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Mama Petrelli tells Sylar that she gave him up for adoption, and then sacrifices a girl with the power to see an object's history in order to feed him. She later explains that his ability gives him a hunger that he can't control, but they're going to fix it. Bennet comes back to the Company to aid them in their quest to recapture the Unit 5 prisoners, but Mama Petrelli tells him the Haitian is unavailable, and instead pairs him with an apparently newly-loyal-to-her Sylar, who dons a suit just like a good Company man. Meanwhile, Peter-in-Jesse is still with the Unit 5 villains, who rob a bank. Knox, however, has another agenda -- wait for the Company to show up and get revenge, a plan he's serious enough about to kill The German over. He also figures out that Peter-in-Jesse is an imposter, but when Bennet comes into the bank and Knox is ready to kill him, Peter finally taps into Jesse's power, which is basically like Ruckus from X-Men. (It's sucking in sound waves and yelling them back with tremendous force.) Before Peter can go too bazoo with the new power, though, Future Peter shows up, freezes the scene, and releases his present self from Jesse's body and pops him off to show him the future, leaving Bennet alone with Knox and the real Jesse, like, thanks, Future Peter. Luckily, Sylar saves him, which allows him to shoot Flint, and I wouldn't mind seeing these two paired up for a while. But while Knox escapes, Sylar gives in to his hunger and kills Jesse right in front of Bennet. Also, Bennet still wants to kill Sylar.
What else? Out at the Bennet house, Claire asks Meredith to teach her how to fight, so Meredith takes her into a sealed box and fireboards her to get her to admit that she wants revenge on Sylar. Thanks, Mom! After it's over, Meredith counsels Claire just to be a seventeen-year-old girl for a while, but while Claire says she will, her eyes tell a different story, and she steals some of her dad's files and heads out on a mission.
Matt is still in the stupid spirit walk, and learns that NeoIsaac has been painting images of Matt's life for years. He shows Matt an image of his new future, which Matt thinks he can stop from happening. Raise your hand if you care.
Tracy experiments with her power, and decides she has to try to track down Niki. She heads to New Orleans and finds her dead, and then runs into Micah, who is able to tell she's not Niki. Micah tells her about his family's powers, and uses his ability to retrieve the information that Tracy and Niki were born in the same hospital on the same day. She tracks down the attending doctor, who tells her that he "created" her.
Finally, in Berlin, Hiro and Ando track Daphne and her hair down, who says she already sold the first half of the formula. When their powers stop working, though, they realize the Haitian is responsible, and Hiro remembers him from their run-in in the future, so they keep an eye on him, and eventually manage to steal the second half of the formula. What they don't realize is that the Haitian was working on Mama Petrelli's behalf, so they cock everything up by letting Daphne get the second half instead. Needless to say, the Haitian is not pleased, and Hiro and Ando end up prisoners in Unit 5. Probably the best thing for the fate of the world.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!We start off by replaying the final bit from last week, with Mama Petrelli saying how her sons have been such a disappointment. Normally I'd think this reiteration unnecessary, but it's a sentiment that does seem to bear repeating. Sylar's eyes go wide as she affirms that he's her son, and adds that she never should have given him up for adoption. "But now I'm going to take good care of you, just like a good mother." She's leaning in so close she looks like she's going to lick him, which is gross, certainly, but goes a long way toward explain where the Petrelli boys get their predisposition toward incestuous touching. Sylar breathes, "Mama," and Mama Petrelli gives a smile that's the scariest thing I've ever seen. I'd rather let Maury Parkman into my head than have to see that again. She caresses his face as she tells him he's always been right to think of himself as special. "And you need to be strong for what's to come." She steels herself for a moment -- nice touch -- before calling outside the room for a "Bridgette," and ordinarily I'd look up the spelling of her name but I hope you'll forgive me in this instance. I'm not the one who's going to be engraving her headstone, right? Anyway, Bridgette is a leggy brunette who actually gets a speaking line before Mama Petrelli tells us (she really doesn't have to tell Sylar, given what she's got planned) that Bridgette has the ability to touch an object and see its history -- everywhere it's been, and everyone who's ever touched it. I wonder if the ability extends to people too. If so, I'm kind of glad she's dying before she happens to bump into Andy Dick. Sylar asks what she's going to do to him, and by way of answering, Mama Petrelli rips the IV off his face, the same IV that's presumably pumping in drugs that are incapacitating him, and answers, "Feed you." Sylar's eyes dart to the left...
...and we cut to Mama Petrelli exiting. She at least has the good grace to stop for a moment when she hears Bridgette's almost inhuman screams, but that's still not as good as, you know, NOT SNUFFING HER. I'm hoping, at least, that she has a reason to want Sylar to have this particular power, but if that's the case it isn't explained this episode. Anyway, Mama Petrelli resumes her determined march...
...and then, we get an uncharacteristic title card with the episode title, accompanied by a characteristically intrusive Mohinder voiceover about discovering our natures and HEROES and VILLAINS that brings us to Tracy, who's sitting in her apartment, apparently contemplating The Greatest American Reporter's icy death. She reaches out to a rose on the table and freezes it, and one of the petals floats to the table and breaks. Cool, I'm glad they're not wasting a lot of time on Tracy figuring out how to use her power. Now if she'd just freeze half the cast, we'd be getting somewhere.
Meanwhile, Nathan's wondering where Tracy is when Future Peter suddenly appears. Having gotten that voicemail from Peter-in-Jesse, Nathan is worried about him. He plays it for Future Peter, and as he says he's afraid the Unit 5 guys are going to hurt someone (good thinking, there) we cut to Peter-in-Jesse, whom we see as Peter sitting in the front seat but then as Jesse in the side mirror. Like, WE GET IT. Although when they get out of the car, he looks in the window, and Milo does an amusing little "Hmmm" look at his reflection. Don't worry, you'll have your pretty face back in about half an hour. Anyway, the Unit 5 guys have come to rob a bank, and Peter tries to suggest that they do it at night, since the place will be empty. Knox easily says that's not the plan, probably because he wants a lot of people around him so he can feed on their fear, and speaking of which, he can sense "Jesse" is terrified. He denies that, so they head in...
...and once inside, they all do their thing, with The German closing all the blinds, and Flint (oh, show) throwing some flames around and ordering everyone to the ground. Peter looks like he's wondering if he left the iron on at home.
At Unit 5, Bennet returns to find Mama Petrelli, who tells him she thought he'd be back earlier. He informs her that he's not there to re-enlist, but merely to make sure the prisoners are returned to their cages, and then he's going home to his family. Mama Petrelli smiles: "And our Claire." He tells her he'll need his old partner, but Mama Petrelli replies that The Haitian is on a "pickup assignment" for her. Just then, two flunkies wheel by the covered corpse of, undoubtedly, Bridgette, blood having seeped through the sheet at the head area, and I cannot do justice to how "yeah...so anyway" both Bennet and Mama Petrelli are about the whole thing. Bennet tells her the "one of us, one of them" rule has to be obeyed, and Mama Petrelli agrees -- which is why she's teaming him up with Sylar, who's just getting himself cleaned up after his feeding frenzy. Sylar steps forward and gives Bennet an evil smile, and I know it's a different show, but since we've got Kristen Bell around, how much would Gossip Girl be loving this shit? "Spotted: LonelyPsycho and Glasses Dad, suddenly serving on the same side. But is it an Odd Couple, or a Gruesome Twosome?" You know you love me. XOXO -- Title Card.
At the bank, Peter's impotently Blue Steeling around while The German works his magnetic mojo on the safe. Some woman gets the bright idea to go for the silent alarm (because no one could have pushed it when the criminals first walked in) but is caught by Flint, who gets rape-y and gross before Peter faces off with him. Before Flint can pan-sear him, though, The German gets the safe open, and Flint lets his fire die: "Let's go collect our winnings."
Chez Bennet, Sandra has just cooked up some breakfast, which she warily serves to Meredith. Meredith thanks her, but doesn't seem too psyched for the lumberjack meal, opting instead to light a cigarette. Now, this is not only unnecessary, in my opinion, because I'd prefer not to see the show hold the audience's hand so much as to remind us of everyone's powers at the beginning of every single episode, but also clumsy, because these days I think even white-trash Meredith would be clued in enough to at least ask if smoking around her kids is okay with Sandra. But I will give some redeeming points to the abject fear on Lyle's face as he stammers, "Mom?" Hee. He looks like he thinks cigarettes are made of C-4. Sandra, pleasantly enough, says they don't allow smoking in the house, and thankfully Claire soon appears to put an end to the awkwardness and clunky exposition. Well, actually, not to that first part, as she tells Sandra she's not going to school -- she's decided to stop trying to be normal, since she knows it's never going to happen. Sandra gets all "young lady" about it, but when Claire pushes her case, Meredith starts to chime in, only to have Sandra shut her down: "Meredith, I'm thrilled that you're here to protect us, but I know how to talk to my daughter. Thank you!" Hee. These three on a spin-off called My Two Moms is something I'd watch. Sandra orders Claire to get ready for school, now, and after a baleful look at Sandra and a fruitless one Meredith's way, Claire gets up to comply.
Apparently Bennet couldn't form thoughts out in the hallway, so they've relocated to Mama Petrelli's office, wherein Bennet is doing the obligatory puffing of his chest as he says that he won't work with Sylar, since he almost killed Claire. Sylar and his tank top and scrubs-style pants scoff that Claire can't die. "You really don't understand her, do you?" Bennet replies by drawing his gun and pointing it at Sylar, which I suppose only proves Sylar's point. Seriously, I love Bennet and he may have "brought in" a bunch of dangerous criminals, but without The Haitian at his side those confrontations would have been a joke, so how about giving him some cooler weaponry, at least? Mama Petrelli is basically like, "You're being adorable about this," but when Bennet calls Sylar a murderer, she smoothly counters, "Then you and Gabriel have more in common than you'd care to admit." Having made her point, she chooses to hold back the "And by the way, he's Claire's uncle" card for another time, instead saying that Sylar needs structure, and Bennet's the perfect person to give it to him. "I can't make you do anything you don't want to, but I am going to put Gabriel in play. It's your call whether or not it's under your supervision." Sylar says nothing, but his eyebrows are clearly asking, "What's it gonna be, Noah?"
Hiro and Ando arrive in Berlin, and moments later, Daphne superspeeds up and Hiro's like, "Nemesis!" Daphne tells him to stop calling her that. Heh. By the way, I haven't yet mentioned what a flattened bird's nest (yes, I'm turning into my grandmother) her hair is, but I figured that was actually a conscious, clever choice on the show's part. Because when you're zipping around at 700 miles per hour, you're not going to look like you just filmed an Herbal Essences ad. Anyway, she tells them she already delivered and received payment for the first half (in...the three seconds that passed in this storyline since last episode?) and she's moved on to the second -- there's supposed to be an exchange going down in the theater, and she's waiting to intercept. Hiro, pointing out that she's revealing her plan, asks what kind of overconfident nemesis she is, but she calls him "Pikachu" and points out he's 0 for 2 against her already. "That's just regular confidence." Hee. I think I really like her. She plays off Hiro perfectly, and in a season of so-called "Heroes" and "Villains," she's actually a wild card -- a mercenary who's in it for herself, like Mystique from X-Men, which gives some much-needed other dimensions to the story. (I'd point out, also, given what ends up happening, that letting Hiro in on the exchange and letting him do her dirty work may all have been part of her design.) Anyway, Hiro sputters at the "Pikachu" remark (heh) before saying they're going to save the world, and she rolls her eyes and runs away...but at normal speed. She thinks at first that Hiro stopped time again, but Ando and passersby are unfrozen, which we know almost surely means The Haitian is nearby. But Daphne is unfazed, saying she doesn't need powers to beat Hiro and Ando before giving them the loser forehead L. Hee. Never gets old. She makes herself scarce, and moments later, The Haitian duly appears, holding a briefcase, and Hiro pulls Ando into cover as he explains that he met him in the future, and remembers his ability to stop other Heroes' power from working. He thinks the briefcase must be holding the other half of the formula. "Advantage, us." Eh, why even comment when you know how this must end?
Meredith is having a cigarette outside (lesson learned) when Claire appears. They laugh about how well Claire's little declaration of independence went, and then Meredith asks what her new superhero bent is all about. Claire tells her there are bad people out there, and she feels like she should do something. Meredith brings up Sylar's attack (it's worth noting that she refers to Sandra as "your mom"), and asks if she wants to talk about it, but Claire replies that she just wants to move past it and fight them, and could Meredith teach her how to do that? Meredith considers for a moment, and tells her to hop in the car. "We're going to play hooky today." I hope she remembers to write Claire a note. "Had to take my daughter to an emergency torture session! Love, Firemommy!"
Nathan shows up at Tracy's apartment, letting us know that she missed his swearing-in ceremony (Already? It's the day after she visited him, and he was still in the frickin' hospital), and she gets right to the point, showing him the video file of Niki and Nathan. Nathan's still kind of slow to grasp the whole "You're not Niki?" point (and if he really thinks it's her, it's mildly gross that he wanted her on his staff, all things considered), so Tracy stops wasting time and says she's heading to New Orleans. I don't think this scene was really necessary -- surely it wouldn't have been overly confusing to have one of Tracy's resources show up in The Big Easy. On the other hand, Nathan is pretty.
At the bank, the criminals have collected their dough, but are chagrined to see the entirety of the local police force suddenly amassing outside. All, that is, except for Knox, who says he called them, as his motivation here is mostly revenge. The German takes exception to that by drawing his gun, and I think he's completely missing the point of being Magneto here, so I'm not too sad when Knox uses all the fear in the air to punch a hole right through not only his heart but the metal wall behind him as well. With that little distraction resolved, Knox reveals the real plan: Wait for The Company to send their go-to man for this kind of situation. "And after he gets here, then I'll beat his horn-rimmed glasses right into his skull." I think Bennet might want to get contacts or at least make a trip to Lenscrafters soon, because those frames he wears are becoming akin to a target on his back. Knox asks for "Jesse's" approval, and Peter gives a funny half-smile of fake solidarity. Heh.
Oh, God, the spirit walk. All right, NeoIsaac leads Matt to an area painted with all kinds of images, and the long and the short of it is, they all depict scenes from Matt's life. Wow, NeoIsaac, you got gypped. Although I would be interested to see what the "You've been fucking my wife?" painting looked like. Matt looks around in shock at all the images. Hey Matt, now that you know you could be immortalized at any time, how about wiping all the dirt off your sweaty face?
When we return, we get a close up of a tie being knotted, and then we cut back to see Sylar, dressed in a suit like a good Company Man would, even slicking his hair back to the point you'd think Brylcreem was making a comeback. With uncharacteristic vulnerability, he asks Mama Petrelli if she's really his mother, but she tells him that he's always known on some level that he wasn't the son of a watch repairman "and a woman who collects Hummel figurines." Heh. Sylar opines that Bennet is right, and he's just a killer, but Mama Petrelli tells him that that's not true -- his ability gives him a hunger he can't control, but they're going to fix that. Sylar's Theme Ticking kicks up, and then Bennet enters and flips on a news channel that's covering the bank robbery, and I'm so glad that The Company has such sophisticated methods that they have to wait for LOCAL NEWS OUTLETS to pinpoint their targets for them. (The robbery is taking place in Poughkeepsie, NY, by the way.) Mama Petrelli informs Bennet that Peter is trapped inside Jesse, and while he may have Jesse's ability, he won't know what it is. Bennet steps forward and quietly asks if Sylar's ready, and Mama Petrelli doesn't answer, instead looking over at her son. The thing he looks most ready for to me is a three-hour session of intense eyebrow-plucking, but somehow I doubt that's what Bennet's on about.
Some Buster Keaton movie (don't e-mail me) is already in progress as Hiro and Ando take seats near the back of the theater. Ando asks if he can get popcorn, and Hiro tells him no. Given the silliness on screen, a "we are OUT OF SWEET ROLLS"-esque exchange seems warranted, but sadly Ando does not go on to ask if he can get soda, Gummi bears, Sno-Caps, or anything else. Sigh. Things liven up in another way, though, as Daphne leans in from behind them and whispers, "Domo arigato. That's all the Japanese I know." Heh. She's got popcorn, too. Hiro tells her to go away, and after a funny "Can not/Can so!" exchange about calling dibs, Ando asks if she actually wants the world to end, but she tells him she doesn't know anything about that -- she works for a guy, he pays her to get stuff, end of story. Hiro's aghast that she's doing it for money, but instead of being all self-righteous, he could maybe use all that cash that he doesn't care about and just buy the formula back from her. The fact that that scenario isn't as glamorous is surely balanced by the fact that there are far fewer ways he can screw it up. Anyway, Daphne chats with Ando a bit, even giving him some popcorn, until Hiro butts in and says she's trying to use the old "divide and conquer" approach. "It's Villainy 101." That may be, if you'd just let him have his own damned popcorn in the first place, it would be a moot point. Ando tells Daphne he and Hiro will never leave each other's sides, which calls for a pan over to Hiro's now-empty seat. I was going to make a joke about getting my cymbals, but the fact is that you can actually hear cymbals coming from the movieat this very moment, which means this scene made it all the way around the Catskills and back to awesome again. Daphne just laughs at the duo's incompetence while Ando goes over to Hiro, at the end of the aisle, and asks what's up. "I was making a point over there." Heh. The answer, though, is that The Haitian is on the move, so they head out after him in an incredibly obvious manner, and it's not like DAPHNE ISN'T WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE HELLO. And he has the nerve to lecture her about basic villainy?
Matt. Rocks. Paintings. Sweat. Matt says all the paintings have come true, except one he doesn't recognize -- one of him with his arm around a woman with shortish blonde hair (Daphne? Elle? A Muggle?) who in turn is holding an infant. NeoIsaac says that that was his future, but not anymore, so apparently on the list of all the things Future Peter fucked up by shooting his brother was Matt getting some. But of all the things he has to answer for, that one's not going to bother me all that much. NeoIsaac paints over the image, puts on his headphones, and soon gets the White Eyes of Prophetic Paintings. Matt's like, "I'll just go sit over there in the shade. Call me when you have irises again!"
Flint drags The German's corpse away as Peter-in-Jesse tells Knox that he's not sure he still wants revenge on Bennet. Knox is like, that's all you've talked about for months (aside from the few days he was screaming nonstop that he was Peter Petrelli, I suppose) but sure, I guess you can't wait to get back to your family and friends in Detroit. Despite the fact that this is a gambit so old that it's got Nebuchadnezzar's dust on it, Peter agrees, and Knox is like, Jesse's family's from Vegas, and grabs Peter by the throat. "And he ain't got no friends." Surprising to hear. Knox tosses Peter away like a rag doll, and then comes and stands over him. "So who the hell are you?"
Bennet and Sylar are arriving on the scene, and Bennet is trying to tell his new partner that Mama Petrelli is using them. "This is all one big game to her." Sylar says that may be, "but aren't you curious to see how it all plays out?" With you two involved? Sure. Can't give that promise to every storyline, though. The two of them get out and pedeconference, with Bennet saying he'll take care of the escapees and Peter. Sylar: "That sounds like a one-sided partnership." Zachary Quinto is going to make an awesome Spock, I tell you what. Bennet tells Sylar to hang tight and keep his mouth shut, and Sylar responds to that by -- loudly and in an accent he ripped off whatever cop serial he favors watching -- asking who's in charge. Once the lieutenant makes himself known, Sylar introduces himself as "Special Agent Andrew Hanson" (heh) and uses the word "yous" en route to barking the man into submission. The coup de grace: "And we're gonna need some coffee. Decaf." At Bennet's "..." look, Sylar's like, "You drink decaf, right, Noah?" Bennet will never admit that he thought that whole performance was awesome, but you and I know better.
As Flint watches, Peter tells Knox, who just so happens to be shoving his head into a desk, that he doesn't know how he got into Jesse's body. Knox asks the eminently reasonable question of why, then, Peter came with them, and Peter, instead of giving one of the eminently reasonable answers to that question (such as there aren't tons of places for someone in a murderer's body to go, or that with no powers, he actually needed the Villains for protection) he says that he couldn't let them hurt people, like, NICE JOB WITH THAT SO FAR. Knox, however, gives an awesome, awesome answer: "Now I know you're full of it. Nobody's that heroic!" Flint punctuates that sentiment by punching Peter, and wow, I just realized how hard I'm rooting for the Villains this season. They're the only ones with any sense of humor!
Behind the screen, some woman, with a briefcase to match The Haitian's asks why the formula's being moved now, since that hasn't happened in years. The Haitian gives a vague answer about "recent events" likely having to do with Peter's screw-ups, Hiro's, or both, leading Mama Petrelli to conclude that the other half would be safer "closer to home." Hiro and Ando then sneak up the staircase that leads to this area and observe The Haitian with the formula. Ando wonders how they can get it from him, but Hiro, after observing what looks like an usher's uniform on a rack behind him, smiles. "I have a plan." Take cover.
Bennet dons a police vest ("it's for show," he says) and hands his glasses (maybe he's catching on) and his gun (he's supposed to be unarmed) to Sylar (who's going to kill me for all the parentheticals). Sylar, with what almost looks like concern, says that there's no way the Unit 5 guys will let Bennet out alive, but Bennet is firm: "Under no circumstances are you to go anywhere near that buffet in there." He heads in, and it's too bad he took his glasses back, because otherwise Sylar could amuse himself by using his new "If These HRGs Could Talk...Wait, They Can!" power.
In New Orleans, Tracy enters what I think is Uhura's house (it seems like the address she would have gotten hold of, anyway). It's either a funeral home or Nana's with a room made up for viewing, anyway, but regardless, there's a coffin at one end of the room. After picking up a picture of Niki and Micah and again being floored by the similarity between her own appearance and Niki's, she opens the coffin and sees Niki's corpse. Good, I'm glad they didn't try to sell us on Niki-with-no-powers surviving that explosion, although I'm surprised the family could afford the makeup job necessary even to make her recognizable. Anyway, Tracy slams the coffin shut and starts to hightail it out of there, but Micah is now behind her, and he breathes, "Mom?" Tracy looks understandably terrified, but luckily for her, Micah figures out within moments that she's not actually Niki...
...and we cut to a close up of what looks like Ali Larter's senior picture, and wow. All I can say is that she was no friend to the ozone layer. We're in Micah's bedroom (shouldn't Monica or someone be around?), and Tracy wonders at how alike she and Niki look before turning to Micah and sympathetically saying how strange the situation must be for him. Micah is courteous enough not to tell her that this won't make his Top Ten, instead stopping her from leaving and asking if she's "special" too, like Niki. Tracy tries to play it cool for a moment, but when Micah tells her that Niki was "super-strong, like The Hulk," Tracy's face gives the show away. Micah tells her not to worry, and that it was hard for his mom to handle at first too, but it gets easier. Intrigued, she asks if he's special too, and he tells her about his ability to talk to machines. An idea forms: "Maybe I can help you get some of your answers." He gets her last name, and then puts a hand over his computer, which goes berserk as he tells her he can cross-reference any bit of information on her and his mom. He discovers that they were both born in the same hospital in California, on the same day, and to the same attending doctor, "Dr. Zimmerman." I'm assuming no one's saying they were twins because it's too obvious. That...is the logical conclusion, isn't it? This show can turn you around if you're not careful. Micah hugs Tracy, who looks uncomfortable, but maybe she's afraid if she really returns the favor she'll end up with a popsicle for a nephew.
Berlin. The Haitian calls in, saying he's got the formula, but then Hiro pops out and starts a dispute about how it's his briefcase. The Haitian so does not have time for this, but Hiro's cries for an "usher" produce Ando -- only he bashes The Haitian over the head, knocking him out for a moment. The briefcase goes tumbling down the stairs with him, and Hiro berates Ando, saying he was just supposed to play the usher in their little "grab the briefcase" skit. Hiro has retrieved the briefcase, so you'd think they could at least have this conversation BACK IN JAPAN, where presumably they'd have enough time to lock up the formula before Daphne showed up to witness their silly bitchery. But no, Ando says he's sick of being Hiro's "costumed sidekick," and Hiro sighs that he knew Daphne would get to him, and then of course Daphne superzips by and replaces the briefcase with her popcorn. Heh. With a mischievous smile, she zips away, but when Hiro tries to freeze time a moment later, his power doesn't work, because The Haitian has regained consciousness. This is hopelessly convenient timing on top of the unbelievable stupidity on the part of these two, but it is partially redeemed by Hiro, after The Haitian grabs him by the scruff from behind, turning and positively wilting in front of our faces as he offers, "Popcorn?" Hee. Hiro kind of sucks, but I love Masi Oka.
Knox seats Bennet in a chair and tells him it's his turn to be judge, jury, and executioner, just like Bennet was to him. Peter whines for a minute, but then, a swell of emotion causes him to access Jesse's power, which is, as I said in the recaplet, the same as that of Ruckus on X-Men -- sucking in sound waves and expelling them with great force through yelling. (I do apologize for all the X-Men references, but it's what I know, and it's not like the show isn't borrowing heavily from that universe, especially lately.) He sends Flint flying hard, and then looks Knox's way and yells even louder. Unfortunately, Bennet is right to Knox, so it's probably just as well when the scene freezes in a really cool tableau, with the sound-wave distortions still hanging in the air. Future Peter then saunters in, takes in the scene, and then goes up to Jesse and puts his hand on him -- and Present Peter comes jumping out. FP tells an understandably wary PP that he has to trust him, and for that to happen, PP needs to see what he's seen with his own eyes. FP touches PP, and they both vanish, like, NICE TO LEAVE BENNET TO FEND FOR HIMSELF. I mean, I thought they overdid all the Butterfly Effect stuff last week, but apparently not, FP. He's a dick. Anyway, when they're gone, Jesse's yell plays out, and Knox takes the brunt of it while Bennet emerges unscathed. Unfortunately, when Bennet attempts to thank "Peter," Jesse sneers, "Peter's not here anymore." The one time when that's not good news. Commercials.
Claire and Meredith must have been driving for hours, given how long it's been since we've seen them. Apparently Meredith's pretty picky about where she does her fireboarding. She leads Claire from what looks like a loading area into a cargo container, I think. After the door is shut, she ignites her hand and asks Claire if she's sure she wants to do this. Claire, being a teenager, says yes, and nice work from Jessalyn Gilsig here as you can see her manner become a little colder, like she's temporarily forgetting that Claire is her daughter. She says that they'll start at the beginning -- survival -- which gets a typically teenaged "I'm immortal, duh" response from Claire. "I need to learn how to fight." Eyes wide, Meredith tells her there are things she can't fight, and ups her flame level as Claire already looks like she regrets mouthing off. There's a reason Bennet left Meredith to protect you, Claire: She's a badass.
Knox and Jesse are looking like they're about ready to kill Bennet when he tells them his partner is standing behind them. They turn to see Sylar, who reaches one hand out to immobilize Knox. Jesse starts to yell, but Sylar reaches the other out and cuts off Jesse's wind. He adds, "Shhhh," which cracks me up. Flint then gets to his feet and prepares to serve up some Sylar flambé, but Bennet shoots him in the shoulder in time. He yells that he told Sylar to stay put, but Sylar's been doing some thinking: "You told me that to make sure I wouldn't, didn't you?" Bennet favors Sylar with a wry smile, and it looks for the moment like an unlikely alliance is born.
Claire's starting to sweat as Meredith holds the flame close, but puts a brave face on as she asks what the demonstration is supposed to prove, since she's indestructible and can't feel pain. Meredith asks if she's ever suffocated, "'cause I would imagine the air is getting pretty thin in here!" Hmm -- does Meredith herself not need to breathe? I always thought she was impervious to her own fire, but this seems like something else. Maybe as an elemental creature, though, it makes sense -- at any rate, if she survived that big fire, that means not only did she not get burned, but she didn't suffer smoke inhalation or suffocation or whatever. And now you'll have to excuse me while I call my Overthinkers Anonymous sponsor. Claire, now starting to pant, asks why Meredith is doing this, and Meredith, by way of answering, asks why Claire wants to stop bad guys. She claims again that she wants to help people, but Meredith doesn't believe her, and asks if she knows what waterboarding is. Claire says she doesn't, which is the part I find hard to believe, so Meredith explains how it works, and how it induces feelings of panic. It's a nice irony that it's Claire's power that makes her uniquely vulnerable in this particular variation -- a normal person would simply actually suffocate. As if to prove Meredith's words, we see a flash of images from Sylar's attack, and Meredith keeps the flame burning as she asks if what she's feeling now is what she felt then. "You're indestructible, but you couldn't get away, right? That must have made you feel trapped! Helpless!" Claire begs for mercy, so Meredith asks again: Why does she want to stop bad guys? Claire finally gives it up: "To hurt him, okay? To hurt him for what he did!" Meredith extinguishes the flame, and as Claire staggers for the door, Meredith looks remorseful. Hey, torturing your own flesh and blood takes some getting used to. Effective scene, though.
The three escapees are subdued, and Sylar wonders what the procedure is now. Bennet says he'll patch Flint up, tell the locals that they're Federal prisoners, and they'll get them back to Level 5. When Bennet leads Flint out, though, Sylar's Theme Ticking starts up, so you know he has other ideas. This, I liked -- it shouldn't be that easy to up and neuter him. Knox, figuring out what's about to happen (maybe his ability enabled him to pick up on Sylar's sudden emotional change?), makes a break for it out the back, just in advance of Sylar TKing the doors shut and advancing on Jesse, whose voice still seems to be gone. Sylar tells Bennet that he's right -- he's just a killer. Bennet tries to demur, but it's for naught, as Sylar TKs Jesse up against the glass like he's on an invisible crucifix, just like he did with Claire. Bennet tries one more time to tell Sylar he can fight it, but Sylar doesn't think he can. "It's the hunger." He points his finger, and a splash of blood on the glass right in front of Bennet takes us to the last commercial break.
Meredith is already in the kitchen when Claire enters. If I had to think of an appropriate way for this conversation to start, I'd be here all day, so good on Meredith for keeping it simple, apologizing for tricking Claire but telling her she did it for her own good. And I think it is an important lesson -- even though Claire can't feel pain, she can still be gotten the better of, and not just by Sylar. Meredith goes on that Claire's got a great home and family, and she should just take some time to recover from the attack. "You don't just wake up one morning and learn what life's all about. You gotta build it, brick by brick. And you gotta learn to save yourself before you can save the world." A little homespun and meta, sure, but I'll take it over Mohinder's flowery ramblings any day. Meredith finishes by saying there's nothing wrong with just being a seventeen-year-old girl for a while, and it's a good speech, but Claire's smile is a thin disguise for the fact that Meredith's words are clearly not hitting home. Not content to let Hayden Panettiere's acting do all the work, though, the script has her, while hugging her mother, throw a LOOK to the PRIMATECH BOX nearby. Okay, show, you have more than one actor where that would be necessary, but she's not one of them, okay?
So Matt's new future apparently shows him holding a dead woman in his arms, and he thinks stopping that from happening must be why he's there. Actually, you're there because Future Peter's an asshole, but while you're stuck you might as well go with your plan.
Sandra comes into the living room and tells Meredith that the school called, saying Claire didn't show up. Meredith starts to apologize, but Sandra cuts her off and tells her in no uncertain terms that she is the decider when it comes to Claire, and they're not playing a game. "She just got attacked. Hurt." Meredith isn't easily intimidated, though, saying that Claire is looking to push back. "Smothering her, that's the best way to drive her away." Smothering her? Oh, Meredith. She says she just wanted to keep Claire there, but just at that moment, the doorbell rings, and Claire, wearing her cheerleading uniform and carrying a bag, comes hurrying downstairs to answer. It's some random girl, and Claire turns back and says she "totally forgot" about the "cheerleader sleepover retreat." Ohh, nicely played, Claire, forcing her to answer in front of both your friend and Meredith. Sandra freezes for a moment, but tells her it's fine, and she's gone.
In Reseda, Tracy rings Dr. Zimmerman's bell, and a total H!ITG! answers. It seems like he first thinks she's Niki, but when she identifies herself, he's like, oh -- the one from Beverly Hills. She looks a little freaked as she enters, and asks how he knows that's where she's from. "Do you know me?" Zimmerman: "Know you? I created you." Okay, now she looks a lot freaked.
We get a shot of a turtle (heh) around NeoIsaac's camp, where Matt now has some markings on his face and apparently is downing some hallucinogen that NeoIsaac prepared for him, as he opines, "I don't think it's working." Words that are usually followed by, "Hey, are the walls moving for you too?" NeoIsaac puts his headphones on Matt, and when Matt opens his eyes again, he's got the White Eyes of Prophetic Paintings. I wonder if NeoIsaac has a "You Can Paint The Future Too!" motivational tape in there. Mohinder then voices over about looking for answers and finding one's purpose as we see Nathan reading the Book of Genesis, Micah looking at a picture of him and his mother, Claire driving through the night with the Primatech box on the passenger seat, and Hiro and Ando, now in a cell in Unit 5. Sylar and Bennet reincarcerate Flint, and then Sylar turns to find his mother, holding his inmate's clothing. He deferentially says that he guesses she was wrong about him, but she merely tells him they'll see, and heads into the cell with him, like, I know this family has problems with boundaries but I really hope there's a curtain up in there or something. And it's not just a lack of privacy from his mother -- Bennet and The Haitian are watching. The Haitian asks if he's being replaced, but Bennet tells him it's only for a while. "Just until I find his weakness. And then I'm gonna kill him." And if that doesn't work, maybe Meredith will at least fireboard him for you. See you week!
Check out Jack Coleman's personal blog , The HRG Files, for the inside scoop on what's happening each week.
John Ramos is a writer and producer living in Los Angeles. You can reach him at couchbaron@gmail.com.