Watching Heroes

TVGuide.com has a great article by Michael Logan. It leads into episode 19, which we’ve just seen, but has some really great insider info into the final 5 (not Cylons) episodes of Season 1. He talks quite a bit about how dark the next few episode are going to be and how difficult it was for the cast to make the transition:

April 23 also brings the death of yet another hero, but that’s nothing compared to the body count on April 30. That episode, titled “String Theory,” is set five years in the future. “It’s a cautionary tale — a look at what will happen if no one stops the bomb,” Kring says. America has become a veritable police state, and people with special abilities are being hunted down, arrested and registered with the feds. Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) is president, Mohinder is his chief medical adviser, and Matt (Greg Grunberg) is head of Homeland Security. Claire (Hayden Panettiere) has gone undercover as a greasy-spoon waitress. Niki (Ali Larter) has turned stripper and is romancing Peter, who has an unexplained scar running across his face. And in the hour’s wildest twist, sweet, funny Hiro (Masi Oka) has become the country’s most wanted terrorist.

The fanboy’s new look — soul patch, samurai ponytail, military-style jacket and boots — is downright scary. “Present-day Hiro gets to meet future Hiro and realizes, ‘That’s not who I want to become,’” Oka says. “Mentally, I have to go to a very different place with this. No one on the set wants to talk to me. I’m giving out that vibe. No jokes.”

No one’s laughing at Matt, either. “His power in the government really goes to his head,” reports Grunberg. “He’s got the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis) working for him so he can stop anybody’s powers when he needs to. He literally kills off several popular characters in this episode. It’s awesome.” But, truth be told, the actor is a little worried about Hiro worship. “I really slap the crap out of Masi,” Grunberg says. “He’s the star of the show, and here I am kicking his ass mercilessly. The fans are gonna hate me!”

An excellent article for sure. you can read it in it’s entirety here.