Heroes Volume Five, Chapter Six: Tabula Rasa

Hiro wakes and finds himself in a hospital bed with Peter sitting at his side. They discuss Hiro’s brain tumor. Is this the first time it’s been explicitly referred to as a tumor? I think it is, right? Up until now, it’s just been kind of this nonspecific though fatal medical condition. Peter draws upon his hospice-nurse training and says he’s going to ease Hiro through the “transition”, i.e. his looming death. Hiro thinks destiny has brought him to Peter to fix a problem in Peter’s life; Peter asks him to consider the possibility that it’s the other way around. Maybe Hiro teleported to Peter so Peter could find some way to heal him. He absorbs Hiro’s teleportation power and takes off. Peter runs into a distraught Emma in the hallway, who asks him if he sent a cello -- the cello she was playing at the end of last episode -- to her apartment. Peter seems confused by this, but he doesn’t have time to discuss it. He advises Emma to talk to Hiro about her abilities.

Claire shows up at Noah’s apartment, tells him it’s laundry day, and asks him for quarters. Well, that’s a little confusing: Is she going to do his laundry? Did she haul her own laundry there with the intention of using a Laundromat near her father's place instead of the one in her dormitory? Do Claire and Noah have a standing father-daughter laundry appointment? Or did she just stop by to steal some quarters so she could do her own laundry back on campus? The mystery will remain forever unsolved, because they’re interrupted by a noise somewhere in the apartment. Noah draws his gun and goes to investigate, but it’s just stupid old Peter, who has mistakenly teleported into the bathroom.

When Peter tells them he’s looking for a healer, Claire immediately volunteers her Magic Blood™. Well, hallelujah, the continuity fairies finally decided to pay this season a long-overdue visit! (Also: Good for you, Claire, trying to be helpful and proactive for once! Isn’t that better than grousing about how you just want to have a normal life?) Noah ruins things by pointing out that Hiro’s tumor is living tissue and thus Claire’s blood would make it worse, which sort of directly contradicts everything we’ve ever learned about Magic Blood™ thus far, but hell, I’ll give this episode a point for effort anyway. (This is a valuable lesson, Heroes: See how much more generous I get when you actually sort of try to take a stab at maybe, like, incorporating past events into the current plot?) Noah comes up with the name of a young boy with a healing ability whom he had investigated during his days with the Company: Jeremy Greer, who lives in Georgia. Noah and Peter teleport off, leaving Claire by herself.

At Jeremy’s house, they find dead birds in a cage by the door and Jeremy’s parents dead in the living room. Noah brings up an example of a case in China where a healer’s power manifested into something deadly. From upstairs, Jeremy opens fire on Peter and Noah with a shotgun and orders them to get away from him. Noah tries to reason with Jeremy while Peter sneaks out and tries to find a way in through the back. Jeremy insists he killed his parents accidentally, when his healing ability went awry. When Peter bursts in, Jeremy fires the shotgun. Peter stops time, but still manages to get shot. When time resumes, he collapses to the floor, hemorrhaging blood. Noah talks a distraught Jeremy through the process of healing Peter, and seems greatly relieved when Peter returns to life. You know one nice thing about this episode? Hiro and Peter, Peter and Noah, Claire and Peter… the characters are actually sort of believably interacting with each other, like they’re aware of their mutual history, instead of acting weird and distant like they have for most of this season thus far.

Noah confirms that Peter took Jeremy’s ability, then gives him the keys to a truck and sends him back to New York to heal Hiro. Noah calls the police, telling Jeremy he’s made it look like his parents died of carbon monoxide poisoning and that Jeremy can say he came home from school and discovered their bodies. Which, considering his parents were already in an advanced state of decomposition, is going to be sort of a nice trick, but Noah seems confident they can pull this off. He promises to stick around until he’s made sure things will be okay for Jeremy. He tells him, “It used to be my job to watch over people like you.” Er… when was this, Noah? This was obviously sometime before you ever started working for the Company, because we saw all those flashbacks to what you were up to circa “Company Man”, and Noah, you’re kidding yourself if you ever thought you were helping people. See, this is vaguely insulting, the way they’ve been whitewashing Noah’s past actions and his character (Sylar’s, too, to an even greater extent). Viewers have long memories.

At the hospital, Emma knocks on Hiro’s door and introduces herself. She has trouble reading his lips, what with his accent and his tendency to lapse into Japanese, but she eventually gets it across that she wants to know how to make her power stop. Hiro tells her that abilities are a gift. Hiro, lugging his IV behind him, trails Emma around for a while, filling her in on his powers. He sees a flyer for a hospital talent show and soon enough, Emma finds an announcement for a performance by “Hiro the Magnificent.” When she goes to investigate, she sees Hiro entertaining a group of patients with an impromptu magic show. He introduces her as “Emma the Also Magnificent”, then covers her with a sheet and encourages everyone to applaud. He stops time and shows Emma the colorful lights created by the noise from the applause. He informs her, “There are no bad powers,” which… I think poor Maya might have a word or two to say about that.

Emma hides at the back of the room. When Hiro resumes time, it looks like she’s disappeared. She reappears to more applause, and for the first time we see sullen Emma being rather charming and likeable. He discusses his terminal illness with her, which brings up memories of waitress Charlie and the way she cheerfully faced her own brain tumor. Hiro realizes he left Charlie off of his list of the wrongs he needs to fix before he dies.

Later, Emma finds a piano and starts to play. Okay, no, we’ve already had one interminable piano-playing scene and one interminable cello-playing scene thus far this season. This must stop. It’s filler, and the music itself is sort of atonal and unpleasant, and the special effect of the dancing lights isn’t striking enough to watch it for several minutes every episode. Tighten the scripts, and lose these musical interludes. Hiro wanders out of his room to investigate the music. Emma orders him back to bed, but he teleports off without warning. When Peter returns, Emma fills him in on Hiro’s latest disappearance. Peter sees “Save Charlie” scrawled on a scrap of paper.

Hiro reappears three years in the past, at the Burnt Toast Diner in Texas, and spots Charlie.

Lydia and Samuel, who are very aware of their new guest’s true identity, discuss what to do with him. Samuel tells Sylar he believes he’s been damaged and has come to them to heal. When Samuel addresses him by his chosen name, a bewildered Sylar mentions that the police told him his name was Gabriel. Samuel says he’ll call him by the first name that pops into his head. Sylar replies, “Nathan,” which kind of flummoxes Samuel.

Samuel explains that everyone in the carnival is special -- by way of illustration, a man named Teddy demonstrates how he can make objects disappear and reappear at will. Samuel asks Lydia to show Sylar around. When Sylar and Lydia shake hands, Sylar flashes on a memory of… shaking hands. A lot of hands. “Like a politician,” Sylar suggests helpfully.

Samuel, concerned that the wrong memories seem to be returning, decides to jump-start the real Sylar. This is an excellent idea. In fact, that’s the best idea anyone on this show has had in too many episodes to count. Samuel, you get a cookie. He asks Edgar to deliver free carnival tickets to Officer Ernie Hudson. Yeah, well, having Sylar kill a cop on carnival grounds is actually sort of a crappy idea. I’m taking the cookie back.

During morning chores, Edgar sees Lydia cozying up to Sylar. Edgar introduces himself to Sylar and tells him he’s heard about this whole business with stealing powers. This confuses Sylar to no end. Edgar hurls a whole bunch of knives at Sylar, lickety-split, but Sylar telekinetically hurls them back at Edgar, then dunks him in a wheelbarrow of wet cement for good measure. Wet cement? Really? By the end of the season, someone’s going to drop a piano on Edgar, right?

Samuel introduces Sylar to a man named Damien, whom Samuel claims can restore his true memories. Damien leads Sylar through the House of Mirrors. There’s always a House of Mirrors, isn’t there? This is a Hardy Boys episode waiting to happen. Damien does a Vulcan mind-meld on Sylar, and soon Sylar’s visited by an apparition of his dead mother, Virginia. He sees himself killing her, then sees a montage of all his past murders. Sylar freaks out and begs Damien to make the visions stop. You know who I miss? (Yes, yes, Mohinder, I miss Mohinder. I thought that went without saying.) I miss Season One Sylar. The crazy, arrogant, invincible Sylar. If Season One Sylar had amnesia and then was presented with a montage of all his past evils, I feel pretty sure he would have nodded sagely and replied, “Yep, that looks about right. Cool.”

Later, Samuel finds a distraught Sylar, who can’t believe he committed all those murders. Samuel tells him to use his gifts to command fear. Wait a minute -- I’m starting to suspect this Samuel fellow might be a bad influence. And he seems so nice! Samuel mentions that Officer Ernie Hudson has arrived at the carnival, then sort of delicately implies that maybe it’d be a good idea for Sylar to, like, kill him or something. He tells him Officer Ernie is waiting in the House of Mirrors. Of course he is.

Sylar wanders through the House of Mirrors again. Yes, he was just there. I know from years of quality television viewing that anything of significance that happens at a carnival must, by carnival law, take place in the House of Mirrors, but this seems a bit redundant. Maybe they could have staged their big showdown at, I don’t know, the top of a stalled Ferris wheel or something. Sylar advises Officer Ernie to leave. Officer Ernie shoots him, but Sylar stops the bullet and zaps him with blue electricity. He seems like he’s about to kill him… but then he pauses. Edgar bursts in and slices Officer Ernie to bits.

Samuel hugs Sylar and tells him he’s safe. He baptizes Sylar by dousing him in water and welcomes him to the family. The carnival folk throw a big party, where Sylar and Lydia drink wine together while Edgar throws knives and sulks. At a knowing glance from Samuel, Lydia hauls Sylar to his feet and strolls off with him, hand in hand.

Comments

Patrick said…
I think Noah loves the new family arrangement - no wife, no annoying son to be ignored - just him and Claire doing laundry together and helping the world one spin at a time.
Anonymous said…
Peter with a healing touch makes me apprehensive. I hope he trades it for something else as soon as possible, this ability turning wrong in his hands has a potential for disaster.

Still no information about Samuel's plans. I kind of like Samuel, but I kind of liked failed villain Arthur Petrelli in the beginning too.

I miss Season One Sylar. The crazy, arrogant, invincible Sylar.

Me too. Actually, I'm more looking forward to him in Hiro's attempt to save Charlie, than to Hiro & Charlie :)
levitatethis said…
I miss Season One Sylar. The crazy, arrogant, invincible Sylar. If Season One Sylar had amnesia and then was presented with a montage of all his past evils, I feel pretty sure he would have nodded sagely and replied, “Yep, that looks about right. Cool.”

I thought the same thing while watching Sylar's storyline last night. I miss his dark, accepted craziness from season 1 when he easily justified to himself (after a momentary crisis of faith -- forgive me) that killing others was part of evolutions grand scheme, with him at the forefront as the best of the best. That Sylar with amnesia would have been interesting and more disturbing, particularly if his reaction to those flashes of his past handiwork was all, "what's the big deal?"

I wasn't expecting him to flash on Mohinder, but not even a flash of killing Chandra? Was there one (I don't think so) of him killing Brian Davis? Wouldn't those have been incredibly significant moments alongside Virgina's death? I'm telling you, the only reason they had him rememember Charlie was to set us up for the next episode. There's no way I belive the writers would have included her otherwise. But I have to thank them for rubbing my face in Elle.

I hate emo!Sylar. He pisses me off. Also I like the way the show made sure to remind us that he is STRAIGHT. Just so you know, he may have chemistry with the guys, but he's all about the ladies (I'm willing to write it off to Lydia showing him kind attention and him being drawn to that...but I still think the show's primary motive is to make him a roguish romantic hero which I despise.

I have nothing to say about Emma's storyline except enough with the Skittle musical interludes. I get it. Also, why was everyone applauding her piano tinkling at the end? It wasn't that notable.

I agree that it was nice to see a mention of Clarie's Magical Blood. It's not a past storyline I like but I'll give credit for them at least acknowledging it. Of course it all balances out by Bennet having the nerve to say he used to help Special people. In what universe?

Hiro still feels like comic relief...but I agree it was nice to see the old characters interact like they actually knew of their history together.

I still find myself liking Samuel and Edgar (and Lydia to a degree unless she falls for Sylar) but I'm sure the writers will screw that up soon enough.

Nice to see you managed to find a way to include Mohinder in the episode. There were a handful of moments last night where I thought someone would at least mention that Mohinder might be able to help. Whatever.

As for next week's "killings in the sorority house" (how very original), this show can bite me.
Morgan Richter said…
Laundry time with Noah and Claire. By the way this season has been frantically padding out episodes, I'm surprised (and relieved) we didn't get a long scene of the two of them hanging out in a laundromat, squabbling about how Noah just wants to protect her.

It has been a long, unpleasant journey from Sylar, the batshit crazy and unstoppable serial killer who quite possibly eats brains to Sylar, the gentle flower and damaged soul who is irresistable to the ladyfolk and who just tries to do the right thing, but dammit, circumstances and evil carnies keep dragging him back under.

Still, as averys points out, with Hiro going back in time to save Charlie, we're guaranteed to at least have an encounter with the original bloodthirsty version of Sylar. There are possibilities there (yes, possibilities which will likely be squandered and/or botched).

There was the moment in the hospital where the nurse (doctor?) orders Hiro to get back in bed, in the most condescending way possible, and Hiro replies, "I am not a pet!" No, he's not, and wouldn't it be nice if the show remembered that more often instead of treating him as an adorable mascot/ball of irrepressible zaniness?
levitatethis said…
I'm surprised (and relieved) we didn't get a long scene of the two of them hanging out in a laundromat, squabbling about how Noah just wants to protect her.

I thought that's what we were going to get too and I was looking for a magazine to flip through for when those scenes came up. Thankfully it didn't happen.

I just feel like I can't trust this show to stick with showing us the Sylar we first knew in season 1. I hope to hell I'm wrong because it would be fantastic to see his return...
Morgan Richter said…
Yeah. If we go back to the Texas diner and re-encounter Sylar just before he kills Charlie, and if it turns out he's the sensitive, damaged, emo Sylar instead of the crazy and evil old-school Sylar, that might be the final straw. Looks like that'll be the episode after next, which will also be the return of Our Mohinder. For many reasons, it's going to be sort of a crucial episode for me: If they botch the way Sylar is depicted, and if they don't have some cool, convincing explanation for Mohinder's absense, and if they end up damaging the events of the first season... I don't know. It's getting hard to hang in there.
Ingrid Richter said…
I'm working on this theory that Claire is completely evil and has corrupted her father into thinking he did noble, good things while working for the Company. Heck, she may have even corrupted Sylar. Evil, Claire, Evil!

Another fine review, Morgan!
Ingrid Richter said…
P.S. Hmm, I'm getting a full-color Dianetics ad at the bottom of this page. What does Google ads know about me that I don't know?
Morgan Richter said…
Maybe Claire has Eden-esque powers of persuasion: "You were a totally awesome person, dad! You helped loads of people!"

(I believe as part of my contract with Google I'm not allowed to make any explicit reference to what you mentioned there, Ingrid. Rest assured I am quietly banging my head against the wall right now.)

Ingrid pointed out something in an email just now that hadn't occurred to me while watching, but she's 100% right: Isn't the whole point of a Hall of Mirrors to have kind of like a confusing, convoluted maze of mirrors -- not a wide open space surrounded by a circle of mirrors? (Is it the Hall of Mirrors, or the Nordstrom dressing room?) Worst. Carnival. Ever.

Also, Samuel: "That cop who was chasing you showed up here, Sylar! We must keep the carnival out of trouble! Ergo, why don't you murder the cop in as bloody a way as possible on carnival grounds?"

(Also, I've been watching a lot of Psych reruns lately, and I'm kind of upset and horrified to think that Edgar just slaughtered Gus's dad. Also, on the subject of Psych, someone recently found this site while searching for "Shawn/Raj slash fiction" -- Raj being the character Sendhil played in his guest appearance -- which is one of the few times I've ever laughed out loud at something in my site statistics.)
levitatethis said…
Oooh, I like the idea of Claire being evil and convincing her dad he's an upstanding guy. I'm going to go with that theory to make her storyline more interesting.

As much as I like Samuel I can't figure out why he'd think killing Warden Glynn would be the best way to divert attention from the carnival. This is one of those illogical moments like the one you noted with the wet cement -- why the hell is there a barrel of wet cement just sitting around? Were they building something? Wouldn't the gag have worked with water or something?

Maybe the show only had enough money to put a handful of mirrors in a circle instead of having to build an actual maze? Maybe the circle is part of the actual mindtrip (as in, "isn't this supposed to be more than a room?").
Morgan Richter said…
Wet cement was lying around so Edgar could fall in it. That's about as far as the thought process goes with the show these days. Prediction: by the end of the season, Edgar will have at least four more skirmishes with Sylar, all of which will end in some improbable yet humiliating way.

(Speaking of Edgar, I've been following Ray Park's Twitter. That is one cheerful, cheerful dude. Just a matter of time before the show breaks his spirit.)

I'd like to think the dismal Hall of Mirrors was an ironic commentary on the state of the carnival, but I sort of think it's actually a non-ironic commentary on the state of Heroes.
Red Haired Stranger said…
Hmm at least this episode was better than the last two, although my nerves were starting to stretch at the introduction of Paul Bunyan!Sylar and his distinctly Peter-like tendency to trail after baddies just because he's a part of a supposed "family". Hopefully Paul Bunyan!Sylar won't be hanging around for long, what with the Psycho!Sylar still banging cheerfully around in Matt's head.

Side Note: If Mohinder's fuzzy monster of a beard and Sylar's Paul Bunyan shirt collided, that would be one awesome mountain man, pouting beautifully in the woods while telekinetically flinging axes around at squirrels. Time for that Sylinder sitcom!
Morgan Richter said…
Heh. Paul Bunyan!Sylar. I love it. Yeah, this is definitely my least favorite version of Sylar -- what's the point of draining Sylar of all traces of his original personality, then making him sort of weepy and clingy on top of that? I hope the Sylar in Matt's head is properly disgusted by this once he catches up to his old body.

I think the time is right for a Sylar-Mohinder lumberjack plotline. Mo's bright colors and patterns would clash gloriously with all that plaid.
Patrick said…
Have they got the actress who played Charlie to come back for an episode? I know from this blog that she's now on Glee so hopefully she'll turn up. Will be pretty anti-climactic if she isn't there.
levitatethis said…
PaulBunyan!Sylar -- Hah! I'm all for a lumberjack Mohinder/Sylar sitcom. That would at least put a smile on my face (and would probably be a better use of both characters).

I hope the Sylar in Matt's head goes postal. That Sylar is at least interesting. I may not agree with him but I belive that he believes his motivations.

I don't know where I saw it on livejournal but someone did their own alternate universe in which the Sylar we know from season 1 comes across the current emo!Sylar and is not only disgusted by him but yells at him for being pathetic. And Mohinder gets to go off to "Fringe" to work his magic there and be part of a team that appreciates him. The alternate-alternate ending had Mohinder and Sylar as couple discovering a whole bunch of other Sylars who Mohinder wanted to take with them but who his Sylar was immediately jealous of. It was a win situation all around.
Morgan Richter said…
Patrick -- Yep, Jayma Mays will return for an episode. And the actress who played murdered cheerleader Jackie is returning for that episode, too, and the actress who played Mohinder's ex-fiancee Mira will make an appearance on a later episode. It's volume one all over again!

I will forgive this season for a lot of ills if there's a scene in which the version of Sylar in Matt's head bawls out mopey lumberjack Sylar, once they finally meet.

And Mohinder gets to go off to "Fringe" to work his magic there and be part of a team that appreciates him.

Heh. I love it. Speaking of, if there are any Fringe-viewers here, it looks like I'll be recapping Fringe starting next month (post-World Series) over at TVgasm. Suggestions for a cute recapper nickname are welcomed.
Ingrid Richter said…
I can just see Sylar diving into a pile of flapjacks at the carnival, axe strapped to his back. It's that kind of place.

Good news about the TVgasm recaps, Morgan! What about Apocalypse Ivy for your screen name?
Morgan Richter said…
What about Apocalypse Ivy for your screen name?

I considered it, actually. At the moment I'm leaning toward "Fairchild" (geddit?). Anyway, while it's a done deal that I'll be writing for TVgasm, there hasn't been any official call on what I'll be recapping, though Fringe is looking like a likely contender at this point. I've Netflixed season one to get myself up to speed.

Hey, as long as Heroes is dragging back long-gone volume one characters, can I put in my vote for the return of Claude and/or Special Agent Audrey?
Red Haired Stranger said…
Ooo I've been missing Claude for so long, and Special Agent Audrey was one of the best written females on the show. I kind of like to think that they're off being a wacky crime-fighting duo, probably in England, Audrey shouting at various malcontents in cells while Claude stands behind her armed with a stick and an evil grin.

Or maybe Claude could whip Sylar back into shape with his wonderful, violent love. I also think Samuel meeting Claude would be a great event. Something tells me that those two would be magnificent together.

In other words, we need you back, Mr. Eccleston!
Morgan Richter said…
The show really peaked around the time Eccleston was whacking Peter with big sticks and tossing him off of buildings. I like Peter, mostly, but I tend to like him better when he's falling off rooftops or getting thrown out of windows. I'm not entirely sure why.

Audrey remains the best-developed female character on the show, and how sad is that?
levitatethis said…
I am so excited about you potentially recapping "Fringe" which is a show I really dig. I'm bummed its ratings have gone down in the second season but I blame Fox for being idiots and moving it from Tuesday to Thursday.

I agree that Audrey was one of the best written females on this show. I really liked her and feel the loss of the character all the more when looking at how a lot of the female characters have been written since. She felt very real.

Talking about her and Claude reminds me (yet again) how much I enjoyed the first season of this show.
Morgan Richter said…
I've never seen Fringe, for no good reason other than that I never figured out when it's on, but I like the concept and I like the cast, so odds are pretty good I'll be okay with it.

I loved how no-nonsense and straightforward Audrey was. Can you imagine Audrey, under any circumstances, complaining about how she just wants to lead a normal life or she just wants her old life back, a la Claire and Tracy? Competence and grit are very attractive character traits.
Dan said…
Congrats, Morgan, on the TVgasm gig. That's awesome news and well deserved.

I finally got around to watching this episode and don't have much to add other than I enjoyed Paramedic Pete's innovative ability to teleport via toilets and hope he continues to focus on the sewerage system aspects of any powers he takes in the future. Toilet humour may well be where Paramedic Pete's character's future lies. Either that or throwing himself in front of random bullets for reasons that still remain unclear to me. Double thumbs up to both ideas. Maybe next week he can get shot while sitting on the toilet and mutter something like 'I'm getting too bullet-ridden for this shit'.

Also, do you think when this current season's DVD is eventually released, they'll splice together a montage of all of Emma's musical Skittles™ sequences? I sure hope so. I'd love to just put that on an endless loop and play it all the live long day. No, wait. Not that. The other one. Kill myself.
Anonymous said…
I finally got around to watching this episode and don't have much to add other than I enjoyed Paramedic Pete's innovative ability to teleport via toilets and hope he continues to focus on the sewerage system aspects of any powers he takes in the future.

LOL!

Teleportation does seem to be connected with toilets, though. In S1, Hiro teleported into the girls' bathroom. Later on, he hid in a toilet during the shooting incident with card players. Teleportation + toilets + bullets = canon.

As for Emma, I picture her and Emo!Sylar together. He discovers Empathy, and they happily gaze at colors (Emma plays cello, Sylar plays piano, Peter is frantically looking for a toilet to teleport away).
Morgan Richter said…
It seems to be an unspoken rule with Heroes that whoever has teleportation power must use it in a zany manner. If it's not Hiro, it's Peter.

You remember when The Phantom Edit surfaced a few years back, the fan-edited version of Phantom Menace where all the Jar-Jar crap and most cringe-worthy moments had been simply sliced out of the movie, leaving a much slicker end product? I'm going to do that with this volume of Heroes. I'm going to slice out all the scenes where Emma is marveling at colorful lights while playing the piano and/or cello (that's a good twenty minutes right there). I'm going to slice out any scene where Claire does some mundane college activity (playing Guitar Hero, flunking an algebra placement test) that doesn't further the overall plot in any way (that's got to be about an hour right there). I'm going to cut out any scene we've already seen in a previous episode (HRG: "I only want to protect you, Claire-Bear!" Claire: "I just want to lead a normal life!"). Then I'm going to grab Sendhil and a camera, and we're going to shoot some totally awesome plot that reveals what Mohinder has been up to during this time (still not sure what that would be -- I'm kind of thinking he's been undercover as a tennis instructor at a country club, just so he can run around in little white shorts and knee socks), and we're going to slice that into the episodes to get them back up to full running length.

As for Emma, I picture her and Emo!Sylar together. He discovers Empathy, and they happily gaze at colors (Emma plays cello, Sylar plays piano, Peter is frantically looking for a toilet to teleport away).

Ha! I love it! Emo!Sylar can weep softly whilst looking at Emma's dancing lights, then claim he never realized the world had so much beauty and wonder in it. And Sylar will be cured of all evil by the restorative power of Emma's Love, and Emma will come out of her shell, and they'll play a piano duet together that will last for eighty-seven minutes.
Anonymous said…
And Sylar will be cured of all evil by the restorative power of Emma's Love, and Emma will come out of her shell, and they'll play a piano duet together that will last for eighty-seven minutes.

Add Mohinder quietly singing something in Hindi, and you have a solid two-hour finale. If there'll be another season, this episode should end with Mohinder throwing the piano out the window (too much beauty is kinda stressful). Then a couple of seconds of shocked-looking HRG on the street, and you've got a nice cliffhanger.
Morgan Richter said…
If this season manages to work in a scene where Mohinder throws Emma's piano out a window, I will forgive it for almost everything.

(Just remembered: I had a dream last night where I was watching an episode of Heroes, in which all kinds of great cataclysmic things were happening (explosions, fires, mayhem), and Sylar and Mohinder were yelling at each other, and then Mohinder grabbed Sylar and made out with him, totally out of nowhere. And I remember thinking very clearly in my dream, "Wow, I have been waaaaay too hard on this season!" Then, sadly, I woke up. As far as wholly gratuitous wish-fulfillment dreams go, it comes in second only to the one where I was working in a soup kitchen with Orlando Bloom.)
Anonymous said…
I had a dream last night where I was watching an episode of Heroes, in which all kinds of great cataclysmic things were happening (explosions, fires, mayhem), and Sylar and Mohinder were yelling at each other, and then Mohinder grabbed Sylar and made out with him, totally out of nowhere.

Oh, I love wish-fulfillment dreams! My favorite was Lucius Malfoy giving a group of tourists a tour of the Malfoy Manor.
Making out seems logical in the situation from your dream; if the world is crashing down, why waste precious little time left?

Speaking of logic:
HRG's laundry mystery has been bothering me all week. I think I've figured out why Claire has to do it. In the beginning of the season, HRG burned his microwave oven, thus demonstrating inability to cope with the simplest household appliances. S4 DVD will probably contain cut scenes with HRG and his iron (another fire), washer (epic flood), hairdryer (electric shock). Asking Claire to do his laundry is perfectly logical. It's consistent, subtle writing. Nothing says "normal life" like doing laundry.
Morgan Richter said…
Heh. Even in my dream, I remember thinking, "Wow, Mohinder making out with Sylar seems really under-motivated and contrived." And yet, it didn't seem to matter.

Asking Claire to do his laundry is perfectly logical. It's consistent, subtle writing. Nothing says "normal life" like doing laundry.

I thought for sure we were going to get scenes of Claire and HRG doing laundry, washing the dishes, doing a little light dusting, de-grouting the bathtub, maybe going through the classified ads together, maybe acting out another mock job interview. Because that's exactly why people watch Heroes: To see people hanging out.