1.01 Genesis

In India, Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), a young professor, mourns the suspicious death of his father. Mohinder believes the death occurred because of his father’s wild but possibly true theories about man’s pending evolution into genetically enhanced ‘superheroes’. When Mohinder visits his father’s apartment to gather notes, he finds an American intruder scooping up secrets.

At the same time, we meet people who may be starting to evolve: a cheerleader who videotapes her failed efforts to kill herself; a young man, a Japanese man who can control the flow of time; a man whose dreams are becoming real; a single mom who is seeing someone watching her; an artist whose paintings predict the future.

The Indian professor journeys to New York and takes the same apartment – and same day job (driving a taxi) as his dad. Now he is being stalked by the same person or people who may have killed his father. And – to complicate things more – there are threads that tie these people together in ways they cannot imagine.

They all seemed destined to try to stop a large-scale explosion in New York City, as painted by Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera). 

Comments

There is polish, care, and good writing and acting in what I believe is a carefully planned amalgamation of successful TV shows like Smallville and 24. New life is breathed into the patterns by the ethnic cast and overseas locations, and there’s even a non-American, non-English speaker as a major cast member.

I’m not sure at this point in time how I feel emotionally about the choice of making the ‘Big Disaster To Avoid’ a huge explosion in New York City. It’s now over 5 years since 9-11, but it still brings back memories.

Nits

Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) superpowers seem inconsistent. After she jumps off the bridge, she is still tucking in exposed ribs a few minutes later. But when she saves the man from the fire, she never seemed to get burned at all. And her regeneration in the food disposal is almost instantaneous.

Memorable Moments

• Mohinder lustily stamping on a cockroach in his dad’s apartment (which is a veiled contradiction of his own statements earlier about how cockroaches are highly evolved)

Quotable Quotes

"The Human Genome Project has discovered that tiny variations in man’s genetic code are taking place at increasingly rapid rates. Teleportation, levitation, tissue regeneration: is this outside the realm of possibility? Or is man entering a new gateway to evolution? Is he finally standing at the threshold to true human potential?"
– Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy)

"Use your death grip, Spock! The death grip!"
- worker in office to Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka)

1.02 Don’t Look Back

Mohinder returns to his apartment to find a suspicious exterminator doing something to the phone jack. He is saved by his neighbor Eden (Nora Zehetner), a former friend of his father. As they trade knowledge and check phone messages, they find a memory stick that contains a method for finding other superheroes. The phone messages also allude to a man called ‘Sylar’.

Niki wonders who killed the two dead thugs she found when she woke up. Her double graciously cleans up the mess she made, stuff the bodies in the trunk of their car, and provides a map of where to dump them.

Peter wonders why his brother Nathan can fly.

Hiro, teleported to New York, finds a comic book that already contains the illustrated story of his life, right up to the present. It was written and drawn by Isaac. But when Hiro visits Isaac, he finds the artist has been brutally murdered. As a tremendous explosion blooms outside the window, Hiro teleports back to Japan and the ‘present’.

Claire wants to find out about her real parents, but her father dissuades her, saying she should put it off and just enjoy life. He has ulterior motives that have yet to be fully explained. And now he has the missing tape that shows his daughter’s ‘talents’.

We also meet Matt (Greg Grunberg), a policeman who can hear thoughts. His talent enables him to find a girl hiding from a brutal murderer named ‘Sylar’ (yes, the same ‘Sylar’). But his inside knowledge also makes him look like a suspect, and he is arrested.

Comments

The ‘cockroach’ theme continues here, as a supposed exterminator is actually planting listening devices in Mohinder’s apartment.

Nits

All over the world, police organizations are notorious for protecting each other internally, and often looking for suspects elsewhere even when all clues point to the possible guilt of an officer. But here, based only on innuendo, a detective immediately clamps handcuffs on a policeman – because he has found a missing girl!

Memorable Moments

• Peter looking down and discovering that he is hovering

• Hiro turning back time to leave the scene of the explosion in New York

Quotable Quotes

"For all his bluster, it is the sad province of man that he cannot choose his triumph. He can only choose how he will stand when the call of destiny comes, hoping that he’ll have the courage to answer."
- Mohinder’s closing narration

1.03 One Giant Leap

Peter can’t seem to fly anymore, and Nathan is too busy campaigning to care. But Peter has located a copy of a book by Mohinder’s father.

Mohinder is frustrated with getting nowhere. When he throws his father’s notebook computer, a paper notebook falls out. It contains clues, addresses, and hair samples, perhaps from people who have ‘evolved’. One address is for ‘Sylar’ in Queens, New York.

Matt is being grilled by Audrey (Clea DuVall), but when he reads her mind, she realizes he is not a killer, and instead asks him to work for the FBI.

Simone tires of what she sees as Isaac’s drug-induced ravings, refusing to believe that he is painting glimpses of the future. She leaves him.

Hiro tries but fails to make contact with Isaac; if only he could tell the artist that his vision of New York going nuclear is true! Hiro does finally convince his friend Ando that he can bend time by freezing a scene and plucking a little girl from in front of a truck just before she is about to be hit.

Niki visits her mother-in-law, who defends her son D.L. (Micah’s father) even though Niki says he is a murderer.

Mohinder and Eden explore Sylar’s creepy apartment, where there is also a map showing people who may be genetically advanced. Sylar isn’t likely to surprise them, because he is, at that moment, trying to get the girl whom he missed at his last mass murder. Despite the girl being kept in a safe place, he is easily able to infiltrate, and later, we see why. Not only can he absorb multiple gunshots and make people turn their guns on themselves, he can move vertically to great heights to escape. It seems he may be a superhero gone bad.

Hiro and Ando journey together to New York City to stop it from going nuclear.

Peter tells Simone that he will no longer be sitting with her dieing father, that he is meant for bigger things.

Claire is ‘killed’ during a brutal attempted rape by Brody (Matt Lanter).

While driving home, Niki is stopped by a ‘policeman’ who tells her that Mr Lindeman (the mobster from whom she borrowed 30 thousand  dollars) wants to see her.

Simone and Peter meet at Nathan’s fundraising dinner, but Peter walks when Nathan lies during his speech and says that Peter recently attempted to commit suicide.

Hiro and Ando arrive in LA, but rather than flying to New York, Hiro says they must follow the comic book script and drive (in a Nissan Versa). First stop: Las Vegas, which pleases Ando, as his favorite website features striptease videos by a sexy girl known as Las Vegas Niki (yes, our Niki).

After an argument with his wife Janice, Matt seeks the solace of a bar, but reading the depressing thoughts of others isn’t very pleasing. But there is one tough looking black man who cannot be read and who meets and returns his stare – is this D.L.? As Matt gets up to leave, he feels dizzy, reels, and passes out on the floor.

Mohinder and Eden lead police back to Sylar’s apartment, but it is empty, and all incriminating evidence has been removed.

Peter punches Nathan twice for saying he tried to commit suicide.

On a rainy night, Peter and Simone share a first kiss under a shared red umbrella, and, back in his apartment, Isaac sees his sketch of that moment and knows it is happening.

Claire awakens, in the morgue, alone, undergoing an autopsy, her chest split open to reveal bloody ribs!

Comments

It’s becoming obvious that creator Tim Kring vision for a "…big show" can be realized. The characters and possibilities are so open-ended that, if handled well, this show could go on for years without ever repeating itself.

Eden (Nora Zehetner) is very skinny. Surely she is bordering on anorexic. They say television adds ten pounds. If so, she is probably invisble in real life.

Nits

It seems presumptuous for Eden to have and use her key to Mohinder’s apartment when she could have knocked first. She almost gets shot because of this. I also have a little twinge of misgiving about why Claire was making a video of all her exploits. At the time, it seemed like something a teenager would do, but when her father discovered it, it then seemed like a contrivance designed only to be discovered.

It seems unlikely that Nathan would view Peter’s suicide attempt as a positive way to gain votes.

Memorable Moments

• Time as frozen by Hiro

• Hiro shows Ando the next panel in the comic book, where the large woman sitting between them is sleeping on Ando’s shoulder. Ando’s expression is priceless (and sure enough, it happens)

• Subtitles when Hiro and Ando speak in Japanese – isn’t this a unique touch for an American TV show? I just hope they keep doing this

Quotable Quotes

Hiro: My only concern is…whether I need to hide my true identity. Perhaps a costume?
Ando: You even mention tights and a cape, I’m going home.

Peter: You son of a bitch!
Nathan: Easy Pete, that’s our mother you’re talking about.

"This force – evolution – is not sentimental. Like the earth itself, it knows only the hard facts of life’s struggle with death. All you can do is hope and trust that when you’ve served its needs faithfully, there may still remain some glimmer of the life you once knew."
- Mohinder’s closing narration

1.04 Collision

Matt awakens on an operating table, hooked up to machines, peering up at Mr Bennet and the mystery man (who has telekinetic powers, which he uses to inflict pain on Matt from across the room). They are testing him, then plan to wipe his mind.

Hiro and Ando are in a Las Vegas casino. Hiro, Niki, and Micah pass by each other.

Niki meets with Linderman’s lackey, who asks her to catch a visiting politician in a compromising position to ensure that they’ll have him in their back pocket.

Claire partially heals her body and sneaks away from the autopsy table.

Mohinder tries to warn Nathan that he may be under threat.

Nathan arrives at Peter’s apartment to find that Simone has spent the night. Believing that Peter told Mohinder about their abilities, he tries but fails to pay Peter off to leave town.

Just as Mohinder is about to give up and go home to India, Peter shows up at his door.

Hiro and Ando win big at roulette, since Hiro can stop time and place the ball wherever he wants.

Niki tells her mom more about her violent dreams and her feeling that there is someone else inside of her. She apologizes to Micah for being different and for having to go work ‘on location’.

Peter tell Mohinder that his power is the ability to channel the powers of others when he is near them. He cannot do anything by himself. He convinces his skeptic friend to accompany him to see Isaac. But when they arrive, Isaac is in the middle of painting in a heroin-induced haze, and does not answer the door.

Simone finally begins to believe that Isaac perhaps can paint the future when he shows her that he painted a picture of she and Peter kissing in the rain seven weeks before it happened.

Claire is back at school and decides not to tell anyone about Brody’s evil deed. But Brody knows what happened and he’s shocked to see Claire intact. While Claire hears from Lori that Brody is a serial rapist, she watches him already aggresively courting another young woman, and perhaps she wonders if she should just keep quiet about what happened.

Niki can’t keep her part of the bargain with Nathan, but when she leaves, her other half returns and takes over.

As painted by Isaac, Brody confronts Claire in a deserted amphitheater. She extracts revenge in a way only she could: she asks to drive Brody’s car, then slams it at high speed into a wall.

Mr Bennet takes the opportunity of two sleeping forms apre sex to capture Niki.

As Peter and Mohinder take a train home, time freezes everyone except Peter and one other person: Hiro. Now, he speaks perfect English, and says he is from the future, and that he has a message…

Comments

The last episode had some weak writing, and its leanings toward the horror genre made me wonder if the show was spirally downward, or at least away from something that held interest for me. But this week took us back into the realm of psychological drama (with a bit of shock horror thrown in too), and the writing is very good.

I’m really impressed with the intensity of Santiago Cabrera’s acting in this episode. He’s making Isaac a very believable tortured soul.

Conservative people and groups are not going to be happy about this show’s rape scenes, suicide scenes, and drug-crazed artists.

Nits

Do forensic scientists really stop in the middle of an autopsy to answer the phone? This seems like a contrived way to give Claire a chance to escape.

Memorable Moments

• Hiro taking a moment to eat an olive while time has stopped

Quotable Quotes

Matt: What are you, FBI? Huh? Are you CIA?
Mr Bennet: I’m not part of any organization that has initials.

Hiro: It’s cheating!
Ando: Is Peter Parker cheating when he sells pictures of Spiderman?
Hiro: No.

Peter: Maybe I can only do things when I am around people who can…do things. Does that sound as lame as I think it did?
Mohinder: It sounds like you should be talking to my father. This was his research, not mine.
Peter: Well, where is he? How can I get a hold of him?
Mohinder: He’s on the table.

Isaac: I need painting supplies.
Simone: I take it you’re not talking about oils and canvas.

"I can save everybody…I’m gonna be a hero."
- Isaac

"My name is Hiro Nakamura. I’m from the future. I’ve a message for you."
- Hiro to Peter (closing line)

1.05 Hiros

Hiro tells Peter that he risked a rift to give him a message: he must save the cheerleader. He says that Isaac will know. When time resumes, Mohinder doesn’t believe Peter’s visitation story.

Claire has survived the crash, and so has Brody.

Nathan’s attempted abduction by Mr Bennet is thwarted easily when Nathan flies to freedom at rocket-like speeds.

Niki awakens to find that her double has graciously fulfilled every distasteful request of Mr Linderman, and she is now free of debt.

Matt shows up at home. He has no memory of the last 24 hours; he thinks he just passed out in the bar.

Ando and Hiro are dumped well outside Las Vegas by one of the gamblers they fleeced. Ando is sick of getting beat up and leaves Hiro. At that moment, Hiro watches Nathan comes in for a landing outside the diner, burning his feet. Hiro tells Nathan that he can bend time, but Nathan is still a skeptic, even though he is a freak. But when he limo arrives, Nathan does agree to give Hiro a ride back to Vegas.

Claire tells her dad that she crashed the car on purpose because of Brody’s attempted rape and serial history. Mr Bennet promises not to tell anyone.

Peter finally sees Isaac. Although seemingly unwilling to help, Isaac’s paintings reveal a clue: the cheerleader whom Peter seeks.

Nathan drops Hiro off at Las Vegas and runs into Niki, who tells him he is about to be blackmailed. They dance around the notion that she is not the woman he slept with.

Matt and Janice begin the first steps to rekindling romance and trust with a romantic dinner.

Mr Bennet bedside manner with Brody is more than threatening. He brings his Haitian friend and tells him to wipe Brody’s mind completely.

Peter channels Isaac to finish the painting that could be the key to saving the cheerleader.

Niki returns home to find her house swarming with cops, looking for D.L, who was sighted nearby. When someone approaches the back door, guns are drawn – but it is only Ando. She explains that she is not the person he has been ‘chatting’ with online. He asks for her help, but she turns him away. The police leave…and we see D.L., already in the house, lurking in the shadows.

After what appeared to be a very successful lovemaking session, Matt’s trip to a convenience store to get ice cream for the sated Janice ends up being an adventure. First, he stops a thug from holding the place up. Then, overwhelmed by the thoughts of others, he collapses.

Hiro and Ando are united to continue their quest.

Peter finishes the painting as Hiro calls Isaac. Peter and Hiro make phone contact in the present.

Comments

Everything is meshing together nicely, but it’s good to see that the creators are in no hurry to bring everyone together or to solve any of the gray areas.

One of the more interesting characters is Claire’s father, Mr Bennet. He’s a contrast in protectice fatherly love and villanous destruction of whichever heroes he can catch. How he will resolve this with his daughter is anyone’s guess.

Adrian Pasdar’s subtle head movements help to create more than just a one-dimensional character. I never thought much of his acting on the series Mysterious Ways, but he’s excellent here. And he’s got the perfect oversized square head of a superhero.

Nits

In Isaac’s apartment, as Peter finishes the painting, his wisps of hair alternate between covering his right eye and sitting combed back on his head, depending on the camera angle.

Matt is making no effort to hide the fact that he can read Janice’s mind. Surprisingly, she doesn’t seem to be shocked or creeped out by it, she’s just all happy and blissful.

Memorable Moments

• The Haitian’s little sideways glance toward the audience as he closes the curtain on Brody’s memory

Quotable Quotes

"Save the cheerleader, save the world."
- Hiro to Peter

Peter: I don’t know why, but I’m supposed to see you. You’re supposed to have the answer.
Isaac: Is that what, um, I sound like? No wonder she left me.

Brody: You don’t know your daughter.
Mr Bennet: I know her even better than she does.

Hiro: My name is Hiro Nakamura.
Peter: My name is Peter Petrelli. I have a message for you.
(closing line)

1.06 Better Halves

Peter gives present day Hiro the same message the future Hiro gave to him: Save the cheerleader, save the world. Isaac and Peter realize that the paintings are a comic strip, and the key missing painting was given to Simone to sell.

Claire’s dad says he has made contact with Claire’s biological parents, and they want to meet her. Claire agrees to meet them.

D.L. confronts Niki in her house. Niki has a chance to tell the police he is in there, but she decides not to. D.L. convinces her that he was framed and that he always had his family’s best interest at heart. Eventually, Niki relents and invites him to bed. In the morning, Niki sees her double in the mirror, caressing D.L.

Claire discusses with Zach how she will react to meeting her birth parents.

Hiro and Ando try to start out on their quest, but are detained by the gambler they fleeced. While they are in the toilet, plotting their escape, an unknown woman beats up or murders everyone at the table. They escape out the window. Hiro is upset that he didn’t save the gamblers, but Ando convinces him that when he gets better at bending time and space, he can return and fix things.

Mohinder tell Eden that his outing with Peter did not result in any superhero sightings. He packs his bags to leave, and even her kiss goodbye does not sway him. Eden says he will be back.

Niki accompanies D.L. to find the woman who murdered his crew, but instead they find he aftermath: the dead gamblers from Hiro and Ando’s game. Niki tells D.L. that she thinks she is the murdering woman.

Claire’s birth parents don’t admit to having any special powers and they don’t seem to be hiding anything. But when Mr Bennet escorts them out to the car, their parting conversation seems to indicate that they were imposters, hired by Bennet for the purpose of appearing like Claire’s parents. Claire’s subsequent conversation with her mom reveals that Claire’s chromosomes are unusual in some way.

Eden calls Mr Bennet (who is obviously her employer) to update him on Mohinder’s plans and the possible superheroes that she has heard about.

Niki’s double stops long enough to update her on all of the evil things she has done. She framed D.L. and killed his crew. Now she’s blackmailing Niki to continue the scam, get the money, and get away with Micah. Led to the attic by her double, Niki finds a suitcase stuffed with money, and a gun. D.L. discovers her and says he will take the money and Micah, so her double gets to work on him. But a distraction from Micah allows D.L. to ‘kill’ her.

Isaac paints drops of blood on the face of Niki as a visitor comes to his door: Eden.

Comments

I like the tension and dynamic of two guys (Isaac and Peter), both in love with the same woman (Simone), forced to work together for a greater cause.

Nits

Granted, maybe D.L. didn’t go through with the crime to steal 2 million dollars from Linderman because of the implications for his family, but why did he even consider it in the first place?

Memorable Moments

• Finding out that Eden is working for Mr Bennet

Quotable Quotes

Isaac: Tell him about the guy from the future.
Peter: He is the guy from the future!

Eden: Also, there may have been an encounter with somebody who can stop time.
Mr Bennet: Really? That’s cool.

"Most of the time, in relationships, when somebody makes a mistake, the other person just pretends it didn’t happen. But when someone thinks you made a mistake and you didn’t…it just gets a lot more complicated."
- D.L. to Micah

1.07 Nothing to Hide

Peter shows Simons’s dieing father Charles that he can fly…but this is only in a dream. When he awakens, a distraught Simone is at his door to tell him that his father has died.

Zach tells Claire that, strangely, he has found her implicating tape under his bed, even though he had checked there before. He leaves in a hurry, and the tape ends up in the hands of Claire’s little brother Lyle. Lyle views the tape, staples Claire’s hand to see if she really is a freak, and watches the wound heal instantaneously. Lyle takes the tape and seeks solace in the family car, but Claire is able to convince him to keep her secret and keep the family together.

Niki awakens to find Micah gone, abducted by D.L. She faces the mirror and, for the first time, willingly asks her double for help.

Matt is about to tell Janice that he has the ability to read minds, but just as he is about to say it, he reads that she has a secret from him. It sounds like perhaps she has been having an affair. Caught off guard, he decides not to tell him.

Simone tells Peter that the missing painting that he requires was sold to a Mr Linderman from Las Vegas.

Nathan initially says no to an opportunity for some free publicity involving his family and his wheelchair-bound wife, but mom and wife convince him that he needs the poll boost. Peter shows up unexpectedly at the brunch, asking Nathan (in private) to contact Linderman and get the painting, then threatening to fly off the terrace in front of the reporter. The reporter confronts Nathan with the rumor that he went missing for a few hours and a blonde was involved, but Peter jumps in, saying that Nathan visited a clinic where he was being treated and spoke personally with a woman doctor about his case.

Matt is pulled out of the locker room by Audrey. Sylar has killed again and the FBI needs Matt’s mind-reading ability. A fingerprint on Sylar’s latest victim leads to the person who committed the murder: Ted Sprague (Matthew John Armstrong). Audrey and Matt go directly to the suspect’s house, but all they find are pictures with faces burned off, and lots of radiation. Matt doesn’t think Sylar lives at this house. Evidence is that the suspect’s wife was being treated by the doctor who was Sylar’s last victim. At the hospital, Matt is able to talk the man down. He is irradiated, and did kill the doctor, but he is not Sylar. Matt is able to hear his comatose wife thoughts and last words; she passes away while Matt and Audrey are standing there. Sprague might be another superhero.

Micah isn’t happy about being with D.L. and wants to go home. Niki discusses her double with Tina. Micah and D.L. reach a car wreck in the desert; a woman is trapped inside. Hiro and Ando show up a little later. D.L. reaches through the window and frees the woman, but is about the be engulfed in flames when Hiro stops time and pushes them to safety. Ando has called the police to aid the injured, so D.L. and Micah must go quickly.

Niki calls Nathan to ask for help, but with his wife in the same room, he hangs up on her. Nathan assures his wife that the story of him at the Vegas clinic is true.

With nowhere else to turn, Niki invokes her other half, ‘Jessica’.

Matt finally returns Janice’s calls, and leaves a message saying that he feels there is a secret between them. She is there, listening to the message, but doesn’t pick up the phone. Back at the station, he ‘hears’ his supposed buddy say that he is sleeping with his wife, so he punches him.

Nathan arranges for Linderman to send the painting back to Simone’s gallery, and then tells Peter that Linderman wouldn’t part with it. He also tells the story of his attempted abductions, and warns Peter to be careful.

Micah uses his heretofore unrevealed powers to call Jessica on an out-of-order pay phone to tell her where he is. He also shows that he knows the difference between Niki and Jessica. Jessica loads a round into her gun and prepares to head out.

Comments

Up to now, I wasn’t sure that D.L. was a superhero. He is another example of a character who is a shade of gray. He’s not a saint, but he has redeeming qualities. And up to now, I had no idea that Micah was a superhero.

Nits

Did I miss a scene or something? Matt went from passing out at a convenience store to being back inside his house, and I have no idea how he got there.

Memorable Moments

• Hiro stopping the explosion (this whole scene was great, because initially I thought it was a trick by law enforcement to trap D.L.)

• D.L. finds Micah talking on the out of order phone, and says, "You talking to your mom?" "No", says Micah, and he is telling the truth, because now he knows the difference between Niki and Jessica

Quotable Quotes

"I see her in the mirror, and she tells me that she wants to come out again. And the part of me that needs Micah back…wants to let her do it."
- Niki to Tina

"Why couldn’t I have super-strength, too?"
- Hiro

Claire: Just give me the damn tape!
Lyle: I’m gonna put this thing on YouTube and make like a million bucks!
Zach: YouTube’s free, you idiot.

1.08 Seven Minutes to Midnight

Mohinder returns to India, brings his father ashes to the sea, and finally cries. He does not see himself returning to America. The new semester awaits, and his father’s office is available to him so he can continue his life in India where he left off. But the computer in his father’s office is still running that decryption program. As he decides whether to quit the program, old flame Mira enters, offering him a job in the genetics laboratory where she works as long as he promises to discard his father’s theories.

Mohinder dreams or time travels, watching the anguish of his father as he left to pursue his theories in New York. Back in reality, his mother shares the secret that Mohinder has a sister Shandri who died when she was five (and he was two). His father believed that Shandri was special.

In Mohinder’s dreams, he sees a young boy, first at his house, and then in his office. Somehow, he is able to be at the time and place where his father was murdered. The boy again gives him the key from his father’s notebook.

Eden has taken Isaac to a facility and stayed with him until he detoxed. She promises to teach him how to paint again without drugs. She walks among his paintings, stopping to look at one of a waitress.

At a diner in Texas, we meet the waitress Charlie (Jayma Mays). Her mind has recently developed a perfect memory. Ando and Hiro are here, stopping for a meal, and are amazed that she learned Japanese in a week. At another table, we see just a man’s hand as he uses telekenesis to fetch his coffee cup. Hiro helps Charlie with her Japanese; she now flirts with him in two languages. While Charlie is in the kitchen, she is murdered, and the mystery telekinetic is gone.

Hiro decides to use his powers to go back in time and save Charlie. He disappears from the diner, leaving Ando to wait and worry.

Matt cops flak from Audrey because he punched a cop, but when he tells her it was worth it, she softens up. Together they go to see radiation man Ted Sprague. Ted is distraught, and when he’s mad, he radiates, but Matt is able to talk him down by telling him that they are both the same, that they have recently acquired mysterious powers. They share something else; two small scars on their right shoulders. Matt and Ted also both passed out and lost two days, and each saw a Haitian man at the scene before they blacked out. But Homeland Security thinks Ted is a terrorist, and they take him away before Matt can discover any more.

Mr Bennet arrives to his job at an innocuous paper plant, where, in a restricted area, he meets with Eden and Isaac. He tells Isaac that his ability to paint the future is a blessing, not a curse, and that he needs his help. He shares the secret that his job is to track and monitor people with special abilities, but that in some cases it does not go smoothly. Claire’s parents were killed, and Bennet adopted her. Bennet needs Isaac to paint the future and find Sylar, but Isaac is uninspired without drugs, so Bennet offers him some. But Isaac doesn’t want to start using again. Isaac tries to paint without them, but fails, so Bennet tells Eden that she has no choice but to make him take them.

Janice tells Matt something that he already knew: that she slept with another man.

Audrey calls Matt to say that Ted escaped.

Mohinder’s key uncovers a file about the mystery boy and research into how learning continues in dream states.

Mr Bennet watches Claire put the finishes touches on the homecoming banner while, far away, Isaac puts brush to canvas to reveal another puzzle piece.

Comments

Just as it was looking like an alien abduction story, it turned into a genetic tampering story. Maybe.

Nits

When Claire is killed, her blood is dark brown or black. I assume this is because the censors will not allow a US television show to use red blood.

Memorable Moments

• The unexpected murder of Charlie is effectively gruesome

• Mr Bennet’s heartfelt plea of a father trying to save his daughter

Quotable Quotes

"I like the way your cheeks wobble when you concentrate."
- Charlie to Hiro

Mr Bennet: This man here – goes by the name of Sylar – he’s gonna kill her tomorrow night at her homecoming game.
Isaac: Why?
Mr Bennet: Because she’s special – like you – and that makes her a target.

"You can run far, you can take your small precautions, but have you really gotten away? Can you ever escape? Or is the truth that you do not have the strength or cunning to hide from destiny. That the world is not small…you are. And fate can find you anywhere."
- Mohinder’s closing narration

1.09 Homecoming

Claire wins the homecoming queen competition, despite Jackie’s protestations.

Nathan asks Simone about the signigicance of the painting he purchased from Linderman (and is hiding from Peter). He destroys the painting, ostensibly to save Peter’s life. When Peter arrives, Simone shows him a digital photo of the painting. It appears to show Peter, staring a dead, sprawled on the floor of the homecoming venue. His watch reads 8.12pm. Simone asks him not to go, but Peter says he must.

Niki tries and buys a big long range sniper gun for her husband.

D.L. and Micah park outside a shop, as D.L. tells him that they cannot turn back, that it’s "…you are me." When D.L. gets out to grab a paper and avoid a cop, he turns around and Micah is gone. D.L. catches him, and Micah tells him about Niki and Jessica. Micah thinks that Niki is unaware of Jessica. He tells D.L. that his mom is sick and they must return to help her. D.L. agrees.

At an open market in India, Mohinder and Nirand discusses the boy from the file that he sees in his dreams. The boy is a spirit guide, able to enter people’s dreams and communicate. Mohinder searches for a finds the boy, despite Nirand’s skepticism. The boy tells Mohinder that he already knows which path to take. Further dreams reveal that Mohinder’s father was protecting his son. Realizing that he must finish his father’s work, he answers ‘no’ to the computer program, and enters a password to reveal a list of people with superpowers.

Peter calls Hiro but gets Ando and tells him that they must all get to the homecoming at Odessa. Ando doesn’t mention that Hiro is missing in time. Ando notices a picture of Hiro and Charlie. He finds out that it was taken six months ago.

With no clear clue from Isaac’s first painting, Mr Bennet demands that Eden make him paint another. Eden refuses, so instead, Mr Bennet says he will take care of Claire and asks Eden to get to the Homecoming and ‘neutralize’ Sylar.

Zach reveals that he campaigned to help Claire win Homecoming Queen. He has also purchased Professor Suresh’s book off the internet for her. Claire suddenly begins to look at Zach differently. Jackie then picks the wrong moment to insult Zach, and she is rewarded with a punch from Claire.

Bennet grounds Claire, much to her disgust, but Zach sneaks in to help her escape. Ten minutes after she leaves, Bennet finds out and heads off in pursuit.

Peter arrives at the Burnt Toast Café to find Ando but no Hiro. Peter leaves Ando to wait for Hiro while he continues on to the Homecoming – with only 40 minutes to go.

Peter arrives at Homecoming and bumps into Claire but has no idea that she is the cheerleader he is supposed to save. Sylar traps Jackie and Claire in the locker room but kills Jackie by mistake, then pursues Claire while Peter tries to stay between them. But Peter has no powers without other heroes around him. At 8.12, after Claire has safely gotten away, Peter and Sylar plunge to the cement in a pile of blood. Claire rushes to Peter, which gives Peter the ability to fix his body and live. Mr Bennet insists on taking Claire away, which leaves Peter to look like the suspect and to get arrested for the murder of Jackie.

In the woods, an injured Sylar is met by Eden and the Haitian and is easily subdued.

Mohinder tells his mother that he is returning to New York to find and warn the heroes of the perils they face. She asks who will protect him.

Six months earlier, we see Hiro, entering Charlie’s life at her birthday party, informing her that he is here to save her.

Micah tells D.L. that Niki already knows where they are. D.L. hurries to get into the car as Jessica, hidden and far away, takes aim.

Comments

Despite it’s humble television roots and relatively inexperienced cast, the acting is very good. In this episode, I took special note of Hayden Panettiere (Claire). Her scenes with Zach are very good.

Nits

Jackie’s blood is very red; why was Charlie’s blood so black in the last episode?

Memorable Moments

• The Homecoming scene is fast, scary, gruesome, and well choreographed

Quotable Quotes

"Look, everybody who’s like Jackie voted for Jackie, and everybody who isn’t voted for you. And in this school, the unpopular vastly outnumber the popular."
- Zach, explaining to Claire why she won Homecoming Queen

Claire: You are being completely unreasonable. Do you have any idea what it means for me to miss this game?
Mr Bennet: You’ll survive.

"I know who I am. I like whom I am. I like who you are. I just…I just wish that you…liked who you are."
- Zach to Claire

Chandra Suresh: Well, all great thinkers were said to be madmen in their time…Darwin, Einstein, Ghandi.
Nirand: Darwin was not ridiculed by his university’s biology round table.

1.10 Six Months Ago

Six months ago:

…We join Hiro as he pops into the diner and tells Charlie that he is here to save her life. It is her birthday party.

…In Brooklyn, a watchmaker puts the finishing touches on a timepiece. Chandra enters the shop and gives Mr Gray the watchmaker a copy of his book. He believes he has found another evolved human.

…In Los Angeles, Matt stops a sportscar that contains Eden and an almost empty whiskey bottle. She refuses to get out of the car, using mind control instead to get Matt to go back to his and drive away. The Haitian man looks on.

…Jackie comes to Claire’s house to tell her that Lori Trammel turned in her cheerleading uniform and Claire is next. Claire accepts, but they quarrel over teen spirit, and a fight results in a gash to Claire’s hand. At that moment, Chandra Suresh calls and speaks to Mr Bennet, presumably to tell him that his daughter is special.

…Hiro is shocked to find out that he teleported six months back, when he only wanted to go back one day.

…Niki attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. She has been sober for a year. Her estranged father is there, apologizing for not being around and trying to make amends, but Niki is resistant.

…Peter celebrates his nursing degree with a party. Nathan tells him that the D.A. wants him to prosecute Linderman. This would also bring their father down.

…Gabriel the watchmaker visits Chandra at his apartment. Chandra is going to run him through an MRI at Columbia to determine what his abilities are. When Chandra can find no proof of enhanced abilities, Gabriel gets frustrated. He leaves in anger, but not before grabbing the address of someone else from Chandra’s list.

…Mr Bennet holds Eden prisoner and reads a litany of her crimes, telling her she needs a purpose. She has been invincible until now. The Haitian controls her; he must have extremely strong powers. he convinces her to put her power to good use. Her first job: first Chandra Suresh and get Claire’s name off his list.

…Hiro tries to call Ando but gets himself! He tries to convince Charlie that he is a time-traveler, but comes off looking more like a magician.

…Niki visits the grave of her sister Jessica.

…A large car causes Nathan and Heidi’s car to crash. Nathan is unharmed; thrown or flown clear of the crash. Peter arrives at the hospital, asking about the ‘other car’ that he dreamed of. Nathan says it was Linderman’s people.

…Hiro instantaneously creates 1000 origami cranes and is granted one wish: a trip to Japan with Charlie, who agrees to go with him.

…Hal visits his daughter, gives a computer to Micah, but then gets upet when Micah takes it apart. He hides a secret that Niki can’t remember.

…Mr Bennet comes to visit Chandra, interested in finding out as much information about his daughter as possible.

…Jessica visits Hal. She remembers vividly when her drunk father beat her and ‘accidentally’ choked her. She tells him to leave and never come back.

…Claire unwraps her injured hand for her dad and sees that it is completely healed. She is just beginning to see she is different.

…Matt is depressed that he once again failed the officer’s exam, but Janice doesn’t care and tries to cheer him up.

…Nathan shows up at Peter’s door to tell him that their dad died of a heart attack.

…Charlie tell Hiro that she has a blood clot on the brain and is dieing. She also tells him that she loves him. As they move toward each other for their first kiss, he jumps back to ‘real time’, to the roof of the building where he works, in the middle of an exercise period.

…Gabriel invites and kills the gifted Brian Davis because he sees the special people as genetically ‘broken’. In the process, he adopts the name ‘Sylar’. Gabriel inherits Davis’ powers of telekinesis and shows them off for Chandra. He says he will join Chandra in a search for others with power.

Back in the present, Hiro returns to Ando at the diner, sadly admitting that he failed to save Charlie.

Comments

Backstories are filled in for all the characters.

Nits

How is Chandra Suresh finding out that these people have special abilities? For example, he seems to know about Claire’s abilities before she does.

I’m not sure when we were supposed to realize that the watchmaker is Sylar, but it was obvious to me from the first scene with Chandra.

Memorable Moments

• There’s something particularly creepy about realizing that the seemingly innocent, wide-eyed watchmaker is, or will be, a cold-blooded killer called Sylar

• Hiro’s jump from a kiss to the green roof

• Any scene with Hiro

Quotable Quotes

"Tomorrow, the swallows with slay the dragons."
- Hiro to Charlie

1.11 Fallout

Claire tells her dad that she has extraordinary abilities. Her dad tells her that he knew about her for a long time, that he was protecting her. He asks her to keep it a secret and to tell Zach to do so too.

Matt and Audrey are at the cheerleader crime scene, investigating Jackie’s death. They question Peter, which leads to a confrontation as Matt’s mind-reading abilities are mimiced by Peter. Peter tells how the cheerleader is key, and Matt believes him.

Nathan visits Peter in jail, consoles him, and tells him that he cannot save the world – and then morphs into Sylar. Was it all a dream?

Niki as Jessica hits D.L. with two direct shots, but he still gets away – with Micah. On the run, D.L. is losing blood and he outlook is grim. Jessica and Niki are both in pursuit now, with Niki realizing that Jessica is out of control. Jessica gets there first, and while trying to kill D.L., she violently pushes Micah out of the way and hurts him. This rids her of Jessica and brings Niki back. Niki no longer believes she can trust or control Jessica, so she turns herself in to the first policeman she sees.

Sylar is now ‘safely’ locked up. Bennet speaks to him from behind safety glass that seemingly can barely hold him. I’m not sure what the purpose of Bennet’s visit was, but all he gets is a violent threat against his daughter. Bennet’s orders are to keep Sylar alive, and all the prodding from Eden to kill him doesn’t sway him – yet.

Mohinder is back at his old room in Brooklyn, greeted by a note from Eden and another with Isaac Mendez’ name on it.

Eden visits Isaac to tell him she is leaving. She sneaks a mobile phone and a Primatech ID card into his hand and tells him to ‘change it’, meaning the future. He immediately calls Hiro and sets up a meeting. They meet in Midland, Texas, where Hiro shows Isaac the ‘comic book from the future’. Isaac is sad to find out that Hiro’s friend is dead but pleased that he sketched a picture of Hiro and Charlie when he was sober. He is ready to join the quest to save the world. Isaac paints Hiro, holding a sword, battling a huge, Godzilla-like monster.

Hiro and Ando arrive a day late for the homecoming, and, find out that a cheerleader is dead, believe they have failed.

Audrey interviews Claire with Bennet present and Matt ‘listening’ behind glass, but Matt is unable to pick anything up – the Haitian is nearby and is able to ‘white noise’ out his abilities. They trail Bennet and this time see the Haitian, whom Matt remembers from the night in the bar when he passed out.

Claire speaks to Peter – alone – but he doesn’t ever really explain that he could only heal himself because she was there. Also, he is looking pale and has developed a cough.

Claire and Zach meet briefly so she can destroy tapes and get a promise that he won’t tell anyone about her.

Claire speaks to Lyle and finds out he has no memory of how he got home. This was the time when Bennet said he was picking him up and ‘speaking’ to him. Worried, Claire meets with Zach and finds that he also has no memory of her. Now at home, she is ‘visited’ by the Haitian, who was sent by Bennet to wipe her memory too. But instead he asks her if she can keep a secret.

Eden attempts to kill Sylar, but is overwhelmed by his powers and is killed by him.

Not long after Nathan gets Peter out of jail, Peter time-travels to New York, where it appears that a horrible event has just occurred. People are nowhere, cars are abandoned. Only the heroes are there, and, as they watch, Peter explodes. He returns to reality and tries to tell this to Nathan, then stops breathing.

Comments

Sylar has inherited the powers of everyone he kills.

The Jessica and Niki thing is creepily like an abusive parent with two sides.

A fantastic episode, filled with dramatic plot points. This was the last episode before the long Christmas break, so the creators filled it with a number of cliffhangers.

Take a moment to visitwww.primatech.com for all your paper needs.

Nits

Why would Bennet want to wipe Claire’s mind? Isn’t she going to find out about herself anyway, as soon as her next incident happens?

Memorable Moments

• Claire’s opening scene with her dad, where he reveals all he knows

• Hiro greets Isaac with a ‘Live Long and Prosper’ sign (nice camera shot of Isaac from behind Hiro’s spread fingers)

• The Haitian speaks!

Quotable Quotes

"To be honest, it’s nice to be drawing just to draw again. That’s what I like about comics, you don’t have to take them too seriously."
- Isaac to Eden

"We’re gonna take you apart, Gabriel, like one of your little watches – sorry, ‘timepieces’."
- Bennet to Sylar

"I work for your father. He sent me here to make me forget, like he sent me to your friend, and your brother, and your mother so many times. He’ll be here soon, expecting that you won’t remember anything. But it is very important that you do. Tell me Claire: can you keep a secret?"
- The Haitian to Claire

"I really need to find that sword."
- Hiro to Ando, after seeing the painting of him fending off a beast with the sword

1.12 Godsend

Peter is comatose in hospital; keeping vigil are his mother and Nathan. When Simone shows up, Nathan, still skeptical of this whole ‘end of the world’ thing, asks Simone to take him to see the artist.

Niki is in jail. She must have switched to Jessica because at least one of the officers has a broken nose and is fearful of her.

Claire has convinced Mr Bennet that she remembers nothing. She turns to Zach one again, but he has lost any memory or connection to her.

Sylar is being heavily sedated and mind-probed for answers – to the brink of death.

Convinced that he knows where Sylar is, Matt sanctions a raid on Primatech paper, but nothing can be found, and with The Haitian doing the blocking, Matt still can’t read Mr Bennet. Matt and Audrey get severly reprimanded for following that hunch. Unperturbed, Matt tells Bennet that he knows and will not give up.

Hiro and Ando are at the Museum of Natural History in New York, looking for and finding the sword. It has the same symbol- a kind of crossed ‘s’ – that is seen on Jessica’s tattoo. Ando says the symbol means, ‘Great Talent – Godsend’. Hiro believes they must steal the sword to restore and focus his dwindling powers. Hiro is able to slow time, not stop it, and steals the sword, but when he pulls it out, finds that it is only a short piece of wood marked, ‘Replica courtesy of the Linderman Group’.

D.L. has been cleared of all charges by Jessica’s confession. When he returns the stolen money to Linderman, he believes he is completely free, but Linderman’s messenger tells him he still owes a favor.

Mohinder has finally convinced someone from the ‘bureau’ that his list has meaning. He finds out that Eden is dead.

Niki and Jessica go back and forth but still can’t convince their lawyer that she has multiple personality disorder, despite finding out that she may face the death penalty.

When Simone and Nathan get to Isaac’s place, Isaac is there, off drugs. He tells Simone he still loves her. Nathan sees the paintings and can’t help starting to see that there is something true here. And as if that weren’t enough, Hiro and Ando show up, telling that the sword is with Linderman. Nathan finally realizes he must join forces to stop the impending disaster.

Claire secretly meets the Haitian and asks him for something she can believe in. He cannot help but tells her to respect her powers.

Alone in a shack in the Nevada desert, Ted Sprague is carefully working on controlling his abilities to spontaneously combust.

So she never forgets who she is, and also perhaps to renew her secret-based friendship, Claire once again has Zach videotape her fall from a great height.

D.L. and Micah visit Niki in jail. D.L. regrets letting her go in, but she says she had to do it – for them. She says that Jessica is back and is real. When her request to hug Micah is denied, Jessica comes out and shows superhuman strength by snapping a billy club before before restrained.

Bennet pays Mohinder a visit, to ask that they work together, but Mohinder doesn’t trust him and turns him away, despite being shown Bennet’s large gun.

Matt returns home and tells Janice that he can read minds.

Peter dreams a more detailed recollection of his self-explosion in New York, and wakes up screaming. When Nathan returns to the hospital, Peter’s mother tells him that Peter walked out, saying he had to go.

As Peter books a flight to Nevada, he sees the bearded man from his bomb vision. When he confronts him, the man is extremely angry and aggressive that Peter can see him. He begins to choke Peter, but of course, no one can see either of them.

D.L. assures Micah that Niki will be okay. In her padded cell, Niki turns into Jessica once again…

Comments

Claire really has lost the father she trusted and the best friend (Zach) she had only recently become close to, all because of the mind-blanking done by Bennet.

I love the way all the really funny moments are played completely straight.

Just how much did Nissan pay the producers to have Hiro mention that ‘blue Nissan Versa’ all the time?

Simone tells Hiro she can get him in to Linderman’s so he can steal the real sword.

Nits

How would Matt and Audrey get authorization to raid Primatech based only on Matt hearing one word thought between Bennet and the Haitian?

Aren’t Niki and D.L. taking a huge risk by discussing the money? There is a good chance the conversations between inmates and visitors could be taped. And on that subject, security cameras are often installed in these visiting areas. It’s another big risk for D.L. to reach through the glass to touch Niki.

To prove he can read thoughts, Matt asks Janice to pick a number between 1 and 1 million. Why doesn’t he just read her random thoughts – like he did all those other times – and recite them back to her?

Nathan asks his mother is she just let Peter walk out. She says no. What about the doctors and nurses? Did they just let Peter walk out too? Is it that easy?

Memorable Moments

• Hiro unsheathing the Linderman wood stump that should have been a sword

• The Meeting of Heroes at Isaac’s place

• D.L. reaching through glass to touch Niki’s hand

• Simone handing Hiro a rolled up sword-like painting, while she is telling him how they can get the real sword

Quotable Quotes

Museum Narrator: If we could go back in time, there’s no telling what wonders we’d find.
Hiro: I wish.

Ando: Stealing isn’t exactly part of Bushido code, you know.
Hiro: It’s one antique. If I don’t have my powers…this whole museum will explode anyway. It’s a good deal for them.

"Flying Man!"
- Hiro’s greeting to Nathan

Hiro: You’re Flying Man! Wheeeeesh! (makes hand gesture of flying)
Nathan: Would you keep it down?
Hiro: Wheesh. (lowers his hand and makes the same gesture)

"I’m just like Mr Isaac draw me, except my face not so round."
- Hiro to Simone

1.13 The Fix

Claude (the invisible man from Peter’s end-of-the-world dream) is confronted, but he has no interest in helping Peter solve the mystery. Peter’s invisibility lasts until the man gets a certain distance away. Before he goes, ‘invisble’ mentions that there are others like Peter. Peter ignores the advice and follows Claude, but once again can get no help, just more sarcasm and threats.

Niki is heavily sedated in a padded cell. A visiting psychiatrist insists that she has multiple personality disorder and, if she wants help, she can be cured. Niki is only interested in ensuring that Jessica doesn’t hurt anyone else.

Matt guesses what Janice is silently thinking about as a sort of parlor game. Later, Matt tells Janice that Mr Bennet abducted him and gave him psychic powers, and that he must pursue him and find answers. Janice is having trouble taking it all in, and she’s also starting to get annoyed at Matt’s constant reading of her mind. She thinks maybe he can control it but isn’t trying to.

Mr Bennet instructs his head doctor to keep Sylar on stable and not allow him to crash on his own.

Ando and Hiro pay a hefty parking fee when Hiro is unable to turn back time. His powers gone, Hiro is unable to do anything about the men who have come to abduct them. On route to a meeting, Hiro and Ando are offered first class plane tickets back to Japan, but Hiro refuses. Surprisingly, the big boss they are going to see is Hiro’s father (George Takei).

Nathan visits Mohinder, looking for Peter. Mohinder is also looking, realizing now that Peter is the key. After a little convincing, Nathan agrees to join Mohinder and search together.

Claire and Zac’s spying on Dad’s home computer is interrupted by Dad himself. Mr Bennet doesn’t seem to be suspicious, but it’s hard to tell. Looking for answers, Claire hangs a wind chime outside her window, as instructed by The Haitian. Devastated by a world full with only lies, Claire asks The Haitian about her real parents. He says that her mother died in an explosion 14 years ago, and that her father’s whereabouts are unknown. Together with Zac, Claire finds a 14 year old newspaper article listing her mother’s name (Meredith Gordon). Meredith’s 18 month old daughter also died in the fire; at least that’s what the article states.

D.L. is running out of money, and Micah is starting to get frustrated with his dad’s lack of parenting skills and poor lunch preparation.

Sylar dies. The doctor prepares the body for shipping by removing the restraints, and Sylar’s eyes open.

The result of Matt’s hearing is a six month suspension from the force. To make matters worse, he returns home to a leaky sink. Matt fixes the sink, tells Janice about his suspension, and finds out in return that Janice is pregnant.

Peter is convinced that he must get away to save everyone else, and when Nathan and Mohinder try to detain him, he escapes into the hallway. Somehow, the additional man in the hallway who was supposed to stop him sees nothing. This is because Claude has arrived just in time (and, of course, Peter becomes invisible). Suddenly convinced that Peter’s armegeddon dream is true, Claude agrees to help.

D.L. uses his powers to visit Niki in her cell. He begs her to come back and thinks there may be a way to get her out. But she sends him away.

Micah uses his powers to rob an ATM without force.

Claire’s secret phone call to Zac and search for her mother is interrupted by Mr Bennet, who once again says he will always be there for her.

Faced with the prospect of never seeing her son again, Niki decides to allow the psychiatrist to speak directly to Jessica.

D.L. levels with Micah about his difficulties in parenting and running the household, and Micah reveals a couple of secrets of his own; a bundle of cash, and a hidden power.

Claire calls another ‘Gordon’ from the phone book and connects with her mom, who also did not die in the fire.

Mr Bennet returns to the lab, enter Sylar’s cell, where a body lies on the table covered with a sheet. He pulls back the sheet, sees that the body is not Sylar – it is the doctor. He turns and is face to face to face with Sylar.

Comments

Obviously, Sylar is not going to die at this point in the series, so it’s no surprise when he comes back from the dead.

It’s probably more than a coincidence that the Star Trek fan Hiro’s dad is played by Star Trek actor George Takei.

Nits

Once again, Matt seems to be the only policeman who is dealt with strongly by his peers. Most law enforcement people protect each other; usually, penalties are dealt by outside authorities.

Memorable Moments

• Watching Sylar’s stomach for any signs of breathing during the moments when he is supposed to be dead, and seeing no movement at all

• Claire’s mom lighting a cigarette with a flame created by her fingers

• The final scene, with Mr Bennet suddenly finding himself alone in a cell with Sylar

Quotable Quotes

Nathan: Dr Suresh, do you remember me?
Mohinder: Nathan Petrelli.
Nathan: You yelled at my car.

Ando: Who are these people? And why is everyone always chasing us?
Hiro: Because I’m special.
Ando: Well, I’m not special. And I’m tired of getting chased. I’m going to have oil all over my back because of you!

1.14 Distractions

Claude now seems dedicated to teaching Peter how to control his powers, but his methods are somewhat dubious: he steals a handbag, hands it to Peter, and then takes off, leaving Peter to become visible and to be forced to turn invisible without him. Peter somehow escapes. Claude and Peter head to check out Simone, which is part of Claude’s quest to separate Peter from the family and friends and make him concentrate on himself and his powers.

Niki tries to resist bring Jessica out, even though the psychiatrist insists that it must happen. Although Niki is restrained, when Jessica does emerge, she immediately breaks the handcuffs and stops the psychiatrist from using the tazer.

Sylar knocks Bennet aside, locks him in the cage, and heads off, presumably to get Claire.

Simone visits Isaac and checks out his new painting of a city destroyed. Simone is looking for Peter because she is concerned about him. Isaac is also looking for him. But Isaac’s search is fueled by the belief that Peter is going to end the world. There’s a good reason why Isaac has been trying to paint Peter and failing: Peter invisibility! Isaac actually is painting scenes where Peter is located, but of course cannot paint Peter.

Claire convinces her mom that she and Zac are heading to an aquarium to check out a manatee for a school project. In reality, Claire is going to visit her real mom.

Hiro’s father tells him that he must return to his job in Japan. The company where he works is owned by his father, and Hiro will get the fast track to the CEO position if he returns. But Hiro believes his destiny is to save the world. When he tries to explain that, his father rips the painting into pieces. Now it is Hiro’s sister’s turn to try to convince Hiro that he must return home. Kimiko tells him that the company is struggling, and the father’s inability to control his own son is seen as a weakness.

Niki returns to find the psychiatrist lieing face down with multiple tazer burns. Niki is taken away by the guards.

At the trailer park, Zac leaves and Claire hugs Meredith, her real mom, for the first time in a long time. Ready to share her secret, Claire slices her own arm with a big knife and shows how quickly she heals. Not to be outdone, Claire’s mom flicks her hand and produces fire in her palm. They say goodbye, but promise to meet again – especially since Claire’s question about her father goes unanwered.

Sylar is inside Claire’s house, which is empty except for Mr Moggles the dog. When Claire’s mom gets home Sylar, who is wearing a Primatech Paper uniform, makes up a story about finding the dog in the street and letting himself in the open back door. Claire’s mom believes it entirely. Quite innocently, Sylar charms Claire’s mom into asking him to stay for dinner. Suddenly Sylar turns very nasty, confiding that he is there to kill Claire. When Claire’s mom tries to escape, he moves his hand and she crashes into a bookcase. Just as Sylar is moving in for the kill, Bennet returns home, gun blazing, with The Haitian in tow. Sylar escapes out the back door, with The Haitian in pursuit – with orders to kill. The Haitian loses Sylar, and returns to make Claire’s mom forget once again.

Simone visits Isaac again. Up on the roof, they renew their friendship and embrace, without knowing that they are being watched by Peter and Claude.

Hiro pretends he will take the Executive Vice President job as a way of goading his sister into stating how she would run the company. Her ideas are far better, and Hiro then points out that she should be the successor.

Niki finds out that she is going home: an inmate on death row confessed to all her crimes, and DNA evidence backed up his confession.

Claude keeps telling Peter he lives like an adolescent. Peter is now getting angry. Inivisible says Peter’s body knows how to do all the things it has been taught. To prove it, he throws Peter off the roof and tells him to fly. Peter fails, and crashes onto a taxi, suffering multiple, possibly fatal wounds. But although he hasn’t remembered how to fly, his body has remembered how to heal, and within seconds he pulls himself up and is able to stand.

Peter realizes how to channel power, but cannot control the input, and begins to lose control, until he is punched into unconsciousness by Claude.

Isaac paints a semi-visible Peter and calls Bennet to tell him. Bennet now realizes that Claude, who he thought was dead, is still alive.

Hiro’s father accepts the idea that Kimiko will run the business.

Niki is back home, but is ‘trapped’ while Jessica takes over.

Claire returns home and finds a mother who says she bumped her head, and has no memory of Claire telling her that she was going to the aquarium. Claire also finds a piece of glass and notices the bruise on her dad’s head.

Meredith calls Claire’s father – Nathan Petrelli – to tell him that she had a visit from their daughter.

Comments

This episode is just not as sharp as a couple of the preceeding ones. The supposed lighthearted comedy in the scenes with Hiro, Ando, and Kimiko just doesn’t work as well as usual.

Nits

When the woman’s handbag is stolen, she looks around and sees nothing. Then, presumably, Claude moves a suitable distance away from Peter, and the woman sees Peter holding the bag. He is standing right in front of her. But before Peter reappeared, why couldn’t she see just the bag, hanging in the air?

Why do Peter and Claude bump into people as they walk down the street? Why don’t they move out of the way? They are going to get tired or even injured if they keep this up all day.

Memorable Moments

• When Sylar is threatening Claire’s mom, he begins to slip in and out of his fake southern accent. In this same scene, there is a great edit where, in the wide shot, Sylar looks down to the right, and then in the closeup, he is still looking down there

• When Meredith’s palm erupts in flame, her pupils shine, reflecting the light. It’s only a subtle effect, but it adds a sense of reality to the moment

• The licence plate on Hiro’s father’s car is ‘NCC-1701’, which are the ID letters of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek

Quotable Quotes

"God, it sounds like a bomb is about to go off!"
- Niki, prophetic when describing the sound of the metronome

"I care about you, Simone, more than I knew how to say when – when it would have made a difference."
- Isaac

"It’s a shame I have to kill her. But maybe I’ll kill you first. I really haven’t decided yet."
- Sylar to Claire’s mom

1.15 Run!

Meredith continues her conversation with Nathan. He also thought she was dead, so he gets a few surprises. The last one is the purpose of her call: to blackmail him on the eve of the election. In exchange for a hefty sum, she will not reveal that he had a daughter out of wedlock.

Claire is very concerned that Sandra is not doing well at all. It seems that the repeated memory blankings by The Haitian are starting to have a negative cumulative effect. Claire suspects a cover up by Mr Bennet.

Matt is starting his new job as a bodyguard…whoops, I meant, ‘…in private security.’ He’s protecting a Mr Malsky, whom he meets at the airport. Jessica has covered up her tattoo with makeup and believes she can fool DL and Micah. She gets a package – it’s payback for Linderman: a request to do a hit on a Mr Malsky.

Ando and Hiro are back in Las Vegas, needing to figure out how to steal the sword from Linderman. Ando is getting negative, but Hiro tells him he must have hope. Moments later, they meet a sobbing girl. Ando asks if she needs any help. She introduces herself as ‘Hope’. Hope left her abusive boyfriend but forgot to take her purse with her. The boys offer to get it back for her by breaking into the boyfriend’s hotel room. In exchange, Hope will introduce them to Linderman. To get into the room, Ando masquerades as a waiter delivering room service, and hides Hiro under the trolley tablecloth. Their search for the bag finds a large gun, which makes Hiro want to run. Ando tricks Hiro into leaving, then locks him out of the room. He finds the bag under the bed, but then must hide under their when the boyfriend emerges from the shower.

Matt is trying to enjoy his new job and make small talk with Malsky as they drive to the diamond district, but Malsky basically tells him to shut up.

Mohinder is calling people and getting a lot of hang-ups. But one callback from Zane Taylor sounds promising. Zane is stressed, awaiting Mohinder’s visit, and when the doorbell rings, he lets the visitor in…but it is Sylar. Sylar enters a house where the living area is protected by a thick plastic. The plastic is covered with viscous pools of colored fluids. Zane gives offers to show Sylar a demonstration of his ability.

Nathan discusses how to handle the blackmail situation with his mother. Nathan wants to go down to Texas in person and meet his daughter, but his mother convinces him to stay emotionally detached and just send the money.

Mr Bennet reveals to Claire that he knows the tickets she printed for the aquarium are fake. He grounds her, insisting that she be home by 5pm each day. She is outraged. Claire rings Meredith. Meredith tells her that she found Claire’s father, and that he is flying down to Texas. Claire wants to meet him, but Meredith is vague.

At the diamond deal, Matt overhears that it is a setup and is able to get Malsky out before Jessica arrives. Matt also reads Malsky’s thoughts and knows that Malsky stole 2 million dollars from Linderman, his former employer. They get out together and just avoid Jessica.

Hiro overhears Hope on the phone and realizes that he and Ando have been set up.

Malsky gives Matt some diamonds as a bribe. Jessica is in pursuit, although she stops to have a little argument with Niki in the stairwell. Matt’s powers enable him to hear both women talking. It seems that Jessica made the deal with Linderman to do the hit in return for getting Niki out of jail.

Matt initially captures Jessica, but she gets away and throws him out of a window before completing her hit on Malsky. Matt falls heavily but fortunately lands on a ledge.

Claire is so compelled to meet her real father that she shows up uninvited at Meredith’s trailer. Meredith levels with her that her father can only be depended on to give cash – but no other support. Meredith lies about the amount of money being given, halving it first before offering half of that to Claire.

When Mohinder arrives at Zane’s house, Sylar answers the door, masquerading as Zane (who has disappeared). Sylar then offers a demonstration of the ability he has absorbed: he turns a toaster into a pool of silver fluid.

Nathan does visit Meredith to deliver the check in person, and he hopes to meet Claire, but Meredith had sent her away. Claire is hiding outside the window, and is so disappointed to hear Nathan’s willingness to avoid a meeting with her that she throws a rock at his limosine window as he is leaving.

Mohinder asks Sylar for a DNA sample, a swab taken from his mouth. A boiling teakettle allows Sylar to swab Zane’s mouth, since the dead body is on the kitchen floor. Mohinder tell Sylar that there are many others with powers and that he intends to find them all. Sylar offers to help.

Hope takes Ando with her, seducing him easily.

Hiro is locked in a closet and is freed by the boyfriend, who also happens to be in the gaming commission.

Matt figures out where Malsky hid the diamonds, and is about to hand them in, when he ‘overhears’ the investigating officer bad-mouthing him, so he hangs onto them.

Claire returns home to find that Sandra’s memory problems are worsening – she doesn’t remember Mr Moggles or Claire anymore.

Jessica gets another package from Linderman - this time, she is assigned to hit Nathan.

Comments

This episode was directed by Roxann Dawson, who played B’elana Torres on Star Trek: Voyager, and who has become a prolific television director.

It’s ironic that Hope calls Hiro ‘Sulu’. In real life, rumors (or hopes) are floating around that Masi Oka, who plays Hiro, will be cast as Sulu in the upcoming Star Trek movie, Star Trek 11.

It suddenly struck me that Meredith may not really be Claire’s biological mother.

It’s clever plotting to have Sylar first masquerade as Mohinder to Zane, and then masquerade as Zane to Mohinder.

I have been severely impressed with the acting of Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli). I had seen his work on Mysterious Ways and he didn’t make an impression on me. Here, in Heroes, he brings amazing depth and powerful emotion to his performance.

Nits

Niki gets arrested for a crime. While she is in jail, she attacks a guard and violently attacks a psychiatrist. Yet when she is cleared of the crime for which she was being detained, there seem to be no repercussions from her violent attacks on these people. Wouldn’t she normally be brought up on some kind of charges?

Jessica covers her tattoo with two types of makeup and is able to make it fully disappear. Not only is this almost impossible, but wouldn’t there be many situations (including wearing clothes) where the makeup would come off and reveal the tattoo underneath?

Memorable Moments

• Sylar’s scenes are getting creepier each episode – kudos to actor Zachary Quinto for making him that way

Quotable Quotes

Ando: A hero never runs.
Hiro: Stop saying the things I say to you!

Hiro: You are bad person. You may fool Ando, but you not fool me.
Hope: Thanks for the help, Sulu.

Mohinder: My god! (reacting to seeing the toaster turned into fluid matter
Sylar: You want to see it again?

1.16 Unexpected

Somewhere in the Nevada desert, Ted (radioactive man) is surprised to find himself having an ‘online’ chat with a stranger, even though his computer is not on the internet. Hannah walks in, demonstrating her ability to interact with computers even though she does not have one: she is one. Hannah says she can find the people that messed with them, and Ted can do the nuking.

Claire’s adoptive mom Sandra, who had forgotten who Claire and Mr Moggles was in the last episode, suddenly gets her memory back, but now has no memory of having forgotten.

Mr Bennet visits Isaac. Isaac has invited him so he can share the information that Peter is invisible. Bennet gives Isaac a gun to use if Peter returns.

Matt looks at the diamonds he has hidden in his sock drawer. He hides them away when Janice comes in, but she finds the diamond ring and assumes Matt bought it for her. Matt doesn’t try to convince her otherwise. Janice also shares a phone message from a Dr Suresh, a geneticist. She expresses concern that Suresh was able to find Matt.

Mohinder and Sylar visit Dale, a woman who probably has powers. She didn’t want to be found, but Sylar melts a wrench and convinces her to open up. Dale has heightened senses, and she’s almost able to read the duplicity in Sylar – but he must be able to mask it. She agrees to let them come back in the morning for some tests.

Hiro convinces Gustavson to take him along as they search for Ando and Hope.

Ted visits Karen’s grave and explains that he is going to extract revenge.

Claude is training Peter by beating him to a pulp until he is forced to use a power.

Isaac tries to convince Simone that Peter has left New York, but she knows he is lieing. He says he is protecting her, but she just asks him to find Peter.

Gustavson is trying to convince Hiro that Ando deserted him and is a liability.

Hope is getting nastier by the minute. When Ando accidentally tears her bag and sees that the contents are (obviously stolen) jewels, she pulls a gun on him.

Sylar has elevated his sick game to an even higher level. Now, he questions Mohinder about how and who killed his father, knowing full well that it was he. Mohinder is perhaps starting to get a little suspicious.

Sandra passes out in the middle of a conversation with Claire.

Peter fends off tranquilizer bullets fired by Bennet and The Haitian by stopping time, then flies away with Claude. Bennet’s chase is interrupted by a phone call from Claire to tell him about Sandra’s condition.

Janice finds out that Matt stole the ring and the other diamonds. She convinces him to return them, but just as he is about to call the precinct, the phone rings and Matt agrees to a meeting with the person on the other end – but doesn’t tell Janice who it is.

Claude believes that Peter led Bennet back to him, and is quite angry. He leaves, seemingly for good, despite Peter’s request for additional help.

Simone asks Nathan if he knows where Peter is. Nathan says he has people looking for Peter around the clock. Simone asks Nathan to go public with the story of Peter’s condition. Nathan refuses.

Ando and Hiro escape from the firefight between Gustavson and Hope, but only because Hiro’s powers have returned. However, they are unaware of his power surge, as they both had their eyes closed when it happened.

Claire sits by Sandra’s hospital bed. Her mother is stable, but suffers from a subdural hemorrhage. Claire confides to the doctor that it was caused by a man who works for her father, but of course is met with full skepticism.

Matt meets with Ted and Hannah. They explain that the marks they bear are from a special gun used to inject a radioactive isotope into the blood, so the heroes can be tracked. The order for the gun is traced back to Bennet and Primatech. Ted begs Matt to help him get to Bennet and make them fix it.

Claire confronts Bennet with the facts. She knows that he is responsible for Sandra’s condition, even though he says he never meant it to happen. He tries to apologize, but she does not accept it.

While Sylar waits in the car, Mohinder goes in to talk to Dale and finds her bloody dead body with the top of her head removed. Mohinder knows Sylar did it, but still does not suspect the man in the car with him. Meanwhile, Sylar has absorbed Dale’s power but is unable to control it, leading to input overload and massive headaches.

Hiro is scared of losing Ando, so he asks him to go home. Hiro boards a bus and heads off alone, despite Ando’s protestations.

The Bennet family returns home. Claire tells her dad that she would prefer to run away, but she must stay to protect the family. Just then, Ted appears in the house, and Matt as well, his gun drawn.

Peter visits Isaac to find out why he sold out, suspecting it is jealousy. But Isaac says it is simply to stop Peter from blowing up. Peter becomes invisible and Isaac tries to shoot him, but instead shoots and kills Simone. She dies in Peter’s arms.

Comments

It’s worth mentioning that, for a show that calls itself ‘Heroes’, there is precious little hero-type moments. Mostly, it is a action/horror show.

Some of the scenes in this episode feel even a bit more contrived and unbelievable than usual – and that’s saying a lot.

Nits

I’m not sure how Simone got all the way into Isaac’s apartment without noticing that he was wildly wielding a gun in the air – why wouldn’t she yell out a lot earlier?

Memorable Moments

• Watching Peter go from light to dark: do you remember when he was just a self-conscious empathic nurse?

• All of Sylar’s scenes are effectively distasteful

Quotable Quotes

Isaac: (holding a gun) What do you want me to do with this?
Mr Bennet: Save the world.

"Nobody’s gonna believe…somebody can explode and destroy a city, Simone. I can’t believe I believe it."
- Nathan

Ando: You kissed me. I thought you liked me.
Hope: Don’t remind me!

Dale: That sound…in your heart…what is it?
Sylar: Murder.

1.17 Company Man

A slight flashback: Mr Moggles watches as someone melts the door latches on the Bennet home. Moments later, Ted and Matt enter. The original plan was a simple break and enter to search for clues, with a second plan to kidnap Bennet at the paper factory. When the entire family arrives home, Matt wants to leave but lets Ted convince him that now is the time. As Matt and Ted hold the Bennet family at bay, a flashback takes us 15 years into the past, where Mr Bennet is being welcomed into a secret organization whose role is to protect the world from mutating humans. Bennet meets his partner, Claude; purposely, mutants have been allowed into the organization, supposedly to keep everything above board.

Claire confides fully in Matt.

We flashback again, this time to the scene of the fire when Claire was a baby. Hiro’s father is revealed to be the head of the secret organization. He asks Bennet to raise the baby as his own, but makes it clear that the baby belongs to the organization, and if and when it manifests power, it will be handed back.

Matt’s conscience gets to him. To stop Ted from shooting Sandra, he bows to the thoughts of Mr Bennet and Claire and shoots Claire. Claire now know that Mr Bennet tried to protect her from being taken away. With Matt’s encouragement, she agrees to ‘play dead’. Matt convinces Ted to stop killing people for now. Matt will accompany Mr Bennet to Primatech to get proof of the abductions, while Ted stays with the family.

Flashback to Mr Bennet, revealing the first time Sandra found some evidence that he wasn’t a paper salesman. Bennet boss tells how the solution involves a newly discovered Haitian boy who can selectively remove memories. We meet the Haitian, still a boy at this time.

Matt agrees to Mr Bennet’s plan to tranquilize Ted.

Mr Bennet confronts The Haitian, demanding to know who he has told about Claire. The Haitian tells him no one else knows yet, but that this will change, and says he is following the orders of someone in Claire’s life.

Flashback seven years. Mr Bennet and Claude are heading for a mission. Claude has been hiding a hero, and Bennet has been assigned to kill him for breaching security. Claude doesn’t think Bennet will follow orders, but he is very wrong. Bennet fires a few rounds into Claude before Claude disappears.

Matt, Bennet, and The Haitian argue about the best way to proceed.

Claire tricks Ted and Lyle escapes, but Claire is captured. Sandra watches as Claire heals.

Ted is now highly suspicious of Matt and Mr Bennet, but when Bennet arrives with a thick file containing Ted case history, Ted accepts it. But just as tensions ease, Bennet boss arrives and shoots Ted. It starts a chain reaction that Ted cannot stop. Mr Bennet is unable to get close enough to inject Ted with a tranquilizer, so Claire takes over and is just able to make it. She emerges from the destroyed house, her body partially gone, but as she walks back to her family, she is already regenerating.

Bennet has been able to pin the blame for hiding Claire on The Haitian (or Bennet’s boss has just assumed that the Haitian is the culprit). Ted is now heavily sedated and is a prisoner of the organization. Bennet’s boss intimates that Ted will be studied and then killed. Matt is also being studied by Primatech, and possibly groomed to be Bennet’s next partner. Bennet’s boss asks when Bennet will be bringing Claire in. Bennet says, "I’ll bring her in now."

Mr Bennet is driving Claire somewhere, away from Primatech, away from her family, in one last effort to protect her. On the same bridge where Bennet shot Claude, he hands Claire over to The Haitian. As rehearsed, the Haitian then shoots Bennet and removes selective memories.

Flashback to Mr Bennet telling Claire that he is not her biological father.

Comments

Now we finally understand why Mr Bennet was so determined to hide Claire’s powers from the world.

This long scene is another good example of a well-structured plot, where who knows what (and who doesn’t) plays a big part in what happens.

This is an above-par episode, focusing on one scene and going a long way to creating an even deeper relationship between Claire and Mr Bennet, before an emotional ending of the relationship.

Memorable Moments

• Claire shifting loyalties from Mr Bennet to Matt and Ted

• The Bennet Family Group Hug

• Claire saying goodbye to Mr Bennet

Quotable Quotes

"I’m comfortable with morally gray."
- Mr Bennet

Claire: He’s not a paper salesman.
Ted: Guess she’s not Daddy’s Little Girl anymore.

Mr Bennet: Just do what I say and nobody gets hurt, and you -
Matt: Yeah.
Mr Bennet: Do what I think.

Mr Bennet: She wasn’t supposed to remember any of this. I gave you specific instructions!
The Haitian: I answer to someone whose instructions supercede yours.
Mr Bennet: In this company?
The Haitian: In your daughter’s life.

Claude: I was in your office when they told you to kill me.
Mr Bennet: Then why’d you get in the car.
Claude: Evidently, I think you’re a better man than they do.

1.18 Parasite

Isaac blames Peter for Simone’s death, despite the fact that he himself pulled the trigger. He fires on Peter again, chasing him from the apartment.

Ando tries to walk into Linderman’s casino and is promptly ejected.

Bennett’s boss believes his story that he has no memory of what happened. It’s true; his memory has been wiped by The Haitian. Behind a mirror, Matt is being held captive, made to evaluate Bennett’s knowledge. He confirms that Bennett knows nothing, then is appalled to find out that even though he has fulfilled his end of the bargain, he is still being kept prisoner.

On the run with The Haitian, Claire faces the fact that she may never be able to safely see her family again. The Haitian makes a phone call, then states that they are leaving the country tonight.

Nathan receives a surprise visit from two FBI agents ready to make plans on how to entrap Linderman. Nathan agrees to wear a wire during an upcoming meeting with Linderman. Peter is in the room with the agents, too. He becomes visible when they leave and tells Nathan about Simone’s death. Peter blames himself as well, whereas Nathan is only interested in protecting his brother and himself. Peter disappears again at an opportune moment.

Bennett is about to head off to look for Claire, but is surprised when Sandra stops to whisper secrets to him, secrets that he told her before his memory was wiped. He told her what he really did, and how he was going to take care of Claire. She gives him a note that says, "Claire is with friends. Don’t go after her". It is written in his handwriting. Candice interrupts, arriving at the door to insist that Bennett come to New York to see Isaac and his dead girlfriend. She’s suspicious that Bennett might do a runner, so she follows him inside.

Sylar is helping Mohinder find more heroes. They stop for a coffee, but Sylar starts to feel a little dizzy. Somehow, Mohinder has realized the true identity of his ‘buddy’, and he has drugged him.

Nathan and Hiro bump into each other in the casino. Nathan agrees to help Hiro get in to see Linderman.

Claire is heading for Canada under an assumed identity, and she is not happy about it. She steals the Haitian’s boarding pass and passport and ditches him at security, intent on going to New York and hiding out with Peter Petrelli, whom she says is the only person she can trust.

Isaac is visited by the police sent by Nathan, but is saved when none other than Simone shows up and walks through the door, followed closely by Bennett. Simone then morphs back into Candice. Isaac is going a bit crazy and asks to come with, but Bennet tells him he must stay and continue painting.

Jessica is playing video games with Micah and encouraging him to skip school, but she tells Niki, "I’m a better you than you." Niki has placed the Nathan photo on D.L.’s pillow. D.L. wants to know what’s up, but Jessica promises not to do anything she doesn’t want to.

Mohinder’s curare intravenous drip is keeping Sylar at bay. He seems ready to kill Sylar until he gets talked out of it, then goes to plan B and instead, painfully extracts a sample of Sylar’s spinal fluid.

Hiro has made it all the way into the Linderman museum. He uses a few moments of alone time to locate the sword, but is caught just as he is about to take it. However, the first guard to respond is none other than Ando. Capture is averted, but they are still trapped inside the museum.

Nathan is an hour away from his meeting with Linderman when Jessica subdues the two FBI agents who are listening in. She kills them in a businesslike manner.

Sylar’s supposed captive status is completely fake . Mohinder finds this out when Sylar stops a bullet headed for his brain in mid-air, then effortlessly breaks his wrist restraints. He heads toward Mohinder to end his life…

Nathan is intercepted by Niki, who warns him that Linderman knows he has turned.

Bennet thinks he is confiding in Sandra, but it’s Candice he is talking to. Soon, he is confronted by his boss and other agents.

Hiro and Ando teleport out of the museum and into the future, into the aftermath of the bomb, and Hiro believes he has failed.

Claire makes it to New York. The door to Peter’s apartment is opened by his mother and The Haitian. Amazingly, she knows Claire and says she is Claire’s grandmother.

On invitation, Nathan knocks out Niki and takes her gun, intent on killing Linderman.

Linderman meets Nathan in the kitchen of a restaurant. Nathan pulls a gun. Linderman seems unfazed, offering information on the heroes, help for Peter, a winning election, and a short path to the White House as bargaining chips. It’s enough to make Nathan drop the gun.

Peter visits Mohinder and finds him bleeding and pinned somehow to the ceiling. Mohinder’a warning of "Sylar!" comes too late, and Sylar uses a kinetic finger to slice into Peter’s brain.

Comments

This episode was the last one before an extended break, so the creators made sure to leave a number of dramatic threads hanging.

Zachary Quinto (Sylar) does a great job of switching between complete vulnerability and sheer controlling evil.

I saw the Sandra/Candice thing coming well before it happened.

It’s quite a coup to get Malcom McDowell as Linderman. I did not recognize him at all, however. But McDowell plays a great gray area baddie (at least he did in the movie Star Trek: Generations).

Memorable Moments

• Mohinder revealing his knowledge of Sylar

• Hiro’s turn that almost slaps Nathan with his sword shield

• Peter’s lock hitting the floor as Sylar slices into his brain

Quotable Quotes

Sylar: You’ve given me hope.
Mohinder: Hope is great; we need caffeine.

Sylar: Who’re we gonna call next?
Mohinder: No one. I already have you…Mr Sylar.

1.19 .07%

Thompson tells Bennet that Bennet’s death is iminent; he is only waiting for the order. Thompson expresses disdain at how Bennet has betrayed the company.

Linderman reveals his healing superpowers to Nathan by reanimating a dead plant. Linderman tells a story of his early years, when he and other with power tried to help the world, but some of them lost their way. Linderman favors the armageddon scenario, with Nathan as the leader last standing who rallies humanity from the ashes. Linderman gives Nathan an ‘after’ painting showing the successful candidate.

Cell to cell, Bennet communicates telepathically with Matt, compelling him to take action before it is too late. Matt loosens a pipe, knocks out the guard and steals his pass, and proceeds into the hallway.

At Mohinder’s apartment, Peter initially neutralizes Sylar, but Sylar wins the battle by flinging glass shards that find and knock out the invisible man. But Mohinder gets the jump on Sylar and knocks him out.

Claire’s grandmother fills her in on her family tree of two half-brothers (Nathan and Peter). She also insists that Claire hide away in Paris until she is old enough to make her own decision about whether to return to the other superheroes and use her powers.

Sylar comes to and discovers a photo of Isaac. Presumably he is headed there next.

Isaac delivers the next installment of his comic book to a messenger who is also an avid fan. Isaac also gives him his sketchbook and requests that he hold onto it.

D.L. tells Niki that he is taking Micah away from her to protect him. She’s not too happy buy has no real response. Their ‘discussion’ is interrupted when two of Linderman’s associate show up and request that Niki return with them.

Telepathically, Bennet leads Matt to free Ted Sprague as well, just as Thompson discovers Matt’s escape and the alarm bells sound.

Mohinder brings Peter’s deceased body to Peter’s grandmother’s house.

Jessica meets with Linderman meets with Jessica and asks her for a loan of Micah. Jessica, despite her other faults, refuses, but Linderman indicates that he will do it anyway.

Bennet teaches Ted how to control his power and use an electromagnetic pulse, rather than radioactive energy, to take out the power grid. Matt then convinces Ted to go back and rescue Bennet.

Nathan arrives at Claire’s grandmother’s house and finds out Peter is dead. Claire insists on seeing Peter. She removes the shard of glass from his head and he re-animates. Peter takes this opportunity to ask Nathan to talk to Claire, accept her, and keep her around, rather than banishing her to Paris.

Bennet convinces Matt and Ted that the next step should be to go to New York and take out the tracking system, so that superheroes can no longer be bagged and tagged.

Jessica/Niki willingly and happily escorts Micah into the waiting arms of Linderman – then morphs into Candice.

Mohinder calls Primatech Paper, hoping to talk to Bennet again, but instead has a visit from Thompson at his apartment.

Sylar does visit Isaac, and, after gruesomely pinning him to the floor with paintbrushes like a butterfly in a sample tray, asks Isaac for information about the future. Isaac says he knows his own destiny is to tell others (in paintings, I would assume) how to kill Sylar and stop the bomb, and then to die at this moment. With that, Sylar fulfills his destiny.

Nathan asks Claire to go to Paris for a week, just until after the election, and then to return home ‘…to her family’, when he can begin to do the right thing and be there for her.

With his newly aquired powers of painting the future, Sylar draws what appears to be a much uglier picture of Nathan the successful politician.

Five years into the future, Hiro and Ando stand on the rooftop of a building, looking out over a devastated New York City. Ando wants Hiro to go back and stop the bomb from going off, but Hiro wants to go back and fix any mistakes they made. At Isaac’s apartment, Hiro and Ando discover a timeline made from notes and clippings strung on a clothesline. They also find someone else: Future Hiro!

Comments

Candice’s ability to morph is, like time travel, an unwelcome and unappealingly lazy script contrivance for me. I don’t like scriptwork where fooling the audience is so easy and so impossible to detect. This tends to make the audience just as lazy as the scriptwriters.

Since it has now been revealed that Zachary Quinto will play the young Mr Spock in the twelfth Star Trek movie, Quinto is now looking more and more Spockian to me.

In the final scene with Hiro and Ando, Ando says, "I’m confused." Well, so was I, momentarily, until I realized that what Hiro meant was that rather than time-traveling back into the past to fix things, they should first hang around and try to look for clues in the present, after the event.

Memorable Moments

• Hiro and Future Hiro staring at each other

Quotable Quotes

Thompson: Do you need anything? I just got through with this ‘Graham Greene’ I was reading…I’ll bring it.
Bennet: How was it?
Thompson: Ended bad.

Future Hiro: You!
Hiro: Me? (closing line)

1.20 Five Years Gone

Future Hiro reveals to Hiro and Ando that Sylar exploded, destroying New York City. Future Hiro explains that because Peter saved the cheerleader, Sylar never got her powers of regeneration, and he can be killed. Future Hiro failed in this attempt, because in his timeline, Sylar killed Claire, and when Hiro stabbed Sylar, he regenerated. Special agents from Homeland Security (including Matt and The Haitian) break in just as this meeting is ending, and Hiro is captured, while Ando and Future Hiro escape.

Future Hiro tells Ando that Hiro will be taken to a holding facility in New York (where all the ‘terrorists’ are taken). Future Hiro says the only way to get past The Haitian’s powers and rescue Hiro is to fetch the most powerful superhero – Peter Petrelli - from Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas, Future Hiro and Ando look for Peter by first tracking down his girlfriend, Niki/Jessica, who is doing a pole dance in lingerie. Niki doesn’t want to talk about Peter or Sylar, but she does mention that Bennet is still rustling cattle in Texas. With Future Hiro and Ando safely away, Peter rematerializes next to Niki and promises not to go off to fight with his buddies, even though today just happens to be the anniversary of the New York explosion.

Hiro tries to tell Matt that it’s all a misunderstanding, but paranoia from the Sylar explosion has turned Matt and many others into those who assume the worst first and then try to prove it. Matt is glad to have captured such a big name terrorist, as is his boss, Nathan, who plans to announce it in his next speech. And by the way...Matt addresses Nathan as ‘…Mr President.’

Nathan calls Mohinder into the oval office to ask him to investigate the new prisoner. He also shares dour news about an increase in attacks by those with superpowers, despite five years of research and billions of dollars spent trying to control these people. Nathan suggests a radical plan to solve the problem, a suggestion originally put forward by Mohinder – forced extinction of the species.

Matt beats on Hiro, but is interrupted when he finds out that Mohinder is at Isaac’s apartment, checking out the timeline. Matt meets and speaks with Mohinder there. Mohinder realizes the key is the cheerleader.

Future Hiro and Ando get to Bennet. He is still working for Primatech, but now he is helping to hide people with superpowers. Initially, he does not want to help Future Hiro, but is convinced when Ando tells him that Hiro saved Claire’s life (by time-traveling back and asking Peter to save Claire).

Claire is working as a waitress in Midland, Texas, where she has dyed her hair brown and is engaged to be married. Her recurring guest is back: the ‘guy with glasses’ (Bennet). Concerned for her safety, Bennet tells her to leave, but Claire is tired of running. As they speak, news of a major sweep and capture effort by Homeland Security plays on the television.

Future Hiro and Ando make their plans. Future Hiro is just about to tell Ando something important, presumably about the future, when Matt bursts in and stuns him with a special gun. Future and Ando are captured momentarily, but Peter arrives, freezes time, and facilitates their escape.

Matt may have once been a man with a conscience, but whaever happened to him has made him bitter and mean. He had entered into an arrangement with Bennet that allowed Bennet to protect the harmless super people, as long as he turned in the dangerous ones. But when Matt loses Future Hiro, he demands to know where Claire is. When the information is not forthcoming, Matt kills Bennet (although the shot is fired off-screen, so we just have to assume that for now).

Still at the diner, Claire asks Andy to elope, since she knows she can no longer stay. Andy agrees. When Claire turns back to the counter, one of her new customers is Matt, and he addresses her as ‘Claire’.

Mohinder discusses ‘save the cheerleader’ and Peter’s revelation about being visited by a time traveler with Hiro, and learns that Hiro is here to change the past and kill Sylar.

Peter reveals to Ando that Ando died in the New York explosion, and this is also when Hiro’s optimism died. Niki is not all that happy to see Peter and his new friends.

Mohinder tries to convince Nathan that Hiro can change the world by being helped to kill Sylar before the explosion, but Nathan wants to go ahead with his plan to eliminate all people with superpowers. Nathan’s plan is to lie and say that Mohinder has discovered a cure. The cure will kill, but the end justifies the means. Matt interrupts with the news that he has discovered two Hiros in the timeline and one Claire in Texas.

Claire waits in the Petrelli mansion in New Hampshire and is joined by Nathan. Claire makes a compelling argument about Nathan’s treatment of super people, but it falls on deaf ears – or, more accurately, the wrong ears. Because this mean-spirited Nathan is not Nathan at all. Sylar, having killed Candice, has absorbed her powers and taken the form of Nathan. As is his way, he dissects Claire.

Ando and Future Hiro reminisce about the good old days when Ando was alive.

Peter tells Niki that he was the bomb, not Sylar, and that Nathan lied to protect him. Peter must try to reverse it. Niki tells him if he leaves, to never come back.

As Nathan/Sylar makes his speech at the site of the New York explosion (which looks a lot like ground zero 9/11), Future Hiro, Peter, and Ando arrive at Homeland Security to free Hiro. As Nathan announces his faux plan to safely cure super people, Mohinder prepares a lethal injection for Hiro. But Mohinder injects the Haitian, which means super people’s powers can work. Enter Peter and Future Hiro. When Sylar hears of the failure, he immediately flies from the scene of his speech, despite the crowd, and pulls Peter from the room, and squares off against him. Hiro and Ando teleport away just in time, back to the present, where Hiro looks at what lies ahead of him – he still must kill Sylar.

Comments

The show makes a big step up early in this episode by finally explaining the true significance of ‘saving the cheerleader’. I also liked the tie-in to the real world. In this fantasy world, Peter’s explosion (similar to 9/11) has caused people to throw a wide net over the definition of ‘terrorist’.

Hiro and Ando are by far my favorite characters. They seem to get all the best lines, and they deliver them well. They also add some much needed humor to lighten the dour mood. .07% (the previous episode) excluded them until the very end, and it suffered because of that.

Peter may be all-powerful, but he casts a shadow on everything, with his angry countenance and his large facial scar.

Nathan’s personality seemed a little out of character, but not so much so that I ever suspected he was Sylar and that Sylar was still alive.

This is a fantastic episode, probably the best yet.

Nits

When Niki discourages Peter from going off with Future Hiro, perhaps Peter should argue that when someone can time travel, there’s no need to feel that there is no hope of fixing the past (apparently, Niki lost Micah in the explosion).

Memorable Moments

• Peter freezing time the way Hiro used to do it

Quotable Quotes

Hiro: I look upset.
Ando: Go. Talk to yourself.
Hiro: No way! I scare me. You do it.

"You are like me…special. Why do you want to hurt other special people?"
- Hiro to Matt

Andy:You know Sandra, for a girl who hates the president, you sure do perk up whenener he comes on. A guy could get jealous.
Claire: He’s old enough to be my father.

Ando: Why are you so surprised to see me?
Peter: He didn’t tell you?
Ando: What?
Peter: You’re dead.

Ando: Is everything okay?
Peter: No…let’s go fix it.