[Movie] Heroes

I made sure my ass was in the living room to watch this. Of all the new shows, this was really the only one I had an itch to see.

I liked how the pilot was very broken up between all the characters. Introductions are important and all, but the frenetic scene changes gave it a very anxious mood.

It does seem that all the characters are linked somehow. (Hiro's co-worker is the one paying for Ali's webcam striptease. That's pretty funny.) But this worries me, as it would allow the writers to become lazy and substitute contrivances for truly developed plot twists. ("Oh, your long-lost sister is also the villain's lab partner! WHAT A TWIST!")

A couple of the powers seem pretty interesting. Hiro has a ton of potential. But a couple also seem like blatant rip-offs. The fact that one girl can regenerate is rather similar to Wolverine and I'm sure she'll be borrowing from his playbook.

Spoiler:

We didn't get to see one of the other heroes, a police officer who can hear peoples' thoughts. I believe he begins in L.A., but probably goes to NYC for some reason.

Suresh doesn't seem to possess any extraordinary abilities, so I expect that he'll wind up acting as a mentor for the others, trying to explain their pasts and how they're heading for a larger destiny.


It was a nice intro, but it did feel a bit light. I'm not upset, since I expected this; you have to plant a seed before a tree will grow. I just hope that the plots don't immediately become hackneyed or mired down in infinite layers of espionage/counterintelligence/betrayal. The endless tedium of plot reversals destroyed Alias and X-Files, and could spell a quick death for Heroes if it goes down the same path.

But so far, it looks like a winner.

How ya doing, buddy?

Spoiler:

No, I don't think Isaac truly killed himself. If you noticed, his skull was cut clean off and appeared to be hollowed out. This mimicks the crime from Los Angeles, where the man was blast frozen and his brain was removed.

In Suresh's apartment, there was a message on the answering machine, including a brief discussion with a man named "Cyrus". Cyrus was Study #0, according to Suresh's son, and that the elder Suresh helped Cyrus become what he is.

Cyrus was linked to the murders in Los Angeles, mostly by having the same pattern as a set of older murders. Officer Parkman subconsciously picked up on the name from his chief officer.

As for the gun found in Isaac's apartment, I'd wager that it's something of a red herring. Perhaps Isaac attempted to use it in his own defense but never got the chance.

But it seems that Hiro can visit the future and see things, albeit in a different sense that Isaac does.

It's possible that Claire Bennett's father is this "Cyrus" character. He's already been sighted in NYC once, presumably to kill Suresh. (There was the message before the murder, after all.) Suresh was most likely seeking a way to stop Cyrus.
Therefore, Cyrus's ability, which he evidently has, probably revolves around "conspicuous consumption", which is the arcane belief that eating the vital organs of one's victim will grant you their strengths. Cyrus may be able to manifest the knowledges and talents of those whose brains he eats. If that's not it, then it's likely something along those lines.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm still really puzzled over Niki Sanders. Saying that her reflection is a seperate entity might be missing the forest for the trees. It'd be like saying that Wolverine's ability is heightened endurance, which isn't false, but it's only one aspect of a larger ability.

Obviously, her reflection is independent, but there must be something more to it. That's not so much a "superpower" as it is a "paranormal phenomenon".

To be honest, Niki's ability seems to be some uncontrolled form of reality manipulation, where unexplainable coincidences are the manifest of her subconscious desires.

I think she may somehow become tied to Matthew Parkman before going to NYC, mostly due to proximity.

I also wonder if she's somehow connected to Mohinder, as her son, Mika, shares a lot of the same physical traits and also a keen intelligence. Perhaps Mohinder is the father that Niki would rather not see?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by soulsteelgray

Actually...

Spoiler:

I noticed that she said "D.L." to that lady friend of hers. D.L. just happens to be the prison inmate character whose power is phasing.

I see. I don't doubt you, but where did you come by this information? D.L. wasn't listed on the official site, last I knew.

How ya doing, buddy?

Just a thought I had while contemplating the show as I tried to fall asleep:

Spoiler:

The villain, "Syler", his ability (or one of them, anyhow) may very well be telekinesis.

In the crime scene during Matt Parkman's introduction, the mother was pinned to the wall with various implements. One of the investigators commented that it would've taken at least three people to get her into that position and kill her as was done.

But it would only take one person if that person were telekinetic. I'd been wondering why none of the heroes had this ability, since it seems like such a basic superhero skill. My suspicion is that they gave it to the villain instead, but it's incredibly taxing, so he needs to consume human brains to provide the raw energy needed to fuel the power.

On a seperate note: it's my guess that Parkman is sent to prison on suspicion of being "Syler". While there, he meets up with this "D.L." character and possibly reads his mind and befriends him. At the same time, D.L.'s "phasing" power manifests and D.L. uses it to free himself and Parkman. From there, they head to Vegas to find Niki and Micah, but learn that the two have mysteriously left.

Parkman, D.L., Niki and Micah will eventually converge upon Odessa, TX, where Claire Bennet lives, just in time to save her from her father. Simultaneously, Hiro, Mendez, the Pitrellis and Muhindur also make their way to Texas, based upon prophecies in Isaac's comic. Here, they realize their group potential and become some sort of team.

As I've said, just educated guesses.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Spoiler:

There was a scene in a preview, two weeks ago, where Claire was strapped down in some kind of laboratory setting and the man with the glasses, whom we now know to be her father, was looking down upon her.

Continuing with my theory that Claire's father is Syler, he'll attempt to use that opportunity to consume her brain, which I'm positive is how Syler is fueling his own abilities, and possibly gaining new ones. (Note that in a previous post, I predicted this and called it "conspicuous consumption".)

However, the preview at the end of this past episode stated that the Heroes will begin to come together. It was revealed in other previews that the comic book Hiro has will show them Claire's predicament and direct them to Odessa, TX, to save her.

If Claire's father is in fact Syler, then this will be a very convenient merge, as Hiro, Nathan, Robert, Isaac, Muhinder (and their allies) will all come in from NYC, whereas Matthew and Niki will be lead in from the West coast.


There's also a good chance that Niki may meet up with this D.L. character along the way quite soon, since his existence has at least been mentioned. Seeing as D.L.'s mother mentioned that he escaped from prison, it's very likely that he'll be on the FBI's Most Wanted List. This provides an excellent tie-in to Matthew Parkman, who's already chasing the man we presume to be Syler.

Also, check my post on the previous page. I told everyone Syler would possess telekinesis. Not that it was rocket science to figure this out, but I like being right.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Okay. I'd wondered about that, but they never actually stated as much, nor did they show anything suggesting that the guy had any powers.

FELIPE NO

Well, we don't exactly know the extent of Niki's abilities, now do we?

Spoiler:

Okay, D.L. is most likely a bad guy. That sucks. I'm pretty intrigued by him now, however. Someone mentioned that his ability was listed as "phasing", but now I'm skeptical. It looks more like his ability is mental in nature. Perhaps he can delve into peoples' memories and view them, or even erase them.

There weren't any really big shockers in this episode, though. I guess the biggest curveball was the end, in which Hiro appears from the future to deliver a message.

At least it looked like he got himself a proper costume.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

How do you know this?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Protom@nNeo

Guys and Gals we're like five or six episodes in. Not to be an ass but I think we can despense with the spoiler tags at this point. Also as stated earlier a recap of the the first twenty six minutes would be greatly appreciated. Namely what future Hiro had to say

No, we still don't want to spoil it for people who recorded the show and still haven't seen the surprises.

Peter:

Spoiler:

It was rather obvious, at least to me, that Peter could mimic anyone's ability, so long as they're in proximity. I suspected this during the third episode when he was levitating on the rooftop with Nathan nearby. If you paid close attention, Peter's eyes also temporarily whited out when he was near Isaac in an earlier episode.

I doubt that he'll be able to keep the powers permanently. Over time, the duration may increase, but permanency would be too powerful.

However, this does lead me to believe that Peter could be the key to defeating Sylar. Sylar is apparently telekinetic (amongst possible other abilities too). If Peter and Sylar were to meet, Peter could conceivably defeat Sylar at his own game.

Matt:

Spoiler:

They haven't delved into Matt's condition too much. I was surprised that he could still use his abilities as normal, despite being worked on by Mr. Bennett's assistant. What I believe happened is that the assistant probed Matt's memory to see how much he (Matt) knew about Sylar, then erased that knowledge, and all memory of being probed as well.

He also seems prone to being overwhelmed by his own abilities. Could be a possible liability.

Claire:

Spoiler:

I find it very peculiar that she was wheeled into the hospital all battered and bloody, but none of the staff seemed to blink an eye when she was fully healed and walking about the floor. Unless her father's assistant wiped everyone's mind, it seems like a bit of sloppy writing.

On the stick: it's very likely that Claire's regeneration isn't cellular, but rather triggered by a chemical in the brain whenever something like seratonin is released during pain. If that section of her brain were impaired for any reason, it would make sense that it couldn't trigger her regeneration. And it makes sense for Claire to have a weakness.

Nathan:

Spoiler:

I'll bet you anything that he'd known about his flight power for quite some time, as he seemed rather experienced when he escaped from Mr. Bennett.

The incident with Niki Sanders was probably what Bennett's assistant intended to "erase". This way, Linderman could have his blackmail material and Nathan would continue on unknowingly, and therefore never seek to neutralize the threat. When Nathan escaped, he may have suspected something like this, which prompted him to demand double the "contribution money".

Niki:

Spoiler:

Is it just me or is Niki quickly becoming the most boring of the main characters. Yeah, she has a split personality; we established this in the first episode. Since then, she's done nothing but run from everything and everyone. It's getting dull.

But basically, she seems to be a parallel of the Incredible Hulk. Her personality shifts seem to be triggered by anger. When she's assaulted, threatened or insulted, her alter-ego always shows up. She even seems to possess some rather brutish strength in this mode. The preview clip for next week shows her smacking D.L. clear across a room, into a wall.

D.L.:

Spoiler:

It's about damn time he made his appearance! They've only been hinting at his existence since episode 2. To be honest, I thought he'd show up at the convenience store Matt Parkman visited, since it was mentioned that D.L. was seen in one.

But the preview pretty much spoiled any big surprise of what D.L. can do, and confirms the rumors we'd heard up to this point. D.L. can phase, which makes him Kitty Pryde, basically. Niki seems to despise D.L., and believes he's a bloodthirsty killer. It's too early to say whether D.L.'s motivations are pure, though. We really just know that he wants to see Micah.

Isaac and Hiro didn't really have any truly shocking moments this week.

Also, the two-minute preview posted above had a scene in which Matt Parkman is in a room with a guy that's strapped to a table and is holding a cup of water. The guy is causing the water to boil over, leading me to believe that this is potentially another hero for the story. Probably a pyrokinetic. It'd be cool to have a firestarter as a hero.

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Everyone who thinks Claire's (adoptive) father is a rebellious good-guy seems to be overlooking the fact that he's been working with the guy who can erase peoples' memories. There's no beneficial motivation that I can think of which would necessitate this. In fact, Parkman, when asked where he was the previous day, couldn't recall.

If Mr. Bennett were independently working for good, and working to stop Syler, then it doesn't make much sense for him to have Parkman's memory of the Syler erased. After all, wouldn't it be smarter for the heroes to know what they're up against?

Also, Mr. Bennett showed up in Las Vegas. He really gets around, doesn't he? He's been to NYC, L.A., Vegas and Odessa, TX so far. If I had to guess, I'd say he's working directly for this "Linderman" fellow.

By the way, don't be surprised if some of the incidental characters we've met so far don't wind up possessing super abilities themselves. The Asian woman who propositioned Niki to sleep with Nathan Petrelli and who works for Linderman? Ando, Hiro's sidekick? The friendly neighbor girl who's been keeping Mohinder company? The FBI agent who figured out Matt's telepathic skills?
Any and all of them are potential heroes (or villains) as well. Perhaps not in the near future, but maybe by the end of the season or next season.

Spoiler:

Wouldn't it be an absolute kick in the teeth if the friendly neighbor woman that's been helping Mohinder turns out to be Syler? We've only assumed that Syler is male. After all, Syler somehow knew that Mohinder had found "his" base of operations, then stripped the place clean. The neighbor was with Mohinder during the discovery, so that's a perfect explanation right there. She knew all about Mohinder's father and Mr. Suresh was directly responsible for Syler's self-realization. If she's Syler, then she needs Mohinder to help her find the other heroes for her own benefit.

Call me crazy, but this seems very, very plausible.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by striped phantom

I reuploaded all 5 episodes on Sendspace (splitted with WinRAR)
check my previous post

Thank you kindly, sir. I've got them all now. I trust you'll be adding each new episode as it airs?

So I watched all five episodes last night and tonight, with greater scrutiny for detail. I noticed some peculiarities, and also some points that cleared up previous questions.

Don't mind my wild theorizations. I enjoy going "single bullet theory" on this stuff.

Isaac:

Spoiler:

In Episode 1, we meet Isaac as he's smearing black paint all over several of his pieces. Curiously, one of the paintings is of a large hand clutching a hand of boiling water. We've seen this elsewhere: in the four-minute trailer, there was a scene with Matt Parkman and an unidentified convict that involved the same glass of boiling water. No idea what this means, but it's cool that the foreshadowing was there right from the very begining.

Another painting shows several large, seemingly sharp objects flying toward Peter. In the subway scene, Hiro remarks that Peter was harder to recognize without his scar. It's very possible that the scene in the painting is where he gets the scar. One can only wonder if Peter will be able to mimic Claire's regenerative powers at that point.

Guns:

Spoiler:

In Episode 3, Mohinder is seated at his desk when the door knocks. The neighbor, Eden(?), comes in and sees Mohinder puts his gun away in the drawer.

In Episode 5, Mr. Bennet and the Unnamed Man escort Nathan Pitrielli outside. During this scene, Mr. Bennet is holding a gun that's a perfect match to the one Mohinder had in his apartment. I couldn't tell you the make or caliber, but studying several still frames showed that they were indeed identical models.

This gun is significant because it's also the same model that Hiro found on the floor of Isaac's studio in Episode 2. It was apparent that Sylar had come to visit Isaac. Whether Isaac or Sylar owned the gun is uncertain, but it's certainly curious because it could hold the key to unravelling the motives of either Mr. Bennet or Eden, the neighbor.

D.L. Hawkins:

Spoiler:

Okay, previews have shown that his power is phasing, that is, he can move through solid matter, and possibly liquid, unhindered. Comic book enthusiasts will recognize this ability as belonging to Marvel's Kitty Pryde, a.k.a. Shadowcat.

I am eagerly awaiting the meeting of D.L. and Hiro. In Episode 1, Hiro specifically mentions Kitty Pryde when explaining where he learned about the laws of time and space. When Hiro sees what D.L. can do, I expect nothing less than a completely hilarious scene in which Hiro reveals his fanboyhood and D.L. has no idea what's going on.

Incidentally, I seriously doubt that D.L. is guilty of the murders for which he's accused. We don't know any details, but given the direction of the plot, and an interview with writer Tim Kring in TV Guide, there's a strong indication that D.L. is innocent.

Micah Sanders:

Spoiler:

He's a brainchild. That in itself may eventually become significant, as both of his parents are superpowered. TV Guide refers to them as "mutants" and there's no denying that there's a strong similarity between Heroes and the X-Men. (Remember, Kitty Pryde's name WAS invoked.) I think it's a safe bet that Micah's got some kind of latent power himself. Couldn't say what, though. We're all expecting something mental in nature, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the writers threw us a loop and gave Micah something very physical, such as super speed or the ability to erect force fields.

But Micah definitely knows that his father, D.L., has the ability to phase. He's encouraged Niki to seek out D.L.'s help, and has knowingly disputed her claims that D.L. will eventually be apprehended and stored in prison, permanently.

Sylar:

Spoiler:

As I've previously suggested, it could easily turn out that Sylar is Eden, the neighbor. However, the scene in Episode 3 with Det. Parkman shows a much larger man who definitely has powers, casting some doubt on my theory.

However, it's still conceivable that Eden and Sylar are somehow connected. Eden saw Mohinder stash the same gun that later turned up in Isaac's apartment. Eden knew a lot about Mohinder's father and seemed to be keeping tabs on the entire situation rather well. She was also very insistent that Mohinder not break entry into Sylar's apartment. In fact, when the pair returned with the cops, it's possible that Eden tipped Sylar off, allowing him to cleanse the place in time.
Eden also knows about the link to Nathan Pitrielli and has met Peter in person. She will likely learn of Isaac rather soon, giving some substance to how the gun shows up in Isaac's apartment.

Alternatively, Eden is, in fact, Sylar and possesses some sort of shapeshifting power, a la Mystique. Given that Kring has pretty much "borrowed" other mutant abilities from the X-Men series, it's not that far a stretch to think shapeshifting couldn't appear here as well. Kring has all but admitted that Sylar has numerous skills.

The last possibility is that Eden is actually an agent of Mr. Bennet's and had been keeping tabs on Mohinder's father. When Mr. Suresh was killed and Bennet ran into Mohinder, Eden may have had her duties continued. This could also place the mysterious gun into Mr. Bennet's hands.

Claire:

Spoiler:

There was some concern about how Claire could arrive at the hospital damaged and hurting, then raise no eyebrows when she was fully healed and ambulatory within hours.
Further review shows that Claire wasn't injured when she arrived; she'd healed long beforehand. Her body was just covered with dried blood, giving the appearance of wounds. An EMT mentions how her mouth was filled with blood when they found her but there was no longer any trace of injury.

The stick: when the coroner yanked the stick out, I noticed that the wound was positioned over the medulla. It's basic biological knowledge that the medulla is the section of the brain that governs homeostasis, all the rudimentary functions of the other organs that keep up going.

Although her medulla could probably regenerate its own tissue indefinitely - and that would almost have to be the case here - the stick may have been enough to prevent it from seeing to the rest of Claire's body.

Occam's Razor makes this the best explanation.

Mr. Bennet:

Spoiler:

What a weasel. I'm now unsure if he's good or bad. I suspect he's a bit of a Robin Hood, committing despicable acts for some greater good. He's admitted to being part of an organization, so his actions are likely required by his job and not specifically indicative of his own morality. Bennet may well despise what he's forced to do.

He travels with the Unnamed Man, for unrevealed purposes. Mr. Bennet also owns a handgun just like the one found at Isaac's death. It would almost seem as though Mr. Bennet is chasing after Sylar, or vice-versa.
Consider that Bennet has appeared in the same places we know Sylar has been, or will be. Bennet has travelled through NYC and met Mohinder, albeit briefly (See Sylar/Eden, above). Mr. Bennet got a hold of Matt Parkman right after the run-in with Sylar in Los Angeles. We also know that Sylar will eventually be making his(?) way to Odessa, TX. Further episodes may also reveal a connection between Sylar and Las Vegas as well, giving Mr. Bennet reason to have been in the same casino as Nathan and Niki.

I am beginning to surmise that there's a long, long back history that hasn't been revealed. I'd bet anything that it involves a government black-ops program to accelerate genetic evolution and that both Mr. Bennet and the elder Suresh are/were involved. However, Suresh may have developed moral issues with the program's direction and sought to track the test subjects himself. Whereas Mr. Bennet is working with the government and is seeking to keep the subjects under wraps.

See, there's that symbol, which is basically an RNA model. It's shown up on Suresh's computer, on Niki's tattoo, in the swimming pool that Parkman was standing near, on Claire's textbook, on a necklace worn by the Unnamed Man, and on the wall at Sylar's place. It's presumably a symbol for the entire operation that could've triggered the heroes' mutations, a brand that connects them back to the same source, like cattle.

After all, Mohinder remarked that his father had repeatedly spoken about finding "Subject Zero". If that's not indicative of a top secret program, I don't know what is.

Hiro: Hiro is just comedy relief, really. Yeah he's got an awesome power, but he's the icebreaker. No revelations about Hiro other than that they couldn't have found a better actor to portray him. Masi Oka is an improv comedian and has worked with the biggest improv troupes in North America, including Second City and The Groundlings. Plus, he really is fluent in both Japanese and English. Couldn't ask for anyone better than that.

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Originally Posted by Admiral Amara

You know, I had a thought or two here. It's not a fully-formed conclusion, but still opens up an idea for debate.

Sylar:

Spoiler:

Why can't (one of) his ability(-ies) be shapechanging/doppleganger? For all we know, he could very well BE Eden, The Unnamed Man, and/or that sort-of Ron-Howard looking fellow that nearly killed the FBI lady then flew away after getting shot. I'm surprised I haven't seen that suggestion pop up already in here - I mean, it's a show about superheroes. Why can't Sylar be Mystique in addition to whatever other power(s) he has? We've already got Kitty Pryde and Wolverine sans claws.

I did bring this up.

Originally Posted by Crash

Alternatively, Eden is, in fact, Sylar and possesses some sort of shapeshifting power, a la Mystique. Given that Kring has pretty much "borrowed" other mutant abilities from the X-Men series, it's not that far a stretch to think shapeshifting couldn't appear here as well. Kring has all but admitted that Sylar has numerous skills.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Quote:

Congrats on being right!

Spoiler:

Heh, I may be right on several accounts.

We now know that Eden is a mole. I predicted that. I also predicted that she'd be coming into contact with Isaac soon, as she knew Mohinder and Peter attempted to visit him.

We also know that Hiro travelled to the future to find Isaac dead, his skull hollowed out. The fact that Eden has now paid a visit to Isaac's studio pushes me back toward believing that Mr. Bennet is purified evil. Remember the gun: it was in Mohinder's desk and also seen at Isaac's apartment.

Either Eden is Sylar, or Mr. Bennet is. And it's starting to look like Mr. Bennet's the one everyone's after. He reacted quite oddly to the prophecy that Claire is the key to saving the world. I noted earlier that Sylar had a funny knack for turning up wherever another hero was involved in a plotline around the same time that Mr. Bennet was in the area. This is surely not coincidence. Mr. Bennet more closely fits the physical figure of the Sylar seen in Los Angeles.

The biggest clue to figuring out who Sylar is, however, is remembering the apartment. Eden didn't want Mohinder to enter right? She knew what was in there. During the initial investigation, she tried to play it off as a prank, even trying to crack jokes. ("A little light reading before bed, huh?") But when Mohinder discovered the secret chamber, she was forced to act. At some point, Eden had to have called Mr. Bennet and tipped him off. But it really doesn't seem like Eden would've been able to cleanse the apartment herself; she returned with Mohinder and the police.

We saw Sylar pretty much fly away from Matt Parkman in L.A.. And we've seen how fast Nathan Pitrelli can fly. If Sylar flies too, he may have been able to get to NYC in time to purge the apartment with telekinetic assistance and flee before the cops arrived. It's just a theory but it seems plausible enough.

But given that Mr. Bennet hangs around with super-powered people like the Unnamed Man who can erase memories, dollars to donuts that Eden's not just your ordinary girl.


As for Niki, well, she may not exactly be a "Hero", it would seem. Her alter-ego's rather cruel and manipulative. To what end, I have no idea but it doesn't make much sense for her to have set up D.L. like that. I do have a feeling that this "Linderman" guy will have a larger role in Niki's motives, though.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Shenlon

I honestly thought syler was after hiro

Spoiler:

when someone attacked the card game I was thinking it was syler until the end where niki revealed her master plan, and the evil niki was right in a way since dl tried to take the money and the kid.

Spoiler:

Sure but when Hiro and Ando were cowering in the bathroom - and maybe you missed the line - someone yelled "Hey, who let her in here?" Immediately afterward, there was much violence and the resulting bloodbath.

It was momentarily confusing, but when D.L. had previously mentioned that he knew a woman had framed him, nothing else made sense but that it was Niki's alter-ego. So when the poker game was trashed by a woman, I really couldn't think of anyone else who'd be capable. Niki's alter-ego has shown itself to be pretty brutish.

On an unrelated note, executive producer, Tim Kring, in an interview, referred to Sylar as "he". So, smart money's on Mr. Bennet at this point.

FELIPE NO

Spoiler:

I don't think we'll get the sort of plot resolution that everyone expects, not so soon, at least. The show is only in it's eighth episode, remember. The season isn't scheduled to finish until mid-April. I think there will be several more sidetracks before everything comes to a tete concerning Syler, Mr. Bennet, Hiro, et al.

If we do see the showdown with Claire, Syler and everyone in the next few weeks, don't think that it will be the last. It might only be the first step in a succession that eventually saves the world. But for this destiny to be fulfilled, it's pretty obvious that Claire's abilities are crucial. If Syler gets her first, then the rest of the prophecies will come true and NYC will be destroyed. Claire's attempted murder is but one part of the larger plot.

I'm a little concerned with Hiro's overeager attitude. Basically, by going into the past, he's created a paradox. If he prevents the waitress from showing up at work, then she'd survive. This totally eliminates the reason Hiro would've ever gone back in the first place. Hence, he wouldn't use his power, and the waitress would've come to work as normal. This would lead to Syler killing her, making Hiro go back in time and so on, and on, and on, in one neverending loop.

I'm also very saddened that the waitress was killed, because she had a rather cool, rather useful power. A while back, there was a psychic named "Edgar Cayce". Cayce could "absorb" information just by being in its presence. He'd sleep with books under his pillow, then awaken to find that he understood nearly everything within its pages, even to the point of recalling particular passages verbatim. Cayce could also focus upon individuals as he slept, learning valuable information on them, such as secrets and current whereabouts. Cayce helped cops track down missing persons and fugitives via this method. It's not understood how he did it, but he could and that's all that mattered. So, for to have the waitress with very similar abilities get whacked within minutes, I'm quite disappointed. I've always considered Cayce's ability to be extremely powerful under the proper circumstances and not all superpowers have to be the "heat vision" or "super speed" variety.

Sprague, well we all know what's gonna happen to him, don't we? He's the bomb that was foreseen in Isaac's painting. It only makes sense. I'll bet that his detonation is the result of Syler's interference. On the plus side, Matt Parkman and Ted have formed a bond and are perhaps the closest of anyone in discerning the true reasons that they've experienced their changes. And if Sprague is in trouble later, Parkman's previous mental bond might play into locating ground zero. With the CIA's knowledge of what both can do, it has some hopeful prospects.

Eden and Mr. Bennet are certainly a pair, huh? Ultimately, I suspect that Mr. Bennet is crooked. He might be working to stop Syler, yes, but what would he gain? His altruistic actions are probably hiding some much darker motives.
Eden on the other hand seems to be more of a conscientious objector and is sincerely interested in aiding the heroes. It's no shock that she herself seems to possess a special gift, this time something related to enhanced persuasion. Some kind of post-hypnotic suggestion, perhaps?
Despite this, Mr. Bennet doesn't seem to fear her much. Mr. Bennet may have skills of his own that are yet unrevealed. Who knows at this point?

I'm kinda glad that Niki and Micah received no screen time. I don't find Niki particularly interesting, nor heroic. Micah's okay but you can't show him without Niki, and frankly, Niki was getting way too much face time. Until we see "Jessica" do something that isn't entirely bitchy and self-serving, I won't give a shit about Niki's absence from the camera.
D.L., on the other hand, is way cool and deserves more time.

Also, can anyone tell me why Ando, who is essentially Hiro's straight man, has actually become a lot of the comedy relief in the show? I think it's a great progression of his character and hope Ando sticks around. I also hopes that his presence ultimately serves a specific, singular purpose. Perhaps he'll be instrumental in saving a life or stopping a disaster, proving that you don't need powers to be a hero.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by MetheGelfling

Niki is basically the Hulk or Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. If she can learn how to control her other self, she could still be a hero. The Hulk wasn't always a hero as much as he was a menace.

Her son is basically a rip off of the x-men character, Forge.

I think we could pretty much point to any of the characters and name their Marvel or DC comics counterparts.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I think the run-in with Sylar was underwhelming, honestly. For a man who can mentally fling debris like scrap paper in the wind, he didn't put up much of an offense. It was also strange the way he took his time opening the skull of the one cheerleader, whereas he was able to cleave the waitress's skull open in an instant.

It would be an interesting scenario to find that Sylar and Peter have identical abilities. That is, they can both temporarily mimic the powers of others, yet it was Sylar who concluded that those powers can become permanent if he consumes the brain matter of the person he copies. I bet I'm way off target here, but it would still be nifty.

Eden just keeps getting more and more interesting. She has the hypnotic powers that were hinted at last week. On top of this, it would seem that she can perhaps render the powers of others inoperative, if she wishes. Sylar raised his arm to act, when he encountered Eden, but it seemed as if he could suddenly do nothing. And she's working with the Haitian man now too. That's awesome.

Peter got arrested and they'll think he's Sylar. This may suck, but it's definitely good for the plot. Now it will tie Matt Parkman and Theo Sprague to the main storyline. Watch for them to appear next episode, for to interrogate Peter.

Lastly, I fail to see what significance Niki/Jessica, Micah and DL have with anything besides incidental liaisons with other characters like Nathan and Ando. Their plotline is growing tedious and seems more like a Tuesday night drama on the Oxygen Network. I hope the payoff on these three (four) is huge.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This was the best episode in several weeks.

Seeing Sylar was pretty cool, in the sense that he was mentally unstable to begin with. Take everything that Hiro ever wished to be, twist it until it's dark and warped, and you get Gabriel Gray. I'm not 100% sure how he ever figured out that consuming the brains of others was his power, and the episode doesn't make this 100% clear, but it was fascinating to watch him slip deeper into his insanity.

The best part of the episode, in an ironic twist, involved Niki Sanders. Seems there's some bad blood between Niki and her father concerning abandonment and the wrongful death of a sister, Jessica. What makes this revelation odd is that unless Jessica died, she wouldn't have been able to invoke her ability. This leads me to a fascinating hypothesis:

Spoiler:

Niki Sanders can channel the deceased, provided that she knew them well enough.

The preview claims that a hero will die next week. Given what Niki might be able to do, it's possible that D.L. might actually die. However, I've got a feeling that it'll be Micah instead, maybe pushing his dad out of the way at the last second. He seems to have an affinity for complex machinery around him; perhaps he can sense the assault rifle? Pretty savage of the writers, but it does make for some powerful drama. And if I'm right, it really won't be the last we see of Micah.

However, Jessica's visit to her father's hotel room was interesting for one reason: she assaulted her dad and caused him to have a heart attack. This would be fairly meaningless, except for the fact that Nathan and Peter Pitrelli's dad was mentioned dying. Their dad was a senator, and Niki's dad did seem to have plenty of money, so this would make them the same man.

As soon as I realized this, I burst out laughing. The direct implication is staggering:

Spoiler:

Nathan Pitrelli fucked his sister in Vegas. =O

Speaking of...I knew we'd see the circumstances that lead to his wife's paralysis. But I wasn't exactly ready for him to fly.
Additionally, Peter sensed the accident in his dream. Brotherly link? Possibly. We know Peter can mimic the abilities of others, but maybe he also has his own minor power of dream communication. A longshot, but not entirely impossible.

I'm beginning to think that Mr. Bennet is, ultimately, good. He does seem to have a "Robin Hood" approach, though. He'll do just about anything. The ends justify his means. The Haitian man may be a willing do-gooder, and Eden, faced with nowhere else to turn, has also been roped into it.

Spoiler:

In the NBC webcomic, they showed some of Eden's backstory. She came from an abusive household, where her father left and her stepmother blamed Eden for everything that went wrong. Eden pretty much forced herself into silence from childhood into early adulthood. Until one day, that is, when she couldn't take anymore browbeating. She told her stepmother to "go die". Her stepmother did just that - her heart spontaneously stopped beating on the spot. Terrified and confused, Eden fled and used her power to support a life on the lamb. This all lead into tonight's flashback where she met Parkman and the Haitian man.

I'm surprised there was no mention of Isaac tonight. His backstory must not be as crucial. And it was a shame that Hiro couldn't prevent Charlie's death no matter where he took her. I liked her as a character and found her ability to be quite powerful, if used properly.

But still a mighty fine episode. Can't wait for the DVD release of Season One.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I just had an interesting notion.

Spoiler:

Next week a hero dies. Now, it'd be a little premature to kill off a main character, since the fanbase is only just now getting accustomed to the bigger players. However, there are a number of recurring, minor players that could potentially be killed off.

And here's what I'm thinking will happen: Mr. Bennet has captured Sylar. The preview showed him banging on glass. But we don't specifically know what Sylar can do, or the extent of his range.
I'm guessing that Sylar will somehow break free of his prison and seek revenge upon his captors. The Haitian man is some kind of "buffer" and Sylar couldn't do much to him, short of a good fist-pounding. And Mr. Bennet's role in all this is far too nebulous and important for him to die.

But Eden, interesting as she is, is somewhat disposable. She's got a good power, and we can tell that she's ultimately trying to do some good. But her plot purposes have largely been fulfilled - she's compromised Chandra and Mohinder's work; she's ushered Isaac into care; and she's helped capture Sylar, if but temporarily. She's not a major character, to be truthful.

This is why she will die. Sylar will break loose and seek to absorb her "persuasion" ability, since he should've been able to figure out how it works by now. He's likely to be upset at her for impeding him, and probably recognizes her as a threat to his agenda if their paths should once again cross.

So a hero dies. NBC's prophecy is upheld and nobody major is disrupted much. Sounds pretty likely, doesn't it?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The problem with Hiro and Charlie reminds me of the film "The Time Machine".

Alexander Hartdegen figures out how to travel through time, and attempts to save his girlfriend from a fatal robbery in the park. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he goes back and alters the course of events that lead to Emma's demise, something else equally tragic happens. If she's not shot by the mugger, then she's run over by a runaway steam-cart.

So now matter what measures are taken, the lifelines of some people may well be finite, even across multiple versions of reality. The circumstances surrounding the death may change, but the outcomes might just be immutable.

This does seem to contradict an eariler use of Hiro's power to prevent the bus from running over the girl with the yellow ribbon in her hair, though.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I went back and watched the "Six Months Ago" episode again.

I'm still puzzling over how Sylar's powers actually work, in the sense that he was able to assimilate the abilities of others. It seems that he can sense when things are broken, then perhaps choose the best means to fix them. At its root, this is basically an innate understanding of how things function (Think of the X-Men's "Forge").

My thought is that he's somehow able to examine the brains of the "gifted", perceive what genetic code granted that particular power, then somehow alter his own DNA to match. Whether he can do this cleanly or if he needs to ingest/absorb part of the victim's brain remains to be determined.

(And it's a very subtle thing the writers did with Sylar's backstory. Like a pocketwatch, he was able to somehow "see into" the telekinetic's brain and determine what made him...well, "tick". A rather sublime connection between Sylar's everyday life and his special ability.)

However, this got me thinking about something. Sylar's not the only one like this. Although he shows it in a different manner, Micah also seemingly possesses the ability to innately understand the inner workings of many objects. Right now, he's focusing upon electronics, which isn't such a far cry from watch components, really.
But what if Micah's ability to "fix" things is a lot more like Sylar's abilities than we're being led to understand right now? Is it so hard to believe that Micah, for all his prodigal intellect, couldn't examine a brain and determine what made its owner special?

I'm just grasping at straws, really. But it's still conceivable at this point. That's what I like about this show: it makes you think a little, without being fed a hundred thousand red herrings like "Lost".

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

A nice twist at the end.

I guess the big question is:

Spoiler:

When did Peter come into contact with Theo Sprague? Peter was suffering from some kind of illness but it wasn't clear how he became ill. A sensible conclusion is that he got radiation poisoning, which could've come from being around Sprague. This would allow Peter to mimic Sprague's ability, yet lack the finesse to control it or control when it manifested. We've seen that Peter can sometimes exhibit the powers of others after their owners have left the area. Perhaps Peter's getting stronger and can retain these abilities longer?

Kudos to me for being right about Eden getting killed off by Sylar. Nice of her to blow her own brains out before Sylar could absorb her ability, though. That would've made Sylar too powerful.

However, it's looking like Mr. Bennet truly is the villain after all. Eden, knowing whatever she knew, chose to go behind his back and attempt to kill Sylar. This would be the nobler act. Mr. Bennet seems eager to keep Sylar alive for some nefarious, alternate agenda.
Even the Haitian Man chose to reveal a (unrevealed) secret to Claire, urging her to play along and pretend that he wiped her memory, when he will have done nothing of the sort. There's clearly a conflict of consciences and Mr. Bennet must have his hands in something pretty sinister for both Eden and the Haitian Man to secretly turn on him.

Hiro is evidently prophecizing his own future...past...well, whatever. The T-rex thing was funny, but especially after last week's comment about how he could travel too far and become lunch. He needs that sword for sure, especially since he was carrying one when he found Peter in the subway.

Speaking of which, Hiro mentioned that he didn't recognize Peter without a scar. Yet when we saw the dream sequence of Peter exploding, he didn't seem to have any scars. I also don't recall Hiro being present and accounted for when all the other Heroes were trying to get away from Peter before he exploded.
And that's weird, because Isaac Mendez was shown, with his girlfriend. Yet at the time of the detonation, as we saw before, Isaac was dead, his skull opened on the floor.
This leads me to believe that there could be multiple detonations. Nathan was shown getting near Peter right before the explosion, and we've seen how suddenly Nathan can spring into flight. My guess is that Nathan will zip Peter high above the skyscrapers, where Peter will fly upon his own and escape blowing up the city.

But if there's another explosion, perhaps that of Sylar finding himself unable to control the absorbed powers of Theo Sprague, Isaac shall have been slain by that point, keeping the timeline straight.

It's also interesting how the Haitian Man has two distinctly seperate powers: he can "wipe" peoples' memories; and he can act as a "buffer" that prevents others from using their own skills. Now that might be one ability that Peter can't mimic.

Regarding Niki: turning herself over to the police could potentially clear D.L.'s name. That's about the only upshot to her situation. I still think she's kind of dull, though.

Finally, one lingering question: who the fuck is this "Linderman" guy? He's been mentioned plenty of times, but his relevance to anything is completely up for grabs. He's obviously crucial to a rather important plot twist down the road, but how?

Gonna be a long month without any new episodes.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by striped phantom

I would suggest to torrent or get the eps from my sendspace uploads (though i'm about to stop uploading because it doesn't seem like anyone was downloading from it.)

I was downloading them from you, but you stopped announcing the new uploads and I haven't grabbed the last three or four.

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Originally Posted by Sword Familiar

I don't think it's so much Eden as the GUN she is holding that he pulls through the window. She just happens to hold it tightly enough to not be able to let go before she crashes into the window. Think about it, if you could break the glass just by using a human body he could have escaped a long time ago. All he had to do was throw himself at it or kick it until it breaks. The gun, however, is made of metal, could act as fine sledgehammer if you apply some telekinetic energy to it. And the gun DOES look heavy.

One thing that shows that Bennet was very aware of this fact is when he enters to give Sylar his food. There are no metal containers with the food, and even the tray seems to be made out of plastic.

Edit: Moreover, all the needles of the walls have been pulled out etc. Coincidence? I think not.

This would be fine except for the two scenes in which Sylar uses his (stolen) telekinetic powers on nonmetallic objects. Once, he causes his ceramic coffee mug to come to his hand in the Burnt Toast Diner. The other is during the flashback, when he causes an ordinary drinking glass to move, then fly away and shatter.

This proves that Sylar can manipulate things other than metal.

How ya doing, buddy?