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As much as this episode is a lot less entertaining than the last one, I’m still captivated by the Sylar storyline, and this is the episode that completely sealed the deal and cemented his place as my favorite character.
The first we see of Sylar is his examination of his painting in comparison to Isaac’s. Under the impression he is going to be the exploding man, he calls Mohinder. I think Sendhil could have acted a little more unnerved by the fact that the man who tortured him only a few days ago is now calling his house line to chat. He gives a single glance over his shoulder, but that’s it. I’d be reaching for a baseball bat, checking under the bed, and throwing the deadbolt. The psycho could be on a cell phone outside your door! I do like the phone call itself, though. Sylar’s calm, rational explanation of his prior acts of murder is extremely well acted and well written. I like how Zachary walks aimlessly around the room as he speaks even though he has no purpose for the actions—it seems very real. (I wander around my apartment whenever I’m on the phone.) I also appreciate the writers giving Sylar a boundary. An edge, if you will, where even he draws the line between killing for a reason and killing for no reason at all. He seems disturbed by the fact that he is going to become a mass-murderer. Genocide seems distasteful to him. I like that even the villains on this show have a sense of right and wrong, no matter how skewed they are. The other part of this scene that I find very interesting in terms of Sylar’s character is that when he feels introspective and in need of a sounding board, he calls Mohinder. The man he had no problem lying to and torturing. It’s sad that Mohinder is the closest thing Sylar has to a friend. Which, I suppose, is why the sour note the phone call is left on prompts him to go see his mother.
I like that Sylar dresses differently and puts his glasses back on before he goes to see his mother. As if he’s switching back into Gabriel. And when he hears Ando and Hiro behind the painting, he takes his glasses back off, as if he needs to remain Sylar a little while longer, to deal with them. Another nice moment in this scene is the way the old man in the grocery nonchalantly moves Hiro’s sword case as he walks past them.
Molly Walker! Played by the cutest little actress in the entire universe, Adair Tishler. She’s even got a cute name. What a scene stealer. Look at the way she jumps as Mohinder draws her blood. And she’s only 8 years old!
In a storyline I don’t particularly like at this point in the series (Claire and her Brand New Family), I really enjoy one scene: where Claire informs Nathan of Ted’s existence and power. Nice Claire line: “You can fly?” Nathan shrugs. “That’s cool.”
I have a problem with the way they cast mothers of grown men in general on television. The mom is always too young, and too pretty, and it always ends up kind of creepy between mom and son when they hug and look at each other lovingly. It never comes off as mother-son love. I manage to put up with Angela, but she’s guilty of it (and it’s a two-way street, Adrian and Milo don’t help matters). So the awkwardness between Sylar and his mom is nothing new. However, I think they both manage it a lot better than a lot of other pairs on television, and the problems they do have come mostly from Momma Gray, in my opinion. Like when she tells him he could be president, and cups his face and touches his lips. I think most 30 year old men would be pretty grossed out if their mother did that to them.
The running scene in Sylar’s mom’s apartment is fabulous while still riddled with problems. I love Sylar’s line about the clock: “It’s a beautiful piece, it just needs a little attention.” Thinly veiled, but a nice metaphor for the character himself. And oh dear, did you see the picture of Child!Zachary in the snow globe? I think he probably popped out of the womb with those eyebrows. :-) Now, a major problem and ick factor comes with Mom’s stroking of Sylar’s head as he begins to work on the clock. I think she’s a bit too much of a cartoon. I know the actress is famous for stage work, and that might be the problem. A stage is big, and as such requires big movements and emotions… a television screen is much more intimate and can handle much more subtlety. I think she just needed to take it down a notch or two. I also enjoy how Sylar has reached a point in his “career” (if you can call it that) where he wants to stop. Maybe if he stays home he can rewind time like one of his clocks and not kill anymore.
A note about Zachary’s tasks within a scene: whether this guy has nothing to do or a very intricate task to perform while remembering lines and delivering them well, he always manages to look human and believable. Wandering an apartment aimlessly while on the phone, painting, using watchmaker’s tools (some of those things are tiny); he always looks easy, like he’s comfortable with all of his actions. I know it’s harder than it looks.
Boy, this woman is excitable! No wonder Sylar left. Momma Gray is pretty out there. She’d drive me nuts within 24 hours. I think there might be a genetic screw loose in that family.
I really like the Sylar theme music that plays through these scenes. Very haunting, very poignant, and much different from his usual sinister ticking clock noise. I also really like the fact that he’s stopping to take stock of how far he’s willing to go: “What if I told you I can be special. Important. But to do it I’d have to hurt a lot of people. Should I?” I even like the water-to-snow trick he does for his mom. What I dislike is the telekinetically spinning snow globes that pick up after a few moments, and the fact that he beans his mother in the head with one of them. That felt a little kitschy, a little cheesy.
My favorite part of the whole episode comes as Sylar stands outside his mother’s locked door and begs her to open it. Personally, I was a bratty child, and I had my share of meltdowns, and when Zachary slides down the door and bangs his head against it, calling for his mother, it rings very true, as if he were channeling a 7 year old who had just thrown a big tantrum and was tiring, but not budging.
Kudos to both actors for holding so still after Hiro freezes them. I’m not sure how Sylar came out of it, though. Was Hiro’s grip on time wavering, like his resolve to kill Sylar? That makes the most sense. And how did Sylar catch the blade of a sharp sword with his bare hand as Hiro was swinging it down on him? Sylar isn’t invincible, but the sword doesn’t even knick him. It should have taken his hand off. And if I were Masi, I don’t think I would’ve had to act at all when Sylar started yelling. Zachary, you’re downright frightening here.
How the hell didn’t either one of them say “What are you doing here?” when HRG and Claire saw each other again in Kirby Plaza? I’d be a little more surprised if I were them. I do enjoy the way Peter and Ted size each other up as they stand to the side of the family reunion. And I love the cliffhanger they leave us with—Peter’s going nuclear? Already?
Bits and Pieces:
* Awesome pictures, there, Peter. Kinda creepy, but nice to see you’re using your new talent!
* I want Claire’s new Paris coat. It’s gorgeous. As is the white collared shirt she’s wearing. I do love her wardrobe from here on out.
* Okay, again with the creepy uncle-niece stuff. And is it just me, or does Hayden often sound like she’s got a cold? Kinda stuffy?
* Nice job, location set dressers, a snowy LA is tough to accomplish.
* I like that one of the reasons Micah doesn’t like Mr. Linderman is that “he smells funny.”
* Funny Mohinder line: “As far as I can see you’re all a bunch of untrustworthy gundas.”
* Ah ha! We have an answer for how Sylar found the Walker family. Chandra Suresh’s notes and list. I’ll also assume that he got Charlie’s name from Chandra as well.
* Creeps me out that Sylar shaves with a straight razor… but it also seems oddly fitting.
* So now DL can bring people through walls? He wasn’t able to break Niki out of jail earlier in the season?
* I like that Micah—who’s always been pretty in-tune with his mom—figured out that Candace wasn’t really Niki. I also like his fruitless escape attempt. Very cute.
* Kudos on setting up Sylar’s freezing power so far in advance. What was that, episode 1x02? The pilot?
* Safe house you got there, Nathan. Guns in kid-height drawers. Nice.
* Funny line: “My destiny is not to shoot you, the universe cannot be that lame.”
* So, Angela Petrelli is a co-architect of the NY bomb. Didn’t surprise me.
* I love the blood version of Isaac’s bomb on Momma Gray’s floor.
That's all you get for now, unless you want to check out my website to read more of my reviews!
GG
The first we see of Sylar is his examination of his painting in comparison to Isaac’s. Under the impression he is going to be the exploding man, he calls Mohinder. I think Sendhil could have acted a little more unnerved by the fact that the man who tortured him only a few days ago is now calling his house line to chat. He gives a single glance over his shoulder, but that’s it. I’d be reaching for a baseball bat, checking under the bed, and throwing the deadbolt. The psycho could be on a cell phone outside your door! I do like the phone call itself, though. Sylar’s calm, rational explanation of his prior acts of murder is extremely well acted and well written. I like how Zachary walks aimlessly around the room as he speaks even though he has no purpose for the actions—it seems very real. (I wander around my apartment whenever I’m on the phone.) I also appreciate the writers giving Sylar a boundary. An edge, if you will, where even he draws the line between killing for a reason and killing for no reason at all. He seems disturbed by the fact that he is going to become a mass-murderer. Genocide seems distasteful to him. I like that even the villains on this show have a sense of right and wrong, no matter how skewed they are. The other part of this scene that I find very interesting in terms of Sylar’s character is that when he feels introspective and in need of a sounding board, he calls Mohinder. The man he had no problem lying to and torturing. It’s sad that Mohinder is the closest thing Sylar has to a friend. Which, I suppose, is why the sour note the phone call is left on prompts him to go see his mother.
I like that Sylar dresses differently and puts his glasses back on before he goes to see his mother. As if he’s switching back into Gabriel. And when he hears Ando and Hiro behind the painting, he takes his glasses back off, as if he needs to remain Sylar a little while longer, to deal with them. Another nice moment in this scene is the way the old man in the grocery nonchalantly moves Hiro’s sword case as he walks past them.
Molly Walker! Played by the cutest little actress in the entire universe, Adair Tishler. She’s even got a cute name. What a scene stealer. Look at the way she jumps as Mohinder draws her blood. And she’s only 8 years old!
In a storyline I don’t particularly like at this point in the series (Claire and her Brand New Family), I really enjoy one scene: where Claire informs Nathan of Ted’s existence and power. Nice Claire line: “You can fly?” Nathan shrugs. “That’s cool.”
I have a problem with the way they cast mothers of grown men in general on television. The mom is always too young, and too pretty, and it always ends up kind of creepy between mom and son when they hug and look at each other lovingly. It never comes off as mother-son love. I manage to put up with Angela, but she’s guilty of it (and it’s a two-way street, Adrian and Milo don’t help matters). So the awkwardness between Sylar and his mom is nothing new. However, I think they both manage it a lot better than a lot of other pairs on television, and the problems they do have come mostly from Momma Gray, in my opinion. Like when she tells him he could be president, and cups his face and touches his lips. I think most 30 year old men would be pretty grossed out if their mother did that to them.
The running scene in Sylar’s mom’s apartment is fabulous while still riddled with problems. I love Sylar’s line about the clock: “It’s a beautiful piece, it just needs a little attention.” Thinly veiled, but a nice metaphor for the character himself. And oh dear, did you see the picture of Child!Zachary in the snow globe? I think he probably popped out of the womb with those eyebrows. :-) Now, a major problem and ick factor comes with Mom’s stroking of Sylar’s head as he begins to work on the clock. I think she’s a bit too much of a cartoon. I know the actress is famous for stage work, and that might be the problem. A stage is big, and as such requires big movements and emotions… a television screen is much more intimate and can handle much more subtlety. I think she just needed to take it down a notch or two. I also enjoy how Sylar has reached a point in his “career” (if you can call it that) where he wants to stop. Maybe if he stays home he can rewind time like one of his clocks and not kill anymore.
A note about Zachary’s tasks within a scene: whether this guy has nothing to do or a very intricate task to perform while remembering lines and delivering them well, he always manages to look human and believable. Wandering an apartment aimlessly while on the phone, painting, using watchmaker’s tools (some of those things are tiny); he always looks easy, like he’s comfortable with all of his actions. I know it’s harder than it looks.
Boy, this woman is excitable! No wonder Sylar left. Momma Gray is pretty out there. She’d drive me nuts within 24 hours. I think there might be a genetic screw loose in that family.
I really like the Sylar theme music that plays through these scenes. Very haunting, very poignant, and much different from his usual sinister ticking clock noise. I also really like the fact that he’s stopping to take stock of how far he’s willing to go: “What if I told you I can be special. Important. But to do it I’d have to hurt a lot of people. Should I?” I even like the water-to-snow trick he does for his mom. What I dislike is the telekinetically spinning snow globes that pick up after a few moments, and the fact that he beans his mother in the head with one of them. That felt a little kitschy, a little cheesy.
My favorite part of the whole episode comes as Sylar stands outside his mother’s locked door and begs her to open it. Personally, I was a bratty child, and I had my share of meltdowns, and when Zachary slides down the door and bangs his head against it, calling for his mother, it rings very true, as if he were channeling a 7 year old who had just thrown a big tantrum and was tiring, but not budging.
Kudos to both actors for holding so still after Hiro freezes them. I’m not sure how Sylar came out of it, though. Was Hiro’s grip on time wavering, like his resolve to kill Sylar? That makes the most sense. And how did Sylar catch the blade of a sharp sword with his bare hand as Hiro was swinging it down on him? Sylar isn’t invincible, but the sword doesn’t even knick him. It should have taken his hand off. And if I were Masi, I don’t think I would’ve had to act at all when Sylar started yelling. Zachary, you’re downright frightening here.
How the hell didn’t either one of them say “What are you doing here?” when HRG and Claire saw each other again in Kirby Plaza? I’d be a little more surprised if I were them. I do enjoy the way Peter and Ted size each other up as they stand to the side of the family reunion. And I love the cliffhanger they leave us with—Peter’s going nuclear? Already?
Bits and Pieces:
* Awesome pictures, there, Peter. Kinda creepy, but nice to see you’re using your new talent!
* I want Claire’s new Paris coat. It’s gorgeous. As is the white collared shirt she’s wearing. I do love her wardrobe from here on out.
* Okay, again with the creepy uncle-niece stuff. And is it just me, or does Hayden often sound like she’s got a cold? Kinda stuffy?
* Nice job, location set dressers, a snowy LA is tough to accomplish.
* I like that one of the reasons Micah doesn’t like Mr. Linderman is that “he smells funny.”
* Funny Mohinder line: “As far as I can see you’re all a bunch of untrustworthy gundas.”
* Ah ha! We have an answer for how Sylar found the Walker family. Chandra Suresh’s notes and list. I’ll also assume that he got Charlie’s name from Chandra as well.
* Creeps me out that Sylar shaves with a straight razor… but it also seems oddly fitting.
* So now DL can bring people through walls? He wasn’t able to break Niki out of jail earlier in the season?
* I like that Micah—who’s always been pretty in-tune with his mom—figured out that Candace wasn’t really Niki. I also like his fruitless escape attempt. Very cute.
* Kudos on setting up Sylar’s freezing power so far in advance. What was that, episode 1x02? The pilot?
* Safe house you got there, Nathan. Guns in kid-height drawers. Nice.
* Funny line: “My destiny is not to shoot you, the universe cannot be that lame.”
* So, Angela Petrelli is a co-architect of the NY bomb. Didn’t surprise me.
* I love the blood version of Isaac’s bomb on Momma Gray’s floor.
That's all you get for now, unless you want to check out my website to read more of my reviews!
GG