NBC/Michael Muller Hallelujah! Heroes returns tonight! And since I absolutely could not wait to be reunited with our fave characters, I chased them all down at InStyle's recent party in honor of Heroes. It took a little convincing, but both actors and producers dished about the explosive things to come on NBC's smash hit.
Read on if you dare, but don't say I didn't warn you: Here come the spoilers, baby!
Hayden Panettiere says of her probably non-clone character, "She's on the journey to find her biological parents." Meanwhile, we learn that Daddy Bennet (aka H.R.G.) has had more than a little past involvement with those very biological parents. Jack Coleman reveals, "[Claire's mother has] a power that can be dangerous to her. I'll put it this way: Her power created the situation in which Claire came to be my daughter." And what about Claire's bio-dad? "The revelation will be very dramatic."
Catfight? Matt Fight! Ali Larter says, "When we pick up, my character [Niki] has turned herself in. During that time [in jail] she battles herself to see which side gains control, [but] by the time she gets out, one of them has definitely taken control."
Executive producer Jeph Loeb revealed there's a lot of story tied up in Niki's return to the streets. "The circumstances of how she gets out are part of the surprise of what's to come, and then how that collides with Matt is pretty special."
Wait, did you say Matt? As in my precious Greg Grunberg's character Matt? Yeee!
Loeb continues, "The two collide in the most unexpected way. What's fun is, how does a cop who reads minds deal with someone whose mind is completely out of control? It's a very special group of episodes where the two of them are running around...They are amazing to watch, and they have a battle that is really, really ugly. She kicked the hell out of him. It's the greatest."
And Greg didn't deny the forthcoming smack down. "Yes, [we have] a huge interaction, a monster interaction. I have huge bruises all over my body from the interaction with Ali's character."
And really, who doesn't like a sexy gal who plays a little rough?
Not Nathan Petrelli, that's for sure. Niki gets around, you see, and Adrian Pasdar dishes, "There is a big union between the two of us in the future. We come together in a huge way, but it's not what you expect. There is something that bonds us together, and it's shiny, it's fast and it's deadly." Is it a car? Is it a plane? Is it a space ship? (Okay, I'll stop with the lame guessing and tell you to form your own theories in the comments below.)
Ali also talked about her character's involvement with the older Petrelli brother, "I don't know much, other than at the end of episode 15, there is a reason as to why we are going to be together again, which I am thrilled about. I absolutely adore working with him, and I think our two characters are great together." I, for one, second that emotion. (But let me add that I also prefer them half-naked.)
Mohinder's List: Sendhil Ramamurthy told me about his ever-questing character Mohinder Suresh, "Right now, he is on the search for the people on the list...He has 36 names on the list, and he has the city they live in, but that's about it. Sylar is after all of them, and the main goal is to find these people, warn them, and then try and explain to them that there is something that can be done with their powers."
And how goes the mission? "I get in contact with a lot of people in the first three episodes back," Sendhil says.
As for the future of his character, Sendhil says Mohinder is changing, and for the better. "You will see a ballsier Suresh than you have seen in the first half [of the season]. I think it was a conscious decision among the writers, and I couldn't be happier about it."
Simone Says: Sweet Tawny Cypress told me about beautiful Simone, "You will see my character start to believe, because she hasn't believed for so long—and she will get to play with the guys a little bit more."
An Impasto Revealed: Santiago Cabrera told me about his character's art: "There are some great paintings you will see, and [Isaac] starts getting concerned with the paintings he has already painted, like the exploding man. And we see the dream where Peter starts thinking he's the bomb, so there is a search for that bomb—lots of searching for clues."
Nuclear Reactions: Greg Grunberg says, "Ted comes back in a huge way, and [the story is] about us working together. He's really ready to explode at any time."
That makes two of us, 'cause I can't wait! By all accounts, the next three episodes are better than ever.
Post in the comments to let me know your thoughts on all these revelations, and then don't forget to check back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled Heroes Redux (your morning-after fix)!
—Additional reporting by Michael Berner and Jennifer Godwin