Heroes kicked off its third season with a three hour premiere. The first hour was a recap and behind-the-scenes episode. The next two hours consisted of the first two episodes of the season, “Second Coming” and “The Butterfly Effect.

With the start of the new season, began the start of a new volume entitled “Villains.” Already with the first two episodes, we have seen a significant darkening in the series. Many new villainous characters have been introduced and several other baddies returned. We also began to see how some of the more noble characters may become tempted or corrupted by their power.

It seems this will be a season of change with many of the central characters undergoing some dramatic change in the first two episodes. Suresh has injected himself with what he believes is the source of all human evolution and what creates the powers of all the Heroes. Peter has become trapped in the body of a man who has recently escaped from the Level 5 prison where the Company kept the most dangerous individuals. Nathan has been cured by Linderman, who only he can see, and been offered the chance to become a New York state senator. Nikki is back, but as Tracy Stroud and with the power to freeze. I could go on, but I won’t.

It seems that the writers really wanted to make a drastic change from last season and wipe the slate clean. That is probably because last season was not that well received and, with the writer’s strike, felt rushed and incomplete. I’m glad to see that, but I almost wonder if they weren’t a little too eager to make progress. The first two episodes have done a lot to jump start the story, so much that it kind of felt like not one character really got the screen time that he or she deserved. Just when I was getting into a plot line, it would switch over to another. The premiere was very fast paced, but, overall, it was very good.

I’m looking forward to see what is in store for the characters this season. I think season three will definitely have a better plot than last season. Not many of the original characters from season two are still around, so everyone’s favorite characters should get the screen time that they lacked last year. Overall, I think I would say I was satisfied with the premiere. I wasn’t blown away (like with the first season), but I definitely wasn’t disappointed either.