Heroes 4-16 “The Art of Deception”
Matt returns home and Sylar is waiting for him. Matt’s first reaction: “Are you back inside my head?” Hee. Even better is Sylar’s response, “That’s so two months ago.” Ha! Sylar tells Matt that he needs his help. Janice pops in and said she made lunch for the two of them – apparently Sylar’s been telling her about how they used to be partners.
Oh, goodie. It’s Claire and Gretchen. They’re in a car outside Bennet’s apartment. They came so that Claire could tell him about Sylar, but now she’s changed her mind. Gretchen is the voice of reason in this scene. Claire once again brings up that her father is dead, and keep in mind that she and Nathan have spent a cumulative total of less than two weeks together since she found out that he fathered her. They hold hands again, because that’s totally their new thing, and then Claire gets out to talk to her father.
She knocks at his door and Lauren answers. Oh man, if they can get a reference to “Is this because I’m a lesbian?” between these two, I will send the staff some ice cream. Immediately, Claire gets all nosy and hostile, and complains that all the Primatech files laying around are things Bennet said he would put behind him. Because why would he want to stop the crazy guy who’s racking up murders on a Sylar-level? Man, that dude’s selfish. Oh, wait. That’s not the case at all. Remember when we used to like Claire? That’s been a long time…
Not that Lauren owes this brat an explanation, but she explains to Claire that Samuel buried a small town. And since it’s all about Claire, she leaves in a huff. Cripes.
Back at Matt’s house, they’re enjoying lunch while Sylar turns on the charm for Janice. Finally, Matt invites Sylar to the basement. Sylar explains that he’s impressed that Matt is so good at living with his ability. He asks Matt to go inside his head again, which Matt finds hilarious. Slyar asks Matt to take away his powers, so he can be normal again. I love Matt’s answer to him – “That ship sailed, like, fifty murders ago.” Matt makes him agree that he’ll leave Janice alone if he tries this.
In Peter’s dingy apartment, Angela comes by with a crisis – she can’t decide on the wording for Nathan’s headstone. How about “Here Lies Nathan Petrelli – For Now”? She admits that she also wanted to see Peter and make sure he was OK. Peter thinks it’s weird that in the dream they shared, Sylar was trying to help.
In the dorm, Claire is complaining to Gretchen about how her father has the gall to try and take down a guy who just killed at least 200 people. Even Gretchen is tired of listening to it, and tells Claire that she needs to drop it and go to class for a change. First time I have ever liked Gretchen. Claire takes Gretchen’s car keys and leaves. Man, that girl…
Back at Bennet’s, he’s calling Claire, who doesn’t answer. Lauren doesn’t think he can go after Samuel now, if he’s not fully focused. He assures her that he’s ready to beat some ass. Which he is. Have you people learned nothing?
Claire returns to the Carnival, which unsettles Lydia. Lydia grabs her hands and uses her consistently undefined powers to discover that Bennet is coming to kill Samuel. Claire has a plan, which can’t be good. Eli the Copy Guy eavesdrops. Samuel comes running and tells Claire that he wishes he could take it all back. Because that’s who he needs to explain himself to. He reminisces about Joseph and talks about how he’s lost his way, and I don’t know if I believe him or not. Claire says he needs to turn himself in.
Bennet and Lauren have the scene staked out, and Bennet has a sniper rifle. They have Samuel in their sights. Lauren freaks out that Claire is there, but why? It’s not like they have to worry about hurting her. Claire then calls Bennet, saying Samuel wants to surrender as long as he doesn’t touch the rest of the carnies. Bennet is willing to take the deal, but Lauren thinks he’s crazy. Lauren volunteers to go down there and pick him up, so Bennet can still keep Samuel in the crosshairs.
Samuel has everybody gather around him. He announces that he’s going to surrender to keep the rest of them safe. But as he’s giving his speech, there’s a gunshot and the bullet seems to hit him in the shoulder. There are more shots, and people start freaking out. A bullet hits Claire in the neck, another narrowly misses Doyle. We see a lot of the establishes carnies running around. Something tells me that wasn’t Bennet. He would have got the headshot right off the bat.
Meanwhile, Matt is embarking on his Sylar-curing plan. He tries to touch Sylar’s mind, but the feedback drops him to his knees. Sylar starts threatening Janice, pinning her with his telepathy. He says he’ll kill Janice and a whole lot of other people if Matt doesn’t take away his powers.
Back at the Carnival, Bennet watches the chaos through his scope, but he is not the one shooting. He looks around for the source of the shots and spots Eli. One of Eli’s shots hits Lauren, who’s alive but injured. Sylar shoots Eli, but he fades out, so it wasn’t the original. Amid the chaos, Doyle calls for Samuel’s help – Lydia took a bullet to the chest. At the same time, Lauren spots another Eli, but her hands are shaking too much to shoot him.
You know how sometimes I have to remind you that I’m not making up the things that Samuel does? Well, here he makes out with Lydia, who is dying from being shot in the chest. There’s actually sort of a reason though, as it lets her use her powers to read his mind. She gasps out “You did this?” He explains “They needed a villain. Somebody worse than me.” Man, Samuel is such a good villain. Lydia dies, and Samuel fake cries.
Of course Claire is always going to assume the worst about her father. So she tries to call him, but then Eli shows up dragging Bennet and announcing that he found the shooter. Somebody spits on Claire. Doyle uses his powers to stop Claire in her tracks, and Samuel sends Bennet to the House of Mirrors and demands that Claire be brought to his trailer.
At Matt’s house, the power-removing isn’t working and Sylar’s getting more and more threatening. Matt tells him he has to accept that he’s more than his abilities. He’s a person first. That sinks in, and Sylar lets Janice go. Matt tries again, going deep into Sylar’s mind. Sure enough, Sylar finds that he can’t use his powers. They’re buried. Matt further explains that he trapped Sylar in his own mind – he’s going to be all alone with his immortality. Remember when he did that to his dad? Sylar’s comatose in the real world, and his mind is trapped in an eternal loop. Matt bricks his body up behind a wall in the basement, and I can’t decide whether I should go all literary with a Cask of Amontillado reference, or be true to myself and liken him to Rev. Jeremiah Cloutier on Oz. Matt’s attempt at masonry is interrupted by Peter banging on the door, though.
Hey, Emma’s at the Carnival! Doyle’s very happy to see her, and says that Samuel needs her help. Samuel asks her to sew up his bullet wound, and also lays some propaganda on her. Hee. The villains on this show are so much fun.
Peter is looking for Sylar, and he (I guess) picks up Matt’s power to learn his whereabouts. He’s horrified when he finds out what Matt did, so he jumps into Sylar’s head himself. In Sylar’s head, it’s an empty New York City. Peter wanders the streets, looking for some sign of life.
Outside the Carnival, a wounded Lauren reaches for her Droid Eris. Yes, it’s product placement, but it’s not as obvious as I make it sound – I just got the exact same phone last week. It’s pretty sweet. She calls Tracy, who also has a Droid. She says that Bennet told her to call if anything went wrong, and it done went wrong.
Knife Guy bursts into the Carnival to find that Lydia is dead. Samuel says that Bennet did it. He then goes out to make a speech to the carnies. He says this proves that they will never be accepted by the outside world. It’s time they put fear behind and show the world what they truly are. Oh, this is going to get ugly. Just two episodes left this season!
Next week: Peter and Sylar are trapped inside Sylar’s head, and even in the preview they totally rip off Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing run. Claire makes an unheard-of decision and supports her father. All hell breaks loose at the Carnival. Home stretch now, people!
