Heroes 1.04: Collision review

AIR-DATE: 16/10/06

Written by: Bryan Fuller

Directed by: Ernest Dickerson

Starring: Matt Lanter, Mark Allen Stewart, Ashlee Gillespie

Rating:

The One Where: The future
Hiro appears.

Synopsis
Matt wakes in
hospital, monitored by Bennet
and the mysterious man from the
bar, who wipes his thoughts. In
Vegas, Niki learns that the only
way to wipe out her debt to
Lindeman is to be the bait in a
honey-trap with Nathan.
Mohinder tries to warn Nathan of
Sylar, but he’s dismissed as a nut.
Eden delivers his father’s ashes
and he resolves to return to
Madras. Pete arrives and babbles
about special powers. They go to
see Isaac, who has a vision of
Claire running and stumbling
before a terrible threat…

In Vegas, Hiro fears Ando is
gambling away their only money
and uses his power to freeze
time during a roulette game.
Despite his scruples, Hiro is
convinced by Ando to cheat
during a game of poker, too. The
boys have little time to celebrate
their winnings – and new suits –
before they get roughed up by
an angry high roller. Elsewhere,
Nathan meets Niki. She decides
she can’t sleep with him but later
her alternate self returns to the
room… This Niki then beats up a
guy threatening Micah.

In Texas, Claire heals her
wounds on the autopsy table and
sneaks out of her own postmortem.
She gets revenge on
Brody by involving him in a car
crash. On the subway, Pete
experiences frozen time and an
older, cooler Hiro appears,
revealing that he’s from the
future and that he has a vital
message for Pete…

Review
This episode by
Bryan Fuller – of Wonderfalls and
Dead Like Me fame – delivers
another masterclass ending. The
glimpse of a heroic future
incarnation of Hiro is a genuine
“What th-” moment, and makes
you appreciate just what a
brilliant actor Masi Oka must
be. It’s as if every atom of
geekiness has been removed by
liposuction. The only trouble is
that the current incarnation of
Hiro is such a lovable, charming
creation (check out his little
thank you prayer after he’s
successfully frozen time) – do we
really want to sacrifice that for a
more obviously heroic version
of the character?

Claire on the autopsy table is a
great gross-out visual. And
there’s some interesting
character development here,
too, particularly the way she
deals a nasty dose of retribution
to Brody. She’s a nascent
superhero, one following her
impulses without the moral
compass of a true crusader. Nice
moment when she breaks down
on the stairs as her mum talks
about waffles.

Note to comic book fans: see
all those great paintings in
Isaac’s apartment? They’re the
work of Tim Sale, artist on such
acclaimed series as Superman
For All Seasons and Batman: The
Long Halloween.

Dialogue
Ando: “Did you
call the comic book writer?”
Hiro: “I left messages in
Japanese. I need to learn to say
‘You’re going to die in five
weeks, then New York will
explode’ in English…”

Nick Setchfield