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Bennet's being held captive by the Evil Eric Roberts, but he manages to throw some thoughts toward Parkman, and Matt starts taking orders from him in his mind. Bennet orders Matt to bust RadioacTed out of his own cell, and they in turn bust Bennet out of his. They all join forces and agree to head to New York to take down some tracking system so that Claire can be safe or something. Yeah, that didn't make a lot of sense to me either, but who cares? They're back, baby!
Linderman reveals to Nathan that, not only does he have a power of his own (healing), he also used to be partnered up with a bunch of other superheroes in the past. He claims that they all went bad, but since Linderman wants to blow up New York just so Nathan will get into the White House, I'd say his perception of good and bad is a little fuzzy, wouldn't you? Nathan agrees with me because he tells Linderman to go and shite. But later he kind of starts digging that painting of him in the White House, and I think he's going to let a lot of innocent people die just so he can get a blow job in the Oval Office.
Peter repeats his visit to Mohinder's place and once again finds the poor man stapled to the ceiling. Sylar appears and starts to rip Peter's skull open, but Peter heals too quickly for him to gain access to the gray matter inside. They engage in a gnarly little battle that ends with Peter dead and Sylar knocked out by a newly brave Mohinder. Mo then takes Peter directly to Mama Petrelli's house, interrupting a heartwarming chat the old lady is having with Claire about how Claire needs to shut her pie hole and go to France already.
Meanwhile, in Vegas, DL is suddenly onto Jessica impersonating Niki (did I miss something somewhere? When the hell did THAT happen?) and he declares that he's taking Micah away and that Jessica better just suck it up and deal. Jessica actually seems to consider this as an option because, hey, she's really not exactly PTA mother of the year, you know? Linderman then requests a meeting with Jessica and tells her that he needs to borrow Micah for a bit. Jessica tells him to go fuck himself. So Linderman brings in Candice the Wonder Morpher to impersonate Jessica impersonating Niki, and Candice hands little Micah right over to the Big Bad Boss. What the man has planned for the poor boy is anyone's guess.
Nathan returns home to weep over his dead brother's body. Claire busts in and wants a moment of her own with her dead uncle. She removes the glass from Peter's head and he totally comes back to life. Everyone acts surprised, but Mama Petrelli just informs them that she's known about her "special" sons since long before even THEY did. Nathan then tells Claire that he loves her and everything, but could she go to Paris already because dude's gotta go fondle some interns in the Lincoln bedroom, dammit!
After Sylar disappears from his floor, Mohinder calls Bennet, only to have Evil Eric Roberts show up instead. Their meeting is relatively unfruitful and only serves to creep Mohinder out because Evil Eric Roberts is really skeevy. Sylar's across town, paying a visit to Isaac, who appears to have grown an extra set of brass balls because he bravely faces off against Sylar even though the man is seriously murderous. Sylar kills him anyway. Bye, Isaac!
And, finally, Hiro and Ando have landed five years in the future and the bomb's already gone off. So they decide to go visit Mystery Sock. Instead of finding their friend, however, they just find this whacked-out version of his studio andâ¦Future Hiro! And he looks mighty pissed to see them, let me tell you. But his soul patch is the BOMB. Um. Unfortunate choice of words, no? Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously on Heroes: The show went on hiatus, but only after teasing us with Sylar stapling Mohinder to the ceiling, Peter getting his emo bangs sliced off by Sylar, Claire meeting hergrand-mèreMadame Petrelli, and Nathan meeting the elusive Linderman, as played by one Malcolm "I'm not really creepy, I was just born this way" McDowell. Oh, and Hiro got his stupid-ass sword and used it to go into the stupid-ass future with Ando, only to discover that the bomb went off anyway and they must have failed at one or more of their stupid-ass tasks.
Because Mohinder's busy being stapled to the ceiling, Linderman kindly steps in to deliver the voice-over for this episode. He says that people think he collects art, but what he really collects are lives, fixed in paint. We see Isaac painting and get a time-capsule series of shots that show his heroin needle, paints, and paintings. I'm probably going to just tell you what Linderman says during this previouslys segment because man, they've been off the air since 1972 and this entire thing is just a whole lot of exposition in a teeny tiny space of time. It's very well done, of course, but it's really just scenes from the last nine bajillion episodes tied together by Isaac's paintings and Linderman's voice over.
At any rate, Linderman goes on to say that Sylar's a monster who has lived to kill again, and that Niki is so protective of Micah that she fractured her own soul to take care of him. Well, now, that's an angle that hasn't occurred to me before. And while we're waiting for Linderman to drop yet another startling observation onto the voice-over, we get a miniscule scene between D.L. and Niki that has never shown up in any episode ever. And I checked. It's basically D.L. demanding to know whether it's Niki or Jessica who's in control and Niki just whispers that she doesn't know. When the hell was THAT supposed to happen? Or is it happening now? Because I thought these were supposed to be previouslys? Huh?
Whatever -- most of what Linderman says in this voice over is really just narrative-speak and doesn't have a lot of bearing on the rest of the episode. We get a replay of Candice as Mrs. Bennet, and Claire meeting Ma Petrelli, and Matt telling Evil Eric Roberts that HRG doesn't know where Claire is, and Hiro getting his stupid-ass sword and diving into the future. "All perfect moments, frozen in time," says Linderman. "Alone, each tells a single story. Together, they can tell the future."
Chapter Nineteen: ".07%"
Awwwww yeah.
We open with a sliding overhead shot of Mr. "Who's this 'Claire' of which you speak?" Bennet, sitting on a cot in an empty cell. That creepy Wendy and Lisa sitar music plays as HRG looks dejectedly at the floor. The door busts open and in comes Claire, breathily apologetic for giving him up to the OWI. Dudes. That's totally Candice. First of all, Claire's wearing her cheerleader uniform, even though she's supposed to be off in Canada somewhere with The Haitian Sensation; secondly, she's acting WAY too flighty to be that tower-of-strength we're used to seeing. At first, HRG buys her act and gratefully embraces his daughter when she goes to him, but it only takes him a second to realize that this ain't his little girl. He pushes her back, and she feigns innocence, but she quickly gets that the jig is up and morphs back into her combat-boot-and-schoolgirl-kilt-wearing snotty-faced self.
Mr. "Smirky Smirkerton, Esquire (a.k.a. Evil Eric Roberts)" Thompson shows up in the doorway looking like he just came from a golf game in hell. Seriously -- what's he wearing? He's in black, but the shirt he's wearing has the collar turned up like he just attended Muffy Pemberton's Super Summer Supper Fling out in Montauk and he's looking for a little Pimms refresher or something. Thompson rather awesomely attempts to make chit-chat with HRG, asking him if he's okay or if he needs anything. "I just got through with this Graham Greene I was reading," he smiles, "I'll bring it." Hee. I love him. I also love the writers. Graham Greene? Really? Kick ass. HRG disinterestedly asks how the book was, and Thompson says it ended badly. I have no idea which Graham Greene novel he might be referring to, but practically every book of his I've ever read has ended less-than-happily, so, really, it could be any damn one of 'em.
Bennet says that he doesn't know where Claire is, and none of these lame-ass games can make him tell them something he doesn't know. Thompson says that they've been taking it easy on him and the only reason they haven't taken it to eleven is because of their friendship. Bennet openly scoffs at the idea of their "friendship," but Thompson just uses it as an excuse to make it seem like Bennet has somehow tried to destroy the company. Bennet says he had no choice but to destroy the company. "You asked me to betray my daughter." "You got too close," says Thompson. "And then you got sloppy." Bennet rather calmly says that he's seen what Candice can do and maybe it's Thompson who's getting sloppy. "Maybe I'm right where I want to be," he says with a smirk. Thompson doesn't think so. "You're on death row." Bennet says that if Thompson had wanted to kill him, he would have done so already. Thompson just says that he's waiting for the order. "That's what we do here -- we follow orders." He goes to leave, telling Bennet that he'll remember to bring him that Graham Greene book. Once he's gone, Bennet's face falls a bit, as if the act of pretending to be totally cool with hanging out in a locked cell was a tad too much for him to take after all.
Meanwhile, Nathan "I'm all about the brotherly love, get it?" Petrelli is enjoying a private grand tour of Linderman's Hall of Heroes. Nathan observes the vast range of artistic styles, going from baroque all the way to Mayan and quips, "You must bring all your first dates here." Heh. Mr. "Remember what I said about being born creepy?" Linderman chuckles and says that he protects all of this art from the greedy hands of the outside world. Nathan reminds him that he's a criminal. Linderman disagrees. He says that when his day of judgment comes, he'll be remembered as a humanitarian. "I care about the world," he says, turning to look at Nathan. "I just want to save it. To heal it. And to do that, I need you." "What could you possibly know about healing?" grits Nathan. And that's when Linderman turns to a dead plant nearby and waves his hands over it, bringing it brilliantly back to life. "A few things," he says with a smile. Ha!
Welcome back, total eclipse of the Heroes! We've missed you!
Can I just say that, not only do I not care where in the world Matt Lauer is, but I'm kind of hoping that, wherever he is, he just up and stays gone. The world would be a better place if David Gregory were sitting to Meredith for the few years, in my opinion.
After the break, we catch up with Matt "What's that you say? In your head?" Parkman, who happens to be passed out on the floor of yet another OWI cell. Suddenly, Bennet's voice orders Parkman to wake the hell up. He bolts upright. Bennet, sitting in his cell, is forcefully thinking at Parkman, telling him that Thompson's people are just waiting for the order to take Parkman to the vivisection chamber. Parkman kind of stumbles around his cell, looking to see where Bennet is, but he can't find him. Yes, Parkman. That's because YOU CAN HEAR PEOPLES THOUGHTS. They don't need to BE there, dumb-ass! Bennet goes on to think at him that he'd better get out of there fast or he won't see his wife ever again. "We don't have much time," says Bennet. "If you can hear me, and if you trust me, bang on the pipe." Matt immediately does so. "Good man," thinks Bennet with a smirk. How does Jack Coleman DO that? He's doing a good deed here, getting Parkman out, and yet... he manages to look creepy while doing it! That is so awesome.
So Bennet tells Parkman, "If you do everything I say, you might not die." Parkman looks up at the ceiling like, "Wait -- what the fuck you mean DIE?" "You might want to argue with me," says Bennet, "but luckily, this is a one-way conversation." Hee. "Can I count on you?" Bennet asks. "Ohhhh, I hate him!" says Matt. Hee again. "YES or NO?" demands Bennet. HA. Matt bangs on the pipe again in response. Bennet sort of hangs his head in relief. These guys weren't even in the same room together and this was one of the most entertaining scenes of the episode.
Back with Nathan and Linderman. They're looking at the painting of Hiro saving the little girl with the red hair ribbons. Nathan says that he knows Hiro, and Linderman quips, "Great. If you see him, tell him I want my sword back!" Heh. "He said he needed it to save the world," says Nathan dryly. "A lot of people seem to be saying that these days." "Well," says Linderman, "we all have our roles to play in the events to come." He goes on to say that this isn't just a collection of art; it's a road map. And these artists envisioned a brighter future. Nathan gets angry and points out the painting Isaac did of the New York bomb. "This is your idea of a brighter future?" he snaps. Linderman gets FAR too close to Nathan for anyone's good and whispers in his ear, "What if I was to tell you that it was?" Nathan retains his sense of humor. "I'd say you were a lousy humanitarian."
And here's where we get the story of the Elderheroes. "I was a lot younger than you when I discovered my power," says Linderman. "And there were others too, like me, who discovered theirs. We were all confused. And we found each other. Together, we tried to make a difference to the world. And for awhile, we did. It was beautiful. And then... some of my friends... they lost their way. They used their powers for personal gain. And all the good that we'd done... well, it'd amounted to nothing. And I learned that healing one person at a time was just not enough. We needed something -- something to pull it down on course. Something big!" Nathan's like, "Uh, and a bomb is... that something? Because that's big all right, crazy man!"
Linderman says that people need hope, and Nathan responds that an explosion of the magnitude represented in the painting would wipe out half the population of New York city in a snap. "There's six and a half billion people on the planet," says Linderman. "That's less than .07%. Come on! That's an acceptable loss by anyone's count!" Uh, not to NEW YORKERS it isn't! And I've only been a New Yorker for six months now and already I'm like, bitch! Don't you be talking about New York that way! Nathan's kind of with me on this and he's not buying Linderman's line of bullshit, even when he says that people need hope and that somehow, this bomb will bring it about. "This tragedy will be a catalyst for good," says Linderman. "For change. Out of the ashes, humanity will find a common goal. A united sense of hope, couched in a united sense of fear." Hm. That sounds remarkably like the platform of a certain Republican Texan I know who thinks that going to war in a country far, far away will somehow, I don't know, bring us all together. Jackass. Where's Natalie Maines when you need her?
Linderman goes on to say that it's Nathan's destiny to be the leader who uses this event to rally a city, a nation, a world. "Look into your heart," he says. "You know I'm right." Nathan just argues with logic, saying he's down in the polls and isn't going to get elected to Congress, so there's no way he'll be getting into the White House any time soon. Linderman just pulls out a painting that contains a stern-looking Nathan, standing in the Oval Office, looking decidedly presidential. Hell, I'd vote THAT into office any damn time. "If you know all this," says Nathan, "then you also know that the exploding man is my brother Peter." "As I said," says Linderman, "we all have our roles to play. Peter's curtain call will come the day after you're elected." "You're insane," says Nathan. "You know that?" He turns decisively and walks away. Nobody's going to take his brother away from him! Nobody! At least not until AFTER they almost make out some more!
So, Bennet's still trying to get Matt to start using his brain and get the hell out of his cell. He tells him that all the communication banging he's been doing will have alerted the guard, so he's going to have to get something to hit the guy with when he comes in to investigate. Bennet tells Matt to go to one of the pipes on the wall and break it off, since it's pretty rusty. Bennet says he has three minutes to break the pipe loose, so he'd better get a move on. Matt starts banging on it, and it's kind of not coming loose, and the guard's coming and Bennet's chiding him for not moving faster and Matt's all, "Hey, ENOUGH with the backseat pipe loosening, okay?" Finally, Matt starts using brute force on the pipe as voices can be heard outside. Bennet tells him to signal when he's knocked the guard out. "I'm working on it, I'M WORKING ON IT!" snaps Matt to... no one. Heh. The pipe, of course, comes loose, and Matt takes it over to the door, which is just now opening. We switch to Bennet, waiting in his cell. There's a loud BANG from Matt's room, so we know that he's been successful in his guard attack. Bennet smiles brightly and tells Matt to grab the guard's pass and head into the hall.
Biggest Apartment in Brooklyn. Peter "Emo bangs are making a comeback, baby!" Petrelli open the door and calling out Mohinder's name. There's no response, so Peter just comes on in. He sees the IV bag on the floor and immediately senses that shit ain't right. As he's standing there, looking around, he feels something drop on his head and realizes that it's blood. He looks up, and there's poor stapled Mohinder "I'm strong enough for a man, but pretty like a woman" Suresh, bleeding down at him from the ceiling. "Sylaaaaar," he whispers. Peter whips around. "I remember you," says Mr. "Braaaaains: it's what's for dinner, and breakfast, and lunch." Sylar in his hi-def stereo creep-tastic voice. He flings Peter up against the wall with his TK and then grabs his face. "You're like me, aren't you?" he says. "I'd like to see how that works." And we get a repeat of the forehead slicing from the last episode as well as a repeat of Peter's bloodcurdling scream. Sylar: "Braaaaains." But then, in this totally killer moment, Peter's skin starts to close itself up. Sylar: "... Braaaaains?"
Peter uses some of his own TK to throw Sylar back against the opposite wall, knocking him out. Mohinder falls to the floor. Peter's about to go to him, but Sylar gets up and says, "Oh, no. I'm not done with him yet." Dirty! Sylar and Peter face off, but Peter decides to disappear. "Interesting," snarks Sylar. "I can't wait to try that one!" Heh. Sylar then uses TK to lift a bunch of glass shards into the air. He throws them around the room and one of them, unfortunately, hits Peter directly in the back of his head, effectively killing him. Peter goes down hard and Sylar walks toward him with a peaceful smile on his face. Sylar: "Ahhhh. Braaaaains." And that's when the big-ass map board comes careening across the room and slams directly into Sylar's body, throwing him to the ground and knocking him out, this time for good. Mohinder falls to the ground, breathing heavily. Way to grow a pair, Mo! Finally! He gets up and goes to Peter, checking his vital signs. Open staring eyes? Check. Glass shard in cerebral cortex? Check. Pulse deader than a doornail? Check. Peter's not really dead, and we're just waiting for Claire to show up so she can bring him back to life? Check and double check.
Dudes. Spiderman 3. Duuuuudes. Of course, I have an unhealthy crush on Tobey Maguire, so I may be biased. Or, as my friend Wendy Kroy says, "You like man-boys, and that's just wrong." But Wendy Kroy likes hairy daddy-types who wear gold chains and say, "Yo, babe," so what the fuck does Wendy Kroy know?
After the break, we join Mrs. "I invented the Oedipal complex, bitches!" Petrelli and her granddaughter, Claire "Daddy issues doesn't even begin to describe it" Bennet, as they share a moment over a picture of Nathan and Peter at Nathan's wedding. This is the precise second when Claire realizes that Peter is really her uncle and that all those dreams of making out with him are certainly never going to come true. Unless she wants to go to therapy until she's eighty and he wants to go to prison. Ma Petrelli says that Peter didn't know they were related when they first met. "He didn't even know you existed," she says. Claire gets a look on her face. "But... you did?" she says, turning to face her grandmother.
"Since you were a baby," says Ma Petrelli. "Nathan's 'folly' in Texas." Claire's like, "So... what? You kept me a secret?" Ma Petrelli's like, "Whatever. I cared for you. More than that firestarter of a mother ever did." Claire's like, "Hey, she may have set my carriage on fire, but at least SHE WAS THERE!" Ma Petrelli says that Pa Petrelli and she made arrangements for Claire. Ah, so that means that Pa Petrelli was in on this as well, which probably means that all that crap about him being suicidal is just a ruse too and he probably had superpowers because there's one thing we know now that we didn't know before: superpowers get handed down from generation to generation. This is one fucked up family, y'all.
Ma Petrelli goes on to say that the fire happened and Nathan assumed Claire was dead, so they just kind of abandoned the arrangements they made for her and let bygones be bygones. Claire's like, "Uh, YOU LET MY FATHER THINK I WAS DEAD?" Ma Petrelli says that she needed protecting. "Trust me," grits Claire with narrowed eyes. "I don't need protecting." "Because you can grow back your bones and spit up bullets?" snits Grandma. "You have no idea, Claire. The life your abilities would bring you... you deserve better." She says that Claire has to get away, just like they planned. "I haven't seen Peter, or met my father yet," says Claire. "Neither of them is in any position to be anything to you right now," says Ma Petrelli. She is one cold bitch, that's for sure.
Claire doesn't want to go to Paris, even though Ma Petrelli says she'll be taking her there herself. She wants her to have a chance to grow up and develop into someone who can make her own choices. "And then if you choose to come back and join this madness like I once did," says Ma Petrelli, "at least I will have given you the option." Claire looks at her. "So, you're like me?" Ma Petrelli says nothing, but she stands up and smoothes her skirt, and for a second, you think she's just going to like spit nails or morph into a chair or something, but no, she doesn't. She just says that she's regretted a lot of the choices she's made in her life and Claire's getting the benefit of her experiences. "Whether I want it or not?" says Claire with this hilariously petulant look on her face. Ma Petrelli kind of smiles. "You get that mouth from me." Heh! And how!
Biggest Apartment in Brooklyn. Sylar coughs and comes to and realizes that not only has Mohinder left and taken Peter with him, but he's also managed to take The List too. Sylar's not terribly happy at the moment, as you can imagine, but he comes across one of Isaac's comic books and makes the decision to pay Isaac a little visit. Which I guess means that Isaac's as good as dead, huh?
Superstudio of Superheroes. Isaac "Seriously, Simone, I love you the most! Wait -- is that heroin?" Mendez is talking to his best bike messenger about some pages his editor needs right away. The messenger dude-speaks at Isaac about how he's been waiting to see what's happening with Hiro. Isaac says that this is the latest edition of the comic... and the last. As he puts a sheet into an envelope, we see that there's a hand with a syringe in it and it's pointing at the back of someone's neck. That's totally going to be important in the future, don't you think? The messenger asks what happens to Hiro in this comic, and Isaac says, "Promise you won't post any spoilers?" HA! Shout-out? I think so. Isaac shows the messenger the cover panel, and we see a box with "Hiro in the Future" printed in it. "How do you come up with this stuff?!" says the messenger. "It's a gift," says Isaac. "Speaking of which... " He turns and looks at his sketchbook. It's open at the picture he drew of Peter and Simone kissing beneath the red umbrella. He removes the sketch and hands the book to the messenger. "Hold on to it," he says. "It might be worth something someday." The messenger thanks him profusely and hauls ass out of there before Isaac can change his mind. Isaac looks up and sees the painting he did of himself, dead on the floor with his skull cut open. Gah.
Vegas. D.L. and Jessica are continuing the discussion they never had about control and where Niki is and working for Linderman. Seriously, y'all -- did I miss something here? When did this conversation start? D.L. is chastising Jessica for working for Linderman as he packs up the station wagon with his stuff. She claims that everything she's done, she's done for Micah. "You keep telling yourself that," he snaps. "Hey!" she shouts. "Without me, Niki would still be in prison, Micah wouldn't have a mother, and you'd be all alone. I don't remember you complaining." She tries to throw a sexy twist on that last part, but D.L.'s like, bitch, please. You're a psycho and I'm taking my shit and OUR SON and I'm leaving. She tries to threaten him with her incipient violence, but he just plainly says that their lives aren't their own while they're under Linderman's thumb.
"Look at what you brought into this house--" he starts. "What? Money? Rent? Poor me," she says, getting closer to him, her voice low and threatening. "Nobody wants to hire a black ex-con." Dayum. "Everywhere you go, people die," he says. "Cash, cars, hurting people for the fun of it -- hell, you didn't even turn into Jessica. You turned into your old man!" Oooooh, burn. "Don't you dare--" she tries to sound tough, but even Jessica seems to be thinking that D.L. has a point. "I'll die before I let you do to Micah what he did to you," says D.L. Oh, awesome. A limo pulls up and a henchman gets out, informing her that Linderman requests the pleasure of her company. D.L. tells her that if this is the life she wants, she needs to get Micah out of it; she can say goodbye to him tonight. I must say that Jessica looks less than bad-ass right here and she seems to be considering what D.L. is saying.
Back with Matt and Bennet, Matt's still being lead around the facility by Bennet's thoughts. He steals a jacket so he's less conspicuous. Thompson's voice can be heard in the distance, so Matt ducks into a hallway. We hear Thompson telling one of his henchmen that orders came down to move Bennet, Matt, and RadioacTed. He also tells the guy to gas RadioacTed's room so he doesn't go nuclear on everyone. Thompson passes by Matt as Matt continues down the hallway. And then he hears something from Bennet that makes him go, "You want to do WHAT?"
The thing we see is Matt using the key card on a locked door and stepping inside. There's Ted "I'm the bomb, baby!" Sprague, rocking back and forth and pondering the power in his hands. Ted's all, dude! Whassup? Long time no see! What're you doing here? Matt's like, the time for chatting is NOT NOW. We gots to GO. Bennet has a plan! Ted's all, BENNET? I HATE THAT GUY! Matt's all, GET OVER IT. Ted's all, he could be leading you somewhere bad! Matt's all, oh, like THIS IS A BED OF FUCKING ROSES? Their lovers' quarrel is interrupted at that moment by Thompson hitting the alarm after discovering Matt's empty cell. Matt looks up at the ceiling as if a big red bell will be clanging there or something. He really is the dumbest rock in the river, isn't he?
Petrelli Palace. The doorbell rings. The numerous maids must have the day off, because Ma Petrelli actually answers the door herself. It's Mohinder. And he has some bad news about Peter. Namely, he has a big slab of glass in his skull. Could he maybe bring him inside? Seconds later, Peter's laid out on a bench and Mohinder's explaining that Peter was murdered while trying to save Mo's life. Mohinder keeps talking until finally, blessedly, Ma Petrelli tells him to get the fuck out. "I'm sorry?" says Mohinder, confused, because everyone else just LOVES it when he prattles on about how their children died saving his life! "Please leave," says Ma Petrelli, never taking her eyes off her son. Mohinder, looking like a kicked puppy, finally leaves, just as Claire comes down the stairs. She sees Peter's dead body and whispers his name. Suddenly, Ma Petrelli chokes on a sob and then all hell breaks loose as she just throws herself down on Peter's body and cries and cries and cries.
Dammit! Tissues! STAT!
Linderman's Hall of Heroes. Jessica arrives and is surprised to learn that she's about to meet the man himself. Linderman shows up and says, "Fearsome Jessica... finally. Sweet Niki, yes. But you? Never had the pleasure." "You were due," says Jessica cockily. Linderman hilariously says that they've both come a long way since she borrowed that $30K from him and conveniently forgot to pay it back. "Oh, by the way, I've had to have that room repainted since your last assignment." Heh. I'll bet. Jessica flings her coat over a chair and asks what the hell is going on. He says he needs a favor. Jessica rightly assumes that since he's asking for the favor himself, it must be "off the charts." He just says it's a matter of perspective, and then asks if he can borrow her son for a bit. Hee. Jessica's like, "Um, what was that? Did I hear you correctly? My son?" Linderman's like, "Oh, get that dirty look off your face! I only want to borrow his TALENT. Get your mind out of the gutter!"
Jessica just looks at him as he explains that he needs Micah to help him put his plan back in place. The plan that, until recently, had been going very well. I can only assume he means Nathan going for the presidency and Peter not being dead so that he could blow up later on. Yeah, that plan's going to shit right about now. Jessica rather surprisingly says that Micah wasn't part of their deal and that she doesn't want him involved in any of this. Linderman keeps trying to sweet-talk Jessica into letting him have Micah, but she's not having any of it. "You need something from me, point and I'll shoot. Micah's off limits." She trucker-walks back to her coat and Linderman says, "The request was a courtesy, my dear." She stops. "Send anyone you want. You're not touching my son." She leaves without grabbing her coat, and Linderman says that they'd better take out an insurance policy on Jessica. The door slams shut, and Linderman looks at it with a bit of pride and wonderment on his face. He's clearly impressed by her. Even still, he's totally gonna take Micah for a ride.
Back with Matt and Ted, Matt's getting messages from Bennet telling Ted to do something with the power grid. "What does he want me to do, melt it?" Hee. Also? Ted cleans up real good. He's much less Geico Caveman and much more Abercrombie and Fitch on the dockside in this episode. Bennet tells Matt that Ted needs to produce an electromagnetic pulse, just like in The Matrix when the squiddies are coming after the Nebuchadnezzar! I... may have seen that movie fifty-three times. In a day. So Bennet tells Matt to tell Ted that he doesn't even know his own potential and that all he needs to do is focus all his energy into creating one burst. "He says don't burn hot, burn bright -- does that make sense?" asks Matt. "Did he say anything else?" asks Ted. Matt looks up. "He said I shouldn't stand to you." Matt backs off as Ted gets this hilarious look on his face like, "Oh, great. So you shouldn't stand to ME, but then I have to burn bright not hot. WHATEVER."
But Ted gamely starts to concentrate and there's a small burst of electricity from his hands. He looks surprised. Then he concentrates some more and WHAM! There's a huge burst of blue electricity that waves over him, past Matt, and through he building. The power goes out. Ted's like, "Dude! Rock it! Let's go!" But Matt says they have to get Bennet out. Ted's not fond of that idea. Matt's like, "Without him, WE WOULDN'T BE FREE. So get rid of the chip on your shoulder and come help me get Bennet outta here!" Ted thinks they should let Bennet die in there, but Matt says he's the only person who might be able to take the OWI down, so maybe they should consider getting him out. Ted claims that he doesn't have a life, so why should he fight for someone else's, and Matt throws him up against a wall and says that he's always talking about wanting to die, but yet he keeps fighting like hell to live, so he must WANT to live and if he does, then they need Bennet. Ted's like, "Um. Okay then. Let's go!" Half a second later, the door to Bennet's cell opens up and Bennet looks up at them. "That went better than I expected!" he cheerfully greets them. Hee.
Petrelli Palace. Nathan enters and calls out for his mother. She calmly responds from the sitting room. Nathan walks in and sees Peter, laid out on the bench. He drops to his knees and immediately embraces his brother, crying into his neck. "He's not supposed to die this way," he sobs. "He isn't supposed to die this way." DAMMIT! More tissues! Nathan wonders what they're supposed to do now and Ma Petrelli, ever the strategist, claims that they hide it until after the election. Nathan's like, "Wow. This is too much, even for YOU, Ma." He says it doesn't matter anymore because Peter's dead and he's not having this conversation. Just then, Claire walks in. Nathan looks up. "... Claire?" "I know you don't want me here. I just want to see him. I came all this way." "Let the girl have her moment," says Ma Petrelli. Nathan releases his brother and he and his mother leave the room.
Claire kneels down to her uncle and gently touches his forehead. "I didn't even get to know you. You're the only one that made me feel safe. I thought you were like me." She starts to cry a little bit, but then she feels the back of his head, where the glass is, and suddenly, she appears to get an idea. She turns his head to the right and finds the shard and pulls it out. The second the glass is free from his head, his eyes clear up and he comes immediately back to life, coughing and gasping for air. Ma Petrelli and Nathan's embrace is interrupted and she comes running in. Peter sits up. "You saved my life," he says to Claire. "Guess we're even now," she says back with a smile. Awwww. He touches the side of her face. AWWWW.
Later that day, Peter stands in front of a window, looking at the glass that had so recently been embedded in his head. "What do you do with something that killed you?" "You could put it beneath your pillow," cracks Nathan. No, Nathan! That's where his picture of YOU resides! Nathan says he doesn't know what he would have done if Peter had actually died, and Peter just coldly says that he shouldn't think about it. Death agrees with Peter, by the way, because not only has he lost the emo bangs, but his hair is slicked back and cool looking and he seems to have gained about ten pounds in hard upper body muscles. Peter was cute before, but now he's kind of wickedly hot. Ahem.
Nathan says that he doesn't know who he is without Peter, and Peter just scoffs at this. "You're Nathan Petrelli. Top of his class, valedictorian, most likely to... you're that guy with me or without me." "Who's to say I'm not all that because of you?" asks Nathan. "Most of what we are is what people expect us to be. I mean, if you take them away, nothing means anything." Peter just looks at him. "It's a good thing I can't die, then." "What?" "Oh, I got that from Claire." Heh. Nathan wonders if they can regenerate no matter what happens; like, for instance, if Peter, say, were to, I don't know, explode? Peter says it doesn't really matter. "If I go nuclear, if I blow up New York, do you know how many people are gonna die?" ".07%," says Nathan, looking not at all bothered by that figure anymore. It's like, as long as Peter has a chance at still being alive after the explosion, Nathan's not too concerned about the rest of the New York population. Well, I suppose I wouldn't be either if my brother was that hot.
Apropos of nothing, Peter tells his brother to talk to his daughter because she wants to know her father. Nathan says he can't deal with that right now because he's trying to figure out what color tie is more presidential, red or blue. "She's not just some girl," says Peter, going to him, "she's your daughter. You know that Mom wants to send her to Paris? You can't let her go! Don't you get it? Claire's the girl that I saved... in Texas. Save the cheerleader--" "--save the world," finishes Nathan. "I get it. I remember." "And she turns out to be your daughter. YOUR daughter. Look around. Everything I said is happening, is happening now. It's real. Maybe if Claire's here, I don't blow up. Maybe she's here to save us. Talk to her, Nathan. We need her." Nathan seems to consider this as Ma Petrelli enters the room. "About what just happened," Peter begins, "Nathan and I need to talk to you." "It's okay," she says. "I know. I knew long before either of you did." The boys look at their mother like, "Damn. We knew you were kind of a controlling bitch, but we didn't know you were so omniscient!"
Burnt Toast Diner. Is there nowhere else to EAT in Odessa? Matt and Ted are seated at a table. Bennet recommends the cherry pie as he sits down. Matt worries that they should be in hiding or something. Bennet says that they wouldn't risk coming after them in a public place. "How can you be so sure?" asks Ted. Bennet gives him this look like, "Dude. I've done this before." "Point taken," says Matt. Hee. I love this whole scene. Ted's had enough and starts to leave, but Bennet tells him that the OWI will find him and this time, they won't keep him around for research. "As long as they have that tracking system, you'll never be safe," says Bennet. "And neither will Claire," observes Matt.
Bennet leans forward and says that the tracking system is well-protected, but they can get to it and destroy it. "No more bagging and tagging. No more looking over your shoulder. We can end it all." Ted asks where the tracking system is and Bennet tells him it's in New York City. Where the exploding man will be, of course. Bennet produces three tickets for them and says they're leaving on the bus. "Is this where Linderman is?" asks Matt. Bennet looks spooked. "Where did you get that name?" Matt informs him that he got it from Thompson and says that he was thinking of sending them to Linderman. Bennet kind of sits back and gets this look on his face like, "Oh, man. Linderman? Linderman is our boss? OH MAN." "Wait a minute--" says Matt. "You didn't KNOW that?" He starts chortling. "You're trying to take down your organization, and you don't even know who signs your checks?! Oh, my god! You're middle management!" HAHAHAHAHA. Bennet looks clearly uncomfortable. "So what's that supposed to mean?" asks Ted. "What it means is, he's a schlub!" says Matt. "Just like the rest of us!"
Before Matt can go even further with his barrage of insults, Bennet says that Linderman is in Vegas, not New York. Matt asks what Linderman has to do with all this and Bennet says, "Apparently more than I knew." Matt wants to go to Vegas and take the fight to Linderman's doorstep. Bennet wants to stick to the plan of taking out the tracking system. Then, whoever's left standing can go after Linderman. Uncharacteristically, it's Ted who makes the final decision for them. "New York," he says with a smile. "I've always wanted to go." Hee! The Three Hero-migos! On the road to the Big Apple! Or the Big Nipple if you're Bernardo Bertolucci.
Vegas. Micah and Jessica exit their house and Micah notices a big SUV parked at the end of the driveway with three henchmen in front of it. He wants to know what's going on and Jessica tells him that the man he's about to meet will change everything. Linderman gets out of a black car behind the SUV and says that he wants to greet young Micah himself. He bends over and shakes Micah's hand, saying it's a great pleasure to meet him. Micah sweetly thanks him. "How would you like to save the world today?" Linderman asks. Micah looks at his mother and she just smiles back at him. They all drive off in their cars, leaving Jessica behind. The second they're gone, Jessica morphs into Candice. Oh, no. Just then, the actual Jessica pulls up in her red convertible, wearing the white jacket I thought she left behind. Candice runs her hand across the hood and quips, "Cute car." Jessica looks after her like she's contemplating ripping the steering wheel off the car and beating Candice over the head with it. I think I'd pay good money to see that, actually.
Biggest Apartment in Brooklyn. Mohinder's talking to someone about how Peter just wanted help, and Mohinder managed to get him killed. Then we hear Thompson's voice say that Mo made the right decision to call. Mohinder can't believe he tried to fight Sylar, saying that you can't fight someone who defies the laws of physics. "You can," says Thompson. "You just need help." Mohinder says that Thompson's not the one he called, and Thompson says that the man he called, Bennet, is no longer with the company. Thompson says that Mohinder's been going about this the wrong way; that no man should have to face what he's faced without friends. Mohinder doesn't need friends -- what he needs is someone to go after Sylar because he's still out there and he's got an appetite for destruction. "The best way to stop Sylar," says Thompson, "is for us to work together." Mohinder doesn't look like he likes the sound of this.
Superstudio of Superheroes. Isaac's still painting away, even though his death is very close at hand. The painting he's just finishing is of Sylar, standing over his own dead body. There's a sound. Isaac turns. "You really can paint the future," says Sylar from across the room. He must have visited the Superspa Supersalon before coming to visit, because he looks all groomed and shiny. I don't blame him. It's important to look your best when you're going to murder fellow superheroes. "You're late," says Isaac with a smile. "I guess, then, you know why I'm here," says Sylar. They move toward each other. "You're the one who's going to kill me," says Isaac. "That's true," says Sylar. Isaac gives no reaction. "This is usually the part when people start screaming," says Sylar smugly. "I tried fighting the future," says Isaac. "It's too big for me. Maybe you can do better."
Sylar asks if Isaac sees some special future for him, but all Isaac will say is, "They stop you... and you die." Sylar just chuckles and demands to see the paintings that show this future of his. Isaac doesn't comply, so Sylar tosses him to the floor and pins him to it with two paintbrushes through his wrists. Ouch. Isaac says the painting showing Sylar's future is already gone. Sylar still wants to hear about it. Isaac says, "I've seen enough of the future. I don't need to watch it happen. I've wasted my life, destroyed everything good that ever came to me. At least I did one good thing before I died." Sylar stabs him through the ankles with two more paintbrushes, but that doesn't shut Isaac up. "You can't fight the future," he says. "I finally know my part in all of this. To die here with you. But not before I show them how to kill you... and stop the bomb. I finally get to be a hero." Sylar kneels down to him and then we hear the ticking of Sylar's "Brain-o-Meter" and that's when Isaac starts screaming and screaming.
Petrelli Palace. Nathan's just lounging around, staring at the shard of glass that had until recently been sticking into his brothers head. The hell? He apparently doesn't have any scissors in the house because he uses the shard to cut open the brown paper surrounding the presidential picture Linderman must have had delivered to him. There's a knock at the door and Claire pokes her head in. Nathan beckons her in. "This should have happened a long time ago and under better circumstances," he says. "It shouldn't take someone nearly dying for the two of us to finally meet." Claire says he doesn't have to pretend to be nice to her and Nathan says he's not pretending.
He goes on to say that most people think the worst of him, but he wants to do better. He wants to be there for her. "But I can't," he says with regret. "Not now." Claire rolls her eyes around some tears and says, "Of course." He says that there are things happening now that he can't expect her to understand; especially since he barely understands them himself. He says that he got into politics to do some good and that now, he has a chance to help. But in order to do that, he has to win the election. Claire ascertains that he can't have some illegitimate daughter popping up and waving at the cameras and that he needs her to leave. "Paris with my grandmother." "She warms up," says Nathan unconvincingly. "Sort of." Heh. He says that it's just one week and Claire asks what then? "And then you come home to your family, okay?" He embraces her and looks past her head to the shard of glass and the presidential painting.
Back in Isaac's studio, Sylar has completed mucking about in Isaac's brain and is now using his talent to do some painting of his own. Sadly, he doesn't have one iota of the talent Isaac had, but that doesn't mean he can't paint the future. Unfortunately, the future he's painting seems to involve a glowering older man in the Oval Office instead of Nathan. Or it's Nathan, only really unhappy. Or it's Sylar. I can't tell. That's how bad of a painter Sylar is. The camera jump cuts all over the place, giving us a glimpse of poor Isaac on the floor, then finally lands on the painting of the rooftop in the future, which morphs into...
... the actual rooftop in the future. The chyron informs us that it's five years in the future. Hiro is lamenting that he and Ando have failed at their tasks as the bomb has already gone off and devastated New York. Ando points out that he has his sword now and that means he can teleport them back and they can fix their mistakes. Hiro says they can't go back until they find out now what mistakes they made then so that they can correct the right ones. Or something. Hiro declares that Mystery Sock will know what to do! Ando says that Mystery Sock was dead when the bomb went off, remember? Hiro dumbly says that in the past, the bad brain man was captured, so Mystery Sock is surely alive! They run off to the Superstudio.
Unfortunately, when they get there, there's no sign of Mystery Sock or anyone else for that matter. Criss-crossing the space are hundreds of lines of string with different things pinned to them. Ando wonders what all this is and Hiro says that it's a timeline. As they walk around, we see a picture of Claire with a post it stuck to it saying, "Save the cheerleader." We also see a news clipping of New York post-bombing as well as a clipping of Nathan with the headline "Our Strength in Dark Times." The sound of a sword being removed from its sheath is heard. Hiro calls out, "Mystery Sock?" Then he removes his own sword. Coming directly toward him out of the dark is... himself. Only five years in the future. And Future Hiro is kind of hot. "You," says Future Hiro in a voice about ten octaves deeper than Past Hiro's. "Me?" squeaks Past Hiro. They stare at each other...
... to be continued.
on Heroes: It's five years in the future, ya'll. And things? They don't look so good.