Heroes Review: Orientation & Jump, Push, Fall

The two-hour season premiere is really just the first two episodes sandwiched together, and it shows. The first hour (Orientation) does little to re-kindle the fire that made the first season so good, instead, it continues the shaky path of the last two seasons. The episode is definitely just meant to set up the rest of the season. We catch up with where the characters are at, as well as meet the ones likely destined to serve as the new villains. Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is "done" telling lies and is now enrolled in college, Noah (Jack Coleman) is struggling with being alone, Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee) start "Dial a Hero", and Matt (Greg Grunberg) is through "using" his power. It's all predictable and boring. On the plus side, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) is at least interesting. He's back working as a paramedic, and his sole interest in gaining powers is to help him do his job better so he can save more lives. It's what most of us imagine a real life hero would do, and it's a good direction for the character.

The second hour (Jump, Push, Fall) isn't brilliant by any means, but is entertaining and moderately promising for the rest of the season. There are decent plot developments, the episode uses the right amount of action, and it doesn't try to explore every character's entire story arc. This is probably why the two were aired together, because the second hour negates the frustrating first. On Claire's end, her roommate may have committed suicide, but choosing to play detective, she must figure out if it was a suicide or murder that caused her roommate to fall out the window. The new "bad guys" are trying to find a compass for a yet-to-be-revealed reason, and Peter and Noah find themselves in possession of said compass. The mystery of this object's importance is good, and I'm very happy they haven't rush the answer.

A few things remain very frustrating. First, Hiro and Ando are still used for comic relief. I get it, they're the funny duo, but please give them something more to do that look like idiots. Their new hero business has them saving stuck cats. Hiro is still struggling with nose bleeds and blackouts, so I fail to see why the focus hasn't shifted entirely to that story line with them. Secondly, and I' not surprised at all by this, Syler (Zach Quinto) is already starting to show himself. After trapping Syler in Nathan's (Adrian Pasdar) body last season and wiping his memory, you'd hope they could last at least half the season before bringing him back, but that occurrence happens almost instantaneously. Somehow, the writers find a way to spoil every decent idea they come up with. Haven't they heard of patience? Lastly, Danko was offed way too quickly. Niki (Ali Larter) survived and declared vengeance on Danko, and instead of opting for a game of cat and mouse, the writers have him killed quickly by one of the new characters.

Verdict: Though not great, the second hour makes up for the lackluster first hour. There's still a shred of hope for this season, but the writers need to shape up and let things actually develope on screen instead of forcing events to happen too quickly. ☆☆☆