Heroes: Episode 2.03

Kindred

I think this episode was better than I think it was. I know that doesn't make sense, but I found out today that there were two crucial plot points that I completely spaced on (more on that later), so who knows what else I missed?

That said, I don't think it was a well-executed episode, probably the most boring one I've seen yet. I didn't think I would ever say that about an episode that had Sylar in it. It was even a little cheesy.

Let's dispense with the new guys, Maya and Alejandro, first: just like in the previous two episodes, they are still in Mexico, still on their way to America, still killing people with the black eye poison, still bringing them back to life, only now they have a car and I can't believe they are inserting another Nissan Rogue! Enough with the product placement! Alejandro and Maya are bor-ing. Except for this, the first little item I missed: It's not just any car. From the NBC site:

"She gets the keys and frees her brother and an American prisoner named Derek who has a car they escape in – Claire's Nissan Rogue!"

Oh, OK.

Mohinder and Matt bicker like a married couple because Mohinder will be doing his "spy work" in NYC now and Molly's nightmares are getting worse and Matt is worried it will put her in more danger. Stephen Tobolowsky (we'll call him Company Man) sets Mohinder up with a state-of-the-art lab that just happens to have been installed in Isaac's old loft. Why? I dunno. Unfortunately, Mohinder's spy work is going to be, um, hindered because Company Man is going to be looking over his shoulder at all times.

Hiro is still back in Japan with Kensei and Yaeko. As much as I love Sark, I'm ready for Hiro to get home to Ando. At least we get a nice scene with Ando finding ancient scrolls inserted into the hilt of the Kensei sword he still has; they are notes written to Ando by Hiro, explaining what happened to him in the past. He explains that Kensei did not know he had the power to heal. Hiro showed Kensei his own power and told Kensei he had to fight these 90 Ronin guys to get a fire scroll and set things right again and he did and Yaeko and Kensei fell in love and Hiro was about to head back home but then changed his mind at the last minute. It's all really not very interesting and the CGI is kind of crappy. Come home, Hiro!

Nikki and Micah are back, but not DL, who died since we last saw him. Nikki and Micah head for family in New Orleans, where Micah will stay while Nikki takes care of something. Micah thinks she's going off to do something "bad". Can't say I blame him. Anyway, when Nikki knocks on the door to the house where she's leaving Micah, Uhura answers! You just missed Sulu, Uhura! Later, Nikki calls Company Man on the phone and asks him if he can cure her and he says he can, if she does something for them in return. Does Nikki have the virus?

So as I said, up at the top there, Sylar's still alive. That would have been a cool surprise if they didnt' show him in the previews. Anyway, he was saved by the illusionist Candace, who along with the help of some mysterious entity (the Company?), has been caring for him lo these few months. He's been unconscious this entire time, so first chance he gets he kills Candace and tries to steal her power. He's unsuccessful, however; in fact, none of his powers work! Does he have the virus, too? He runs out of the shack he's being held in but finds that he's been placed in the middle of a huge tropical jungle somewhere.

Peter. Peter, Peter, Peter. I thought they were going to be a little more creative with the whole identity in a box thing, but it was all pretty literal: Peter goes through with the armored car job in order to get the box from Ricky. Considering Peter can get the box from Ricky whenever the hell he wants to - invisibility, telekinesis, mind-reading...hello! - this whole storyline falls apart unless you can convince yourself that he doesn't know all he can do, and he can't control the things he knows about (which they sort of touch on).

So the armored car job goes off without a hitch, Peter ingratiates himself with Ricky by exposing one of his thugs as a backstabber and Ricky gives him the box. OK, good. Except Peter DOESN"T OPEN IT. He's afraid. Welcome back, annoying Peter.

The coolest part of this part of the story, however, was this: Caitlin. For two reasons.

1) "A girl has to have her secrets." I bet I know what her secret is.
2) When Peter and Caitlin kissed, and they showed the tattoo changing from the Irish symbol to the Godsend helix, I totally thought it was Peter's arm. Well, I was wrong, according to NBC:

"Peter is afraid to open the box and Caitlin tries to comfort him as she leans in and kisses him. Unknown to him, her own tattoo fades away and turns into the Godsend helix."

Finally, the Bennetts. West continues his obnoxious henpecking of Claire until she finally breaks down and admits she's a "freak". Which is when West takes her flying and it's kind of sweet but it's also cheesy and I don't like the way he forced her into revealing her ability. Why didn't he just tell her about his after he saw her do the thing with her pinky toe? He's kind of jerky.

But Claire likes him and they kiss on the beach, which is when she spots the 2 hash marks on his neck, which we know is put on the Heroes who have been abducted by the Company. He tells her he was abducted by a "man with Horn-Rimmed Glasses". And Claire knows exactly who he's talking about.

That night, Mohinder calls Bennett and tells him that he found another of the 8 paintings (it's marked "8/8") in Isaac's old loft in a box that's been packed up to be moved. He sends a photo of the painting to Bennett, and it's not good. It shows Bennett lying dead in the foreground, his horn-rimmed glasses askew, with a bullet hole in the lens. Claire and what I assume is West are kissing in the background.

I don't like where this is headed!

RETRACTION: I re-watched the scene where Caitlin and Peter kissed last night and I have to say I agree with the commenters: It was Peter's tattoo that changed to the godsend heli. That was definitely not Caitlin's arm, it's just not anatomically possible. The NBC recap was wrong.