Heroes: Picking Up The Pace

I feel a little thrown when storylines don’t flow smoothly. Last week, we were watching Hiro frolic around in the past. This week, we’re back to the present, and I have to play the recall game, returning to where all the other heroes left off. At least, Heroes picked up the pace.

“Tell me. What would Bennett do?” – Noah
In one of the lamest explanations of strange occurrences ever, Claire tells the miscellaneous pledges that the sisters must have drugged them. This, miraculously, explains how they could have seen Claire being impaled or Rebecca appearing out of thin air. (Seriously? I get that they’re dumb, but inserting erroneous and dumb characters is just lazy writing in my opinion.) Plus, Claire gets Papa to come to the rescue anyway, and he brings the Haitian. So I don’t really see the point.

Gretchen is bugged out of her mind, and even with the Haitian as back up, she’s not willing to sit around and wait for something to happen to her. Not even for her new rush crush Claire, so she books it. Back at the house, Claire leaves Noah to rifle through Rebecca’s room. (Did anyone notice how dark and ominous Rebecca’s room was when Noah went in, but the next shot we see of him in her room it’s got sunlight streaming through the windows and flowers on the window sill.)

Rebecca and Samuel take this perfect moment to divide and conquer. Samuel corners Claire and tells her about the carnival. He says that alike people understand each other. He also tells her that Rebecca was never after her, but her father, because he killed Rebecca’s dad during his Company Man days. Claire’s father also tried to get Rebecca, but at the right time, her invisibility powers manifested.

In the end, Samuel and Rebecca get away. Rebecca tries to go for the kill, but Samuel steps in. Noah has to think twice before letting them go, but with Claire’s pleading eyes, he does. So, Samuel ends up looking like the hero, and Noah looks like a heatless, hero-hunting monster. Smooth move.

“I’m crossing that line. You told me that I’m not man enough to take a life. Well, you know what? You’re wrong. ‘Cause I’m going to take yours.” – Matt
Sylar and Matt play tug-o-war with Matt’s body and brain. Sylar tries to get away by plane. Matt makes Sylar see a gun as a pair of socks, which by inadvertently packing, gets him detained, questioned and put on the Do Not Fly list. Matt drives Sylar into a flat tire, and Sylar ends up killing the tow truck guy with Matt’s hands. It’s like The War of the Roses, but instead of being locked in a house, they’re locked in the same body.

The two end up at the Burnt Toast Diner, where Sylar taunts Matt some more with the fact that he shouldn’t try anything since the whole world is his hostage. He convinces Matt to divulge where his body is and who helped “kill” him. But before he can get away and exact revenge, Matt, subliminally, gets Sylar to write on a napkin that he’s got a gun and will shoot up the place. This prompts the waitress to call the cops who in the end, gun Sylar down.

“Maybe you shouldn’t use it anymore?” – Emma
“And be ordinary?” – Peter
Peter and Emma are at hospital ground zero after a two-train collision injures dozens. For Peter, it’s a chance to flex his new healing skill, and for Emma, it’s a chance to be needed even with her ability. Peter’s constant use of his new power starts to weaken him.

Emma and Peter end up helping a young girl who stops breathing. Actually, Peter just sat back while Emma did her real world, real medicine thing, and she saves the little girl’s life. After a little celebration, Emma confesses that Christopher, her nephew (not husband as I thought), drowned while on her watch, and she couldn’t revive him. She failed as a aunt and doctor, and she hasn’t been able to get over it. Fortunately saving this last child might be just what Emma needs.

ON SIDE
While sleeping, Sylar’s body morphs back in to Nathan, and he appears to have, at least, some of his memories back. He flies away from the carnival before anyone notices the difference and shows up, at the end of the day, on his brother’s doorstep. And Nathan knows he’s in trouble.

WRAP IT UP
Somehow with Heroes, the storyline is either crawling like a snail or moving at a rapid speed. I can’t say that tonight was the best writing, but all the puzzle pieces are starting to fit together, and I’m kind of liking the big picture. The stage has been set with Claire and Bennett aware of Samuel and the carnival. Nathan is starting to remember what’s really going on, but most likely has no clue what it all means. Sylar’s been turned into Swiss cheese, but if anyone stuck around for next week’s preview, he’s nowhere near dead. So, what happens next? Will Claire chase after Gretchen? Will Rebecca finally get the revenge she seeks? And where does Tracy, Hiro and the dead Mohinder fit into all of this? Either way, I can’t wait to find out.

Season 4, Episodes 9:  Shadowboxing (originally aired November 9, 2009)

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Photographs courtesy of NBC and IMDbPro