The polyvalent religious imagery and language was back again on Heroes tonight [SPOILERS in what follows]. The “family” of the carnival is explicitly likened to a cult at one point, the first of the two episodes had Biblical resonances (“Upon This Rock”), and the motif of water flowing and flowers blooming in the desert evokes Biblical imagery – not to mention it being for all intents and purposes “miraculous”, however much there may be an alleged “scientific” nature to the abilities people develop.Samuel describes himself at one point as “not a good guy” but also “not all bad.” That is a key part of the message of Heroes, and it has been all along. The good can go bad, and the bad can be redeemed, and so it is not a question of ontology or nature but of the choices we make, with the possibility of making different choices in the future.
And to the extent that many religions (even ones that in theory emphasize the possibility of redemption) can engage at times in us-vs.-them language, the complicated ambiguous morality on Heroes provides a healthy corrective.
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