Heroes recap: “One of Us, One of Them” S3E3 (09/29/08)

Back at Level 5, Angela Petrelli tells Sylar that she gave him up for adoption and she’s sorry for it. She’s all creepily up in his face, close-talking. She calls red-shirt “Bridget” into the cell: Bridget can see the entire history of any object she touches. Angela tells Sylar that Bridget is there to “feed” Sylar and, as she walks away down the hall, we can hear Bridget’s screams echoing off the cement walls.

In Washington D.C., Tracy bemusedly plays with her new freeze power in her apartment while Nathan paces in his new office, waiting for her. He turns to find Scar-Peter behind him and plays the voicemail Jesse-Peter left for him. We segue to Jesse-Peter and his escaped Level Fivers (I like the way they play with the Peter/Jesse reflections) going into a bank - and not to make a deposit, I betcha. Jesse-Peter just stands there, useless. I can’t wait to find out what Jesse’s power is (so horrible that Mr. Bennet wouldn’t tell Claire what it was!) and, while we’re speculating, where did Jesse himself go when Peter was put in his body?

Mr. Bennet strides through Level Five, finding Angela staring into the empty cells. He tells her that he is only working with the Company to put the psychopaths back in their cells, and then he’s going back to his family. He says he wants his old partner, the Haitian, back again: “You know how it works – one of us, one of them.” Angela tells him that the Haitian is busy doing a pick-up job for her and introduces him to his new partner, Sylar. Mr. Bennet watches Sylar washing Bridget’s blood off his hands and his expression is equally horrified and schooled into blankness. Sylar turns and smirks, just ever so slightly. What the hell is Angela up to here?

Back at Claire’s house, things are a little tense with Claire’s biological mom, Meredith, hanging around. Pluswhich, Claire has decided that since her life will never be normal, she doesn’t have to go to school anymore. Meredith tries to take Claire’s side but Mrs. Bennet is having none of it, and sends her recalcitrant (but unkillable) daughter off to school. Meredith checks in with Claire outside. Claire wants to fight the bad guys and wants her bio-mom to teach her. “We’re going to play hooky today,” says Meredith.

Mr. Bennet is extremely displeased at having to partner with a psychopath to chase down the escaped psychopaths. Angela says that she is putting Sylar into play regardless of whether Bennet will help; it’s up to him whether Sylar gets some supervision or not. Now, just how is Bennet going to have any sort of control over Sylar – seems like the only person (that we know of) who might be able to rein him in would be the powers-dampening Haitian.

Hiro and Ando pop into existence in Berlin, just before Daphne arrives. She says she’s already delivered Hiro’s half of the formula to her boss and received payment for it; she’s here in Berlin to pick up the second half. She is very confident and sassy and cute. But when Daphne turns to speed away, she can’t: she’s only running real-speed (and she totally runs like a girl, btw). I think it must be the Haitian, here on Angela Petrelli’s orders! Yup, Hiro’s powers don’t work either and shortly thereafter, the Haitian strolls into the theater carrying a metal briefcase.

Nathan goes to see Tracy. She shows him the video of Niki and Nathan in Las Vegas and wants to know who the hell Niki is. Nathan’s having a hard time getting past the whole “you’re not Niki Sanders?” bit. Tracy’s found Niki’s New Orleans address and with an eye roll at the dim Petrelli, heads out to find her doppelganger. For the record, I like Tracy a whole hell of a lot more than Niki.

Back at the bank, the cops have arrived because Knox (the fear-feeder) called them: the money wasn’t the only score he’s after – he wants revenge too and he’s gaining strength from the terror emanating from the hostages. The German metal manipulating guy is ready to go but when he challenges Knox, Knox punches his fist right through the guy’s chest and into the ATM. Excellent: one less Level Five psychopath for Mr. Bennet to retrieve. Fire-starter Finn wants to know what Knox’s plan is. Knox is waiting for Bennet to show up so he can “beat his horn-rimmed glasses right into his skull. Right, Jesse?” Jesse-Peter pauses, then grins uncomfortably.

Oh dear lord: Matt Parkman’s boring-ass African spirit walk. His guide brings him to a bunch of boulders where he has painted many, many scenes from Parkman’s life … and apparently Parkman’s life only. Well, that’s a fairly limited (and stupid) power. You know what, I’m just not going to recap any more of this Parkman thread until something interesting happens. It doesn’t in this episode, I promise.

Angela approves of how Sylar looks in his new suit. He is freaked in a general sort of way, wondering if she’s really his mother. She sort of sidesteps the answer. Mr. Bennet has found the Level Fivers in their Poughkeepsie bank. Angela tells him that Peter is stuck in Jesse’s body and remarks that he doesn’t yet know what Jesse’s power is. Mr. Bennet looks resigned as he asks if his new partner is ready; Sylar actually looks a little nervous to be starting his new job.

Berlin. Hiro and Ando watch the Haitian watch a Buster Keaton movie. Daphne pops up, munching popcorn and pushing all their buttons. When the Haitian leaves the theater, the Japanese do too. The Haitian meets with a woman who hands him the formula, saying that it hasn’t been moved in years, so why now? He replies that Mrs. Petrelli deemed it wise to keep her half closer to home.

Poughkeepsie. Knox figures out that Jesse isn’t really Jesse currently and tosses him across the room. I wish Francis Capra would get to be himself and not just Milo Ventimiglia’s reflection. Outside, Bennet and Sylar, the new Men In Black, drive up. After Bennet tells him to keep quiet, Sylar starts channeling Tommy Lee Jones from The Fugitive, bossing the local cops around, taking over the operation and generally being very funny and in charge. Bennet stares at him, impressed but trying not to be. Inside the bank, Jesse-Peter ‘fesses up as to who he is, saying that he came along with the Level Fivers to make sure civilians didn’t get hurt. Knox and Finn are all whatever, you schmuck.

Sylar thinks Bennet is nuts to go in the bank alone and unarmed. He says he wants to help. Bennet says Sylar can debrief the hostages once Bennet sends them out but under no circumstances is Sylar to “go near that buffet in there.” Sylar grunts, looking as though he’d actually forgotten about his quest to collect powers for a little while there.

Meanwhile, Tracy has arrived in at the New Orleans address. There’s a coffin in the living room. She opens it and gazes upon herself. Micah is there too. He looks at Tracy, saying immediately, “You’re not my mother.” But when she decides to leave, he asks her if she has a power too, and tells her about Niki’s super-strength and his own technopathy. He then goes to his computer and pulls up all cross-references between Niki and Tracy: they were born on the same day, in the same hospital, under the care of the same Dr. Zimmerman. Then, sweetly, he grabs onto this stranger with his mom’s face and gives her a big, desperate hug.

Hiro and Ando unbelievably ambush the Haitian and take the formula … but Daphne swipes it and speeds away. When Hiro tries to stop her, his time-freezing doesn’t work any longer because the Haitian has woken up from his brief unconsciousness. And he is quite pissed off, it would seem.

Bennet enters the bank and Knox lets all the hostages go. Knox then sits Bennet down and get ready to open some whup-ass on him. From the corner, crouching on the floor, Jesse-Peter pleads with Knox to just let it go. Knox won’t hear of it and Jesse-Peter gets a little amped up, shouting, “No one dies today!” And by shouting, I mean that sound-wave force fieldy thing that Echo did in the Heroes webisodes this summer. Peter, a quick study for once, realizes that Jesse’s power can be useful and aims it at Knox.

But then, time freezes and Scar-Peter walks in and physically pushes Now-Peter out of Jesse’s body. Peter is pretty pissed at his alterna-self but Scar-Peter wants to clarify things. Over Peter’s objections that they have to help Bennet, they teleport out of the bank. Time unfreezes and Knox and Bennet go flying from Jesse’s shout. Bennet looks up at Jesse and says thank you, thinking he’s Peter. But Jesse is back in his body and, snarling that Peter’s not here anymore, grabs hold of Bennet. This would be a good time for Sylar to disobey orders and save the day. (However, I really wish that Kristin Bell and Francis Capra would get a scene or two together before they get rid of Jesse.)

In the bank, Knox and Jesse are getting ready to murder Bennet … who is remarkably calm because, as he points out, he’s the guy with the partner standing right behind them. Sylar easily freezes and/or TKs both Knox and Jesse into inaction but that means both his hands are full and, when Finn stands up with fists a-blazing, Sylar can’t do anything. Startlement and concern flicker across his face. Not a problem: Bennet shoots Finn, putting him out of commission. He snaps at Sylar that he told him to stay put. Sylar snaps back that Bennet only told him that to ensure that he wouldn’t. And then, in a nice little moment, Sylar gives Bennet a look that a son gives his dad when he is looking for approval, and Bennet, with a tight grin, gives that approval to him. Right here, this is where Sylar takes a teensy step over towards Good.

Meredith takes Claire into a storage container. “You sure you want to do this?” she asks, firing up. When she starts to heat up the steel container, Claire gets snotty, saying she already knows how to survive, what she wants to learn is combat. Meredith tells her, “There are some things you just can’t fight,” and slowly Meredith’s fire starts sucking the air out of the container. Indestructible Claire can’t breathe (although her fire-starter mom apparently can) and she falls to the ground, choking and scared. Meredith is in her face, asking over and over, “Why do you want to fight bad guys?” and calling bullshit on Claire’s declared wish to help people. Finally, a wheezing Claire admits that she wants to learn to fight to hurt Sylar, to repay him for the pain and terror he caused her. And right here, this is where Claire takes her first step towards the dark side.

But just so we don’t think we know exactly where this story is leading: when Bennet takes Finn out to put him into custody, Sylar TKs the doors shut and advances on Jesse, coveting that voice. Bennet pleads with him to fight the urge and to prove Angela’s faith in him right. Sylar says he can’t (or won’t) fight the hunger, however, and poor Jesse gets lobotomized right in front of poor Bennet’s eyes. Bye, Francis Capra! I think Knox gets away while all this is happening too.

Back at the Bennets’ house, Meredith apologizes for tricking Claire like that. She urges Claire towards her normal life and gives her a hug, but Claire eyes the Company files that her dad left behind. Later, Mrs. Bennet reads Meredith the riot act about allowing Claire to skip school; Meredith says she just did what she thought would keep Claire here and safe. Claire then comes down the stairs with packed bags: a friend is here to take her to the overnight cheerleader retreat. Uh-huh - and I got a bridge I’d like to sell to Claire’s two mothers.

Tracy has found Dr. Zimmerman in California. He is surprised to see her and calls her “Barbara” (or similar) but when she introduces herself, he says, “Oh, the one from Beverly Hills.” She is shocked and asks if he knows her. Dr. Zimmerman says, “Know you? I created you.” Is this going to be like Eve-6 from X-Files?

Here’s the final voice-over montage: In Africa, Parkman eats some stuff and listens to his guide’s earphones and his eyes go all gauzy-white (that won’t end well, I guarantee); Nathan reads the Bible; Claire drives through the rain with the pilfered files on the seat next to her; Micah clutches a picture of his mom; Hiro and Ando are locked in a Level Five cell; Sylar and Bennet return Finn to his. Angela is there too, and hands Sylar his jailhouse outfit, putting him back into his cell. When he says he guesses she was wrong about him, she just nods, “We’ll see.” In the corridor, the Haitian and Bennet watch Sylar. “Am I being replaced?” asks the Haitian. “Only for a little while,” replies his former partner. “Just until I find his weakness … and then I’m going to kill him.”

Next time on Heroes / previously on Heroes