In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
Peter's taken Hiro to the hospital by the time this episode begins. He quickly realizes he needs a Hiro, and leaves Emma to talk to him. He tells her Hiro can tell her everything she needs to know about abilities. Peter then borrows Hiro's power, and goes to find HRG. Claire's there, and she offers her blood, but HRG says her blood would only make a tumor worse. Good thing he knows of a healer, a kid they brought in and then wiped and abandoned. When Peter and HRG arrive at the kid's home, everything's dead, including his parents. Apparently his healing power has turned into a killing power. When he shoots Peter, HRG quickly talks him through becoming a healer again in time to save the star of our show. Peter gets the kid's power and hops on a plane back to save Hiro. HRG stays behind to help our new healer, Jeremy. So, great, yet another character. Because we don't have enough of those already. While Peter's gone, Hiro helps Emma come to terms with her power. Since that's what he was sent for, he then teleports away and is gone by the time Peter returns. Hiro's on his way to the Burnt Toast Diner to save Charlie. Do you think we might actually get to see Jayma Mays on Heroes again?
In the other storyline of the episode, Samuel's wondering why the memories that are manifesting in Sylar aren't his (he asks to be called Nathan and remembers shaking a lot of hands -- he thinks he may be a politician). Samuel asks Sylar if he wants to know who he really is, and when he says he does, some guy named Damien takes Sylar into a House of Mirrors and shows him all of the murders he's committed, starting with his mom and including Elle and Charlie. Sylar's horrified that he's a monster and doesn't want to be like that anymore. Samuel says he doesn't have to be, and that he was only like that because the world didn't accept him and made him that way. Samuel just has one request before they get all peaceful, though: Kill Warden Leo, who's at the carnival (at Samuel's request, of course). He pretends it's because the whole carnival is in danger until Leo's dead, but it's really a test. Sylar meets Warden Leo in the House of Mirrors and gives him a good electric jolt, but can't kill him. That's when Edgar shows up and slices him to bits with his knives. Lydia the Tattooed Lady has the hots for Sylar, though, and it's making Edgar crazy, especially since this pansy, non-killer version of Sylar is useless to whatever machinations Edgar has dreamed up for the "family." But Samuel assures him they'll make a better Sylar and he'll be theirs. I wonder what this means for the Sylar in Parkman's brain? Parkman who?
Matt wasn't the only one missing this week (again). We also got no Tracy (again). No Mama Petrelli. No Ando (again). No Nathan (unless you count a momentary blip when Sylar shifted into him for a split-second). And only a glimpse of Claire. Good thing they're adding all of these new characters, though.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: Emma created some sort of earthquakey, laser power that cut through her wall, thanks to her rainbow of sounds. Peter picked up her ability, but she didn't know what he was talking about. Hiro planned to undo the wrongs he's caused. He told Kimiko he was dying and then disappeared, arriving an episode later in Peter's apartment. Mama Petrelli wants HRG to be the man with the plan, but he's depressed at how he's never done anything good in his life. Sylar didn't know who he was, and the cops figured out he's a murderer. He got away, and ran straight into the arms of Samuel the carnie leader.
We open with narration from Samuel -- the new Mohinder -- as Sylar takes off his shirt to look at his wounds in a mirror. Samuel wonders what a man is without memory: a ghost? A body in search of a soul? Cut to Nathan's office, with a mini Empire State Building figurine, a ticking clock, and a picture of Nathan and Peter on the desk. Is this our way of saying goodbye to Nathan for good? Samuel continues wondering -- "With no compass to guide us, how can we know if our destiny is to obey the good? Or obey the demons that whisper in our ear?" -- as we first see Peter sitting to an unconscious Hiro in the hospital and then Emma looking fearfully at the giant crevasse she left in her wall. I imagine she's thinking, "Now I'll never get my deposit back!" Samuel goes on about how a blank slate hungers to be written upon as we move on to HRG on a computer. He finishes with, "The body thrives, when the heart has a mission," as we pan up Hiro's hospital blanket and across the words "Chapter Five: Tabula Rasa." Not exactly the most original episode title (see Buffy, Lost, and various others.
Hiro wakes up and Peter wonders how he's feeling. Hiro doesn't answer, so Peter reminds him that he collapsed and asks if he remembers. Hiro doesn't exactly say yes, but he surmises that Peter must have brought him to the hospital. Or, you know, called an ambulance. After all, I don't think he's carrying anyone anywhere with that lame seeing-sounds power he's been dragging around. Although, I guess he could have borrowed Hiro's power and teleported them both to the hospital. Peter tells Hiro that the doctors told him Hiro's very sick. And it's so appropriate for the doctors to tell Peter this, right? Hiro says he knows he has a brain tumor and is dying, but he didn't want to admit it would happen so soon. Peter thinks that perhaps Hiro was brought to him so that Peter could help Hiro through this time since he's helped a lot of people at the end of their lives (back when he was a hospice nurse). Hiro says maybe, but maybe not, since destiny's mostly been sending him to places where he needs to undo wrongs. Now, first off, why would Peter act like destiny brought Hiro here instead of him coming on his own? Peter wouldn't know that Hiro's lost control of his power, would he? So shouldn't he have assumed that Hiro came here on his own? Anyway, Hiro thinks maybe destiny brought him here to fix a problem in Peter's life. Peter says his life is perfect (except for the emptiness inside, the Sylar brother, the evil mother, the fact that he can no longer be the all-powerful hero he once was, and his unrequited crush on Emma), so it can't be that. He offers that maybe Hiro came here so Peter could fix him, since there are ways to heal sick people -- just not with doctors. Peter borrows Hiro's power (so he didn't have it before!) and takes off to get help. Before he leaves, though, he bumps into Emma. She wonders if he sent a cello to her apartment (he didn't), and then says there's something wrong with her ability. He brushes her off and says to talk to Hiro, who knows more about powers than anyone he can think of. To prove this, Hiro's reading a superhero comic book in his bed. I guess he carries that with him in case of sudden teleportation.
Samuel and Lydia the Tattooed Lady are discussing Sylar. Samuel can't believe how he doesn't live up to the hype he's heard about the guy for years. Samuel wonders what happened to him to make him so beaten and afraid. Lydia's not sure, but she thinks there are two sides at war within him. At this, Samuel jumps up and goes to Sylar's trailer, where he looks in and sees him asleep. He knocks on the trailer's giant sliding glass door (which is very cool; who wouldn't want a trailer with a giant door like that, though it might be impractical for hauling purposes -- which isn't a problem for these guys, since I doubt they ever travel by driving). Sylar comes out and Samuel greets him by name and asks how he slept. Sylar asks why Samuel would call him Sylar, and Samuel says it's his name. Sylar says the police told him his name was Gabriel, which makes Samuel even more puzzled that Sylar doesn't even know his name. He tells Sylar he thinks a great damage has been done to him and that he came to the carnival to heal. Or maybe he came to the carnival because it appeared to him right as he was running from police with dogs and guns? I don't know. Just another theory. Samuel asks Sylar to spend the day among the carnies and, with time, his memories will return. He asks Sylar what he'd like to be called, and Sylar says, "Call me Nathan." Mysterious music plays, which is silly since this IS NOT A MYSTERY TO VIEWERS. I think the writers need to realize that just because a character's memory has been erased doesn't mean ours has. We know what's going on, so cool it with the build-up. Opening title card.
Sylar and Samuel are strolling through the carnival, as Sylar wonders why Samuel would take him in and hide him from the police, since he doesn't even know him. Samuel says of course he knows him: "You may not realize it, but you're a man of great powers." The word "powers" gets to Sylar, and he tells Samuel how he raised his hand at the police station last night and threw a man across the room. He wonders what's wrong with him, and Samuel says nothing's wrong; Sylar's special, just like everyone else here. He asks a random guy pushing a cart full of stuffed animals to show him what he can do, and the guy makes the cart and animals invisible and then brings them back. So maybe he made the carnival invisible when the cops came into the meadow? Samuel applauds and Sylar finally figures out that everyone here is like him. Samuel calls Lydia over, introduces her, and they shake hands. As they're shaking, there's a zapping noise and Sylar jerks away as if he's been shocked. Samuel asks what's wrong, and Sylar says, "I remember shaking a lot of hands. Like I was a politician or something. Is that possible?" That's the dumbest thing ever, because first of all, why would that make him so shocked he jumped away from shaking a hand and second, THIS IS NOT LEADING TO A BIG REVEAL FOR US. We know he has been living as Nathan. We also know he's actually Sylar. Unless we find out he's actually HRG shapeshifted into Sylar, this storyline is not going to tell us anything surprising. (I really am trying not to be annoyed, but why is this being built up so much just to reveal something we all already know?)
Claire shows up at HRG's to do laundry and to check in on her dad and find out if he's found a job yet. She asks for quarters, and then suggests he do some volunteer work since he hasn't found a job yet. He doesn't have time to reply, though, before they hear a noise coming from the bathroom. HRG gets a gun and they walk toward the bathroom when Peter comes out.
Claire wonders how he got in the bathroom, and Peter says, "It's been a long time since I've teleported." Ah, intentional humor. This show could use a little more of that, I'd say. Though an entire scene starring three main characters designed only for that punch line probably isn't worth it.
Carnival. Samuel gives Edgar carnival tickets to deliver to Warden Leo. Edgar wonders why they'd want to bring the cops hunting Sylar into the carnival, and Samuel says there's something very wrong with Sylar, whose memories are returning but they're the wrong memories. "There's someone else inside his head." If only we knew who that was... Oh, right, we do. Samuel wants to jump-start the real Sylar, and Edgar warns him that the real Sylar might kill this cop. Samuel: "Indeed he might." Because that's sort of the point. Nice of Edgar to act concerned and as if he has a conscience, though, since we'll find out he actually doesn't by the end of the episode.
Peter's caught Claire and HRG up on Hiro's situation when we see them, and he says he came to them because he thought HRG could find a healer so that Hiro won't have to die. Claire wonders why they can't just use her blood (that's what I said), but HRG helpfully explains that since a tumor is living tissue, her blood would only make it grow faster. He remembers a "bag and tag" from three or four years ago, though: a teenage healer. The kid was bringing bugs back from near-dead, so they studied him then wiped his memory and sent him back home. HRG says the kid was confused and didn't know whether his power was a gift or a curse. Claire says if he can save Hiro, it's definitely a gift. Well, again, writers: Duh. Thanks for stating the obvious. HRG and Peter teleport to the kid's home in Georgia.
At the carnival, Lydia the Tattooed Lady is showing Sylar around. They walk by people shoveling as she says that Samuel's brother, Joseph, began the tradition of morning chores because he believed that hard work brings the community together. Edgar's watching them jealously (threateningly?) from somewhere much nearer to the camera. Or maybe he's just admiring Sylar's chest hair, since his flannel shirt is unbuttoned down to his belly button. Sylar tells Lydia he's looking forward to the hard work, since he can't remember ever working before in his life. Then again, he can't remember anything so it's not like that means anything. They lean down and start moving rocks as she tells him how nice it is to have a handsome new face among them. Edgar's still irked, and Samuel's wiping himself off with a handkerchief as he watches. Apparently Sylar's chest hair is a big turn-on to him. Lydia leaves Sylar to work, and Edgar approaches him. He says that Lydia has a thing for bad boys, and Sylar wonders what he means, so Edgar explains that he's heard about Sylar stealing powers from other people and he's sure he can do some fancy tricks, but Edgar has some tricks of his own. Sylar's like, "Oh, okay. Excuse me." He tries to go back to shoveling, but Edgar turns and throws knives into the handle of Sylar's shovel. Sylar looks at the knives and says, "Wow." Everyone -- including me -- thinks Sylar's impressed by Edgar's superior knife-throwing skills, but Sylar finishes, "Those are kind of in the way." A forgetful Sylar is a much funnier Sylar, I think. Let's hope he never gets that memory of his back. He uses his mind/hand power to throw the knives back in Edgar's direction. Lydia asks Samuel if they should stop this, but he says "Boys will be boys." Edgar goes to possibly throw something else at Sylar, so Sylar throws him with his mind force into a wheelbarrow full of wet cement. Samuel breaks it up, telling Sylar he wants him to meet someone else.
As they walk through the busy carnival, Sylar explains how weird it is when that happens: his hand just rises up and things move around. He says it's like "motor memory," and Samuel tells him that memories don't only exist in the mind; the body retains everything, too. Fighter jets fly overhead, and Sylar morphs for one second into Nathan. Samuel's not looking at him, so he doesn't see it, but Sylar says that he feels like he was possibly a jet pilot in the military or something. He remembers that. Samuel tells him that's not his memory, and that someone's polluted Sylar's mind somehow. He says he thought Sylar's memories would return on his own, but it's just not happening. Hasn't Sylar been with them for, like, a day? Patience is apparently not Samuel's power. He says it's time for stronger measures. He introduces Sylar to a dreadlocked, leathery-skinned guy named Damien and asks Sylar if he wants to know the truth as the music picks up. Sylar does. Samuel tells Damien to "Take him to the house of mirrors." It's ridiculous lines like that that really make me hate the carnie storyline. However, I am enjoying Robert Knepper enough in this role to make it somewhat bearable.
At the hospital, Emma's finally getting up the nerve to talk to Hiro. When she enters his room, Hiro yells at her to go away because he has no more blood left. Hee. Hiro is so cute. She acts confused and then tells him she reads lips, but his move differently. He apologizes for his Japanese-accented lips, and then they proceed to talk without any lip-reading problems. So, why exactly did they act like this was more difficult for her when she understands everything he says? Whatever. She tells him that Peter sent her to find out more about her abilities, and Hiro gets excited that she has a power. She wants to make her power stop, but Hiro doesn't get it since, "Manifesting a power's a wondrous time. A hero never refuses its call." She says she's deaf, so she can't hear the call. Right, Emma, it's what we call a metaphor. Hiro talks to himself in Japanese, that this must be whom he's here to save, not Peter. Then he talks slowly to her, telling her she can't turn off her power; it's part of who she is. She apologizes for bothering him and leaves. He shakes his head knowingly.
Cainan, Georgia. HRG and Peter arrive at the house of the supposed healer kid to find dead plants and bushes. HRG acknowledges it's not exactly what you'd expect from a healer, so Peter wonders what HRG knows about the kid. The answer: not much. He was just coming to terms with his ability at the time, so the Company wiped his memory and ignored him. HRG reminds Peter the Company wasn't exactly a support group and Peter agrees: "More about the powers. Less about the people." HRG assures Peter he did see the kid heal, though, including healing HRG's arm when he sliced it pretty bad. On the porch they see a dead bird, and then they both realize they smell even more death. HRG draws his gun and they knock on the front door, and then enter, shouting. In the living room, they find two dead bodies. HRG says it's the kids parents, and then he tells Peter about this one other time that a girl's power manifested as healing but over time it became something more: she could control the flow of life, by giving it or taking it away. They holler for Jeremy, who shoots at them and then runs upstairs. Why exactly does the kid need a gun if he can kill people by touching them?
Carnival. Damien slowly and dramatically leads Sylar into a funhouse, which has a brightly painted floor and mirrors all around. He grabs Sylar's head and his own eyes roll back into his. The camera spins around them for a minute and then it stops, and Damien removes his hands and leaves Sylar alone with the mirrors. Sylar looks around and just sees himself. Then, suddenly, his mom is there, doing her weird head tilting as she says, "Hello, Gabriel." Sylar knows who she is, because he replies, "Mom?" Then the mirror shows him when he killed her. He tries to back away from it, but the mirrors are everywhere.
He starts screaming, "Oh my god! Oh my god! No, this isn't me! Why are you doing this to me? Make it stop, please! Make it stop!" How annoying is it that our supervillain has been totally castrated? Even more annoying that we still have to worry about him, though, because he's now with an evil mastermind who's determined to make him evil again.
Hospital. Emma's looking at some brain scans when Hiro comes in dragging his IV cart. Even though she made it clear when they met that she is deaf, he starts talking to her from behind, all, "So ... tell me about your ability." She obviously doesn't turn toward him, so he runs over to her and tries again. He tells her he also has an ability: "I am the master of time and space. Well, I was. Lately, time and space has been the master of me." He asks if she's looking at his brain scan, but she's looking at her own. She tells him that she sees sounds, which make colors. Hiro refrains from saying, "That's not an ability," and instead tells her she shouldn't run away from a new ability. She stands up, whines that she wants it to stop, and leaves. Hiro stays and notices a flier on her desk for a "Talent Show." A light bulb goes off above his head. Not literally, though with this show, it might as well. That could be someone's power.
Georgia. HRG and Peter are still hunkering down, being shot at. Peter thinks the kid's shooting to kill, but HRG thinks they're just being warned to stay away, and that Jeremy is "a scared kid with a small cannon in his hands." HRG wants to talk to Jeremy alone, so he tells Peter to go around and use the back staircase. Peter leaves and HRG heads up the stairs, talking to Jeremy. He puts down his gun and says he's unarmed and isn't going to hurt Jeremy. Jeremy comes out, cocks his gun (even though, as my husband tells me, it's a type of gun that does not need cocking, and wouldn't make the pumping sound the editors added), and screams at HRG to stay away from him. HRG, all brave and reckless now, says he's coming up the stairs so if Jeremy's going to kill him, he'd better lock and load. Jeremy, who's crying, screams that he told HRG to keep away. Jeremy has a serious case of crazy eyes, as he tells HRG that everything he touches ends up dead.
Carnival. Warden Leo's arrived with his family, and asks Samuel why he sent those tickets to him. Samuel says he always tries to do something special for local law enforcement, and he heard about Warden Leo out all night trying to chase down some escaped prisoner. Forum posters swoon uncontrollably as Warden Leo pulls out a mug shot of dirty, shaggy Sylar and asks if Samuel's seen him. Samuel doesn't think he has, though he could be wrong what with this being a carnival where lots of people come and go. Warden Leo gives Samuel his business card and asks him to call if he sees Sylar. He will, of course, but only if it will help him make Sylar evil again.
Speaking of, Sylar's still in the hall of mirrors watching all of the bad things he's done in his life flash before him. It's a lovely montage of blood and death (and plenty of head-cuttings): He fights with and kills Alejandro and cuts open various heads for optimal brain viewing. Those heads include (I think): Trevor; poor, nonheroic misunderstanding Jackie; Elle (I haven't forgiven Sylar, or the show, for that one yet); Ted; Sue; and Charlie. The whole time this stuff is flashing on the mirrors, Sylar's writhing around on the floor begging for it to stop. He finally gets up and stumbles out of the funhouse, then pukes into a garbage can.
Back at Jeremy's house in Georgia, HRG is walking toward him, asking him what happened. Jeremy yells for him not to come any closer, and then he tells Bennett that he killed his parents. He was angry and he touched them and they died. He says he didn't mean to, but that's a little suspicious since they're both dead in their chairs. I mean, if he was angry and accidentally touched one of them, that's one thing, but then why would he touch the other one, too? HRG is buying it, though, and says it's not fair that Jeremy was left to suffer through this alone. He tells Jeremy that he doesn't remember him, but they've met and he knows all about Jeremy. He knows he's not a killer, but a healer. Jeremy says he used to heal things, but it turned and now he kills. He threatens HRG not to come a step closer or he'll shoot him, but Peter teleports into the middle of the scene, right between the gun and HRG. He yells, "Noah!" and grabs the gun, pointing it toward himself right as it goes off. He freezes time, and at first it seems like everything's okay, but then he looks down and sees he was a little too late, as the bullet's already inside him. Time starts back up again, and ... commercials.
When we return, HRG's trying to help Peter, asking him to stay with him. Jeremy says "Oh my god!" and HRG says Peter's bleeding out and won't make it to the hospital, so Jeremy needs to heal him. Jeremy thinks if he touches him he'll die, and he can't do it, but HRG says he can do this, and if he doesn't touch Peter, he'll die. HRG gets up for a very special moment, in which he says his power is understanding people like Jeremy. He says that what happened to Jeremy's parents never has to happen again if he can control his power and heal Peter. Jeremy says everything he touches dies, but HRG points out that he's touching him right now. Jeremy looks down as the camera pans down and we all realize HRG's grabbing Jeremy by the shoulders. He talks Jeremy through the healing: It's all about visualization! Jeremy closes his eyes and touches Peter, who heals, and comes to gasping for breath. He laughs and groans as HRG welcomes him back.
Emma carries some files into her office at the hospital and finds a flier for "Hiro the Magnificent" on her computer. She takes off, and finds him performing for a bunch of kids. He's wearing a blanket as a cape, and a top hat. When Emma walks in, Hiro cutely says that "Now, here to assist Hiro the Magnificent, please welcome, Emma, the ... Also Magnificent!" Everyone claps and Hiro beckons her to the front of the room. Hiro tells her he's doing magic, and then tells the kids he'll need much applause as he makes Emma disappear. They all clap, and Hiro holds a sheet up in front of Emma. They're touching hands as he freezes time for everyone but them. The blue colors of the kids' applause is frozen, too, as Emma wanders through the room in awe. She can't believe time is standing still, and she even reaches out and touches the sound colors in amazement. I am still not getting how it's cool, but she says it's all so beautiful. He tells her there are no bad powers (uh, Hiro, remember Sylar?), but she has to understand them to use the powers to do good things. Then he asks her if, for now, they can please finish their magic trick. He has her hide in the back of the room behind a curtain as he unfreezes time, amazing all the kids and even the medical staff watching in amazement. The kids applaud for Emma the Magnificent, and then Hiro teaches them to applaud in sign language. It's very sweet.
Carnival. Sylar's sitting across from a snow cone place, making me wonder how he's resisting the deliciousness and just sitting there, moping. Samuel comes up and Sylar whines about all of the murders and memories in his mind, but he cannot believe they're his
. He wonders how many people he's killed: "A dozen? Two dozen?" Try somewhere closer to three or four dozen (and those are just the ones we've seen). Samuel tells him how difficult it can be to learn the truth, and Sylar's like, "Difficult? I am a monster! I stalk people, slash open their skulls." Samuel wonders if Sylar has thought about why he was brought here to the carnival. He says that in the carnival he's safe, but out in the real world people don't accept him. They turned him into the monster. Sylar asks if that makes it okay, and Samuel says it makes it the truth. He goes on that Sylar wanted the truth and now he has it, so the question is where he goes from here. "Do you wallow in self-pity, or do you learn to use the gifts God gave you and command fear and respect, and defend against those who would do us harm, all in the embrace of a community who loves you for exactly who you are?" First of all, Samuel, God didn't give Sylar most of his gifts; he got them by cutting people's heads open. Second, learn a new speech. Sylar points out that they just met Sylar, so how can they love him, knowing what he's done and who he is. Samuel says they're family, and family accepts and forgives. Oh, but there's a problem: That policeman who's hunting Sylar is here. He says it's not just about Sylar anymore now that they're harboring a criminal. Sylar asks what Samuel wants him to do, and Samuel manipulates that he can't make that decision for him, but Sylar's presence here puts them all in danger and something has to be done. Sylar asks where Warden Leo is, and Samuel says one of his men saw him go into the house of mirrors. Sylar's like, "Not that place again?" But he gets up and goes.
Back in the hospital, a nurse is scolding Hiro for getting out of bed again. She suggests using a leash, a cage, or a cattle prod, but I'm guessing none of those will stop a teleporter. She tells him to keep his Japanese tush in the bed, and then leaves. Hiro says he's not a pet, but Emma says the nurse is right and that he needs to stop using his power before it kills him. Hiro smiles and says his power isn't killing him; it keeps him alive. He says he was dying when he was stuck in a cubicle every day wasting his life. Emma asks how he can be so focused on helping others when he knows the cost, and Hiro tells Emma about Charlie: She knew she was dying, but that didn't change her at all, and she taught him to keep joy and dignity alive, even in the face of death. He then says to himself that he can't believe he forgot to put her on his list. He asks Emma for a paper and pen, and says he had a list of wrongs to right before he dies, and he can't believe he forgot her. He smiles as he writes her name down. Emma asks Hiro to promise he won't leave until Peter returns, and he nods his head at her.
Jeremy's on his front porch, when HRG comes out on the phone, reporting an accident. He asks for the police and coroner to be sent. Peter comes out behind him, and tells HRG he got Jeremy's ability. HRG tells Peter to drive to an airfield, where HRG called in a favor. HRG says he's not coming with him, but Peter better hurry, since Hiro's waiting. Peter drives away in an old farm truck, and HRG tells Jeremy he backed up the heating vent and made it look like carbon monoxide poisoning. He tells Jeremy to say he came home and found them. Jeremy wonders why HRG's staying here, and for how long, and HRG says, "'Til I know that you're all right." He explains that his job used to be watching over people like Jeremy, but he somehow lost his way. The cops pull up as HRG sadly tells Jeremy that he might not even know it, but he let him down. They head toward the cops.
Back in the carnival, Sylar's heading back to his worst nightmare, the house of mirrors. He walks past Damien, who watches him walk inside, where Warden Leo's waiting. He draws his gun when he sees Sylar and asks him to put his hands above his head. Sylar asks him to leave here while there's still time, but Warden Leo's idea is more along the lines of Sylar resisting arrest so Warden Leo can shoot him. Sylar says he's just trying to save Warden Leo, and his hands start to shoot electricity. Warden Leo shoots at Sylar, but Sylar stops and drops the bullet. Then Sylar zaps the whole room full of electricity, knocking Warden Leo to the ground. When he stands up, there's a burn mark on his shirt. He asks Sylar what he is, and Sylar walks toward him menacingly. When he gets to him, though, he turns and walks away. Warden Leo looks relieved, but then Edgar swoops in all super-speed and super-knives and slices him up. He glares at Sylar as Warden Leo bleeds from the mouth and falls to the ground. Edgar tells Sylar not to just stand there: "Get a mop!" Commercials, including more of the Slow Burn story. In this one Samuel demands to know what secret Lydia's been keeping, and it manifests in a tattoo of Lydia's fire-starting daughter.
Hospital. Emma enters the rec room and sits down at the piano. She plays out a lovely, colorful song and smiles all the while. The colors float into the air. Hiro gets out of his bed at the sounds and finds her happily playing. Others have gathered around, too, and when she notices they all clap. Hiro sign claps and tells her it was beautiful. She reminds him he promised he'd stay in bed (but he actually only promised not to leave until Peter returned). He tells her, "Joy and dignity in the face of death," and she says, "Just like Charlie." He nods, and she asks him to come back to bed. But he disappears. She looks puzzled, and says "Hiro?"
At the carnival, Sylar comes out of the house of mirrors, and approaches Samuel as everyone else gathers around. Samuel hugs Sylar and tells him he's safe now. He then loudly says that tonight they welcome a new brother into their family, who will live and work among them and be welcome here all the rest of their days. Then Samuel baptizes Sylar, because it wasn't obvious enough that this is supposed to be some sort of rebirth for him without the actual baptism. Then everyone's sitting around, eating, talking and laughing. Sylar and Lydia are looking all cozy together and Edgar's angrily throwing knives at a board. Samuel tells him not to pout, but Edgar reminds Samuel it's a good thing that he followed him to the house of mirrors, since he knew he wouldn't follow through. Samuel says Sylar's just a baby, learning to walk, and Edgar wonders what use Sylar is to them like this. "What use is a lion that can't kill?" Samuel says it might be better this way, because they can just make a better Sylar, and when they do, he'll be theirs forever. Lydia looks over at Samuel, who nods at her, which prompts her to get up and lead him away. So, even the love-making is apparently Samuel-sanctioned here. Edgar turns and throws another knife at the board. I'm thinking there might be some civil unrest in the carnival with Sylar on board. But here's my bigger issue: Why was Edgar all worried about bringing the cop here earlier in the episode, out of fear that Sylar might kill him? And then he killed him because Sylar didn't? Does that even make sense?
Peter arrives back at the hospital, and asks Emma how Hiro is. She tells him Hiro disappeared, and Peter's thinking, "What?! After I got shot and almost died trying to save him? Ungrateful teleporter!" He goes into Hiro's room and finds the sheet of paper that says "Save Charlie." Then we see Hiro, still in his hospital gown, appear on a dusty road, as we're told it's the "Burnt Toast Diner, Midland, Texas, Three Years Ago." Hiro walks to the window and looks inside. He sees a redhead and says, "Charlie." And that's all folks. "To be continued..."
week: There's lost of dumb initiation stuff at Claire's sorority. And by "dumb," I mean "deadly," since it looks like Samuel's niece wants to kill Gretchen. Samuel keeps telling Sylar the memories he's having aren't his, and we once again see Sylar-as-Nathan after he was shot. Sylar wonders if the real him isn't in his head, where is he? And we see Sylar having sex with Matt's wife. When she tells Matt how amazing it was afterward, he's puzzled and more than a little pissed. Now his wife's cheating on him with the Sylon in his brain!
DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, has never liked the House of Mirrors anyway. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see our list of the best storylines that went nowhere.