Here’s my stab at it.

You ever bench pressed before? You know how, after completing your sets, your muscles are tired and too weak to do another? Sometimes, you can be too weak to even lift the bar after having removed the weights. It is why you need someone to “spot” you as you work out.

Samuel had gotten used to having a huge number of specials around him. The specials became a crutch for his power. However, when all of that immense power was just taken from him from under the rug, he, unlike you or I at the gym, did not have a “spotter.”

So, although under normal circumstances Samuel could easily sink a building no problem, because he had been working out his powers so much but no longer had either a crutch or a “spot,” he could not do the terrakinesis equivalent of lifting the bar without its weights.

I didn’t think the finale was strong compared to any of the seasons, but it worked. I’m not saying the finale was horrible as I was getting hounded about it right after the show ended. You know who you are (T).

I think plenty of things that could have happened would have made a better story, such as Noah dying. I like Noah, but it would have made a stronger story. Peter being able to get a copy of his original ability.

If it’s fair game to grade a season, I’d grade this season a B- (with some good interactions with family members, but lacking in the action and a few too many diversions from the main focus with a somewhat anti-climatic end). So yes, I do want another season, if the premise sounds interesting.

goGo – I actually went back and watched the season 1 finale before watching the season 4 finale. If you remember in the season 1 finale everyone was in a central location Kirby Plaza. It took lots of people to take down Sylar. Hiro stopped Sylar, Niki bashed Sylar over the head and even Matt tried to get in on the action. But it was the one thing that you bashed all other seasons for that they also used in season 1. When Peter got out of control and no one could stop him Nathan flew in to save the day. I think I would call that using a character with a narrative crutch to get the end that the writer’s wanted. With Samuel I personally think the peril with him was that he was a ticking time bomb. All it would have taken was for one person to say the wrong thing and do you remember the part when he started to split the ground in Central Park, he just didn’t get a chance to finish.

Mastarks – At that point Peter still had the telepathy power from Matt when he went into Sylar’s head thus closing that plot hole for you.

GorgeousMan – the Jeremy story line issue: Perhaps Samuel brought the Carnival close to him because at one point Samuel wanted Jeremy to live with them. And about the whole season 1 issue, I loved it too but when you put those episodes against some of the better episodes this season ie Brother’s Keeper, Strange Attractors, Shadowboxing, Art of Deception, and Brave New World I think that we will definitely remember those. This season had a lot of great moments just like season 1 had and I almost think that they followed the same sort of formula of How to Stop an Exploding Man in Brave New World. Everyone was apart for as long as possible and then they slowly started to come together in Central Park at the Carnival which was some fantastic material. The writing has been great this season and they seem to be actually following through on a lot of stuff: Claire is actually at a point in her life where she is OK with her ability, people have to realize that she is an 18 year old, kids go through lots of changes until they find what they feel they are supposed to be doing. Heroes has done essentially what everyone wanted them to do, go back to the season 1 formula and they have done that dare I say even taken the show in a new direction. I think if the show was given another season then perhaps they would be able to tell new short stories with new characters and gain back some fans. I wouldn’t even mind going back to the Origins story line, lots of new characters in little individually contained episodes.

Why didn’t Hiro just take Samuel away from the Carnival instead of taking the Carnival away from Samuel? That was BEYOND DUMB.

And are they seriously messing with the Going Public angle again?

Count me out.

Thank god this show isn’t coming back.

How did Eli get from LA to NY in 10 minutes?

How did Tracy and Noah’s old partner figure out that he and Claire were buried alive? (and wow, it was the cliffhanger from the penultimate episode…so lame)

How did Hiro have brain surgery and no bandages?(healed by his mom in his head?…lame)

How did Samuel use his powers earlier in the season when no one was around?

THIS SHOW IS DEAD.

You guys put out great stuff every episode and I really wish that we could stay on the same page. I just needed Heroes to retain a certain level of quality. It did not. It has dwindled beyond repair. Sorry, and thanks.

I was completely disappointed by the finale. Sylar’s turn into a hero is almost a joke considering how much they have jumped around with him in the past 3 seasons. That character is officially dead in my book.

Samuel’s defeat was absolutely anti-climatic and flawed. He lost his power when everyone left?…but he was alone when he sunk that house…and destroyed the police station…PLOT HOLE?

The way they wrapped up the Charlie story was quite an easy write around for the actress being busy. Although, the whole return of The Waitress storyline never should have happened in the first place.

A BRAVE NEW SHOW:

This season has been so insulting to me. As an avid follower of Heroes, I have long waited for a good storyline that carries over long spans of episodes. Instead, I was treated to a half episode reason for the show’s greatest character to turn good. The entire plot of season one was introduced in the first 2 episodes. And it was followed through upon.

I have always followed Heroes through good and bad. The first season is very close to my heart and I lived through seasons 2 and 3 with hope but I can now say that I am done with Heroes.

Tim Kring & Co. have proven that they cannot sustain a level of quality that is neccessary to follow a great first season. They have failed. 3 seasons now. They have failed.

So why am I on Heroespodcast.com and saying all these negative things? Well, someone needs to know. I was once one of those people who said “everyone who left is going to regret it”. Well I’m officially behind any decision to cancel this show.

Both the acting and writing on this show have gone down the slumps.

NBC and Tim Kring should seriously be ashamed of what they deliver to devoted fans. There is no excuse anymore. I was fine with the Sophmore Slump, depressed by the Junior Year, and now I have graduated from this terrible terrible Senior Year with hopes that maybe I’ll find a new show that can take away this bad taste in my mouth.

I have shared this show with one of the most important people in my life. We have watched every new episode as it airs. Two nights ago, we turned to eachother and realized that this show is dead. It has run its course.

Like a bad break up, this show was once great, it dwindled away and there was hope, but in the end, it just didn’t work out.

My suggestion to Tim Kring: Please put your mind on something new. Make something that you can be proud to put your name on. Mr. Kring, this series is dead.

Stephen King’s most successful method of writing is “Kill Your Darlings”.

Had Noah died in this episode, this would have been much more effective.

Had ANYONE died in this episode, this would have been much more effective.

Mr. Kring, in your next series, please..Kill Your Darlings.

Heroes is a lot like Nathan Petrelli. It dies every season and yet keeps coming back. Except this time. This time it’s going to stick.

Goodbye Heroes, whether you’re done or not, it is now clear that the Heroes I knew died a long long time ago.

And I definitely did not feel the ‘epic’ battle of the fight scene between Samuel and Peter. Pushing dirt back and forth, and the big stopper, pulling the power out of the fight by removing the ‘batteries’ (carnival folk).

It was ok. I’d have to hear the treatment for the next season to develop enthusiasm.

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I wonder if any of the specials will get some celebrity status because they’re not just known to some gov’t agency, but to the public. I want to see Sylar on TRL

Still loved the last 15 minutes of that episode! Let’s hope it’s not the last episode ever for Heroes.

I hope that tonight, we can just see Heroes or #Heroes trending since the show isn’t canceled and the point was made.

Hiro’s statement about is grim future (whether true now or not)
Lydia’s power of empathy, it has to have some good affect on Sylar
the memories from Nathan and Matt that remain in his psyche

I see Sylar trying to be good, feeling conflicted, but not wholly bad again. The others will have to stop hacking on him as well, as Sylar needs the approbation of the people around him. This will lend him a more interesting note than just being the Villain.

Peter did not forgive Sylar but he is a step closer to accepting his desire to be a better person. And who would be good at teaching him that…Peter, of course. It was both Peter’s acceptance of Sylar’s wants, and Sylar’s desire to get out of the nightmare that brought the wall down.

@WolvenSpectre: Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli) is not going to be in the show anymore!! Read the news, man.

I bet there will even be a touching scene where Sylar gives up his name and saves Peter sacrificing himself, then as they switch control of the body Nathan thanks and forgives Gabriel who will claim to not be worth it, then call Peter his brother as fate keeps pushing him to be.

Parkman will disobey his wife and run to help and she will throw down the “or I will leave you ultimatum” at which time he will get a glance that she has been hiding something, and when she won’t tell him he probes her mind and finds out that the child is not his, she just named it after him and is afraid and wants him for his powers… not for love.

on a side note it seems to me that Peter is going down a very dark path. yes he is always doing the “Right” thing. but more and more he dosn’t listen to anyone and dose what he feels right regardless of anyone’s feelings.. that’s not very empathy.

I’m a big Heroes fan, but the last three episodes have just been frustrating to watch.

Why haven’t you posted it online yet? I presume you would normally post it as soon as you record it.

But then again, you’re doing it all for the love of it, and not receiving any money for it. So we should be grateful for anything I suppose.

So thanks for all your efforts, guys, and I’m sure I’m speaking for everyone when I say we CAN’T WAIT for your next podcast to be available on the rss feed or on ITunes !!

Thanks again

#Fixed Thank you!

Tramadol cod. Cheap tramadol prescriptions online. Tramadol. Tramadol 50mg….

Heroes!

And what’s more is that “the number of downloads on BitTorrent has exceeded the average viewership on US television”. So I guess Graham is right when he says that the low ratings do not take into account the number of downloads. This is just BitTorrent. So imagine more viewership from Hulu etc!

Just guessing.

Spidy- I don’t think we’re going to see Alice again…. Not going off of anything, I just don’t expect to hear from her again.

Some translations change Church to Kingdom

And the healing ability doesn’t work on dead people, they’ve stated that on the show.

It wouldn’t have mattered if his powers weren’t working, as soon as Peter stopped using the power stopping ability, Sylar would have healed.
It’s Ok though, you don’t have to like it all

What shoulda happened is that Syler should have been STILL prevented from using his powers, and HE should have died when he fell off that roof!

SAMUEL is the “real” bad guy now, and his powers should climb to bear that out. Anyone who would kill his own brother, blame the feds, electrically zapp that college chick, etc, etc…is MUCH worse than Syler! (Oh, Syler killed his own mother? NOT! She wasn’t even his real mommie – doesn’t count! And he couldn’t kill his dad when he had the chance! PLUS…he needs to be available for the next “Search for Spock”!)

Joe, would you be against the producers of Heroes setting an end date, ala LOST, to give the show a fitting end and to avoid retreading water?

I think that’s what this show needs right now. The reason I think that people have been turned away is that there is no real mysteries ahead. The Looming Season Long Threat is Samuel. I don’t think that’s enough of a threat to people who stopped Bombs and Viruses.

As I learned in my ScreenWriting Classes, if your main threat can be taken down by one bullet in a sci-fi show, then there’s no threat to begin with.

http://www.screenjunkies.com/tvnews/exclusive-heroes-will-most-likely-get-5th-season

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b156121_this_just_in_heroes_expected_end_ugly.html

Why is this episode called the Fifth Stage?
I’m beginning to grow tired of episode titles that have literally nothing to do with the episode or are just plain retarded.

Wonky.

This episode has pretty much solidified that Heroes is still a show that can entertain. But that’s about it anymore. I, as a big fan of the show, no longer have the desire to speculate where the show is heading. I say this because I feel that the writers of Heroes can not sustain a level quality from one episode to another.

I agree that this has been the strongest season since the first. It has been extremely interesting and entertaining. But it just doesn’t have the sort of “weight” that season one had.

By “weight” I mean that things just sort of happen for no real motivated reason. Characters have been introduced only to be sidelined. Main characters sort of act on a whim, like Peter just out of nowhere getting excessively violent in this episode. I think it all comes down to the writers having a hard time grasping who these people are.

I completely agree that when Kring writes an episode, something feels “off”. I would also blame the pace of this episode. It literally felt like some scenes were rehearsals filmed in slow motion. When HRG says “get in the bathroom.”, there is zero sense of urgency. In my head, I saw that scene being a lot more intense than it was.

Nathan’s death scene really has no weight to it. Think about it. He has “died” 3 times before. All were actually physical deaths. This “soul death” was beautiful to look at but I just felt like “if EW didn’t spoil this a month ago as a sticking death, I would assume Nathan would be back somehow.”

Did anyone find some of the scenes to just feel wonky? The ripped-off Kevin-James looking guy felt so unrealistic. There was no motivation for cutting a coed in the face with a broken bottle.

And again with the montage of different Heroes to close out the episode. Similar to Season 2’s finale but this one had some sort of context as it sort of marked out Samuel’s targets.

But what is really the benefit of showing a scene from a future episode in this montage? In a show already riddled in chronological holes, it just makes no sense to me.

I am a BIG Heroes fan. I really am. I have followed this podcast since day one. It just gets to me to see so much progress in a season, only to have it start teeter into convoluted story-telling again.

My favorite episode of Heroes is Company Man (typical, I know) and HRG has always been my favorite character. I have to admit, I HATED how HRG was written in this episode. He just seemed so awkward and unintelligent. Everything he said just made me think “why does he seem so awkward?”

For all the trashing I’ve done on this episode, let me back up a bit. Season 4 has been superb. The whole Carnival aspect of the show has been pretty well-handled. Samuel has been the best villian since Sylar. There is a climax brewing. Plus, Sylar’s path to his body has been a much better vehicle for him than say, finding his father. Twice. I’d rate the entire season up to before this episode as a 8/10.

But The Fifth Stage really irked me. The fact that Nathan’s death wasn’t the final scene just shows where the writers’ priority lies. Claire’s story should have been the secondary storyline of this episode. There was too much here. The Evil Kevin James subplot brought about nothing but another reason for Claire to show her healing.

The FX in this episode were okay but the multiple man effects were cringeworthy. There was literally no point in that guy having that power if only to pop up behind someone.

The Nathan falling and transforming into Sylar was the high point of the episode. Should’ve been the cliffhanger. That one FX shot alone earns this episode a point.

The show is entertaining, it’s experimental, and flawed. So many people have hopped off the Heroes wagon and many were beginning to get back on. This episode turned away a lot of the people I know who were gaining interest.

Hopefully 2010 will make me forget I ever made it to the Fifth Stage.

I give it 4 “stages” out of 10

And everyone is open to disagree. I really don’t mind. I just hate to see an episode that is written by the Showrunner and has Peter vs. Sylar, come out this wonky.

Vincent, you’re right, Peter is the most powerful and I don’t care that Sylar has all the powers. Samuel wants Peter but most would argue that he’s trying to get HRG to the carnival. I think Graham and I are going to talk about that a bit in the podcast. As far as a trailer is concerned…. You can stop looking because NBC has completely held back. As disappointed as I am, I think it’s an interesting move that will keep our eyes peeled to NBC and definitely generate some buzz when it does finally hit.

Thanks for listening

Just who is Samuel really after…? It’s gotta be Peter. Samuel’s got Claire who is connected to Peter. Why Peter? Well let’s remember Samuel and Peter’s meeting at the park. Samuel realized that Peter is indeed the powerful empath, but mostly in his character. Samuel realized Peter’s deplores lies. So, to get to the most powerful hero, (right, Joe?!) for Samuel to get what he wants, he needs to get in good with Peter.

Thanks for the hard work guys!

A podcast about Heroes going downhill…. good luck man.

Sylar is probably in Peter’s head as said above. Pretty obvious if you ask me.

is this justice when the judge won’t even let the court LOOK at the evidence? Is it justice to make the victims pay for the “145 hours” it took for the NBC lawyers to draft the dismissal? Did it take one lawyer 145 hours or did it take 145 lawyers 1 hour?

If he quits stealing, his career will be over. if he doesn’t quit stealing, he’ll eventually get popped. What’s next, Timmy?

By the by, the ratings for last night’s episode has increase again (4 weeks in a row). How awesome!!

That made my husband and I roar with laughter. What a great line, best of the show. SO Sylar, so baaaad!

luvHeroes – That’s really interesting!! Never thought of it that way.

Thanks for listening/watching/contributing and making this 10th Wonder Heroes world go round

Keep it up!

Thanks for doing these shows.

Thanks!

is there any way I can get the audio off the live show replay? The ustream isn’t working for me (connection keeps dropping out…).

Claudio

So looking forward to tonight’s episode!

Thanks for everyone’s patience as well. You all rock.

what your favorite hero/villain ?

Sylar’s long hair was kinda odd, where did that come from?

Liking Samuel more and more though.

Angela is a BEEP of a mother. I can’t stand her.

Claries story-Move on, nothing of value here.

I see some people(9th wonder podcast) saying this was one of the best eps of the season which I just don’t agree with at all.

Can’t wait for the podcast.

does it mean that he can only have one power at a time ?

I`m confuse fill me in guys

No Video replay will be available because there was a fail on that side of things. It was only me anyway so you didn’t miss much. There should be an audio portion available at some point.

Thanks to everyone for listening! This season is looking good.

–Cassidy