Heroes: Our Father

More of Heroes needs to be built like tonight’s episode.  There was action, drama, and lots and lots of superpowers.  I really wanted to dislike it, and my expectations, you could say, were sub zero, but tonight I remembered what I love so much about this show.  It can make you laugh, make you feel and make you sit on the edge of your seat.  Sadly, I had to take a big leap of faith to get there, but at least I’m eager for next week.

There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than on top of a New York City roof some 16 years ago.  Kaito Nakamura entrusts the care of a little blonde baby with the Company Man.  First, I need answers and those answers have to include why I need to see this scene for the sixth time!  Give me something new, please.  Luckily, I’m quickly appeased.  Claire learns that this is not just a pivotal day in her life because it was the day she became a Bennet, but she was also turned into the catalyst.  She follows Mama Bennet to what looks like Noah and Sandra’s first little apartment.  The Company definitely didn’t pay big bucks in those days.  Claire knows she has to convince her “new” family to not trust the Company, at least for this one day.  First she bonds with baby Claire.  Fortunately, she doesn’t drop herself.  She charms her mother, though when Noah arrives, he’s instantly aware something is off.  But with those baby blues and without ever saying she’s his daughter, she convinces him to protect her like she knows he always will.

Hiro, on the other hand, realizes that, in this past, his mother is still alive.  Hiro’s excitement is so endearing; I missed this Hiro who actually had something to act about.  He also understands what he never noticed before, that his mother could heal.  She and his father fight over who to give “the light” to.  This is where things get muddy and that big leap of faith kicks in because (one) this is so out of the blue and (two) what the hell is this crazy light.  I do not comprehend.  This isn’t Lost, Heroes writers.  You can’t pull out these big, “huhs” and expect us to just bite.  Either way, this off-road storyline gives us the opportunity to see Masi Oka in a light that says Emmy winner.  What this guy could do if he had A++ material!  10-year old Hiro reunites with his mother, and I tear up a smidge.  It’s sweet, so sue me!  Although his father always doubted Hiro’s reliability, his mother had an unyielding belief in him.  He tells her that she must heal his brain so he can regain his memory, and with everything back as they should be, he describes to her how he saved the world, connected with his dad and become a Hero.  The main goal, though, is to convince her to give him the light instead of, ya know, that baby.

All the while, Angela puts a gun in Peter’s hands and passes the torch of taking out Papa Petrelli.  Peter’s a softy though, and we know it won’t be easy for him to pull the trigger.  Luckily, The Haitian is his wingman, ready to neutralize Arthur’s powers.

Arthur is at Pinehearst with Team Tracy and Mohinder.  Tracy has turned back into a cutthroat politico, and Nathan arrives just in time to see the plan behind the plan.  Start with some military men and inject soldiers with the first batch of super juice.  Soldiers have the best mentality when it comes to the battles that will be fought, don’t they.  But I don’t get how super soldiers fit into Nathan’s idea of saving the world.  Wouldn’t he be a little shocked by this manipulation?  Instead, Tracy feeds Nathan’s ego.  He even takes about 10 minutes interviewing candidates before he finds the perfect one!  Is an army the first thing you want to create to save the world, Nathan?  You look real eeeeevil right about now.

One of the best things about this episode is Sylar making his way to Pinehearst.  He goes from killing Elle, to killing a human lie detector and her coworkers.  In a meeting of the minds, Sylar appears just as Peter shoots Arthur. (Which it took him five minutes to do.) Sylar asks Arthur the truth about his family and, as Bennet hinted, Sylar was never a Petrelli.  This is enough to allow Sylar to let things finish once and for all.  He tells Peter he’s not a killer and proceeds to allow the bullet to go through Arthur’s head.  He walks away completely content with the Monster he’s always been.

Later, Hiro and Claire meet up again on the roof, but this time they are greeted by Arthur.  He tosses Claire aside and proceeds to absorb both the catalyst and Hiro’s power.  Then he teleports Claire away, and throws Hiro off a roof.  In comic book fashion, Hiro catches a flag poll and hangs on for his life.

Though it only makes sense to those with an extremely forgiving imagination, at least I was seeing something, some action, some character development, something different.  The Heroes worked together for good or bad.  They used their powers against each other and on humans.  I saw a range of emotions in all of our Heroes, and it kept me guessing.  That’s how it should be.  Too bad they had to cram it all into the last episodes.

Sidebar Story: Ando, Daphne and Matt track down the sketches from a messenger dispatcher and follow along as Hiro’s story unfolds.  At least someone knows where Hiro’s hanging out.

Season 3, Episode 12: Our Father (originally aired December 8, 2008)

For another take on this episode, check out Family Time by Paul Secrest.

For more on Heroes, click here.

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Photographs courtesy of NBC