Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT You May Not Believe It…
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 12 | Aired on 12.08.2008
We're at Sue Landers's place of employ, and it's her birthday! You'd think Sylar could at least jump out of a cake naked before he kills her (SPOILER!). After well wishes from her coworkers, Sue enters her office, which is filled with birthday stuff, to find Sylar, who says he's got a special delivery for her. However, after a camera-shiver and a dissonant sound effect, she tells him he's lying. Now, I know it seems necessary to reveal her power, but common sense would suggest that if he's lying, he's got some nefarious intent, so NOT CALLING HIM OUT might be the better part of valor. Backing me up, Sylar TKs the door shut and asks Sue questions about how her power works. Scared now, Sue asks how he knew about her, but Sylar doesn't answer, instead saying that he needs to know the truth about something. Sue demurs, strongly implying that her power has been more of a curse than a blessing, and Sylar picks up on that, but doesn't waver as he telekinetically throws her against the wall. He assures her that what he's about to do won't hurt a bit, but as her power kicks in again she knows he's lying and gasps in abject fear. He just gives a hilarious "Oopsie" face and offers, "Got me!" Heh. He kills her, and as Sylar's Theme Ticking returns from a long absence, he leans down and breathes, "I almost forgot how good this feels." I'm assuming he means taking another ability rather than merely slicing someone's head open, given that he did the latter, like, less than a day ago. I mean, I don't remember everything I did yesterday, but I think killing the girl I was pretending to bone would stand out. Just then, three of Sue's coworkers bust in with more presents, but their faces fall when they see Sylar kneeling over Sue's corpse. He stands, holding his hands out like a surgeon who just used blood to scrub up instead of water, and smiles: "Cake!" Sylar, ladies and gentlemen! He'll be here all week...but you won't! We switch to an outside view as the door flies shut, and while that scene was effective, I have to mourn the losses here. I mean, if offices generally had that positive an atmosphere, people would want to hang out in them more, no?
Nathan's interviewing the Marine who rates speaking pay, and learns that the man is under the impression he's to be injected with some kind of safe performance-enhancing drug. That makes me think of its potential application in sports -- don't you think baseball would be a lot more interesting if people superzipped around the bases or flew up in the air to catch pop-ups? Nathan haltingly tells the guy that the drug will permanently change his life in ways he can't even imagine, but the dude is on board with that, as he lost most of his unit in a showdown in Iraq, and he's beaten himself up since for not being better than simply human. Nathan gives this cornpone story his smiling seal of approval, like, an episode ago you felt the same way so strongly that you were willing to strand your powerless brother in a hostile jungle, and yet you just needed further convincing from another person you've never even met? Make this guy Commander In Chief, stat!