Review: Heroes 3×04, “I Am Become Death”

Last night I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to watch the latest episode of Heroes, “I Am Become Death”.In terms of character development, this just might be the most significant episode since season one’s “Company Man.” A liberal pinch of action didn’t hurt either. Read my detailed, spoiler-rich review after the leap.

This episode cuts between the present day and four years in the future, when a chemical formula gives abilities to normal people. As you’d expect, the proliferation of superpowers is wreaking havoc.

Who created this formula? Right now, signs point to scientist Mohinder Suresh, who stumbles across the formula while attempting to figure out how to reverse the “Black Death” ability of his new love interest Maya. His reasoning, apparently, is that if he can bestow abilities he can also take them away. Testing this formula on himself, Mohinder finds himself possessed with increased strength and agility. But there’s a catch. He’s also becoming more aggressive, and strange insect-like rashes are breaking out on his body. A shadowy glimpse at future Mohinder shows that, irony of ironies, he’s transforming into a cockroach-like bug man, à la Jeff Goldbloom and Gregor Samsa. From the very beginning, the cockroach in Heroes has been a symbol of evolution and the adaptability of life. Now the symbol reveals a darker side, as if cockroaches weren’t creepy enough to begin with.

Anyhow, Peter seeks answers with future Sylar, who has taken up residence in the old Bennet house in Costa Verde, California, with his tow-headed son. That’s right, Sylar has a son. Evidently he’s turned over a new leaf in the future, although, as he tells Peter, he must exert constant effort to keep his “hunger” for abilities in check. Reluctantly, Sylar teaches Peter his own method of stealing the powers of others. Just then, Claire, the speedster Daphne, and the fear-monger Knox arrive on the scene, with the intent of killing Peter and somehow thereby changing this awful future. Sylar’s son is inadvertently killed in the fracas. Overcome with grief and rage, Sylar boils over with the nuclear ability he nabbed from Ted Sprague in season one. Costa Verde and its 200,000 inhabitants perish in a mushroom cloud.

If the show’s creators can hold to the high standards they’ve set in this episode, season three should restore Heroes to a place of prominence after the negative press heaped on it for season two. Tune in next week to find out whether it succeeds in this endeavor.