A glut of exploding men

This was a dense episode of Heroes. Several excellent exchanges between characters, and some good revelations. The more we learn about Mrs. Petrelli, the more I like her. It's nice to watch the way she handles Nathan; only with her does he seem a little uncertain, not his usual cocky self.

It was such a joy to see Hiro at the beginning of the ep, so excited as he talked about moving on to the next step. But his struggle over whether or not to take advantage of the situation when he & Ando were outside Sylar's mother's apartment, and his subsequent confrontation with Sylar, were heartbreaking. If he is to fulfill what he thinks is his destiny, he must find the strength to kill Sylar.

Sylar is, incidentally, possibly one of the most awesome villains ever. As much as I like watching him be evil, his attempts to revert to a more benign incarnation engrossed me. I think he wanted one last moment of his former life, before succumbing to his destiny. I didn't doubt his sincerity in not wanting to harm innocent people, but that desire was not as strong as the drive towards this enormous, grotesque act. His call to Mohinder, "I need your help," was just perfect. Then his visit to his mother, watching his initially humble demeanor gradually transition to the dark, dangerous character he knows he's become, let us see him one more time as a simple man who repairs watches.

The conversation between Mohinder and Linderman's man [Eric Roberts' character] was kind of surprising and went a long way toward making Mohinder stand out more. Seeing him play a little dirty was nice.

I liked the way Jessica & DL made their discovery, though it seemed a little too convenient. It would surprise me, I think, if we don't find out that Linderman made sure all that information was put there for them to find. And I wonder how many other couples like them exist, and how many more Micahs there are running around.

I felt as though I should have been bothered by Candice threatening Micah, but I actually thought she was pretty cool. Maybe she's growing on me. Micah's showing some mad haxxor skillz and makes me very curious about what Linderman has planned for him. How do Micah's abilities have anything to do with the exploding man, whoever it ends up being?

Which brings me to Sylar, Peter & Ted, any of whom could be the man who goes boom. Peter's acquisition of Ted's powers is seriously disconcerting right there at the end of the episode. I was wishing Claude was there, talking Peter down, reminding him that he can control these abilities. And if the exploding man is Sylar, he's going to have to kill Ted in the next day or so to acquire his ability.

I almost cried when Claire & Bennet found each other. This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch the first few episodes of Heroes with a friend who is just discovering the show, and I really enjoyed being reminded of who Bennet seemed to be early on. I actively disliked him and worried for Claire's safety. As his story unfolded, my perceptions of him completely reversed and now I'm moved by the steps he's taken to protect Claire. Every risk he's taken, with his own life and the lives of his family & so many other people around him, has been to ensure her safety.

On a very different note, I'm a little bummed about one of the other men in Claire's life - it's too bad she & Peter are related, because it seems like they'd be pretty hot together. Ah well, even superheroes might want to think twice about banging their nieces.

Well, two more episodes remaining in this story arc, then the long wait for a new season. Everything about this show keeps getting better, so I expect the last two eps to be pretty impressive. Here's hoping I'm not disappointed!