I literally just finished Heroes, and I was so invested I had to see it through to the end. I know everyone blames the writers' strike, and honestly, this show could have gone down as a top-ten superhero show ever if not for that. But this mess can't just be blamed on the strike. The directors, actors, and writers all share the blame for this.
Sometimes I had to take breaks because watching it was sincerely making me upset. Every character basically forgets their own character development, especially Hiro, and their personalities just become annoying on multiple occasions. (Also, Hiro treated Ando like less than a sidekick most of the time, which was messed up.) The inconsistencies aren't constant, but the ones they do have make the show very hard to watch. It's like the writers thought we viewers would just forget plot points or are just dumb.
For example, Peter leaving Caitlin (the Irish girl) stranded in the virus future! It was literally a situationship; he accidentally leaves her in an apocalyptic timeline, and then just... forgets about her? Even though the future changed, that doesn’t guarantee her safety. He didn’t even try to go back and find her! Or how about Claude (the invisible man)? How did he survive getting shot by Bennet and falling off a bridge? It was never explained how he survived that fall, unlike how Noah faked his own death later.
Also, it really doesn't make sense that Mohinder's dad was at the Coyote Sands camp for "specials" with Nathan's mom. Speaking of Mohinder, he was so much wasted potential. They should have just kept him normal. He was a much better character before the subplot where he gave himself powers.
I know the actress who played the cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere) recently passed away, which is incredibly sad, but her character was a huge victim of bad writing. It was like she switched to an entirely different person. The constant back-and-forth with her dad (Noah/HRG) was unbearable; she would start stuff for no reason. I honestly feel like she would have been happier in Level 5, because the outside world was just too much for her and it never felt like she actually wanted to be a hero. It just felt like she wanted to be the center of attention in every situation. Also, she acted like her power was a curse—bro, relax. You just heal. You aren't like Sylar, who literally couldn't control the murderous urges his powers gave him. The only thing I'll let slide is that not feeling physical pain might cause some self-discovery and make you wonder if you're still human. But her mom teaching her to fight didn't even do anything!
At least Claire's dad (Mr.Bennet) stuck to his philosophy and what he was about. His backstory and his reasoning for tracking the specials gave him a solid foundation, so I’m okay with him. He could've easily been a bigger victim of bad writing.
Speaking of annoying: Matt Parkman and Claire are on the same level, but I dislike Matt more. Every time this guy was on screen, I got upset. His relationship with Daphne (the speedster) was SO forced. Okay, you saw one alternate future where y'all are married, so now you're in love with her? And she actually falls for it too?! She literally had no reason to do so. Sure, he was nice to her, but the only reason a guy like Parkman was obsessed with her was because of what he thought could happen.
Then there's the worst plotline: turning Sylar into Nathan. This was a VERY BAD IDEA. This was the perfect time to get rid of Sylar once and for all. I fully expected Parkman to reject the idea of brainwashing him, but Matt disappointed me once again.
And when Peter and Sylar-as-Nathan were on the hospital roof, why didn't Peter just keep the Haitian's power turned on?! He literally used it to suppress Sylar's powers moments before, but instead, he let his fake brother cloud his judgment. If he had just held onto the Haitian's power, Sylar would have been no more!
Also, Sylar has SUPER HEARING BTW. The writers forgot most of the powers he absorbed and just stuck with shapeshifting, telekinesis, immortality, and sometimes electricity.
Bro, the real Nathan had to be under the influence of something, because you just finished an arc where you avoided your plan to blow up New York and remained a good guy, only to turn around and start rounding up specials for the government? It was exactly like the alternate future (which was actually Sylar disguised as Nathan, btw), and it felt like the writers were trying to make a callback, but it was just annoying to watch. Nathan really didn't need to get killed off, but I wasn't mad at it. It always felt like Sylar never really killed anyone who was actually vital to the overall story, so Nathan could go.
Peter was another victim of bad writing. Taking Peter and Hiro's powers away was obviously just because they were getting too OP. I'm okay with the way Peter got his powers back, and downscaling him to one copied power at a time was a great nerf. But the way Hiro got his powers back didn't make any sense. Baby Matt Parkman Jr.'s power just didn't make sense. And Hiro being healed from his brain tumor felt like it was all just a hallucination happening in his mind. Also, how did Arthur Petrelli even get the ability to steal Hiro's power when he was in the past? How would he have known? It didn't make any sense.
Let’s talk about some positives though. The Haitian is a top-tier character. Bro just AURA FARMS. Just chilling, no notes on him.
Also, Micah as "Rebel" had a really good run. I like how they used his character, and that whole subplot was genuinely good, to be honest.
But where did the woman who could talk to machines go (Hana)? After Ted the radiation guy exploded, she was never seen again. And where did Molly Walker (the girl who could find anybody) go?
The final villain of Season 4 (Samuel) felt a little forced, but he was a decent villain with understandable reasons.
I'm so glad Claire finally showed the world her powers at the end, because it seemed like that’s all she really wanted: to be seen and not have to hide.
