Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Apocalypzzzzzzz
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 17 | Aired on 02.23.2009
...and then he slides out of frame so we're fully in the flashback, which is now four weeks ago. Bennet's sitting in the living room and doing a crossword when Sandra enters and asks if he needs help. Bennet offers, "Four-letter word, Thin Man dog." Sandra supplies, "Asta," like, come on, Bennet. That's in like, every New York Times puzzle ever made! Maybe he's never done one of these before, but you'd think at some point when he was staking out a Hero's house he would have needed a diversion such as this. Sandra then tells him she's going to go get changed, as they have dinner in an hour with "the Bulows," and if he wants to take a shower he should do it now. After some talk about the PTA and her putting his coffee cup on a coaster, she kisses him on the head and says it's nice to have him around. Ringing testimonial from your wife of 20-ish years, guy. He smiles fakely, but when she's gone, it looks like dinner with the Joneses is on his list right after "chewing on tinfoil," so it's no surprise that he looks up eagerly when there's a knock at the door, which he opens to find Nathan. They shake hands, but when Bennet confesses he doesn't know where Claire is, Nathan replies that she's at the library. At Bennet's raised eyebrow, he clarifies, "Secret Service thing." Heh. He goes on that he wanted to talk to Bennet alone, so Bennet invites him in...
...and in the study, Nathan says he's set "some things" in motion, and assures him Claire will be safe. Bennet's blood pressure predictably goes up when the issue of Claire's safety is even mentioned, and he cuts through Nathan's roundabout speechifying and insists he get to the point, so Nathan says the reason Bennet joined Primatech is still true -- people with abilities are a threat. He says that the government has the resources to deal with the problem, and Bennet incredulously asks if that means Nathan's rounding people up. Nathan says that's only the beginning, so Bennet asks if he's counting himself, and Nathan admits that certain exceptions need to be made, and Claire could be one of them -- but he needs Bennet's help. Bennet asks what Nathan plans to do after the containment step, and Nathan replies that he intends to have science figure out a way to eliminate the abilities permanently, tipping his hand a bit by saying his own abilities were given to him and they can be taken away, and he won't accept anything less. This is the same man that wanted to give everyone in the world abilities only weeks earlier, right? I mean, I absolutely despise the term, but even I would feel pretty comfortable labeling Nathan a flip-flopper. Bennet, seeming like he's coming around, points out that Nathan will be seen as a villain, and not only that, Claire will find out he's responsible. Nathan feebly says that she doesn't need to know, but Bennet dismisses that, saying she will, they all will, and they'll blame him. Nathan admits that he lost his way, and he nearly killed his own brother. "I just want a chance to make things right." Here's a thought: Try anything else. Bennet asks what Nathan wants from him, and Nathan points out that Bennet spent 20 years tracking "these people," and he wants to know how Bennet did it. Considering he once captured you himself, Nathan, shouldn't you already know?