Mr. Mouse wants to know why I keep watching this show when all I do is complain about it and pick it apart. I'm not really sure. I keep hoping that it will get better even tho' there's no way it will, I guess. Plus I don't want to be a quitter. But seriously, I am being tested here, especially with the two-hour "events."
Upon This Rock. Claire walks around the carnival (picking up trash, actually) in slow motion while Multiplicity-Eli gives her the stink eye. Lydia checks in on her and sends the younger girl to Samuel’s trailer bearing breakfast. At the trailer, Samuel is going through the files Eli stole from Benet. He scrambles a little when Claire lets herself in, trying to hide the files from her. When she notes that those look like Primatech paper boxes, Samuel admits that he and Benet share more history than she knows .. but he’s not interested in revisiting the past – he’s a future kind of guy. He tells her that he’s going into the city to select someone else who will help them build their new homeland. They part friendly enough but Claire’s got a look in her eye like she might be investigating Samuel’s trailer later.
Tokyo. Hiro pops into a street market and starts babbling about being from the Starship Enterprise. The soba noodle vendor is not amused. When Hiro hears a woman shrieking that she’s being mugged, he grabs a cleaver from the food stall and chases off the mugger. Unfortunately for all of us, he starts segueing from sci fi classic to another –
Star Trek,
Star Wars,
BSG … ugh. Remember back in S1 when we caught a glimpse of cool badass Hiro from the future? Well, it’s in the future now – when does he stop being such a tool?
Luckily we cut to a flash back where a teenaged Joseph catches a teenaged Samuel trying to move a big old boulder with his newly awakened earth power, albeit with little success. They argue over a girl that Samuel has crush on too, and Joseph sends his younger brother back to work at the carnival. Flash to now and adult Samuel muttering, “Just you wait, brother.”
At lunch, Claire overhears Lydia and her teenaged daughter arguing and chuckles, reminiscing about her own teenaged arguments with her own mom, and how things might have been different if she hadn’t been with a bunch of normals. Lydia notes that Samuel has become obsessed with collecting Heroes these days. A short while later, Claire tries to take a peek in Samuel’s trailer but Eli, many of him, intercepts her and sends her on her way.
Tokyo. The police have called Ando to come get Hiro, having found his business card in Hiro’s pocket. Ando comes down to bail his buddy out and is dismayed to learn that Hiro is completely off his nut, still quoting sci fi movies nonstop.
NYC, hospital. Oh, great. Emma (deaf doctor, remember her?) is dismayed to receive a letter from the medical board saying that her application to renew her license was turned down, or something. She goes home and is about to play her cello o’ sadness when Samuel knocks on her door. He says that he has a gift like she does; when she tries to close the door on him, he says that he’s the one who sent her the cello and shows her his compass tattoo. Stunned, she looks over at the cello – which has the same compass painted on its back.
Tokyo. Ah yes, Hiro’s also quoting Sherlock Holmes and possibly
Batman comics. But wait – Ando is smarter than me, deducing that Hiro’s brains are kind of scrambled and he’s trying to actually communicate real ideas but is getting the terminology mixed up. It’s still annoying tho’.
NYC. Emma lets Samuel in, asking why he sent her the cello. Samuel says they’re all connected, which of course doesn’t really answer the question. He does say that the cello used to belong to someone else, someone he was close to – and then he lost her. Emma tells him that the last time she played it, the wall cracked. He says it was her fear that did that, and he can help her figure out how to control her gift. Then he pulls out a Primatech sheet with a man’s picture on it. He needs her help to find this man who apparently lives in Central Park, homeless in part because he freaked out when his power manifested.
Carnival. Claire is getting squicked out because Eli won’t stop staring at her. She bolts into the House of Mirrors; one Eli follows her in; the others guard the exits. When he lunges at her reflection, she brains him with a metal stool, knocking him unconscious. Then she runs to Samuel’s trailer and paws through the files there. Until Doyle the Puppetmaster takes control of her body, marching her out of the trailer and pinning her up against the wall. “What do you think you’re doing, Barbie?” he growls menacingly. I knew he couldn’t be completely reformed! After the commercial, Doyle accuses her of being a spy for her father. When she says that Samuel is collecting people for some nefarious purpose, Doyle snarls that he’s not going to let her ruin it for everyone.
Oh. My. Frickin’. Word. Do you mind if I just skip over this “Ando figures out WTF Hiro is trying to tell him” bit and just bottom-line it? Oh no: they’re going to a mental hospital in Florida - to rescue Mohinder. That last part isn’t spelled out but who else is in a mental hospital these days?
NYC, Central Park. Samuel says that when Emma plays music, her emotions merge with the music and can draw people in. He asks her to play while concentrating on that photo of that man, and bring this guy to her. As she plays, people start to gather around, including a sketchy looking homeless type who is Samuel’s target. This guy has power over plants and as he listens to the music, the winter tree he’s leaning on bursts into bloom. Emma and Samuel smile. I wonder why Samuel wants a guy with a superpowered green thumb.
Back at the hospital where Emma and Samuel have brought Plant Guy to get patched up. Samuel thanks her, telling her that she’s always welcome at the carnival and handing her a compass. After she leaves, Plant Guy tells Samuel that he always thought he was alone because he was different; Samuel assures him that he’s not alone but he is, indeed, special. As they walk out, the television blares that the remains of Senator Nathan Petrelli have been found in a plane crash.
Carnival. Doyle tells Claire that the two Sullivan brothers changed his life, saved it. Claire protests, saying Doyle knows her – she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but Samuel is acting suspicious. Convinced, Doyle lets her go and tells her to go see Lydia who knows what’s going on. Lydia tells Claire that Joseph, not Samuel, was the real father of this Carnival. Claire puts two and two together – that Samuel killed his brother – and Lydia murmurs that she’s scared, that Samuel is out of control. Claire replies that she likes this place and the only thing wrong with it is Samuel. Lydia asks her to help find someone who can stop him but as Claire steps out of her tent, Eli grabs her.
When he finally get back at the Carnival, Samuel is annoyed that Eli has kept Claire there against her will. She says she’ll leave but first she wants to hear from Samuel what happened to Joseph. He says that he lost control when he found out that Joseph had ratted them out to Danko. “So murder was the answer?” she says, incredulously. Then she asks his plans are out in the valley. So he takes her out there, where “Ian,” Plant Guy, is at work. When Ian says he needs water, Samuel brings some up out of the ground. Even Claire has to admit that’s cool. Then Ian sinks his fingers into the muddy soil and grass and flowers start to grow. As Claire watches, unable to keep the smile off her face, the valley explodes into verdant greenness. “This is why I need a bigger family,” says Samuel, “to build the future.” Claire says that she’s going to go back to her family and Samuel reminds her that she is still always welcome here. As she heads out, she checks her voicemail: there’s one from Peter, who says they have a lot to talk about.
Cut to Nathan’s funeral. OMIGOD PETER CUT YOUR DAMN BANGS ALREADY. Angela is looking haggard; a concerned Benet is relieved to see Claire pull up in a cab. She sort of blows off her family and stands by herself. Peter gives the eulogy. Everyone looks sad.
Let It Bleed. 86 hours ago, outside of NYC. Benet and Peter meet, and Peter says he wants to see “him.” Benet tells him, “I can handle this, Peter, you don’t have to have any part of this.” “I do,” says Peter. By the way, the body in Benet’s trunk is Nathan’s real body, complete with stitches on his throat from where Sylar cut it. Later, Peter is practically unresponsive at the wake.
Carnival. Samuel is interrupted at some magic inking when Doyle flies through the air, crashing into his table. He’s been thrown by Sylar who, old soul intact, has found his way back to the Carnival. And he’s hungry, ready to feast on all the Heroes Samuel has collected. “I got big plans for you,” says Samuel but Sylar isn’t interested and moves to slice open Samuel’s head. His slice doesn’t work, however, and so Samuel pulls up a whirling sandstorm that all but sandblasts Sylar’s flesh from his body. It’s pretty gnarly. Sylar collapses; Samuel grins.
Benet finds Claire at her dorm room, getting ready for the wake. She’s mad at him again, for lying about Nathan’s death and what he (and Angela) did. “Sylar,” she spits, “did you forget what Sylar did to me?” He tries to explain that they did the wrong thing for the right reason, giving Nathan back to the world for a little while longer and keeping Sylar contained. She is unmoved and tells him that she doesn’t want him at the wake.
Wake. Angela tries to talk with her remaining son but Peter is still pretty angry at her, at everything. She tells him not to go after Sylar; revenge will only get him killed. This awkward conversation is interrupted when Claire shows up; Peter grabs her and they hide out in the kitchen to talk. “That was a hell of lie,” she says, “… did they think they’d get away with it?” She switches gears, musing about Nathan. Peter starts acting weird, like Nathan isn’t actually dead or something. What have you guys done this time? DO NOT BRING NATHAN BACK – KEEP HIM DEAD.
Benet goes back to his apartment. There is something (or someone) lurking outside the window. Ooh! It’s Edgar! Eek! he’s brought his knives! But Benet is onto him and quickly tases him into submission before he can be sliced and diced again. Benet has commandeering some Japanese restaurant, having stuck Edgar in the freezer because the cold slows his superspeed down. Whatshername, Kate from
Angel (I am so not looking her character's name up), joins him, having brought sodium pentathol as a party favor.
Carnival. Samuel puts the shredded Sylar into Lydia’s trailer, telling her to look after Sylar when he comes to. And find out what’s going on with him – why couldn’t he kill Samuel? Lydia goes inside, where Sylar has healed himself. He too needs a haircut. He’s kind of cranky when he wakes up so she gives him a smooch. They start doin’ it and she (he?) gets flashes of Parkman and Nathan and Claire. He pulls away. She says that he’s impotent, can’t kill anymore (but can still heal, so not all his powers are gone), and he doesn’t like to hear that at all.
NYC. Angela approaches Claire at the wake and Claire continues to express her disdain for the lying, manipulative older generation. Angela then asks her to keep an eye on Peter who seems adrift these days. Up on the rooftop garden Claire finds an abandoned police scanner but no Uncle Peter. Because Peter is too busy knocking a police officer unconscious somewhere where a crime is happening. Wait: is Nathan and/or Sylar’s powers now in Peter? Did that happen when Peter was trying to keep Nathan from falling off the building? And if so, would they please just let Nathan go already?
After the commercial, Claire has tracked Peter down: he’s trying to help an office worker with a gunshot wound. There are more gunshots and Peter runs off over Claire’s protests that of the two of them, she’s the one who’s invulnerable to bullets. Later, the disgruntled gunman has both Peter and Claire at gunpoint. Peter tries to talk him down. It doesn’t work, exactly. The cops eventually get the guy but not until after Peter gets shot. When he asks Claire for her healing power she is reluctant to share it at first, saying that he’s being reckless, but she finally lets him take her hand and he heals. She tells her uncle that he’s not honoring Nathan’s memory by doing this hero stuff – he’s avoiding it. Peter mewls that if he slows down, stops, then Nathan’s death is real. “I miss him too,” says Claire quietly.
Freezer. Edgar is rather bloodied by now and still not giving up any information. Benet seems about ready to start slicing the speedster with his own blades when Kate (whoever) pulls him away, asking him to stop torturing this guy. “Stop using him as a punching bag and start talking to him.” There’s something that’s being missed, she says. And Benet goes hmmm. When he goes back into the freezer, he brings Edgar some tea. What is it you need me for, asks Benet, what are you doing out here? They start to talk and Edgar says that it was Samuel who set him on Danko and Benet. Edgar is afraid of what Samuel has planned. “That makes two of us,” agrees Benet.
Carnival. A petulant Sylar is trashing things. Samuel reaches out to him, still willing to befriend the beast (for his own purposes, of course).
Benet, Edgar and Kate (?) formulate a plan. Edgar insists that his family – everyone at the Carnival except Samuel – must be taken care of, and left alone. But Benet thinks the Carnies will be better off and safer once reintegrated into the normals which upsets poor bruised Edgar enough that once Benet trusts him enough to loosen his bonds, he super-speeds away, taking all Benet’s carefully drawn out plans with him. Benet and Kate’s expressions: Well, that could have ended better.
Carnival. On Sylar’s request, Samuel has mixed up another batch of magic tattoo ink. He pokes Sylar with it, to see Sylar’s future. At first, the ink just wriggles and squirms all over Sylar’s body. When it coalesces, unseen by us, Sylar wigs out, saying that Samuel was wrong – he doesn’t belong here. Samuel watches him run off but doesn’t try to stop him.
NYC. Claire doesn’t want to go back to school, too worried about her uncle Peter. “I can’t have you lying to me too,” she says. Peter replies that he’s okay. Then, strangely, he asks if she’d mind calling that old flying boyfriend of hers (West) for him. “Why?” asks Claire. Peter just smiles. Later, he looks at a photo of him and Nathan and then flies off into the night sky. Am I just dim? This show isn’t that sophisticated – what am I missing here?
Back at her dorm (she got back to Virginia pretty quickly from NYC, no?), a sad Claire tosses herself on her bed and stares at the ceiling. Outside her window, hovering in mid-air, is Sylar. The tattoo on his forearm: Claire’s face. “Hello, cheerleader,” he says.
Next week: it’s the Hiro and Mohinder Show! Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhh.
Previously on Heroes /
next time on Heroes
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