In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
Mama Petrelli has a vision (her power is prophetic dreams, btw) involving a lot of dead Heroes and, in keeping with Chapter Three's title, the apparent villains of the piece -- Adam, Niki (or whoever), Parkman's dad Maury, new guy Knox, who feeds off people's fear, and, of course, Sylar. She tells Future Peter that the horrible things she's seeing are due to his presence, offering up Claire's encounter with Sylar as something that wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been there to tell her to stay home. In the wake of said encounter, Claire discovers that she's no longer feeling pain when she injures herself, which causes her to feel divorced from humanity, so she…gets hit by a train, a lot, until Peter flies in and grabs her. She tries to get him to help her develop her powers, but, already freaked by the damage he's done to the timeline, he bails.
Maya comes back to see Mohinder, who's basically The Fly now, and he tells her that soon he'll be able to get rid of her unwanted powers, and then they totally do it right there on his lab table. I wish I were kidding. Mohinder's skin then starts peeling off, although if that's due to the injection or the Maya-sex is unclear. I vote for a combination of both.
Matt's still in the desert, and there's a funny bit where it looks like he's talking to a turtle, but he isn't, and there's really not much more to say about that other than that this particular desert is in Africa and some dude wants him to spirit-walk. Boooring.
Bob passive-aggressively tells Elle what a failure she is for "letting" Sylar get away. She comes back later to suggest that they use Unit 5 (that's where Bennet and the other prisoners from last episode are being held) as bait, only to find that Sylar has already killed him. She goes straight to Bennet, freeing him to help her take Sylar on, but Sylar immediately attacks her. Bennet shoots him several times, but is horrified when he regenerates. He incapacitates Bennet and then moves to cut Elle's head open, but she literally erupts with electrical energy, thwarting Sylar but also breaking open some of the cells and freeing Peter-in-Jesse (Weevil from Veronica Mars, heh) and Knox. Mama Petrelli then shows up, as she's in command now that Bob is dead, and fires Elle from the Company. Bennet comes home only long enough to tell Claire that the people Elle unintentionally freed from Unit 5 are villains, and must be stopped at any cost. Claire begs her dad to take him with her, but he won't, instead leaving a sentry to watch over his family -- Claire's fire-manipulating real mother, Meredith.
Hiro hires some expensive private detectives to get a line on Flashette -- her real name is Daphne, and she lives in Paris. He's also being all squirrely with Ando because of his experience in the future, but he takes him along to Paris, where he finds Daphne's hoarding a bunch of priceless works of art, including the Mona Lisa. He steals a cherished memento of hers as a bargaining chip, and through various time-stopping machinations, he starts to track her as she goes on a quest for the other half of the formula.
The Governor, despite the fact that it was HIS IDEA like three minutes ago, now isn't sure that Nathan is the right choice to appoint to the vacant junior senatorship of New York, so Tracy has to talk him into it. Once she convinces him, she goes to see Nathan, who of course thinks she's Niki, but it's pretty clear that she's not, as Linderman attests. On the other hand, no one can see Linderman but Nathan, so maybe we shouldn't take his word for it. Future Peter outs himself to Nathan, even confessing to trying to kill him, before telling him to make the right choices. Like, you know, NOT killing your brother. Nathan takes the offer, on the condition that Tracy join his staff. A reporter who's convinced she's Niki then threatens to go public with a video of that time Nathan and Niki did the Nasty, so she freezes him like she's liquid nitrogen and he's Robert Patrick. Future Peter returns to Unit 5 to free his present self, only to find Sylar strapped to a table, watched over by Mama Petrelli. Future Peter heads off to try to find Peter-as-Jesse, who's just now discovering what kind of murdering people he's hooked up with. Presumably both wanting to keep an eye on them and being aware that his appearance will put him at a disadvantage, though, he stays with them. And back at Unit 5, Mama Petrelli tells Sylar she's his mother. Because she didn't have enough sons who might destroy the world?
Click here for part 1 of the premiere. Plus, read our exclusive Heroes blog written by Jack Coleman, aka H.R.G.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We start back at the Bennet house, where we first see the episode title in a chyron that's folded up to look like a butterfly. Nice. The people who design and execute these effects really deserve an award. We pan left to see Sandra sweeping up some broken glass in the kitchen, an activity she puts on hold to tell Claire that whenever she's ready to talk about what happened, she's there. Claire's cleaned herself up, and in response to her mother's suggestion that they go to a motel for safety, says that Sylar isn't coming back. "He got what he came for." Sandra's mind immediately goes to the rape place, for which she could be forgiven if she hadn't met Sylar, but she has. She should just be happy Lyle wasn't home. Sandra then sees that Claire has her right hand buried in the jagged glass, apparently heretofore unbeknownst to Claire, and goes to get her a towel. When Claire removes the shard in her hand, though, it of course heals. With wonder but no joy, she tells her mother that she didn't feel any pain from the wound, which has never been the case before. "That pain, I've always been so grateful for. Because it's the only time I know I'm still human." I'll have to try to adopt that philosophy time I have a root canal. Sandra has no idea what to say to that, so she and her adopted daughter sit in silence.
Mama Petrelli throws open the doors to a wing of what looks like a hospital or a mental facility or some such, and takes in a series of horrific sights: Hiro, slumped dead against a door, the Kensei sword buried in his chest. Matt, sitting dead in a chair, eyes still open. Claire, screaming as Knox shoves her up against some live wires. Bennet, lying dead. And finally, Peter, with a huge wound in his upper chest, collapsing against a wall and expiring. Knox drags Claire's body away from her severed head. Mama turns in abject fear, and sees her enemies close up into a phalanx: Adam, Ali Larter (don't know which person or personality it is yet), Maury Parkman and Knox. Sylar then grips her shoulders from behind...
...before, in the back seat of a town car, she snaps out of the dream and tries to collect herself. "Penny for your thoughts?" her chauffeur sadly does not say.
Mama Petrelli then shows up at Peter's apartment, where Future Peter is being kind enough to house-sit while his present self takes a little vacation from his body. She tells him that she had another unspeakable dream, and it's because he's not where he's supposed to be, so he should go back where he came from. He thinks he's saving the world, so she tartly responds, "You never were as smart as you thought you were. I see a few more years on this planet hasn't changed that." Heh. But... Peter actually thought he was smart? He's even dumber than I realized. He tells her there are things he knows that even she can't see, and he's aware of what she becomes. She replies that screwing with time results in the butterfly effect, and explains the concept, not realizing that Peter was actually a huge Ashton Kutcher fan before he got preoccupied with learning to fly and crap like that. Peter's insouciant about the whole thing until Mama Petrelli brings up Claire, saying that because Peter told her not to come to Odessa, she "ended up being where she wasn't supposed to be, and had a pretty bad day because of it." Of course, that makes no sense, because Claire wouldn't have had a reason to go to Odessa in the first place if Future Peter hadn't shot Nathan. That seems like a really bad error on the show's part, but I can get behind Mama Petrelli making Peter feel like shit even if there's no real reason for it. Peter refuses to unclench his jaw or his facial scars, so she tells him to go see for himself, and leaves.
Ugh, this scene. Maya returns to Mohinder's lab, killing any new-season goodwill I had toward her, and finds a shirtless Mohinder hanging upside-down from the ceiling. He does a flip down to the ground, and Maya apologizes for the night before starting to get overwhelmed by the not-entirely-human pheromones coming off Mohinder's sweaty body. I'd think Jeff Goldblum would be pissed, but then again, at least he doesn't have to deal with Maya. Mohinder tells her he injected himself with the serum, and far from getting her stupid power, he's agile and fast and has boundless energy. [And self-oiling muscles! - Zach] He also seems to be drinking an inordinate amount of milk, but that's a less sexy detail, so I don't blame him for leaving it out. He scales the wall as he tells her that he's been monitoring his own vitals, and they're all normal. He then flips back down to the floor and puts his hands on her arms as he goes on that if he can give powers to anyone, it's only a matter of time before he figures out how to take them away, which is great news for her. He then checks out her rack, which might seem gratuitous but could just be his milk-thirst coming to the fore again, and then kisses her and rips off her shirt. This prompts her to pant, "You are different," which I guess means a man wanting her is more unusual than a man who scales walls in the blink of an eye. We get some more Mayhinder action before going to the title card. Be grossed out. Be very grossed out.
Oh, great, we're back in the desert with Matt. No disrespect to the Israelites, but I have the feeling this storyline's going to at least seem to last forty years. Matt wanders. He passes a vulture. who's like, "Don't go too far -- lots of meat for the picking." He wanders. He hallucinates. He passes out, face down...
...And in an ironic segue, we cut to jaunty music (Iggy Pop's "He's Frank") playing as Sylar struts down the street. We then suddenly switch views to a black-and-white recording from a camera inside a car, which quickly pulls up to Sylar. The two occupants get out and tell Sylar to get on the ground, and the male shoots him. Iggy Pop tells us, "He's a peculiar boy." I've certainly always thought so. Sylar merely staggers back a step, leaving them to look at each other ineffectually for ten years before he mercifully knocks their incompetent asses away, and the male goes flying into the windshield, apparently breaking the camera in the process...
...And we pull back from the static-y image to see that Bob (Tobby) has been watching the feed. He tells Elle that they were two of their best agents, and I'm going to assume he's saying this to drive home the point that she screwed up, because I've seen more subtle attempted apprehensions on episodes of Cops, and if that's the best the Company has to offer, they are up shit's creek indeed. Elle apologizes for letting Sylar get away, and says she can still stop him, but he looks at some files as he offhandedly and faux-rhetorically asks why he should keep putting her in a position where she's just going to let them both down. "That's not fair to either of us, is it?" Elle looks at him like she can't believe even he could be quite this passive-aggressive, but in fairness he is about to have his skull sliced open, so it's good he got to go out on a high note.
We get a closeup of a computer screen that's being used to digitally analyze fingerprints, and we see Hiro is watching this when Ando calls his name. Hiro's like, "Don't startle me like that, you traitorous electrified punk!" Or so was implied by his girly double-take. He accuses Ando of sneaking up on him, and I know he's freaked out by his trip to the future, but it's hard to sneak up on someone after CALLING HIS NAME FROM HALFWAY ACROSS THE OFFICE. Ando asks who all the mysterious guys are, and Hiro tells him that they're expensive and discreet private detectives. Although the subtitles actually say they're "discrete," which could be another reason why they cost so much. Anyway, Hiro explains that they're trying to get an ID on Flashette, and presently, one of them comes up with the news that her name is "Daphne Millbrook." Fine, spoil my fun. The guy gives Hiro her address, which is in Paris, and Hiro makes to teleport out of his office like, two seconds later, and though I'm willing to believe the guy made it out of the room, you still might want to CLOSE THE DOOR JUST IN CASE. Ando asks if Hiro isn't going to take him along, and Hiro's like, "Oh, yes! Why would I possibly forget that! Surely I am not afraid of you possibly killing me over the formula that I'm just going off to get! That could not be it at all!" They pop out of there.
So despite the fact that last time we saw him, the Governor was writing Nathan's name in colored marker with flowery hearts and putting it in his hope chest, he apparently has "cold feet" about him now, so Tracy has to point out that the Junior Senator seat of New York has been vacant for a month, and it's his job to fill it. (Don't know if that's actually the procedure in New York, and more importantly, don't care.) A chyron tells us the duo's surnames (Tracy's is "Strauss" and the Governor's is "Malden") as Tracy argues for Nathan as both a dynamic and a strategic choice. After a frankly excessively long pedeconference in which the Governor keeps balking and Tracy keeps pushing him (one point of interest is her declaration that "the far right is loving him, which fits in nicely with your priorities"), she tells him that he doesn't pay her for sex. "I give that for free." I don't see a ring on that finger, missy! Then again, your far-right constituents would probably accept "Life happens" as an explanation. Her point, anyway, is that he pays her for her counsel, and she's advising him to appoint Nathan. As the conference-room door in front of which they're now standing opens and some guy tells the Governor they're ready for him, Malden tells Tracy to reach out to him. She kittenishly says her flight leaves in an hour, and if it weren't for the tight schedule and the people watching, I think there would be some more no-cost sex on tap here.
Tracy is in a parking garage heading to her car when a reporter with whom she seems to be familiar accosts her. She breezes by him, saying the Governor hasn't made his choice yet, but he actually wants to talk about her -- specifically a photo he's dug up of Niki in her stripping days. I should tell you, in deference to a reader that e-mailed me in mock (I think) consternation, that the reporter is played by William Katt, who played the lead on ABC's The Greatest American Hero back in the eighties. But even though I am plenty old enough to have watched that show, I wouldn't have recognized him. Believe it or not, he got old. He suggests a story title of "Las Vegas Stripper Becomes K Street Ice Queen," and says his "sources" assure him that the woman in the picture is Tracy. She declines to comment, and when he says he'll run the story regardless, she conversationally tells him that if he does, she'll hunt him down and destroy him. To emphasize her point, she speeds out of there in a big show of hairpin turns and squealing tires. Or maybe it's just that she needs to check a bag.
In front of a window that boasts a lovely view of a greenscreen of the Eiffel Tower, Hiro and Ando appear in Daphne's flat. They look around in wonder at the cornucopia of stolen artifacts from around the world that litter the place, including, most spectacularly, the Mona Lisa. (Crowd at the Louvre a few days earlier: "Zut alors!") Hiro and Ando look at each other, unable to hide how cool they think that is.
By some train tracks, Claire is setting up her camera to tape another entry for America's Funniest Regenerative Videos. She tells the camera that she's starting to wonder if she's even human anymore. "Because if you can't feel anything, do you still have a soul?" That may seem pretty heavy, but trust me, it'll be hilarious once she dubs in the slide whistle. We hear a train coming as she says she needs to prove she's still alive. The train appears and bears down as she steps onto the tracks and adds, "My name is Claire Bennet, and this is Attempt Number Seven." I'm sure Train Operators One Through Six don't mind one bit that your existential crisis means a lifetime of therapy for them. She stands to face the train and raises her arms, which is another little religious touch in a season full of them so far, but before she can give another engineer permanent nightmares, Peter swoops in and flies off with her...
...And they land roughly in the adjoining field. He asks what she's doing, and she snits, "What does it look like? Trying to get hit by a train!" What do you say to that, Einstein? She tells him she needed to feel something, and starts to cry as he asks what happened, and pulls her into an embrace. And look, I don't want to dwell on it, but given that they play blood relatives quite believably, it's a little unsettling to think that they're dating in real life. And because of, you know, the other thing. Anyway, Claire's response to Peter's question is "Something awful," leaving him free to Blue Steel his way into a commercial.
We're back with Peter and Claire, who are now walking for no reason other than that it makes getting a two-shot of them a lot easier, and Claire is just finishing up telling him about her encounter with Sylar. Peter is none too thrilled that his mother was correct, and ignores Claire's question of what makes her different and special in favor of telling her that what happened was his fault. Claire tells him that actually, it was her fault because she can't defend herself, and even though she can self-heal, she's still a victim. She asks Peter to teach her, given that he learned to use his power and fought Sylar. Well, that may be, but things didn't always go so well for him, Claire. In fact, I seem to remember that the only reason he wasn't a corpse in Season One was that he ABSORBED YOUR POWER, HELLO. Peter doesn't point this out, instead whining about the space-time continuum or whatever and popping the hell out of there. I'd be pissed that he didn't give me a ride, but that might have changed things forever. Seriously, though, I'm not being bitchy for no reason -- all this obsession with timelines is kind of starting to bug me. The thing is, no one seems to be in a position to be an arbiter of what's really meant to happen. In other words, is anyone aware of what the world would have been like if no one -- not Hiro, not Peter, not anyone else with this power -- had screwed with time? Because if not, who's to know whether time travel will make things better, worse, or just different? It bothers me when there's no clear goal, and it's true it's only the second episode of the season, but... has there really been a clear goal on this show since Kirby Plaza? I have hope that the religious elements in this season are going to lead somewhere interesting, at least, but I sure don't have the patience of a saint.
Anyway, Nathan is literally on his knees praying when Tracy enters his room, apparently having devoted her entire time on the plane to applying her lipstick. Nathan sees her and mumbles, "Speaking of sin!" Heh. Tracy apologizes, saying the nurse gave her leave to stop by, and she pitches him on the junior senatorship, unaware that he of course thinks she's Niki. I've never been a huge fan of Ali Larter's, but she is definitely doing a good job in adjusting her mannerisms and inflections to give Tracy a whole different identity from any of the other people or personalities we've seen. When Nathan actually addresses her as "Niki," though, she asks if he thinks he knows her. Nathan: "The word 'Biblically' comes to mind." Heh, nice. Tracy surely thinks that Nathan is still somewhat out of sorts, so she doesn't even flinch when he tells her they met in Vegas, instead introducing herself. Nathan lets the Niki thing go, and Tracy goes on that the offer is serious, and the Governor wants him. She gives him a card with her cell number on the back, and behind her, we see that Linderman has appeared. But Tracy doesn't, walking straight by him and exiting. Nathan doesn't quite seem to notice this oddity, though, instead asking if Linderman put Niki up to this stunt. Linderman, however, vouches for not only the validity of Tracy's offer but of the fact that she's not Niki, and given that Malcolm McDowell's voice could sell ice to Eskimos, I am now convinced of same. Linderman wonders if there might be a reason for "somebody so familiar, offering you the chance of a lifetime?" He goes on that Nathan should think about it. "This is God's plan." Nathan, however, seems more resistant to Linderman's charms than I am, as he kicks him out.
Elle enters her dad's office and says that she's been thinking, and why should they go look for Sylar when Unit 5 has all these juicy powers with which they can bait him? Thee's no response, though, and she takes the silence as further psychological punishment. Of course, since the chair is facing away from us, only people who've never watched TV before would fail to realize that this means Bob is dead. But given Elle's childhood, that actually is a strong possibility in her case. And while I do quite like Stephen Tobolowsky, I definitely enjoyed the quick "Your services are no longer required" feel to his death. Elle does not seem to agree...
...and moments later is determinedly stomping down the hall past Jesse (who keeps whining that he's Peter, like, surely you realize by now that nobody cares, and also, aren't your fellow prisoners going to wonder about that later?), Knox, and that other guy the show refuses to name. Elle goes straight into Bennet's cell and tosses him a gun, telling him Sylar's in the building. Bennet playfully tells her that "Daddy" doesn't want him to leave, but she puts paid to any levity by telling Bennet about Sylar killing her dad. She strides out, but before Bennet can follow, he hears Elle scream and sees her fly up into his window before falling to the ground. He exits and runs into Sylar, who greets him as "Noah" (heh), and asks if he missed him. By way of answering, Bennet plugs him in the chest multiple times. And this is before he knows what Sylar did to his daughter. Sylar slumps to the floor, blood smeared all over the wall behind him, but as Elle coughs and lifts her head, we hear the ominous plink of a bullet falling to the floor. After the noise is repeated for each of Bennet's shots, Sylar looks up: "Ouch." Heh. But is he just being funny, or did he actually feel pain? No time to wonder about that, as Sylar TKs Bennet away like a rag doll, knocking him unconscious.
Jesse's a ham sandwich on a hard roll as he yells "Sylar! You bastard!" but Sylar isn't listening, instead picking up the gun and heading over to Elle. Elle's hand crackles feebly, but she's clearly weak, and Sylar encounters no resistance as he flips her over. Peter-in-Jesse yells to leave her alone, and I do like Francis Capra, but I hope he gets straightened out soon because his Peter Petrelli is bugging the crap out of me. Sylar demonstrates Bob's power to Elle as he turns the gun into gold before our eyes, which I guess means that money's going to be a hell of a lot tighter at the Company from here on out. Elle spits that Sylar killed Bob, and he replies that he's killed a lot of people. "You're as much to blame for that as anyone. Maybe even more so." Hmm, interesting. It's amusing to think he's just referencing the fact that she let him escape, as Bob would no doubt be nodding approval from beyond the grave, but I wonder if there's more to it than that. Sylar isn't going to tell us, though, as he raises the Index Finger of Incision in her direction. But as he starts to cut open her forehead, she screams, and suddenly erupts in an electrical storm that engulfs Sylar and sends him flying. You know, I may have my concerns about the season arc, but a lot of individual scenes here are totally kicking ass. That ruled!
When we return, there's a loud alarm going off, and a groggy Elle sees some bespectacled guy (I thought on first viewing it was Bennet, but this guy is younger) standing over her, followed by Peter-in-Jesse, who tells her his real identity again before Knox whisks him away. Elle's electrical explosion apparently freed the prisoners from their cells, and she sits up and watches them go before catching sight of Bennet dragging an unconscious Sylar off somewhere. And while Bennet may not be able to kill him now, I don't think it's going to be from lack of trying. Elle looks like she's losing consciousness again...
...So we head back to Paris, where Hiro and Ando are checking through the purloined goods for the formula. Ando then tries to take a gold brick off a shelf full of them, but underestimates its weight (nice touch; gold is frickin' heavy) and drops it. Hiro's like, "Figures." Apparently it hasn't occurred to him that his pissypantsed little attitude might be the very thing that causes Ando to snap and zap him in four years. Ando asks what's up with all the shade being thrown his way, so Hiro, to his credit, tells Ando what he saw in the future, although he doesn't mention Ando's powers, merely calling him a "villain." Ando speculates that it was a robot or a shapeshifter that Hiro saw, but it seems pretty clear from their interaction that Future Hiro, at least, thought he was dealing with the real Future Ando, which to me makes the likelihood that it wasn't him a lot smaller. Hiro's like, whatever, and says they need to set a trap for Daphne. "That's what Batman always does with Catwoman." Hee. That makes me want to see Hiro have a scene with Eartha Kitt -- I think she'd fluster him to the point where he'd pop off to a desert island and never come back. Hiro thinks they need a ransom, and muses to himself, "What treasure does the world's fastest thief hold most dear?" [He briefly considers some 9th Wonder comics, which Daphne must have picked up after she met one of the book's stars, although I can't imagine they're still printing them. - Zach] The answer comes when he sees a medal hanging from its ribbon nearby, and checks it out: "First place, hundred yard dash, twelfth grade." Hiro looks mighty pleased with himself, but the Mona Lisa smiles like, "You think you're so clever, but wait until you see what would have happened if you'd picked me! See, I have reason to smirk!"
Nathan's looking in the mirror, and we see Peter behind him, who asks how he's feeling. Better, I'd guess, because in a reversal, Nathan looks nicely tanned, while Peter looks like he spent his four future years in a root cellar. Seriously, if he's going to cover up the facial scars, could he also arrange not to look like the undead? Nathan says he feels conflicted, and tells Peter about Tracy's offer. He goes on to recall that the last time he was in politics, he almost let Manhattan be destroyed. "Not really sure what that says about my basic nature." Heh. Peter tells him everything's different now, and since I gave four different examples of how that's utterly untrue last recap, let's just say I disagree and leave it at that. Peter then warns Nathan that he needs to show him something, and drops the illusion to reveal his true visage. Nathan instinctively recoils, and Peter tells him he's from the future, and he's the one that shot him. Nathan's too stunned to respond, so Peter goes on that in his world, people like them are hunted and slaughtered. "Used. All because of what you told the world at that press conference." He goes on that he had to stop that from happening, and if I were Nathan I might be like, "And with all your powers and the fact that you're my brother, the only way you could think of to stop me was by SHOOTING ME IN THE CHEST? Mom really is right about how dumb you are!" Hmm, I think I might be starting to hate Peter. Nathan's response, however, is better: "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond to this." Heh. Peter confesses that despite his success in stopping Nathan, he thinks he's failed in his mission to save the world, and he needs Nathan's forgiveness in order to keep going. Nathan chooses to ignore this for the moment, instead asking Peter what's . "Do I take the offer?" Peter has to explain that the timeline he comes from no longer exists, so he doesn't know -- Nathan will just have to be the brother he always looked up to. "You gotta make the right choices." Telling Peter to shut up doesn't quite seem to cover it, but I'm on deadline here. SHUT UP, PETER. Nathan asks where he's going, and Peter tells him, "To set things right." He disappears, possibly heading back to the beginning of Season Two.
Tracy comes speeding back into the parking garage. Her phone rings, she answers (No hands-free device? Don't you film in California, show?), and it's Nathan, who accepts the offer on one condition -- she has to be on his staff. "I'm not going into this without an ally." And free sex! She tells him that won't be a problem, and as she pulls into her spot, says they'll do a press conference the day. Her face falls, however, as she sees the Greatest American Reporter in her rearview mirror, so she tells Nathan to expect a call shortly, and hangs up. Outside the car, he asks once again if she wants to make a comment, as he's submitting the story in 15 minutes. She tries to tell him that Niki just looks like her, but he hands her a small laptop on which a video file is playing of Niki/ikiN/Jessica giving Nathan a lap dance. I know you're about to die, GAR, but if you'd just send that file to Nathan, I'm sure he'd appreciate it. He could use some cheering up. GAR says that he's got a friend who works in security at the Corinthian Hotel in Vegas, and he notes that not only does the woman on the video look like Tracy, the man looks like Nathan. Tracy, getting more and more upset (adrenaline is pumping, I suppose) tries again to deny it's her and starts to walk away, but then gets overcome with emotion. He repeats his "Ice Queen" headline bit, just in case we were going to miss the irony, but if the writers felt the need for him to say it now, they shouldn't have had him say it before. We've got enough repetition around here as it is, despite what Idiot Peter may think. Anyway, Tracy grabs GAR by the arm, her hand turns blue, and in a matter of seconds, she's frozen him solid, much to her horror. When are these people going to learn that terrible things always happen in parking garages? He collapses and shatters, "Hasta la vista, baby"-style, and, as Tracy, in a panic, makes herself scarce, some of his remains start to melt and flow toward a nearby drain. Believe it or not, that was pretty damn cool.
Sylar is unconscious and strapped to a gurney and some machines as Elle watches him, and then Mama Petrelli's voice rings out: "Quite a little mess you've made here!" Just in case you thought her father's death would mean the end of authority-figure disapproval for Elle. Mama Petrelli lets us know that she's in the Company's chain of command, and by the way, while Elle's electrical outburst may have resulted in Sylar's capture, it also shut down their grid, which allowed "a dozen inmates that are just as bad or worse" to escape. If that's the case, I wonder what her explanation is for the fact that they couldn't capture even a power-deprived Sylar for all of last season, but I'm sure she'd find some way to blame that on poor Elle too. Anyway, Elle's fired. Elle emotionally says she's worked for the Company her entire life, and asks what she's supposed to do now. Mama Petrelli: "I suppose you'll have to get yourself another life!" Hey, how about being a PI-in-training? You've even got a built-in taser! Elle stomps off, and Mama Petrelli regards Sylar's unconscious form impassively.
It's night in the City of Lights, and Hiro asks if Ando understands the plan. Ando thinks it sounds dangerous. "Does Batman put Robin in danger when he sets a trap for Catwoman?" You guys, Batman and Robin are homosexuals that all but shove their junk in your face while campy music plays. You might want to let the comparison go. [Blasphemy! - Zach] They start bickering again about the damn vision, so thank God for Daphne finally showing up and heatedly asking what they're doing there. Hiro tells her that now he has something of hers, and holds up the medal. She tries to speed-grab it away from him, but he's too quick for her, popping across the room. "You are not faster than me, nemesis!" I guess Hiro being a superhero geek makes it believable he'd know that word in English. I'm guessing he also knows "archenemy" and "sidekick." After another go-round, he offers her a trade, which she too-breezily accepts, saying her boss isn't going to be too happy. She declines to reveal anything further, though, instead retrieving the formula, which causes Hiro to exclaim to Ando, "You didn't look behind the Mona Lisa?" Ando's little "Oopsie" shrug is hilarious, but he does kind of deserve to be put in danger for that one. Daphne says she was about to head out to get the other half of the formula, and then Hiro hands the medal to Ando and pushes him forward to make the exchange with this assurance: "This is a trade between two honorable people." Daphne gives a super-fake smile and nod, and then drops the act: "Wrong." I think I'm starting to like her. She speeds forward, and Hiro freezes time, but only succeeds in slowing her to normal, as before. She holds a knife to the now-frozen Ando's neck, and threatens to kill him if Hiro doesn't give up the medal. She pushes the knife into his neck to show she's not kidding, although I guess the bright side is that the blood can't flow while the time freeze is on. But Hiro lets it go, and Daphne's out of there in a flash, leaving Ando to fall back into Hiro's arms. They then have the following discussion:
Ando: Did you cut me?
Hiro: Of course not! She's the villain! Villain villain villain villain villain!
Ando: But you let her cut me.
Hiro: Yes, but you're evil, so it's okay, and besides, I have a plan.
Ando: You mean the one you just cocked up?
Hiro: No, the real plan, which was me stopping time and putting a tracking device in the medal and not telling you about it.
Ando: You're a dick.
Hiro: You're evil. Villain.
Ando: I am not!
Hiro: Okay. Check out this cool gadget!
Daphne's apparently now in Berlin, and Hiro excitedly says they'll get the second half of the formula before she does, and cries, "The game is afoot!" and he and Ando are out of there. Nice that he came up with a reference outside of Batman, anyway.
Mohinder and Maya are lying in bed when the former sits up and looks indisposed. Cut to the bathroom, where he shakily looks in the mirror and realizes that his skin is starting to peel off. While this development still qualifies as making him "different," I think Maya's going to find it less of a turn-on.
Matt comes to in the desert as he hears a greeting. When he looks up, he finds himself face to face with a large turtle -- and immediately thinks that's what talked to him. Ha! If only that ended up being the case. The voice tells him that the plant a few feet away from him will give him water, so Matt takes the advice and breaks some of it off, then sticking it in his mouth and letting the water run in. "Thank you, turtle! You saved my life!" A man in desert-appropriate grab then appears and asks him why he's talking to a turtle. Hee. He gives Matt his canteen, which is nice but makes me wonder what that whole business with the plant was for. Maybe that really was the turtle talking. After a bit about Britney Spears that I won't be recapping, the guy lets Matt know he's in Africa, and tells Matt to follow him, on the way making such an egregious product placement that it even offends the judges' Coke cups on American Idol. Matt babbles about getting back to America, and actually, with Peter's whole deal about making things right, you'd think he might have come back at least to make sure Matt hasn't become vulture food. The guy tells Matt he must spirit walk for many miles, and man, does Matt just sign up for every loser storyline on this show or what? I'd imagine this is going to develop his powers somehow, but still. The guy also knows Matt's name, and tells him it's not right that he's here. "It tells me the future is not as I've painted it." All right, then, he's NeoIsaac until I get a name. Matt realizes that he's the one that painted the image he saw on the rock, and if that's the future NeoIsaac's so anxious to see come to pass, I'm not sure Matt needs to be having this chat. They keep walking, and look, I love Greg Grunberg, but if he's going to be spirit walking for any length of time I'm going to have to pray for that scorpion to come back and sting him to death.
Claire fearfully comes down the stairs, having heard something, but it's Bennet come back home. They give each other a big hug, and he tells her how worried he's been. This continues to be the most affecting relationship on the show for me, so it's tough to watch when Claire realizes Bennet's not staying. He urgently tells her something's happened. "Something that I can't ignore."
Linderman and Nathan are playing chess as the former tells the latter that he made the right choice. Nathan says it's going to be different this time -- he's going to be the one making the decisions, and Linderman deliciously agrees, "Of course you are," in a soothing, who's-a-big-boy-now voice. Heh. A nurse then enters and admonishes Nathan for being up so late, and he jokes that he's in the middle of a heated game, but her confusion leads him to realize what we already knew -- no one can see Linderman but Nathan. Well, and us. Linderman affirms this: "Did I not mention that?" Heh. Nathan gives the nurse a sheepish smile, like, "I was just kidding. No need for thorazine, really!"
Bennet is showing Claire computer files of the Unit 5 escapees -- Knox, who can absorb people's fear and turn it into great strength; Second Bald Guy is a flamethrower, and the computer screen says his codename is "Flint"; the guy with the glasses from earlier is called The German, and can control magnetic energy; and, of course, Jesse Levine. "You don't want to know." Yes I do! His power must be super-cool! Bennet shuts the computer and says the escapees could destroy them all. He goes on that even before Claire was born, he was finding these people and locking them away so they couldn't hurt anyone, but now a dozen of them have escaped. "And they will kill, they will terrorize, and they will conspire. And they will cause unimaginable destruction to the world." Bennet says he's one of the only people in the world that knows enough to stop them, so that's why he has to go. Does he know the location of the Haitian? Because no offense to his body of knowledge, but I think that's about the most valuable thing he has to offer. Claire asks to go with him and be his partner, and says she can help. That is really, really not remotely the worst idea I've ever heard, but Bennet, of course, won't hear of it. She points out that she was willing to shoot Peter (another plot point that's been repeated) but Bennet tells her he's going to go after the villains so she doesn't have to. Claire asks what will happen if someone comes there, but Bennet's got that covered too, as he's called someone to help. Sandra enters, and while she kicks ass, I don't blame Claire for thinking that she's not exactly a match for Flint or The German. But she merely says that she knows Claire must have a lot of questions. "As adoptive parents, there's only so many we can answer." With that setup, she moves to the side... and out of the shadows steps Claire's biological mother, Meredith. Nice! Jessalyn Gilsig rocks. Bennet says that she's there to make sure the rest of them stay safe. "You're in good hands." By way of demonstrating that, Meredith opens her hand, and fire trails up out of it. I'll forgive the gratuitous demonstration on behalf of new viewers, mostly because of my affinity for bad wordplay.
Peter pops into Unit 5, and is surprised to see Sylar but no one else. His mother appears and starts crowing about the butterfly effect, but gets genuinely worried when Peter tells her that he put his present self into Jesse. She tells him to fix it and get back there. "And then go the hell back where you came from!" Honey, let's go have a cocktail. We both deserve it.
Peter, using one of those pay phones that simply litter the streets these days, is leaving a message for Nathan, saying he's got to look out for someone who looks just like -- we cut to the reflection of Jesse -- "me." Nice, I liked that. He starts to describe the scar on his face, but Knox appears and hangs up the phone, saying their ride is there. They start to head toward it, but Peter's horrified when he sees Flint immolating some random girl while The German beats some guy up. Peter asks what they're doing, and The German replies, "Just having a little fun, that's all." No wonder Peter was confused. The German gratuitously (not that I wouldn't do the same) uses his power to open the car doors, and then Flint comes up and gives Peter a big smile and a conspiratorial wink. Aw! They're just like Natural Born Killers! Peter watches the corpse, which looks like an irregular crash test dummy, burn for a moment, before Knox tells him they've got to go. As sirens blare, he looks at his reflection again and realizes he has no choice, and hops in.
Sylar, still strapped in, looks half-conscious as Mama Petrelli enters. She tells him that her sons have been such a disappointment, but she can give him "what all boys crave from their mothers. Inspiration, kindness, and comfort. Isn't that right, Gabriel?" Considering he killed the snowglobe-obsessed woman he thought was his mother, you might be asking the wrong person there, Angela. Sylar grits that his name is, well, Sylar, and she's not his mother. Angela takes his hand and leans in close: "But I am, dear, I am." Sylar's head looks like it's spinning, but whether it's at the highly soapy development or at the thought that he's related to Peter is for you to contemplate until week.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see which heroes we think have The Coolest Powers and which are just lame!
John Ramos is a writer and producer living in Los Angeles. You can reach him at couchbaron@gmail.com.