The Way We Were

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It's Papa Bennet backstory time! What you need to know from the past: Eric Roberts, looking like a Madame Tussaud's version of himself, is Papa Bennet's boss. We don't learn much about him, but if he's played by Eric Roberts my guess is you don't want to fuck with him.

Papa Bennet didn't adopt Claire willingly, either; he was ordered to by…George Takei. While Hiro played with a Gameboy nearby. He was also ordered not to get too close to Claire, because, Takei says, if she starts to manifest, they'll take her back.

Claude used to be Papa Bennet's partner; Papa Bennet was supposed to kill him, because Claude was protecting a Hero, which is against company policy; Papa Bennet probably would have skipped shooting Claude if Claude had told him who it was, but Claude doesn't, so Papa Bennet, who is a shitty shot, pumps a few rounds into him, but Claude winks out before Papa Bennet can confirm the kill.

We also meet Teen Haitian, whose necklace is a silver version of Jessica's tattoo.

Back in the present, Sprague and Parkman hold the Bennet family hostage; Parkman is trying to get to the truth by reading people's minds, and also trying to keep Sprague from flipping his shit and going all fusion-vengeance on the household. Claire is still pissed at her father and opens her mind up to Parkman to get back at him. After a bunch of Mexican-standoff misdirection that gets Claire shot, reveals her secret to her mother…again, and makes us sit through a lot of speechifying about faith, Eric Roberts shows up in the present day to manage the situation. His idea of "managing" is to shoot at Ted. Nice work, Ambassador -- Ted gets so pissed that he goes nuclear and can't stop his own chain reaction, and Claire's the only one who can get close enough to him to administer a tranq. Everyone winds up with mild radiation burns and Casa Bennet looks like it's burning to the ground, but don't worry -- Mr. Muggles gets out alive.

At the end of the episode, Sprague and Parkman are drugged up and strapped to beds in the Primatech lab. Papa Bennet tries to blame everything on the Haitian (I think…the web of finger-pointing got kind of confusing); Eric Roberts pretends he buys it, but obviously doesn't, and is like, "Okay, so, bring Claire in. Like now. So we can probe her brain and then kill her." That last part may have been silent. Cut to a tearful father-daughter scene in the car which culminates on the same bridge Papa Bennet "killed" Claude on, Papa Bennet ordering the Haitian to 1) shoot him (in the abdomen, not lethally) and 2) wipe his mind of everything so that Eric Roberts can't find Claire. Claire is bawling, I'm bawling…even the Haitian seemed kind of touched. Could have been pollen, though.

Couch Baron will take it from here on this ep. Don't panic, Erin's back week. Want more? The full recap starts right below!

Oh my God, could I be more excited to recap this episode? No, I couldn't. Well, maybe if I drank twenty cups of coffee and snorted some coke, but even then, the difference would be marginal. Wheeee!

Okay. We open on a shot of the Bennet home. Oh, I should just mention that if you're interested in seeing a shot of Simone's cold corpse, you're going to have to wait until the previews for week. That blood is never going to come out of Isaac's floor at this rate. So from a low angle, we do a slow pan around the foyer to the stairs, down which Mr. Muggles comes with a bit of a growl. It's too bad he's too teeny to do any good in the upcoming situation, but you have to admire his instincts. Outside, we get an orgasmically cool shot of the episode title and number written in white letters over the house. If that's the show's way of currying favor by saving me from having to look up that information, it's appreciated but unnecessary, as I'm going to be geeking out for this episode so intensely that I'm afraid it's going to render me too dorky even to get into a Star Trek convention. So it turns out that we're starting a few minutes earlier than when we left the Bennet household. Mr. Muggles's growling turns to full-fledged barking as we hear a sizzling noise, and then flames appear around the door handle and lock, which melt away. Sprague quickly enters and scoops up Mr. Muggles, and Parkman's all, "Don't!" Yes, please don't barbecue Mr. Muggles, Sprague. I've grown attached to the guy, and besides, there's barely enough of him to make a single kebab. Sprague irritatedly says he isn't going to nuke the dog, although Parkman muses that it might be the most effective way to get at Bennet, since there are more pictures of dogs around his house than of his kids. Well, I'll admit I like Claire a little bit more than dogs. However, I like dogs a whole lot more than Lyle, so overall, the math makes sense to me.

As they head into Bennet's study or whatever, Sprague opines how unlikely it is that Bennet left anything incriminating in the house, especially given that he recently got raided by the FBI at work. Parkman starts manhandling the computer, saying that it's worth looking. I guess Parkman doesn't know that Zach already checked the thing out and said there was nothing on it. Or maybe, understandably enough, he just doesn't trust the word of an ex-gay. Speaking of which, how awesome is it that Jack Coleman played Steven Carrington on Dynasty? Related to Joan Collins and going out with Billy Campbell? That's a life I could get behind having. Sprague suggests Parkman simply read Bennet's mind to find out what they want to know, and Parkman says he intends to do just that. "We're gonna bag the smug son of a bitch at his paper factory." Ooh, shouldn't have taunted Parkman like that, Bennet. Just then, however, the Bennet family pulls into the driveway, and Sprague suggests they take him right there and then. Parkman is initially insistent that they not involve innocents, but Sprague points out that the family's presence will be a powerful motivator for Bennet to be tractable, and asks how many times Parkman's going to let Bennet slip through his fingers. Despite the fact that he takes another look at Claire touchingly helping her mother toward the door, Parkman steels himself and draws his gun. A new camera angle gives us a shot of a clock in the foreground reading about 6:25, and then we focus on the Bennets coming in the front door. (I almost typed "family" instead of "Bennets" in that last sentence, but I was suddenly stricken with the coldest chills I've ever experienced. Can't imagine why.)

We then relive the scene from last week, which continues past where we left off, as Mrs. Bennet asks what's happening, a question Claire accusingly parrots to her father. Sprague, hands starting to sizzle, inwardly tells himself to stay calm, which Parkman hears via his power and loudly repeats to the room. Good idea. Bennet, not ready to give up the ghost, introduces Parkman to his family, although he doesn't tell them how they know each other. Which is understandable, given that I don't think the story of how Bennet abducted and studied these guys is going to do much for the whole "remaining calm" stated goal. Parkman snaps that he's formerly of the LAPD, thanks to Bennet, but Bennet does his best paper-salesman voice and asks what Parkman and Sprague mean by busting into his house with guns. Sprague tells Bennet that he doesn't need a gun after what he did to him. Bennet, a hard edge in his voice, says he doesn't know Sprague, but Sprague suggests he not piss him off, as "I get very bright, and very hot." No offense to the actor, but that would be a welcome change on both fronts. Parkman nervously puts away his gun and says Sprague won't get upset, but Bennet has to help. Bennet tries again to tell them he's a paper salesman, but Sprague intensely is like, "No. You're not." The Sprague Alert Scale is currently at yellow.

Oh, this is so awesome. So we focus in on Bennet's left eye, seeing Sprague's image in his glasses as we get close. When we're past them, the image suddenly turns black-and-white, and then we pan back out to see Bennet without his specs. We then get a superimposed "15 Years Ago," and we're on a side view of Bennet and another guy in an office, presumably at Primatech. The guy asks Bennet how he feels about paper. Bennet, in kind of a deadpan: "Wildly enthusiastic." Heh. The guy says that's good, because as far as his friends and family are going to know, paper is Bennet's life. When the guy stands and shakes Bennet's hand, I see that he's played by Eric Roberts, whom I actually recapped once, when he played the serial killer Richard L'Italien on Oz. If it turns out that his character's power is extreme creepiness, it'll mean they sure did a good job casting the role. Bennet laughs that his title of Regional Manager is a nice cover, and Eric Roberts ("Thompson" is how I've seen his character's name listed, but until that's officially mentioned on the show, he's "Eric Roberts" to me) says he's sorry to make a liar out of him, but no one outside the organization can know what they do. Bennet agrees with that modus operandi, as he thinks people are fragile. He can be forgiven for thinking that, since he doesn't know Claire yet. After an allusion to their species being in a state of flux and their mission being to keep people safe, Eric Roberts tells Bennet that he may be asked to do things that fall in a morally grey territory -- things that most people would find cruel, but men like them know to be necessary. Bennet smiles big and says he's "comfortable with morally grey." I don't know how you can be comfortable with anything this close to Eric Roberts. I'm lying in bed with four pillows and a down comforter and I'm about to jump out of my skin. Eric Roberts tells Bennet that he's going to have a partner, and that said partner is going to be one of them, as that's how they all stay honest. Bennet grins and says that's cool, and asks when he gets to meet him. Eric Roberts says he's already there, prompting Bennet to look behind him. Claude then appears in the chair to him, and I'm glad the show didn't duck the effect by cutting away there, because that was really cool-looking. Bennet turns back and jumps up like he just sat on a hot poker. See what I mean about not getting too comfortable? Bennet's too flummoxed to form coherent words for about five seconds, but to his credit, he busts into a "Wow, that kind of rocked" smile. Eric Roberts is mildly amused at Bennet's temporary aphasia, while Claude smoothly sticks out his hand and tells Bennet it's a brave new world. Bennet smiles even bigger and takes Claude's hand, then turns his head...

... right back into the present, as Sprague is asking "Mr. Bennet" what goes on at his paper factory. Parkman bellows that he abducts and drugs people. If I'm Bennet, this is where I'm all, "Is your name 'Mr. Bennet'?" It's also where I'm shot and/or immolated, but it's totally worth it. Parkman shows everyone the marks on his neck, says that Bennet injects them "with I don't know what," and then tells him that he lost his job, and he's trying not to lose his wife. Well, I can't help you with the job, dude, but given that your wife cheated on you, I think she's the one that owes some effort here. Parkman goes on that Bennet doesn't care about what he's done, as long as they end up not remembering it. He announces that Bennet makes them forget, which gets Mrs. Bennet's attention: "How can he make you forget?" Parkman hears the answer in Claire's mind: "The Haitian." Matt, both confirming that and showing his incredulity that Claire is aware of him, repeats what she said, causing Bennet to betray himself involuntarily by the way he looks at her. Of course, he's already aware that she knows about the Haitian, but he's reacting to the fact that she thought about him in Parkman's direction. Yeah, there have been quite a few moves on the chessboard in this opening act. Claire looks at her father and loathingly thinks, "This is your fault," and Parkman hears it and announces to the family that Bennet has them all fooled except for her. Geez, Parkman, you could use this power of yours for a whole lot of personal gain if you'd only learn to keep your fat mouth shut. Sprague makes an unnecessary comment about plausible deniability, and then a stream of thoughts from Claire comes at Parkman, who says that the Haitian made her mother and brother forget, but not... he looks back at Claire. "Why didn't he make you forget?" Bennet doesn't say "You read my mind" on the grounds of redundancy, but he really, really wants to. Mrs. Bennet asks Claire what he's talking about, prompting her daughter to protest that she doesn't know anything, and then Parkman orders Bennet to tell the truth. Bennet insists that he is, but Sprague has had enough of this, holds up his now-glowing hands, and says, "THIS is the truth." Best not to argue when the Sprague Alert Scale is now at orange. Sprague says that this is what Bennet did to him, and he and Parkman just want to be normal again. Well, okay, but when it takes you twenty minutes to chip the ice off your windshield in the dead of winter, don't come crying to me. Claire turns to Parkman and says her dad isn't a paper salesman. Sprague gloats, "Guess she's not Daddy's little girl any more." Father and daughter look at each other bitterly enough to burn holes in each other, so just as well about that eclipse.

The same low camera angle from earlier speeds along from the Bennets' car to the front door, and then we fade in to see that Parkman and Claire are in the study, while Sprague has the rest of them in the living room. Bennet asks what they're doing, and stands up, but Sprague roughly pushes him back down and tells him Parkman's getting inside Claire's head. In the study, Claire's thoughts are coming in a fast and furious jumble, but Parkman gets enough to realize she's thinking about running, and says, "So now you're thinking about being a hero. Don't!" It's a little late for that, dude. She signed a contract. Parkman goes on that Sprague is both serious and dangerous, and he needs her help to keep a handle on the situation. Claire notes that he can read her mind, which he admits, and repeats the misconception that it's something Bennet did to him. Claire is confused, and asks if the change didn't just occur spontaneously, but Parkman shoots that idea down, and tells her that he's seen some weird things, much like she has, with "the stuff at [her] school." This gets Claire's thoughts going in a different direction, and Parkman snaps around: "Peter Petrelli! He can do what I can do! What do you know about him?" Cute, dead lip, needs to cut his bangs. Oh, sorry, it wasn't my turn? Actually my one regret this episode is that I didn't get to recap Pasdar and Ventimiglia, but you can't have everything.

Claire thinks, "He can do what I can do," but it's not clear if Parkman really picks up what she's saying there. Parkman tells Claire how Peter told him to protect her "from someone who was killing people like me." He breathes, "Are you different, Claire?" Props to Greg Grunberg for being able to deliver that line without sounding like the villain in an after-school special about the dangers of hitchhiking. Claire declines to answer the question at first, but Parkman presses the point, remembering that her blood was all over the crime scene, and yet she didn't have a scratch on her. Claire turns back to him and thinks, "I can heal." Well, so can we all, but Parkman seems to get that she's talking about the "I can heal even when you can't tell me apart from a med-school cadaver" kind of restoration. Claire asks if her dad made her this way, but to his credit, Parkman just shakes his head in confusion. Claire looks back through the study windows at her dad...

... and then we're back in the past, as it's now fourteen years ago, and Claude and Bennet are looking through a pane of a greenhouse. Claude is wondering if their bosses knew about "Little Orphan Annie" (Claire) when they sent them over to "bag a bloody firestarter" (Firemommy). Turns out we're on a roof that just so happens to be the same roof Claude frequents in the present. Bennet and Claude head out of the greenhouse onto the roof, where Eric Roberts is talking to a man. Eric Roberts takes Claude and heads back inside, leaving Bennet with the man, who turns toward Bennet to reveal that he's... George Takei. That would be awesome enough if a little Hiro weren't also present, playing on a Game Boy or whatever. George Takei certainly bought little Hiro some chic glasses and a nice natty little suit. I wonder if his current appearance is his little stab at rebellion. George Takei has little Claire in his arms, and he asks Bennet in Japanese if there was any sign of the mother. Bennet answers in what's supposed to be fluent Japanese that they think she died in the fire. Of course, we were reminded in the previouslies that Firemommy is impervious to fire, but I can't believe it wouldn't at least occur to Bennet that imperviousness might be part of her power. Of course, he could be totally lying, which is always a possibility. George Takei tells Bennet that he understands he has no children, and observes that having children changes a man. If Bennet has a secret superpower, it must have something to do with withstanding anvils, because he didn't even flinch at that one. Instead, he tells George Takei that he can only imagine, but George Takei tells him imagination won't be necessary, as he's going to adopt the baby as his own. Bennet thinks that's not a great idea, but George Takei informs him that it's not a request. George Takei is kind of intimidating here, you all. I wonder what he was like before he had kids. They talk for a moment about the fact that the Bennets have unsuccessfully been trying to conceive. Hmm, I wonder if Lyle could be adopted too? And if he might manifest at some point? Anyway, George Takei shoves the baby into Bennet's arms, and as Eric Roberts and Claude look on, he tells Bennet not to get too close, as he's only the surrogate father -- she belongs to them. He adds, "If she manifests, we'll take her." Of course, that's according to the subtitles. For all I know, he might be saying, "I know it's wrong of me to have these thoughts, but you're even sexier with that baby in your arms." It's certainly a line George Takei could sell. Anyway, Bennet agrees, so George Takei leaves, ordering the adorable kid Hiro to join him. When he's gone, Claude, also in Japanese, wishes Bennet a happy Father's Day. Heh. We get a close-up of the cute baby...

... and then the baby is still cute but more grown-up, and also pissed as hell as she asks her dad if he made her the way she is as some sort of experiment. I don't know if this is a lucky coincidence or clever planning, but from Claire's point of view, he could have done the same thing to her as he did to Parkman and Sprague, only she wouldn't have the marks because her skin would have regenerated. Mrs. Bennet tells her not to talk to her dad like that, but she snarls, "He's not my father." Well, Claire, despite all he's done, he's a better dad than your biological father would have been. Although it's true your bio-dad would have been able to give you the most awesome piggyback rides anyone's ever had. Parkman is now trying to get Sprague to cut their losses and go, but Sprague is insistent that they get the cure they came for. Parkman asks what happens if there isn't one, and hears Sprague's thoughts: "I'll kill us all." Parkman gapes for a moment before Sprague tells him to get inside Bennet's head and get some answers, "or we're all gonna have a really bad day." Not the Daniel Powter kind, either. Parkman then realizes that Bennet is thinking at him in Japanese. Ha! But I think Bennet should have done it in Pig Latin. Yes, Parkman would have been able to translate it, but that's more than made up for by the fact that it would have been ten times as annoying. Sprague is not having any of this, and he menaces Bennet until he mentally gives up that there's a safe in the bookcase in the den. Sprague goes to check it out, but we get a view of the fireplace, and then the camera moves lower and tilts up to reveal a gun taped underneath the mantel. Bennet moves for and grabs it, but Parkman decks him, and then Sprague gets back in there, grabs the gun, and kicks Bennet in the ribs a few times until Parkman pulls him away. Sprague seethes that he's calling Bennet's bluff, and grabs Sandra and points the gun at her. Claire heartbreakingly whimpers, "Mom?" Parkman, gun drawn as well, tries to talk Sprague down, but Sprague offers, "He killed my wife. Only fair I kill his." Well, it doesn't sound like all that great a solution to me, but I suppose Hammurabi would approve. Claire and Parkman yell at Bennet to give up some information, and then she gets in front of her mom and tells Sprague to shoot her instead, but Sandra pushes her out of the way. Sensing that this standoff isn't going to remain Mexican a whole hell of a lot longer, Bennet mentally tells Parkman to trust him and fire at Claire. So apparently the catchphrase has evolved into "Shoot the cheerleader, save the world." Sprague makes it clear that he's about to render Bennet a widower, and Claire joins in on the mental badgering as she tele-yells at Parkman to shoot her. Just before Sprague can make good on his threat, Parkman shoots, and there's a really cool subtle expression of relief on Claire's face as she hits the deck. God, I love Hayden Panettiere. There's also a nice brief delay as Sandra doesn't initially react because she was expecting to be shot, but then she rushes to Claire, shrieking, and Parkman looks like he's about to completely fall apart. You've got a lot of work ahead of you, dude -- use the commercial break to pull yourself together.

We zoom back up to the front door, and then we get an overhead angle of the bit we just saw with Mrs. Bennet rushing over to Claire and yelling at Parkman. Sprague is aghast at Parkman, and Bennet takes the opportunity to mentally tell Parkman to gain Sprague's trust. Parkman, thinking fast, says that now Bennet knows how far they'll go. Bennet then thinks, "Right hook coming," and telegraphs his windup, presumably so Parkman can merely make it look like he got clocked. However, either he doesn't get the message, or the Foley guys forgot they were supposed to sit this one out. Bennet yells about how Parkman killed his little girl, but Sprague menaces him with the gun, and then he goes over to his distraught wife, who cries, "Tell me it's not true!" I'd tell you, but then I'd have to Mindblow you. Bennet yells at them not to leave Claire there, and then mentally tells Parkman to move her body before she heals. Parkman tells Sprague that they don't need to see her like that, and they should move the body...

... and then Bennet is carrying Claire into her room as Parkman tells him that Sprague really, really was going to kill Sandra. Dude, we looked in his eyes and saw little burning cuckoo clocks. We believe you. Bennet thanks him for shooting first, and then they have a tense moment until Claire comes to, coughs, pulls the bullet out of her mouth, and spits out some blood. Is there a bad-ass category in cheerleading competitions? Because I think Claire has a shot at taking home the national title. Parkman looks at the bullet in wonder as Bennet tells Claire that her mom and brother and downstairs, but they're not safe. Parkman asks if he made Claire indestructible, but Bennet finally gives up that he didn't make any of the Heroes the way they are, and bites out that he doesn't appreciate him confusing Claire. Claire: "The facts are you work at some freak factory where you ruin people's lives." Based on what we've seen so far, she doesn't seem all that confused. Bennet tells her he'll explain everything later, but she has to do as he says now. She's not hearing that, and starts to get up to go to the police, but even Parkman is aware of how very bad an idea that is, and we cut away with nothing resolved...

... to downstairs, where an impatient Sprague calls Parkman's name...

... and then back upstairs, where Bennet urgently and emotionally tells Claire that his bosses don't know about her, and if they did, they would have taken her months earlier and he never would have seen her again. He strokes her face as he tells her that he's been fighting for her to have a normal life, an assertion that Parkman confirms via his power is the truth. Bennet tells Claire she has to stay where she is, as Sprague is capable of generating a chain reaction that would be like dropping a nuclear bomb on their house. And they just got new curtains, too. Parkman adds that Sprague will do it, and tells Bennet they have to get back downstairs. Bennet tells Claire to do what he says so no one gets hurt. He turns to Parkman: "And you? Do what I think." Heh. Bennet strokes Claire's face again, but she pulls away. The men leave the room.

Downstairs, Lyle is trying to be a hero by braining Sprague with a baseball bat, but Sprague sees him coming a mile away and pushes him to the floor. Parkman and Bennet get down there at that moment, but honestly, Sprague doesn't even seem pissed off about that one. How unthreatening do you have to be not to cause even a blip on Mr. Nuclear's Anger-O-Meter? Poor Lyle. Parkman tells Sprague that what they want is at the paper factory -- records of the abductions, which Bennet will trade in exchange for his family's safety. Now that they've established that Parkman is taking his cues from Bennet, we're not actually hearing the thoughts, which is fine with me. Sprague is skeptical, but Parkman convinces him Bennet's telling the truth. However, when Parkman tells him to go with Bennet while he stays with the family, Sprague insists they reverse the assignments. Bennet agrees to that, but since we didn't hear the communications, we don't know if that was his actual goal or not. He tells his wife he's going to get them out of their predicament. Sprague looks at his watch and says it's seven AM, and Bennet's got an hour before the rest of the house goes the way of his cheap door handle. Lingering shot on Sandra holding Lyle...

... and then we're back to fourteen years ago, as Bennet is telling Eric Roberts, who's just gotten out of his car, that he thinks his wife suspects something. They're out in front of the house, and Bennet goes on that Sandra went through his bag and found a gun and a sedation kit. Eric Roberts mildly tells him that that was not the brightest move. Of course, mild coming from Eric Roberts is still enough to make me hide under the bed, so I don't blame Bennet for pulling the "the baby's been keeping me up at night" excuse. He goes on that he's afraid Sandra thinks he's a serial killer, and Eric Roberts tells him that that would be better than her knowing the truth. I'm starting to think "morally grey" might be a somewhat charitable evaluation of the things Bennet is asked to do in this job. Bennet says he doesn't know what to do, and Eric Roberts answers that he's got a "new sensation" for him. It's part of the guest recapper's job to call this on the regular's behalf, so: shout-out! Eric Roberts asks what Bennet would do if he said yes. Bennet: "I'd do what I've always done: what I'm told." I'm not necessarily questioning his loyalty, but it might carry more weight if "always" didn't mean "for a year" in this case. Eric Roberts says there's nothing to worry about, because they discovered a mute boy in Haiti who can make her forget. He adds, "When we asked him to describe his ability, he drew a picture of himself, pulling memories like little grubworms out of someone's head. I wanted to put it on the front of my fridge." It's the insane creepiness that makes it art. Eric Roberts tells Bennet to be sure to thank him when he's done for saving Sandra's life. Bennet wonders if Hallmark has the perfect card for this particular occasion.

Cut to Bennet hesitating for a moment before opening his door for the big-eyed, teenaged Haitian. He tersely tells him that his wife is upstairs, and the Haitian simply nods and heads up. The camera's positioned so that he's coming toward us, and when he gets close, we see that he's wearing a necklace with a white pendant on it. Because of the black-and-white photography and the fact that he's wearing a black shirt, when he gets close, we can only see the pendant, which is in the same shape as Jessica's tattoo. Man alive, the direction and camerawork in this episode are unbelievable. That stuff adds so much to the show, especially given its genre. Sloppy kudos all around.

Primatech. It's a little after 7:20, and Parkman frets that if they don't bring Sprague some hard evidence, he's going to freak out. Outside a locked room, Bennet swipes a key card as he says the only thing they're bringing Sprague is a tranquilizer. Well, that'll probably stop him from freaking out too. Inside, Bennet grabs a hypodermic as Parkman tries to tell him that Sprague wants the truth. Bennet astutely demurs, saying that Sprague wants his wife back, and barring that, he craves revenge "of the good old-fashioned Biblical variety." Parkman argues the point until Bennet adds that Parkman himself said Sprague had already pulled the trigger in his mind. See, Parkman? If you didn't babble about every stray thought that comes into your head, you'd find it a lot easier to get your way. Parkman wonders about his own fate, asking if Bennet is going to have his memory erased, but Bennet says Parkman is the only one he can trust, and proposes that they be honest with each other. Parkman breathes, "You just try lying to me." As I indicated before, I think Grunberg has plenty of chops, but whenever he tries to be menacing, I just want to giggle, "You're so cute!" He should have stuck with Clea DuVall -- she's about a hundred times scarier than he is. Bennet tells Parkman that he just signaled the Haitian.

Chez Bennet, 7:25. Sprague is sitting cross-legged on the floor, practicing making tiny explosions in his hand. It actually looks like he's more relaxed for it. He is the only one. Meanwhile, Claire has managed to sneak downstairs, and she watches him with mounting fear into the commercial break.

The Haitian strides through the Primatech hallways. He rounds a corner and sees Bennet and Parkman coming at him. Bennet grabs him and holds him against the wall, half-yelling, "Guess who found out you can talk?" It's not clear if Bennet already knew the Haitian could talk, or if he deduced it based on Claire's knowledge. Bennet asks who else knows about Claire, and after a moment, the Haitian tells him that right now, it's just them, "but that will change." Bennet points out that he gave the Haitian explicit instructions to wipe Claire's memory, but the Haitian says he answers to someone whose instructions supersede his. Bennet asks if that person is in the company, but the Haitian responds: "In your daughter's life." Bennet looks thunderstruck at that revelation. Just wait until he finds out that it's Mr. Muggles that's been calling the shots.

We fade into the black-and-white past again, and we're driving down a road with Bennet and Claude, seven years ago. Claude asks what the mission is, and Bennet replies that they're looking into a security breach, and that's all he knows and all they told him. Claude counters that while that may be all they instructed Bennet to tell him, what he knows is considerably more. "You're not as good a liar as you think." For that to be true, Bennet would have to think he's as good at mendacity as the Cigarette Smoking Man. Bennet says that Claude is the security breach, and Claude lightly tells him he was hoping for a more subtle name, or at least a pun. "You Americans are usually good for a pun." I resemble that remark. Bennet hotly asks if he's hiding a Hero (not that he uses that term), and Claude says the short answer is yes. He says that he knows they're serving the greater good, "but the vivisection's starting to keep me up at night." Well, if it's any consolation, I'm sure the practitionees don't have the easiest time getting to sleep either. Claude adds that he was hoping for a little sympathy from Bennet, given that he's raising a Hero as his own, but Bennet says he'll take her in if she ever manifests. Claude then tells him that he was in Bennet's office when they told him to kill Claude, and Bennet asks why, then, he got in the car. Claude: "Evidently, I think you're a better man than they do." I'm not sure what he's basing that opinion on, but maybe when Bennet vivisects, he does so really compassionately.

Bennet stops the car on a bridge and tells Claude to get out. He follows suit and asks Claude to give up the identity of the person he's harboring. Claude disbelievingly asks if Bennet is really going to kill him like it's nothing. Bennet snaps that it's not nothing, and that he went against the interests of the company. He draws a gun and again asks for the name. Claude takes a long look at the gun, asks what would happen if it were Claire, and says that Bennet is keeping his distance from her so it will be bearable when he turns her in. Bennet reminds Claude that he used to believe in what they do, and Claude informs Bennet that he won't hunt his own people. He starts to say that this isn't who Bennet is, and that he has a choice, but suddenly, the gun fires, hitting Claude in the torso. And this is odd, because as many posters pointed out, it looks like the gun goes off without Bennet pulling the trigger, and Bennet looks really surprised, so I would have thought that either there was a misfire or some telekinesis at work somehow. But then, as Claude gets back to his feet between the guardrail and the side of the bridge, Bennet shoots him again, with a reasonably vicious look on his face. So I don't know. Claude starts to blink out, and as Bennet shoots some more bullets, Claude falls backward over the side, turning completely invisible on the way. It's a looooong way down, so I don't think he could have survived the fall; nor do I think, even if he held on, that he could have pulled himself back up with a couple of gut wounds hindering him. But hey: out of sight, out of nitpick.

Oh, thank God, a scene I can easily distill. I super-love this episode, but I'm getting exhausted here. Bennet and the Haitian bitch at each other as Parkman trails along behind them like a West Wing aide struggling to keep up with two hyper-caffeinated staff members. Bennet contends that he's protecting Claire, but the Haitian doesn't agree, and suggests her running as an option. Bennet says she's safer in plain sight, and the Haitian snarks, "Not at the moment." I think Bennet liked the Haitian better when he didn't talk. Parkman tells them both to shut up, as no one's going to be safe unless Sprague gets what he wants. Also, the Haitian has a couple of shirt buttons open, and we can see the pendant.

Chez Bennet. Sprague seems to hear something upstairs, and goes to check. When he's gone, Claire sneaks into the room where her mom and brother are tied up with duct tape. Jeez, Claire, after all the trouble you went to save her, you don't want to give your mom a heart attack here. Claire grabs a large knife and gets to work on the tape as her mom thanks God.

Upstairs, Sprague dramatically opens a door... to find Mr. Muggles. I'm telling you, he was just on the phone giving Linderman a good tongue-lashing.

Claire keeps cutting away.

Sprague enters Claire's room and discovers the deception.

Claire gets her mom and Lyle free. They all start to run for the front door, but Sprague appears and catches Claire. The other two head for the back door, but after telling Lyle to go, her mom turns back. Sprague has a glowing hand around Claire's throat, and her mom calls her name in desperation. But Sprague, seemingly sensing what's going to happen, takes his hand away all, "Ta daa!" Sure enough, Claire's burns heal before our eyes. Her mom gapes in shock, and who can blame her? I mean, healing the bullet wound to the gut was nothing compared to this!

Back from the break, we do a creepy sideways pan past some kids who are playing in front of the Bennet house. Inside, Sprague has learned his lesson, and is tying Claire and her mom up with so much duct tape that 3M executives are licking their lips in anticipation of a very good year. Claire tells her mom she should have run, but Mrs. Bennet grits that she could never leave her, especially after she just got her back. Okay, a mother's love and all that, but it's not like she could have helped the situation, so that's really kind of dumb, and Sprague's eye-roll agrees with me. Plus, what about poor Lyle, out there on the streets on his own? He could trip on some unfamiliar azaleas and break his little neck! Anyway, Sandra tells Claire that she always thought she was a miracle, but she never knew how much of one until now. This speech is going to start to get a little annoying, so I'll just get this out now: Awwww. Claire disagrees, and says she doesn't know if God made her this way, or someone else. Sprague has to pipe up that it wasn't God, but Sandra snaps that God makes us all the way we are, or at least He does until He realizes that He forgot to check with the programming execs. Sandra asks if Claire thinks Bennet really had her memory erased, and Claire snarls that she knows he did, and contemptuously adds that he said he was trying to protect them. Sandra says Bennet will come back, and that she has faith. "God gave you a second chance. Find it in your heart to give your father one." Okay, I'll admit that speech didn't drag on second viewing as much as I remembered. Still, I'm not sure how much they're doing for the concept of faith if they're relying on the woman whose brain is only slightly harder at this point than runny Brie to sell it.

Anyway, Sprague cuts in that he's curious about something -- did Parkman know Claire wouldn't die when he shot her? Did her dad tell him that? Claire says she doesn't know, but Sprague notes that that would explain why Parkman and Bennet were so chummy when they came down the stairs. Oh, Sprague. Why go to such lengths to figure it out when you could just yell "HoYay!" and be done with it? Anyway, Sprague hears a car outside, and when Bennet and Parkman enter, he's there to greet them with his glowing hands. "Am I still in control, Mr. Bennet?" Bennet, who's holding a manila folder, takes in the absence of Lyle and the presence of Claire, and then walks forward slowly, and somewhat nervously says that Sprague is in fact still in control. Given that Sprague's face looks like he's about to end a month-long period of constipation, I'm not guessing that's going to last. Bennet opens the folder and shows Sprague some records, including something with what looks like Sprague's FBI mug shot. Parkman tells him they have what they want, but Sprague asks why, then, Parkman felt the need to play Shoot The Invincible Cheerleader? Parkman points out that it's better than killing someone, and Bennet emotionally tells Sprague that if the people he works for find out he's turning over these records, they'll kill him. He asks Sprague to let his family go, and Parkman puts it on the line when he asks if Sprague wants revenge or the truth, because he can't have both. That's... probably not true, but it sounds good, so Sprague picks the truth.

The Haitian enters through the back door and quickly goes to the women and cuts them loose with a small knife. You know, given that we didn't see Bennet do anything to "signal" the Haitian earlier, and that the Haitian walks in right on cue here, I'm wondering if Bennet and the Haitian have some sort of mental link. Yes, the Haitian could simply have been listening at the door in this instance, but it's not clear he could have heard the conversation clearly. Also, it's not like he and Bennet had a lot of time together to work out their plan at the end of the episode, either, and it would have made the Haitian's allegiance to Bennet a lot easier to keep concealed. Just a thought. Also, there was some confusion on the boards about why the Haitian didn't simply stop Sprague's powers when he was able to stop Parkman's, but as Erin already speculated, I think his powers are limited to things concerning the mind. I mean, if he could simply stop anyone from using any power, why didn't he do that to Peter and Claude on the roof last week? Anyway, once he has them free, the Haitian urgently tells them to go (sure, let's let a couple more people know you can talk, there) and interestingly, it's Claire who hesitates, worried about Bennet's fate, while Sandra barely slows down to scoop up Mr. Muggles. They do both pause again at the door, but the Haitian gets them out.

Outside, Lyle comes running up and tells them he called the police. He doesn't even spare a glance the Haitian's way, which seems kind of rude. If I were the Haitian, I'd totally make him forget how to use his GameCube.

Inside, Bennet desperately tells Sprague that they didn't make him the way he is, but they abducted him three months ago to identify him, as he was giving off low levels of radiation. Sprague seethes that they did nothing to stop it. Bennet tells him that there's no cure for his condition except killing him, and Sprague's about ready to break as he says he wishes Bennet had. Unbeknownst to everyone, Eric Roberts has entered through the back door. Since the Haitian and the other Bennets are out front, it's possible they didn't see each other, but that isn't clear. Bennet tells Sprague that he didn't think he had the right to take Sprague's life, but Sprague is like, "I wish you had." I will be eternally grateful to Eric Roberts for not saying, "As you wish." Sprague grits that because of Bennet's decision, his wife is dead. Bennet says he's sorry, and Eric Roberts intones, "So am I." Eternity sure didn't live up to the hype. Eric Roberts draws a gun. Bennet yells not to shoot, as he'll set him off, and Parkman tries to get Sprague out of the way, but Eric Roberts's shot hits Sprague in the shoulder. I think we're going to skip red on the Sprague Alert Scale and invent a new level. Maybe a deep purple? Is that angry enough? Well, he starts going nuclear, sending Parkman and then Bennet flying through the air. Parkman yells at Sprague to stop, but he can't, and soon everything's on fire and the air is so hot it's doing that wavy mirage effect. Parkman and Eric Roberts bail, but Bennet stays put under cover of the kitchen counter and gets the tranquilizer needle out. Outside, Claire asks about her dad, and a hacking Parkman tells her he's still inside. As the Haitian starts to remove himself from the scene, Claire runs up to the front door, but is thrown back by a mini-explosion. She goes around back instead, ignoring her mom's protests...

... and inside, she joins her dad, who tells her to stay down. He attempts to get close enough to administer the injection, but fails, and returns to Claire with a burnt arm. Of course, he should probably have been completely engulfed in flames by now, but we'll ignore that, as we'll also be ignoring the fact that the needle would completely melt before anyone could get it to Sprague's skin. Claire takes the needle from her dad as Parkman rejoins them. Bennet objects, but Claire tells him she'll be okay, and Parkman gets him out of there.

Outside, Bennet embraces his wife as the police are arriving on the scene. No one has even given Eric Roberts a "Who's THIS guy?" look, nor has Parkman been all, "Nice work, GENIUS." I think these people are way too polite.

Claire finally makes her move. We flash to the agitated family outside, paintings burning up, and Claire's face peeling away as she gets close. She may regenerate, but no one ever said she doesn't feel any pain, so if you didn't think she was a bad-ass before, I trust you'll need no further convincing. Finally, the front door spectacularly blows off its hinges, but once it has, the reaction inside subsides. Bennet walks forward uncertainly, but then Claire appears, burnt to a crisp, although with her hair mostly intact. Hey, I'm not complaining. I love how she always looks like she just stepped out of an Herbal Essences commercial. (Ew, not like that, she's only seventeen.) Sandra starts to walk forward as well, and even Eric Roberts looks a little touched as he sees her. Claire walks toward her dad, and as she does, she regenerates. The effects aren't completely seamless -- there's one cut to Bennet -- but they're pretty darn close, which is awesome. The Bennets circle Claire and group-hug here, but Bennet looks up and warily notes that Eric Roberts is looking at him inscrutably. That's not lost on Parkman, either. We circle around this uncertain tableau before heading into the last commercial break.

Primatech. As they walk along the hallway, Eric Roberts tells Bennet that it's good he called him when he did. "It's a shame I'll have to kill another partner." Ah, that's very interesting, since he's referring to Claude. Because that means Bennet didn't tell Eric Roberts that Claude is still alive. And since the Haitian knows as well, that means the Haitian's personal loyalty to Bennet over the company goes back a bit. Bennet asks if the Haitian's been located, but Eric Roberts easily says he must have figured Bennet would turn him in. He then asks, "How long was he hiding Claire? In plain sight, too; you must feel like a fool!" Bennet, not taking the bait, says he guesses it was months, and Claire trusted the Haitian over her own father. Eric Roberts: "Surrogate father." Jeez, Eric Roberts, way to kick a man when he's playing you like a fiddle and pretending to be down.

Cut to... ooh, nasty, I almost forgot about this. Bennet and Eric Roberts look at Sprague, who's in the room in which they kept Sylar prisoner. He's lying unconscious and restrained, and Eric Roberts says they'll keep him sedated and study him to find out "what gives him his spark." Bennet asks what then, and Eric Roberts is like, "What do you think?" I think keeping Sprague prisoner is going to end about as well as keeping Sylar prisoner did, and that Eric Roberts is going to be having cocktails with Eden soon as a result. They leave, and we cross-fade to...

... Parkman, who's lying unconscious in their medical wing under the care of some woman. Eric Roberts and Bennet enter, and in an oblique way, Eric Roberts offers Bennet the chance to have Parkman as his new partner. Bennet doesn't answer, but asks if the woman, who hasn't spoken, is one of them. Eric Roberts acknowledges that by way of saying that she's very promising, and she's going to clean up the mess he made, so I'm taking that to mean that we've just been introduced to a very pretty Madame Mindblower. Eric Roberts then asks when they should be expecting Claire. After a long moment in which he fantasizes about poking out Eric Roberts's eyes with the ends of his horn-rimmed frames, Bennet replies, "I'll bring her in now."

And another cross-fade leads us to Bennet and Claire driving down the same road as Bennet and Claude did years ago. Well, at least we know Bennet isn't likely to shoot her. Claire asks where she's going, and Bennet tells her he doesn't know. Claire already has tears in her eyes, and I don't think I'm going to embarrass myself too much if I say that she's not the only one. She asks if she'll see him, or her mother, or Lyle again, but again, he doesn't know. He tells her he wanted to protect her, and she nods. "You're my dad." Oh, God. Bennet's crying too as he tells her he tried to be the best dad he could, and Claire manages a quick smile through her tears as she says she knows. She looks out the window...

... and yet another cross-fade takes us to three years ago, where a younger-looking, crimped-haired Claire asks, "Let's see?" Bennet, who's cutely if incongruously wearing a rugby shirt, puts on a pair of glasses. Claire: "Those are grandpa glasses." Bennet then tries on an even dorkier pair, and if Claire weren't helping him here, Erin calling him Bad Glasses Man back at the beginning of the season would have been even more fitting. Claire asks if she's going to need glasses too. If you keep walking through nuclear fires, hon, you just might. Bennet considers whether he wants to do this, and then tells Claire he and Sandra were wondering when they were going to have this conversation. Interesting that Bennet goes ahead and does it while Sandra isn't around, no? Maybe she's got a Haitian hangover and can't remember her own name at the moment. Bennet tells Claire that she's adopted, but while they don't know who her biological parents are, he and Sandra are her real family. Claire, confused and scared, asks how that can be if she's adopted, but Bennet responds that what makes them her real family is not where she comes from, but how much they love her. "And we love you very much. I love you very much." So Bennet was no longer making the effort to distance himself from Claire here -- he would never have treated her this tenderly and forged this new bond if he were trying not to be too attached. Claire considers his words for a long moment, and then reaches for another of the many pairs of glasses on the table and tells Bennet to try them on. He does, and asks Claire how he looks, and the answer is, "Like my dad." Behold the birth of HRG, folks.

Back in the present, Bennet and Claire pull onto the same bridge as the one from seven years ago, where the Haitian is awaiting them. So just to get it out before I start crying again, it seems like Bennet and the Haitian worked it out so Bennet would point the finger at the Haitian for protecting Claire. Eric Roberts would have no trouble believing that, especially with Claude providing precedent for one of their pet Heroes betraying him. Bennet then takes Claire to the Haitian, who, as you'll see, erases certain parts of his memory. When Eric Roberts hears about it, he'll assume the Haitian intercepted and overpowered Bennet and took Claire from him, thereby covering Bennet's complicity. Clear enough? Can we all get back to crying now? Okay. The Bennets get out of the car and look miserable, while the Haitian looks impassive as ever. Bennet takes a long look around, and then turns to Claire and says this is goodbye. Yeah, I'd say so. That is, if my throat weren't almost completely closed already. The Haitian draws a large pistol as Claire tells Bennet he doesn't have to do this. Bennet's close to losing it completely as Claire says there has to be another way, but the Haitian opines that this is the best way, as there can't be any doubt cast on Bennet. Bennet points to a spot around his abdomen and tells the Haitian that's the target. "Two inches higher, and I'm dead." Hmm, did he shoot for a similarly non-lethal spot on Claude? I kind of doubt it, and yet the close range makes me suspicious. Maybe Bennet needed glasses a lot earlier than he thought. Bennet manages to tell Claire to turn around and cover her ears, and being a good girl, she does. The Haitian makes no mistake with his shot, and Bennet staggers back and settles against the guardrail. Claire tries to go to him, but the Haitian puts an arm in front of her. When he's recovered from the initial impact, he tells the Haitian to go deep, and to take anything that would lead them to Claire. Of course, it's hard to say exactly what this means -- certainly it doesn't seem necessary for all of Bennet's memories of Claire to be erased. Plus, I'd point out that the Haitian is still something of a wild card. I'm not even convinced that I believe he can't restore people's memories. But the "go deep" part is very troubling, not least because it's making it hard for me to see the screen. Continuing in that vein, Claire pushes past the Haitian and throws her arms around Bennet, whimpering like a wounded animal. He strokes her hair, and she tells him she loves him. She hangs on for a few more seconds, and then lets go. Bennet: "I love you, Claire Bear." Oh, my God, the tears. That's going to leave a mark, and not the kind Claire can heal, either. The Haitian approaches and stretches out his hand to Bennet's head, and we get a last shot of Claire crying before the trusty "To Be Continued... " card appears.

Wow. That was amazing. I can't believe they were able to do such an affecting story, focused on so few characters, and still keep the mythology moving along so quickly. Look at some of what we learned in this episode: Bennet and Claude were partners. Primatech believes that they're working for the greater good, and Bennet and Claude both once believed that. George Takei has some connection to Primatech, and forced Bennet to adopt Claire. ["I think we also learned, if we didn't know already, that certain less compelling character arcs, like Niki/Jessica, could be wrapped up or jettisoned without hurting the show's momentum." -- Sars] And look at some of the questions that came out of it: Which Hero was Claude hiding? From whom in Claire's life is the Haitian taking orders? What will Bennet, his family, and Parkman remember? Where are Claire and the Haitian going to go? What is the extent of George Takei's involvement with Primatech? On top of that, the parallels within the episode were amazing, too, right down to both Claire and Bennet taking a bullet for a greater cause. I think the Haitian even used the same model of gun to shoot Bennet as Bennet did to shoot Claude. I could go on and on and probably still not embarrass myself any more than I have, but I'm just going to say I can't wait for the one and leave it at that. Oh, and that I'm so glad I got a shot at this show. Erin returns week to discuss the aftermath of the shooting of Simone. Tune in then!