Some episodes of television tip you off to how good they’re going to be from the very first shot.
Others, like “June 13th, Part 1,” tell you to sit back, buckle up and pay attention with its music, whether it’s a needle drop of a Top 40 hit or a special piece composed score.
The opening shots of the Odessa festival stick in your head because we’re hearing something that’s been noticeably absent through Heroes Reborn up until now.
This really felt like the first time since at least “Odessa” that the talents of Lisa and Wendy have been on full display.
It was jarring to hear the “Peter Petrelli” theme at first. But by a certain point it was jarring not to hear music in the few scenes it wasn’t present, as when Luke is talking to Joanne in the medical tent.
But the return of the music that defined the first season of Heroes is more than appropriate for “June 13th” which gave us our first significant dose of show’s roots.
We get Angela Petrelli talking about visions. We once again get the sweet, soothing sounds of Mohinder complaining about his research.
With the direction of series veteran Allan Akrush, who helmed “Six Months Ago,” “Company Man” and “How to Stop an Exploding Man,” the episode feels like it could easily have been a part of the original run. Akrush brings a lot of personal touches to it that the last three to four episodes felt pedestrian without.
This episode just felt right. Except where when the Evermore storyline had to make an appearance. The scene with Hiro and Miko’s dad/creator slowed down the pace of the episode even though it’s necessary to explain…well, actually it isn’t necessary at all, is it? We were basically told what happened in “Game Over.” We didn’t need to see it.
Other than that, this was the most streamlined Chapter yet of the season. Kring and Co. put a lot of effort into it and it showed.
We’re being fed so many answers and good material that I didn’t even recognize Nathan’s stepmom was the nurse that brought Noah and Angela the babies until the closing scene at the house.
It culminates in an incredibly natural conclusion to an episode of Heroes. A cut to black that made us want next week’s episode to get here as soon as possible.
Other Judgements
- Is Mohinder dead? We never see him die.
- For some reason I assumed Mohinder had lost his abilities. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who experienced flashbacks to the Bug saga.
- I bet I’m the only one that picked up on the “San Francisco” bit being a reference to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- The scenes with Phoebe in the compound under the house are odd if you take into account the Dark Matters digital series, which showed a news report with her clearly present with Erica and Harris AT the festival.
- I really like the visual of Noah and Casper “Penny Man” Abraham as partners. They both look like they should be in a 50s noir film.
- Maybe Hiro shouldn’t yell when he’s about to attack someone. Seems like a bad tactic all the way around.