Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 758 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Hinky and the Brain
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 3 | Aired on 2008.09.29
Meredith is already in the kitchen when Claire enters. If I had to think of an appropriate way for this conversation to start, I'd be here all day, so good on Meredith for keeping it simple, apologizing for tricking Claire but telling her she did it for her own good. And I think it is an important lesson -- even though Claire can't feel pain, she can still be gotten the better of, and not just by Sylar. Meredith goes on that Claire's got a great home and family, and she should just take some time to recover from the attack. "You don't just wake up one morning and learn what life's all about. You gotta build it, brick by brick. And you gotta learn to save yourself before you can save the world." A little homespun and meta, sure, but I'll take it over Mohinder's flowery ramblings any day. Meredith finishes by saying there's nothing wrong with just being a seventeen-year-old girl for a while, and it's a good speech, but Claire's smile is a thin disguise for the fact that Meredith's words are clearly not hitting home. Not content to let Hayden Panettiere's acting do all the work, though, the script has her, while hugging her mother, throw a LOOK to the PRIMATECH BOX nearby. Okay, show, you have more than one actor where that would be necessary, but she's not one of them, okay?
So Matt's new future apparently shows him holding a dead woman in his arms, and he thinks stopping that from happening must be why he's there. Actually, you're there because Future Peter's an asshole, but while you're stuck you might as well go with your plan.
Sandra comes into the living room and tells Meredith that the school called, saying Claire didn't show up. Meredith starts to apologize, but Sandra cuts her off and tells her in no uncertain terms that she is the decider when it comes to Claire, and they're not playing a game. "She just got attacked. Hurt." Meredith isn't easily intimidated, though, saying that Claire is looking to push back. "Smothering her, that's the best way to drive her away." Smothering her? Oh, Meredith. She says she just wanted to keep Claire there, but just at that moment, the doorbell rings, and Claire, wearing her cheerleading uniform and carrying a bag, comes hurrying downstairs to answer. It's some random girl, and Claire turns back and says she "totally forgot" about the "cheerleader sleepover retreat." Ohh, nicely played, Claire, forcing her to answer in front of both your friend and Meredith. Sandra freezes for a moment, but tells her it's fine, and she's gone.