TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES

This week, the writers don’t take pity on us by immediately showing what happened to HRG. Instead, they take us to a deserted, future NYC, where Peter is busy freaking out about Irish Setter. Then, suddenly, we’re back in the present, where Peter tells Adam that he was just in the future, and Adam is like, “What drugs are you on?” Peter shows him the flyer and explains about the virus, explaining that it’s called the Shanti Virus and it kills 93% of the population. You think I would get my classes cancelled for that? Peter asks Adam if that means anything to him.

Adam tells Peter about Victoria Pratt, who in 1977, recovered a virus from a girl named Shanti, who of course we all know as Mo’s sister. Adam pulls out the ElderHeroes photo, and I’m totally frustrated that we still can’t see Peter and Nathan’s dad’s face. I’m aware that this is part of a yet-to-be-revealed storyline, but come on!

Adam says that the Company ordered Victoria to turn the virus into a weapon. He thought they had stopped such research, but apparently, he was wrong. Whoops. Peter looks at the people in the photo and points out his parents, Linderman, and Charles Deveaux, and Adam tells him that everyone in the photo are the Company’s founders and they started all of this. Adam points out Victoria Pratt, and it’s the chick from Blade Runner. That’s awesome- Heroes really hit the mark this year with casting. Peter suggests they find Victoria and find out everything about the virus.

The Bennet house. The Mrs. has the gun her husband gave her pointed at Blow, who has an urn that seemingly contains HRG’s ashes. Psych, Bennet family! You’ve been punk’d! She tells Blow to get out, but he keeps going on and on about how HRG was a loyal employee and a good friend, blah blah blah…go fuck yourself. Blow says that HRG’s personnel file stated how to treat his remains, but the family is pretty pissed off. Blow claims he was just trying to help Claire use her abilities, but we all know that’s a load of crap. Blow puts the urn on a table and says that he’ll honor HRG’s wishes to give his family a normal life. Since he’s leaving them the urn, I have to wonder- whose ashes are in that jar? “My father is dead,” says Princess Claire, once again displaying her minimal acting ability, “there is no normal.” Mrs. Bennet tells her kids that they’re leaving that night.

Blow gets into his car with a waiting Veronica Mars, whose arm is still in a sling, and tells her to watch Princess Claire for the next 24 hours. Veronica Mars says that it would be easier if she hadn’t been shot, and Blow basically blames her. What a loving father. Blow might run the Company, but he also has no powers that we know of, and his daughter can electrocute him in the pool, so he might want to be careful with this whole “letting her get shot” deal. Just saying.

Tonight’s title sequence appears on HRG’s arm as he lies in a hospital bed with an IV in his arm. I just found out the dude’s fifty. Fifty. He looks pretty good for fifty. I mean, I’m not saying he’s hot or anything, but you can tell he’s not like, pigging out on pizza and cookies every night. I’m guessing he’s Hayden Panettiere’s next victim, after she gets tired of thirty-year-olds.

Anyway, HRG’s dead, and we get a mini-rehash of last week’s episode closer as he comes back to life. He calls out for Mo, who comes over and tightens HRG’s restraints. HRG says he remembers when Mo shot him. Yeah, that was pretty harsh. Mo tells HRG that Claire’s blood brought him back to life, and HRG gets all pissed that Mo betrayed him by coming after his family. HRG asks where Claire is, and Mo says she’s at home, and BTW, she thinks her father’s dead. Mo says the Company is going to use Claire’s blood to save lives, and he leaves, ignoring the fact that HRG is screaming after him. I kind of like Mo when he’s not such a pussy.

In New Orleans, Micah and his cousins are coming home. Micah tells Semenal Misfire how one of his comics could sell for six hundred dollars, but he doesn’t want to sell them. Of course, this is stupid to tell S.M., who is one of the most annoying little shits on television. Pity he has to be on a show as cool as Heroes. Monica asks why Saint Joan wears a hood if she’s one of the good guys, and Micah explains about the importance of having a secret identity. This kid is so cute with his obsession with comics and superheroes. He puts the comic in his bag. Uhura enters with Niki, and Micah runs to his mom and hugs her.

Niki and Micah go into the kitchen, where they talk about how much they’ve missed each other. He asks her where she’s been, and she explains about the Company, saying it’s a place that helps sick people. She sounds like she actually believes it. Poor, stupid Niki. He asks if Jessica still makes appearances, and she says no, but that she’s sick with something else. Greeeeeat. She cries as she tells him about the virus, and she swears she’ll get better. Micah tells her he’s going to give her D.L.’s medal for strength, and I wonder what more the writers can do with him to make him the best character on the show. He runs to get his bag, but it’s missing- we know S.M. took it. I have never wanted to punch a kid in the face so badly in my life, and I used to babysit in high school.

We cut to Sylar and Calisto, sitting on a blanket and grass, and I wish I had some grass to get me through this portion of the episode. He pours her some wine- hopefully spiked with arsenic- and says that they need to go see Mo to make her normal. There’s that word again. She says that once she’s normal, she and her brother can go home. I don’t know why she’d want to, considering they’re wanted for murder, but ok. Idiot. Sylar tries to convince her to stay with him and leave her brother so he can plow her ‘til next Tuesday, but Calisto says that her brother is the only one who can control her power. Sylar says maybe she can control her own power, which really means, “OK, then, how about just a handjob? Please?” Anyway, Calisto gets all freaked out and Sylar continues to bait her by saying she wanted to kill her brother’s wife and this is really her fault, and the black shit comes out and Sylar starts gasping and telling her she can control her power. “You’re killing me!” He tells her. Amen, Sylar.

Suddenly Calisto inhales and her eyes clear, and Sylar gets up. She hugs him and tells him he was right. Are they gonna make out? Gross.

In Tokyo, Hiro and Ando are in Nakamura’s office, packing up his things. Hiro is looking at the ubiquitous ElderHeroes photo as he makes plans to avenge his father’s death. Again with this shit? Ando asks if Hiro is sure that Kensei is the murderer, because how can someone survive for 400 years? Hiro speculates that if someone can heal himself, he can survive time, also. That makes sense to me. Hiro thinks that if Kensei’s lived forever, he’s probably left a trail, and he begins to dig through a box.

Searsmont, Maine. BTW, I just Google-Mapped this and it’s a real place. Adam and Peter are here, presumably to find Victoria Pratt, and there are guns. This can’t end well. Peter thinks they don’t need the guns, and they should just ask Victoria to tell them what she knows. Why is Peter such a gullible moron lately? And why has he had his shirt on this whole time?

Anyway, Adam doesn’t trust Victoria because she worked for the Company and they locked him up- and also Peter, which I guess they both conveniently forgot- so Peter offers to go in alone, with no weapon. That’s a great idea, Peter, hope you don’t get killed!

It looks like Victoria Pratt is gardening when Peter finds her, and she asks him if he’s lost. She’s not very friendly, but I have to assume she’s not used to getting visitors, so she probably assumes that Peter’s either a phone-book salesman or a Jehovah’s Witness. Then again, if a salesman who looked like Peter ever showed up, I’d buy whatever he was selling, if you get what I’m saying. Peter says he’s looking for Victoria Pratt and she says she doesn’t know her, to which Peter responds, “you worked for the Company.” Her response is to pull out a shotgun, which, really, what did we expect? Nice going, Peter, you dumbass. Anyway, he doesn’t look that shocked as he begins to tell her the effect of the Shanti virus. When will Peter learn that in order to get into a stranger’s house, all he has to do is take off his clothes? He tells her that a year from now, 93% of the world’s population will be dead, and Victoria asks, “Time traveler?” Although the look on her face clearly states that she’s actually thinking, “Naked?”

Peter doesn’t confirm or deny, instead telling her the virus she created killed billions of people. He tells her that he needs her help. She pumps the gun and tells him to get inside. Hell yeah!

We cut to Hiro and Ando, who are trying to piece together Kensei’s past. Hiro finds a photo of his father as a younger man with Adam next to him, and when he turns the photo over he sees the names of his father, Adam Monroe, and Victoria Pratt. Ando says he’s seen the name before, and pulls a file out of another box. He hands it to Hiro, who discovers that it’s from November 2, 1977, and it’s an order to lock up Adam that’s signed by Nakamura. Hiro, who apparently has learned nothing from fucking with ancient Japan, decides he must go back to that day. He disappears, and Ando sighs, “not again.” Ando’s turning out to be some great comic relief.

Hiro teleports himself to Primatech, 1977. As he appears in a hallway, alarms are going off. A loudspeaker announces that there’s an evacuation in effect, and Hiro sees his father with Adam, who’s being restrained by guards. David Anders looks hot in seventies clothes. That samurai uniform did not do a body good. Hiro’s father is angry that Adam has betrayed them, Adam argues that he was trying to save the world. Nakamura wants to know if this includes releasing a virus that could kill billions of people. Nakamura orders that Adam be taken to lock-up and then deactivates the alarm. He enters a room and asks the woman inside if she’s all right, and we realize that the woman is Victoria Pratt. She says that Adam was looking for Strain 138, which she holds in her hand. Nakamura thanks her for saving everyone, and asks for the vial. She hesitates, but hands it over. Nakamura says that the virus will be locked away in Odessa, Texas, but Victoria insists that the vial be destroyed. Nakamura says that the other founders would never allow that, and Victoria says that Adam had help. Nakamura only says that she should take a few days off before coming back to work. That wasn’t like, suspicious or anything. Victoria refuses to be a part of all this crap and leaves. Hiro teleports back to 2007.

Back in Maine, Peter has Victoria’s house with her gun at his back. Why she doesn’t take that opportunity to force him to strip and perform an interpretive dance is beyond me. She says that she figured that someone would be coming after her, considering the ElderHeroes are being picked off like grapes on a vine. The camera pans to a desk scattered with clippings about the deaths of the ElderHeroes and Mother Creepy’s bogus confession. Victoria says that Peter looks like his mother. Actually, he kind of does. If you put him, Adrian Pasdar and Cristine Rose in a room together, they look like they could all be related. It’s much better casting than Matt and Evil Parkman.

Peter claims he knows nothing about the deaths and the last time he saw his mother, it was in 2008, and only 7% of the population was alive, thanks to the Shanti virus. He explains about the Setter and how he swore to protect her- I must have missed that episode. He’s known this chick for like, ten minutes. Victoria tells him he’s looking for Strain 138 and says, “if it were ever released, it would kill us all.” Um, hi? I think we established that a while ago.

A few minutes later, Peter walks down the driveway where Adam is leaning James Dean-like against the car. Peter says that Victoria told him about the storage facility in New Mexico, and Adam gets all confused and starts to tell him there is no storage facility there as Victoria shoots Adam in the chest.

Peter is all shocked, but Victoria tells him that all she needed to know is that Peter is “working with him.” She shoots Peter too and he even looks hot when he falls. She stands over Adam as he heals and says that she’s going to blow his head off, because “that’s the only way to be sure,” but before she can take a shot, Peter appears and punches her in the face. Adam gets up and thanks him; they take her into the house.

The writers decide to piss me off and get back to the Wonderless Twins. Wifebeater is in a dingy motel room looking at a newspaper article when Calisto bursts in without knocking, probably hoping to see him naked or something, and tells him that she can control her power because of Sylar. Ask me if I care (I don’t). Apparently Wifebeater doesn’t either, because the article he’s reading is about how Sylar murdered his mother. Calisto doesn’t believe him, and Sylar comes in and asks what’s going on. Wifebeater tells him, only he tells him in Spanish, so Sylar is like, “What the fuck?” He asks Calisto, and she tells him about the article, which Sylar confirms, only he says that it was an accident, which is sort of true.

Anyway, Calisto says she understands why Sylar killed his mom. Wifebeater can’t understand this, because he’s a murderer. “I’m a murderer!” She tells him. She’s got a point. Calisto tells Wifebeater that Sylar understands what she’s going through- interesting how she’s so quick to jump to his defense after she’s almost made out with him. Then again, I saw him in a sleeveless shirt, so I’m kind of on board with that.

Wifebeater tries to get his sister to leave, but it’s obvious that she’s totally into the whole Sylar-Is-Really-Hot deal, so she says she’s staying and she doesn’t need him anymore. Calisto claims that Wifebeater hates her because she killed his wife, even though we know he hates her for the same reason we all do- because she’s annoying, and an idiot. Wifebeater says that wasn’t her fault, but actually, it kind of was, and he leaves. Sylar hugs her and smiles creepily at the wall as he says he’ll “take care” of her. I hope that means killing her, but we’ll see.

We’re back in Maine, as Adam ties Victoria to a chair. Bondage? Hot. Peter asks why she lied about the virus, and Victoria says that he’s with Adam, and they’re trying to release it. Right, but she didn’t know that at the time, so that doesn’t explain much. Anyway, Peter says they’re not trying to release the virus, he’s trying to destroy it, and Victoria says that thirty years ago, Adam tried to release it, and now he wants to do it again, and I just said do it. Yeah, I don’t have a lot going on.

Adam tells Victoria that he broke into the Company to save the world and Victoria realizes that he’s been causing the deaths of the ElderHeroes. Adam insists that they’re trying to save lives, not kill people, but hello, we all watch the show! Anyway, Peter blindly believes Adam’s crap, even when Victoria guesses that Peter is a killer, too, just like his parents (“Ooh- burn!” –Liana). Peter tells her that Adam helped him escape the Company and save his brother’s life, but what she’s doing will kill a whole bunch of people, and asks her again where the virus is. She tells him to go to hell, but he uses his Matt Parkman mind-reading power and finds out where it is anyway. He couldn’t have just done that from the beginning?

Peter tells Adam that the virus is in Texas, and Victoria freaks out. Adam moves behind her, and I start to feel all funny, like when I first started sex ed in junior high. She yells at him to get away from her, but Adam tells her they’re not hurting her, “we’re letting you go.” He does, and Victoria grabs the gun, which has been conveniently placed directly within arm’s reach, and tries to shoot Peter in the head. Instead, Adam shoots her and she falls. Peter tells Adam he didn’t have to kill her, but Adam tells him, “She was about to take your head off. There’s no coming back from that one.” Hmmm, foreshadowing? Peter leaves and Adam steps over Victoria’s body, pulling the ElderHeroes photo out of his pocket. “If anyone survives,” he tells the body,” “I’ll tell them I couldn’t have done it without you.” He runs his finger through the blood on his chest and uses it to mark her picture with the Heroes “S.” He drops the photo next to her and the whole thing is truly fucking gross. Meanwhile, Victoria has no reaction, because she’s dead.

Back in New Orleans, S.M. has a bloody nose, and unfortunately, it’s not from me punching him. Uhura is asking him about Micah’s bag, and S.M. says that some kid told him that he could find out how much the comics were worth. The kids fight and Micah gets in a punch before Niki pulls him off. Micah tells S.M. that his dad’s medal was in the bag and S.M. says he’ll get him a new one. Is he retarded? Micah asks S.M. if he’s also going to get him a new dad, which invokes a reaction from both Uhura and Niki. My heart breaks for this kid. I seriously want to kick his cousin’s ass. S.M. actually apologizes but Micah shouts that he hates him. Uhura tells S.M. that she’ll get him cleaned up and then they’re going to call the police and tell them everything. They leave.

Micah tells Niki and Monica they don’t need the police; that they could be heroes. That’s a great song by David Bowie. Niki pulls him aside and explains that they’ve discussed this. Micah says they need to be heroes, “like Dad.” Niki says that that was got D.L. killed, and that the medal is gone and she’s sorry. They hug as Micah looks at Monica.

We leave New Orleans and head over to the Wonderless Twins and Their Useless Existence. Sylar is packing up to leave when there’s a knock at his door. It’s Wifebeater, and he thinks there’s no way Sylar’s leaving with his sister. Sylar says that if Wifebeater insists on being so persistent, he’s just going to have to kick his ass. Well, maybe that’s not exactly what he said, but you get my point. “I’m taking my sister!” Wifebeater wrongly thinks in English. He tries to punch Sylar, but it turns out Sylar is a lot stronger than him- who would have thought? Actually, everybody. Sylar flings him off, and Wifebeater goes down next to the bed, where Sylar just happens to keep an incredibly scary-looking knife, which he proceeds to use on Wifebeater until Calisto knocks on the door.

The camera swings over to outside the motel room, where Calisto is annoyingly knocking and calling Sylar’s name. The door opens and Sylar appears, soaking wet and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. I’m sorry, is there dialogue going on? If I thought the sleeveless shirt scene was hot- holy shit. Yeah. Wow. OK, then. (“Am I supposed to say something right now? I forget.” –Liana) I can’t even come up with something hilarious.

So, um, anyway, Sylar is naked. And there’s water. And I’m having trouble typing. Calisto can’t keep the look off her face and I’m pretty sure I can’t either. Sylar says that he didn’t hear her with the water running, which forces me to think of him in the shower. These writers really don’t want me to pay attention to the show, do they? So, yeah. He asks her if everything’s OK as I pray, not particularly silently, for the towel to fall off, and my TV is HD. OK, focus. There’s a plot. Yes, a plot. Sylar partially closes the door, probably to hide the dead body next to his bed. Bed. He’s still in a towel. Stop! OK. Wow, that towel is small. So, um, Calisto says that Sylar was right about everything, and that she is choosing him over her brother. Sylar touches her face and says he just wants to help her. She tells him he’s done that as they kiss. Sylar closes the door. Damn, that is a small-ass towel. God, please change this scene.

When I asked for the scene to be changed, I didn’t mean “change it to Claire.” Teeth appears to see Princess Claire unpacking a box. “Your mom said you were leaving tonight,” Teeth narrates for us, in case we were all stuck on the Sylar-Towel scene and forgot that Claire was moving. Princess Claire looks at him briefly, then turns away. She tells him that even though she’s been injured more times than she can count, “this hurts more than any of that, and it’s not getting better.” She tells him her plan to find the Haitian, who can make her forget she ever had a dad in the first place. Teeth says that “forgetting isn’t the answer,” and Princess Claire says that she just wants to tell her dad how sorry she is. Or, you could have not been such a bitch in the first place.

Micah is in bed, but he isn’t sleeping. Monica enters, dressed all in black, which Micah questions. Monica tells him that she knows what it’s like to lose someone you love and brings up her mom’s piano and what she would do to someone who stole it. She tells him that she knows where the kids live who stole the backpack, and if he stays out of the way, she’ll help him get D.L.’s medal. I can’t help but think that is a supremely stupid idea. Monica tells him to be quiet as they sneak out of the house.

Back at the Company, Mo and Blow are watching videos on a computer. Mo says that Claire’s blood can defeat the virus because they have “fortified his antibodies,” whatever the hell that means, and Blow congratulates him. Mo reminds Blow that he promised the research would stop, and says that he’s been researching the Company. Blow says that he hopes that means Mo would understand that they need to get rid of dangerous peoples’ abilities. Mo hands him the file for Strain 138, and demands that Blow help him destroy it. He agrees, but why does that sound like a lie?

In New Orleans, Niki’s cell phone vibrates. Mo is on the other end, and he tells her they found a cure and that he’ll be there on the next flight. She’s ecstatic and goes to find Micah, but- oops!- he’s gone.

He and Monica are outside the house of the Comic Book Thieves, and whatever Micah is doing with his cell phone is letting him know the house is vacant and it’s OK for them to break in. Monica says she almost knows how to break in, and looks at the iPod that she got from Mo in The Line. She’s watching a scene of some dude climbing up a porch, and then she says, “Got it. I just wish it wasn’t so bright.” Micah responds by putting his hand on the streetlight and blinking, and the lights go out. The two of them are awesome. The whole family is like The Incredibles, only on TV.

Monica puts on her head, and Micah tells her she’s Saint Joan. She tells him to stay there and she’ll be right back. Why do I have such a bad feeling about this? She runs across the street, jumps over the fence and climbs over the balcony to get into the house. It’s pretty awesome. She turns on her flashlight and immediately finds the backpack, but as she sees it, headlights approach- it’s the Thieves. She gathers the comics and medal, puts them in the bag, and finds a hiding spot. The Thieves come in, discussing the fires that they get paid to start. Nice guys.

They make their way up the stairs, and we see that Monica has pinned herself to the ceiling with the bag hanging from her arm. One of the comics falls out and hits the stairs. I knew that was going to happen. The Thieves look up at the ceiling and see her. They pull their guns, but decide to drag her outside instead. Micah sees this, and Monica looks at him as if to say, “Stay away from this.” One of the Thieves hits her in the face and they throw her in the back of a van. They shut the doors and Micah runs.

HRG’s “funeral.” Princess Claire stands on some rocks with the urn in her hands and I wonder how badly her non-acting skills will fuck this one up. Her mom, Lyle Mr. Muggles and Teeth are all standing behind her. Why the fuck is Teeth involved in everything in this family’s life? He’s known all of them for like, a month. Princess Claire cries and apologizes to her father as she empties the urn into the water. Water. Like in showers. With towels. Dammit! OK. Anyway. Princess Claire returns to her family and her mom tells her they have to leave immediately. If you ask me, it would have been more appropriate for his wife to spread the ashes, but this unfortunately meant more screen time for Hayden Panettiere, so whatever.

Princess Claire walks over to Teeth and hugs him, and that’s when she sees Veronica Mars, just sitting in her car, drinking what looks like one of those 7-11 drinks. Or an iced coffee. Whatever, they’re both gross. Veronica Mars realizes she’s been caught and tries to hightail it the fuck out of there, but her driving hand is injured, so Princess Claire closes in on her. Her drink falls into her lap as Princess Claire gets closer, and she gets an “Aw, SHIT,” expression on her face. It’s pretty funny, actually.

She gets out of the car as Princess Claire confronts her and tells Princess Claire that she came to watch the sunset. Princess Claire pushes her up against the car and Veronica Mars yells out, “Watch who you’re shoving, POM POM!” That was pretty funny, too. When Kristen Bell isn’t playing her as some weird, sex-starved psychopath, Elle can be a pretty good asset to the show.

Princess Claire threatens to tell the world “what they did,” but Veronica Mars says that no one would believe her. Princess Claire says that she’ll just have to show them, and punches her fist into the car window. She puts her hand right in Veronica Mars’ face as the cuts heal, pushing glass out all over the ground. I gotta admit, it’s pretty cool. Princess Claire tells her, “Once the secret’s out, you won’t be able to touch me or my family. You’ll be the ones running.” The scene ends with Princess Claire and Veronica Mars nose-to-nose. It kicked so much ass that I almost forgot about wet, naked Sylar. I said almost.

Mo is in a cab, on his way to see Niki. He pulls the case with the needle and cure out of his bag and his phone rings. Sylar’s on the other end, and my concentration immediately goes down the drain. Mo asks Sylar where he is, and Sylar says that the babysitter is taking the night off and that he’s taking good care of the little one. Has he made use of the shower in Mo’s apartment yet? God, what is my problem?

The camera pans to Fievel Face, who’s sleeping right next to Sylar as he brushes hair off her face. He tells Mo that there’s someone there who needs his help, and Calisto smiles at him like he doesn’t seem like a child molester. He hangs up the phone.

We cut to Ando, asleep in Nakamura’s office. Hiro appears and wakes him up, saying that he knows what Adam wants- it’s a virus that’s being kept at Primatech in Odessa, Texas. “Where we tried to save the cheerleader?” Ando asks. Ha- a reminder of Season One and how much better it was than this season. Hiro explains that if he doesn’t stop Adam, everyone will die. He says that he must avenge his father’s death and save the world. He disappears as Ando wonders aloud, “Why is saving the world always your responsibility?” You know, that’s a really good question.

Primatech, Odessa, Texas. Peter and Adam enter and Peter says that this isn’t exactly the ideal place to store a world-destroying virus. Adam says it’s not really a paper company (“Duh, Peter, you retard!” –Liana), and that the real action happens three floors down. Good to know; I’ll meet them there later with the KY. Suddenly, everything except Peter is frozen, and he looks around, confused, to find Hiro. They acknowledge each other, and Hiro informs Peter that Adam killed his father and “for that he must pay.” Peter tells him that he can’t allow that, and Hiro tells him, “then you have chosen the wrong side.” Hiro takes out his sword, and Peter brings on the electric blue crap. This is getting homoerotic. Peter again tells Hiro, “I can’t let you do that,” and the two prepare themselves for a fight. The Heroes “S” on the sword fills the screen. To Be Continued…