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