DonnaK:  
UPDATE: Upon review and reflection, this review came out all kinds of wrong. I want to make sure this is really clear right up front - I honestly, truly, really liked this episode. I thought “I Am Sylar” was one of the most entertaining and enjoyable episodes of this volume. I should have taken care to make sure that this point was presently much more clearly throughout this review. My problem in writing this was two-fold. First off, our cable went wacky about a third of the way through the episode and we had to wait another day to see the rest, meaning it took until today (Wednesday) to write this. The more time that passed the more I thought out the problems in the episode and the more frustrated I got… hence the frustration present in this review. Secondly… I seem to be in a really horrid mood today, so this review just came out way harsher than it should have. Now, I stick by the actual points that I made, but if I could go back in time and change things, I would have given more praise to the good parts and phrased my criticisms more critically and less harshly. So, please keep all this in mind when you read this. Thank you.

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Of course, the usual warnings….

SPOILERS BELOW!!!! MANY SPOILERS TO BE FOUND!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!

This week’s episode, “I Am Sylar”, was really good. Actually, it was damn good in many, many ways. The acting, particularly by Ivanek and Quinto, was impeccable. The plot had a lot of interesting twists and turns that were handled wonderfully. The characters and plot had movement towards an end goal. Honestly there wasn’t much to complain about if you look at this episode in a vacuum. So why is this review full of complaints? Because I’m getting really tired of this up-and-down roller-coaster ride of both over-all quality and consistency in character and plot from week to week.. Four weeks ago, the show was poor. Three weeks ago it shined. Last week was weak and failed on many levels. This week it’s great again. Ummm… hello? Can we please get the ninety-seven thousand directors, the four hundred and sixty eight writers and the eleventy million producers in a room and decide what in the hell is going on with this show? Can we PLEASE have plots, characters, and events that are consistent from one week to the next? Can we figure out what everyone’s true character is, what the goal of the show is, what the goal of the season is, and then work towards those ends with a consistent level of quality in the work? Hell, Lost did it, and that show was FAAAR gone two seasons ago. Remember last week when I gave an impassioned speech about consistency? About how I felt that consistency of writing and character of fundamental importance and, without it, a show loses me? Yeah… I’m still beating that drum this week, and I’m going to keep right on beating it until either the people behind Heroes decide they want it to become a FAR more consistently good and quality show or they lose me completely.

I’m not going to go through the show point by point this week. Yeah, I’m going to bullet some things up, but it’s not going to be a full plot synopsis and breakdown like I normally do. Why not, especially since this was a really great episode? Because the inconsistency of the quality of the show has me so frustrated that I don’t feel like taking two hours out of my day to break it down like that. Because rules that were made just a few short weeks ago were broken this week. Because I’m starting to feel once again like the people making this show don’t really care enough about either their product or their viewers to keep things straight. Yes, this was a really good episode, and there are some things that deserve to get talked about, and I will praise them and talk about them. But I’m also going to highlight what got me so riled up as well. So… here’s my abridged list for the week.

—Gotta give it up for the acting of Zeljko Ivanek and Zachary Quinto. Remember in “Into Asylum” I wondered if the lack-luster acting of Ivanek and the lack of chemistry between him and Quinto was a one-off thing or a problem between the actors? Well, clearly it was a one-off deal. Those two were on FIRE this week in every possible way. The fight for psychological (and eventually physical) dominance was absolutely breath-taking. I could have watched these two all night. Hell, I want a show with Quinto, Ivanek, and John Glover just so I can watch them all play off each other. These two clearly can work together brilliantly. So… it was inconsistent with the chemistry I saw four weeks ago. So… even when something is great, it still manages to be inconsistent with the standards set only *four* episodes ago. It’s the little things, people.

—Props to the Hiro and Ando storyline as well. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two, and I particularly liked watching Ando really come into his own and gain some much needed confidence. The banter between them was really well written and snappy as hell. I thought both Oka and Lee were wonderful in their scene and brought some great comedic moments to the show. Again, though, the consistency bug strikes. Remember “Building 26” and how upset Hiro was when Ando usurped what Hiro thought was his destiny? Hiro has always been both jealous and a bit threatened that Ando now has an ability. This conflict between the two that began at the start of this volume with it’s peak occurring in “Building 26” has never been dealt with or resolved in any way. Now I’m supposed to believe that Hiro, who is as stubborn as a mule and very set in his ways, was magically swayed at some point during this episode and is now fine with Ando’s powers. Can some one please point out who said what and when to make this attitude shift believable, because I must have missed it. This just seems like more convenient logic that only exists so that we can get to the finale and have no tension between Hiro and Ando. There has been nothing to date that would make Hiro’s attitude shift make sense. Again… characters and their actions must have consistency. This didn’t.

—Watching Sylar slowly descend into a state of semi-madness was a beautiful thing to see. As I stated from the outset, Quinto was really on fire this week and he played Sylar’s struggle with identity and sanity to the hilt. And, for once, something on Heroes *WAS* consistent. It’s completely believable that Sylar would be going through one hell of an identity crisis, especially with Danko nipping at his back constantly to be someone else. Sylar has, from day one, always struggled with who and what he is and who and what he should be. His search for self is the truest thing about this show and the one thing that has remained constant, even when everything else went to hell in a handbasket. I totally believe that he would have saved Micah, because Micah said all the right things to him. Contrary to what Nathan said, Sylar is not and has never been a psychopath. He has a conscience and he does do good deeds. He knows the difference between right and wrong… he just doesn’t feel the need to conform to that kind of morality most of the time. I bought all of this storyline and I was thankful that at least something in this episode showed that there is at least one thing in Heroes that truly has been consistent from the beginning.

—I have to touch on Micah here. We all know that Micah is Rebel. BUT… we’re still missing components here. Micah simply cannot be working alone, and this episode proved it again. We’re already discussed that Micah wouldn’t be able to locate people in order to send them messages without, oh, say… someone like *Molly*. But I’ve also always said that there must be an empath involved with him as well, else how would he know who needs what kind of help and at what times. In this episode, Micah all but read Sylar’s mind. He knew all of the mental dilemmas Sylar was dealing with and exactly what to say to coerce Sylar into helping him. You NEED an empath for that, that or a mind-reader. Micah couldn’t have known what to say unless he could see into Sylar’s head, and that’s not an ability that Micah has. I sincerely hope that Heroes answers this problem and doesn’t leave it as a loose end, because if they ignore this incredibly salient point then I think my head might explode.

—Okay… here’s my biggest beef of the show, and the thing that really got me revved up about the consistency thing again. Parkman. Why oh why do the writers insist on screwing with Parkman’s character so fucking much? First they give him Isaac’s power, which made no sense. Then in “Cold Wars” Parkman’s abilities were nerfed so much that he didn’t have enough juice to mentally hide himself and HRG from a few agents. But now… now Matt can not only “hear” the agents that were *blocks* away but hide himself, his ex-wife and his son from a literal swarm of agents that were walking all around them without batting an eyelash. WHAT THE FUCK, HEROES?!?!? Can Matt hide himself from a few people or can’t he? Does he have the strength to take down his father - who was supposed the scariest of them all if you’ll recall - or doesn’t he? One minute Matt’s got all the juice in the world, the next he needs Peter just to walk into Building 26, and now he’s at full strength again? WHAT THE FUCK! And don’t get me started on Matt and Janice. In show time, three days ago Matt had a guns to Danko’s head, weeping and threatening to kill Danko and a completely innocent woman because of Daphne’s death. Daphne, the love of Matt’s life, just died and only THREE DAYS AGO he was willing to kill two people over it. And now? He’s asking his ex-wife for a chance at a new life with her? WHAT THE FUCK, HEROES?!?!?! How in sweet bloody fuck does this make any fucking sense whatsoever? IT DOESN’T. Consistency. There is NO consistency with Matt’s character, and frankly Greg Grunberg deserves better than that. He’s a fantastic actor who deserves much better material. Seriously… with the character and ability tweaking. Enough.

—We end with pretty much everyone being captured. Suresh was caught in the desert. Nathan was caught in his office. The whole Petrelli clan and HRG were caught in their car. Hiro and Ando aren’t caught but are in trouble with Hiro bleeding and incapacitated outside Building 26. And damn… I would HATE to be Danko right about now. Oh… yeah… didn’t think I was going to let that little nugget go, did you? Sylar got stabbed right in the sweet spot of his head - the spot we all know DAMN WELL should kill him - and he was fine. Ummmm… I don’t even know what to say about that. I supposed I could make an argument that Sylar’s physiology has been moved about so much with all the shape-shifting that the sweet spot has moved… but I shouldn’t have to. Some things should just be… oh, what’s that word again? Oh, yeah…. CONSISTENT. There’s no reason for this change. None. At all. Nothing except convenience. And I’m really, really tired of it.

So… in the end, I think I’m kind of at the end of my rope here. I’m really happy that next week is the season finale because man o’ days do these guys need some time to get their shit together. This was a great episode but marred with so much inconsistency that I’m really feeling done about now. I wanted to write a glowing review this week, and this episode, if you break it down in a vacuum, was really good. But the baggage, all the baggage and the changes and the inconsistency just left me… tired. I’m tired of Heroes right about now. I want this season to be over and I want them to come back next season on fire and CONSISTENT. I want them to sit down and watch the last two seasons of Lost and do exactly what those guys did. I want them to care enough about their product and their viewers to want to make this the best show it can be. Because honestly, if they can’t get their shit together and make this show great and consistent in quality again, I’m out of here. That’s how tired I am of this, and I’ve kept watching and reviewing through the worst of it. And if this is how I, a staunch and loyal viewer and reviewer of this show feels… I don’t even want to think about how the general public must feel.  Heroes… you’re officially on notice.

Okay… floor’s open. Am I overreacting? Do you agree or disagree with me? I really, REALLY want to hear some feedback this week about the points I’ve raised - are the problems I’ve been on as bad for you as well? How do you feel about this show’s direction and where do you want to see Heroes go next season? Please, let me have it. I really want to know if I’m alone in how I feel over here.