Heroes: Even YOU Can Change History!

Published: November 6, 2007 at 07:05 PM GMT
Last Updated: November 6, 2007 at 07:05 PM GMT

By Lisa LaValle

At 8:45, before the start of this week’s episode of Heroes, I sat down and gave the show a pep talk. It went a little something like this:

Listen, Heroes, I haven’t been that harsh on you so far this season. I’ve heard all the bad words from other critics and fans – lackluster, disappointing, sophomore slump – but I’ve avoided them, because I figured I’d give you the benefit of the doubt. As with any show with its own original mythology, sometimes you have to forego action-packed episodes in favor of slower, informational ones. But before tonight, you had six episodes that probably could have been condensed into two or three. Thanks to previews, I know we have a huge plot device coming up tonight – 93% of the world’s population is dunzo by June 14^th (unless the writer’s strike goes on even longer) – so let’s get down to business, shall we? Get those heroes working together toward a common goal. I have faith in you, Heroes. Don’t blow it.

So now that I’ve watched the episode, what do I think? Let’s just say someone heard my pep talk. New plot device plus a new spin on a character plus a new power development plus naked, wet Milo Ventimiglia? That’s a math problem worth solving. Peter started remembering stuff, Mohinder sort of made a decision on his own, Matt went nightmare-for-nightmare with his dad, and Hiro made his triumphant return to the present. It was like Christmas!

Let’s start with Hiro. When last we left him, he was knocked out by Kensei, who was rightfully ticked off that Hiro was kissing his lady friend. Kensei dopes him up on opium so he wouldn’t be able to use his power, but he does anyway, yada yada yada, he and Yaeko escape (no sign of her dad; I assume Hiro teleported him to safety as well). Hiro goes back to destroy all the guns and save Japan but first he and Kensei have a pretty sweet swordfight. Hiro teleports away and Kensei chooses to stay with the exploding guns instead of taking Hiro’s offer to escape. Hiro returns to Yaeko under the cherry blossoms but he needs to stop messing with the past and return to the present even though they love each other. And at this point – ask my roommate – I yelled out, “I DON’T CARE.” Seriously, just get this guy back to the present – we all know he’s going there eventually, why make us suffer through some inane love scene when he should have been back there three episodes ago? Thankfully, by the end of the episode, Hiro and Ando are back together again, and all is right with the world.

Mr. Bennet and the Haitian are still in the Ukraine getting a better look at the pictures. Here’s what we’re shown: Hiro and Kensei in their sword fight, Mr. Bennet dead with a blond kissing someone in the background, another blonde (possibly Niki) banging on a wall with her fist, a hand holding a vial, Mohinder with a busted nose pointing a smoking gun, and Peter looking dumbfounded near a biohazard sign. We’ll get back to those images later, but for now, Mr. Bennet takes some cell phone pics and then burns the paintings.

Party at the Company! Parkman and Nathan show up with Bob’s death sentence photo so Bob gets everyone else out of the building so they can lure in Matt’s father, who we learn has the very un-hero-like name of Maury. Bob’s big plan is to inject Maury with the virus, rendering his power useless. The lucky one to give the shot? Matt. Bob tells him his power, like his father’s, is more than just mind reading – he can control anything the brain controls, from senses to thoughts. Greg Grunberg gets working on his Emmy reel in a scene where he apologizes to Molly for making her find his dad and then thought-tells her he loves her. The blips on her heart monitor tell him she loves him too.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Bob are getting to know one another, or rather, Nathan is reading names off Bob’s files. Guess who he asks about? Adam Monroe. Turns out Adam had some crazy, grandiose ideas about knocking out humanity in order to save the planet, and until two weeks ago, Bob and The Company had him under lock and key… until he escaped. Maury may be the one killing everyone, but Adam is the brains of the operation. Oh and also, Nathan? Your brother that you thought was dead? He’s alive. Bob tells Nathan that Peter had been at the Company three months ago and the last they knew he was in Cork, Ireland.

Side note: At 9:30, I noticed the Wonder Twins weren’t going to be in this episode, and I smiled.

Peter is not in Cork, Ireland, anymore though. He’s in a wiped out New York City, eight months from now. He and Caitlin wander around yelling for a while, then get taken away by some guys in hazmat suits. Here’s where the sexy shower time came in. They’re separated – Caitlin is a foreigner so she will get deported – and Peter learns from his friendly interrogator that he’s supposed to be dead. Also, the first case of the Shanti virus was documented on March 30, 2007, and 93% of the world’s population has fallen victim to it. Everyone who’s left is living in quarantine, trying to find a cure. Quarantine Guy leads Peter to his mother, who helps him remember a little bit, and tells him, “You can control history.” Pretty heavy stuff for a guy with amnesia who just learned he can shoot blue lightning bolts out of his hands, but he does try to teleport to save Caitlin and eventually winds up by himself back in Adam’s apartment in Montreal.

Niki’s still rambling on about how the Company cured her, but it didn’t do anything to keep Maury from tormenting her with visions of DL dancing in her head. Nightmare DL tells her she’s not really cured, the Company is bad and she needs to kill Bob because that’s the only way to get Micah back. Niki is convinced and proceeds to punch Mohinder right in the kisser then bust into the office where Nathan and Bob are talking. Nathan convinces Niki that she can control herself, that Maury is making her feel this way, but she can’t get out of the nightmare and stabs herself with the virus. I don’t mind Niki, but I’m sure glad she infected herself and not Nathan because he’s becoming one of my favorite characters – he’s very motivated, he makes decisions and takes action, and that’s what I like in my heroes.

Now it’s time for the Coolest Scene of the Episode. Matt leaves Molly’s room and finds himself in what turns out to be a room in his childhood home. Molly is there and tells Matt, “This is where he keeps me.” Matt is able to summon his dad to the room – it’s more than just the room, it’s a certain time – the night Maury left. Matt gets the upper hand when he realizes this isn’t his nightmare, it’s Maury’s. Greg Grunberg really had a great episode – he nailed, “You don’t know what it’s like to fight for someone you love!” and “All you have left are your nightmares.” And with that, he takes Molly and leaves. Back in Molly’s room at the Company, Maury lies dead (or at least very unconscious) on the floor and Molly wakes up. As annoyingly precocious as Molly can be, it was very sweet when Matt said, “I love you,” and she replied, “I heard.”

The Last Five Minutes. Mohinder injects Niki with some of his blood to cure her, but it doesn’t work! The virus has developed a new strain and Mo’s blood is no longer the antidote. I smell an outbreak…

Hiro and Ando reunite in Ando’s cubicle, and Ando has to deliver the sad news that Hiro’s father is dead.

Bob spills out a whole bunch of info: They plan on keeping Maury sedated (maybe he’s not dead after all – he sure looked it) and destroying all vials of the virus. He also has a file on Claire and thinks her regenerative power could be the key to beating the virus. He gives Mohinder a gun and pretty much tells him to kill Mr. Bennet so they can get to Claire. Mohinder has a freak out – he tells Bob he’s been working with Bennet to take down the company, but he’s not sure who to trust anymore, since Bob told him about Mr. B killing Ivan in the Ukraine. Bob says Bennet is getting sloppy and emotional, and Mohinder takes the gun, but will he have the cajones to use it?

Earlier in the episode, West stopped by Claire’s house to surprise her with waffles and some quality make-out time on the couch. Unfortunately, Mr. Bennet came home and West recognized him as his kidnapper and literally flew the coop. Now, Mrs. Bennet tells Mr. Bennet that Claire has a boyfriend, Mr. Bennet sees a little blurb in the newspaper about Debbie’s drunken encounter with West and Claire, and all these things put together equal another move for the Bennet family. Claire, ever the moody, rebellious teen, insists they can go without her and stomps upstairs.

Peter is in Adam’s apartment in Montreal and attempts to teleport back to the future when he hears someone behind him. He instinctively shoots a blue flash at a hand which immediately heals its burns. Holy crap – it’s Kensei! Kensei is Adam Monroe! But how the heck did he get from 17^th century Japan to 21^st century Canada without aging? Methinks he may have more than one power. In keeping with the theme of the episode, Adam says to Peter, “Don’t you remember? You and I are going to change history.”

So since Adam is hell-bent on offing the entire human population, is Peter partially responsible for the outbreak? Will he realize it in time to stop it? Will he regain any more memories? Also, we got to see many of the images from the paintings in this episode alone: Peter with the biohazard symbol, Hiro fighting Kensei, Niki punching the wall, the hand holding the vial, and Mohinder with a busted nose and a not-yet-smoking gun. Looks like all that’s left is Mr. Bennet’s death. The last time we had the paintings, they weren’t always what they seemed, but this time around they seem pretty accurate. Will Mr. Bennet really die? If next week’s pace is anything like this week’s, we’ll probably find out soon.

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