DVD review: Heroes Season Two

A version of this article ran in Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

The second season of Tim Kring’s “Heroes” faces a bit of a sophomore slump.
Whereas the first season focused on ordinary people with extraordinary abilities, the second season takes advantage of the roots of these powers and delves into the sins of the main characters’ parents.

As the season begins, time-traveling Hiro (Masi Oka) has transported to feudal Japan, where he decides to stay to help his childhood hero Takezo Kensei become the
legendary samurai he’s supposed to become.

The Bennets have relocated to California, where Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is supposed to lay low. Her adoptive father, Noah (Jack Coleman) is working with Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) to take down the Company, the mysterious organization experimenting
on individuals with super-powers.
Peter, who was responsible for saving New York City from an atomic explosion at the end of the first season, awakens in Ireland with amnesia.
New characters Maya and her brother Alejandro unknowingly find themselves helping a “Heroes” foe back to prominence as they make a pilgrimage from South America to find
Mohinder to learn more about their powers.
While the disparate threads of the season eventually come together, it’s obvious that the show was hindered by the writers’ strike, causing the Shanti virus storyline to come to a
quick resolution. The season wrapped with only 11 episodes.
The core ideas, cast and writers behind “Heroes” are still sound, so a stronger Season 3 seems very likely.
To find out what might have been, check out the special features on
the DVD set.
The show’s writers elaborate on their plans for the second half of the season, most of which were never filmed.