ShortCircuited

Heroes was perhaps the most popular prime time TV drama last year, and for a good reason. The show displayed some of the best special effects made for the small screen, a great cast, and a gripping premise. For those of you who are not too familiar with the series, the show is set in modern day (mostly in the United States) where numerous people discover that they can perform superhuman feats that defy every law known to man. The show follows several story arcs that eventually meet in a final confrontation. They learn from very early on in the story that a nuclear explosion will go off in the middle of Manhattan some time in the future, and that each of them must play a part to stop it.

There is not a doubt in my mind that Heroes draws plenty of influence from X-men. They present the same basis, setting, deal with many of the same themes, and many of the characters share the same powers. One such scene from Heroes involving Candice hits a strikingly similar note to mystique from X-men, discussing the philosophical idea that if both women can look like anything they want, why do they choose to look like the way they do. Nevertheless, what separates Heroes and why I love this show, is that Heroes treads into much darker territories. All of the characters go through a process of discovering their capabilities, leading to a spectrum of drama and emotions. They are seen as curses and burdens before they are blessings. None of them embraced their new found powers. That is, none except for Hiro Nakamura.

Having a light-hearted comedic character in a doom and gloom atmosphere is not necessarily a bad thing. I am perfectly okay, in fact, delighted to have contrasting characters. The problem is the simplicity of this character. To state it bluntly, Hiro is flat, one dimensional, and refuses to grow, as any protagonist should in a typical Hollywood four-act story. I’m not saying that any of the other characters are flawless, but comparatively, Hiro is, by far, the weakest.

Hiro as a Character

If your character is a representation of a person (as opposed to a personification of idea, object, or symbol), then he should feel as human as possible. He should have a clearly defined set of goals and motivations, and in the world of straight action thriller adventures, he should experience some sort of change (or change the environment around him). Maybe he realizes that he wanted to pursue a different goal all along, or that his method for reaching the goal is the wrong method. Having this foundation, you can begin to build additional layers of personality.

Realistically, people are complicated creatures and cannot be reduced down to simple archetypes. The perception of one’s self is often different from how he is perceived by his peers, and both of which ultimately differ from the truth. What we end up with are contradictions, and these contradictions are the key to adding depth to a character.

Let’s look at my favorite character currently on television, Doctor Gregory House. This man is full of contradictions. He is miserable, but takes great pleasure in every small thing in his daily life. He honors logic and rationality, but is stubborn and acts out without his Vicodin. He has an uncanny ability to take observations about others, yet blind about his own actions. He rejects all those around him, but secretly long for companionship. He claim that being emotionally attached to a patient will interfere with his work, yet he is always outside of their room, watching them recover. I can come up with many more examples, but I think what I have is sufficient to prove my point. Hiro, on the other hand, is rather straight forward. He is naïve and optimistic, always speak his mind, and has no hidden motives. It is easy for the audience (and the lazy writers) to predict how he will react or what he will say in any given situation. In other words, there is not enough contradictions and inner conflict to justify Hiro as a believable or engaging character.

The most interesting part about Hiro, ironically, isn’t actually Hiro, but rather, an extension of his character. I am talking, of course, about Future Hiro, who has a radically different personality. I understand that in a feature length film with multiple protagonists, there may not always be enough time to show how a particular protagonist evolves, but for a television series with more than 20 episodes in one season, there is plenty of room for character growth. What would have made Hiro much more interesting is to show a slow transition of the Hiro we know lose his innocence and optimism, gaining courage and willpower. Perhaps if the creators spent more time fleshing out their characters instead of putting in pointless filler material, this show would actually win an Emmy.

Hiro as a Plot Device

The Hiro story arc started out very strong. By the end of the first episode, it was already clear what power he possessed, and by the second episode, he had discovered Isaac’s murder scene and the explosion in future Manhattan. All of these things become the driving force behind the next ten episodes. Not just for Hiro, but also for the Petrelli story arc. Towards the middle of the season, however, the Hiro story arc lost that momentum. After Hiro and Ando traveled to the United States, they started an obfuscated journey to everywhere except for where they’re supposed to go, New York. They accomplished absolutely nothing short for a series of cringe-inducing scenes involving product placements.

The explosion happens in New York, and the cheerleader is in Texas, why did Hiro decide to go to Las Vegas? I usually don’t let trivial plot details bother me, but in this case, it breaks the story apart. Following instructions from the comic book is a poor excuse for a poor storyline. In time travel fiction, there are usually two explanations. Either there’s only one space-time continuum, and whatever the time traveler do will ultimately become the cause of what happens in the future (i.e. Terminator), or there are multiple continuums, and any action done by the time travel will alter the course of history (i.e. Back to the Future). It has been shown time and time again, that Heroes would fall under the latter category. Their fate is not set in stone; they did not have to follow instructions from the comic book. Hiro obviously knows this crucial fact since the Terminator scenario would render his efforts futile. Furthermore, the Hiro in the comic book seem to be aware of the same things as the real Hiro. If Hiro went to Las Vegas because that is what the comic book Hiro did, why did the comic book Hiro go there? Why didn’t they just simply fly to New York to find Isaac? Why would Chewbacca, a 7-feet tall wookie want to live on Endor? It doesn’t make sense.

Why?

Hiro’s ability is too powerful. He can do almost anything imaginable. What good is flying around when you can simply rematerialize at your destination. No amount of telepathy or telekinesis is going to stop you if you can simply freeze time and walk up to your enemy. I think somewhere along the line the writers realized this. If Hiro confronted Sylar, there would be no conflict. Without conflict, there is no dramatic tension. The show would be over before the fifteenth episode, so they made up these poor excuses to make Hiro travel across the country getting his groove back while the rest of the stories catch up. It would have been much more satisfying if they limited his abilities from the beginning.

In the Shadows - Ando

It is often said that an abundance of characters is a sign of weak writing, so I am obligated to be skeptical of Ando. It seems to me that Ando’s character provides nothing to the story other than someone for Hiro to talk to and an excuse to imbed expository dialogue. Ando does tempt Hiro to use his powers for selfish gains, but I think these minor traits can be worked into Hiro’s personality. It would also add some of the depth I discussed above. It would make a much better story if the first thing Hiro does on his quest to save the world is to visit an internet stripper in Las Vegas and scam some casinos of their money. It further develops the idea that no matter how much man has evolved, we’re still driven by a series of impulses in the same way beasts are. Well, it’s more interesting in my mind anyways. While Ando was needed at the start of the season, he has outstayed his welcome and no longer contributes anything useful to the development of the story. He should have just returned to Japan when Hiro left him.

Concluding Statement

There are many things wrong with Heroes, what is mentioned here is only part of that (I’ll save the rest for another day). Heroes simply shares the same problems all network dramas have. They’re driven by system that values ratings and profits over artistic integrity. By all means, there are just as many elements Heroes did right. After all, fourteen million people can’t be wrong… can they? (I mean.. I’m sure it’s not the same forty million people who watch American Idol).