adeline | This is a Heroes post.

HEROES POST! What?

Yes. Welcome new friends, btw! :D I've ~decided~ that even though I'm pretty sure I know the exact outcome of the one story I'm ~invested in~ still, I want to watch this season. Will I never learn, you ask? Probably not. So I'm definitely going to need support (lolol I'm so dramatic) and I'm very thankful for you guys.

I got a whole bunch of (my) DVDs in the mail today, including Heroes S3. First thing I watched: all of the deleted scenes back to back. It was great because there's a lot of excellent stuff in there, and it was a little upsetting because so much of it was all good and relevant. My thoughts, let me show you them.

Firstly, I couldn't help but notice some trends: most of the deleted material was about Mohinder, Nathan, Tracy, and Matt. And Molly appeared outside of "I Am Become Death"! Hardly anything pertaining to Sylar (one extended scene from IABD) or Peter (see Sylar + an alternate scene from "Into Asylum"). I don't mean to imply whoever's in charge of final cuts is playing favorites here, but... Yeah, that's exactly what I'm implying. :-#

Secondly, if you were wondering where all the good writing had gone? There's a big chunk of your answer there: the cutting room floor. It's baffling, really. Of course there's a couple pointless bits - Mohinder lifting heavy stuff, Claire receiving a box, Angela waking up - and then there's honest-to-gods awesome character moments and entire plot points that I could never imagine in a billion years not keeping in my show.

Not to forget the absurd (and now absurdly traditional) lack of outtakes from the finale, which is sad and begs the question: are they ashamed of something?

The latter is obviously personal preference, and doesn't impede on my appreciation of the aired episodes, but the first two points, IMO, shockingly showcase how frequently decent writing suffers at the hand of ~time constraints~ on this show (which I suspect is really code for "LOL WHO CARES ABOUT THESE GUYS ANYWAY"). Specific examples? You bet:

Knox's "Villains" storyline: I find it nothing short of bewildering that it was cut out completely. That script was probably all Jamie Hector could hope for when he joined the show, and then they go and kindly erase it from existence. (Stay classy, Heroes.) Not only did the story provide a somewhat interesting character background for Knox - which is infinitely better than, you know, nothing; it also fit with Matt's established characterization circa season one perfectly.
Nathan & Tracy: granted, romance never was the heart of this show, nor do I think it should ever be. I don't even ship these two. However, with a line here and a touch there and a 30-second scene, would you imagine what was perchance achieved? *gasp* A non-obnoxious, believable caring bond! I know. It was kind of amazing to witness, because the feeling that perspired was so wholly different from what made it to air last year. So much so, I'd have without a doubt assumed those scenes were cut for creative reasons, if it weren't for the fact they were spread out over several different episodes. Ergo, face meet palm. The most interesting thing here is it showcased Nathan and especially Tracy, as individuals, in a very different light - for instance her allegiances are a lot clearer after an outtake from "Our Father" - and both somehow become more sympathetic as a result.
This might be me finding excuses for my boy (Selective Dedication: it's not just for show execs! :D) but it seems to me Nathan's ~change of heart~ at the end of Vol. 3 becomes a lot more nuanced and consistent in light of another outtake from "Our Father."
Mohinder also got shafted in a pretty big way, believe it or not. I'm not saying any cut scenes made his Vol. 3 arc any less ridiculous, because no amount of justifying that nonsense will do. In fact, his Vol. 3 cut scenes are just as ridiculous, though this one bit where he's ~prepping~ Nathan and Tracy for ~operation~ extolls on his motivations in a much more seamless manner than some canon scenes have. And for justice, because I remember there being talk of a scene where Mohinder turns Molly in to Arthur, it wasn't like that at all. Not even a little bit. And then there's a specific scene from "Turn And Face The Strange," in Vol. 4, that was at least three(!) kinds of interesting(!):
1. there is actual (and you want to sit down for this) TIMELINE CLARIFICATION(!!!)
2. Mohinder shows a perseverance seemingly impervious to homeward flouncing, and
3. a new lulzy Chandra-centric ship is born!
Come on now, why would they cut that? Don't they remember Vol. 1 at all? ;)

There are more. I'm not suggesting all of this should, or even could, have been kept in, but I certainly feel like we could have used some of this wasted character development and nice surprising subplots in lieu of an umpteenth cutesy Sylar/Elle electrokinesis 'n' doe-eyes scene and other pointless/retconny/both preposterous stunts (take your pick).

In conclusion, as the next season nears, these extras both gave me hope that the writers actually are still capable of putting in some more-than-average work, and worried that their best efforts are unrecognized (at best) or plainly disregarded by higher-ups. I say: somebody needs to get their head out of the sand, stat! But hey, no matter what ends up on our screens, I'll be watching (against my better judgment, heh) and hoping until the end that this is the year they somehow bring Awesome back. Have a great season, y'all! :)

And now, a fanvid! I started this back in May, after the finale, whilst I was very much in the throes of mourning. I figured I should finish it before S4 rolled around, so there it is. I'm quite pleased with some parts, but on the whole it was a rush job done over the weekend and I'm an oversensitive n00b. Translation: I probably wouldn't take harsh criticism very gracefully, so... yeah. Rather be wimpy than vexed! :D Anyhow.