Why Nobody Died on the Heroes Season Finale
I am admittedly a recent fan of NBC’s Heroes. It’s one of those shows that I always knew would appeal to me but never went out of my way to watch. I finally caught my first episode two weeks ago and loved it, as expected. Thankfully there was a marathon last Saturday, so I got a chance to catch up on everything I had missed. And of course, the season finale last night didn’t disappoint either.
Obviously there was a lot of drama to sift through. Peter blew up, Hiro stabbed Sylar, etc. Fans of the series already know what happened, so I won’t bother going into detail. No, with the first season behind us, it’s time to speculate about the outcome of events and predict things to come next season. I for one can think of nothing better toward that end than to explain why none of the main characters died in the season finale despite events to the contrary. Here’s the breakdown.
Peter Petrelli – Alive because he can regenerate and because he’s the counterbalance to Sylar. Sure, it was a nuclear explosion, but Claire didn’t seem to have a problem regenerating when she was exposed to lethal doses of radiation. Besides, he’s the most powerful good guy. Without him around, nobody has a chance of stopping Sylar. On that note…
Sylar - Alive because a good villain is never really thwarted until the very end. Yeah, that sword through the gut looked fatal enough, and everyone certainly thought he was dead at first, but then we all saw the trail of blood leading to the manhole. How did he do it? Who knows? Maybe he ate a brain we didn’t know about or something. However it happened, there’s no story (and no season two) without him in it.
Nathan Petrelli – Alive because we didn’t see him die, because there’s an easy way to let him survive, and because nobody likes to see a hero die. We saw the explosion, yes, but we didn’t see Nathan incinerated in the blast. Also, it’s entirely possible that Peter flew himself away at the last second, allowing his brother to escape the blast. Most importantly, though, Nathan finally turned out to be a hero, and it’ll be a very uplifting plot twist to see him live through his act of self sacrifice.
D.L. Hawkins – Alive because he was standing at the end of the episode. Gun shot wounds are no joke, but it wouldn’t serve the drama of the story for him to die of complications. The good doctor patched him up and he was walking with a limp, but it’s obvious that the wound was no longer intended to be fatal. Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time he’s been shot.
Matt Parkman – Alive because he went down too quickly. He pops a few shots off at Sylar, Sylar turns around and sends them back at him. It’s a (made up) law of drama that the degree of emotional investment in a character must positively correlate with the drama of his or her death. Matt has been in the story all season. He’s got a wife and child on the way, and Molly likes him. He may die eventually, but he’s not going to go so gently into that good night.
The point here is that, despite apparently lethal injuries, none of the characters were actually confirmed to be dead. That in and of itself suggests that the writers of Heroes are leaving open the possibility that they might be alive. The audience gets to hope against hope that the protagonists are okay and then feel uplifted when the protagonists make their dramatic reappearance next season. What can I say; emotional manipulation is just a natural part of the dramatic formula. I for one look forward to more of it when season two rolls around. 