Pilin' on the Pain: Heroes Chapter Six

"A hero doesn't hide..." -Hiro

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with pain; it needs to be there, especially in this show. Without it, Heroes wouldn't be much of a TV drama. All the actors sell it well, which is good, because their characters' situations seem to be getting (knowingly and unknowingly) progressively more painful for them. Case in point for the latest installment, "Better Halves"?

Niki's (Ali Larter) doppelganger just keeps screwing her over. As a result, her fugitive husband, D.L. (Leonard Roberts) - who can pass through solid matter, and actually appears to be a rather decent human being, all things considered - has killed her (?), and absconded with crying son Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) and two million dollars. It's all due to a lack of communication and trust, if you ask me.

For the second week in a row, it feels like the writers are hammering that point home about marriage. If only the Sanderses were mind readers like Matt the cop (Greg Grunberg), who in the last episode, was able to listen to what his wife really wanted, perhaps for the first time, maybe their family wouldn't be in the mess that it's in. But they're not, unfortunately. And unless Hiro (Masi Oka) learns how to pull off a "do-over," the mess isn't going anywhere; it'll continue to get worse.

Hiro was given an extra dose of pain than usual himself, this episode. He still got the most comedic scenes (his reaction to his future self having a sword made me chuckle), but when he didn't save the card game players from Niki's doppelganger, you really saw how crushed and disappointed he was in himself for not "walking the walk" of a hero. I felt for him then, and when Ando (James Kyson Lee) later finally acted as a friend should, and lifted Hiro's spirits, I was amazed at his optimism. Yet it was nice to see the most lighthearted, innocent character hurt a little. Makes him more human.