Robert N EmersonHeroes: Seven Minutes to Midnight
April 13th 2007 08:57
Seven Minutes to Midnight was an elucidating episode of Heroes. Some questions were answered and other were raised; however, issues with plotting and pacing let the episode down.
Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has returned to India, intending to leave behind his father's research. Of course, in his new office sits the computer with the Heroes code, prominently displaying the message 'Are you sure you want to quit?' Yeah, that's really subtle, writers.
Mohinder's dream sequences were amongst the most interesting things he has done in the series so far, but were still rather dull. I do like the concept of them though, as they are an unusual tool for exposition, rather than a deluge of awkward dialogue or Lost-style flashbacks. It appears that these dreams are being manipulated by a young boy named Sanjog Iyer (Javin Reid), rather than Mohinder having developed an ability of his own.
The dreams revealed that Mohinder had an older sister, Shanti, who died when he was two. It appears that vagueness tends to run in the Suresh family, as Mohinder's mother (Sakina Jaffrey) simply states that the girl was 'special,' and does not clarify how she died.
It also becomes apparent that Chandra (Erick Avari) was not killed by Mr Bennet (Jack Coleman), but rather was one of Sylar's victims. During this act, Sylar's watch is broken, freezing it at seven minutes to midnight. Not only does this provide the title for the episode, it is also a reference to the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic clock-face that represents how close the human race is to destruction by nuclear war. At the time that the episode was shown, it did in fact read seven minutes to midnight, but was shifted forward by two minutes earlier this year. It ties in well with the explosion that has been foretold by Isaac (Santiago Cabrera).
Mohinder also needed these dreams to figure out that Chandra's key opened the locked desk drawer. The man is supposed to be a university professor - you would think he would have some deductive reasoning skills.
Mira Shenoy (Kavi Ladnier), who appears to be Mohinder's ex-lover, certainly seems to be embroiled in this whole mystery somehow. She wants him to join her in some unnamed genetic research company, which seems very enigmatic and fairly threatening. Perhaps her pleas for him to give up his father's research are an attempt to protect him?
Isaac is doing his best to get off the drugs. He is in what appears to be a rehab facility, but it is actually contained within Mr Bennet's place of employment. This is likely to be where Officer Matt (Greg Grunberg) was taken as well.
Judging from her final interaction with Isaac, it appears that Eden (Nora Zehetner) may have the power of persuasion.
Mr Bennet is still very ambiguous in his motives, but one thing is certain - he loves Claire (Hayden Panettiere) deeply, and who do anything to protect her. Interestingly enough, while walking down the hallway at the paper company, he bumped into the woman that played Claire's Bio-Mom in Better Halves. One has to wonder how he convinced his co-worker to play the part.
Speaking of Mr Bennet, both Matt and Ted (Matthew John Armstrong) realise that they were kidnapped by the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis). Matt seems to think that this was the genesis of their abilities, but clearly Matt's ability was manifesting itself before then - as usually, Matt is choosing not to think things through. It seems more likely that their powers were made stronger, though I can't yet see how that would benefit the mysterious organisation.
This episode introduced a new hero, Charlie Andrews, who has a photographic memory. The sunny waitress could have come across as very clichéd, but Jayma Mays managed to give the character a lovely and likable nature. Hiro (Masi Oka) is absolutely smitten with her, and his plays for her attention were just adorable. Ando's (James Kyson Lee) reactions to the pair were great as well. Despite the character only being present for such a short time, it was awful to see her die, and particularly heartbreaking to see its effect on Hiro. His resolve to go back and save her were quite reminiscent of his demeanor as Future-Hiro, but he has obviously gone too far back in time - at least six months, as he is present at Charlie's birthday. Poor Ando now has to wait at the diner, unsure if his hero will return.
*Screencap courtesy of the Heroes Wiki, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary.
Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has returned to India, intending to leave behind his father's research. Of course, in his new office sits the computer with the Heroes code, prominently displaying the message 'Are you sure you want to quit?' Yeah, that's really subtle, writers.
Mohinder's dream sequences were amongst the most interesting things he has done in the series so far, but were still rather dull. I do like the concept of them though, as they are an unusual tool for exposition, rather than a deluge of awkward dialogue or Lost-style flashbacks. It appears that these dreams are being manipulated by a young boy named Sanjog Iyer (Javin Reid), rather than Mohinder having developed an ability of his own.
The dreams revealed that Mohinder had an older sister, Shanti, who died when he was two. It appears that vagueness tends to run in the Suresh family, as Mohinder's mother (Sakina Jaffrey) simply states that the girl was 'special,' and does not clarify how she died.
Sylar's Broken Watch*
It also becomes apparent that Chandra (Erick Avari) was not killed by Mr Bennet (Jack Coleman), but rather was one of Sylar's victims. During this act, Sylar's watch is broken, freezing it at seven minutes to midnight. Not only does this provide the title for the episode, it is also a reference to the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic clock-face that represents how close the human race is to destruction by nuclear war. At the time that the episode was shown, it did in fact read seven minutes to midnight, but was shifted forward by two minutes earlier this year. It ties in well with the explosion that has been foretold by Isaac (Santiago Cabrera).
Mohinder also needed these dreams to figure out that Chandra's key opened the locked desk drawer. The man is supposed to be a university professor - you would think he would have some deductive reasoning skills.
Mira Shenoy (Kavi Ladnier), who appears to be Mohinder's ex-lover, certainly seems to be embroiled in this whole mystery somehow. She wants him to join her in some unnamed genetic research company, which seems very enigmatic and fairly threatening. Perhaps her pleas for him to give up his father's research are an attempt to protect him?
Isaac is doing his best to get off the drugs. He is in what appears to be a rehab facility, but it is actually contained within Mr Bennet's place of employment. This is likely to be where Officer Matt (Greg Grunberg) was taken as well.
Judging from her final interaction with Isaac, it appears that Eden (Nora Zehetner) may have the power of persuasion.
Mr Bennet is still very ambiguous in his motives, but one thing is certain - he loves Claire (Hayden Panettiere) deeply, and who do anything to protect her. Interestingly enough, while walking down the hallway at the paper company, he bumped into the woman that played Claire's Bio-Mom in Better Halves. One has to wonder how he convinced his co-worker to play the part.
Speaking of Mr Bennet, both Matt and Ted (Matthew John Armstrong) realise that they were kidnapped by the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis). Matt seems to think that this was the genesis of their abilities, but clearly Matt's ability was manifesting itself before then - as usually, Matt is choosing not to think things through. It seems more likely that their powers were made stronger, though I can't yet see how that would benefit the mysterious organisation.
This episode introduced a new hero, Charlie Andrews, who has a photographic memory. The sunny waitress could have come across as very clichéd, but Jayma Mays managed to give the character a lovely and likable nature. Hiro (Masi Oka) is absolutely smitten with her, and his plays for her attention were just adorable. Ando's (James Kyson Lee) reactions to the pair were great as well. Despite the character only being present for such a short time, it was awful to see her die, and particularly heartbreaking to see its effect on Hiro. His resolve to go back and save her were quite reminiscent of his demeanor as Future-Hiro, but he has obviously gone too far back in time - at least six months, as he is present at Charlie's birthday. Poor Ando now has to wait at the diner, unsure if his hero will return.
Overall Rating
*Screencap courtesy of the Heroes Wiki, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary.
| 67 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Nickoftime's Sanity Corner
Take care,
Nick
Comment by Nina
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by Nina