Heroes: Episode 2.04

The Kindness of Strangers

What a difference a week makes! This episode finds the show back to form, in part because there is no Peter or Hiro. I love those characters, but their storylines are just sucking the life out of this show right now.

We are introduced to another new Hero this week, but unlike Maya and Alejandro, this one is a (more) welcome addition. Her name is Monica, she's Micah's cousin and she's really cool. She's working at a fast food restaurant to support her family (Grandma Uhura, her brother Damon and Micah) in post-Katrina New Orleans and she's just discovering her ability: She is able to mimic whatever physical activity she sees...on TV. She thwarts a would-be robber at the restaurant by coming down hard on him with a move she saw in a pay-per-view wrestling match. I think the disappointment of being passed over for a managerial position at the Burger Bonanza will fade soon enough. And I think she needs to bone up on some Ultimate Fighting on Spike.

Mrs. Petrelli is in the hospital, being treated for the wounds she suffered at the hands of the "Invisible Man" last week. Except she tells Parkman that the wounds are self-inflicted and she did it because she felt guilty for murdering Kaito. Parkman knows she's not telling the truth, but she telepathizes him, telling him to just drop it. I wonder who she's covering for? Or protecting?I have to say that they did a wonderful job casting the Petrellis - Nathan and his mother really do look like they're related.

Speaking of Nathan and looks, he has shaved his beard and he is looking HOT. I love the longer hair. Parkman tells him that he can read minds and he knows Nathan can fly and that his mother is lying. He asks Nathan for help with the case and Nathan finds a copy of the original Elder photo, which shows all 12 of the originals. The ones I recognize: Linderman, Deveaux, Mrs. Petrelli, Kaito, and Bob (formerly known here as Company Man). He points out his father, who is facing away from the camera, and Parkman recognizes someone else in the photo: his own father! Mr. Parkman was one of the 12! Also in the photo is a swarthy, Latin-y looking gentleman with a mustache - perhaps he is somehow related to Maya and Alejandro?

Later, while alone in his apartment, Nathan sees the disfigured/burnt/irradiated face in the mirror again, and this time it's definite that it's his own face he's looking at, not Peter's. What it means, I'm not sure yet, but did you see Nathan's weird thumb?? I'm wondering if something happened to it when Pasdar was in that car accident long ago.

Anyway, the Maya and Alejandro story finally gets interesting when they almost run over a body lying across the road. The three (remember Derek?) of them get out to check the body, flip it over...and it's Sylar. Sylar! How did he get there? Do you think he was really unconscious in the road, or was it just a trick? He hops in and they all head for the border.

Maya tells Sylar that they are going to NY and she shows him the book. He tells her he knows Dr. Suresh and she thinks Sylar is the best thing since sliced bread. But Alejandro ain't so sure. Sylar tells the kids he will take them to Dr. Suresh. Later, Sylar kills Derek so he won't go to the police about Maya and her brother. When Sylar tells them that the police might be close, Maya gets upset and starts with the black eye thing. Alejandro stops her from doing any serious harm to Sylar, but Sylar is...intrigued, to say the least. They take off for the US together, leaving Derek's body behind.

HRG is understandably fixated on the painting of his future death. Since Claire is kissing someone in it, he decides to try to change the future by telling her she can't see any boys. Too late, Dad. Claire lies about seeing West and tells HRG that the reason she's been out late is that she's gone against his wishes and tried out for and made the cheerleading squad. He's not happy with that, but it's better than dating, which leads to kissing some guy while your father lies dead nearby, so he allows it. (And I'm not happy that they are lying to each other- I prefer them when they're working together). The Haitian shows up and tells HRG that he's got a lead on another painting and it's in Odessa - the one in the Ukraine, not Texas. Road trip!

I should metion that West was less pushy and controlling this week and was actually kind of sweet. I'm just kind of bored with him. He'd be more interesting if he was bad. We know he was taken at some point by the Company - maybe he was "turned", like Parkman was?

Which brings us to...Parkman. After seeing his father in the photo, he tells Mohinder that his father abandoned him when he was 13 and he hasn't seen him since. I guess Mr. Parkman wasn't such a great guy and he stole money from people. Parkman wants to use Molly to locate his father because he might be in danger, or he might be putting other people in danger. But when she sees the photo, Molly freaks out and says that Mr. Parkman is the Nightmare Man! Mohinder doesn't think it's such a great idea to push her to do this, and the two of them argue about it. In order to keep the peace, Molly agrees to do her locating trick to find Parkman's dad. She narrows his location down to an apartment building in Philadelphia, but Parkman pushes her for the floor and then the apartment number. She's gets the information, but she's gone too far and Mr. Parkman "sees" her; the Nightmare Man does something to her and she falls into a catatonic state. Nice, Parkman! You're a cop, I think you could have managed just fine with only the address of the building!

Next week, Peter and the Oirish are back, but so is Veronica Mars!

ETA: Check out the full photo of the 12 here. Is that Joanna Cassidy on the right between Bob and Mr. Parkman? That would be cool.