Heroes – “Cold Wars” S3E17 (airdate 2/23/09)

Costa Verde. Parkman, Peter and Mohinder are preparing to take Bennet down. Mohinder doesn’t like this plan but Parkman insists that Bennet has the information they need. Peter thinks that Parkman should just read Bennet’s mind regularly instead of this kidnapping and drugging business, but Parkman is like, no, Bennet’s too well trained - we’ve got to get creative.

Bar. Bennet falls off the barstool and the boys swoop in and collect him. They take him back to the motel and shoot him up with something I didn’t pay attention to. Parkman gets into his head differently somehow, trying to access Bennet’s memories to find out who’s behind the government abductions of Heroes. Whatever drug they’re using to facilitate this mind-invasion seems to leave both Parkman and Bennet a little woozy and Mohinder frets about the physical ramifications.

Five weeks ago. Ooh – black and white, how stylish. Bennet meets with Angela Petrelli on a park bench. She has gorgeous legs but is starting to look a little haggard face-wise. She thanks Bennet for his role in burning down Primatech, giving him a severance check and a watch for all his years of service. Bennet wants to know what’s going on. She says it’s over, the whole one of us/one of them schtick is over – he should go back to his family. But this is all I’ve ever known, he protests.

Building 26 (in color). Nathan stomps through the halls until he finds Danko: “This better be good.” The hunter reports that Bennet has gone off grid for over three hours now – this is not SOP. Danko bitches about how Bennet may be compromised what with the special treatment Claire is being given. Nathan connects the dots, realizing that Danko is suspicious of him as well.

Motel. Peter wants to move things along – this is taking too long. Mohinder is upset because this isn’t an interrogation, it’s torture and is stressing Bennet’s system. The three fugitives bicker among themselves, then Parkman dives back into Bennet’s head.

Four weeks ago (the flashbacks are all black and white while present day is in color – I’m not going to make note of it each time). Bennet’s doing the crossword puzzle at home, clearly unhappy with the routine of housebound life. A knock on the front door rescues him: it’s Nathan and he’s not here to see Claire – he wants to talk to Bennet, alone. They go into Bennet’s office and Nathan says that he’s “set some things in motion … but Claire’s going to be saved.” Bennet: “What have you done?” Which is what we say (and in that exact tone of voice) to the dog when she’s gotten into the garbage.

Nathan tells Bennet his round ‘em up/incarcerate ‘em plan. And then, once everyone is “safely” locked away, a crack team of scientists will figure out how to rid people of these pesky abilities once and for all. Bennet points out that Nathan will be considered a villain by the Heroes, not to mention his brother; Nathan says that he’s gone so far around the bend over the course of the last two seasons – trying to kill Peter, for crying out loud – that clearly imprisoning and experimenting on the empowered individuals for their own good is the only way to go. Whatever, Nathan. This is just the writers trying to explain why Nathan has been so wishy-washy.

Bennet wants to know what Nathan wants with him. Nathan points out that Bennet has spent the last twenty years of his life tracking Heroes – his experience is invaluable. So Bennet takes him to his secret storage unit where he keeps boxes and boxes of files on the Heroes, as well as boxes of guns and money. Nathan’s like, we’re the government, we have lots of guns and money. Bennet replies, “You don’t have perspective,” noting that Nathan undid a well-kept 30-year-old secret with a 30-second confession to the President. Nathan whines that he thought Bennet would enjoy more time with his family. Bennet: “There are only so many crossword puzzles you can do.”

Motel room. Parkman pulls out of Bennet’s memories and gasps that Nathan is the one who planned the whole thing. Nice of you to catch up with the rest of us. Peter grumps that he tried to stop his brother. Then Parkman and Mohinder get in a shouting match because Parkman reads Mohinder’s thought that maybe he should be locked up, while for his part Mohinder thinks Parkman is looking for revenge for Daphne’s shooting. Can’t we all get along? “You want proof?” yells Parkman. He writes down the combination to Bennet’s storage container and Peter goes to check it out. Once there, he quickly finds the guns and money. What he doesn’t find it the hidden camera which reports straight back to Danko in Building 26. “Gotcha,” grins Danko.

Nathan comes up and checks out the live feed. Danko is reserving judgment as to how Peter might know about Bennet’s storage unit – perhaps they are working together. That guy, always with the conspiracy theories. Nathan insists that he wants Peter captured, not killed, when he learns that Danko has an extraction team surrounding the storage facility. The team moves in; Peter distracts them with a grenade and flies safely away.

Motel. Mohinder is worried about how long Peter is taking. Bennet wakes up enough to say that the storage unit was a trap, under surveillance, and Peter’s been captured or killed by now. Their only chance is to let him go. Mohinder starts packing their things but Parkman says no, he’s not done rooting around in Bennet’s memories. “You’re not getting into my head,” cries Bennet but he can’t keep Parkman out.

Three weeks ago. Nathan introduces Bennet to Danko. When Bennet says he’d like to implement the one of us/one of them protocol, Danko shoots him down, figuratively, not caring that some of the Heroes are good and useful people. When Danko stomps off, Bennet turns to Nathan: “I thought I was running this show?” But Nathan brushes him off, saying that things are more complex than before.

Some unspecified time later, Bennet gets into Mohinder’s cab. He tells him about the government program “that’s going to blow up in their face” and asks for Mohinder’s help. At this point Parkman yanks himself out of Bennet’s memories and screams at Mohinder: you knew about this, you didn’t tell me! They throw each other around the room a little bit, breaking all the mirrors, until Mohinder’s super strength finally pins the former cop to the floor. “If I’d told you,” he shouts, “I’d probably be the one tied to that chair!” At which point they look over to Bennet – but the chair is empty and the door is ajar. Bennet has gotten away while they were fighting amongst themselves.

They give chase. Bennet is in the motel parking lot. He is just about to hotwire a car when BANG Peter lands on the windshield. This time Bennet gets duct-taped to the chair. Parkman says that now he’s going into Bennet’s head without the painkillers – he wants Bennet to feel everything. Mohinder protests but Parkman snaps that he doesn’t get a vote this time, quickly bringing Peter up to speed on Mohinder’s knowledge of, if not complicity with, with Bennet’s scheme. And then, with a constipated look on his face, Parkman forces his way back into Bennet’s memories.

One week ago, in Washington D.C. Bennet knocks on an apartment door. Danko is inside, living out of moving boxes. Bennet thinks they’d gotten off on the wrong foot and has brought some scotch to try to smooth things over with his new coworker. Danko is resistant, saying Bennet is unfocused and this job needs focus. Bennet reminds him that the Heroes are people, humans. “Targets,” insists Danko. He asks Bennet if he’ll be taking orders going forward. Bennet lifts an eyebrow: “You’re the boss.” I think Bennet is up to something.

Motel room. Bennet’s nose is now bleeding and both he and Parkman are shaking, panting. Mohinder grabs Parkman and wrestles him away but Parkman breaks free and lunges for a scrap of paper, writing down Danko’s address. Peter takes the address and a gun and heads out as Parkman rants about needing to weaken their enemies. Bennet pleads with the boys, telling Peter that confronting Danko will be a big mistake, death and misery to all of them, but Peter will not be swayed. Outside, unbeknownst to the guys, heavily armed commandos are pulling into the motel parking lot.

Washington. Danko enters his apartment, on the phone with his commandos in California. He fires up his computers to “have eyes on the scene.” However, Peter is there already, gun aimed at his head – Peter can apparently fly supersonically or lightspeed or something. Over at Building 26, Nathan and various other agents watch the goings-on in the apartment via more surveillance cameras. Danko tells Peter that the hunt for the Heroes will never ever stop, particularly if Peter kills him because then everyone will see that the Heroes are dangerous. “He’s right,” says Nathan suddenly, nonchalantly strolling into the apartment. Danko is startled, asking the senator how he got here so fast and definitely noticing that Nathan’s hair is all windblown. I think Nathan just outed himself.

Nathan makes a move towards his brother and jumpy Peter fires the gun, plugging Danko in the arm. Oops. Nathan tries again, saying that Parkman and Mohinder are about to get nabbed. Deciding, wisely, that saving his comrades is more important than murdering Danko, Peter leaps out the window and heads back to California. Danko grimaces at Nathan for ratting him out and grabs his phone, ordering the commandos to move in pronto.

Motel. The commandos don’t know what room the fugitives are in, so they take their sweet and noisy time busting each door down. Parkman starts to panic and threatens to shoot Bennet. Bennet instead offers this: that Daphne is still alive – she’s been captured but she’s alive – and Parkman is welcome to read his mind for proof. Mohinder promises to hold off the commandos while Parkman sees for himself.

Building 26. Two days ago. Bennet walks through a long corridor full of body bags. Daphne is there, shrieking wordless animal cries. Bennet grabs a syringe, telling the medics that it’ll take three times the regular dosage to keep this girl calm. He injects her and she quietens immediately. In the memory Danko looks on with interest. Parkman pulls out of the memory, upset but glad to know she’s alive.

Outside Mohinder is tussling with the commandos, throwing the soldiers hither and yon with his super strength. They shoot him at least five times with their sedative guns before he finally drops.

Parkman has his gun pointed back at Bennet’s head when the commandos break in and take him down. They hook him up with the nasal sedative thing and Bennet says he’ll walk him out. When they get down to the vans, however, another flash grenade is lobbed at their feet and Peter flies in, snatches up Parkman and zooms off, leaving Bennet to stare up into the night sky after them.

Building 26. They’ve got Mohinder shackled to a chair, waking him up with a bucketful of water to the face. Nathan comes in, saying that he was certain that his containment and ability-elimination plan – for which he needs Mohinder’s help – would work but the aftermath of the plane crash put the hardliners in control – and the hardliners want Heroes executed. Nathan shows Mohinder a feed of captured Daphne, saying that if Mohinder doesn’t cooperate, she’ll be killed, as will Mohinder, and Parkman, and Peter. “You’ll all be dead.”

Costa Verde. Danko suggests that Bennet take a few days off to recover but Bennet says that his wife won’t let him home and his daughter is afraid of him, so he’s got nothing left but the job. He says his focus is sharp now and he is Danko’s man. As they’re talking, the black and white fades back into color – and I guess we’re up to speed now. Danko drives off as Bennet watches with an inscrutable expression.

And then goes to sit on a park bench with Angela Petrelli. He tells her that it went well, all things considered – Danko trusts him. Angela scoffs, saying that Danko doesn’t trust anyone. But Bennet insists that he’s in where he can work against Danko and Nathan. She reminds him that he’ll have to make some tough choices to stay on the inside. Bennet smiles, reminding her that he’s always been “comfortable with morally gray.” He walks away, leaving the retirement watch behind on the bench. She smiles, picking up the watch.

Isaac’s studio. Peter and Parkman are there, and Parkman has been painting like crazy. Staggering, he comes out of trance and looks around wildly. There are paintings of bombs and weapons and he cries out, upset. Peter tries to calm him, saying that he’s not a killer. Oh yeah, says Parkman, then explain this. And the camera draws back to show a new floor mural: instead of a mushroom cloud over NYC, it’s Washington D.C. in flames.

Previously on Heroes / next time on Heroes