Even though I still felt as though there wasn’t that much action, I have to admit that I did rather enjoy “Bother’s Keeper”. The pace is perfect, and both key plot developments and certain revelations had a huge impact. I know I’m not the only one who’s been annoyed at the series’ unwillingness to show us the big back story to Samuel Sullivan, but the wait was worth every single minute! The whole Sylar/Nathan affair also found a turning point, and it was not only a very intense moment, it was also perfectly executed.
A couple of episodes previous, we managed to steal a glimpse of dead Mohinder, and listened as Sullivan stated that he had made a grave error only 8 weeks prior. As it turns out, the mistake of which he spoke wasn’t actually the killing of Mohinder, but the destruction of an extremely old film reel. I was reminded strongly of Lost as I ‘watched’ the mystifying film, which was about Mohinder’s dad’s research. And the intriguing title was? “Samuel”. The grainy quality of the Coyote Sands footage proved to be very effective. As most viewers already know, Heroes is best when it’s working on giving us an even larger mystery to work out, and it definitely showed in this episode. With the out-of-the-nowhere tremors, the extreme fear in Chandra’s voice, and the birthing of infant Samuel just as the building nearly collapses around all of them – it was pretty good stuff!
Too, I found it to be very interesting that they chose to use quite a bit of science to explain things. As it turns out, every single person with abilities unknowingly sends out a detectable “force”, one which is magnified when any 2 powered people are together. Unbeknownst to him, Samuel can draw from this supposed “force” and could potentially magnify his power easily by 1000.While Samuel might not know this, his brother Joseph does. And he’s been not only keeping it secret from Samuel, but controlling the carnies, as well, as to avoid Samuel becoming too powerful. Without a doubt it was a very enjoyable premise, and it paid off, considering all the time we’ve invested, getting to know Samuel and watching him assemble his “family”.
Always the comedian and rarely the hero, Hiro actually managed to save the film as well as Mohinder without Samuel being any the smarter. After failing once to rescue the scientist, Hiro goes back again. But he encounters a problem when Mohinder refuses to go into hiding for 2 months so that Hiro can still save Charlie. This leads Hiro to force Mohinder into a nuthouse. Sure, he may not be dead now, but who’d want to be drugged in a padded room for 2 months?
I have to say that Nathan’s ongoing quest for answers also proved to be pretty entertaining this week. It was really fun to see Nathan and Peter working together again, even though the Haitian gave it his best shot to keep them apart. But the true fun really started when Peter managed to bring Parkman back from the grips of death. This allowed the battle for control to begin, or continue if you’d prefer. This was a greatly performed sequence, which built tension in all the right places.
Even after Sylar appeared to have invaded Nathan’s body, (or rather, re-invaded his own body), the show remained quite tense considering Nathan appeared to still be in control. When Peter took Nathan’s flying ability, it was yet another wonderful moment – proving that he wasn’t willing to give up as long as even a small fragment of his brother still existed.
Tracy helped to flesh out the show a little bit by losing complete control over her ability. The purpose it served was to show us just what an impact Samuel had on her. It also served to give us some pretty entertaining visuals, such as an icy Claire losing a foot. In stead of just having Tracy appear at Samuel’s door, the writers chose to give us a very fun transition.
In total, I think Brother’s Keeper really gave us some great material to chew on, and some incredibly entertaining turn points for quite a few characters. With the promise of watching Sylar have yet another battle for control, this time in Nathan’s body, I can’t wait for the next episodes! I can definitely say the same in reference to Samuel and the research film. Not only did this episode answer things nicely, it set up for some pretty incredible mysteries!
Popularity: 33% [?]
Tags: 0410, 04x10, Ali Larter, Gabriel Gray, Heroes 04x10 Brother's Keeper, Jessica Sanders, Niki, Robert Knepper, s04e10, Samuel Sullivan, Season 4, Sylar, Tracy, Zachary Quinto
