Episode 3 is finally here of Season 2 and many questions need to be answered, mainly are we going to start see Heroes come together? We for the first time get to see Micah and Nikki for the first time in Season 2, it seems as though D.L. is dead, as we get to see his grave site. We are then pulled to Silar who is imagining he is on a deserted Maui beach. The beginning of Kindred started off strong, and brought in even more characters. I was worried that they would continue to bring more characters back making an even more expansive show.

We witness Claire who is by far the most shown character on the show who is talking with her new love interest who watched her cut her toe off. Later on we find that West finally shows Claire that he has the ability to fly and does a total Superman/Louis Lane sequence that was just not fitting, it felt just much to much like a rip off of Superman. We also get to see Ando who is back at work and notices that Hiro sent him a note from the past where we are transfered back into the life of Kensei and Hiro where Hiro is still hard at work trying to create Kensei’s legacy. We move back and forth throughout the first big part of the show, and get a lot of short bursts and it is hard to keep a flow for any of the characters.

Back to Peter again who needs to pull of a job for this Irish crew by stealing from a Sports Betting place where everything goes relatively smooth. Peter is starting to understand his abilities a bit more now. After the raid of the sports betting joint, one of the guys decides to go rogue and tries to take the money for himself but Peter get’s even more of his power back and takes him out with ease.

There is no doubt that this episode ends with another cliffhanger showing a picture Isaac painted that shows Claire’s dad being killed. There are so many plot lines in Kindred that I was left with the same problems as before, way to many storylines with very little advancement in the plot. One of these episodes is going to tie the hundreds of loose ends the show has, but Kindred is not that episode.

I am not a Nielsen scholar, and will never claim to be, however there has been a lot of controversy and discussion over the changes to the ratings system and how everything is playing out. Whether it is being counted as a PVR recording, or counting double for a show airing the same episode twice, there have been some big changes to how we view the ratings and NBC is doing there best to take advantage of it. Here is what the Hollywood Reporter has to say about Heroes and it’s double showing last week:

ABC and NBC tied for the win last week in the key adults 18-49 demographic. Added viewers from two plays of “Heroes” boosted NBC to a tie in the ratings, with a slight numerical lead for ABC.

Thanks to a rule change this season by Nielsen Media Research, NBC was able to add viewers from a Saturday replay of “Heroes” while throwing out a low-rated primetime hour. While the other networks cried foul, “Heroes” jumped to 17 million viewers and a 7.3 rating/17 share in the adults 18-49 for the Monday broadcast, a significant change from last week’s preliminary estimate of 14.1 million viewers and a 6.5/17.

That gave NBC a boost of about two-tenths of a rating point for the week, enough to equal ABC’s 3.9 rating. Without the little extra from “Heroes,” ABC would have won outright. It also was the first time in more than 10 years that ABC had won the first week of the TV season in viewership; CBS came in second.

It wasn’t clear whether “Heroes” would be the first and last show to be able to take advantage of the rule change, which Nielsen instituted at the beginning of the season to be able to give networks credit for ever-changing viewing patterns. Nielsen scheduled meetings this week to discuss the change, and some in the broadcast industry predicted that the rule probably wouldn’t stand the way it is currently written. Nielsen said Tuesday that it is looking at the situation.

I should write this post with the disclaimer that if you want to be surprised by what is to come from Heroes and don’t want to know, then don’t read this post. Although these spoilers aren’t 100% confirmed, most of what I find over at TVSquad is usually pretty credible and almost always comes true. So with that sort of introduction let me give you a few of the latest spoilers for Heroes for Season 2 which comes from TVSquad.com:

• Upcoming episodes will explore Nathan’s “monster face.” We will learn more about Niki/Jessica’s powers. Bob, who is part of the “original 12,” can do more than turn things into gold. He is an integral part of The Company and his connections to everyone will soon be revealed. Before the end of the current volume, we will have seen all member of the original 12. Down the road, fans will learn what are Mr. Nakamura’s powers (and yes, “are” is a key word here). Episode 2.05 will offer some backstory on Matt; it will mostly answer why he is divorced, what happened to his child, etc. Primatech will resurface. [Source: Comic Book Resources]
• Future Hiro will make another appearance. He will also appear in episode 13, which is said to be another future episode. [Source: SpoilerTV]

I know NBC has put a lot of money and media effort to push Heroes forward through its second season hoping that the show would catch fire again this season. Heroes has done a great job for NBC and has continued to do so this year, although not as strong as some had predicted. Here is what Media Life Magazine had to say about last nights ratings:

At 9 p.m. ABC and NBC tied for the lead at 5.6, ABC for its second half of “Stars” and NBC for “Heroes.” CBS was third with a 4.3 average for “Two and a Half Men” (4.6) and “Rules of Engagement” (3.9), Fox fourth with a 2.0 for “K-Ville,” Univision fifth with a 1.9 for “Destilando Amor” and CW sixth with a 1.3 average for “Girlfriends” (1.2) and “The Game” (1.4).

So welcome to our review of the second episode of Heroes, entitled Lizards. I should let you know that our review will contain a ton of spoilers, so read at your own risk. Ok well let’s get into the review.

Last week we got an introduction to Season 2, and that is really what it was, a catchup session with all of the Heroes. The show starts off with Peter who was found by some iPod thief’s who found Peter in the container that was supposed to contain iPods. But of course Peter has no idea how he got there. We then go to Claire and her family which discusses her laying low, something that she has been against since she was told to do so. Then we went over to the death of Hiro’s father where Parkman is investigating the death. And finally we are left with Hiro, who is still in early Japan where he is trying to get Kensei to become a hero, but instead he takes it into his own hands.

The show continues with more insight into our new hero Maya who is still moving throughout Mexico to find answers about her abilities. Peter is now handcuffed and helped by the Sister of the man who wanted to steal the iPods. Claire decides not to go unnoticed and speaks up in a big way in science class on the subject of the ability to heal yourself like Lizards, hint the name of the episode!

We meet up with Suresh who is now in Haiti, and surprisingly we meet up with the Hatian who we haven’t seen in quite a long time. Suresh states that the only cure that is his very own blood. The show really picks up after this portion with two big sequences. First off Hiro is still working on keeping Kensei’s legacy intact so he takes Kensei’s gear and pretends to be him, while taking out a whole group of enemies. Then we switch to Peter who is still tied up and manages to finally focus he powers to take off the ropes that held him to the chair and two other Irish men with really a simple flick of his wrist.

Suresh actually manages to cure The Haitian, however in the process the Hatian erases Suresh’s memory so he doesn’t even remember being in Haiti. The show turns toward Maya who is still on the move and she is taken away from her brother which has her kill a mutual friend. For the first time we saw Maya actually kill, her eyes turned completely black with black tears. It seems as though Maya doesn’t have this problem with her brother is around, rather if he is not she kills whoever is nearby. We learn soon after that Maya’s brother is able to compliment her powers by healing and stopping her powers.

The show really starts picking up now, we see Mrs. Petrelli being questioned by Parkman who reads her mind when she says that someone wants revenge, and admits to having relations with Hiro’s dad at one point a long time before. She is alone in a confined room when she is attacked and both Parkman and her son Nathan come to save her. She is not killed but is given a picture of herself with the Kensei logo on it, which she also admitted to be her husbands logo for his law company.

The conclusion of the show has Peter being teased with a box, it is a box that contains his identity something he has to work for in order to get it back. Claire decides to cut off her toe to see what would happen and it grows back, however her new boyfriend from school sees her doing it through the window.

This episode was a much stronger episode, although I have to say that it still hasn’t packed an overly strong punch. In some ways there is probably to many characters in an episode, and at times I just want to see what’s going on with Hiro and Peter rather then a lot of the new characters. Is Heroes growing to fast? In my opinion it might be, but then again like last season it may just be growing bigger and bigger to do better things in the future. Lizards was a good episode, but not one of the best.

So you just can’t wait for tonights episode of Heroes? Wanting to know why Peter is in a crate in the middle of no where all alone? Well tonight I am sure we will receive more answers on Peter, and it sounds like we also will learn more about one of the shows newest Heroes, Maya played by Dania Ramirez who we witnessed use her powers to take out quite a few people in the season premiere. Here is a snippet of the interview with TVGuide:

TVGuide.com: I saw the season premiere, but help me out here: What exactly is Maya’s power?
Ramirez: You’ll find out in Episode 2.

TVGuide.com: What, she like kills people by making them bleed through their eyes?
Ramirez: Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. It’s more about how Maya feels too much. If you put her in a situation where she’s feeling fear or feeling vulnerable… well, you don’t want to make her upset, basically. In Episode 2, you’ll see how I do it. In Episode 1, you only saw the effect, the aftermath, of me having [used my power]. It was more about understanding that this is something that she can’t control. She’s essentially a good person but something has happened to her. As the episodes go along, you will see how it all happens and the importance of my brother.

So it sounds like we will be finding out a lot more on Maya today in Episode 2. For the full interview with Dania Ramirez head on over to TVGuide.com! Also make sure to check back here this evening for a full review of the second episode of Season 2.

So you just got done watching the first episode of Heroes Season 2? All ready for next week’s episode? Well then here is the promo video from NBC previewing next week’s coming episode! Enjoy the video!

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I am never quite sure how much the Nielsen ratings actually work, in fact I am never sure how much they actually say about who watches what, but I will digress. I was reading an article over at Media Buyer Planner who discussed the new Nielsen rating which allows shows to count both the original airing and subsequent airings of the show to be counted all at once. Here is what Media Buyer Planner said about how this could effect the ratings of Heroes:

For its premiere episode of Heroes, NBC is taking advantage of a new Nielsen rule that lets networks combine the ratings of multiple runs of a show - the original airing and any subsequent airings - and report them as one number.

Monday’s episode of Heroes will be repeated Saturday night, and the numbers for both broadcasts will be counted together when Nielsen releases its final numbers for the week, writes Variety. Better yet for NBC, the Saturday repeat will not be counted in NBC’s weekly averages, which means that the network will be able to eliminate what may well be one of its least-watched hours while at the same time boosting the audience average for the show.

I received a few e-mail’s last night after the premiere that a few of you were disappointed that I didn’t give more insight into the premiere, and instead just gave my opinion on the pacing, with very little specifics. So to meet the requests of the audience and to better acquaint you with the return of Heroes, here is a much deeper look into the first episode of Heroes in Season 2. I should say there are some spoilers below if you have not watched the show yet, that is your warning!

One of the more difficult areas of starting a new season of a show, is the beginning, how do we grasp the audience back into the storyline? Heroes didn’t waste anytime in that area, the show begins with a look at Mohinder giving a speech to a half empty (or half full) lecture hall describing a deadly virus that is mutating in these evolved humans (AKA: heroes). Following his speech to the less then amused audience he is approached by a guy who is stalking Mohinder at each of his lectures trying to get him to join his company which tries to “save” these heroes and teach them how to use there powers for the greater good. The beginning of the show to me just set the mood for the episode right from the onset by really becoming much more of a show with questions rather then one with answers.

Heroes then does a very large shuffle, where we are then tossed back and forth through several new and old characters. One of the focuses however of the episode was on Claire who moved with her family down to California to start fresh. Of course Claire’s Dad is very specific to Claire about just blending in at school, not to make any friends, and to be anything but special. Of coure it would help if she wasn’t almost run over by her new love interest West who later in the show we learn has the ability to fly. And like any teenager, Claire doesn’t listen to her wise father and instead dislocates her leg when jumping off of a cheer leading lift, and puts her hand through a Bunsen burner.

And what would an episode of Heroes be without our good friend Hiro, who we find in 1671 in Japan near his very own Hero, Takezo Kensei. This is an interesting sequence of events as we find that Kensei isn’t everything the tales and books that Hiro read growing up told him about, in fact 99% of the tales seemed fabricated. In fact Kensei is an English man who pays people to do his own dirty work, and Hiro in an effort to save him from a sea of arrows teleports him, stopping Kensei from his original quest. So now we are left with Hiro attempting to make Kensei into the hero that he had read about growing up.

As I mentioned before the show really jumps around a lot and in fact we don’t hear from all of the Heroes in this episode. However Parkman the man who can hear people’s thoughts is now taking care of Molly who became a big part of the show late last season for her ability to locate all the heroes in her brain. Parkman is doing his best to look after Molly and it seems as though Parkman and Mohinder are working together to make sure she is kept safe. The scenes with both Parkman and Molly were probably the most profound in the whole episode, mainly because they allowed a deeper insight into how the life of a Hero.

Then of course there is Nathan, who has now seemingly lost his election, and seems to have gone into a total tailspin downhill. I was actually shocked to see Nathan away from his clean shave and perfect haircut, but now he is with a full beard and throughout the show is numerously getting wasted away in alcohol. His mom who we all know to be a very pointed woman blames Nathan for the death of Peter, and Nathan won’t have any of that, and tells her to leave. It was a very intense sequence of events and one that really no one expected going into the show. Nathan really looked as though he had hit a low in his life and felt a lot of guilt for what had happened to Peter.

The show wouldn’t end without a few cliffhangers and this is really where the first episode of Season 2 of Heroes really picked up the ball. We learned that both Nathan’s Mom and Hiro’s dad got images of themselves with red swirl shape on it which both somehow meant they were to die soon. We then find Ando with Hiro’s Dad continuing to be loyal and faithful to his family and to Hiro. Ando goes to get a sword for Hiro’s father but when he returns he watches the subsequent death of Hiro’s dad by a hooded man who we could not identify (possiby Sylar) pushing Hiro’s father off of the building. We knew someone was going to die in this episode but Hiro’s father was not among my list of possible candidates.

And then the show wraps up with something I am sure the ladies wanted to see and that was Peter was still alive (what a surprise). We meet this Irish crew who seems to be looking for a crate of electronics when they open up this big crate to find Peter chained to the back suffering from memory loss. However he still has some powers working inside of him as he literally takes out this Irish crew with just a flick of his wrist, and thus the episode concludes.

Some of the things that I was a bit disappointed on, was that we really didn’t get any answers solved, but similar to a show like Lost we just were given more questions left to be answered. Seeing Hiro back in time was actually a treat, and I thought Kensei was really a treat, a typical hero that we read about that actually wasn’t much of a Hero at all, but just was in the right place at the right time. Your going to obviously see a few things in the weeks to come. Claire is going obviously grow closer to West the man with flying ability, and I am sure we are going to see Claire break every rule her father makes. Secondly Hiro is going to do everything to make Kensei the hero that he read about growing up. And I am sure finally we will get a lot more insight into Peter, what happened after the explosion and who the man or woman was under the hooded cape that killed Hiro’s father.

So the time we have all waited for has come, Heroes Season 2 is here, and we are ready for the first episode of the second season of Heroes. The episode is titled Four Months Later and it couldn’t have be titled any better because it is literally looking at at everything in the world of Heroes four months after the happenings of Season 1. So your wondering what we thought? Well here is our review of ‘Four Months Later’ the first episode of Season 2 of Heroes.

The second half of ‘Four Months Later’ makes a lot more headway and that is when the show really picks up. The premiere of the second season of Heroes began quite similar to how Season 1 began, and that is with a bunch of questions. I have to say that the premiere answered maybe two questions and opened up about ten others. I would say in the sense of answering questions, this episode got a very low score. But in terms of enjoyable viewing, the Heroes premiere for me got a mild thumbs up. It wasn’t the most engaging episode of the short Heroes lifespan but it does give a lot of great insight into what is to come from Season 2 and that is a lot of new Heroes, and even more expansion of the current ones.

So for the first half of the show, we are getting a pretty scattered look at what is going on in everyone’s life, including some new Heroes. The first half of the show was pretty slow in that it was a lot of introducing characters again, something that makes the show feel like a typical Pilot, more then a continuation of second season premiere. The first half of the premiere was still very engaging and offered up a lot of insight, I just was expecting some big bangs right out of the gate, and the first half was actually pretty slow.