There are many contenders for the title of most stupid character on Heroes. Peter frequently goes into situations half-cocked without any clear plan, leading to situations like last night’s episode where his father drained him of all his powers. Mohinder has become psychotic, making one bad decision after another upon his recently acquired super powers. But none of these characters can hold a candle to the sheer stupidity of Hiro Nakamura this season.
Originally on Heroes, Hiro was a smart guy. He tested his powers and quickly accepted the responsibilities that come with them. He set off on a quest to help save the world, and he succeeded. However, this season Hiro has become a bumbling fool, the most gullible embarrassment of a hero on the show.
I’m not saying this necessarily as a criticism. In fact, Hiro’s storylines have been the best part of Heroes volume 3. I was entertained when he faced off with his nemesis Daphne and his wacky hijinx with African Isaac last night were some of the funniest things I’ve seen on TV all year. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s gone from noble and smart to pathetic and dumb.
His stupidity started right away. In his video will, Hiro’s father instructed him with one simple task: don’t open the safe. If Hiro was smart enough o listen, the season wouldn’t exist. But he did open it, removed the Formula, then got outwitted by a fast girl. Hiro can time travel and teleport, and even though he took a vow never to travel to the past again, surely he could use his far superior ability to outwit a speedster.
Speaking of Hiro’s temporary and arbitrary ban on traveling to the past, that decision was another stupid one he made this season. The problem isn’t going back in time, the problem is what you do while you’re there. If Hiro were smart or resourceful, he could figure out a way to prevent everything. Like in last night’s episode, he could go back to one minute before Hiro landed in Japan to tell himself not to stay there. This would effectively delete the entire history of the last two seasons, from Adam Monroe and the virus to everything else.
Time travel is the greatest power there is because it allows Hiro to do whatever he wants. If he doesn’t like the future, he can go into the past and change it. If the change is negative, he can keep going back as many times as it takes.
Applying logic to Heroes is a bit like explaining particle physics to a 5-year-old. Given the sheer volume of powers these characters possess, the problems that arise could be solves easily if the heroes just applied logic. Perhaps African Isaac will be able to teach that lesson to Hiro. At the very least, a few more shovels to the head won’t hurt.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
