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The final episode before the hiatus begins with Peter and Isaac mourning Simone, only Isaac's idea of mourning involves shooting at Peter a whole hell of a lot. The Haitian Sensation gets orders from someone to take Claire out of the country. She'd rather go live with Peter, but the Haitian puts the kibosh on that idea. We discover that Nathan's actually working with the FBI to bring down Linderman, and they want him to record a meeting they're having in Vegas. Peter sneaks a visit to Nathan and tells him about Simone. Nathan's only suggestion is to call Mohinder, but Peter disappears before help can arrive.
Mrs. Bennet surprises us all by telling her husband that she knows all about Claire and that he told her not to tell anyone that she knows the truth. They agree to tell no one that they know what's really going on. Bennet's new partner arrives, and she's hot and kind of bad-ass and can somehow absorb other people and project herself as them, and she wears really short skirts. Mohinder finally wakes up and smells the chai and realizes that Sylar isn't Zane, and drugs him. Unfortunately, Sylar's all-powerful, and he stops the drugs and attacks Mohinder and staples him to the ceiling.
In Vegas, Nathan gets Hiro into Linderman's Museum of Creepy Isaac Paintings. Hiro almost gets arrested while stealing the sword, only to have Ando save the day because Ando is now a damn security guard. So, Hiro gets his damn sword, and before security shows up, he transports himself and Ando into the future where the bomb has already flattened New York. Speaking of New York, after an impromptu and creepy visit from Bennet and his new partner Candace, Isaac goes batshit crazy in his studio and starts painting again. What he paints looks bloody and disturbing and a lot likeâ¦himself, with the top of his skull cut off.
Nathan and Niki meet up in Vegas while Jessica's sleeping inside her head, and Niki tries to save his life by telling him that Linderman's onto his association with the feds. She tells him to take whatever deal Linderman offers him or choose death. Nathan decides to kill Linderman with Jessica's gun. When he goes to meet the man, he's in the big hotel kitchen, chopping the shit out of some vegetables. Oh, he's also Malcolm Fucking McDowell, people. Linderman makes individual pot pies while Nathan contemplates murder. Linderman then tells him that he knows he can fly and he knows all about the Heroes. He offers Nathan a shot at the presidency and, of course, Nathan doesn't shoot him.
Candace dupes Bennet into spilling his guts about Claire when she impersonates Mrs. Bennet. Looks like Bennet's goose, she is cooked. Claire gets away from the Haitian Sensation and pays a visit to Peter's apartment, but only Mama Petrelli is there. Luckily, she not only knows who Claire is, she's apparently partnered up with the Haitian Sensation. So Grandma P is the one who's been looking out for Claire all this time! Awesome! Peter goes to visit Mohinder and Sylar attacks him, saying that Peter's like him and wouldn't it be cool to find out what makes Peter's brain tick? And that's when Sylar starts to slice Peter's head openâ¦
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Previously on Heroes: Sars and Couch Baron graciously covered my ass while my nutbar of a mother was in town visiting (she's crazy, y'all, but in that funny "why's that gray-haired woman wearing a chandelier on her head?" kind of way that's so charming in woman of a certain age -- think Dame Judi Dench in leggings with way more swearing and way less upper crust-ness and you've got my mom), and the episode was probably the best one of the season because it was all about Bennet and Claire and how HRG became HRG, and Eric Roberts showed up in all his skeevy glory, and Ted blew the hell up, and Claire saved her family, and then her dad proved his love for her by sending her off with the Haitian Sensation, but only after he forced the Haitian Sensation to shoot him in the gut and erase his memory.
In short? Last week's episode kicked all kinds of ass.
And this week's is no different, people.
We open on the hella-cool episode title scrawled across Isaac's floorpocalypse. Smoke is in the air and it's coming from the gun Isaac just accidentally shot Simone with. Peter and Isaac are crouched over their girl as she beautifully dies. Isaac asks if Peter can do something for her, but all he can do is announce that Simone's dead. Peter easily picks up her body and carries her over to Isaac's bed. I don't know why, but that totally impressed me; because Milo V. isn't a bodybuilder, you know? He strikes me as possessing a wiry strength, but he's not a big guy. And the way he just picked up Tawny Cypress like she was made of feathers was kind of hot. Yes, I may need a date or something sometime soon. I am aware of this. Shut up. So, Isaac's devastated and sad and of course this leads him to blame Peter for not being the one to get shot. In order to remedy this situation, Isaac picks up the gun and tries to finish what he started. Peter immediately goes invisible and runs the hell outta there, leaving Isaac to grieve over the body of the woman they both loved.
Vegas. Hiro's still trying to get his stupid-ass sword from Linderman. Can't wait for this storyline to be over with so Hiro can get his powers back and start working on his FutureHiro soul patch already. Hiro pretends to be a tourist from Osaka and tries to sneak past some security guys, but they're totally onto him, and tell him he's been flagged or something, and then they kick him out. Literally. Like he's on the ground and shit. He flails at the security guy that he'll make it in somehow and the security guy looks at him like, "Sure you will. And if you try to make the damn Spock sign at me, I'm going to rip off your fingers and feed them to you in a bowl of Jell-O."
Primatech Paper (and Hero) Emporium. Bennet's explaining to Thompson that he doesn't remember anything after arriving at the house with his family. His memory's completely gone, and this means that he can't remember the entire hostage situation or the disappearance of his daughter. This is a short scene, and Eric Roberts doesn't have that much to do, but he manages to totally skeeve me out within about five seconds of him appearing onscreen. How does he DO that? I watched the commentary for "Company Man" last night, and Jack Coleman related a story about the scene where Thompson and Bennet discuss employment and Eric Roberts is backlit throughout the scene. Jack Coleman said that he quipped about the backlighting and Eric Roberts rather hilariously said, "Yes, the backlighting seems to follow me from role to role." Which... is totally true. Because the man is truly one creepy badass.
So Thompson kind of needles Bennet sarcastically about how Ted and Matt took him and his family hostage and Claire got shot and then he got shot himself and then the Haitian took his daughter and yet he remembers nothing at all. Thompson snidely says, "You think something there might've made an impression." Heh. Bennet's all, look, man, I don't remember anything, but the one thing I know is that my daughter is missing, and I'm going to find her if it kills me, and you'd best stop smirking at me with your whacked-out plastic surgery-fied face before I walk up and smack those sneering lips so hard they leave your face and fly across the country and land on Mickey Rourke's sad-ass visage where ninety percent of all cosmetic surgeries seem to end up lately.
Bennet winces a bit, and Thompson tells him to cool his jets, lest he rip out his freshly knitted stitches. And I would just like to take a moment to thank the powers that be for putting Jack Coleman in a blue oxford that is un-tucked and partially unbuttoned. The man's rarely ever in anything other than a suit and tie, which is fine, but that little glimpse of his neck and chest is really all we need to make us go "Rowwwwr." Or is that just me? Did I mention the date situation? Because... yeah.
Thompson states that he thinks the Haitian Sensation has gone rogue and taken a "pie-slice" of Bennet's memory with him. "He did the same thing to your wife and son," he says. Bennet wants to know when he can go after his daughter, but Thompson says that can't be his errand. "She's my daughter," says Bennet. "She's an assignment," says Thompson. "Or have you forgotten? We gave her to you. Took her out of a bassinet, put her in your hands, and told you to take her home. And that's after you said, 'No, thank you.' Now, I appreciate you taking an interest in her beyond the needs of the assignment, but... that indulgence ends... now." Damn, Roberts is awesome in this scene. Bennet's like, what, I'm supposed to do nothing here? Thompson's like, uh, no, you're supposed to do whatever I tell you to do, company man. Thompson leaves him, passing a two-way mirror as he goes.
Behind the mirror, Matt Parkman has been watching the entire scene. When he enters the room, Thompson walks over to Matt, who has Missy Peregrym from Stick It perched over his shoulder. "Well, what do we think?" asks Thompson. "He's telling the truth," says Matt. "He doesn't know anything." "Cool!" says Missy. "You owe me five bucks." Thompson kind of shoots her a look like, "I don't owe you jack, princess." He beckons Missy to join him as he walks out, and Matt's like, wait a second, dude! We had a deal! I help you, you let me go! Thompson's like, dude, I'm Eric Roberts. Have you seen NOTHING I've ever been in? You can't trust me! I'm skeevy! Catch ya later, homes!
Elsewhere across the country, the Haitian Sensation and Claire are arriving at a roadside truck stop. He comments that Claire hasn't said anything all day and Claire's like, "Hey, up until recently, you weren't all that chatty yourself, my friend. Thought you liked it that way." Claire wants to know where they're going, and he says that as soon as he knows where they're going, he'll tell her. Then she asks when she can go back to her family and he's like, "Uh, when they have a house that doesn't reek of radiation and there's not a bounty on your head? How about you think on THAT for a second, sweetheart?" He tells her that she knows why she can't go back to them and what she's running from, and then he says that if she gets captured by the OWI, they'll do things to her that even she won't be able to recover from. "Great!" she says. "Thanks, DAD." "You cannot understand the level of sacrifice he made so you might live," says the Haitian Sensation. "You must honor that."
They glare at each other until he gets out of the car to make a phone call. She steps out as well and looks around as he talks to someone in French. When he gets off the phone and comes back to the car, Claire asks if it's safe to go back. The Haitian Sensation's like, "Yes, Claire. It's safe to go back to Texas. Because it's only been a day or two since I shot your dad and Ted blew up and Thompson figured out that you can grow new skin in the space of thirty seconds. Let's get back on route 290 and head straight for Odessa! Whooo!" He tells her they're leaving the country tonight, and we see a reflection of a waving American flag in the reflection of the car roof, which takes us to the spinning Eclipse of Heroes and on to the first commercial break.
Nathan's Office, Manhattan. Nathan's at his desk, thinking about how little he gets to kiss his brother now that he's all invisible and shit, when a couple of FBI agents enter his office and starting giving him a hard time about his association with Linderman. Nathan's lackey leaves, and the feds draw the shades, and then one of them pulls out a bug zapper or something and declares that they can talk safely. That's when we realize that Nathan isn't actually taking Linderman's money for real, but is instead working with the feds to bring the man down. He chastises the feds for showing up at his office, but they tell him it was necessary because Linderman's requested a meeting with Nathan at his casino tonight, and they think this is an opportune moment for the FBI to nab him. They want Nathan to wear a wire and record the entire conversation with Linderman. Nathan's like, "Wear a wire? To Linderman's office? That's got to be about the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard. Did you guys even SEE The Departed?" The feds tell him that he's the only one who can get enough evidence on Linderman to put him away forever. They tell him he has no choice in the matter and that they'll contact him when he lands in Vegas. They leave.
Nathan closes his eyes slowly, thinking about how stupid this plan is, and when he opens them, Peter's there, having materialized out of thin air. "How long have you been working with the FBI?" asks Peter. "Since Heidi's accident," says Nathan. "I'm gonna take Linderman down for a long time, Peter." Peter starts getting emotional, saying he thought he was going to be a hero and save the world, but he only wound up killing... Nathan stops him and puts a hand on his shoulder, asking if the blood on Peter's face is his own. Crying, Peter shakes his head and says it isn't. Nathan puts his hands on Peter's shoulders and brings him closer as his brother tells him that Isaac shot Simone, and she's dead. I'd like to take a moment and thank Milo and the Pasdar for acting the holy shit out of this scene while still managing to touch each other as much as possible. It's hard to insert dirty asides in a scene this good, people. I don't know if I can do it.
Nathan closes his eyes and asks if Peter called the police, and when Peter says he didn't, Nathan launches into his plan to make an anonymous call to the police to tip them off that Simone is dead and Isaac killed her. Peter's not digging this plan because it involves Isaac taking the full blame when Peter feels that he's at fault for Simone's death. Nathan's says that this ain't no time to be noble, and that he's trying to save his brother's ass once again, and if he doesn't appreciate that, then no make out sessions for him! "Just stay with me," says Nathan in this husky voice that is totally for all the HoYay aficionados out there. Peter says he can't and wrenches himself out of Nathan's grasp. "As long as I'm alive, everyone around me is in danger," he says. Nathan walks over to his brother and puts his hands on his shoulders again and says that maybe Mohinder can help since he's looking for a cure. "Isn't it too late for that?" says Peter. There's a knock at the door, and Nathan tells his brother to wait while he deals with it, but the second he turns his back, Peter disappears and slips out another door before Nathan can stop him.
Texas. Bennet opens the door to his hotel room, and Mrs. Bennet is inside, chattering at him about Lyle and the gym and how the flood in their basement has turned into a little vacation for them all. She mentions that it's too bad that Claire's missing everything due to her cheerleading retreat. Bennet picks up a picture of his daughter and stares at it as his wife talks. Mrs. Bennet's phone rings, and her ringtone is dogs barking to music which is annoying and hilarious at the same time. She decides not to answer it, and Bennet tells her he has to go on a trip. She immediately looks concerned and runs into the bedroom and turns on opera music full blast. "Stop," she whispers. "Stop. You can't go." Bennet's confused. "What are you doing? Why are you whispering?" "Because you told me to yesterday," she says. Bennet says he thought she didn't remember anything, and she responds that he actually told her to pretend that the Haitian Sensation took her memory and then told her everything about himself and the OWI and what he really does.
Bennet's face crumples in on itself, and he immediately asks his wife if she knows where Claire is and why he can't remember anything, and she says she doesn't and that he told her he was protecting their daughter. "You said you sent her away so that she'd be safe," she says. "And that if you went after her, I should give you this." She pulls out a piece of paper that has "Claire's with friends, don't go after her" written on it in his own handwriting. There's a knock at the door, and Bennet tells his wife that they can't let anyone know that they're not clueless about Claire. "Don't worry," she says with a wry smile. "I know how to play dumb." Bennet gets tears in his eyes and says, "I could never love you enough." Awesome. "You do fine," she says. Doubly awesome.
Bennet goes to get the door, and it's Missy. She twits that she's surprised to hear Bennet listening to opera as she always thought of him more as a John Denver fan. Is that a thinly veiled attempt to accuse Bennet of being a cokehead? She informs him that Isaac called Primatech looking for him and she chatted with him for a bit. "Apparently, he's got himself a dead girlfriend." Well, ex-girlfriend, actually, but that's neither here nor there. Bennet says that he can't handle Isaac right now and that he needs to be with his family. Missy's like, uh, does this sound like I'm making a request? BECAUSE I'M NOT. Get your ass out of this hotel room and onto a plane pronto, bucko.
Bennet says he'll get his things together, and he goes to shut the door on her, but she sticks her shiny boot in the way and stops it. She saunters in, and we see that she's wearing a kicky little plaid mini-skirt and leather wrist band, and she looks like ten pounds of trouble in a three pound bag. She smirks at Mrs. Bennet, who just says, "Lemme guess: another paper emergency?" The way she says it makes it sound as ridiculous as you'd think it would. "Huge mix-up in Fresno," says Missy, even though she's not even remotely attempting to dress in a business-like fashion and instead looks more like a naughty babysitter who intends to lick Bennet all over while wearing frilly panties, so I don't know why ANY wife would buy her as a business associate, like, AT ALL. Missy goes on to say that she's sorry for stealing her husband, he's just the best guy they've got in a pinch. Then she says, "I like your hair," and when I heard her say this the first time, I remember thinking, "What the fuck is she talking about? And put on some long pants and proper shoes!" I mean, really. Mrs. Bennet's supposedly had her memories erased, dude, but she hasn't had her HO RADAR turned off. Wear some tights or something! You're not at a damn Van Halen concert and nobody's hot for teacher!
The Sylarinder Show! Sylar's got his hands on The List and Mohinder points out that most of the people on The List are missing or dead. Sylar: "Braaaaaains." Mohinder wants to run Sylar's DNA up against his father's formula and then take him someplace safe, far, far away from any braaaaaains. Mohinder rambles on about DNA and gene pairs, and it's all basically fake science anyway, so I have no idea what he's on about. Sylar asks if his DNA helped, and Mohinder gets exasperated and says it didn't, and Sylar suggests that he get some rest, and Mohinder says he doesn't need rest, he needs caffeine, and then he goes to make some tea. Yes, because nothing says "manly need for caffeine" like... chamomile. Sylar wants to help with the search for Heroes and, after plucking Isaac's name off the map, says he'll give Isaac a call and Mohinder can just chill.
While Mohinder gets the tea ready, Sylar blabbles on and on about how he used to feel alone and insignificant but Mohinder's really given him hope. "So this formula, if you figure it out, how many of us will you find?" asks Sylar as he dials Isaac's number. "Who knows?" says Mohinder. "Hundreds? Thousands? Maybe more." Sylar mentally calculates how many braaaaaains that'll net him as Mohinder brings over a mug of hot drugged liquid for his friend. Isaac's phone is busy because he's a psychic painter who can't be arsed to spring for call waiting, so Sylar says he'll just call him back and eagerly takes the tea from Mohinder. He sucks down a mouthful (dirty!) and says, "This is good, what is it?" Mohinder tells him it's chai (with drugs) and it's a special blend Papa Suresh brought from India (with drugs). Sylar slurps at it and starts to make noises with his throat and asks who they're going to call . "No one," says Mohinder, standing upright. "I already have you, Mr. Sylar." D'oh! The camera fuzzes over, and Sylar gets a woozy look on his face and drops his cup to the floor, shattering it. Seconds later, Sylar follows it down and collapses into a heap on the rug.
Vegas. Hiro's slumming it outside Linderman's hotel when Nathan arrives and greets his old friend. "Hiro?" he says. "Mr. Petrelli?" says Hiro. "FLYING MAAAA--" Nathan quickly slaps a hand over Hiro's gibbering mouth and tells him to shut it. Hiro apologizes and Nathan indicates that they should step inside, and there's this hilarious moment when Hiro turns and almost whacks Nathan in the head with his poster case. The Pasdar needs to do more comedy; the guy's actually really deadpan and funny. They find a quiet corner to talk in and Hiro gets to do his stupid "FLYING MAN" thing again, and Nathan gives him a sweet smile and acknowledges that, yes, he is the Flying Man. "Lemme guess," he says, "you still trying to steal that sword for Mr. Linderman?" Well, technically, he's trying to steal it FROM him, but whatever. Smile for us again and we'll forget all about the error, Nathan.
Nathan asks where Ando is, and Hiro says he sent him back to Japan because his quest was endangering his friend's life. Nathan understands what he means and says that you can't protect everyone and that sometimes, it's better just to go it alone. "The more people you try and help--" starts Nathan. "--the more people get hurt," finishes Hiro. He asks for Nathan's help in getting past the "casino security giant," and Nathan just says, "When I first met you, I thought you were nuts." "It's okay," says Hiro. "I thought you were mean. But now I know -- you pretend you do not care about anyone. But you care too much." Nathan looks embarrassed by Hiro's observation, but he immediately agrees to help Hiro get his powers back by getting him into the museum where the sword is being kept. They walk up to the security guards, and Nathan plays his "Do you know who I am?" card with them and they instantly allow Hiro to go see the curator of the museum. "That work for you?" asks Nathan. Hiro just beams and nods excitedly. Hee. Hiro's storyline is bugging me, but I do so love him and Nathan together.
Meanwhile, Claire and the Haitian Sensation are at the airport and Claire's giving him shit about her new identity as a Canadian named "Vivian Lewis." "I do not need you happy," says the Haitian Sensation. "Only safe." Heh. I appreciate that Claire's world has been turned upside down, but she is being a bit of a brat here, and it's all kinds of awesome that her guardian is like, "Girl, I could erase your memory back to before you became a pill, so you'd better watch your tone." Claire says that there's nothing left of her and that the second she gets on the plane, everything that makes her who she is will disappear. "There's nothing left for you here," he says, "no one you can trust." Claire stops and gets this look on her face and he's all, "No, you CANNOT go see Peter Petrelli NO MATTER HOW HOT HE IS." Claire says that Peter's the only one she can trust -- even more than the Haitian Sensation. "He cares about me," she says, as if the Haitian Sensation, who has been putting his ass on the line for her for some time now, DOESN'T care about her.
Claire wants to know why she can't hide out in New York with Peter, and the Haitian Sensation says that Peter's not in a position to be responsible for himself, let alone her. He then barks at her to come with him to the plane, and they head off to the gate. Once there, Claire makes it past security, but the second she's through, the Haitian Sensation seems to have lost his ticket and ID. Claire keeps walking, and the Haitian Sensation starts to go after her, but of course he can't because he doesn't have his ticket. We see Claire remove his ticket and passport from her pocket and drop them into a garbage can along the way. So she's a spontaneous regenerator AND an accomplished pickpocket? What the hell kind of DNA does this kid have?
Superheroes Superstudio. Simone's still dead. Isaac's still broken up about it. There's a knock at the door, and it's the NYPD. Isaac answers it, and the cops ask him about Simone and mentions the anonymous phone call and somehow they don't see Simone's bloody body stretched out on the bed in the corner. Before they can take a look around and discover it, Simone suddenly appears in the doorway, very much alive. The cops immediately leave as Isaac tries to pick his jaw up off the floor. He can't believe she's alive. "Lucky you," says Simone, turning to him. Bennet enters and says, "My, you're very useful." Isaac turns to look at Simone and suddenly the air around her warps and then Simone's back on the bed dead and Missy's standing before him, smirking. Bennet provides Isaac with a lie that Simone is traveling Europe indefinitely and that a crew is coming to clean up his mess. "How am I supposed to pretend this didn't happen?" says Isaac. "Maybe you shoulda thought of that before you shot her... twice," quips Missy. Isaac says nothing. "Whatsa matter, sweetie?" says Missy, morphing back into Simone, this time with blood all over her front. "Wanna shoot me again?" Isaac freaks and backs into Bennet, who orders Missy to knock it off.
Isaac says that he can't stay in that apartment with Simone's dead body, and he begs Bennet to bring him along for the ride. Bennet says that isn't his assignment, so he's afraid Isaac will just have to make his bed filled with dead Simone and lie in it. "I don't know what to do!" sniffles Isaac. "Of course you do," says Bennet. "You keep painting." Bennet and Missy leave as Isaac wonders how soon Sylar's going to show up to rip off the top of his skull.
Superfamily's Superhouse. Micah and Jessica are playing a video game that Glark wants you to know isn't even released yet. Is this some sort of subtle sign that everything on this show is actually taking place in the future? Or is one of Micah's superpowers the ability to get PS3 games before anyone else in the world? Because that would totally be the superpower I'd choose to have. This game looks awesome, y'all. There's a hot chick and a sword and really pretty graphics. Micah is cheesed off that his mom is kicking his ass, and she's like, dude. I'm unemployed. What the hell do you think I DO all day while you're at school. I mean, besides porn.
Micah gets up to go to school, even though his delinquent of a mom tells him there's nothing he can learn in school that he doesn't already know. Way to inspire your child to get an education, Jessica. He leaves and Jessica tells Niki-in-the-mirror that she actually does a better Niki than Niki herself. And she has better hair. Niki just crosses her arms and looks kind of smugly at her alter ego. The door opens and DL storms out and goes, "Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Jessica feigns innocence, but DL holds up a picture of Nathan that he found on his pillow. She says she didn't put it there and then demands to know if DL was digging through her stuff. DL says that she promised him no more secrets and now she's going to Linderman's casino, for what? What's Linderman got her doing with Nathan?
Jessica lies that Linderman wants her to be a dealer, which is the lamest lie ever because the bitch stole from Linderman and now he wants her to work for him? She spreads some more whoppers around and says that she's not going to do anything that she doesn't want to, and then she tries to sexily kiss him, and he smiles at her in satisfaction that she's telling the truth, but the second his back is turned, that smile drops off his face faster than you can say, "Kill the bitch." Yeah, he's totally onto her shit. He leaves, and Jessica goes to Niki, "You left that for him, didn't you? Niki says nothing, content to smirk at her from her mirrored prison. Jessica grabs a gun out of her purse and checks the clip, slapping it shut with a slam of her hand.
The Sylarinder Show. Sylar's strapped to a chair with an IV bag to him. He says that he can't feel his fingers and Mohinder informs him that this is due to the curare raging through his system. It induces paralysis of the brain, which means that Sylar can't use his many abilities. Sylar tries to fake his way out of this, saying he's not who Mohinder thinks he is, and Mohinder straps on a king-sized pair of nuts and says, "You're the man who murdered my father. Do you still expect me to believe you're Zane Taylor?" Mohinder whips his laptop around and shows Sylar a news item that states that Zane was killed three days ago; coincidentally the same day he and Sylar met. Mohinder pulls out a tuning fork and says, "You're a parasite. You killed my father and fed off his work." He hits the fork and it rings and Sylar immediately starts moaning in pain, you know, because he got that mechanic's superhearing. As the tone causes more and more pain for Sylar, Mohinder yells at him to say his name. Finally, Sylar screams, "SYLAR!"
Mohinder silences the fork and steps away. "There's only one thing to do with a parasite," he says, picking up a gun from the desk. "Kill it, before it kills again." Sylar says that Mohinder's just like his father -- and they're both murderers. Mohinder says he's a scientist, but Sylar just laughs at this and claims that Papa Suresh kept leading Sylar to the other Heroes, even though he knew what a killer Sylar was. Mohinder gets pissed and points the gun, yelling that Sylar knows nothing about his dad. Sylar breathes that Papa Suresh confided in him and told him things he could never tell his own son. Things about Mo's sister, Shanti. "He thought you were too... what's the word... fragile to know the truth," says Sylar. "That's why he liked me. You were always seeking his approval, while I provided stimulation. He gave up on you, but he adored me. NOW WHO'S THE REAL PARASITE HERE?" Sylar leans into the gun so hard that it leaves a mark on his forehead when Mohinder finally chickens out and backs off.
"You're right," says Mohinder. "My father did want answers. He called you Patient Zero. You're the template he used to create this formula. You're the key to unlocking his secret. As much as I'd like to, killing you will not give me what I need." He grabs a needle and steps behind Sylar. "So what're you gonna do?" says Sylar. "I'm going to take a sample of your spinal fluid," Mohinder says matter-of-factly. He leans over and puts his mouth right to Sylar's ear. "And it's going to hurt," he whispers. I bet. Also? Dirty! "You might actually do some good before you die," says Mohinder as he slaps Sylar's head down and sticks the needle directly into his spine. Sylar screams and screams and screams. Yowch.
Vegas. Elevator doors ding, and Hiro gets off on the museum floor. He walks right over to the curator, past a shit-ton of Isaac's paintings. The curator looks up, and it's Ian Gomez, the guy who's been on countless TV shows and also happens to be married to Nia Vardalos. He slow-blinks at Hiro as he removes his poster tube from his back. He's about to slam it down on the desk when Ian stops him and snarks, "There are so few Dead Sea Scroll fragments left in the world. It would be a pity if you crushed this one." Ian asks if he has the new Mendez in the tube, and Hiro says he does and that it's very special. Oh, it's special alright. It's been ripped in quarters and taped back together with Scotch tape, it's so special. Ian's pissed and he asks if there's anything else Hiro wants because he's not leaving. Hiro requests a receipt for delivery, and when Ian walks off, Hiro seizes his chance to tap into the man's computer to find the sword. He plugs the sword name into the search box and up comes the sword. There's a hum and a click and a drawer across the way slides open, revealing the sword inside.
Hiro runs right over and climbs a ladder to get the sword, but Ian appears and says calmly that there are 754 members on the hotel security team and all of them have instructions to drop what they're doing and come running if he pushes just one little button. Which he does. Which sets off the alarm. Which sets the guards running. The museum goes into lockdown, and Ian starts to pat Hiro down. The first of the guards shows up, but instead of taking Hiro into custody, this guard just knocks Ian out. Hiro turns and sees that it's no guard, it's Ando! "I knew you'd set off an alarm eventually," says Ando, in response to Hiro's question about what the hell he's doing there. "I've been following you." Hee. They hug and Ando seems really pleased to have helped his little friend. Unfortunately, the other 753 members of security are showing up and they're not quite as fond of the hugging thing. So Hiro and Ando shove a big cabinet in front of the door so the guards can't get in.
Elsewhere in the hotel, Nathan's riding up the escalator. He tells the feds listening in that Linderman's going to ask for him in an hour and, until then, he's going to be in his room. The feds exchange some small talk in their room until there's a door slam behind them. It's Jessica, looking fabulous, as always. "Hi," she says cheerily. "Hi, Agent Alonzo. Quesada. Mr. Linderman sends his regards. And a suggestion. Don't run surveillance on a man from inside his own hotel. It's really tacky." Heh. She tells them to kick over their guns, which they do, and then she shoots them both. Damn.
Back with Mohinder and Sylar, Mohinder's at the computer saying that the four genes he just found answer everything. He says that he can make a new List and find "them" and save "them." "And what about me?" asks Sylar. "Don't I deserve to be saved?" Um. Not really. Psycho killer. Sylar starts fake crying and says that he wants Mohinder to help him find a way to give him salvation. "Give me that damn list so I can sink my teeth in!" he hollers. Ew. Also? Braaaaaains. Mohinder gets up and walks over to him as Sylar says that he's a natural progression of the species. No, you're not, you psycho. You KILL people and STEAL their abilities. That's not natural, that's MURDER. Which is pretty much what Mohinder says to him as he holds up the gun again. "What I am doing is revenge," he says. "Now I can fulfill my duty as a son." Sylar closes his eyes and Mohinder pulls the trigger.
And the bullet stops in mid-air.
Sylar just glares at it until it drops to the ground. Mohinder starts breathing heavily. "I wasn't begging for my life," says Sylar. "I was offering you yours." The straps holding him to the chair easily split and he stands up. "You are your father's son," he says. "So determined, you didn't even notice I stopped the IV. Don't worry. You might actually do some good before you die. Starting with that list." He walks forward to Mohinder and the camera closes in on his back...
Superheroes Superstudio. Isaac's poring over his old sketches, including the one he painted of Peter and Simone kissing in the rain. He starts spazzing off and tossing stuff around the room until he finds his old heroin kit. This somehow makes him go all white-eyed and he starts painting. He paints two pictures, both filled with black and red paint. The first is a long view of him, lying on the floor, with the top of his head cut off, drowning in blood. The second is a close-up of his face, frozen in a scream, the top of his head missing. Looks like Isaac may not be around for much longer, huh?
Vegas. Nathan enters his hotel room and informs the feds of where he is. He walks to his bedroom, and Niki's there. She immediately grabs him and rips the wire from beneath his shirt. "Wearing this could get a person killed," she says. He tries to get her to calm down, and she says, "Listen to me, I don't know how much time we have before she comes back." "Who?" "Jessica! The woman that they sent after you!" Nathan grabs her and tosses her back on the bed. "You picked the wrong day to screw with me," he says. I'll say. Niki says that Linderman knows about the FBI and the wire, and then she tells him that Jessica killed the feds, so no one's listening to them right now. "Linderman knows you turned on him," she says. "Did you come here to kill me... or to warn me?" he asks. She tells him to trust her and he just raises his eyebrows at her.
Texas. Bennet returns to the hotel room, and his wife comments that he's home early and that the hotel's going to let them keep Mr. Muggles in the room. Mr. Muggles: "That's right -- a powerful dog like me can't be kept in no doggie day care center! I deserve a sleep comfort bed and room service, bitches!" Bennet turns the water on in the shower, and he and his wife immediately embrace. She asks if Bennet found their daughter yet, and he says he can't do that because if he knows where Claire is, Thompson will somehow be able to suck it out of his brain. He asks her to be strong for a little bit longer. "We both have to pretend that we have no idea what happened so that Claire will be safe," he says. "But the company--" she protests. "Has to be stopped," he says. "For good. That's the only way to make sure that Claire will stay safe." He kisses her gently and says, "I didn't know that I could talk to you like this. I always just thought that you'd be so furious at me for all the lies and deceit." She says that right now they have to take care of Claire and they'll talk about everything else later.
A phone rings in the other room, and Mrs. Bennet says it must be the kennel, only the ringtone isn't dogs barking, it's just a regular ring. In hindsight, this should have been a BIG red flag that shit was not kosher right here, but I totally missed it and thought everything was fine. Mrs. Bennet picks up the phone and walks over to the doorway and says, "Yes it is. Yes, he IS going to be a problem. Why don't we do it right now?" A door opens in the other room and in walks Thompson and two of his thugs. Mrs. Bennet just smirks and the air around her quivers and of course she's not Mrs. Bennet at all, she's Missy. Bennet's goose is cooked.
Vegas. Hiro's STILL trying to get his fucking sword. Oh my GOD. He finally gets his hands on it and pulls a "YATTA!" as the guards start breaking through the barred doors. Ando says to not worry about him, Hiro has to teleport outta there. Hiro says that they'll both go. He puts his hands on Ando's shoulders as the guards bust in, and there's a flash of white light, and then Hiro and Ando are on the Deveaux rooftop, and New York is in the distance. Only it's all fucked up and burnt out. Hiro thinks this means he hasn't saved the world. I think this is probably very true.
And now for my second most favorite moment of this entire episode.
Claire shows up at Peter's apartment and knocks on the door. We don't see who answers it at first, but Claire looks confused and says, "I'm sorry -- I hope I have the right address. I'm looking for Peter Petrelli." And that's when we see that the person who's answered the door is none other than Mama Petrelli and she looks none too pleased to see Claire. "You picked a terrible time to do that," she says. "Peter's not here just now. You may as well come inside, Claire." Oh, awesome. Claire enters hesitatingly as Mama Petrelli says something in French that sounds roughly like "Laurent" and "now" and "security." The Haitian Sensation comes around the corner, and he and Mama P have a brief discussion in French that I'm too lazy to interpret. But I'm sure it involves something along the lines of "How could you lose her?" and "Hey, I did what you told me to do!" and "Well, now she's here, so let's try and keep her safe." Mama Petrelli's expression softens when she looks at Claire. "Who are you?" breathes Claire. "I'm your grandmother," says Mama Petrelli. "And I've been trying to protect you, but you haven't made that very easy. Quite stubborn, aren't you? Just like your father." Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Speaking of Claire's father, he's still hanging out with Niki in the hotel room discussing Linderman. She tells Nathan that Linderman's going to offer him a deal and that he has to take it. Nathan doesn't like the idea of spending the rest of his life with Linderman's boot on his neck. Niki's only other suggestion is to run, but Nathan's not fond of this idea either, as it doesn't involve him running for office and being a superstar. "You don't have any other option," she says. "Yeah, I do," he says. "I could kill him." Niki holds up her gun. "Knock me out." Nathan asks why he should do that and she says, "So that Jessica knows she's not in control anymore." Again, Nathan's like, "Who the fuck is this Jessica you keep talking about?" Niki just tells him that if he wants the gun, he has to knock her out. He hesitates for less than a second and then cold cocks her. Hee.
And now for my most favorite scene of the episode.
Nathan is escorted into the hotel kitchen by one of Linderman's guards. They go to a busy area, filled with chefs, and a gray-haired man in an apron who's furiously chopping vegetables with surgeon-like precision. Nathan walks over. "Mr. Linderman?" Linderman stops and turns and it's... MALCOLM MCDOWELL. Like, I was spoiled for this, and I still went, "HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO AWESOME IT'S MALCOLM FUCKING MCDOWELL!" when I saw him. He's just such a perfect casting choice it's unbelievable. McDowell just brings the big bad, y'all. Even when sitting still, the man's still dangerous. But he's also delightfully twinkly and silly and I cannot TELL you how psyched I am that he's Linderman.
"Do you enjoy... vegetables, Mr. Petrelli?" asks Linderman in his first line of dialogue. Awesome. The kitchen clears out as Nathan says, "I've been known to eat zucchini when the mood strikes." Oh, now they're not even TRYING to hide the pandering to the HoYay contingency. Linderman picks up a piece of pastry, and Nathan comments that he could probably hire someone to do that shit for him, but Linderman says he likes to cook; it's his form of meditation. "One aims for perfection in one's life," he says, "but one doesn't find it very often. For me, this is about as close as it gets." He lifts up his creation and it's... an individual pot pie. "Voila! A pot pie. Wholesome, warm, healthy. That's, of course, if you can live without the cream sauce. Personally, I can't. I mean, what's the point?" Hee hee hee hee hee. I love this whole scene so much I want to have sex with it and still respect it in the morning.
Linderman goes to put his pot pies in the oven as Nathan looks around to see if they're really alone. Linderman continues yammering about food and even though it's totally enjoyable and I've watched it now five times, it doesn't really have anything to do with this scene, so I'm going to jump ahead to the part where Linderman asks Nathan if he's happy. "Not especially," says Nathan. "I guess I have a few issues that plague me." "Oh, dear," says Linderman with a barely-disguised sneer. "I'm sorry to hear that. You see, I think there comes a time in a man's life where he has to ask himself whether he wants a life of happiness or a life of meaning." Nathan says he'd like to have both. Linderman chuckles and says that can't be done because those are two very different paths. "I mean, to be truly happy, a man must live absolutely in the present, and with no thought of what's gone before, and no thought of what lies ahead. But... a life of meaning, a man is condemned to wallow in the past, and obsess about the future." Nathan stares at him as Linderman says that he guesses Nathan's done quite a bit of obsessing about his own future these last few days. And that's when Nathan reaches into his pocket and pulls out the gun.
Linderman just glances at it. "Mmm," he says with a raised eyebrow. "Now you can't have any of my pot pie." BEST LINE EVER. Nathan cocks his head to the side as if to say, "Did I hear you right? No pot pie? Oh, woe is me. I'm going to shoot you now, if that's okay." "I won't hold it against you," says Linderman. "Lots of men have tried to kill me." Nathan cocks the gun and raises it. "Then I'll be the last." "Of course, you can pull that trigger, Nathan," says Linderman. "But you'd be taking both of our lives. You'll be dead within moments. Or I could offer you something." Nathan's not interested in anything Linderman has to offer. "I think you are," says Linderman with a smile. "I think there are things you need to hear. Things that I know about. That you can fly, for instance? Or about your brother Peter. Hmm? And his small... problem. Your daughter, even. And all those others out there like you." During this little speech, the expression on Nathan's face ranges from resignation to surprise to curiosity. It's unbelievable. The Pasdar is the shiznit, people. He really is.
Linderman comes around the counter and moves toward Nathan. Nathan backs up. "I can offer you more than just information, Nathan," says Linderman. "You're gonna win your election. I'll see to that. And two years from now, through a series of fluke circumstances, you will find yourself in the White House. A heartbeat away from the presidency. A life of meaning, Nathan. Think about it. The choice is yours." His statement made, Linderman returns to his vegetables and starts chopping again, his back to Nathan. Nathan holds up the gun, his face gritted with determination. He seems about to shoot, but then he drops his hand to his side, his decision made. Yay, now he can have some pot pie!
Mohinder's Apartment of Pain. There's a knock at the door. It's Peter. He lets himself in and calls Mohinder's name. He announces himself and looks around, but there's no sign of Mohinder. Something drips onto his head and he reaches up to see what it is and his fingers are covered in blood. He looks up, and that's when we see that Mohinder is, like, stapled to the ceiling or something, and he looks like one hot mess. He has only one thing to say: "Sylar." Peter spins around and sure enough, there's Sylar. "I remember you," he says in this creepy voice. He slams Peter up against the wall with his TK and then grabs him by the chin. "You're like me, aren't you?" asks Sylar. "I'd like to see how that works." We hear the trademark clock ticking that signifies when Sylar's about to Sylarize someone, and he points his finger at Peter's head and starts to cut. Peter screams (Milo V. has a damn fine scream, y'all) and screams and screams. We cut to the floor as a fine lock of Peter's hair gently falls to the ground along with several drops of his blood.
Oh, thank GOD the emo bangs are going to be history.
on Heroes: Six weeks will have passed, and all sorts of good shit will happen, and if Peter dies, I will hunt Tim Kring down and make him wear hot pants and a tube top to all of his story meetings for an entire week. Don't think I won't do it.
Oh, thank GOD the emo bangs are going to be history.
on Heroes: Six weeks will have passed, and all sorts of good shit will happen, and if Peter dies, I will hunt Tim Kring down and make him wear hot pants and a tube top to all of his story meetings for an entire week. Don't think I won't do it.