6 clips from the season premiere:
1) Future Claire and Future Peter Confrontation
2) Hiro and Ando
3) Nathan taken to the hospital
4) Sylar finds Claire
5) Mohinder and Maya
6) Hiro Meets Daphne
YouTube video
better, bigger quality:
http://media.tv.ign.com/media/827/827560/vids_1.html
Early IGN review:
Heroes: "The Second Coming" Review
Volume Three begins. Is it worth tuning in?
September 19, 2008 - Advance Review: Just so you know, it's going to be mighty difficult not to give something away about the plot of this episode, so if you want to be completely and utterly surprised, turn away now. However, if you're like most fans of the series, you've already heard or read about almost everything that happens in this season premiere because NBC isn't really trying to keep things a secret. They want to build some buzz and convince viewers who were fed up with last year's slow, monotonous storylines to return for a rejuvenated season three. After watching "Second Coming," I'm not convinced that folks who have already given up on the show will be wooed back. Some of the reasons for losing interest in season two are still here. But for anyone who is still a fan, regardless of last season's shortcomings, the season premiere gives you a few tidbits to get excited about. Still, "The Second Coming" isn't the jaw dropping return to form I was hoping for.The most noticeable difference between this episode and all of last season is the quick pacing we find in "The Second Coming." In a matter of no time, Nathan's would-be assassin is revealed. For me, this revelation is the best part of the episode. I've been avoiding all the spoilers, so it was truly a surprise. It puts a great twist on the story and looks to be setting up an interesting storyline for the season to come. In fact, for me, the most intriguing part of this episode is the storyline surrounding Nathan, Peter and the Petrelli family and I hope, with the many plotlines to come, that the Petrellis continue to get the focus.
Elsewhere in the hour, storylines and character development aren't as successful. The pacing is still very rapid, with certain events starting and ending in this episode where it would have taken five or six to tell the same story a year earlier. But one major problem I have with this premiere is that some of the choices made by major characters are a bit hard to swallow. Hiro and Mohinder in particular have frustrating starts to this new volume. These two characters have been through many major life altering events, yet their actions in "The Second Coming" do not seem to reflect anything they would have learned from their past experiences. Hiro's choices are especially annoying. Though he has seen many horrors, even the death of his father, he still acts like an exuberant schoolboy… except when a serious Hiro is needed to advance the plot.
There are several other factors that prevent this episode from feeling like a new, revitalized approach to Heroes. The most obvious one is that the overarching storyline (so far) is exactly the same as season one and season two: heroes must save the world. That wouldn't be so bad, except it's being presented in the same style as well. We see a glimpse of a terrible future and then it's up to the present-day folks to prevent it from happening. And in "The Second Coming," it is once again Hiro who jumps forward and witnesses a horrifying event. And though this event looks very similar to the destruction of New York City he witnessed in season one, it lacks all the excitement you felt when the series actually was fresh and new.
And that's why "The Second Coming" feels like a wasted opportunity. If you think about the fact that the writers and creator Tim Kring were aware of season two's failings and that they had extra time to prepare for Heroes return, you'll find it hard to believe that this was the best they could come up with. There are no huge moments. Even Sylar's confrontation with Claire feels very anticlimactic. But this is just one episode at the beginning of a new season -- as well as just the first hour of Monday's two-hour season premiere. As that, it does a good job of setting up a number of interesting ideas. The Petrelli saga looks very engaging, and the whole idea of Level 5 villains escaping their confines holds a lot of potential. "The Second Coming" is not exactly the second coming, but it may well turn out to be a solid start to a season of redemption.
Note: Because NBC only provided the first hour/episode of the two-hour premiere for advance review, we will be reviewing the second episode, "The Butterfly Effect", this coming Tuesday.
RATING: 7.0