Even ‘Cautionary Tales’ Couldn’t Help HRG in ‘Heroes’

The ninth episode of Heroes was packed full of action as it was revealed how the final two Isaac Mendez painting played out.  But even knowing their content couldn’t save Noah and Mohinder from reenacting their roles in the paintings in ‘Cautionary Tales.’

Who knew that Mohinder was actually going to have the guts to shoot HRG?  Right up to the point where he fires the gun he’s still Mr. I Can’t Choose a Side.  Even when he’s partnered with the deadly, but electrifying Elle, Mohinder is trying to convince Bob not to harm Noah and to just take Claire’s blood.

But I guess desperation to heal one person outweighs the life of another in Mohinder’s eyes.  Noah should have shot him when he had the chance.

But the big question is why did The Company keep Noah alive (and whose ashes is Claire spreading next week)?  Was it Mohinder’s guilt?  Or does Bob have bigger plans for HRG?  Or is it simply to keep access to Claire easy?

And speaking of Claire, why oh why would she go straight home and then stay there.  After her dad gives his life to save her (or so she thinks), she returns home (where Bob was waiting for her once before) and waits.  Why wasn’t she on the road to a new hiding place?  She could always send West back to get her mom and Lyle.

And for that matter, why didn’t Bob and company come back after her.  Was that Mohinder’s influence?  Or did they simply get enough of Claire’s blood for the time being?

Speaking of West, he was actually likable this episode, even bonding with Noah over cars.  Please say they didn’t give West the power of flight just so they use the line about Claire picking a boyfriend like her father.

Still, West was essential to the rescue. However, I can’t believe that Noah was foolish enough to discuss his rescue plans in front of Elle.  That faux pas just doesn’t seem like Noah.  By the way, where was the Haitian during all this?  He disappears at the most inopportune moments.  His powers could have been useful to suppress Elle, although I liked the bucket of water myself.  It gave her a taste of her own medicine.

We learned that Elle is Bob’s daughter.  But the discussion made me believe that she is an adopted daughter, not biological, bringing up the question of who her real parents are.  Also, now that Elle knows daddy has used the Haitian on her to make her forget his experiments, will she be seeking a little restitution from daddy?

Meanwhile, Hiro was dealing with daddy issues of his own.  Unwilling to eulogize his father, he travels back in time to save his father, but instead learns what we already know — Adam killed his father.  While the time traveling moments between father and son were sweet and little Hiro was adorable, I would have rather spent the time learning what Kaito had waited all that time in New York to tell his son.  What’s Kaito’s power?  What are their family secrets?  Did Kaito know who Adam really was?

Will we finally see the bad ass future Hiro from Season 1 now that he has vengeance — I mean justice — on his mind?

We learned a little more about Adam when Matt got a cool new power — the power to persuade.  Obviously, he’s on a roll now with powers just advancing left and right.  Could we finally have a power where we seen the holder in a moral dilemma about how and when to use.  I mean first Matt uses the power to get Molly to eat her cereal — innocent enough.  Then he uses it to make his boss give him more time on the Kaito case.  And finally he uses it to withdraw secrets from Angela’s mind.  Has Matt crossed a line?  Angela did say he was his father.

When Matt questions Angela he learns that it was Adam that killed Kaito.  When asked why she says it’s because they (the League of 12) locked him up for 30 years — guess that was true.  When asked why they locked him up, she explains that he can never grow old.  Never grow old?  That’s why they locked up Adam?  Talk about lame excuse.  I would have bought he wanted to take over the world or that he was planning an apocalypse, but because he can never grow old!

I can only hope that the writers really aren’t this lame and it was some form of resistance on Angela’s part.  In other words, she was telling him the truth, but not all of the truth.

But Matt did find out what he was after — the identity of the woman from the League of 12 photo played by Joanna Cassidy.  We learned her last name, Pratt, a couple weeks ago when Nathan was in Bob’s office.  This week we learned her first name — Victoria. 

Why is she the key?  And why would Angela, the woman who would sacrifice her own son, protect this woman?

There was no Peter, Nathan, Niki, Micah, Monica or wonder twins this episode.

Overall I thought this was a pretty good episode.  I liked it better than last week.

Until next week, I’ll leave you to your theories.