By Kofi Outlaw
Finally, HEROES is back on track! Just in time to be yanked of the air for an indefinite hiatus! Boo. However, before departing, the hit show gave us one hell of a titillating episode to wet our appetites and keep us howling for more until it returns.
The episode picked up with Mohinder arriving at his apartment to rescue Molly from the clutches of Sylar. When he arrived Sylar was waiting, playing “house” with unwitting accomplice Maya. At first Sylar seemed calm, almost friendly. However, when Mohinder spilled the beans about his nefarious past, Maya, furious for having been deceived, turned her “evil eyes” on Sylar. However she could not kill him without killing Mohinder and Molly too, so she was forced to let him go. Sylar commanded Mohinder to cure him of the virus The Company had injected him with. Mohinder conceded, leading Sylar to Isaac Mendez’ loft with the promise of a cure.
Having found the body of the virus’s original creator, Parkman and Nathan confronted Angela Petrelli, who finally confessed to the role she and the elder generation of heroes had played in forming The Company and helping Adam realize his vision of “saving the world.” She let Parkman and Nathan know that the virus was stored in the Primatech paper facility, and told them the only way to kill Adam was a mortal wound to the head. Before leaving, Angela communicated to Parkman telepathically, letting him know that if Peter didn’t stand aside, Parkman would have to kill him too.
In Texas, Hiro arrived to stop Adam, only to face off against Peter. The fight was cool, but pointless, since Hiro somehow turned back into a softy, even after slaying hordes of samurai warriors in feudal Japan. Anyhoo, Peter bested Hiro using Elle’s electric powers, and then he and Adam made a run for the virus, which was locked in a massive vault. Adam instructed Peter to pry the door open using his telekinesis, and Peter started on the task.
In New Orleans, Micah tried to solicit his mother Nikki’s help in rescuing Monica, who had been captured while trying to help Micah retrieve some affects a local gang had stolen from him. Nikki explained that the virus had stolen her super-strength, but vowed to help her son anyway. Using Micah’s tech powers (still don’t know how that works) the triangulated Monica’s position to an abandoned warehouse where the gangsters planned to burn her alive. (Strangely they chose to torch the whole building, instead of just dousing her with gasoline.) Nikki ran in to save the day, and was able to rescue Monica, however the building exploded before Nikki could escape, tragically ending her life.
H.R.G. tried to make the best of his incarceration by the company. When Elle—angry at having been pulled off field duty by her father Bob—came to Bennet looking for information about her past, H.R.G. explained how Bob had allowed the company to experiment on her as a little girl, putting her through tortures so intense, she had all but repressed them for the sake of her sanity. When Elle went to confirm this, she discovered Sylar on the surveillance camera placed in Isaac Mendez’ loft, holding Mohinder and Molly hostage. Seeing an opportunity for redemption, Elle ran off solo to stop Sylar.
In Isaac Mendez’ loft, Sylar demanded the cure Mohinder promised. Mohinder stalled, saying he needed to take a sample of blood from Sylar to confirm what strain of virus he had. Meanwhile Molly and Maya, now a hostage herself, tried to locate Maya’s brother using Molly’s powers. When Molly confirmed her brother’s death, Maya lost it, causing Sylar to put a bullet in her. Seeing her as a test subject, Sylar then commanded Mohinder to inject Maya with Claire’s blood—a move that saved her life. Just as Maya was waking up, Elle arrived and attacked Sylar, who fled with the vial of Claire’s blood. Elle was crestfallen, until Mohinder thanked her and explained she was a hero, giving her a warm, fuzzy feeling she had never experienced. A Kristin Bell, how we love you!
In California Claire was about to make her move to go public about the Hero’s existence, thereby exposing The Company as well. Boyfriend West tried to talk her out of it, only to be given his break-up notice. Before Claire could leave, however, H.R.G. showed up on the doorstep, revealing that he was still alive. Before hugs and kisses could be exchanged however, he instructed his family that they must never go public about the heroes, or The Company, or they would all be killed. In exchange for his family’s safety, H.R.G. rejoined The Company (he is “a ghost” after all,) vowing to work from the shadows, never returning to his family. Like that’ll last.
Finally, in Texas, Nathan and Parkman arrived just in time to stop Peter from biggest mistake of his life. In a thrilling scene, Peter ran into the vault, just as Adam had located the vial with the virus. Hiro teleported in and teleported out again, taking Adam with him—but not before Adam dropped the vial, which was inches away from shattering on the floor, until Peter halted its descent with his telekinetic powers. Peter destroyed the virus, and, under Nathan’s advisement, the trio went to stage a press conference, hoping to go public with same information Claire had planned to expose.
The episode ended with Hiro trapping Adam for all eternity inside his father’s coffin, while Nathan, Parkman and Peter held their press conference. Just as Nathan was about to reveal his powers, an assassin shot him down, killing him. A phone call to Angela Petrelli revealed that she her hand (or at least prior knowledge) in the assassination, which brought volume two, “Generations,” to a close. Volume three, “Villains,” opened with Sylar in a back alleyway, using Claire’s blood to cure himself of the Shanti virus. Opening his hand, Sylar used his telekinesis to move a small can, declaring to the world that ‘he was back.’
Now that it’s done, let’s all pretend that HEROES “Generations” never happened. The way the show killed of D.L. was lame, the way they totally underutilized Nikki this season was almost criminal (her personalities should have forged into one badass persona,) and the only thrills and suspense came in the last three episodes. Hopefully creator Tim Kring has taken notes, and is ready to get things back on course. “Villains” sounds like it could be a pretty awesome chapter, if done right. But only time, and the outcome of the WGA strike,will tell.