I thought it was VERY interesting that the first episode of Villains was titled after it, and that Mohinder's end monologue was of the poem itself. For those of you who'd like to read it again:



I think it is really setting a structure for what the next few episodes are going to tackle, and why things are getting so crazy and coming undone. I am really, really excited and impressed with it. Anyone else have any feelings or theories as to the reasoning behind including the poem?

Thanks for posting that.

I knew that poem right away . . . I have an old videogame, called "The Ceremony of Innocence" and that poem was recited in the game too . . . haven't played it in years, since it was for Windows 95 . . . but it was a really cool game . . . this has nothing to do with "Heroes" though, so sorry.

I didn't know it as a poem but I did know the essays Joan Didian did called "Slouching towards Bethlehem"

I think your right - the poem is foreshadowing the season

Thank you for giving the reference for that quote. I was wondering where it came from. I'm not I like the spiritualism that has crept into the show, however. I'll have to wait it out. I also do not know why they call it "The Second Coming." This has a great significance for me personally and it has nothing to do with what is happening in this show.

You can't look at it simply from only a religious stand point. While that is the immediate interpretation, it i can also become a metaphor for the grander scheme of things.

With Nathan going bonkers and saying he saw God, I can see how it does seem a bit much though.

Personal analysis, based on nothing but opinion and what we've seen so far:



Things are going round and round, getting worse every time. Pretty much describes what we've already this season. Peter came back to prevent his future from coming, but ended up making things worse.

Falconeering was a quite popular sport for a while- and is a form of hunting. The falconer would carry a hooded falcon on his gloved wrist, unhooding him when it was time to hunt. The bird was trained to return to its perch on the glove when the falconer uttered a call, usually a shrill whistle.
We now have the escaped villains. That's the prey? Angela, the head of the Company, is the falconer. Who, then, is the falcon? Sylar? Angela obviously has plans for him. Possibly Noah. He was the Company's best agent. Elle? Just because Angela appears to have fired her doesn't mean she's out of the picture.


This seems pretty obvious. The Organization is in chaos, falling apart at the seams.
The Lvl 5 prisoner, the worst of the worst, have been released upon the world. And they will kill, maim, destroy.
A world that had been unaware of the existence of Specials is about to get a rude awakening.


The best? Peter, Hiro, Mohinder, Claire. Throughout 2 seasons, their motives have always been to help. To be heroes. And yet, Peter has been shown to be willing to do anything to get the job done- even kill his own brother. Mohinder just went power mad out of a thirst for vengeance. Hiro doesn't even trust his best friend. Claire? She's lost, confused, and alone. She doesn't know anything anymore.
The worst? Sylar? Passionate intensity definitely describes him. What about Adam, Maury, Tracy and the others in the Angela's dream? From what the vision showed, that's definitely a fitting phrase.


This likely means Linderman, in whatever form he's in. There's far more to this story then people credit.


Spiritus Mundi=Spirit of the world
Something Matt's going to see while on his spirit walk?


Lion body and man's head. Something that is a hunter, a killer, with a human's intellect. Could this be the ultimate endpoint of Mohinder's foolishness? He becomes something less than human, while retaining portions of his humanity?
Or is this a larger problem? Obviously something, or someone, hunting. Not just hunting, but ravening?

The darkness drops=Chapter Finale. Not going to be pleasant.
This volume will get darker, and darker, and end ugly.

Actually, the name of the episode probably comes from the poem.

And the poem was very much anti-religious. Yeats himself believed that another religion would soon supplant Christianity.