and Masi Oka have all pleaded for fans to hold on for the long haul. Just look at the transcript of the promo that aired after last night's episode: "Monday in two weeks, Heroes returns with an episode that can only be described as CLASSIC." Then the words slam down in a montage of explosive action: "GOOD. AS. EVER."

Normally, I wouldn't buy it. I've been duped by Heroes before. But this time, it's different. There's real change afoot, in the real promise Heroes has made to fans: the return to greatness in the form of Bryan Fuller. Because if Bryan Fuller can't save Heroes, no one can. ...Right?

At least that seems to be the opinion of... well, everyone. Even those who never strayed. We need look only to the hero's welcome that Bryan Fuller is receiving as he returns to the show after a stint writing the incredible and canceled-too-soon Pushing Daisies. "I would trust that man with my life," Larter said last week. And, in a way, she will be: his pen first went to paper on the upcoming so-called "classic" episode 20, "Cold Snap," which by title alone tells us it's Tracy-centric.

But is it wise for those of us still close to jumping to put our hearts on our sleeves for Bryan Fuller? Being the precise, insightful journalist that I am, I venture a hesitant "Maybe."

Here's why: Last night's Episode 19, "Shades of Gray," finally set up a plot with potential. I never believed that Bryan Fuller could lift Heroes out of the muck on his own. But some key things happened last night, without Fuller's help, that are worth seeing through:

-    Step One: Gray turns black. Last night, Sylar got some real motive to be a real Big Bad, and his awesomely pure-evil progenitor (John Glover) will give him a run for his money. A show called Heroes needs a real, (super)human villain that we can see and fear. Nathan and his government program, the virus, the formula, and even Arthur Petrilli never gave me the shivers the way Sylar always does. And now, fresh from the malicious life lessons of his father, he can be bigger and badder than ever before.
-    Step Two: Danko goes rogue. The dueling philosophies on the same team act was getting a bit old with Nathan and the Hunter, and I was happy to see it come to a head last night. Things actually happened, like Danko revealing the full extent of his crazy (or not-so-crazy) by pushing Nathan out the window. And the bomb threat didn't turn into the drawn-out doom we feared it might. Even though I'm sad that plot point ever saw the light of day... I'm thankful it's been disabled. Now Nathan and Claire may both be joining the fugitives, where they belonged from the start. 
-    Step Three: Rebel revealed. Should we be troubled that the best character this season doesn't have a face? Probably. But (s)he will soon, the Heroes writers have promised. if his/her actions this episode are any indication, Rebel will be a leader who can rally our disjointed, flip-flopping troops in some genuine superhero fighting action against this season's evil forces.

Bryan Fuller has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and he can't do it alone. For this show to become "GOOD. AS. EVER." Fuller and the other writers will need to not only get back to Season One, but also make up miles of lost ground and move far beyond it. It's a lofty assignment. Hence, my hesitant "Maybe."

But if NBC is making big promises, I will make one of my own to readers who are tired of these Heroes diatribes: I will be sitting down and shutting up for the time being, and with an open mind, just waiting to see where Bryan Fuller takes us. The scenery can only get better from here. ...Right?

Read the recap: 'Heroes' Episode 3.19 "Shades of Gray" (Page 1/3)

Have you ever thought about bailing on Heroes?

Never!
Sometimes, but I keep coming back.
I bailed a while ago.

-Meghan Carlson, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Image courtesy of NBC