I’m being awesome!
Ah, Ando. That line cracked me up, and I will use it at every possible opportunity.
Well, Season Three continues its positive trend of having things happen. We lead with Ma Petrelli, who I think might be a filthy, filthy liar. I’m not convinced that she is Sylar’s mother. For one thing, she knew full well that her children had powers. There’s no way she gave up one of her little genetic time bombs. Isn’t it possible that she’s picked up on the fact that little Gabriel has giant mother issues, and it’s the easiest way to control him? My official position is to not trust anything that she says until further notice.
You have to feel sorry for Francis “Weevil” Capra. He was probably all excited to get a gig on Heroes, and then it turns out that he’s basically just playing Peter’s reflection. And Weevil and his friends are, well, they’re really evil. I kind of like that they’re super-powered thugs, with no real grandiose plans. They’re just petty jerks with powers. I’ve decided to call this group the Frightful Foursome. They’ll probably be around long enough to warrant a nickname, right? These guys, by the way, are pretty open about their use of powers. It’s going to be hard for The Company to keep a lid on things with a dozen psycho villains running about. Also, I just realized that Knox is played by Jamie Hector, who played Marlo Stanfield on The Wire. They’re really just pandering to me with the casting at this point.
Good thing they’ve got Sylar and Bennet on the case! There are few characters on TV who hate each other with that kind of intensity, and I’m tickled at the idea of seeing them work together. I particularly like the way Ma Petrelli thinks the team-up will be good for Sylar. “Give him structure.” Hee. That bit actually makes me think Sylar might really be her son. She’s certainly more motherly to him than she was to either of the Petrelli Boys.
Claire’s mothers don’t really care for one another, do they? Is it just me, or did Claire’s brother age about five years since last season? He’s thirty all of a sudden, and it’s weird and confusing.
Daphne is officially my favorite new character of the season. She brings out the best in Hiro, too. He’s back to being a guy who’s in over his head and is excited by all the weirdness that’s now available to him. I love their relationship – they know that they should be enemies, and they are in opposition to one another, but they don’t really mean each other any harm. I particularly like Hiro’s line, “What kind of overconfident nemesis are you?!” It’s very upsetting to him that she won’t play by the rules.
The Haitian is back! Considering that when Hiro first met him, five years in the future (I love time travel!), he was working with the people who were trying to kill both Hiro and Future Hiro, Hiro is not as happy to see him as I am. I tend to believe he’s always working for the overall good of the group, which is not something that I believe about his new boss. It’s very confusing.
So, Claire wants to learn to fight. Like Hiro and Micah, she really wants to use her powers to actively help people. Or perhaps she just wants revenge. Now, this storyline is just this side of being creepy, actually. Claire wants revenge on Sylar, and they’re playing it as if it’s a storyline about sexual assault. There’s an important point they can make about victimization here, and I hope they either handle it well or abandon that angle. Essentially, you have somebody whose powers make her the eternal victim, and it borders on uncomfortable. That got darker than I meant it too – her scenes were awfully upsetting in this episode, though.
Let’s get back to the bank and the Frightful Foursome. Knox is emerging as the craziest of the group, a point he proves by punching a hole in The German. Dude! You know, a guy with magnetic powers is useful to have around. Think before you punch somebody’s heart out!
Knox also makes explicit the parallels between The Company’s handling of people with powers and the military’s treatment of terror suspects, referring to the prison facility as “Super-Gitmo”. Of course, I think they avoid being too politically divisive simply by the fact that Bennet was the guy who rounded them up. Sure, they’re being robbed of their civil rights, but the coolest guy on the show is the one doing it. Consider that fence straddled!
And there’s Matt in the desert, and we’ve got another guy who paints the future. (Tim Sale artwork once again, but working in a less-detailed style. Nice touch.) Note that Usutu’s visions are less apocalyptic than Isaac’s were. They’re not all happy, by any means, but Isaac’s paintings almost exclusively featured death and destruction. Sadly, the painting of Matt and his happy family has been changed – like Ma Petrelli, Usutu’s visions are of a possible future, one that is not set in stone. (Even though that’s what Usutu paints on, am I right?)
Either this was a mistake, a clue, or a deliberate move on Ma Petrelli’s part, but Sylar’s mother collected snowglobes, not Hummels. I assume that Ma just didn’t really care enough to get that fact right, so I’m not writing in for a No-Prize or anything. Also, Ma Petrelli answered one of my questions – Peter was in Weevil’s body, rather than having his appearance altered.
I like that once Peter’s true identity is exposed, his immediate response is to go straight for the truth. In this case, the truth sounds entirely psychotic. Still, he tries his best. I also like Sylar taking charge of the situation outside with a hilarious accent. Sylar’s pretty funny when he’s not murdering. And you have to admire that Bennet is actually willing to go in there alone. You know, in there with the super-powered psychopaths. And there’s no hesitation whatsoever. Unless your name is Brock Samson, Bennet’s so much tougher than you that it’s not even funny.
So, Niki’s definitely dead then. That answers one question. Poor Micah, though. Lost both parents in less than a year, than his mother’s doppelganger shows up. That kid makes me so sad, and he’s so sweet. Well, we find out that Tracy Strauss and Niki Sanders were born on the same day, in the same hospital, delivered by the same doctor. I have to say, whatever Dr. Zimmerman is up to, he apparently didn’t put a lot of thought into covering his tracks. “Alibi, Shmalibi, it’s more convenient this way!”
OK, so it’s clear that the Haitian and The Company are not Daphne’s boss – that was initially confusing to me. But the Haitian is picking up the half of the formula that Ma Petrelli had always controlled – he’s just bringing it home. That makes Daphne’s boss a continuing mystery. As much as I like the Haitian, Ando taking him down was pretty awesome. If only they’d remembered to keep moving. Now Daphne’s mysterious boss has both parts of the formula. Future: Screwed.
Weevil’s powers rock, don’t they? That was a cool effect right there. I’m tickled that Peter and Future Peter don’t get along with one another. Somebody has issues… And it looks like next week, we get another horrifying vision of the future. Of course, that leaves Bennet up against the wall. Except for how he pretty much knew what Sylar was going to do. That guy’s good. Bennet vs. Benry in the Manipulation Olympics – Who wins? Too close to call! Clearly Sylar agrees with me about how great Weevil’s powers are, because he went straight for that juicy brain. Because he really needs another power, you know?
OK, we’re into the speed round of revelations! Matt’s future shows him carrying a faceless woman. Matt assumes she’s dead, but to me, his posture suggests that he’s rescued her. Maybe that’s why Usutu says he can change the future “if he really wants to”. Maybe it’s a future that he shouldn’t change! Claire’s got Bennet’s Box of Secret Files. Is she going to seek out other people with powers, or try to round up the rest of the Dirty Dozen herself? Dr. Zimmerman claims to have “created” Tracy (and Niki). Is that why Mohinder couldn’t cure her Shanti Virus? She’s an artificial construct, rather than a Hero. (They really need to come up with a general name for people with powers.) Finally, it’s the reunion of Bennet and the Haitian! Is Bennet’s belief that he can kill Sylar delusional or not? We keep hearing that Claire’s abilities make people more powerful than anybody imagines, and that Claire herself can’t die. Well, if anybody can kill somebody who can’t die, it’s Bennet. By the way we see Flint going back to jail, but Knox is unaccounted for. Did Sylar take his powers, or did they bring him in? Either way, the ability to hit somebody harder the more afraid of you they are is pretty darn cool.
Please note: I’m on vacation next week, without access to American TV. This means my next recap will either be late, or written by somebody else entirely. We apologize for the inconvenience.
