We open with a close-up of an eyeball. Wait, is it Wednesday already? What the heck? OK, never mind. It’s Danko. (Or possibly Juliet’s ex-husband. I can not rule out the possibility that I am watching Lost.) He’s shaving, and I have to say that extreme close-ups of people shaving really freak me out. I literally can not sit through the opening titles to Dexter. Magic Voice tells him there’s someone at the front door, and then we see Doyle, literally tied up in a big bow, and a tag that says “My Gift to You”. Man, Claire wasted a lot of effort relocating him.
Bennet and Angela catch a cab, and he’s got toilet paper stuck to his face where he cut himself shaving. There is an obsession with men’s grooming at work in this episode already. In this case, it’s meant to indicate that Bennet’s coming just a little bit undone. We find out that Bennet’s the one who handed over Doyle, but Angela suggests shooting for bigger game with Rebel. Man, her attempts to placate Danko involve crippling the resistance movement. I’m not sure I want her secretly working for me.
Danko takes Mohinder to Building 26, where a whole bunch of Heroes are sedated. Daphne’s there, and she’s in rough shape. Mohinder assumes he’s there to help her, but Danko doublecrosses him in record time. Mohinder, for the record, is not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Next, Danko invites Bennet to his deranged critical care unit. Danko seems to not get that Bennet captured Doyle, or at least he’s not completely certain. Bennet doesn’t take credit, and instead, offers to catch Rebel. Apparently, he’s been communicating with Tracy, so Bennet offers to use her as bait. You know what? I find myself liking Tracy. Ali Larter’s characters haven’t really gelled since she stopped falling asleep and mutilating people, but Tracy’s actually working for me.
By the way – Hiro’s plots have been fairly dopey this season, but the fact that he thinks the baby is a somehow de-aged version of Matt Parkman is hilarious. Hiro tends to miss the most obvious explanation. Luckily, Ando pieces it together. And this is a cute baby. I’m not a fan of actual babies because they touch my stuff with their sticky hands, but this is a cute baby. Also, I am amused that Ando nominates himself the “Mommy” of the group. Anyway, the baby has a power that involves controlling the TV, even when it’s not plugged in. So, sort of like my power then.
In the cab, Angela has a future dream of being pulled out of her cab. And then it starts to play out ten seconds later, but she’s pretty spry and gets out of there. Bennet seems pretty upset, because he’s just messing with Danko. Then there’s a blackout and some system interference, which Bennet attributes to Rebel. Actually, he says “Rebel, Rebel”, which got me all excited that this episode would be based entirely around David Bowie references. I mean, he does have a song called “Heroes” and all.
The door to Tracy’s cell opens and the space heaters go out, so she uses this opportunity to escape. Hey, awesome! This episode was written by Bryan Fuller, who was one of the masterminds behind Season One, and then left the show. He’s back, baby! Anyway, Tracy frees Mohinder and Matt, and Matt unhooks Daphne from her IV. Matt uses his mental powers to dissuade the armed guards, and they begin their escape, but not before Tracy Looks Back in Anger. (Yeah, I’m supplying my own Bowie references tonight.) Danko, meanwhile, demands that Bennet kill both Tracy and Rebel.
Tracy hits a clothing store to get out of her prison clothes. Tracy freezes the security tag in the dressing room, which is really pretty clever, but opens the door to find Bennet waiting for her. She’s ditched the guys, which made it easier for Bennet to find her. Bennet has some questions about Rebel, and he’s playing hardball. He does not actually give any indication that he’s working against Danko. He does offer to let her go if she leads him to Rebel, but he really comes off as the bad guy here.
Matt and Mohinder bring Daphne to the hospital, where Matt identifies her as “Janice” – you know, his ex-wife. He also claims she was injured duck hunting. At least he uses his mental powers to help make his terrible lie more convincing. Still, probably don’t want to muck around in doctor’s minds when they’re busy fixing bullet holes.
Hee. Hiro drops what even I recognize as a Star Trek reference by referring to Matt Jr. as a “Baby Genesis Device”. Little Mattt powers up all his toys simply by touching them, including making a toy plane fly. Ando actually references Dr. Phil in diagnosing Hiro’s lack of interest in the baby. Hiro talks about his mother, and how recent her death is for him, what with the time-traveling. Wow, poor Hiro. He’s really under pressure. (I’m sorry. I’ll try to stop.) Janice returns home to see Hiro and Ando try to hide themselves in a pile of stuffed animals, just like E.T.
On the street, an ATM starts talking to Tracy, even referring to her by name. It then gives her money and a boarding pass. And who’s that behind her? Micha! I called that one! Disturbingly, his voice is significantly deeper than last time we saw him. Did he hit puberty since his last appearance? How long has it been, anyway? Five Years? (Really trying to quit here…)
You know Bryan Fuller’s back on board, because he brought Swoozie Kurtz with him, straight from the set of Pushing Daisies. (And yes, I think Ned is actually one of the Heroes, and his resurrection power came from the eclipse. I don’t want to write fan-fiction, but I’m getting that crossover, one way or another.) Angela meets her in a restaurant, and they start off by sniping at each other. Swoozie references The Company, so we know she’s into some stuff. She also mentions Angela’s Season One shoplifting arrest which is a pretty dynamite bit of continuity. I’m going to like having Swoozie on the show. (By the way, her name is Millie. She’s reading Ronald Reagan’s autobiography, and George Bush Sr. had a Spaniel named Millie. Man, one episode back and Fuller’s already clevering up the place.) Angela hits up Millie for help, but Millie advises her to turn herself in. Millie finally relents and gives her some money.
Hiro and Ando try to explain themselves, and Janice acknowledges that Baby Matt’s powers manifested during the last eclipse. I’m not sure how she knows for sure that the story about Matt at the Capitol will be on TV when the baby zaps it, but maybe she has that news report on the TiVo. Or else that’s all they’re talking about on the news. I guess it’s only been a day or so, and that would be a pretty big story. I’ll cease nitpicking now.
A couple of besuited thugs show up at the door to bring in Janice and Baby Matt. She offers to take them to the babysitter’s, but they decide to search the house anyway. And then, two awesome things happen. Baby Matt touches Hiro and it makes a sound effect, so I think we know where that’s going. And then Ando uses his power-up lightning as an offensive weapon! Sweet! Next thing you know, Hiro has frozen time, and his glee is really entertaining. Unfortunately, he can’t teleport anymore. (I sort of like the way they’re depowering the Big Guns. Sylar lost most of his powers, Peter’s got one power at a time, and Hiro can only freeze time now.) Hilariously, he fetches a wheelbarrow to get time-frozen Ando out of the room. OK, this episode is making me really happy.
Daphne wakes up in her hospital room, where Matt has been convincing people that she’s Gwen Stefani. Hee. Daphne’s not happy about being called by his ex-wife’s name. She picks this as the moment to talk about the relationship. Or his dream of their relationship, at any rate. She doesn’t want to be his “surrogate Janice”, and she’s ready to bolt. Of course, Daphne bolts fast. Wow, this episode has brought about a lot of… Changes.
In Union Station, Tracy finds something or other in the Locker Rebel saved for her. Micah pops up and explains the plan, and Tracy’s horrified to realize that she lured Bennet to a little kid. Of course, Micah uses his powers to create a fake alarm so they can slip away. Unfortunately, they don’t get on a train and I lose my chance at a Station to Station joke.
Ma Petrelli slips away from some agents and gets on the elevator in what appears to be an apartment building or a hotel. Someplace with a doorman, at any rate. Of course, the agents manage to override the elevator to bring her back down. But when the doors open again, she’s with Peter, who flies her up the shaft to safety. Way to go, Peter!
In a parking garage, Micah is still angry. He’s disappointed with Tracy as she doesn’t live up to the image presented in her bio, or the memories of his mother. They’re being pursued, so while they hide, Micah uses his powers on the fire alarm to turn on the sprinklers. Tracy gives him the ominous advice “Stay ahead of the ice”.
And then, in her Crowning Moment of Awesome, she uses the water from the sprinklers to freeze the entire parking garage solid, including turning herself into an ice sculpture. You have to admit, that was pretty tough. But then a curiously unaffected Danko walks up and shoots her right through the chest. When will I learn to stop saying that I like characters on this show? When? (Ten bucks says we see Barbara before the end of the season, though.) Bennet shows up too late, and is clearly upset, though he maintains his charade. And in an image that will haunt me for a week, Tracy’s shattered ice face blinks.
Out on the street, time is still frozen. Hiro steals a bottle for Baby Matt, and then bonds with him. The “You can cry if you want, but when time starts again, you have to be brave” bit kind of gets to me, actually. And then he unfreezes time and freaks out Ando. We learn that Hiro pushed that wheelbarrow 12 miles, which really has some disturbing implications about the range of his powers.
Daphne’s in Paris, and Matt somehow manages to catch up with her. Did I say “somehow”? Oh, yeah. Matt flies now! File that under “Things I Did Not See Coming”. When did this happen? And then, in another Thing I Did Not See Coming, Daphne figures out that this is happening in her head. She’s still in the hospital, and Matt’s trying to give her a happy ending. OK, my heart broke just a little bit, there. And then, like any good Space Oddity, he flies her to the moon, and we cut back to the hospital where Daphne flatlines. Oh man, that one hurt.
The episode ends with Angela and Peter hiding out inside the Statue of Liberty’s head. And that, friends, is what I call an episode of Heroes. Let’s hope Bryan Fuller sticks around, because this was pretty fantastic. Even if all the deaths caused me some… Sorrow. OK, that was the last one.
