Heroes: Thankfully That’s Over

All this episode proved to me was that the holidays seem like frou frou nonsense in comparison to our heroes’ real problems. Unfortunately the problem with “Thanksgiving” was the focus on Thanksgiving. Having to sit around a table and hold hands seemed silly when two ticked off villains are about to get really crazy.

“Naked lady, I think you are trying to seduce me! I think you should know my heart belongs to Charlie.” – Hiro
The episode kicks off with Samuel watching Chandra’s old film in awe. Hiro wants to know where Charlie is, but Samuel isn’t done using him yet. Though I’ve enjoyed Robert Knepper’s performance, this is the moment where I really felt I comprehended his true villainy. He gave me chills.

Lydia finally gets some lines that aren’t in the interactive story “Slow Burn” when she tries to comfort a frantic Hiro. She says he can tell her anything because they’re family, but Hiro isn’t hearing any of it. He explains that Samuel is an evil man and won’t return Charlie, and then it dawns on her. Perhaps Hiro can help her answer some questions?

Lydia gets all unnecessarily sultry as she explains how she can help Hiro with her powers. She says he can read into his soul if he touches her. He does, and she sees what Hiro has told her, though she doesn’t understand why Samuel wouldn’t use Hiro to save Joseph. Lydia convinces him to take her back where she sees Samuel and Joseph argue and then follows a few steps behind them.

Back at the carnival, Samuel realizes Hiro and Lydia are missing. Weeks earlier, Samuel and Joseph argue in a field as Lydia and Hiro watch from afar. “You can move the earth, Samuel, but it’s more than that. Cities. Mountains. You have the power to kill millions. I can’t let that happen.”

Samuel tries to convince him that he can handle the power, but Joseph tells him he’s already told Mohinder to burn the tape. He’s also given some government man (I wonder who.) the compass so that he can find Samuel and take him in.

Overcome with rage, Samuel kills his brother as a horrified Hiro and Lydia look on.

With what she now knows, Lydia feels like she has to stand up to Samuel, but Hiro knows that if she does, he’ll never find out where Charlie is. She beelines it to Edgar who must have done some quick convincing because when Hiro and Samuel pop in, her game face is on.

At the carnival dinner table, Samuel gives thanks, and then proclaims that he knows Joseph’s killer. Duh. Duh. Duuuuuuh. But the reveal is halted when Edgar prods Samuel to confess. Samuel looks to Hiro who apologizes because he has to lie for Charlie’s sake. Samuel points the finger at Edgar and attempts to kill him. Luckily for Edgar, Hiro stops time and lets him get away.

Back in the present, Hiro stands up to Samuel. Too bad Samuel’s brought back up in the form of  a carnie who wipes Hiro’s memories. It all seems doomed until his plan backfires, and Hiro disappears.

“You are Nathan Petrelli…we are still a family.” – Angela
In New York, Angela’s finally back. She’s already in bossy Martha Stewart mode, but Peter has questions. He wants to know about the body, Matt’s story and the possibility that Sylar’s really dead. It seems like she has an answer for everything, but they eventually back her into a corner. She gives them an ultimatum: Sit down and celebrate the holiday like family or she walks.

Then out of nowhere, Nathan starts to change back into Sylar. Or so it seems. There’s a lot of electricity. I don’t really understand what happened because there’s no rhyme or reason to this sudden and overly dramatic transformation. But he’s back, and Angela and Peter are mute with awe.  “It feels good to finally be me again. What‘s for dinner? I‘m starved.” Doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere anytime soon.

As Sylar and the Petrellis sit around the dinner table, holding  them telekinetically hostage, he eggs them on. He tells Angela, “You’ve raised the evil incarnate bar to an entirely new level. Thank you for giving me something to strive for.” Then, he plants a kiss straight on the lips. He tries to scalp Angela but is stopped by some force he can’t see. It’s clear that Nathan is still fighting within his mind. When Nathan regains control, all he can ask his mother is “what have you done to me?”

After Nathan storms out, Peter’s hellbent on saving his brother. With this turn of events, Angela might as well have clued him in to the plan in the first place. It just irks me how quickly things turned.

“I think that Thanksgiving dinner was just his way of letting Claire know that she has a family that loves her. Nothing wrong with that.” – Lauren
Elsewhere, Noah attempts to convince Claire to join the family for Thanksgiving dinner and does a pretty good job of it, by holding over her head the fact that Sandra will be bringing her new boyfriend. We flash to his cell displaying a picture of his old partner Lauren. And poof! She pops up in his supermarket aisle. There’s some silly banter, but she basically gets an invite to what can only be the most awkward dinner ever.

Of course what we see next is awkward. Claire’s like Lauren “pretty, new lady” who? Sandra gives Noah the “you’re dead” eye. Surprise, surprise.

Sandra must be happy that Mr. Muggles found himself a love mate. Too bad it came with the legume-intolerant, cheesy Doug.  Sandra gets a little sassy when she realizes that the two used to work together with The Company. She even brings up all the times her mind was wiped. It gets to the point where Claire can’t take it anymore, and she confesses that she’s thinking about dropping out of school.

It’s not just one thing. It’s Becky and Gretchen and an inability to ever feel like she fit in. It’s clear that Sandra has no clue what’s been going on in Claire’s life. Doug thinks all her feelings are perfectly normal, and it’ll all blow over. If only he knew. Wait! He did know because she sliced her forearm at the dinner table. (Didn’t your parents teach you some manners?)

Lauren imparts some wise words when she finds Sandra sitting alone. Sandra comments that nights like this are par for the course with her husband. She wonders what’s going on between him and Claire, but Lauren reminds  her that it was a nice gesture to have a family dinner. (I will say I like Lauren, as a character. I thought her last episode was a little jarring, but she brings out a fun side of Noah.)

Noah picks the moment of his daughter’s mental breakdown to tell her about the compass and what he’s been researching. She’s tired of it all. He tries to tell her that the carnival people aren’t on the side of good, but I think that only gives her a potential idea. She doesn’t get too long to ponder though because Noah has called Gretchen to come over and cheer his little girl up.

In another rapid change, Claire and Gretchen make up and make googly eyes at each other. Lauren and Noah make a date. Claire apologizes to her mom. I love when Sandra says, to explain the madness, that she told Doug that he ate a peanut. “He’s not the sharpest tack, but he’s a good man.”

Claire’s looking perkier by the minute, but we quickly find out that Claire and Gretchen are about to embark on a roadtrip to find out the full extent of what Claire’s choices truly are. I’m sure Noah will be kicking himself after he finds out that she snagged the compass.

WRAP IT UP
So I understand it’s TV but, writers, please do not take every liberty in the freaking book. If you’re going to create some huge build up, give me a powerful and deliberate resolution. I’ve pretty much enjoyed the season so far, but tonight’s was one of my least favorite episodes. The way the story unfurled was so inconsistent. It was like the writers just rested on the family tradition of Thanksgiving and got lazy. And it sadly tainted the reveal of Samuel backstory which I was really excited about, and made my Monday night a little less “happy”.

Season 4, Episodes 11:  Thanksgiving (originally aired November 23, 2009)

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Photographs courtesy of NBC  and Justin Lubin