So it turns out Hiro really didn’t kill Ando. Yeah, see, he didn’t really slaughter his best friend in cold blood without provocation. It was all a trick to get in good with Daphne and Knox. Boy, I bet nobody saw that coming. Yeah, instead he stopped time, teleported to a magic shop, picked up a collapsible sword and some fake blood, then traveled back in time and explained the plan to Ando, who then played along and only pretended to die. Convinced of Hiro’s loyalty, Knox leaves with Adam, while Daphne gives Hiro an assignment to go to Africa to retrieve Usutu for Pinehearst.Knox takes Adam to the Pinehearst facility to see the hospitalized Arthur Petrelli. Arthur sucks out Adam’s power of immortality, and Adam disintegrates into a crumbling pile of dust. So long, Adam Monroe! Kind of weird how they dug you up from your grave just so you could be killed off for good two episodes later, but heck, you’ll probably pop up again at some point, given the amazing rate at which characters return to life on this show. I’m still waiting for Isaac Mendez to come back demanding to know why some crazy bug-man is squatting in his studio. After Arthur absorbs Adam’s power, he unhooks his breathing tube and sits up in his hospital bed.
Meredith is in the clutches of Eric Doyle, who can control her actions like a puppet. Crackerjack rescue team Claire and Sandra Bennet track her down to Doyle’s lair--a creepy puppet theater--but promptly get captured themselves. The episode grinds to a halt for some more Bennet inter-familial domestic tension when Doyle, who wins my heart just a tiny little bit for calling Claire “Barbie”, forces Claire, Meredith and Sandra to play Russian roulette. Sandra shoots and kills Claire, then Claire resurrects and gets the jump on Doyle.
Daphne argues with Linderman--or, rather, with Maury Parkman’s psychic projection of Linderman--at JFK. Upset about forcing sweet-natured Hiro to murder Ando, she wants to stop recruiting for Pinehearst. Linderman talks her out of it with veiled threats about her past. He leaves her so she can intercept Matt, who is arriving on a flight from Africa. Daphne greets Matt and gives him the Pinehearst sales pitch. Matt cheerfully tells her she’s his future soul mate. Daphne is unconvinced, yet intrigued.
Hiro and Ando teleport to Usutu’s hut in Africa. There then ensues a whole bunch of whimsy involving prophetic paintings and misuse of time-traveling abilities and Hiro getting whacked over the head multiple times with a shovel and Usutu being smarter than Hiro and Ando combined. Which, perhaps, isn’t much to brag about. Daphne bursts into Sylar’s cell on Level Five to free him so he can work for Pinehearst. When Sylar refuses to go with her, Daphne breaks out some evil dude from the earlier bank robbery, whose name I can’t be bothered to look up, and leaves with him instead.
Nathan and Tracy show up at Mohinder’s laboratory of horrors to ask him for help removing Tracy’s deadly ability. Despite the general state of decay and the tinfoil covering the windows and the people stuck to the walls inside cocoons, it takes Nathan and Tracy far too long to realize Mohinder is turning into a crazy bug-man, thus giving him ample time to knock them out and prepare to perform diabolical experiments on them. I’ll say this for Mo: when he decides to turn evil, he doesn’t muck about. While he’s in the middle of this, Daphne drops by to give him the Pinehearst sales pitch as well. Because it wouldn’t be Heroes without Mohinder charging full steam ahead into half-assed alliances with shady characters, he’ll probably take her up on her offer. After Daphne leaves, Tracy attacks Mohinder with her freezing power and rescues Nathan.
Fed up by her day of recruiting creepy losers, Daphne returns to Matt and tells him he’s too nice to join Pinehearst. Matt explains about his vision of her dying in the future and offers to protect her, but Daphne zips off.
Sylar rouses Peter from his coma and asks for his help figuring out why Angela is stuck in a trance. At Sylar’s urging, Peter reads Angela’s mind and sees the Pinehearst logo, which Sylar recognizes from the business card Daphne left with him. For no reason other than to compensate for all the tedious Bennet family drama to which we’ve recently been subjected, Sylar and Peter have a big, cool, goofy, super-powered, balls-out fight. When hurling bolts of lightning at Sylar proves ineffective, Peter punches him in the face a bunch of times and emerges triumphant. He scoots off to Pinehearst and confronts his presumed-dead father.
Arthur greets his son with a big hug… and sucks all his powers out of him.
Comments
First, the ability to steal the abilities of others is played out. Let's just give it to everybody! Maybe the third blond triplet what's-her-name can steal abilities too! Maybe Mohinder will turn into a giant ability-stealing spider! Maybe real life politicians can make SNL style appearances and have the ability to steal abilities too!
Second, you get up way too early.
At this point, I'm thinking everyone should get their powers sucked away and start fresh. I know you haven't seen the episode yet, but when Sylar and Peter duke it out, despite their myriad abilities, they end up just punching each other in the face a lot. It was oddly satisfying.
Secondly I too found it gratifying to see Peter and Sylar punching each other in the face. That wasn't a half bad little spat the two had.
But best of all? Mr. Turtle in the airport! I wonder what his super power is?
Perhaps Mattel will come out with a Claire-Bear Barbie in time for Christmas.
Peter and Sylar should get into a fistfight every episode, as far as I'm concerned. That was awesome.
Still, once again, Boy-Morgan and I are in agreement. The ability to shut Claire-Bear-Barbie up with a pinch of the fingers? I bet that's the one Pinehearst has their best scientists on (ie the ones who are not turning into cockroaches).
Also, why is Claire-Bear-Barbie still pissed at HRG? Wasn't she pissed last week because he was working with Sylar? And then didn't he prove that he was only doing that to try and kill him? And now he's back without him? (Speaking of which, how many partners has HRG had?? Haitian, Invisible Dude, Sylar, Fire Mom... any others?)
My point, I guess. Is 'being pissed at HRG' now Claire-Bear-Barbie's default emotional position?
And, ahem. I believe that Usutu is in fact smarter than two Hiros and an Ando combined. Still nothing to brag about, but marginally more intimidating...
And you just try ignoring Skulky The Turtle Wonder when he's revealed to be the mastermind behind Father Petrelli (who is the mastermind behind Maury Parkman who is the mastermind behind Ghost Lindeman who is the mastermind behind Nathan Petrelli who...)
HRG was briefly partnered with Candice in season one, too, right before he went renegade. I hear ominous rumors (spoiler!) about an upcoming flashback episode wherein we discover HRG was once partnered with crazy ol' Elle. He does cut a wide swath.
I really, really wanted to warn Matt that the "I'm your future soul mate, and I know it's true because some guy painted a picture on a rock of you having my babies" approach probably wouldn't fly with Daphne. It comes across a little, as Daphne aptly put it, stalkery.
Fair warning: for every mention of Skulky The Turtle Wonder, I will make a wholly gratuitous reference to Mohinder's phenomenal bone structure and/or his dazzling smile. Mentions of Mr. Muggles will result in hyperbolic speculation on what Mohinder's hair smells like. I'm just saying.
Also, because I love hearing about Mohinder's phenomenal bone structure, perhaps Matt never existed and is, and always has been, a psychic projection of the turtle?
I will forgive the Bennet family everything if there's an upcoming scene involving a puppet show at Lyle's birthday party.
Oooo. Ingrid, I like your idea about Matt being a psychic projection of Skulky. This is perhaps the only way I will wholeheartedly embrace a turtlecentric plotline.
And Ingrid's also right on the Eric Doyle front. If I had an awesome tricked-out creepy puppeteer house, and the Bennets came a-knockin', I'd be pretty surly and up for some mind-controlled Russian Roulette too.
PS My money's on Sylar in next week's fraternal fistfight.
Between Doyle this episode and Bubbles last week, I do sort of wonder about these super-powered criminals who escape from the ultra-secret ultra-high security Level Five... and return to their homes. Because no one will ever think of looking for them there. Still, I guess if I had an awesome tricked-out creepy puppeteer house, I wouldn't want to just abandon it, either.
The roulette segment ended with a very poor sendup of an ABC After School Special. I half expected to hear the studio audience say "Aw!" Ugh.
I'm more impressed with Sylar's sentimentality (mom says it's who you are on the inside that matters, not some dumb old body count!) than any sap coming from clan HRG.
But it's okay, since I got an inordinate amount of joy from seeing Hiro get repeatedly whacked with a shovel.
But wow what a villain Pa Petrelli is turning out to be, huh? Now THAT'S a criminal mastermind! Come give your father a hug, so that I may steal all of your mojo. Eat your heart out, Dr. Evil!
And between them, they produced two sneaky, ruthless and awesome sons: Sylar and Nathan. I'm not sure how to account for sweet, dippy Peter, though. Perhaps it'll turn out he's adopted.
Of course, now that we've seen Papa Petrelli's power, it's safe to assume the two of them have just inherited variations of it, rather than sharing the power because of the shared womb.
None of this explains why Hunger-Less (Satiated?) Peter is so severely lacking in evil, though.
Speaking of twins, evil or otherwise, how much do you want to bet when triplet "Barbara" finally makes an appearance, she'll be indistinguishable from Niki, Tracy, Jessica, Gina, or any other character Ali Larter has played on the show? Larter's doing a fine job with the material, but it seems to me if you're going to make one actress play multiple characters and/or personalities, you should try to differentiate between the characters. At the very least, make her throw on a brunette wig when she's playing Tracy or something.
I'd suggest an ominous facial scar, but they've proven that to be Peter's shtick.
That only leaves us with one option... accessories! (I bet you thought I was going to say pet turtle.)
I'm not saying this surprises me. Just pointing it out.
I've long ago stopped trying to view Mohinder's actions through any sort of logical filter. I just sit back and admire the bone structure. It's easier that way.