At the beginning of “Fugitives,” I, like the Hunter (played by the slightly redeeming Zeljko Ivanek) was “reserving judgment” about how and why this whole “government is after us” plot was playing out. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to remain positive about where Heroes could be heading this season, and I’m not alone. Just the fact that many of its big stars have come out on the defensive (Masi Oka, Jack Coleman) to ask fans to hang on and be patient is a very bad sign. These guys know they’re in trouble. “People get wrapped up in thinking this show is not what it used to be, but if you forget all that and take these episodes on face value, they are really good,” Coleman told TV Guide recently.

So let me get that straight: it’s the fans’ fault that we’re dissatisfied, because we are just too “wrapped up” in the high standard set by Season One. If we’d just wipe our memories of what Heroes’ best used to look like, we could redefine 'best' to mean ‘mediocre,’ and be happy with what we’re getting now. Hey, we could be thinking, at least it’s not "Two and a Half Men"!

Masi and Jack shouldn’t need to give interviews telling fans to cut slack and bide time. Call me old-fashioned, but episodes should speak for themselves, and fans shouldn’t need convincing outside of the quality of the show. But I don’t blame these guys. I can see why they would rather not have an episode like “Cold Wars” speak for itself; in that entire hour, it said nothing new. Which is why the funniest thing about these interviews is that both actors defend the show for forging new territory, and imply that Heroes haters are actually change-fearers. “[Heroes] is just trying different paths,” Oka said. He says that it’s a “completely different story” than what they’ve been trying to tell in the past.

Read: Masi Oka Asks for Patience from Heroes Fans

That’s funny, because Matt Parkman painting a mural of Washington, D.C. being destroyed by a mushroom cloud (which is caused by one of the heroes) sounds exactly like this other storyline I know. And I also remember how that plot ended: with a whimper, not a bang. What about Nathan looking for fairytale cure-alls from scientists, and Mohinder being forced against his will to do evil’s bidding, while Angela and Noah Bennet play both sides? I know I’ve seen all of that before. Maybe it is true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

For all the supposed “revelations” going on as Parkman walked around in HRG’s brain space, we learned nothing we didn’t already know, or didn’t already figure out because we can tie our shoes all by ourselves. Even Peter, hearing from Parkman that Nathan is behind this government program to take down people with abilities, said “So what?” He already knew that. And so did we. We also knew that the Hunter would rather kill than contain the heroes, and that HRG’s morals and alliances are flexible. Oh, and Daphne is alive. Don’t tell me that you didn’t see that coming. Only a lucky few die and remain dead on Heroes.

After all the dramatic posing and fighting during “Cold Wars,” we ended up back where we started, the same fugitives against the same government zealots, with the same double agents in between. Now there’s another massive city-destroying disaster for the hapless heroes to prevent, and I’m more concerned about my head exploding from all the recycled writing going on here.

I know so many Heroes fans out there are holding out, hoping that Bryan Fuller, Masi, and Jack will deliver on their promises of new and improved programming. And we’ve gotten some promising glimpses of fresh directions that could break us out of this spin cycle we’re in, or at least spur some real action out of an episode. The Sylar-father plot at least takes that character in a whole new direction. I do find the Hunter character potentially capable of stirring up the dynamics. But Sylar was nowhere to be seen in “Cold Wars,” and the Hunter’s mysteriously hateful vendetta against the heroes has yet to be fleshed out. So how can I know that these glimpses aren’t sleights of hand to keep me interested in a story I’ve already seen? Jack and Masi want us to wait and see… but are we willing?

Read the Recap: 'Heroes' Recap: Episode 3.17 "Cold Wars" (Page 1/3)




-Meghan Carlson, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: TV Guide
Image courtesy of NBC