Heroes Volume Three, Chapter Twelve: Our Father

Arthur calls Sylar to nag him into completing his mission to capture Claire. Sylar, however, is in the middle of dumping lighter fluid on Elle’s corpse, and thus is in no mood for a guilt trip from his fake dad. While Elle goes up in flames, Sylar looks sort of wistful and melancholy about murdering his girlfriend, but it’s hard to be certain what’s in his head these days; it’s equally possible he’s just thinking about how he’d really like a slice of pie. Sylar then targets some poor office drone named Sue, who has the ability to act as a human lie detector, and lops off the top of her head. He seems positively orgasmic about this. Just for laughs, he gleefully murders a bunch of her coworkers, too. Wow, that’s a really evil thing to do. Nothing nice about that. It seems pretty clear he’s evil again. Evil, evil, evil. At least until next episode.

Nathan drops by Arthur’s office and tells him he’s decided to take over Pinehearst. Arthur gets a good chuckle at this, but agrees to hand over his company to his upstart son. Later, Flint and Knox skulk about in the background whilst Tracy and Nathan squabble about lies and duplicity, etcetera. Flint and Knox have zero lines in this episode, but it seems important to report that Flint has fully recovered from the vicious, crippling beating he received at the hands of a fine-boned geneticist last week. Tracy assembles a group of fifty Marines, who will be the first recipients of powers once the formula is perfected. In a throwaway line, Tracy mentions that, instead of the usual Russian roulette approach to distributing powers, the formula has now been refined enough to give specific powers to specific individuals. Wait--so Mohinder finally does something useful and proactive after too many episodes of dithering to count, and it happens offscreen?

Sixteen years in the past, on the balcony of the Deveaux building, Hiro and Claire watch Kaito Nakamura give baby Claire to Noah Bennet. Claire tells Hiro she recognizes him from the stories Peter has told her. Hiro, who is still stuck with the brain of a ten-year-old, doesn’t understand what she’s babbling on about and cheerfully delivers the only phrase he know in English: “Where is the train station? I must use the toilet. More waffles please!” Oh, Hiro. You’re a darling, but perhaps a 10% reduction in overall zaniness would not be remiss.

Inside the Deveaux apartment, Hiro’s beautiful mother (Tamlyn Tomita! Ah, fond memories of The Karate Kid 2) breathes life into a random dead dove. Despite having a healing ability, she’s dying of a glamorous mystery illness. Healing abilities: not as handy as you’d think. Just ask Adam Monroe. Or Linderman. Hiro’s mom tells Kaito they must make arrangements for her to pass along her ability--i.e. the all-important catalyst--to someone else before she dies. She wants to give it to young Hiro, whereas Kaito has already decided baby Claire will be the recipient.

Eavesdropping Claire decides she must prevent herself from receiving the catalyst. She scampers off to her parents’ old apartment, where she ingratiates herself to Sandra by helping her with the new baby. Bennet comes home and immediately becomes paranoid and irate about Sandra letting tiny blonde teenagers into their home. Bennet bosses Sandra around and grills Claire and pretty much behaves like an irrational dickwad. And how exactly did it take Sandra sixteen years to figure out her husband wasn’t really a paper salesman? Claire gives him a pep talk about being a good father and convinces him not to let the Company do anything to baby Claire. While she’s at it, she puts the idea of the vile “Claire-bear” nickname in Bennet’s head. Gosh, thanks, Claire.

Hiro visits his mother, who recognizes him as the grown-up version of her son. He asks her to heal his scrambled brain and restore his missing memories. She kisses him and gives him his marbles back, then, for good measure, passes on her ability to him. Having made Hiro the catalyst, she dies.

Claire rejoins Hiro on the balcony. Arthur teleports in and joins them (Arthur can travel through time, too? Is there anything he can’t do?). Arthur sucks out Hiro’s brand-new healing ability and chucks him off the balcony. Before teleporting Claire back to the present, Arthur gives her a message to deliver to Angela: “I won.” Because there is no bleak situation that Hiro can’t make entirely absurd and farcical, he lands on a flagpole, where he dangles, helpless.

The search for Isaac’s sketchbook takes Daphne, Matt, and Ando to Manhattan, where, after a series of quasi-zany adventures, they finally track it down. The sketchbook shows Hiro lost in the past, dangling from that blasted flagpole. Ando becomes determined to use the formula to give himself superpowers to travel back in time and rescue him. This seems improbable, and indeed vaguely preposterous, but the idea seems to make Ando happy.

But here’s what we’ve really been wondering this whole time: Where’s Mohinder? What’s he up to? It turns out he’s been doing what he does best: posing in a lab coat while frowning prettily at beakers of brightly colored liquids. Arthur arrives at the laboratory and adds the precious catalyst to Mohinder’s formula (he does this by waving his hands over a basin and shooting off lots of glowy lights, which makes as much scientific sense as anything else on this show). Mohinder injects the first Marine test subject with the newly-completed formula. When his powers kick in, the Marine tosses a chair through the glass barrier of his protective cell with enough force to embed it into the far wall.

Angela sends Peter and the Haitian on a mission to kill Arthur. Angela, I admire your moxie, but ordering your powerless son to kill your super-powered husband is kind of tacky. Peter and the Haitian mind-whammy their way through Pinehearst until they reach Arthur’s office. The Haitian neutralizes Arthur’s powers while Peter prepares to shoot his dad in the head.

Sylar strolls in at the last second and stops the bullet. He uses his new lie-detector power to confirm that this whole business about being Arthur’s son was indeed all an elaborate charade, then kills Arthur himself. While Peter stands around and looks flabbergasted by this turn of events, Sylar saunters off.

Huh. I guess we can add Arthur to the growing list of dead immortals.

There’s only one episode left in Volume Three, and I have to say, apart from a certain sloppiness and the occasional glitch (pie-baking Elle springs immediately to mind), I’ve been pretty happy with the season thus far. Provided Mohinder loses the icky crud and becomes dewy and beautiful again next week, I have no problem with chalking this one up in the win column.

Comments

Morgan Richter said…
I'll kick things off with something I forgot to mention in my recap: Since Arthur had already sucked up Adam Monroe's healing power -- i.e. the exact same power Claire had -- why in blue blazes didn't he use himself as the catalyst in the first place?

Good episode, though. Wow, Sylar really knows how to liven up a bland office party, huh?
Anonymous said…
Sylar's workplace killing spree just made me happy. "Cake!" he gleefully observes as he casually adds three more victims to his list.

Now if you're going to be a psychotic villain, few actions carry as much panache as standing in an elevator soaked in blood and casually asking the fellow passenger if something is amiss.

Sylar: What's the matter? What, is my shirt untucked? Ring around the collar? Is my hair messed up? You think I should, maybe, hit the men's room really quick?

Stranger: *gulp*

Sylar: Tingly!
Ingrid Richter said…
Great summary, Morgan! I liked this episode quite a bit. Couple of thoughts:

1) Arthur probably stole Hiro's teleportation skills back in Africa. What a dick! He could have just left Hiro stranded 16 years earlier(cue to a 42-year old Hiro finally meeting up with Ando) instead of pushing him off a building...

2) *Everyone* seems to get pushed off the building.

3) My favorite line? A throw-away one Mohinder had to Tracy. She asked him what the formula would do and he said: "I have no idea." That's our Mohinder!

4) Boy-Morgan is right - the scales are actually pretty flattering. Looks like someone had a heavy hand with the chunk-sized club glitter.
Morgan Richter said…
The scene with Sylar in the elevator filled me with much glee. Now that's how Sylar needs to be written: self-amusing, sadistic, and bughouse crazy. The Power of Empathy, my ass. Have we finally seen the end of Introspective and Uncertain Sylar? Please?

Sylar was operating in high gear last night. I also liked him breezing through Pinehearst just to kill Arthur, then swaggering off into the sunset.

The crap science used to bug me a whole lot on Heroes. Somewhere along the line, though, I think I decided to just relax and go with the nitwitty flow. Arthur waving his hands over Mohinder's basin of Brightly-Colored Science-y Liquid while beams of pretty golden super-catalyst energy shone from him sent me into a giggle fit.

I also liked Random Marine Who Got Far Too Much Airtime ("Scott", I guess they called him) playing into Mohinder's latent self-esteem issues: "What happened to you, man? You're hideously deformed!" For someone who scarcely seemed aware of his own broken nose for six or so episodes last season, Mo has sure become neurotic about his appearance.

Heh. Yes, was anyone really surprised when Mohinder 'fessed up to having no idea what the formula was doing to the Marine?

Arthur probably stole Hiro's teleportation skills back in Africa.

Sure, but then wouldn't Hiro have been powerless? And scrambled brain notwithstanding, Hiro has still been able to time travel and teleport. So Arthur must have nabbed the time-travel ability from some other poor sap (he could teleport before he put the whammy on Hiro).
Morgan Dodge said…
Sure, but then wouldn't Hiro have been powerless? And scrambled brain notwithstanding, Hiro has still been able to time travel and teleport.

Arthur stole Peter's power right? Peter's power was to acquire other people's power without stealing it. More of a sharing is caring type approach, instead of Arthur's usual gimme-gimme approach.
So he got Hiro's power by being near him. He was scrambling his brain and hadn't gotten around to actually removing it yet. I think if you go back and watch it over, the power stealing sound effect wasn't used. It was more KitchenAid®, less Hoover®.
So Hiro got to keep his power by virtue of Arthur not prioritizing his mischief correctly while in Africa.

This episode taught me that even the most annoying characters seem far less annoying to me when they're with Hiro. I kinda liked Claire and Hiro in the past.

I believe that Sylar doesn't have a moral compass. I believe he has a moral pendulum. Currently it's on the evil beat.
I lament the loss of Elle. I may have to go re-rent Forgetting Sarah Marshall, or break out the Veronica Mars DVDs to get over it. [deep sigh[
Lou said…
Ahhh evil Sylar how I missed thee. Never shall I see an excited exclamation for cake the same way again. I LOVED the elevator scene.

I really enjoyed this episode. Even Claire didn't annoy me. Which is probably a first.

Great review Girl-Morgan. I particularly agree with the rather hokey science of the formula. It looks suspiciously like Arthur was ready-brekking some Gatorade to me. Apologies for the obscure reference to British TV.

Tracey is taking the ice queen role to new heights lately (hoho, geddit? That’s probably my 20% extra wit right there).

Poor Emo. He didn't even get to complete his mission. He just stood there as Sylar wandered off to deal with more exciting plotlines. Anyone else get the feeling the writers have no idea what to do with powerless Pete? I put my money on him taking his shirt off soon. Seems to happen a lot when inspiration runs dry. If in doubt, get the flesh out.

Hiro's mum dying yet she can heal? Can she not just kiss herself? Is she the catalyst or just the carrier? How did Arthur know to teleport to that very moment on the balcony with Hiro & Claire? And why do I continue to look for logic on this show?

Wow, just look at that. The first comment I've ever made without a single reference to pretty glittery Mo... Oh dammit. So close.
Anonymous said…
I'm happy enough at the idea of having the real Sylar back. Finally! A bit campy, way creepy, enjoying killing (and making the choice to do so...screw the hunger), de-Petrellifying him, killing Elle (screw the Power of Love and Empathy)...

It's like the writers retconned the retcon and I'm thrilled. I read on the blog that if KB had been able to stick around then the writers would have done a Elle is pregnant storyline...ugh! Thank god for small favours. I would have been livid.

Awwww, Mohinder does something well and it's offscreen. Can this guy catch a damn break? I had to laugh when he had no idea what was going on. Seriously, could the writers pretend to make him a competant scientist again...just for arguments sake?
Morgan Richter said…
Boy-Morgan, you're brilliant! (Alternate theory: I'm kind of slow). Of course Arthur stole Peter's power-absorbing power, along with all of Peter's bajillion powers (which included time travel/teleportation, obviously). Thank you for clearing that up.

I sort of liked Claire this episode, too. What's wrong with us?

Lou, if it's any consolation, I'd made a promise to myself at the start of the season to knock it off with the incessant references to Mohinder's phenomenal beauty in my recaps. And you can see how well that worked out.

Poor Kid Emo. Sylar stole his daddy-killing thunder and then didn't even have the grace to engage him in mortal combat. Why do I think Peter will be getting his powers back next episode? He's sort of spinning his wheels without them.

levitatethis: Like you, I'm thrilled they've retconned the retcon. Sylar just works better as a character when he's sadistic and shocking and a little campy. And yes, a pregnant Elle storyline would have been horrific and barfy.

Heh, poor Mohinder. For someone who has made a remarkable number of major, ground-breaking scientific discoveries (discovering the genetic key to his father's list, discovering his blood cures the Shanti virus, discovering that mixing his blood with Claire's blood cures the mutated virus, isolating the enzymes that grant people abilities, and now figuring out how to give people specific abilities), he sure dithers around a lot. Either he's absolutely brilliant but needs to be a little more detail-oriented, or he's the luckiest geneticist in the world.
Morgan Richter said…
(Lou, by the way, thank you for introducing me to the concept of Ready-Brekking. The things I learn! Sadly, we have no Ready Brek out here, though Wikipedia claims it's made by the fine folks responsible for Weetabix, which has finally made a foothold here and which is my breakfast cereal of choice. Weetabix, to the best of my knowledge, is not associated with a radiant glow, and thus I'm forced to give the edge to Ready Brek.)
Ingrid Richter said…
Lou is the "brek" in "Ready Brek" short for "breakfast"? Because that's almost stomach-wrenchingly cute.

Sylar seems so much happier when he's evil (or maybe that's just me). I'm still trying to figure out how this whole "not killing possibly pregnant Elle" trick works when he chops off her head and sets her on fire on a remote beach. Poor Elle.

Also, while I appreciate Sylar trying to downplay Peter's evilness ("You aren't a killer"), Peter *did* aim, shoot and try to kill his father with a bullet in the head.
Morgan Richter said…
I believe, from what I hear, and despite early rumors to the contrary (anyone with better spoiler knowledge, feel free to contradict me), we may now officially consider Elle to be dead, dead, dead, not coming back, no way, no how. Thus there will be no Evil Alternate Future where Sylar bakes waffles for his adorable son and nuzzles with Mr. Muggles. I really, really liked Elle (particularly last season), but this is probably for the best.

I appreciate what they tried to do with giving Sylar some added layers and trying to pull off a redemption arc. The execution got kinda botched, particularly when they resorted to changing some of Sylar's (and Elle's) back history to make it fit. I don't know whether Sylar's reversion was the plan all along, or if the powers-that-be just saw the way the wind was blowing and changed their minds, but either way, making Sylar eeeeeeeeevil again (and unattached... and not a Petrelli...) was the right move.

Twelve episodes in, and I'm still having a hard time getting a handle on the ice queen. Maybe it's because Tracy hasn't had all that much screen time (and virtually none when she's not with Nathan), but... what's her deal, anyway? Is she evil, or simply overly ambitious? Was there any point to her shagging Bruce Boxleitner in the premiere, or was that just an excuse to see Ali in her sexy underthings?

Also: it is my secret hope that Flint survives into the next volume and becomes Mohinder's nemesis (or, y'know, one of them), just so we can see more awesomely absurd scuffles between these two.
Ingrid Richter said…
I *loved* Flint glowering in the corner, BTW. Cracked me up :-)

Tracy, however, is kind of a disappointment. Perhaps we're supposed to think she's extremely ambitious (i.e. pairing up with the guy with the most potential for power, be it Arthur or Nathan or Bruce).

Personally, I think Tracy should team up with Angela for a bit of evil female scheming instead. This whole "you keep me on staff for my mind; the sex is for free" business is for the birds...
Morgan Richter said…
If Flint and Mohinder don't have some kind of battle royale next episode, or at the very least an exchange of taunts and profane hand gestures, I will be disappointed. Mo's high point this season (other than his naked goo scene, of course) may have been last week's saucy, "Actually, yeah, I did" in response to Flint asking him if he thought he was that stupid. And of course he followed that up by hitting him with a microscope. Full points, Mohinder. Well played.

Tracy, though... Yeah, her quip in the season premiere about the sex being free, but you pay for her advice would rest a little easier with me if we'd seen some indication her advice was any damn good. At least in the last few episodes, they've trotted out a few details: she was consultant for Pinehearst, she has connections with the Department of Defense, etcet. Still, she's not a terribly compelling character.
Dan said…
Ho ho ho guys. I see you've all effortlessly pulled out the extra 20%. Claire-Bear not being repellent? Very amusing indeed. Keep it up. Back to holidays with me.
Morgan Richter said…
Dan! An unexpected visit from Holiday Dan! It's a Christmas miracle!

Also: Lou, I made you a present, based upon your comment:
Pretty Glittery Mo

(I had to register with Blingee to make it, so it was sort of a labor of love. That site scares me deeply. So many sparkles...)
Ingrid Richter said…
Wow! That's some pretty heavy bling on the boy...
Morgan Richter said…
That's some pretty heavy bling on the boy...

Indeed. Oh, I could have embedded the code to make all the sparkles and glitter shimmer and shine and pulse, but I was vaguely nauseated as it was. Plus there's always the danger of triggering seizures. The static, non-shimmery version will have to suffice.

Did anyone else feel a brief surge of worry that they might kill the Haitian off during the showdown with Arthur? First the Haitian and Peter had some rather nice and uncharacteristic bonding moments on the drive to Pinehearst, what with the Haitian offering to whack Arthur for Peter, and then when Sylar entered the picture, it got a bit ominous. I hope they keep him around. As we've already discussed ad nauseum, he's kind of a useful character. (Anyway, I don't think Heroes should be too quick to use the death card. Isn't having Adam Monroe buried alive in a Tokyo cemetary much more convenient for potential future plots than having Adam Monroe as pile of dust?)
Ingrid Richter said…
I was worried about the Haitian not surviving through to the end of the episode. This was the first time we saw his powers falter...("Peter, if it wouldn't kill you, could you please shoot your father now?")

What would happen if Sylar absorbed the Haitian's powers? Would he be able to selectively negate other powers or would the ability wipe out all of his? Would it be worth stealing anyone's negated powers?

P.S. Dan, I knew you couldn't stay away for long...
Ingrid Richter said…
P.P.S. Morgan, I completely agree with you on Adam. Why dig him up if only to kill him off?
Morgan Richter said…
Heroes has had such a preposterous number of fake-out deaths by now (and there's been such an outcry about it) that from now on all their deaths probably should stick. Ergo, Adam and Elle should probably stay dead. And since since both characters had nice potential for future conflicts and added some value to the show, it might have been a smarter move to keep Adam buried and to have Elle ride into the sunset, to potentially return if and when Bell's schedule permits.

I think that was the first time we'd seen the unflappable Haitian get kind of flustered and excitable: "Yo! Peter! PETER!"

(I like to think the Haitian would say "Yo!")
Anonymous said…
So I woke up this morning - the first day of the recruiting school final exams and noted the occasion with an infinitesimal bit of flair. In my best Kurgan voice (which isn't very good) I said, "At last, the Rec Ex." Rec Ex, or Recruiting Exercise, is what they call the final exams. I don't know why they don't just call them the final exams.

But then I got to wondering why did they use marines and not soldiers? I have to say, I'm a little offended. I mean, do you really want to give superpowers to a bunch of guys who think one plus two equals kill? Wouldn't it make more sense to give superpowers to people who might see the wisdom in hopelessly discombobulating concepts like, say, final exams? I could see one of them developing the power to bog everything down in bureaucracy, maybe but shooting ribbons of red tape out of his mouth.

Angela: Get them!

Pinehearst Soldier: Thbpbpbpbpt.

Angela: Okay everybody, eight-hour staff meeting right now!

Haitian: YO!


You know, with as jaded a perspective as mine, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be good at my new job.
Ingrid Richter said…
Josh, good to hear your military perspective! The power of red tape is a strong one indeed.

Ah, the Kurgan. I'd like to think he could take on any of the Heroes characters with his broadsword tied behind his back ("Tonight you sleep in hell, Sylar.")

On a completely unrelated note, Morgan's trying to convince me to bid on a Charity Dinner Auction with Zach and Sendhil. Bidding starts at a mere $2,500, but we're thinking we might be able to undercut costs if we stick to DiGiorno pizza and cheap champagne.
Morgan Richter said…
Josh, I'm certain your Kurgan impression is very fine indeed. I also think The Power of Bureaucracy is a formidable one, easily equal to any of Sylar's nastiness. If Pinehearst (which I guess is under Nathan's command now, god help us all) sends a bunch of Marines out into polite society with the ability to ensnare us all in red tape, our Heroes will have their hands full.

(Will it make for exciting television, though? I'm sure anyone who has ever sat through an all-day seminar on Team Building in the Workplace would answer with an emphatic "Yes!")

Yes, I'm trying to make Ingrid see that successfully bidding on lunch with Quinto and Sendhil would make for an awesome stocking stuffer fo me. She's all hung up on the "bidding starts at $2500" part. To which I say, can you really put a price on the lifetime's worth of zany anecdotes with which this would supply me?

(On the audio commentary for a recent episode, Sendhil mentioned that he and Quinto were recently over at Kristen Bell's house, frolicking in her hot tub. It was then that I realized something: Kristen Bell is living my dream.)
Anonymous said…
Bidding starts at a mere $2,500

The thought "Well, I do have that much in savings..." flashed through my head. But I think The Lovely and Talented might fall short of forgiving on this one.

"You WHAT?"
"Honey, unlock the door, okay? People are staring."

So I'm with Morgan on this one. Spend, Ingrid! Spend vicariously for all our sakes! In the mean time, I will shave my head, glue safety pins to my neck and go wish some nuns Happy Halloween.
Ingrid Richter said…
Not you too, Josh!

If only they hadn't included this pesky sentence in the contract: "Winning bidder will be permitted to bring one guest." Otherwise, I'd say we throw a dinner party at Morgan's place with Quinto and Ramamurthy - and everyone would be invited.

Er, this is probably exactly why they have this sentence in the contract.

Ah, well, it's better to burn out than to fade away...
Morgan Richter said…
I like Ingrid's cheap-champagne-and-pizza dinner party idea. I mean, surely the "limit one guest" restriction is just so the charity doesn't get stuck with a $2500 booze tab at the end of the evening, right?

Inviting Quinto and Sendhil over to my place for our own charity shindig would definitely be more economical. I'd stock up on frozen pizzas and cocktail napkins and vacuum the cat hair off of all exposed surfaces; Ingrid can snag a case of Prosecco at Trader Joe's. At some point in the evening, we'd pass around a hat, and everybody could toss in a few bucks to go to the charity. We're all delightful conversationalists, after all -- how could they refuse such an offer?
Lou said…
Ooooh thank you so much Girl-Morgan, that's a lovely glittery Mo pic! I agree excessive sparkle can be unnerving, but you got it just right. What a nice early Xmas present! Yay!! *saves and makes it my wallpaper*

And here's one I made earlier for you. I was reading your old Heroes reviews and this Mo gem was too classic not to caption. Sorry for the lack of bling.

Pizza and champagne party sounds fab. Tsk pesky auction rules. I'd happily chip into the kitty. I was saving up for a house deposit but naturally I'd stay renting to hot tub with Sendil & Quinto...

I think the Haitian would say "YO" too. Wait, why didn’t Sylar go after his powers this week when he was weakened after the Petreilli standoff? Peter might not have anything he wants but surely the Haitian does? Hmm I really must stop looking for logic in this show and just enjoy the abundance of pretty.

Oh and yes Ingrid the "brek" in Ready-Brek does indeed mean breakfast. Weetabix is good but I agree with Morgan that Ready-brek has the glowing edge, even if it is just oatmeal rebranded for kids…
Morgan Richter said…
and this Mo gem was too classic not to caption.

Ha! Lou, that's awesome. Thank you very much. Good old Mo -- always stumbling headlong into bad decisions. Here's my wish for Mohinder in Volume Four: That he does something -- anything -- that turns out exactly as he had intended. (And also that he takes off his clothes at some point when he isn't covered head to toe in goo.)

NBC's not-terribly-spoilery official description for Monday's episode includes ths sentence: "Elsewhere, Ando, Matt and Daphne continue their attempts rescue Hiro -- and Dr. Suresh may be their only hope." Oh, man. Mohinder should never be someone's only hope. Sorry, Hiro. Based on Mo's track record this volume, I guess you're doomed.

Yeah. You'd think Sylar would have a special bone to pick with the Haitian after he and Eden tag-teamed him and captured him way back in Volume One, but nope -- Sylar was content to saunter off after killing Arthur. Maybe he didn't want to push his luck.
Ingrid Richter said…
Lou, that's gorgeous! A motivational poster for the ages.

No one should ever have to rely on Mohinder rescuing them from sixteen years in the past. Poor Hiro...

I'd like to think that the Haitian's power would completely wipe out all of Sylar's cool powers, leaving him with just the ability to neutralize other people. Heh. What a bummer.
Morgan Dodge said…
I'd like to take a moment to point out that the common sense of a chipmunk is rather underrated. Just look at the qualities they have. For example they are frugal. Chipmunks save up for the lean, winter months. I think that requires a bit more common sense than many people I know.

So when you say "common sense of a chipmunk" perhaps you mean "common sense of my cousin Steve, who is living out of his car again."

Other than that, fantastic motivational poster. Thank you Lou.

(My cousin Steve is a fictional character. Any similarity between Steve and any persons living, or otherwise, is purely coincidental.)
Morgan Richter said…
Chipmunks are also glossy and adorable and have huge, sparkly eyes. And brains the size of thimbles.

I think the comparison is obvious.

Which reminds me: Ingrid and I have oft chatted about how we would have enjoyed Mohinder's plotline this volume much more if, instead of turning into a bug/snake/lizard/whatever, he'd found himself evolving into a kitty cat: "Oh noes! I'm growing soft, luxurious fur and long whiskers!" Just think of the possibilities: while discussing eclipses and catalysts and whatnot with Arthur, Mohinder could give himself an impromptu tongue bath. That'd give any naked goo scene a run for its money.

(And naturally, Mohinder the Cat would say "Oh noes!" I mean, obviously.)
Ingrid Richter said…
Morgan! You swore you wouldn't share our secret Cat-Mohinder fantasies online! Now people will think we're strange.

Heh. Seriously, a twitching tail and cat whiskers is just as effective as all-over scaly crud for "science gone horribly wrong". Just ask any anime fan...
Morgan Richter said…
I'm going to start a blog devoted to secret Cat-Mohinder fantasies.

It would have been awesome. Just imagine it: Mo dithering around in his laboratory, frowning prettily into his microscope... but then his tail accidentally knocks over his beaker of brightly-colored science-y fluid! Oh noes! He could have gotten away from Flint by threatening to claw out his eyeballs! And he could've jumped through the skylight in his lab while dangling Maya from his mouth by the scruff of her neck. It would have added untold levels of demented hilarity, and it would have spared us all the sight of those icky scales.
Ingrid Richter said…
Oh dear. See what happens when Dan goes on vacation? Cat-Boy Mohinder fantasies come out of the closet.

Come back, Dan! Come back! We need more Skulky the Turtle snark!
Morgan Richter said…
Pshaw. Like Dan's really going to put a stop to anyone's idle Cat-Mohinder musings. But before we go too far off the rails, I'll point out that I greatly prefer Human-Mohinder to Cat-Mohinder... just that if he's going to spend thirteen episodes evolving into some kind of creature, I'd much rather he evolve into something adorable instead of into a cockroach or whatever he is these days. I'm pretty sure Mohinder would agree with me on this.

If Mohinder doesn't restore himself to normal next episode, I may cry.
Lou said…
Glad you all enjoyed the poster. Shall I get it put onto mugs? I think it may complement the Let Mo Bone tshirts. And the Mookies. Gosh so much untapped merchandising potential eh?

And I have to agree, if we can't have Human-Mo I'd much prefer Cat-Mo than Scaly-Ick-Mo. How about a scene involving some catnip? Any excuse to see Mo writhing around... Oh dear. I went too far.

Hmm yes soooo, poor Hiro.
Morgan Richter said…
We've just gone crazy with merchandise possibilities. If we can't all make our fortunes off of exploiting Mohinder's phenomenal bone structure, what good are we?

Heh. Mohinder writhing in catnip... your brain took you to a bad, bad place, Lou. And yet it seems so right...

Yes. Bad enough that Hiro's fate seemed to hinge upon Matt, Daphne and Ando -- all of whom I love, but let's face it, they're definitely Heroes' Junior Varsity team. But now that it all depends upon Mohinder? It was nice while it lasted, Hiro. Sorry about that.

Fun with Twitter: I've been following as many cast members as I can find. Grunberg pretty much spams Twitter with eight billion tweets a day, usually churning out huge clumps in rapid succession. That cute Brea Grant--Daphne--does a stellar job of posting frequent lively updates. Pasdar is too cool to tweet: his Twitter is 100% empty. And James Kyson Lee's Twitter is a perfect Zen koan: he has a single entry, in which he optimistically tweets, "just discovered the world of twitter...there is no turning back" -- and then he never posted again.

If I ever write an unauthorized biography of Adrian Pasdar (more merchandising opportunities!), I shall entitle it Too Cool to Tweet.
Morgan Dodge said…
Cathinder (Mo-cat? Kitty-Mo? Moitty?) anyway, he's currently in his lab stroking his whiskers thoughtfully.

Brea Grant also, it would appear, actually answers her own email, which... just crazy. I have as yet been unable to get any sort of reply about Skulky and his super-star status. She may not be taking my inquiry seriously. I'm not sure why.

Don't you think that Kitty-mo would get along wonderfully with Skulky? (As long as Mohinder stays away from him with those wacky syringes he's always doing something questionable with.)
Ingrid Richter said…
James Kyson Lee also has a blog over at Alive Not Dead, a Hong Kong film site. Not much in the way of updates, but you can watch him skydive indoors (and really, that's all a blog needs).

I like Cathinder, although I'd suspect that he'd wolf down the lizard named Mohinder in two swift bites. Skulky would take a bit more time...
Morgan Richter said…
I imagine Brea Grant will soon learn a cold, hard lesson about the value of keeping her fanbase at arm's length. Just a few more queries about Skulky the Turtle Wonder, and it'll send her over the edge.

I was up at The Grove yesterday, and there was a new kiosk touting indoor skydiving as a perfect Christmas present. I'd never heard of such a thing. Good to hear that James Kyson Lee is one step ahead of the trend. Though seriously... indoor skydiving? (Ingrid, if you're still looking for my gift, I'd much rather have those Trapeze School lessons, if it's all the same.)

I'm sure KittyMo and Skulky would become fast friends. Cats and turtles are natural allies, you know. Scientific fact. Or not. While we're all busy fetishizing KittyMo, however, we should take into consideration that cats often do fairly disgusting things (if my own graceful and dignified cat is any indication). I don't really want to see Mohinder, say, pulling used Q-tips out of the garbage to chew on them, or rolling around on smashed crickets.
Morgan Dodge said…
Girl-Morgan, just think what Cathinder would hide under your living room rug. The possibilities are endless... and alarming. Also, hairballs.
Morgan Richter said…
I see "Cathinder" and read "catheter". Which is just not a good mental association. I'm going to stick with calling him Cat-Mohinder or KittyMo.

It's all fun and games with Cat-Mohinder until he barfs up a hairball on the sofa.
Lou said…
Ah the up and downs of KittyMo (gotta agree on the Cathinder - catheter thing). What an adventure that would be to watch. Hairballs aside.

Skydiving indoors is a very bizarre concept. And not exactly comfortable for a woman according to my friend Amanda. I’d stick with trapeze if I were you.

Ahh the fun of Twitter. Grunny has been twittering for a few weeks now about trying to recruit Jack and Sendhil. Honestly he’s have more luck teaching a dead dog new tricks, but bravo for his efforts. Brea is very brave to answer her own email.

And finally, a weekend gift for you all. As it’s that time of year... Wrong but so right
Ingrid Richter said…
Oh, Lou, that is so very, very wrong (and funny as hell). I like Sylar concentrating *hard* on his elf dance moves.

No one thinks I do any work at work. Wonder why?
Ingrid Richter said…
Oo! I wonder if there's any way we can get the Heroes writers to read this Wired article:

An Injection of Hard Science Boosts the Prognosis for TV Shows

Heroes has some of the worst science on TV...
Morgan Richter said…
Heroes has some of the worst science on TV...

Nonsense. I believe it's a well-documented scientific fact that eclipses give (and remove!) super-powers... No. I give up. I can't even pretend to support that line of reasoning. Yeah, the science is atrocious. On the plus side, the science is so atrocious that it's actually funny. Seriously, curing the mutated Shanti virus by mixing Mo's blood with Claire's blood? That's comedy gold!

Oh, Lou, Lou, Lou... Christmas came a little bit early this year. That's simultaneously awesome and horrific. Thank you.
Anonymous said…
It's all fun and games with Cat-Mohinder until he barfs up a hairball on the sofa.

Morgan, I think you're forgetting the most important aspect of Cat-Mohinder's physiology. Purring. When. Stroked.

And finally, a weekend gift for you all. As it’s that time of year... Wrong but so right

Lou! That was epic! Wow! I watched it twice! But then I'm a fan of JibJab anyway.

What would the cast members of Heroes think of us if they ever came across this blog (besides the fact that we're insane)?
Morgan Richter said…
Purring. When. Stroked.

You're so very right, Josh. Here I've been focusing on hairballs and other ick, and I've been neglecting one of the key perks of Cat-Mohinder.

What would the cast members of Heroes think of us if they ever came across this blog (besides the fact that we're insane)?

I'm going to go with "flattered, but wary." Or possibly "amused, but a little creeped out." At least that's my guess with Sendhil. Pasdar would glance at it briefly, shrug, then go back to being cool. Grunberg would spam my comments. And Masi Oka would glumly wonder why we've never discussed making cookies that smell like his hair.
Anonymous said…
I imagine Oka's hair smells faintly of hot and sour soup. Or comic book ink. Or both.
< / stereotype >


I wonder what Ali Larter's hair smells like. I'm going to go with Juniper and Lilac at night.
Morgan Richter said…
I'm sure Masi's hair smells very nice (oh, let's say... spearmint and apples). And I'd guess Larter's hair smells like really expensive shampoo, probably one that coordinates with her sophisticated-yet-approachable perfume. Both of them have fine, fine heads of hair, but it's hard to compete with Sendhil's wild, lustrous curls. Though, seriously, they're using waaaaaaaay too much product in Mo's hair this season. Episode before last, during his fight with Flint, the front of his hair flipped over to the other side of his head... and just stayed there, immobile, in one big clump, for the rest of the scene. That's a sign that it's time to ease up on the Dippity-Do.
Ingrid Richter said…
New Heroes tonight (season finale)! Any predictions for the outcome of the "Villains" plotlines?
Morgan Richter said…
As far as predictions go...

1. They just have to return Mohinder to normal, right? Right? Please?

2. The likelihood of leaving Hiro dangling from a flagpole sixteen years in the past seems slim, so he'll be rescued, most likely through Ando's thoroughly preposterous scheme to give himself powers.

3. Claire will wear too much lipgloss.

4. I will continue to care less than I should about whatever Nathan and Tracy are up to at Pinehearst.

5. Sylar will stay evil. Or turn good again. Or something.
Ingrid Richter said…
I completely agree, but wouldn't it be just like the Heroes writing staff to do the exact opposite?

1) Mohinder gets more and more grotesque, eventually culminating in the creature we saw in the future..

2) Hiro stays stranded in the past, stuck to the pole. Eventually his arms give out and he plummets to his death. Ando never finds out.

3) Claire decides to shun make-up entirely and return to her natural hair color.

4) Tracy and Nathan amp up the sex and violence and become a flirty, nasty dynamic duo.

5) Sylar shows clarity and strength of purpose in everything he does.
Morgan Dodge said…
Rather than running with any wild predictions I'm going to smile and nod politely. Fingers crossed, however, that it's totally turticular.
Anonymous said…
I'm with Boy-Morgan on this one, and will respectfully abstain from making predictions. However, I do request that Girl-Morgan stay up all night writing her analysis.
Dan said…
Okay. I know you've all moved onto the next episode, but I've only just finished this one (I'll be caught up by tonight) and don't want to be spoiled.

But (and apologies if this has already been discussed and clarified amid the Mohinder-Cat explorations) did anybody ever explain why Sylar could stop a bullet in mid-air with the Haitian standing right there?

Sure, they made a big deal of the Haitian struggling to stop Arthur's powers, but, unless I'm badly misremembering, weren't the Haitian's powers always kinda passive, yet all-encompassing? ie, he just stood there and everybody in the immediate vicinity stopped being able to do stuff.

This whole 'I can't hold the powers back' nonsense doesn't sound very Haitian-like to me. It's not as if he's shooting out rays of anti-power from his fingertips. He just emanates the stuff, like cheap cologne.

Surely the Heroes writers wouldn't just change the rules of a character's abilities to make a plot point work, would they?
Morgan Richter said…
apologies if this has already been discussed and clarified amid the Mohinder-Cat explorations

All the secrets of the universe are hidden within the Mohinder-Cat explorations. It just requires close reading.

did anybody ever explain why Sylar could stop a bullet in mid-air with the Haitian standing right there?

The writers changed the rules of the Haitian's abilities to make a plot point work.

Surely the Heroes writers wouldn't just change the rules of a character's abilities to make a plot point work, would they?

Never. Perish the thought!

Good to have you back, Dan.
Dan said…
Oh, excellent. Just as long as there was a reasonable explanation.

See you over in the new thread shortly.