NBC/Chris HastonClaire's mommy made fire! Micah robbed the bank! And Sylar escaped!
It was another surprise-packed episode of Heroes last night, was it not? Let's assess.
What We Learned: Christopher Eccleston is my new favorite Hero. The accent, the non-Heroic mentality, the ability at first to resist Milo Ventimiglia's charms. That man is super, indeed—and we'll see much more of him in the future as he becomes a Yoda (post-extreme makeover) to Peter.
Sylar can come back from the dead. (And this may come into play in a major way in the future—hint, hint.)
Daddy Bennet knows Claire is up to something. And something tells me it all comes to a head when, as we saw from the promos, Sylar invades Camp Bennet. (Yee!)
Hinch is Japanese for uh-oh. (And they say series television isn't educational.)
Claire's mother has a special ability, and as you saw from that cigarette light, she can control it much better than Drew Barrymore back in the day.
What Lies Ahead: Sylar holds the Bennets hostage. Get ready for a squeal-worthy, edge-of-your-seat episode next week, because Zachary Quinto (Sylar) is not messing around. And Mama Bennet is gonna have a rude awakening about what her beloved Rim Job (aka Horn-Rimmed Glasses, aka Mr. Bennet) has been up to all these years.
Radioactive Guy is coming back.
Rena Sofer (Nathan's wife) is also coming back. She told me at the Fox party (doing press for that other amazing show she's on, 24) that "they just called," so we see her closer to the end of the season. She also said cryptically of her character's future, "Next time you will see me in a wheelchair, but who knows?"
Something tells me Eric Roberts is playing Linderman. Call it a hunch.
As for the biggest reveal coming up in February sweeps—the identity of Claire's father—well, let's just say that, just like mommy, her daddy also has an ability. And it is truly an amazing twist!
Behind-the-Scenes Tidbit: By the way, there's a reason Leonard Roberts (D.L.) is wearing long sleeves in every scene. He told me he recently went on a crazy, high-speed bike ride in Malibu with his good friend Adrian Pasdar and had an accident that almost killed him. Yikes! His forearm and elbow are still a sight to behold (yes, he was kind enough to show me). It's pretty obvious Adrian is a "work hard, play hard" kinda guy (remember my story of Masi suffering dehydration after going on a hard-core hike with him?). And his castmates love him for it!
Now, dig in to Dr. Anna Graham's episode recap.
Chapter 13: "The Fix"
Recap by Dr. Anna Graham
Hiro and Ando are kidnapped by a Little Bad. While riding through the streets of New York, they are made to quake and quiver at the implied threat of the Big Bad. As it turns out, however, they made the wrong assumption about the identity of their 'napper. He is not the Big Bad but merely a Bad Dad. Hiro's papa (played by George Takei) wants Hiro to accept a one-way ticket back to Tokyo. (Hiro's so not gonna love that plan.)
Similarly, Nathan wants Peter to accept a one-way ticket back to sanity land, so he hunts down Mohinder, desperate to know WTF is going on with his brother and the other supers. After talking smack and some genetic gobbledygook (oh, how the fiction in this science fiction pains me), they agree to partner up in the interest of Peter's best interests. They find him, but not before Invisible Claude decides, Oh, okay, I'll help you learn to control your abilities. Invisible Claude delivers this promise hand in hand with the news that these training sessions never go all that well for the trainee. (Dude, they totally need a Danger Room!)
Jessica seems to have gone underground for a while, enough so that Niki is relatively cogent and a psychologist can offer to help her reintegrate the two personalities. I suspect that when Jessica reemerges, she won't take too kindly to the idea of being reintegrated out of existence. Meanwhile, Micah is standing on D.L.'s last nerve, and they can't afford the rent. Desperate for help and reassurance, D.L. Kitty Prydes his way into Niki's holding cell, and they have some nice couple moments, but Niki continues to be mostly helpless, albeit an outstanding mother (insanity and violent tendencies notwithstanding, of course). Micah, for his part, solves his family's money problems by hacking a series of ATMs using his power. When D.L. returns home, Micah pours a backpack full of cash into his lap. It's awful when kids are more competent than their parents.
In Texas, Claire-bear continues on her mission of self-actualization under cover of manatee. (She digs into her dad's secrets under the guise of studying the critically endangered "sea cow.") With the help of Zach and Mindfreak, she discovers she was killed (for the very first time?) at age 18 months. With a little cold-calling to everyone named Gordon in Kermit, Texas, she actually finds her mother. Mama Meredith Gordon turns out to be a firestarter whose Lee Press-On nails, in a pinch, can also serve as a cigarette lighter. Next week? We meet daddy. And we shall call them the Kincredibles!
Speaking of superheroic reproduction, Matt reveals to his wife he's psychic, gets kicked off the force and learns Mrs. Matt is pregnant. Yay! More Matt-type people in the world can only be good.
Last but not least, Sylar is not just a supervillain, he's a supervillain who can rise from the dead, madder and badder than before. Mmmm...If you ask me, things do not look good for Mr. Muggles!