Thoughts on the finale of Heroes: Chapter 2

After watching Heroes last night, I have some thoughts. In no particular order (and definitely spoilers ahead):

* Wasn't the fate of Adam just a bit too much like the fate of Sloane on Alias? Surely the two shows have a lot of overlapping viewers. It seemed a bit too unoriginal considering Sloane was buried alive (and was fated to live forever) only a year and a half ago.

* Did you know that David Anders is only 24 years old? I learned this from reading People's Sexiest Man Alive issue. (Some might argue that's a crown Anders deserves to wear.) He definitely looks a lot older. Not that it makes him any less attractive. Additionally, he's from Oregon. Bailey told me that, and People confirmed.

* This entire season I have thought that actress who plays Maya, Dania Ramirez, might be the worst actress on television. All the whining and panic was very one-note. Then I did a search for her on IMDB and realized she played AJ's girlfriend Blanca on The Sopranos. I hadn't even realized it was the same actress. She was far better in The Sopranos.

* Speaking of Maya, what a complete waste of Claire's healing blood to use it on her. When Sylar shot her I looked at Gobo and said "he should have done that five episodes ago." Alas, we will have to deal with her more in the next season.

* As a fan of Veronica Mars it pains me to say this, but I am beginning to wonder whether fellow short person and vegetarian Kristen Bell can act. Because of the things we have in common (the aforementioned being short and being vegetarians) I really want to believe she can act. But every role I see her in she plays snarky. Granted, the only roles I have watched her in are Veronica, Elle, and the voice on Gossip Girl. Obviously, the Gossip Girl narrator is supposed to be snarky. And Veronica was supposed to be snarky...at times. Yes, most of the time, but not all of the time. Sometimes I thought her snark was overdone. And now on Heroes it's all snark all of the time as well. I don't think that the role of Elle is written particularly snarkily, but perhaps that's what the directors and writers wanted her to do with it. Regardless, there were moments in last night's episode where she wasn't supposed to be snarky (instead she was supposed to be hurt, lost, vulnerable, immature) and the snark permeated throughout. I haven't come to a decision on this one, but does anyone else feel the same way?

* What power of Peter's allowed him to clench the vial of Shanti virus in his fist and turn it into dust? His electric powers (from Elle)? His radioactive powers (from Ted)? I'm a little confused about that.

* Speaking of Peter's radioactivity, such a big part of the end of last season was about how if Peter (or Ted) got too excited about something, they would turn radioactive. It wasn't something either of them could control, except to calm down. But Peter got worked up during this season and the radioactivity was never an issue. Does this mean once he blew up himself and Nathan the radioactive powers went away? It didn't work that way for Ted. A little confusing.

* I was surprised that Nathan was one of the Heroes who kicked it in the last episode. My money was on Parkman.

* The actors who play Mama Petrelli and Nathan really resemble. It's like they have the same jaw. Great casting on that front.

* It seems like the superpowers the new heroes are getting are less and less exciting: having your eyes turn black and killing everyone around you; being able to copy anything you see. I wonder why we haven't seen anyone who is faster than the speed of light yet. (I guess Nathan is (was) when he was flying, but I'm talking more generally.) Or how about someone who can leap tall builings in a single bound?

* I'm hoping that the writers are able to do a little more with Chapter 3 than they did with Chapter 2. I know Chapter 2 was highly criticized, and rightly so (although the last few episodes were far better than the rest of the season). I liked the idea of learning about the older generation, but instead of delving into that the season became a sorry rehash of Chapter 1, with the heroes trying to save the public from a worldwide plague while evil others worked in the wings against them, trying to exploit their powers. Again, Peter's powers and Hiro's powers were most instrumental in saving the world. And now the teaser for Chapter 3 is that Sylar has his powers back. I really hope Chapter 3 is more than just "Sylar is trying to take everyone's powers, we have to stop him."