The Story: An eclipse touches the Earth and leaves the heroes without powers. Nathan and Peter go off to find the Haitian who is on a quest to capture his brother. Claire is given back to her father, Noah, to prevent Arthur from using her as the catalyst but things go wrong when she is shot. Elle and Sylar go off to get Claire and progressively get closer. Tracy and Arthur plot Nathan’s future but Angela is on to their scheme. Matt, Hiro and Ando go to Lawrence, Kansas to find Daphne and learn about her past. Mohinder cures his transformation but is forced to find a way to give the heroes back their powers.
Pros: I thought this episode had a truly unique premise, what happens when the heroes finally don’t have their powers at their disposal? The results range from elation to catastrophe for some of them. I’m not the biggest Claire fan but I really enjoyed her storyline with Noah training her to be a fighter. There could be a whole compare/contrast between the father/daughter relationships of Elle and Claire but Noah bridges the gap between father and drill sergeant. His speech to Claire about not being a brat was great because I know many a Heroes fan who thinks that exact thing about Claire, especially this season. When Claire is shot it was interesting to hear her reactions and see the fear in Noah’s eyes, hopefully they won’t go into cheesy territory next episode with Claire’s possible death. I also loved Elle and Sylar. They compliment each other perfectly, oddly enough, and their scenes are my favorites. From Elle telling the rental car guy that she was a kidnap victim to hearing Sylar scream when Elle has to set his arm, they seem so normal and find solace in each other. I also have to give props to Tim Kring for the storyline involving Daphne. It was totally unexpected to realize she had a disability and for personal reasons I thought the whole thing was handled realistically and perfectly. Definitely have to give some kudos for going in a new route in terms of who gets powers. I’m hoping there’s going to be a confrontation with Angela and Tracy at some point if this episode is any indication. The look that Angela gives Tracy when she knows she’s lying was brilliant and they could easily be set up for a finale match up. I also thought Breckin Meyer and Seth Green were hilarious as the comic guys in Kansas. Call it cliché to have the comic “geeks” in this series but I thought they were total scene stealers and I’d love to have them stick around.
Cons: Compared to past episodes I only had one big issue and that was with Nathan and Peter. While I did enjoy learning about the Haitian their constant bickering was just annoying. I realize their brothers but they were acting like an old married couple and it might have been better to audiences to split them up. Also having the Haitian looking for his brother was just a bit too cheesy for my tastes. Ando, Matt and Hiro’s story was fun, more so with Hiro and Ando but it didn’t compel me. I’m not enjoying Hiro purely being comic relief this season. I also though Mohinder just blended in to with the scenery. Sure he has a huge part of the story, finding a cure for his powers, but he doesn’t stand out compared to the other plots.
Overall: “The Eclipse, Part 1” is a solid episode that I really enjoyed. I’m resigning myself to the fact that not every plotline can be compelling but this season has really stepped up its game. I give this episode a 4/5.
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