Heroes: Don’t Look Back
by Erin
A Soulful Spike Society
Review
www.soulfulspike.com
The past isn’t dead. It
isn’t even past.
William Faulkner
Huh. With a title like “Don’t Look Back,” you’d
think that this episode would be all about what lies ahead. For Hiro, our
teleporting hero, and for Isaac, the tortured artist who can see the future,
they are living the future. Yet for the rest, the past is a heavy influence on
the now. What happens when you look back? Do you get a clearer picture of who
you are? Or do you turn and freeze into a pillar of salt?
This episode does seem to quite know which it
wants to us to do. So, how do each of our heroes interact with the past?
Mohinder
The episode starts with Mohinder talking about
divine intervention. At the same time, he is not waiting around for anyone else
to figure out what happened to his father. With the help of Eden (is her name
supposed to be significant?), he realizes that his father did complete his
work.
The real question is: Why is he including Eden in
this search? He supposes, out loud, that she was closer to his dad than he was,
and assumes that she would know something about his research. She does, but
why? If his dad knew his work was dangerous, why involve her? Perhaps Mohinder is looking at the presence of Eden as “divine intervention” but he needs to widen his focus on the past and not get wrapped up in one answer without asking more questions.
Claire
and Sylar
Recent past and long ago collide in Claire more
than in any other character in this episode. There are three related issues
with her here: her rescue of the man from the burning train, the tape of her
numerous attempts at injury, and her adoption. The last two bring her in
conflict with her father, whose past (recent and ago) are worse than she could
possibly imagine. All of them have to do with her desire to figure out who and
what she is. All of them are corrupted by her father’s intentions. By the end
of the episode, she has denied her heroism to avert detection (hmm, a blonde
cheerleader with superpowers who has to lie about her strength and power; sound
familiar?), the tape has been stolen (don’t they watch Veronica Mars? Never
tape anything; that’s a sure way to get caught!), and her father has consented
to her search in the creepiest way possible (the entire “you’ll be my little
girl for as long as possible” dialogue made me feel dirty).
Her past and her father’s past are on a collision
course, and of all the heroes in this episode, I think Claire is in the most
danger.
Hiro
and Isaac
Aside from being my favorite character so far,
Hiro is the first of the heroes to try to make contact with another. (Not
counting Peter and Nathan.) Isaac and Hiro are the only two in the episode who
are, in fact, not focused on the past; they are living in the future: Isaac in
his mind, and Hiro in actuality. Of course, Hiro is unaware that he has pushed
forward in time as well as teleported himself. Isaac is all too aware of what’s
happening to him, and it’s driving him out of his head (that would be made all
too literal by the time Hiro finds him).
It’s interesting, too, that Hiro and Isaac are
the ones most invested in the “future”; this seems significant in an episode so
focused on the past. Both are living the future, seemingly in order to effect
change to it in the present. Their powers, like the powers of the other heroes,
reflect much about their present circumstances. An artist, whether a musician,
painter, or writer, creates something in the hopes that, upon completion, it
will be read, viewed, listened to; that they will have an effect, however
small, on someone down the line. And as I well know from my cubicle days,
working in an office setting can make you feel like you are going nowhere and
affecting nothing. Hiro can, with enough concentration, “leave” his cubicle and
make a difference. He can travel; he can make a difference. His name, alone,
belies his current circumstances; he was made to be a “superhiro.”
Peter
and Nathan
Peter’s attitude in the first episode intersects
with Hiro’s; he wants to be special. Instead, he is in a hospital bed, having
quite literally crashed back to earth. Why? He is weighted down by his family,
their past, their issues, their desire to be “grounded.” His family’s past, his
brother’s ambition, won’t allow him to “fly.” In fact, his mother admits that
the majority of their efforts have been to help his brother “fly” to the
neglect of Peter. (It makes perfect sense, then, that Nathan flew first.)
Worse, his family’s dark secret (his dad’s suicide), makes a pretty compelling
argument that Peter is merely suffering the “delusions of grandeur” common in
manic-depression. He’s further undermined by the fact that Nathan did fly, that
Nathan continues to be the special one in the family. It’s only when all the
cards are on the table that Peter can rise above them.
Nathan, on the other hand, doesn’t want any of
this. He wants power of the more conventional sort; a congressional seat, maybe
someday the presidency. What will this ability do to those ambitions? Hiro’s
trip to the future shows that Nathan wins, but has the brothers’ rooftop
confrontation already changed the future?
Niki
and her Evil Twin
In the
first episode, we saw Niki’s past attack her quite brutally; she attacked right
back. This “splitting” ability is completely in context with how she lives her
life; supporting her son in ways she doesn’t want him to know about (sex
worker, borrowing money from the mob). She already is “split”; the power just
works with what is already there. So how evil is this twin? At the end of the
episode, we get the idea that she might have killed before. The “twin” takes
brutal revenge on all who threaten Niki or Niki’s interests. As ruthless as she
is, she is also everything “conscious” Niki isn’t: efficient and orderly. Maybe
it’s like what Evil!Cordy said: “What is it about evil that jacks up the IQ
points?” Only time will tell what kind of “hero” Niki will turn out to be? Can
this ruthlessness be turned to less brutal means?
Matt
Like Hiro, Matt is stuck; like Niki, his past is
about to rebound on him badly. His arrest at the end of the episode not only
parallels Hiro’s in November, but serves as a nice metaphor for his continued
attempts and failures to change his circumstances, Worse yet, Audrey assumes
that those same failures have led Matt into murderous revenge.
Again, there is a nice parallel between the power
and the circumstances; when we first meet Matt, he is longing to be on the
“inside,” rather than directing traffic and helping no one. You can’t get much
more “inside” than reading people’s thoughts. However, if Buffy taught us
anything, it’s that telepathy is not a sure path to popularity. No one really
wants to have their minds opened up to inspection (although there was a nicely
subtle reference to Matt having an appointment with a therapist; a more
conventional way to have your “head examined” but often just as uncomfortable).
So, now we have a little bit more of the puzzle
to work with; a bit of sky, some background material. Yet the past isn’t as
easily disposed of as the bodies of your mafia creditors or of your own fears
and insecurities. For each of the heroes, it will continue to influence who
they are and what they will become.
Other random observations and notes
· Anyone else wonder whether Peter flew on his own
ability, or if Nathan somehow “gave” him a power? Nathan seemed awfully sweaty
in that scene.
· Does Hiro’s arrest in the future mean that Matt
is off the hook?
· I just want to say again how much I love the
character of Hiro. He is so excited and happy about his power, and there is a
genuine sweetness to his manner that just makes him all the more engaging. And
his fear and sadness at finding Isaac just broke my heart.
· Did I miss something? Does Mohinder have an
ability as well, or is he serving more as the narrator//facilitator?
· Speaking of narration, I’m with Sara on this one;
it’s heavy-handed and cheesy. It’s got to go.
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