Chapter Eleven 'The Fifth Stage'

I don't normally review TV episodes, or shows period, and Heroes has always been hit or miss with me. First season was a great start followed by a season that thudded, followed by more repetition and boring plots. Even the characters themselves became uninteresting. However, this season has been a good recovery. The new villains, most notably the lead villain, Samuel, is a great, much needed addition to the series. While Sylar is always enjoyable as the cliché-ridden series main villain, Samuel has a boat load of charisma and the right balance of said charisma and evil-doing that make him such an interesting antagonist. And of all the new seasons episodes, this was by far the best one.

There is a good amount of action to be had here, but the drama is top notch. I have never really been touched by any moments in Heroes, but the scene between Peter and Nathan was very moving, and I have never really been interested in their story, so that says something. Most of the scenes involving Claire's interactions with Samuel were also very good, in particular a scene towards the end involving Claire and a disgruntled carnival goer. This was a well written episode with several good moments and it's these kinds of episodes that Heroes should always aim to be. Hopefully they can continue this trend and not revert back to the pacing and writing issues of the last two seasons. Keep this up and Heroes may be around longer than we anticipate.