Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Taste My Soup!
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.10.2008
Angela's cooking dinner when Linderman enters. He takes a moment to get to the point, saying it wasn't an easy decision to come there, but he's got a shred of morality left in him somewhere, and he can't stand by and watch Arthur destroy her. She denies knowledge of what he's talking about, but as you see her cast about for forgotten memories there seems to be a bit of doubt in her voice. Linderman tells her he can heal the scars left from all the times Arthur has invaded her mind. Angela gets agitated, and when Linderman tells her Arthur's going to kill "your son," she slaps him reflexively. He's undeterred, though, as he puts his hands on her shoulders and repeats that he can heal the scars. "But you have to decide. Do you want to live in blind obedience" -- his voice breaks with emotion -- "or do you want to know the truth?" Even as her face reveals her fear of what she's going to learn, she silently takes his hands and slides them up to her face. She closes her eyes, and Linderman concentrates -- and then she snaps to with a violent start: "Nathan!"
Bringing us right back to the very beginning, the train has crashed, and firemen are all over the scene. Eric Roberts is leading Meredith away, and asks again why she hates The Company so much. Meredith, the fight gone from her, says that they killed her baby girl. She's unaware, of course, that said baby girl is probably within sight of her at the moment, but we'll get to that in due time. Meredith gives the details: A Company agent caught up with her fourteen years earlier in "a little village off the Panhandle" and stormed in at night. "There was a firefight, and the place went up like kindling." When Meredith mentions her daughter's name, however, Eric Roberts realizes the whole situation, and after a moment, makes an executive decision to let Meredith go. He tells her to think of this favor as repayment for her "little girl," and although it's clear from what he said earlier that he knows Claire's alive, I don't think, on second viewing, that Meredith actually picked up on that. Anyway, Meredith takes off, and we shift to recycled footage of younger Claire rushing in and seeing the trapped fireman. We cut away before we see if she saves him, which is probably really suspenseful for all the viewers the show has picked up this season. (Sure, that was mean, but COME ON.)
In Sylar's kitchen, Elle takes a couple of deep breaths, steeling herself for what she's about to cause to happen, before plastering on a smile and saying the ziti he's made smells awesome. Goes great with Goth! She brings the stuff into the other room, in which Sylar, dressed up like a good little boy, is uncorking some wine, and they have a little chat about what they should do that night until there's a knock at the door. Elle's like, oh, by the way, I invited someone to join us! Because I figured you'd need dessert, and we were all out of pie! Sylar's face falls, as it well might given the low piano note that forebodingly plays on the soundtrack, and we get a brief Bennet-Cam look at the door opening and this kid "Trevor" entering. Elle introduces the two boys and says she thought they should meet, as Trevor has an ability too. I'll tell you that said ability is neither to moderate the amount of eyeliner he wears nor to wash his hair. Sylar's confused, so Elle says she hopes he's not mad, but she got Trevor's number off the list in the trash, and she thinks it's important for Sylar's mental health to know other people like himself. Trevor, for his part, looks way too pleased with himself generally, and when Elle invites him to demonstrate his power, he uses his fingers to simulate a gun and shoots at the two wineglasses, which shatter. Okay, Sylar, time to kill him. Elle feigns excitement, and then tells them to wait there as she runs out of the room, and Bennet overacts the delight at everything that's going on. Despite his checkered past, I'm not really buying that he'd be quite so amped about killing this kid, and I don't think it's really necessary for the story either, as it's possible to think the end is necessary and still hate the means, but this whole plotline is stupid and irritating and bugs the crap out of me. I am happy, though, as I said before, that it means Quinto and Bell will have more screentime together. See how that works, Bennet?