Episode Report Card Wing Chun: B | 38 USERS: B- YOU GRADE IT The Ballad Of Charlie And Hiro
By Wing Chun | Season 1 | Episode 8 | Aired on 2006.11.13
Bennet and Eden head back to the faux-rehab wing -- let's call it Empty Promises -- with Eden pleading for Bennet to give Isaac more time, but Bennet heads straight for a drawer in a nearby cabinet and fills a syringe: "We tried his way, now we do it mine." Eden yips about how hard Isaac has worked to get clean: "You can't ask him to do this." "I'm not going to ask him," Bennet replies. "You are." Eden's like, "Oh hell no," like it's never occurred to her that working for a shady government agency might someday require her to compromise her personal integrity. Bennet reminds her that she always knew this would be a possibility, but she spits, "You said when we started that I would never have to do it again. You promised me." Bennet's like, "Yeah, right, and I never lie." What he actually says is, "Who do you think taught you? Do you even remember what you were when I found you?" Eden looks chastened. The syringe filled, Bennet sums up the situation: "You're the easy way. I think we both know the hard way." Eden takes the gear and stomps off to Isaac's room, closing the door behind her. After a moment, Bennet follows and watches through the glass window: at first, all we see is Isaac, cowering away from Eden on the bed and apparently yelling in protest, though we can't hear anything. Eden walks slowly toward him and sits on the bed, Isaac still remonstrating angrily. Eden leans forward. The camera zooms in so that we can see she's whispering right in Isaac's ear, but we can't hear what she says. Once she's finished pushing (I assume), she leans back to get her equipment ready, and looks back over her shoulder to shoot Bennet one last hateful glare. Bennet doesn't seem to give a shit, obviously.
In Midland -- where, in the wake of Charlie's death, police have put out an APB on Laura Bush -- we start on a snapshot of Charlie, apparently celebrating her birthday at the diner, pinned to a bulletin board on the wall. Then we see her covered body being wheeled out on a gurney, past Ando and Hiro. Officer Grey pulls up a chair to their table, sounding quite agitated as he asks them whether Charlie said anything that sounded like she was scared. Ando shakes his head: "She seemed very nice." Officer Grey agrees that she was: "Too nice to die like that -- head ripped open!" Hiro seems to start a tiny bit at this bit of information about her murder. Ando tells Grey, "We're very sorry." Getting up to return to the store room, Grey tells Ando and Hiro to wait, and that someone will come to take their statements. Once he's gone, Hiro tells Ando that Charlie was killed the same way Hiro saw Isaac killed in the future: "That can't be a coincidence." "Then we should be extra-careful," says Ando. "There must be something I can do," says Hiro. "She's already dead," says Ando gently, reaching out a hand across the table. "I can bend time," Hiro reminds us. "I can go back." "No," says Ando quickly. "Why else did I get these powers if I'm not supposed to help?" asks Hiro calmly; he's evidently already made up his mind and seems confident and assured about it, much like the English-speaking, sword-wielding FutureHiro. Ando exasperatedly points out that they're "already on one stupid mission" and don't need another. Hiro brings up his failure to intervene in the deaths of "those poker men." Ando continues trying to dissuade Hiro, but his mind's made up: "I'll just go back to yesterday. I'll stop her from coming to work. If she's not here, she can't be killed." "But you can be," Ando points out. "You don't have control over your powers yet. The last time you teleported, you ended up in the future, in another country!" Still with steely resolve, Hiro replies, "If I'm too scared to use my powers, then I don't deserve to have them." Ando looks perplexed, and Hiro concludes, "I have to try." "What about the cheerleader?" asks Ando. "I won't be late," promises Hiro. "Just count to five, and I'll be back. We'll celebrate my victory." Ando doesn't get a chance to say anything more than "please" before Hiro makes the kidney-stone-passing face and disappears. Ando sadly closes his eyes and counts: "Three...four...five." Mississippilessly? When he opens his eyes again, Hiro hasn't returned. Ando's like, "Worst vacation ever."