Heroes: The Line

"I don't suppose you saw a flying masked man this evening?"

It wasn't so much about "the line"; it was about crossing it. Several of our cast made bad decisions, with even worse possible consequences.

1671 Japan: Just when I thought I was bored with this plotline, it got really interesting. Ending the rule of the Samurai before its time could have an enormous ripple effect. Did Hiro just change history? Did he fracture time with just a kiss? I also realized why they cast David Anders as Kensei. He's been something of a drunken doofus until this point, but he might have just turned into Sark. It's impossible to tell what he'll do next, but Hiro is in serious trouble. The world may be, too.

Costa Verde, California: I was thinking that Claire's cheerleader angst was petty, but when Claire and West crossed the line and it changed into "Let's scare Debbie to death" we learned something important: West really isn't a nice person. He got off on terrorizing Debbie. Yes, Debbie was an utter bitch and (arguably) deserved what happened to her, but Claire showed regret, and West showed no such thing. West thinks that gifted people are better than regular humans. He wants Claire to lie to her parents and doesn't see anything wrong with it. This can't be good.

Mexico-U.S. border: Sylar managed to corrupt Maya in the space of one car trip; she just went from involuntary to voluntary homicide. I could swear that Maya turned Sylar on. Is he interested in her for any other reason than killing her and absorbing her power? Probably not. The most interesting scene was Sylar telling Alejandro exactly what he had in mind for them, but in English, which he knew Alejandro didn't understand; it was chilling. Sylar also mentioned only two of his powers: telekinesis and superhearing. Why those particular two?

Hartsdale NY: Taking Monica's powers away would have been like kicking a puppy, so I'm glad Mohinder showed the Company his true colors and refused to do it. But it seems to have gotten him punished with a brand new partner. And unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it's Jessica, not Niki. Deep trouble for Mohinder.

Odessa, Ukraine: I think Noah regretted killing his old friend Ivan even before it happened. But Ivan had to be lying; I just can't believe the Company would take Noah and the Haitian back, no questions asked. We learned that Noah speaks Russian as well as Japanese, and that Ivan was his mentor.

And we finally saw the rest of the paintings, or parts of them. I sure wish they had captions. Here's what I think I saw: Claire dead on the steps, which just happened in this episode; a hand holding a vial; a mostly obscured painting with a biohazard sign at the bottom; Niki/Jessica banging on a door; Hiro and Kensei fighting with swords (6/8); and a man with curly hair and a bandage covering his nose, firing a gun (7/8). Is it Mohinder? Hard to tell, but the stubble looks familiar. And of course, the infamous 8/8.

Montreal and future New York: Now we know why they've been bringing up this Shanti virus thing: future New York looks like a bomb hit it. No, wait -- that was last season. Actually, the similarity between last season's big plot (millions dying in New York because of the gifted ones) and this season's (millions dying all over the world because of the gifted ones) bothered me. Please tell me that any similarity between apocalypses is completely coincidental.

Suddenly, the name Adam Monroe is everywhere. (Much like Linderman last season.) Bob had a file labeled "Adam Monroe", and Peter got a note from him about the Company. Maybe Peter met Adam during the same blank period in which he acquired that plane ticket. Who is Adam Monroe? Are they going to add yet another new cast member? Don't we have enough, already? Maybe it's the Haitian. Nah.

Bits and pieces:

-- Anthony on my Heroes list noticed that White Beard's flags, a black diamond with a dot inside it in the middle on a red flag, were in the Montreal storeroom. That can't be coincidence.

-- The Haitian's skills are increasing; he can be a lot more precise now.

-- Sylar called the twins' powers "delicious." Yum. Tasty brains.

-- Times Square again. It unfortunately looked very CGI in high def. The evacuation order Peter and Caitlin saw was dated June 14, 2008.

-- The Peter segment started out with police lines around the pub. More lines.

-- Bob encouraged Monica to save New Orleans. I don't get the impression that Bob is evil; I think he's just certain what he's doing is right. Which makes him very dangerous.

-- English subtitles from Russian are yellow, too. Like Spanish.

-- Who was the girl in Ivan's family portrait? Is she important to the story?

-- The end credits had a note: "In memory of Tim Susco."

Quotes:

Claire: "I have to listen to my parents. Don't you?"
West: "Claire, I can fly. That makes the whole parental guidance thing a non-issue." Alarm bells.

Hiro: "It was the kiss that fractured time."

Sylar: "She's a shiny new toy. And she's all mine."

Ivan: "Shoot me, and there is no turning back. You'll condemn yourself to hell."
Noah: "I know."

Kensei: "First you show me that I can be harmed by no weapon, and then you cut me deeper than any blade possibly could."

No rating this week. Heroes always feels like one big story, not individual episodes. I think that's why I have such trouble with rating it. But I have trouble with ratings, anyway,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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