Manic Monday: "Some family..."

[Warning: This post contains details of last night’s episodes of “Heroes” and “24.”]

I had so convinced myself that Linderman was Claire’s father on “Heroes,” I never saw any other possibilities—even though a close examination of the previews would have told me. So, I couldn’t help but gasp at the big reveal that Nathan is Claire’s father.

The strength of “Heroes” has always been its ability to connect all of the characters and this one is a great twist. Peter obviously felt some kind of connection with Claire, and now we understand why.

But my favorite part of this somewhat slow episode was the continuing evolution of H.R.G., who I think is becoming one of the most fascinating characters on TV. Yes, he appears to be a bad guy; but he clearly has nothing but love for his family, as he’ll do whatever it takes to protect them—even steal their memories.

As Claire and her mother would say, “some family.”

But that phrase could also apply to the Bauer family on “24”…

One of the biggest complaints about “24” this season is that Jack returned to his old self too quickly. In the first four hours, he was a shell of a man who could no longer use his old torturous methods to get the job done. But by the end of hour five, he was smothering Graem with a plastic bag. It just didn’t work for some people.

I hope those people were watching last night as the shattered Jack returned in full force. How great were those torture scenes? Jack knew he had to do whatever was necessary to get the truth out of Graem, but it was still his brother. The old Jack would probably have done it without a second thought, but this new broken Jack couldn’t bear it as he held his brother to get him through the pain—all the while still screaming at him to tell the truth. Yes, Jack had already tortured him, but Jack was able to contain the pain Graem felt. He couldn’t stop it this time.

And it only makes sense that the new Jack’s emotions would turn on a dime. He was anguished about torturing his brother, until Graem confessed to ordering the murders of his friends (Jack stumbling into the chair was priceless.). And when Graem dared tell Jack they were the same, Jack’s rage came out full force as he’d finally had enough. Even the usually quiet Burke had to take action as he felt Jack losing control of the situation. It only made sense that the disapproving look of his father was the only thing that could snap Jack back to reality. And again, I have to believe that only the broken Jack would fall for his father’s lies so easily.

Yes, I admit that I saw it coming, and yes, I admit the whole “how am I doing” reveal was a touch soapy; but the possibilities of this story are so numerous, I don’t care. The fact that Jack will have to take down his father is just SO AWESOME…

“Some family…”