‘Heroes Reborn’ Review: “The Needs of Many”

Sabrina Petrafesa ’18 / Emertainment Monthly Executive publisher

“Forget the past, save the future.” It seems that after four episodes, fans have finally got a quote that resonates with them on the same level of “save the cheerleader, save the world.” It took three weeks and four hours of television, but maybe Heroes Reborn is finally getting to a place where it could live up to the potential that it obviously has. Just as it’s taken this long to get that great quote, it has also taken this long for things to get a little bit interesting.
A lot of characters have been put on hold, and this week, a few were actually brought to light. Until this episode nothing has felt dire, nothing has felt important, it was just a lot of exposition. Heroes Reborn has spent a lot of time introducing these new characters without moving the plot forward. This episode finally told us who Malina (Danika Yarosh) and Farah (Nazneen Contractor) are and it’s rather ominous. All there is to be said is that Malina is important to save the world. Which makes sense, because her powers seem to be the gift of life; in this episode she made a whole tree grow and brought dead butterflies back to life. She is apparently the key to saving the world, as is Miko (Kiki Sukezane) and Tommy (Robbie Kay). Miko, who is one step closer to getting her sword back with the help of Ren (Toru Uchikado), and Tommy whose storyline is only just beginning to get interesting.

Zachary Levi and Judith Shekoni gave fantastic performances that would have been heartbreaking, if you could bring yourself to care about these characters. After last week when Levi’s character, Luke, found out he is also an Evo, it did not take very long for him to tell Joanne what he is after he fails to convince her to give up killing. Levi’s performance is so sad and Shekoni’s portrayal of Joanne’s, reaction and almost psychotic behavior is really entertaining to watch. Joanne’s story line is the second most interesting, behind only Miko’s fantastic characterization and plot.
In Noah’s (Jack Coleman) quest for the truth and Quentin’s (Henry Zebrowski) desire to find his sister, they find themselves in the headquarters of Renautus with the help of Taylor (Eve Harlow) where they are literally harvesting the powers of Evos to use their powers and “save” the human race. Fans find out more of what’s going on and why Renautus should be feared and we know for sure now that Claire is dead. Heroes Reborn is trying to convince us that Claire Bennet, an Evo whose power is not being able to die, is dead. This is so ridiculous to believe that it’s hard not to ask whether the writers think fans are stupid or not, or if they have a legitimate explanation as to how she could possibly be dead. Molly Walker (Francesca Eastwood) gave us “forget the past, save the future” right before she shot herself, giving it the effective delivery it needed to resonate with fans. In the wake of her death, we also find out that Quentin’s sister has been alive this entire time, and has been gearing up to be one of Renautus’ most powerful weapon.

This show is still just way too much. With way too many characters and very little plot, Heroes Reborn is just not living up to expectations. This episodes feels like a turning point, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The original cast keeps getting teased but have yet to make an appearance. It’s getting to the point where the only thought that comes to mind while watching is, “I was promised Hiro, where is Hiro?” The audience is still waiting for performances from the original cast.
Episode Grade: C+