Heroes – “The Hard Part” airdate 05/07/07

I’m not going to mince words here: this was a bit of a letdown after last week. Also, maybe I’m forgetting details from earlier this season, but it seems like there are some gaps and jumps in what we know/are told in this episode. Ah well.

Hiro and Ando are in present-day NYC and prepare to track down Sylar. They consult the comic and they decide to find Isaac so he can tell him their next steps. In the Petrelli apartment, Peter interrupts and tells Claire she needs to stay in NYC to help him not go nuclear. Claire says, “Nuclear? Like Ted?” and Peter says, “who the hell is Ted?” The man in question is buying (or maybe stealing) a car with Mr. Bennet and Matt; Ted uses his energy-hands to de-ice the car [Although it's November, I didn't think St. Louis got that much snow that early ... but I'll let it go because, as I live in Maine where we do get snow that early, I think that’s a super-excellent trick.] The three are on their way to NYC to destroy the “Walker system” which tracks the Heroes. [Wait - since when did the tracking system get a name? Obviously it must be the little girl, Molly Walker, but I don’t remember anyone referring to the tracking system that way before.] Sylar is working on his paintings in Isaac’s studio and thinks that the exploding man is he. He wigs out and calls Mohinder, saying that although killing Heroes to take their powers was okay with him, he’s troubled by the idea of killing thousands of innocents. Then, with his super-hearing, Sylar catches Mohinder tracing the call, and hangs up, cranky that Mohinder isn’t more sympathetic to his moral quandary.

In Las Vegas, DL is, understandably, very upset that a car from Linderman’s casino drove off with Micah [How does he know this? He wasn’t there.]. Jessica is strangely unconcerned about it. [This whole scene is just off.] DL decides to go after his son; Niki-in-the-mirror tells Jessica that DL will die without her help. Micah, unbeknownst to his parents, is already in NYC with Candice-as-Niki. Mohinder and Eric Roberts [I know, “Thompson”] are heading into Thompson’s NYC headquarters, and Mohinder tries to act tough, insisting that Thompson help him stop Sylar. Thompson: “So you’ve become a vigilante – it’s cute.” [Eric Roberts is SO creepy!] Thompson explains that he wants Mohinder to help little Molly Walker: she’s sick with whatever killed Mohinder’s sister, and he better help her, because she’s the only one who can stop Sylar. [It just occurred to me that cute little Molly is the girl that Matt Parkman found using his mind-reading the first time, when she was hiding under the stairs after Sylar stuck her parents to the walls using cutlery. But I don’t recall how the Linderman Group got her away from the FBI/police.] Sylar is on the phone, saying he’d like to come see someone even though it’s been a long time. When he goes to clean up, Hiro and Ando sneak into the studio, find dead Isaac, and hide.

Sylar discovers them, using his super-hearing [that’s been very handy this episode] but Hiro teleports them to safety in the nick of time [also handy]. As they follow him down the street; Ando wants Hiro to kill him now, but Hiro says it’s not time: the comic says it happens after the election. DL phases himself and Jessica into Linderman’s room – apparently, from Jessica’s reaction, that is not a pleasant experience for the uninitiated – and they find quite a lot of material on their family: photos, paintings, old report cards and immunization records. DL thinks it makes sense: Linderman was doing a science experiment with them to see if DL + Niki = child with powers. Jessica – who is, I think, speaking for the audience – says huh? how does that make sense? it’s just creepy. They discover that Micah is being held in NYC. Mohinder is taking a blood sample from Molly and she lets him know her power: she just thinks about a person and she can find them anywhere in the world. Mohinder thinks that’s very useful, but she can’t access her power while she’s sick. Inconvenient! Back in the Petrelli apartment, Nathan, Peter and Claire are discussing Ted. Peter is hopeful that Ted is the exploding man, not him; Nathan is cagey; and Claire finds out that Nathan’s power is flying, which she thinks is cool. Nathan agrees to “make some calls” and promptly weasels to Linderman that they have a problem. Yes, Nathan, the problem is your ambition getting in the way of saving the city from apocalypse. Sylar, in the meantime, has made his way to Queens to see his mom. He’s brought her a snow globe: she has a huge collection of them and it seems he brings her one from each Hero-murdering trip he takes. That’s so thoughtful.

Sylar’s mom is not only a little religious, she’s also a little odd, although I don’t think she has a power of her own. She does put a fair bit of pressure on her son, however, saying that he is special and can be so much more than a watch-repairman, “you could be President.” [Ah – that’s where he got that idea then.] Claire and Peter stop by Nathan’s office – in full pre-election frenzy – but Thompson is there, talking to Nathan, in the aftermath of Nathan’s telephone call to Linderman. Claire totally wigs when she recognizes Thompson, but Peter once again tells her that she’s part of this and he needs her to help him. As a parallel, Thompson tells Nathan that they (Linderman’s cronies) need him to allow NYC to explode. To his credit, this troubles Nathan, but he really, really wants to win this election, and it looks as though he is going to toe Linderman’s line. Micah has figured out that “Niki” is not his mom, and he tries to escape, but every door he goes through brings him back to their hotel room. Candice shows her true colors: she doesn’t change her own appearance, she can alter others’ perception of the things around them. She threatens to subject Micah to some truly horrific stuff if he doesn’t behave. Sylar gives his mom a little demonstration of his powers which is at first beautiful (he freezes water from the faucet to make the room a live-action snow globe), but the power seems to corrupt him and he ends up scaring her.

Hiro and Ando watch through the window as Sylar pleads with his mom, who has locked herself in her room, to explain to him why he would want to kill thousands of people just to prove that he is special. Ando convinces Hiro to get on with the Sylar-smiting as it’s for the greater good. When Sylar and his mom have a falling out (i.e., he accidentally stabs her with a pair of scissors), Hiro freezes time and, apologizing first, swings his sword at Sylar’s neck. For some reason, Sylar is able to break free of the freeze and grabs the sword, breaking it. Ando rushes in and Hiro teleports the two of them to safety again. Sylar, stricken, realizes he’s killed his own mother. He is not too stricken to finger-paint the NYC apocalypse in her blood. Ack.

Mohinder gives Molly a transfusion of his own blood, saying that his parents conceived him to help cure his sister; he was born too late to help her, but he can still help Molly. Peter gives Claire a gun and says she has to shoot him in the back of the head (“You know the spot.”) if he starts to go nuclear. Claire: “My destiny is not to shoot you. The universe cannot be that lame.” Nathan’s mom stops by to let him [us] know that she is in cahoots with Linderman and wants Nathan to let the city explode. Claire and Peter run into Ted, Matt and Mr. Bennet downtown. While Claire is reuniting with her dad, Ted cluelessly stands next to Peter, who starts to absorb his power. That can’t be good for anybody!