Heroes: "Villains"

The synopsis for last nights episode (11/10/2008):

"To prepare for the confrontation ahead, Hiro follows respected businessman, husband and father Arthur Petrelli in the days before he "died" -- to discover what drove him to create rival company Pinehearst and strike at Angela. Later, a moment unfolds where Gabriel/Sylar, horrified and guilt-ridden, might have stopped his murderous pursuit of abilities -- that is, if H.R.G. and Elle had swayed from their monstrous assignment. Finally, under the wing of Company man Thompson, agent-in-training Meredith watches her new life go up in smoke, following the arrival of her hot-headed brother."

Prior to the airing of the latest episode of Heroes, two senior writers were fired by the network following growing critical displeasure with the direction of the series, and the widely reported drop-off in viewership. The "Villains" episode was touted to reveal several of the shows long-running secrets, so for the implied olive branch that we, the fans, were extended - What did we get?

Well, we saw the source of the disconnect between Arthur & Angela Petrelli, meaty flashback appearances by previously killed off Linderman & Thompson (guest stars Malcolm McDowell & Eric Roberts), many instances of overlap between several of the key Heroes cast members during pivotal moments from the earliest episodes and the revelation that Flint is Meredith's little brother (and by extension, Claire's uncle) and .... that's about it.

Not really a bad episode overall, but since we were supposed to be treated to some crucial information that "filled-in-the-blanks", I would have liked to see stuff that has only been hinted at, but sadly, still not really dealt with. Several previous guest actors of note, including Richard Roundtree, Joanna Cassidy and George Takei have been presented as being part of the earlier generation of "Heroes" that launched the conspiracy that provides much of the impetus for the current group of "Heroes" to save the world. We remain clueless about what if any powers Cassidy may have had before she was quickly introduced (and immediately killed off) or what significance they may have had to the overall company plan. Guess we'll just have to stay in the dark here.

Robert Forster's Arthur Petrelli is definitely the "biggest" bad guy that has been utilized thus far and no matter what they ultimately do with his character, his contribution has been well worth the ride.