Heroes Season 2 Speculation
Speculation about Season 2! There will probably be spoilers in the comments, since this spec is based on an interview with Tim Kring soon after 1.20 "Five Years Gone" aired. There is also a tiny spoiler for Season 2, from Jack Coleman. Of course, spoilers for the entirety of Season 1.



I remember an interview where one of the writers (or maybe Kring) said that "Five Years Gone" introduced them to several new character combinations that they hadn't considered before, and that they were looking forward to exploring in the future.

Of course, this has got me wondering what they've got in store for us in Season 2. I've been pondering the match-ups that were featured most prominently in 5YG that *hadn't* been explored before. Now, as I understand it from interviews, press conferences, and so on, the writing/producing team are 6-9 episodes ahead of us in terms of storytelling, and I'm taking this into consideration with my list. So, for example, Matt and Bennet were featured prominently as a combination in this episode, but I wouldn't call them a "new" match-up because they interacted a fair bit in the latter half of Season 1.

So which pairings could Tim Kring be referring to?

• Peter and Hiro: This is the most likely one, especially since Kring seemed so jazzed up about PresentHiro and PresentPeter meeting up for the first time in Exploding Man. He mentioned it in two or three interviews, as well as the NBC LiveBlog.
  
  I remember being especially struck with these two when the episode aired, because I felt that the writers had chosen a great way to really sell us on a dystopian future within the space of 45 minutes, by showing us the two most innocent, wide-eyed, and optimistic characters at the frontlines, battle-scarred and hardened and depressed. That really got to me, more than the news reports and the talks of genocide--the fact that these two looked so emotionless, so utterly lacking in hope.
  
  I'd be interested to see if they explore this possible dynamic further in Season 2. As cadesama says, Peter and Claire are already too cute for words--throw Hiro into the mix and we may all go into diabetic shock. But in all seriousness, it would be a terrible waste to *not* have Peter and Hiro interacting, in some ways. I want them to meet before they lose most of their innocence and idealism, and I want them to drive Nathan crazy with their combined geeky fanboyishness. I have this theory that Nathan is so relaxed and at ease and affectionate with Hiro because he's basically Peter, without the emotional baggage. So Nathan can be friends with him and enjoy it, without going out of his mind with worry the way he does whenever he has to deal with Peter. Can you imagine the three of them in the same room? It would totally rock.
  
  
• Peter and Niki: I was firmly against the idea of any and all ships for Peter in Season 2, simply because I felt too pessimistic about the possibility of Kring and Co. casting any actress who would have even one-half the chemistry with Milo that he has with Hayden. *sigh* But cadesama makes a convincing case for Peter/Niki, and I think I could go with it if it's done well.
  
  At first when I saw them kiss in the promo I thought, What? What's going on? Oh, that's *never* going to work. But I thought it actually played out surprisingly well onscreen. There was never any suggestion that this was True Love or even a Romance. Rather, it was suggested that they'd turned to each other because of what they'd both suffered, and they found understanding and comfort and safety and companionship in each other, something steady to stave off the loneliness. My take on their relationship is that they'd kidded themselves into thinking that this was a relationship of convenience, with no emotional involvement beyond that of comrades in the "war" Niki mentioned, but that they'd grown to care for each other more than they were willing to admit, or were even consciously aware of. There's definitely potential there.
  
  The only thing I worry about is the fan reaction. Oh, the potential for wank is enormous. Apparently there have already been rumblings of ship wars between Nathan/Peter and Peter/Claire shippers. Just imagine what would happen if Peter/Niki happened. Add the possibility for wank if DL is dead, and...Yikes.
  
  An Aside: If they do decide to go with Peter/Niki, then it will be official: Ali Larter has the Best. Job. EVER.
  
  
• Bennet and Hiro: This is certainly a combination we've never seen before. I wasn't too hooked by what we saw in the episode, mostly because I don't think Masi's performance as FutureHiro was one of his strongest. Put PresentHiro and Bennet together, though, and you have definite possibilities, because Jack Coleman and Masi know how to bring the funny. I don't really have deep thoughts on this one, though.
  
  
• Nathan and Mohinder...? I'm putting a question mark there because, obviously, we didn't see Nathan in this episode, not really. But Sendhil and Adrian did work well with each other (certainly better than they did in The Fix), so they might be planning to do something with this.
  

ETA: I just remembered that in a recent E!Online interview, Jack Coleman said that HRG would be paired up with a "well known and well loved" character in Season 2. Gee, thanks, Jack: that only describes every member of the frickin' cast. XD