Ding, dong....

FINALLY!



Both of the annoying twins are finally gone. I feel like I did when the vacuous hole that was Nikki and Paulo on Lost finally bit the dust. A little less satisfied since she wasn't buried alive, but satisfied still.

So has Heroes really jumped the shark? Some high profile entertainment writers have asserted, yes, but I really think that this episode is evidence of things to come. The writers' strike combined with typical 2nd season woes made the transition from critical and viewer darling to torpedoing vestibule of narrative incongruity an easy one. But this season's changes seem to be paying off.

1. Less characters--- One of the main problems of the 2nd season of the inability on the editors' parts to edit. It's as if a bunch of comic book nerds got together, thought of all of the cool powers that people might have and threw them all into the same season. Yeah, those were cool but in adding too many characters we lost the in-depth examination of who these people were as humans, not heroes that made the show so great.

2. Family Matters--- At the heart of this show has always been the Petrelli family woes. This season's family issues have gotten even bigger and better, especially with the edition of Papa Petrelli and everyone's favorite black sheep bro-Sylar. More Sylar Daddy issues, please. They're the best part of the show.

3. Parkman--- Some people hate him. Some people love him. No matter how you feel about his power(admittedly it was pretty lame until he found out he could alter perception of reality like his father), you have to admit that Matt Parkman's home issues added perhaps the most tangibly relatable element of the first season. Parkman just wanted to be a cop and make his wife happy. And when his powers first gave him those opportunities, then snatched them away, we as viewers felt his anguish. Now, with the addition of Daphne, we see another chance at a happily ever after for our (sometimes) hapless hero.

So do I agree? No. Although, I do have a few issues.

1. Mohinder---Annoying. Pointless. Inhuman. Everytime he comes on screen I just need him to be gone. Here's hoping that Peter's right and the future can be changed cause if those fast forwards are any indication, Mohinder's here for the long haul. And in the future we don't even get anything pretty to stare at.

2. Nathan/Nikki/Jessica/Twin#63---Do I care about their impending romance? Do I think that her lame power is better than her dead twin's lame power? Do the political aspirations of the two compare in any way to kicking ass and taking names? No, no and no. The most interesting part of this duo is the fact that Mr. Square Jaw (A.K.A. Guy Smiley) is married to Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks. Weird.

3. Daphne--- She's growing on me, mostly because she promises happiness for Matt, but her jerky arm and head movements are increasingly annoying and her slow building back story is waaaaaay too slow. What is Pinehurst holding over her head? If they wait much longer to tell me, I'm going to stop caring. Also, fix your hair already. Please.