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.

Did Heroes ‘Out of Time’ leave viewers out of patience?

Last week, “The Line” left us wondering who Adam Monroe was.  This week’s episode of Heroes not only revealed Adam’s identity, it also gave us a bit of his history.  But even with these new revelations “Out of Time” left us with more questions than it gave us answers.

Adam Monroe
After seeing Takezo swear his vengeance on Hiro just before the explosion in White Beard’s camp, I easily guessed (and I’m sure that I wasn’t alone) that David Ander’s Takezo was Adam Monroe.  And the final scene with Peter confirmed this hypothesis.  However, Bob’s revelations about Adam were even more interesting than his true identity.

Bob tells Nathan in his brief History 101 that Adam is the one that brought the original 12 heroes together to do good (I’m sure Miami appreciates that).  But then Adam later started talking of seeking vengeance on the humans and apocalypses causing The Company locked him up and through away the key until he escaped two weeks ago.

When Adam brought the others together was he truly interested in doing good?  Did Hiro really bring out the “hero” in him?  Or was the union a way for him to enact revenge on Hiro?  I can see why Adam would seek out Kaito, but why the others?  Had someone in their family wronged him over time or was he just interested in others with powers?

If Adam was actually interested in doing good when he formed the group, what made him change?  If not, why did he decide to seek revenge now?  Or has he always been trying, but there have been heroes throughout the years that have thwarted him?

By the way, Adam looked pretty good for being close to 400 years old.  Does the power of regeneration mean that person doesn’t age?  Does that mean that Claire will always look like a 16-year-old girl?  What I wouldn’t give to have the body I had when I was 16!  Or did he somehow learn to reverse the aging at will?  The picture of the unidentified man in the photo of what my husband likes to call The League of 12, doesn’t look like David Anders — at least not at the age he was when he was Takezo.

The Company
Now, back to The Company.  The revelations about Adam leave many questions about The Company.  They’ve allude to it several time, but it’s never been confirmed — Is The Company the result of the union of the League of 12?  Or was The Company formed later after the League splintered?  Where all 12 members of the League a part of The Company?  By the way, Nathan gave us another family name to add to the League roster — Pratt — when he was reading off the file names in Bob’s office.  Do we know Bob’s last name?

As Bob tells it, Linderman was Adam’s biggest disciple when he went all apocalyptic; thus, Linderman’s plan to wipe out New York last season.  Wasn’t Linderman in charge of The Company last season?  Here’s where the story of The Company gets a little hinky if Bob is to be believed.

According to him, The Company is no longer in the business of wiping out the population.  Yeah right.  After their attempt to destroy New York failed, The  Company, now under Bob’s leadership (just how did he come into power anyway?), does a full 180 degree turn?   Then why is it developing a virus?  Why is it still bagging and tagging those with powers?  Why is it employing the brute powers of Niki — or is it Jessica?

But back to Adam.  How long did The Company have him locked away?  Surely, Linderman wouldn’t have his mentor imprisoned.  If he wasn’t locked away last season, was he actually behind Linderman’s plan?  How did he escape two weeks ago?

To listen to Bob, Adam is really the big bad this season and is the one offing the League of 12 and he is just using Maury Parkman as a weapon.  How did he convince Maury to do his dirty work?  Adam does fit the description of the guy who killed Kaito.  But why is he eliminating what at one time must have been colleagues, if not friends?

I think Adam is running The Company — always has.  The idea of his capture is just to make Bob and The Company look like the good guys.  And Adam is eliminating League members who failed him last season and befriending new heroes — like Peter — to take their place.

Peter Petrelli
We learned from Bob that Peter had been in the custody of The Company three months ago for testing — I mean recuperation.  And apparently they’ve been keeping tabs on him since he left.  Or they were; which can explain why they sent Elle (Kristen Bell) to find him again.  It’s clear from the previews for next week she works for The Company.  But is she Bob’s daughter or Adam’s?

Peter’s stay at The Company still doesn’t explain where he was the first month after leaving Kirby Plaza.  Looks like from the previews for next week, this stay is where Peter meets Adam.  Did they “escape” together?  We’re still no closer to knowing how Peter lost his memory and ended up in the crate in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Peter in 2008 finally regains his memory after meeting up with his mom.  Since she seems relieved to know that he’s alive, I guess it means that he still hasn’t reconnected with his family in this version of the future.  Interesting how Mama Petrelli suddenly seems to care so much about the son she was willing to sacrifice last season — must be because, as she puts it, he’s the most powerful one of all.

We learn that the Shianti (isn’t that Mohinder’s sister’s name?) virus has taken out 93 percent of the world’s population and that Nathan died in the first outbreak which took place in March.  The rest of the world is living in quarantine.  Someone explain to me how Adam, Linderman, The Company or whoever is behind this apocalypse rationalizes this as a good thing.

When Peter returns to the present, not at his own initiative since he still can’t control his powers, he is greeted by Adam, but he’s sans Caitlin.  So what happens when you are left in the future?  Do you just cease to exist in the present?

The Parkmans, Mohinder, Molly and Niki
Matt and Nathan arrive at The Company to warn Bob he’s next on Maury’s hit list in what had to be the longest trip from Philly to New York.  I mean Peter made it from Ireland to Montreal to the future in less time than it took for Matt and Nathan to return.

Matt quickly embraces his power and has an anti-climatic battle with Maury where his rescues Molly and traps Maury in his own mind.  Wow, Matt wins the award for quickest learner by mastering his expanding power so quickly.  And I’m sure we can chalk up his victory to Maury underestimating him, but it sure seems like it should have been a bigger battle.  Did the writers not really know how to handle it or is it just me?

Meanwhile Mohinder and Niki are tasked with injecting Maury with the virus to stop him.  In true Mohinder fashion, he preaches about how immoral this solution is as he leads Niki to where the last of the virus is kept.

Niki is battling her own demons — instead of seeing Jessica, she’s now seeing D.L.  Assuming she is Niki and not Jessica, does that mean that since they cured her of one split personality that she is susceptible to another?  Will she get a new split every time someone she cares about is wrongly killed?  Or were the D.L. sighting a result of Maury’s influence?  Speaking of D.L., the previews for next week make it seem like his death isn’t exactly as we thought — a direct result of the Kirby Plaza incident.  Needless to say, her visions of D.L. — whether from internal conflicts or Maury’s influence — cause her to go all Hyde on The Company, breaking Mohinder’s nose. 

In the end she injects herself with the virus to break the nightmare.  Were Nathan and Bob exposed at this point?  No surprise that Mohinder’s blood doesn’t work as a cure for the mutated virus.  But I think Bob knew that hence his pitch to the ever so easily manipulated Mohinder to find a new “cure” by taking Claire into custody.

The Bennetts and West
Thanks to her and West’s prank, Claire is now on The Company’s radar (if you believe she was actually hidden from them).  Did she really think that her prank would go unnoticed?  Sure, the idea that it made the paper is a little extremely, but, of course, everyone is talking about.  But is that what West intended?

He’s playing her for everything he’s got.  Why else would he show up to her house after she told him that her dad didn’t want her to date?  Was he confirming Noah’s identity or was the “accidental” meeting with HRG suppose to be his way of disappearing from Claire’s life.

And why, oh why, would she lie to her dad about West being at her house.  Did she really think her mom wasn’t going to say anything to Noah?  Looks like the Bennetts are on the run again.  Will it be enough to save Noah from his fate as foretold in the last of Isaac’s paintings?

The Paintings
Before returning home, Noah and the Haitian burn the last of the paintings after taking pictures of them.  Is it me or did they appear to burn funny?

Did anyone else think it’s strange than Noah was more concerned about the picture of Mohinder than the one of his daughter lying dead?  Maybe it’s because he knows she can heal herself or maybe it was because the one of Mohinder with a gun was right before the one of him dead.

Wow, did we just fly through these painting is this episode.  We know the first painting of Kaito’s death as taken place.  I think we confirmed that the second painting was Claire last week.  The third painting of the hand holding the vial is Niki taking out the virus to give to Maury.   The fourth painting was a nightmare-influenced Niki pounding on the door to Bob’s office.  The fifth painting was Peter in the future looking out at the make-shift morgue housing the thousands dead from the virus.  The sixth painting is the big fight scene between Hiro and what we now know as Adam before the explosion at White Beard’s camp. 

That only leaves two paintings to come, which seems kind of anti-climatic after the big effort to find the paintings.  We have the painting of Mohinder with a broken nose (we know how he got that) shooting a Company gun (we saw him get that) and the painting of HRG’s death.  Does Mohinder kill Noah?  Or does Mohinder shoot Noah’s killer?

Hiro and Ando
The dynamic duo are finally reunited after we learn (is there anyone who hadn’t guessed this?) that Hiro is the true legendary Takezo who won the heart of the princess and destroyed White Beard’s guns thereby defeating his army and saving Japan.  The reunion is bitter sweet when Ando has to tell Hiro of his dad’s demise.

We did learn one interesting thing about Hiro during his capture at White Beard’s camp.  He can’t use his powers if he can’t concentrate.  Takezo/Adam kept him disoriented by using opium.

Overall, I found this episode frustrating.  The mythology about the League and the Company seems to be conflicting.  Will we ever learn the truth?  There were several anti-climatic moments during this episode that was otherwise filled with so much.  And yet we were left with so many questions?  Next week promises to tell us what really happened after Kirby Plaza, I hope it follows through on this promise because I want answers!

Until next week, I leave you to your theories.

Does Heroes cross The Line with another disaster for New York?

After the sixth episode of Heroes, fans everywhere are asking who is Adam Monroe?  But Adam’s identity isn’t the only new question fans are left with after watching “The Line.”  There’s the state of New York on June 14, 2008 and the contents of Isaac’s paintings to debate too.

“The Line” was about various characters reaching a crossroads of sort and choosing which direction to proceed.

However, in true Mohinder fashion, Mohinder remained wishy washy, going back and forth on his decision to work for The Company while preaching about right and wrong.  In the end, he stayed with The Company.  But we learned a few things in the process.

The Company has a file on Adam Monroe and, according to Bob, he is an individual posing a potential danger.

Monica has been bagged and tagged by The Company.  But unlike last year, she’s fully aware of her adventure.  She’s given a cover story, contacts, gifts (a loaded iPod) and encouragement to help her city.  Is this new upfrontness a direct result of The Company no longer having the services of the Haitian?  And although we know that Mohinder didn’t inject Monica with the mutated virus, I have to wonder if Bob sent someone else in to do the job while Mohinder was taking his morale stance?

While Bob told Mohinder that The Company needs him to keep them in line morally, I wasn’t surprised when Mohinder got a new partner — to keep him in line.  A supposedly cured Niki reappears, touting The Company’s line about doing good things. 

Meanwhile Peter and a vengeful Caitlin head to a building in Montreal bearing the logo of his father’s law firm just as the painting predicted.  In it, they find a note of warning for Peter from Adam.  One can only assume it’s the same Adam The Company has a file on.  But before they can discuss what it means, the pair are whisked a la Hiro’s time travel powers to a deserted New York City on June 14, 2008 where they learn the city has been evacuated.

I thought wow; we know the date of the season finale already.  But alas, June 14th isn’t a Monday.  My other thought was New York again?!  Do you know how many cities the US has?  They couldn’t tap a different one for this season’s pending disaster?

Looking at next week’s preview of Peter and Caitlin in a decon shower, I’m guess the pending disaster is something biological.  Guess Mohinder’s preaching about the virus spreading to the general public wasn’t just posturing.

Back in present day in Odessa, Ukraine, Noah and the Haitian are hot on the trail of Isaac’s last seven paintings.  They visit Noah’s mentor where they proceed to torture him by removing memories of his family.  That’s one that Jack Bauer never used.  But apparently it was effective.

When his mentor offers him a way out of the “on the lam life” with his family, Noah actually looks like he’s considering it.  But in the end, he crosses the line against The Company and kills his mentor.

Together Noah and the Haitian examine the paintings in a warehouse, but we are offered little insight.  Here’s what I saw

HRG dead with a blonde kissing a boy in the background.  This painting is the one Mohinder found a couple weeks ago.

A man shooting a gun.  My guess is that it was Nathan.

Hiro fighting what looks like Takezo.

A hand with a needle (or was it a vile?).  Looks like Niki is doing this very thing in next week’s preview.

I didn’t catch a good look at the other three, but here’s what the folks at TVSquad say they were and my thoughts on them:

A blonde hanging out a window.  Could be Niki or maybe Kristen Bell’s character?

Peter looking into a mirror that says biohazard.  Probably from future New York.

A painting of Claire sprawled on the steps.  Could this be her prank with the cheerleader?

What did you see in the paintings?

Speaking of Claire, she partnered with the ever creepy West to pull the over-the-line prank on the Heathers — I mean head cheerleader.  Faking (I’m not sure that’s the right word) her own death, she gets the drunk head cheerleader suspended from school and cheerleader, earning her a place on the team.

Meanwhile back in feudal Japan, Hiro crosses the line by kissing Yaeko, disrupting the time/space continuum and crossing Takezo, who saw the kiss.  Takezo then double crosses Hiro with White Beard.  Could a 400-year-old Takezo still be seeking revenge on Hiro and his family in present day?

The part of Ando, and now the restorer, reading the story is still the best part of the tale.  I have one question though.  If Hiro is betrayed by Takezo and left unconscious at the hands of White Beard with no access to Takezo’s sword, how did the scroll get in there?

The wonder twins are back in this episode, but all is not wonderful as Sylar wedges himself between the too.  It gets worse when he influences Maya to use her powers to kill the Citizen Border Patrol so they could cross the border and Alejandro tells her that the next time she uses her power he intends to let Sylar die.  That’s okay, because Sylar is still planning to kill the pair when he gets his powers back.  In the meantime, he’s content to play with his new toy (Maya).

No more on Matt and his dad or Nathan and his mom this week.  Kristen Bell’s character and Micah were also missing in this episode.

Not a bad episode in my opinion.  It kept the storyline moving and gave us a few new things to ponder.

Matt Reunites with his mysterious dad in Heroes’ Fight or Flight

In the fifth installment of Heroes, Matt saw his father for the first time since he was 13 and we finally got to meet Molly’s Nightmare Man.  But we learn that family connections are anything but easy in “Fight or Flight.”

Despite his powers, the Nightmare Man (Alan Blumenfeld) is everything Matt remembered about his father — a con man out only for himself.  However, his powers make Parkman Senior more than just a deadbeat dad — he is a man with an evil agenda, that includes the elimination of the original 12 heroes and holding Molly hostage.

I was not surprise to see Nathan head to Philly with Matt.  Finally sober, I think Nathan is ready to pursue some answers.  However, either the two really don’t work well together or they are very naive.  First, they bought into the idea that Parkman Senior was also on the hit list.  The pair seemed to forget that the Nightmare Man was holding Molly hostage in her own mind — not something an innocent man would do.  Even if he was in hiding, he could have just blocked Molly out.

It was aggravating enough that Matt and Nathan kept letting Parkman Senior distract them from getting answers, but then when Nathan told Matt to just read his mind I wanted to scream at the TV.  Why would Nathan expose Matt like that?  Why didn’t he just tell him in his mind to read Nightmare Man’s mind?  And knowing about some of his dad’s abilities, did Matt really think that he was going to just let him read his mind?

It’s no wonder that Matt and Nathan were so easily trapped in their own nightmares, which were in their own right interesting.  Nathan obviously still carries a lot of guilt about Peter.  Will his burned self start to manifest itself like Niki’s Jessica?

Matt’s nightmare was a little stranger since we’ve heard very little about his ex-wife and the baby this season, but apparently he is carrying some guilt there too. 

In the end, we learned very little about the Dirty Dozen except that Bob from The Company is next on the hit list.  Does that mean that there will be no more attempts on Angela?   Pretty lame hit man that leaves someone still alive if you ask me.

Meanwhile back in New York, Mohinder takes Molly into The Company for help.  Does anyone else think that Mohinder is in over his head?  This man is way too wishy washy to be a key component in a plan to take down The Company.  The whole reason he and Matt have Molly is to keep her out of the hands of The Company and then he willingly delivers her to their door.

This same man then lectures Bob about using a taser just moments before he uses it on Jessica to save Bob, the man he’s trying to take down.  And then he tries to help Niki escape. 

Niki, by the way, still thinks The Company is helping her get rid of Jessica.  Personally, I think they are trying to figure out how to extract Jessica and control her for their own gain.  But I’ll save that rant for next week when Mohinder gets all morale again and lectures Bob about experimenting with the virus.

For now, Mohinder has gone to New Orleans to do who knows what to Monica.  He might think he’s helping, but he’s just playing into the hands of The Company.

Meanwhile, Monica, with the help of Micah, is discovering and testing her copycatting abilities, which, by the way, I still think is one of the coolest powers.  Nice to see Isaac’s work is still around.  Is the superhero Copycat in the “9th Wonder” a little foreshadowing of Monica’s future (if Mohinder doesn’t mess with it)?  Will she become our first true superhero, donning a disguising and fighting evil?  She definitely has the attitude for it.  Will Micah become her sidekick?  It’ll be neat to see someone actually find a good use for their powers.

Likewise, in Cork, Peter is channeling a little Isaac when he paints a picture of himself and Caitlin in Montreal.  The painting goes nicely with what he found in his box when he finally opened it — a passport and a one-way ticket to Montreal.  Where did the ticket and the passport come from?  Sounds a little like a set up to me?  As far as we know Peter was planning no trips to Montreal before the season finale and he probably didn’t have his passport on him when he went supernova.  Whoever put him in the box, must’ve put those things there as well.  The big question is who put him in the box?

Because there was a picture of Peter with Nathan, I wondered if Nathan did it.  But he’s showing way too much guilt for someone who would know Peter was alive.  So my guess is Angela and she must’ve left further clues for him at the building in Montreal.  What do you think?

And what secrets can be held in Montreal?  Will it be the key to bring down The Company?  Is that why they are now looking for Peter?

The hunt for Peter brings us to the big guest star of the week — Kristen Bell as Elle, an agent for The Company and the daughter of someone with an agenda.  She said she worked for a company, I just assumed it was The Company.  If I’m right, then I’m guessing she’s Bob’s daughter.  Anyone else think someone different is her dad?

Also do we assume because Peter can also shoot lighting out of his hands that he has been in contact with Peter before?

I don’t know about anyone else, but I wasn’t impressed with Kristen Bell’s character.  Except for the mischievousness (if that’s what you want to call killing Ricky), Elle reminded me too much of Veronica Mars.  I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.

We only caught a glimpse of Noah, the Haitian and Hiro this week.  Noah and the Haitian are in what looked like Russia looking for the missing Isaac paintings.  I wonder what lie he told his family for this trip.

Hiro is still in feudal Japan watching Takezo and Yaeko fall in love while trying to save her dad.  What was more interesting was watching a frustrated Ando trying to find out what the damaged scrolls said.  His interaction with the restorer was cute.  Desperate to know what happens next, he asks the restorer who says something like “how should I know.”

No Maya, Alejandro or Sylar this week.  Yeah!  There was also no sign of Claire and the creepy West.

SciFi Weekly is reporting that Kring says we will be seeing more of the people from the Dirty Dozen photo that included Angela and Matt’s dad this season.  Personally, I’m looking forward to knowing more about the original 12.

Until next week, I leave you to ponder your theories.

‘Heroes’ finally reveals the identity of Nightmare Man in ‘The Kindness of Strangers’

During last night’s Heroes, we got a glimpse of this season’s big bad — finally.  “The Kindness of Strangers” not only revealed the identity (sort of) of the man giving Molly such vicious nightmares, but we also learn that he has a special tie to one of our heroes.

We have Matt Parkman to thank for tonight’s big revelation.  Wow, did he just get interesting!  When Angela Petrelli suddenly decides to confess, from her hospital bed, to the murder of Kaito and inflicting the wounds to herself, Matt doesn’t take Angela’s message to leave it be to heart. 

Unable to continue the investigation officially (because his partner believes Angela’s confession), Matt turns to Nathan Petrelli for help.  This request is enough to get Nathan to shave and visit his boys (he must of really screwed up if he’s not allowed at their school), but it doesn’t stop him from seeing that creepy reflection.  At first I thought it was Peter in the reflection, but this time it looked like Nathan.  What does it mean?  Is it a manifestation of his own guilty conscious?

Together the pair find a photo of the “Dirty Dozen” that includes Angela and her husband, Kaito, Linderman, Deveaux, Bob (guess there is a link between The Company and the Dirty Dozen) and to Matt’s surprise, the father that left him when he was 13. 

Eager to find his father, Matt asks Molly to find him only to find out that his absent father is also Molly’s Nightmare Man.  Now I expected Nightmare Man to be a part of the Dirty Dozen, but I didn’t see the relationship to Matt coming and I think it makes the threat more interesting. 

In a brave effort, especially for a child of her age, Molly agrees to find the Nightmare Man for Matt.  But after revealing that he’s in Apt. 9 in Philadelphia, she gets trapped in her own mind by her nightmare. 

I think it’s very interesting to note that Matt, who can read minds, has a father that also seems to have a telepathy sort of power, although obviously much stronger.  Could Matt’s father have been the one to attack Angela in the police station through her own mind?  Does Matt’s dad know about Matt’s abilities? 

Are the parent’s abilities and the child’s abilities somehow related?  And if two parents have powers, how does that affect a child’s powers?  Micah, Claire, Nathan and Peter all had parents with too powers?  As far as we know, Hiro only has one parent with powers and we don’t know what that power was.  Nathan’s boys have only one parent with powers and they don’t seem to exhibit any powers yet.  Would Nathan and Peter’s powers be different if they were Kaito’s sons and not Mr. Petrelli’s?  Or are they Kaito’s?

Meanwhile, secrets still abound in the Bennett family.  As Noah and the Haitian continue to search for the remaining paintings, he reflects over the one found last week depicting his death with Claire and a boy in the background.  In the meantime, Claire is lying to her father to see West, to whom she reveals way too much about herself. 

I’m starting to believe those of you who think West is a plant by The Company to find the Bennetts.  He was pushing way to hard for Claire to continue to see him.  And he was digging way to much into her business.  And he’s still creepy, even for a high school boy.  Wake up Claire!!!

We met a new hero in New Orleans this week.  Micah, who didn’t take long to disobey his mom and use his powers, has a cousin who is just coming into her powers.  Is it me, or does cousin Monica’s powers remind you a lot of a waitress in Texas from last season?  As far as powers go, the ability to learn like that would be a pretty cool one in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I think her efforts to thwart the robbery might bring a little too much attention to her powers.

And finally, we are to Maya and Alejandro.  Good news — they didn’t kill or resurrect anyone this week.  Instead they meet Sylar.  No explanation about how he came to be face down in the street yet.  Since the wonder twins are still alive, I can only assume that he still doesn’t have his abilities or the ability to absorb powers.  BTW, love the metaphor of his watch being broken too.

Sylar being paired with the Maya and Alejandro can’t be good news.  It definitely wasn’t for Derek.  And what is with the cockroach?  Is it Sylar’s calling card?  Or is he like the cockroach and never dies?

No sight of Hiro, Peter or Niki this week.  Overall, I was excited about this episode because we are finally moving the story about this season’s big bad forward.  I just want to know more about the Dirty Dozen!

Sylar Returns on Heroes in ‘Kindred’

Sylar, the big evil from last season returns in last night’s episode of Heroes.  In “Kindred” we learned the fates of the last of the heroes from last season’s finale and of a fate to come.

First, we find out how Sylar escaped from Kirby Plaza.  Still working for The Company, Candace — who was presumed dead, but apparently wasn’t (good call to all of those who said if she really was dead she’d return to her real form) — helped Sylar escape.  Where she stashed him is still a mystery, but, with help from others in The Company, she’s been nursing him back to health.  To what end?  I don’t know.  Apparently the recovering Sylar no longer has his powers (or are they just being suppressed somehow?), but that doesn’t deter him from his original goal.  In fact, it’s not long before he’s killed Candace (this time she reverts to her real form) in an effort to gain her powers. 

I understand that during the season finale that everyone was busy with Peter exploding and Hiro disappearing to see Sylar slip away.  But when things calmed down, wouldn’t someone notice that there wasn’t a dead body lying around?  And when they did, wouldn’t they be curious as to what happened to him?  Isn’t anyone afraid of what he might be doing if he’s alive?  I would think Mohinder, at the very least, would be interested in pursuing the missing Sylar.

We also learned the fate of D.L. — he’s the one hero that didn’t survive Kirby Plaza.  Niki and Micah say one last goodbye at the cemetery in Vegas — not sure why she brought him all the way back there to bury him if she wasn’t staying — before dumping Micah at relatives in New Orleans because there’s something she’s “just gotta do.”

Micah, perceptive as always, realizes this is a bad idea, telling his mom “you always say that before you do something bad.”  I’m not sure it’s bad, but stupid probably.  Apparently, Niki has gone to The Company for help, presumably, to remove her alter ego.  Why?  I don’t know.  She seems to have Jessica under control.  And why would she go to The Company?

I understand that all the heroes in Kirby Plaza had no reason to stay together after the incident.  But seriously, did they all just walk away from Kirby Plaza as if nothing happened?  I would have thought they would have at least chatted with each other for a few minutes.  What just happened?  Who was behind it?  Who do we need to look out for?  Something.

And finally, we learn the future fate of someone when Mohinder finds the eighth in the series of Isaac paintings that have yet to happen.  The first we saw last week predicted Kaito’s death.  This one predicts Noah’s death.  And was that Claire in the background of the painting kissing someone?

Unfortunately, the rest of the hour was really just filler.

Alejandro and Maya are still on the run trying to get to New York.  They are still killing and resurrecting people.  Nothing new.

Peter’s still in Ireland.  And he still doesn’t know who he is.  He continues to exhibit great powers, but doesn’t have any control over them.  Having saved his captors from a double cross, he’s no longer a hostage.  He gets inked and falls for the girl.

Hiro is still in feudal Japan, his efforts to make Takezo a hero succeeding.  But now Hiro is falling for Takezo’s girl.  I thought the idea of Hiro leaving Ando notes in Takezo’s sword was a cool idea, but was wasted at this point in the story.   Since we already know what’s happening to Hiro, it seemed like a vain attempt to keep Ando in the story.  It would have been better used in the first episode with everyone one (including the audience) wondering about Hiro to tell Hiro’s story.

Mohinder’s back in New York still working for The Company in a new lab set up in Isaac’s loft and finally realizing that he might be in over his head in his attempt to take down The Company.

Matt is still babysitting Molly and we know no more about this season’s big bad.

Claire is still in California upset about hiding her abilities.  So much so, that when she finds out that West has a power she forgets about how creepy he is and treats him like a kindred spirit.  And why does she seem so surprised when Wes reveals that HRG tagged him?  Surely by now she knows what her dad did.

No Nathan or Angela Petrelli this episode which is disappointing since I want to know more about what happened to Angela in the police station last week.  But it looks like we’ll learn more next week.

Personally, I’m a little let down by this episode.  I hope they wrap up the Sylar storyline quickly.  I’m ready to move past him to the next new evil.  BTW, when are they going to tell us more about it?

Until next week, . . .

(Photo courtesy of NBC)

‘Heroes’ reveals the powers of ‘Lizards’ and More

The second episode of Heroes reveals the powers of lizards and more.  In, “Lizards,” we learn the about the powers of at least three of our new heroes and a few more interesting facts.

Last week, I complained about Hiro’s story being predictable.  And yes, just as I predicted (and probably everyone else) Hiro (Masi Oka) posed as Takezo (David Anders) to fulfill Takezo’s destiny and win the heart of Yaeko (Eriko Tamura) and then talked Takezo into rescuing Yaeko’s dad.  But when Takezo got shot with arrows and then healed, things got interesting.

Is Takezo’s real claim to fame, being the first “hero” with powers?  Are all those who currently have powers in some way a descendant of Takezo?  It’s possible.  He does seem kind of promiscuous.  Or were there others even then who had powers?  Did people with powers in those times just hide them?  Are the “Dirty Dozen” (the group including Angela, Kaito, Linderman and Deveaux) just the first group to unite to use their powers?

When Takezo was shot, Hiro was very upset.  But couldn’t he just go back in time to save him?  Or is he only allowed to change certain things?  Makes you wonder if Hiro really changed history when he rescued the fake Takezo last week or if he was meant to take his place all along.  Guess with time travel, you never really know.  And not allowing Hiro to go back in time, let us find out about Takezo’s power.

Back in modern time, we see the powers of two more heroes — the twins Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Oritz).  Although, I’m not entirely sure I understand them.  Apparently when Maya bleeds black from eyes (a la the black oil in X-Files), she kills everyone near her.  But what triggers this?  Is it when Maya’s anxious or when she’s separated from her brother?  And what actually do these people die from?  What is the cause of death?

On the other hand, Alejandro seems to be able to resurrect.  It’s not clear whether he can resurrect only Maya’s victims (that’s my guess) or anyone like Linderman.  I thought it was a nice touch that their powers are kind of opposite.  As the mother of boy/girl twins, my kids, while not complete opposites, often complement each other.

When the healer touched Maya she said that what Maya had in her was so dark it could kill the devil.  Was that a little foreshadowing?  Will Maya be the one to kill the “big bad” this season?  By the way, no new clues on this big bad in this episode.

Meanwhile we learned a little more about Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) powers.  If she loses a toe, it grows back like a lizard’s tail does.  Personally, I’m too squeamish to watch a season of Claire mutilating herself.  Besides, her questions about regeneration and her experiments have already gotten her noticed by the creepy West (Nick D’Agosto).  Also, I don’t think her car being stolen is a coincidence.

But Noah (Jack Coleman) is too busy to notice with his own plans with Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) to take down The Company progressing. 

I honestly was all ready to rant and rave about Suresh being naive enough to have another hero use his power against him.  Didn’t he learn to be more suspicious after Sylar?  But low and behold, it was me who got fooled when Suresh faked his amnesia, healed the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis) and sent him to Noah. I’m glad they brought the Haitian back, I think there’s still more to his story.

Still no clue, though, as to what the virus is, why it only affects some and why Suresh’s blood is the cure.

Kaito is really dead and the encounter in the police station suggests that Angela (Cristine Rose) isn’t behind his murder and is really a target herself.  Was that the same hitman that killed Kaito that went after her (obviously with a different power) or another one?

We did learn a few important tidbits.  Angela was a big stock holder in Kaito’s company.  And the symbol we keep seeing is the logo for her husband’s law firm.  Let the theories begin.

I loved the scene where Angela tells Matt (Greg Grunberg) to get out of her head.  He’s going to have to be more careful about how he uses his powers. 

I realize he hadn’t met Angela before or Ando (James Kyson Lee), but didn’t he meet Hiro during the season finale?  When Ando told him that Hiro was Kaito’s son, Matt showed no recognition.

On the other hand, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) still recollects nothing.  Whatever happened to him, it doesn’t seem to affect his powers.  In fact, he’s got a few more.  I’m guessing the ability to get out of the ropes came from D.L. (who by the way is still missing in action), but where did the bolts of electricity out of his hands come from?  Sylar?

Those Irish seem to be taking Peter’s ability’s in stride.  I would have thought it would freak them out, but apparently they see it as an asset to their enterprises. 

I’m looking forward to finding out more about Peter and getting him back to the rest of the heroes.

Well until next week, I’ll leave you to mull over your theories. 

(photo courtesy of heroesrevealed.com)

‘Heroes’ Four Months Later

I’ll be honest with you I was less than thrilled with Heroes’ Season 1 Finale.  It didn’t live up the incredible excitement built all year.  So the big question is will Heroes be able to avoid a sophomore slump?  The premiere of “Four Months Later” gave me a little hope.

As a direct result of my disappointment with last season’s finale, I’ve avoided all things Heroes this summer.  No graphic novels, no spoilers, no reruns.  With the exception of some Heroes news, I’ve had a Heroes-free summer.  So I went into last night’s season premiere with no building excitement — just a fan returning for Season 2.

I’m happy to report that while the episode didn’t blow me away, it did peak my interest in the Heroes world once again.  I am intrigued by the plot and already have my own slew of questions.

Let’s start with the plot that captivates me the most — the older generation of heroes.  We learned a few things.  First, there were twelve of them in the original group.  Nine remain with Deveaux, Linderman and Angela’s husband gone.  Yes, Peter and Nathan’s dad was a member of the Dirty Dozen and it sounds like he died by their hands too.  Hmmm . . . What was his power?  And when did he develop it.  He didn’t have it in the graphic novel when he met Linderman.

For that matter, do we know what Kaito Nakamura’s (George Takei) power is?  And we might never know.  I’m assuming that he is really dead.  Surely the Dirty Dozen wouldn’t take him out in a way in which he could use his power to survive.  Speaking of which, just who was the hitman?  Kaito makes it sound like he was one of the Dirty Dozen.  What exactly was Kaito going to tell his son?  Will Hiro (Masi Oka) going to be able to go back in Kaito’s past to find out?

Also, just what exactly sealed Kaito’s fate?  Was it the past sins he wanted to atone for?  Or was it helping his son defeat Linderman’s plan that got him killed?  Angela Petrelli (Cristine Rose) is also marked for death.  Was it because she didn’t help her sons or because she wasn’t able to stop them?  Did all of the Dirty Dozen stray from their original mission to help the world or just the few we’ve met?  Who’s their leader — the mystery man from Molly’s (Adair Tishler) dreams?

Speaking of Molly, she’s now living with Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), who has become a New York cop, at Mohinder’s apartment.  I’m assuming Molly’s parents were done away with by The Company when they took her, but isn’t it a little weird that she was able to just go live with Matt?  Sure The Company isn’t interfering, but wouldn’t social services had lots of questions about where she came from, etc.  Speaking of messes — how did they explain away the final scene from last season.  Lots of people were injured, wasn’t there an investigation?  I’d have thought that incident might hinder Matt’s chances at joining the NYPD.

Meanwhile, Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is off recruiting funding for the study of the virus affecting Molly.  Or was it just a cover for joining The Company?

In the meantime, Noah has packed up his family and moved them to a new town to hide from The Company.  I thought it was interesting that Noah had this heartfelt talk with Claire (Hayden Panettiere) about how sorry his was for what he did to her, while he’s plotting with Mohinder to take down The Company.

But Claire has secrets of her own.  She’s still communicating with her birth father, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar).  Nathan, who presumably lost his election, is in a constant state of drunkenness these days.  Both are wondering — where’s Peter (Milo Ventimiglia)?

I think it was a nice cliffhanger to wait until the last minute to tell us about Peter’s fate.  But here’s where I have lots of questions.  There’s the obvious:  How did he get in the box and why doesn’t he have a memory?  My guess is that it has something to do with the Dirty Dozen, but that’s just speculation.  But why doesn’t Nathan know what happened to Peter?  He was with him last.  And why isn’t Nathan hurt?  What did Nathan see in the reflection of the glass at the bar?  Was he seeing things or was it his own reflection?

These questions lead me to a theory.  Nathan was killed by Peter.  Peter who is still regenerating from his wounds disguises himself as Nathan.  And the Peter in the box is a clone.  Not sure if it will pan out that why, but it makes you wonder.

The story of Hiro interests me the least.  He’s gone back to 1671 to meet his hero only to find out that Takezo Sensei (David Anders) doesn’t live up to his reputation.  The storyline from here is kind of predictable.  Either Hiro, himself, actually does the feats credited to Takezo or his influences him to live up to his legend.  Either way, I not sure how it furthers the overall story.  Personally, I want Hiro back with Ando (James Kyson Lee).  The chemistry of this duo is what I like.

We were also introduced to Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Oritz).  I wasn’t captivated by their story.  I’ve seen the list of all the new heroes to join the cast this season and I’m a little worried.  I’m afraid that with all the new cast members that we won’t have enough time for our beloved heroes.  For instance, we still haven’t learned the fate of Niki (Ali Larter), Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) and D.L (Leonard Roberts).

I guess I’ll just have to wait a few more episodes to see how they weave them into the story.  Overall, a good episode with the promise of a intriguing season.