Problem with Season 2

[Matt]

Y'know, I've been thinking it over and I think I've pinpointed the problem with season 2.

These characters are no longer relatable. In season 1, everyone was pretty much just a bunch of regular people thrown into irregular situations, and that was a big part of the show's charm. It seems to be gone this season.

I mean look at the characters:

Hiro - Time traveling samurai who messed up the space-time continiuum
Peter - Amnesia ridden for the first half of the season, now he is fighting evil corporations
Matt - Hunting down an evil serial killer who targets other super heroes.
HRG and Claire - On the run from an evil company.

There is no sense of normality or relatability any more. And I think that is a big problem. The one person you can say who maintains this trait is Monica, and her plot is so far from the main plot, that it destroys her character on a whole different level.

What does everyone think?

 

[Gilpesh]

Eh, not just that is the problem. Like Kring said, they tried something that wasn't their style (romance) and stretched storylines (Hiro) and messed up introducing new characters (Monica, Fat cuz, Blunder twins).

 

[JPC4]

Matt I agree with your relatablility factor. And I think it's just the shows overall direction. Last season we found out about the bomb early. Then we got "Save the cheerleader, Save the world." As corny as it may have sounded, it gave us all something to look forward to or anticipate. Plus we had all these characters discovering their powers, with hints of how they might tie into "saving the world."

This season has been spiratic. We got the hooded killer and the virus. Yet the characters are not all connected through a common goal, even it it was on a subconscious level least season. Peter, Hiro, and Sylar were pretty much MIA for the first part of the season. Now they are all thrusted into the mix over the last 2 episodes. Parkman, who has seen the most character development, is paired up with Suresh for the first part of the season. He goes off pursuing the hooded killer, while Suresh works on the virus. Problem is Suresh never mentions to him that the virus has mutated and in now capable of killing all with abilities.

This is just an example of how I think the writers/creators have dropped the ball in certain instances where they could have tied in all the characters together. So now we are going to get a rushed finale, where I'm guessing the main characters will miraculously come together. Example, I am wondering how they are going to make it believable that Parkman shows up in Odessa. Meanwhile we will be debating on Tuesday, asking how the hell did so-and-so get into the big picture.

I'm not "hating" on the finale, as I am still anticipating it. But I really hope that the reason the characters' relations have seem disjointed on the show lately is due to the writers' strike. And if it weren't for the strike, we would get to see how this season and its characters all tie together.

 

[Abaddon]

Well it was this, and the fact that they didn't learn much from the previous season. Pacing is still shaky, dragged out tangent storylines(Maya&Alejandro are the Sanders family of the season), and just general stupidity on the part of a lot of the characters.

 

[Mysterio]

part of it was that last season we kept waiting to see how their paths would cross. now...they all know each other. that isn't nearly as exciting. but the biggest problem (besides the poor writing and acting - West, Elle, the crying twins) is that the entire season is redundant and boring. Claire going against HRG and going up against another cheerleader, an apocalyptic future that Peter is trying to stop, etc.

 

[The Chairman]

Y'know, I've been thinking it over and I think I've pinpointed the problem with season 2.

These characters are no longer relatable. In season 1, everyone was pretty much just a bunch of regular people thrown into irregular situations, and that was a big part of the show's charm. It seems to be gone this season.

I mean look at the characters:

Hiro - Time traveling samurai who messed up the space-time continiuum
Peter - Amnesia ridden for the first half of the season, now he is fighting evil corporations
Matt - Hunting down an evil serial killer who targets other super heroes.
HRG and Claire - On the run from an evil company.

There is no sense of normality or relatability any more. And I think that is a big problem. The one person you can say who maintains this trait is Monica, and her plot is so far from the main plot, that it destroys her character on a whole different level.

What does everyone think?

I completely agree. In fact, the relatibility I felt with many of the characters (namely Claire and Peter, and to an extent Sylar before he began killing people) was one of the reasons I fell in love with the show to begin with.

This year, as you pointed out, that factor is gone. The show's original premise and appeal, "Ordinary People With Extraordinaey Abilities", has been lost in a series of OTT situations that completely disconnect the audience from the characters. I suppose the typical teenage angst phase Claire's been going through can be seen as somewhat relateable, but it's presented in such a poorly contrived and unrealistic manner that it loses any potential connection. The fact that the best characters from last season (Claire, Sylar (who isn't even needed anymore), Hiro, Peter) are now this year's most hated says a lot about how the writing has faltered.

The general focus of the show is a problem, too. The season's best storylines are not given enough time, and certain characters like Maya and Alejandro were thrown in with no real connection to the story whatsoever. I'm just thankful Tim Kring sees that the show is broken, and that the third season may restore the magic of the first season.

 

[Superfreak]

the only problem I have with this season, just like lost's second season: They tried to introduce too many new characters, without killing off some old ones to make space.

I think, had the Sylar/BrotherSisterCombo had been cut, the whole season would be infinitely better. I still hate Maya, she's easy on the eyes... but her story licks donkey nuts, and I personally don't think she can act.

 

[Superfreak]

the only problem I have with this season, just like lost's second season: They tried to introduce too many new characters, without killing off some old ones to make space.

I think, had the Sylar/BrotherSisterCombo had been cut, the whole season would be infinitely better. I still hate Maya, she's easy on the eyes... but her story licks donkey nuts, and I personally don't think she can act.

 

[JPC4]

part of it was that last season we kept waiting to see how their paths would cross. now...they all know each other. that isn't nearly as exciting. but the biggest problem (besides the poor writing and acting - West, Elle, the crying twins) is that the entire season is redundant and boring. Claire going against HRG and going up against another cheerleader, an apocalyptic future that Peter is trying to stop, etc.

Agreed. Whenever Heroes does come back from hiatus, I hope the storyline does not revolve around them trying to stop a world catastrophe. I hope their existence gets put into the public eye, so we can have a different kind of drama. I realize this is similar to the path of X-Men, but i would rather have them borrow a few ideas from X-Men, instead of the same redundant theme of "save the world."

 

[SodaPop]

Agreed. Whenever Heroes does come back from hiatus, I hope the storyline does not revolve around them trying to stop a world catastrophe. I hope their existence gets put into the public eye, so we can have a different kind of drama. I realize this is similar to the path of X-Men, but i would rather have them borrow a few ideas from X-Men, instead of the same redundant theme of "save the world."

I agree. The heroes' abilities need to be brought to the public eye and kind of borrow from X-men the whole part that society isn't ready for these super powered people. And the whole saving the world thing is getting kind of old. I wouldn't mind, however, if saving the world meant that the heroes teamed up against a group of villians ( what villians i don't know, but one would have to be sylar). But having things just going wrong like ( major spoiler)

Spoiler

the virus being released

and the whole bomb thing are nice ideas, but they need to fight other super powered people. Also season 2 tried to do too much and didn't pull it off right. Stupid wonderless twins, stupid teenage romance.

 

[stillanerd]

I think it is still possible for the characters to be relatable and be seen as ordinary despite having extraordinary powers; comic book characters and films based on comic book characters have been doing this for awhile. The problems however I believe is this:

Remember, the original concept of the show was that, with a couple of exceptions, the show was to have a rotating ensemble cast in order to keep the show fresh. However, when certain characters became more popular than others, that idea was revised. Remember Tim Kring said a lot of Season 1 characters were not supposed to be in this Season but there stories got re-written for this Season because of it. And if you think about, a lot of characters stories were pretty much resolved at the end of Season 1: Niki, having managed to control Jessica, was reunited with Micah, and D.L. was a family again; Nathan became a hero by sacrificing himself to save New York; Sylar was stabbed through the chest and was, for all intents and purposes dead, etc.

However, because you had a lot of characters come back and had to create new stories for them, what we ended up getting in a lot of cases was either rehashed stories from Season 1 that regressed characters instead of progressed them (Claire once again wants to be treated as being normal and distrusts her dad who actually has her best interests at hand) or stories in which characters really serve no overall purpose to the main plot (Nikki--once again--and also Sylar). Also, because of the introduction of new characters (which was part of the original idea to have a rotating cast) coupled with recurring characters (which are supposed to be phased out) you have overcrowding and pointless story arcs (The Latino Wonder Twins come to mind, so does Monica, even though I like her as a character and she fits in the best with the idea of ordinary people with extraordinary powers).

And speaking of the main story, what exactly was it supposed to be? Initially, it was supposed to be about how the previous generation of heroes affected the current generation of heroes, hence the title for Volume 2 being "Generations" with the mystery of which of the original founders of the Company was killing off the other members. However, as we all know, this wasn't adequately explored (thanks to the pointless stories of other characters that didn't tie into this) when suddenly we got hit with the Shanti virus subplot. And while it is clear that one leads into the other and ties into the idea of the sins of the older generation coming back to haunt them and their children, the virus story was introduced way too late in the game. Maybe Kring originally thought the whole "who was killing the elder heroes" a more compelling plot, but it seemed like in the midst of things he suddenly realized that they needed another threat of the apocalypse to get things moving. Ideally, the first murder should not have even been Kaito but somebody else, who would tell Adam "You're not getting your hands on the virus. I'll die first" which would, of course, immediately establish there was more at stake, just like it was quickly established that the bomb going off in New York City was somehow connected with Sylar by the second or third episode of Season 1.

All of this, I believe, tells us that Kring and Company fell into the same trap a lot of folks do with regards to sequels--that more is better when often it's not. It also should be a lesson as to what happens when you stray too far from the basic premise when it may have been better to leave well enough alone.

 

[JPC4]

There also seem to be a good amount of plot holes this season, which have sparked quite a few debates on here. The whole Sylar/Candace thing troubled me. When Candace was on the phone giving an update of Sylar's condition, most of us probably assumed she was talking to Bob. If this was the case, and she was in fact working for the Company, why has there been no reference to her disappearance? I mean, she was babysitting one of the most dangerous people on the planet.

What I'm getting at is there should of at least been a search for Sylar, or another agent should have went to check on Candace's whereabouts. Someone obviously wanted Sylar alive, so shouldn't there be some kind of a follow up if you haven't received a phone call in a few weeks?

 

[Abaddon]

I agree with the stillanerd.

 

[Raiden]

There also seem to be a good amount of plot holes this season, which have sparked quite a few debates on here. The whole Sylar/Candace thing troubled me. When Candace was on the phone giving an update of Sylar's condition, most of us probably assumed she was talking to Bob. If this was the case, and she was in fact working for the Company, why has there been no reference to her disappearance? I mean, she was babysitting one of the most dangerous people on the planet.

What I'm getting at is there should of at least been a search for Sylar, or another agent should have went to check on Candace's whereabouts. Someone obviously wanted Sylar alive, so shouldn't there be some kind of a follow up if you haven't received a phone call in a few weeks?

Yeah, I think this is definitely a plot hole which unfortunately left hanging by the writers. I think it is rather far-fetch how a dangerous mass-murderer who was killed in the heart of NYC, would be saved and transported to Mexico. This really makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Abaddon]

Honestly, the writers have always been pretty lazy.

 

[neemer5]

My biggest, general issue is that its turned into a soap opera.

 

[chamber-music]

the only problem I have with this season, just like lost's second season: They tried to introduce too many new characters, without killing off some old ones to make space.

I think, had the Sylar/BrotherSisterCombo had been cut, the whole season would be infinitely better. I still hate Maya, she's easy on the eyes... but her story licks donkey nuts, and I personally don't think she can act.

I agree. I don't think the writers played up to the orginal characters strengths from the first season until the end of this one. The wonder Twins was just a waste of time.

 

[November Rain]

relatability is not really a problem you get characters being less relatable in buffy/angel in comparison to how they started off and people still care about them.

The same with comics, parker has come soo far away from where he started it's untrue (both in comics and in the movies) and people still like him.

At the end of the day, it was just a weak story.

 

[Mysterio]

My biggest, general issue is that its turned into a soap opera.

soap opera is exactly what i've thought a number of times while watching the show this year.

 

[GhostPoet]

My only problems with the season

1) The Claire/West Romance story...not very interesting.

2) Hiro spent a little too much time in the past.

3) Far too condensed. I feel this season SHOULD have been spread out into two seasons in order to flow a little smoother.

 

[Superfreak]

soap opera is exactly what i've thought a number of times while watching the show this year.

it's because of all the damn crying from both Maya and Claire.

 

[GhostPoet]

the "soap opera" thing doesn't bother me...heck, Comics are one giant soap opera.

 

[deathshead2]

The show might not be as good as season 1, but I still think Hiros story is awesome.

 

[Raiden]

The show might not be as good as season 1, but I still think Hiros story is awesome.

I'm not that taken with Hiro in S2. First, he stayed in feudal Japan WAY too long, and he screwed up the continuum (and turned Adam to the dark side) with his obsession with the Princess. And he tried (unsuccessfully) to save his father, now trying to take on Peter without telling him Adam's intention with the virus. Last season Hiro was all naive and full of wonders, but I'm a bit tired of him this season.

 

[Mysterio]

it's because of all the damn crying from both Maya and Claire.

and the bad acting from West (although the writing isn't helping him); the clumsily written romance between West and Claire, the over-the-top acting by Peter and Elle, my two dads, etc.