Why This Struggling TV Show Has Generation Y Written All Over It

A new chapter of NBC’s Heroes started last night. And while most people were cringing to see what offbeat plot twists the writers could possibly err on this year, I was still sitting on the edge of my seat.

Heroes is my guilty pleasure. Even though the ratings suck and critics are cutting the show zero slack, I’m a sucker for good character development. That’s what keeps me watching week after week.

Consider it my inner Gen-Y enthusiast talking, but Heroes has Generation Y written all over it.

Okay, we don’t have superpowers. But it’s easy to see that Heroes isn’t really about superpowers at all. It’s about emerging into adulthood, discovering uncanny abilities and figuring out where we fit in an ever-changing world.

Here are a few elements of Heroes that keep me thinking about the Gen-Y community …

Emerging from the shadow of our parents—following our own path.

From over-protective parenting to attempting to blow up Manhattan, the young heroes on Heroes have some serious mommy/daddy issues. And that’s not to say that Gen-Y parents are bent on world domination, but we’ve taken a ton of heat for how our parent’s have influenced our lives.

Take Noah Bennet—Claire’s Dad—the epitome of a helicopter parent. Or Angela and Arthur Petrelli—so remarkably consumed with their children’s future that they’ve been priming them since birth.

Even Sylar—the uber-villian on Heroes who suddenly became good, then bad again—is constantly reminded by his elders that he’s “special.” If that doesn’t scream Gen-Y woe, I’m not sure what does.

Discovering our true strengths and using them for good (or evil).

We all have the capacity to use our strengths for good or for evil. Yet sometimes doing the right thing is harder than it looks.

Take Nathan Petrelli. He can fly. But his real power is on the political scene. He’s a mover and a shaker, inspired to change the world, but even gets his judgment clouded from time to time …

This season begins with Nathan selling out his friends to the U.S. government as they’re rounded up Guantanamo style. Still, it’s hard to consider Nathan a villain. He’s just lost.

One thing I love about Heroes is that it reminds us how hard it is to flawlessly develop our strengths. We all walk down the wrong path at some point. It’s all just a matter of how far we tread before we realize we need to turn around and walk somewhere else.

We are more powerful together than we could ever be apart.

The biggest flaw of all of the characters on Heroes is that they’re stubborn. Everyone wants to be the hero. And it ultimately makes saving the world a lot more complicated.

As seasons one and two will point out, things get climactic when our heroes finally start working together. This chapter seems to be no different, only it’s their own asses that they have to try and save.

I’m excited to see what happens to these characters as they face adversity together. Maybe Hiro will finally get the reality check he deserves. Because whenever he tries to “save the world” on his own, he screws something up.

Lesson learned: We all want to be heroes. But sometimes we’re stronger as a group than we could ever be apart.

Learning to embrace each other’s strengths to make a difference will be one of the greatest accomplishments we can make as a young, emerging community. And as anxious as I am to see how it all turns out on Heroes, I’m more interested to see how things turn out as Gen-Y matures as a community in the really world.

I guess we’ll just have to stay tuned and see …