By Melissa Girimonte
There was much excitement outside the Varsity Theater in Toronto as eager HEROES fans waited for a sneak peek at Season Three, courtesy of Global Television. I arrived at the theater and was met by picketers: men dressed in black, with dark sunglasses, holding signs that said “Darkness is coming”, and chanting phrases like “Make a choice, good or evil”, and “Level 5 is where evil resides”.
Once everyone was seated in the theater, and a large group photo of everyone in Sylar masks was taken, we were treated to the first hour of the Season Three Premiere. A few days later, I am still trying to decide if I was impressed or not.
I have always found it’s really tough to judge a season of HEROES based on its season premiere alone. I admit, in the first season, I wasn’t immediately hooked, but I was glad that I continued to watch, as it built into a fantastic tale. Season One was a tough act to follow, and Season Two fell short, mainly because of its length due to the WGA strike, and because of what I’d consider “filler”. I was very annoyed by most of Hiro’s story arc in Japan with Takezo Kensei, and the West/Claire romance. I do hold firm, though, that if it was a standard season, the annoying bits would have had far less impact on the whole.
Based on the first half of the Season Three Premiere, there are some stories I’m looking forward to learning more about, and one storyline that I’m annoyed by. I am thrilled that Sylar seems to be back and badder than ever! He’s one of my favorite villains on any series, and personally, I would like to see more of him this year. A major discovery is made in the first hour regarding the abilities and what triggers them, and I like the implications of this discovery, and how it could potentially be disastrous on a global scale. There are some philosophical questions brought up early on as well, mainly the existence of God versus playing God, and I’d really like to see how those themes play out. Most intriguing is Level 5, and the introduction of the “Villains” – I cheered when I saw Francis Capra! I was disappointed to discover that Hiro is once again operating in the annoying-as-all-heck department, and immediately starts this chapter with a predictably dumb move.
At this point, I think the intrigue far outweighs the annoyance, but how this next chapter in the Heroes saga plays out has yet to be seen. Will HEROES ever recapture its Season One glory? Or will the upcoming season continue on a downward spiral? I guess I’ll have to keep watching. 
Melissa is a Toronto-based TV blogger and music journalist. A TV fan since birth, it was only in recent years that she discovered her love for writing about what she was watching. After contributing to several online and print magazines as a freelance writer, she started her own TV blog, The Televixen, in 2008. She’s also founder and editor of Toonage.ca, an online music magazine.