Well, first thing’s first. Why exactly do you owe the Puppeteer ANY answers, Claire? You don’t! He tried to kill you and both your moms! You Owe Him Nothing! (And her hair color needs some serious help, she’s looking like one big shade of nude.)
And now Parkman, back at the Capitol Building, is being cornered by cops who think he’s a threat. Well, let’s see, you’re an ex-cop, so…you SHOULD know exactly how NOT to act. And none of what he does here remotely reflects that. Nathan, also, is winning the award for Least Subtle Superhero, since he’s making no efforts at all to hide his flying ability. Now they want us to believe that the Hunter is actually going to kill Parkman, and you know what? I hope they do! It would show that they have some balls on this show! (Added bonus, no more Nathan!) But no, the MacGuffin named Rebel saves the day. Ugh. And Matt’s drugged mind comes back online JUST in time.
I can’t even believe that this is remotely accurate for a bomb situation near the Capitol Building. And no one dies, and we all learn what we already knew: no balls.
Ah, but here comes Sylar! Maybe he’ll do us a favor and kill someone today in a delightfully evil manner! A girl can dream, after all. And we finally get to see John Glove as Sylar’s Dad! John Glover, raising megalomaniac evildoers since 2001!
Meanwhile, the gig is up for Nathan…and no one cares. Up to and including Nathan! Oh, I guess that Hunter guy does. Meh, whatever.
Now Nathan, the idiot, is trying to convince Tracy that he still cares. Funny how that’s hard to believe when you’ve got her locked up in a heat room with chains–I’m sort of on her side with thinking that’s a bunch of BS. And it is, let’s be honest. Nathan’s only trying to sweet talk Tracy because she’s the one they have on tape claiming he’s one of them. He is right, at least, in that he’s Tracy’s last hope. And…both he and Tracy are terrible liars, yet the Hunter passes up the opportunity to torture her further to get the truth out of her? Seriously? The Big Bad Ass Hunter? Whatevs!
HAH! Okay, Claire getting a job at the comic book store MAY be the best storyline ever. Her getting it purely because she’s hot makes perfect sense, but seriously, what better place for her to learn what being a hero is REALLY about than here? I hope this is as fantastically comedic as it damn well should be.
Sylar and his dad are bonding over not having epic battles, much to Sylar’s chagrin. Dad’s a cancer-ridden taxidermist facing the end of his days either way, and he’s not interested in making a big show for his prodigal son. He is interested in making him a rabbit statue, however, and we learn that daddy’s got the same ability that he does!
This scene here? This is what happens when you have two good actors on screen together. Glover, or Samson Gray rather, gets to the crux of Sylar’s problem, the reason for his journey here and even the reason we’ve been seeing fewer and fewer heads split open lately. Sure, he could’ve killed the agents, but why? It wasn’t a challenge, and Sylar can have as many powers as he likes, but, Samson tells him, it’s worthless if he’s living an unsatisfied life. “Do you want to know more?” he asks. “Or do you want to kill me now?” He offers Sylar the knife, and his son hesitates, but takes it…and doesn’t kill dear old dad. He asks what he does next as Samson holds up the scared rabbit by the scruff. “You cut him.” And so Sylar does, with gusto.
This? This is a daddy issues story I could actually get behind! It’d only be better if Elle was there to be awesome and snarky and so Samson could tell her to put a sock in snark and learn something. Sigh…pour another one out for the dearly departed!
Bennett points the Hunter in Angela’s direction, and I have to say that could be fun to watch.
Claire calls dad for some advice–how does one lead a successful double life, anyways? It’s nice to see her call him for advice, even if it is weird advice further showing that these peoples lives only revolve around powers, but I digress. As she’s talking to him, the agents tailing her race off to apprehend the Puppeteer. I buy his claim of wanting normalcy even less than I’ve ever bought Sylar’s, and even more lamentable is that the man is trying to give us a new nickname for Claire: “Barbie.” Even lamer than continuing to call her cheerleader, guys. She shows up after he takes out the agents, so….uh, yay? No seriously, this is one of the guys who actually SHOULD be locked up, what the hell are you doing?
Another deliciously awesome scene is given us as the Hunter approaches Angela at a posh restaraunt, where she’s drinking champagne and living the life of a rich retiree. He asks about Nathan, she tells him he was the odd one out, born powerless in a family of mutants, but he doesn’t buy it. She tells the Hunter she knows his type, and that they’re useful, but expendable. And then shakes him off very effectively with a veiled threat, recounting an incident in Angola in ’97 where a lot of people died…but, surprisingly, not him. And the dogged Hunter? He backs off! Angela’s delight in her neatly obtained win over this man so many fear is fantastic, and as he walks off, she continues with her champange-swiling and I love her for it. If I’m ever a duplicitous mastermind who’s firmly embedded in the shades of gray? I want to be as awesome at it as she is!
Now back to the Sylar cabin, filmed in quite a few shades of gray as well as hosting a pair (see what I did there?). Samson says a man needs a hobby; Sylar looks up with eager eyes that want approval and tells him he fixes watches. Samson chuckles at his retained need for connection. Aww, poor Sylar. But Samson is a firm misanthropist, it seems. People suck, so screw ‘em. And…wow. He tells Sylar he doesn’t remember why exactly he killed mom and sold Sylar. Damn, that’s cold, man! Ahh, but Sylar is a willful man and he’ll spark your interest one way or another, old man–Sylar can heal and live forever! So there! Dad feigns disinterest….but is a good liar and is awesome! Tracy and Nathan, you could learn something here. He pins Sylar to the wall with arrows thrown telekinetically and dammit, he wants that power after all. I can’t blame him, who wants to die of painful lung cancer? He whistles…and Sylar seems to pass out.
Now, I just hope we aren’t about to be denied the best twist ever of watching Sylar be the one to get his head cut off and his brain mined for powers while he’s helpless to stop his assailant.
Okay, we don’t, but this is almost just as good. Sylar finally has the fight he wanted as his dad tries his hardest to cut that secret of immortality out of his brain, but Sylar is younger, stronger, and most importantly not crippled by lung cancer and an oxygen tank. He easily wins the fight, after getting dad’s ‘what I’d do differently’ speech: kill more, take more powers, not waste time, all the usual goals of an Evil Overlord! His dad begs for the healing power, and is denied, so he begs instead for death. “Oh you’ll die,” Sylar promises, slickly evil all over again. It’s just like dad said–Sylar could kill him or the cancer would. Sylar’s letting him die from cancer. He’s just small game, he tells his dad, throwing back at him an insult he put to his son earlier on. And so Sylar, newly motivated to evil and to not waste his time, walks jauntily out of the shack and goes along his merry way!
Claire gives Puppeteer his new IDs, and he gives her a creepy smile as he heads off. Probably to abuse some more women, but hey, that’s just an educated guess, what do I know? Claire heads home and sadly the comic book store will never get to teach her about heroism, because thanks to her real dad trying to fire the Hunter and ending up having to show off his flying ability to not die, her free pass is up and her house is getting raided. Rebel warns her of this just in time, however, and dear old Biological Dad shows up outside her window to help her escape. I find it questionable that the guy who’s looking in her room looks under the bed but not out the open window for her, but anyways.
And finally, we’re shown the next step in a somewhat clever twist–Hiro and Ando arrive at the address given to them to go save Matt Parkman. Looks like a nice little hotel complex, and a frustrated teenager gripes to them about having waited two full hours for a replacement. This seems strange because hey, isn’t Parkman in DC getting almost-but-sadly-not blown up? He is! The Matt Parkman they’re here to save? Oh yes, thatMatt Parkman would be his infant son.
