HEROES REBORN Roundtable Discussion: “Odessa/Awakening”

Last night was the series premiere of Heroes Reborn. The cast took to Twitter during the Eastern/Central airing, and then again during the West Coast airing. It seemed that everyone had a great time and the show was trending in the top three, which is pretty good being that it was up against the popular Shonda Rhimes block. We were watching too and there is a lot to talk about around the water cooler this morning. Rueben, Cay, Melissa and Liz are breaking things down at the round table.

Roundtable Discussion

Did anyone else notice the 9th Wonder comic books in the back of Tommy’s car? Do you think those will play a part in the series or was that just an Easter Egg?

Mel: I think it was just one of several Easter Eggs scattered through the first episode – the butterfly, the cheerleaders, the horn-rimmed glasses. Kind of a “welcome back” for fans of the first series.

Rueben: Part of me thought it was just an Easter Egg, but when Miko transformed into that video game, I wondered if it was some kind of Segway (of sorts), but maybe I’m overthinking it all.

Liz: I didn’t even catch that! I did notice the cheerleaders, Noah quoting his old cover from the original series, “I sell paper”, and of course, Level 5.

Do you think Mohinder was really behind the terrorist attack on Odessa?

Mel: I don’t want it to be him because Sendhil Ramamurthy is so dreamy, but…what if he’s being controlled somehow and forced to claim responsibility so people target EVOs? Am I letting his gorgessity cloud my judgement?

Rueben: No, I think he is a scapegoat or was forced into taking the blame. There is obviously a much bigger conspiracy, if you will, going on.

Cay: I’m betting that if he was, it certainly isn’t going to be a simple reason, he may be the figurehead, but I have a feeling he didn’t act alone.

Liz: I don’t think so. I think new, high tech company that Quentin was telling Noah about has something to do with it.

Was anyone else unsettled by the cold bloodedness of Luke and Joanne Collins against the Evos?

Mel: Oh, definitely. I get that they’re grieving for their son, but holy smokes, that’s a level of coldness that seems extreme. They don’t seem to have much of a connection beyond vengeance, either. In fact, there’s a lot of anger between them. I hope we get more of their backstory to explain why their son’s death sent them both to such a dark place. Meanwhile, does it seem like Luke is having second thoughts? I wonder if seeing the observations rooms and equipment in Renautus will change his mind about this vendetta against EVOs.

Cay: After that first scene where he massacred the Evos at the meeting I thought to myself “yep, definitely NOT Chuck!” The only thing colder than their approach is the chemistry between the two of them. I’m just not buying them as a husband and wife. I feel like we need more backstory because they seem like two random people with no connection other than bloodlust.

Rueben: I agree with Cay, there is no real chemistry between Luke and Joanne, making it hard to believe they were a loving married couple. That lack of any emotional connect obviously has to do with the loss of their son, but I was just deeply trouble looking at Zach, seeing him as “Chuck” and then watching him mow down those people. It kinda gave me the creeps.

Liz: Definitely! Trying to avenge the death of their son is one thing, but to keep on killing all Evos? Now it’s bloodlust. I think they’ve become obsessed with is, although it doesn’t always feel like Luke is 100% on board with it anymore. He seems to be growing a conscience about killing.

What do you think the deal is with the “penny for your thoughts” guy?

Mel: That actor (Pruitt Taylor Vince) always creeps me out; I think he’s a perfect fit for this show! As for his power, it reminds me of the pensieve from Harry Potter – he extracts a memory from a person’s head and (maybe) stores it in a penny.

Rueben: I’m not sure what to think about him. Pruitt Taylor Vince is a veteran character actor and I’m sure there is a clever reveal coming for him, but I wonder who he works for and why he is so intent on protecting Tommy.

Liz: That puzzles me. It’s obvious from the preview of the upcoming season that he knows something about the ‘thing that’s coming’ and is gathering the evos together. Or perhaps just a chosen few for whatever reason. He’s certainly zeroed in on Tommy.

Why is Noah hiding out in Austin as a car salesman using a different name?

Mel: Clearly it’s part of his cover as he tries to lead a normal life.

Rueben: That’s the million dollar question for the show, right?

Cay: It seems like that is the critical question, right? If we know that, we know why his memory is wiped, why Rene was trying to kill him, etc.

Liz: I’m not sure if he was hiding at all. He had his memory wiped so what would he be knowingly hiding from? Did he only have certain memories wiped? I don’t know, I can’t answer that one.

Did you expect El Vengador to be Carlos’ brother rather than Carlos himself?

Mel: No, but that was a neat twist. It also gives Carlos a reason to pull himself out of his depression/PTSD and think about others.

Rueben: Even before the show aired – thanks to the information out there about the show – I just took it for granted that Carlos was going to be the masked vigilante so that was a nice little twist, but I have to wonder if Carlos had powers (as does his son), does Carlos have power or will simply wearing the costume (which you know he’s going to do as an ode, if nothing else, to his brother) will it make him “feel” as if he has powers. He has yet to display any powers other than being seen as a military hero, which is seemingly not the case given what he almost told his brother before he died.

Cay: Yep, they made it seem obvious that he would be, although the brother part was cool. I’m betting Carlos doesn’t waste much time taking on the role now, though.

Liz: It was certainly a surprise that the brother turned out to be the street hero. It doesn’t appear that Carlos has any super powers so I wonder just how good of an El Vengador he’s going to be. Although he does have military training and is a decorated hero, so that will probably be enough. Curious to find out his whole story, though.

Did you figure out where Tommy’s power sends people before it was explained or as it was revealed?

Mel: Nope. Makes sense, though.

Rueben: I sort of had an idea that he was sending them somewhere, but I pieced it together once Luke and Joanne ended up in that room.

Cay: Nope, but the flower in the ice cream was cool!

Liz: I didn’t figure it out but I’m glad it was revealed that they go to someplace that Tommy is thinking of. It makes so much more sense than just making them disappear. I wonder if, now that he knows this, will he be able to control his power better going forward. He’ll be able to choose where he sends people. That could be deadly too. He could send someone to the bottom of the ocean or inside a rock!

Why do you think Noah’s memory was wiped and why he ordered Rene, the Haitian, to kill him?

Mel: What if he saw Claire in Odessa, or she called him back, and he knows where she is? To protect her, he had his memory erased.

Lee Ann: Again, that’s the million dollar question; but why he would tell the Haitian to kill him if he ever came “sniffing around” (my words, not the shows), that has me completely stumped.

Liz: He may be protecting someone, or many. Maybe he’s protecting some information he has that could launch a series of events that result in destruction.

Did you like or dislike the transportation into the gamer world by Miko, the Katana Girl, when she used the sword under the floorboard left by her father?

Mel: Liked! Very creative. (I also got a good chuckle out of “Leeroy Jenkins”!)

Rueben: I didn’t like it at first, but given that Ren found Miko through a video game, I can see why it was used, but it was a bit disconcerting at first.

Cay: Meh, it just seems jarring with the rest of the show, but maybe because I’m not into those kinds of games.

Liz: I liked it because it was different. Having said that though, I hope they don’t keep things like that. It feels odd and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense right now.

“It’s coming.” What do you think Rene meant by that?

Mel: The next wave of evolution? The apocalypse? I don’t know.

Cay: I’m going to say badness. Lots of badness, that somehow is narrowly averted by a bunch of Evos at the end.

Lee Ann: Like Cay said a lot of badness is coming down and it has something to do with the girl in the Arctic Circle since she said something about not being able to contain “it” for much longer.

Liz: The end of the world – again? Zombies? The ice cream truck? I have no idea, but it will keep me coming back to the show to find out.

What is the importance of the symbol on that necklace around the rearview mirror of Noah’s car?

Mel: It’s Rene’s, seen in the first series and again in his all-to-brief appearance here. If I recall correctly, it symbolizes the EVOs DNA, which is altered from normal human DNA.

Rueben: I’m not sure about this. I don’t remember the symbol from the original Heroes, but they wouldn’t have shown it several times without it having some kind of meaning.

Liz: I actually looked that up a few weeks ago. It’s a helix. So Heroes has been reborn as Syfy’s “Helix”? All joking aside (yes, it was a joke), it’s basically an Asian symbol meaning “God sends great talent”. It is a throwback to the original series as well as the 9th Wonders series. I don’t know where it originated or why this particular symbol was used, but its meaning is pretty telling.

How do you like the pairing of Noah and Quentin as a team?

Mel: I like them! They’re a classic trope as far as partners, and it looks like we’re also getting the road trip trope as well, but I dig it.

Cay: I like Quentin. He reminds me a lot of Aaron Pittman from Revolution – same kind of character, so far.

Rueben: They are the ultimate odd couple, in a way. And, I agree with Cay, he is like the Revolution guy, who will play a much bigger role down the line.

Liz: I really like Quentin. He adds a bit of humor to the show, lightening the mood now and then. Working together with Noah is a great way to portray the old working with the new. I think they are fun together!

What did you think of the premiere overall?

Mel: I’m back on board the Heroes train! The character introductions were solid, the mythology is complex but not so dense that I don’t want to put in the effort to follow it, and there are plenty of connections to the original while still being fresh. Looking forward to what’s next!

Rueben: Overall I wasn’t blown away by the show the way I was for the original, but I did like the scenes between Tommy and Emily, I was greatly disturbed by Luke and Joanne, though! I’m not a big fan of video games so that whole part of the Miko story will take some getting used to, but there was enough to make me want to come back for more. It would be nice if they gave some backstories for those who didn’t watch Heroes (the original) or just to help some of us remember things (it has been a long time since the original went off the air).

Cay: I never watched the original show, so I felt they could have done a better job from the beginning giving some background, but maybe if I didn’t know that there was another show previously, I wouldn’t feel like there was stuff that I needed to know based on just these two episodes.

Liz: It’s difficult not to compare this with the old series, and it appears they really don’t want us to forget about “Heroes”. I’m OK with that. I didn’t last beyond season 2 of the original, but “Heroes Reborn” grabbed me the same way that “Heroes” did. It has all the elements that promise a fun ride and I have high hopes for it. I liked the introduction of the characters so far, and the storylines are intriguing. The only problem I have is with the gamer story. I really do hope we’re not going to be stuck in that world for long.

Feature image: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC