Are you on the list? That is how NBC has promoted the return of their hit show ‘Heroes.’ A catch phrase that is less viral than “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World.” It’s also far less annoying. “Godsend” picks up two weeks after the events of the fall finale. This episode made some great strides in bringing not only the characters together, but also making two of the heroes a little more interesting to watch. So, let’s get to it and see what’s going on with our heroes.
Claire is worried about having to talk with friends and reporters about what happened. What her father doesn’t know is that the Haitian didn’t wipe her memory, and as she lies to her dad you can see that her feelings for him have changed.
Back at school, Claire tries talking with Zack, who remembers nothing of their friendship. She tries to connect with him, asking, “Zack…do you think we could be friends?” He responds that they wouldn’t play well together.
Claire then meets with the Haitian. She asks him if she’s been saved, and what “Saved the cheerleader, save the world” means. Claire wants to see Peter, but the Haitian reminds her she’s not supposed to remember Peter. Claire vents her frustration at being alone, and not knowing what her life has really been. When she asks him to restore Zack’s memories he tells her his “gift” doesn’t work that way. Claire doesn’t see it as a gift, just her own private freak show. The Haitian tells her that what they can do is God, and the calling should be respected. Finally, someone to come along and make Claire’s story interesting to watch on it’s own.
Claire takes Zack back to the place where he videotaped her falling. She believes that he kept her secret before, and he’ll do so again. She climbs up and jumps, getting up and rearranging her bones she looks into the camera and says, “This is Claire Bennett. And as far as you know, this is attempt number one.”
Horned Rimmed Glasses still has Sylar in his possession. I guess he can pull Eden through glass, but for some reason couldn’t escape. Matt, our mind reading cop, shows up and confronts HRG about Sylar. Unable to read the enigmatic hero collector, Matt’s incapable of proving Sylar is being held at the paper factory.
Matt is reprimanded for supposedly leading the FBI on a wild goose chase. They are being taken off the case. Now, his partner is pissed that she “wasted the last three weeks of [her] life thinking [Matt] could hear people’s thoughts.” Matt confronts HRG and swears that he’ll figure out what’s going on. HRG smirks and says, “Good luck with that.”
Matt returns home to his wife and confesses his power to her. He tells her he can hear people’s thoughts, and explains that’s why he’s been working with the FBI. She doesn’t believe him, so he asks her to pick a number between one and a million.
Hiro is at museum looking for the sword from Isaac’s painting, he believes it’ll restore his powers. Ando also confirms the date of the explosion is November 8th, just two weeks away. As Hiro and Ando wander the museum they come across a display of samurai armor, and in the case is a sword with the symbol we’ve seen appear in tattoo form on the other heroes.
The samurai’s name is Takezo Kensai, a warrior who’s story Hiro had been told of by his father. Kensai was a fierce warrior, feared by all in Japan, who found a sword that granted him power. The symbol on the sword is a mixture of two phrases, “great talent” and “godsend.” Hiro decides that he’s going to steal the sword.
Ando points out that stealing isn’t exactly honorable. Hiro rationalizes that if he doesn’t take the sword and get his powers back, the museum will explode anyways. “It’s a good deal for them,” Hiro tells his friend. When he tries to stop time, Hiro is unable to do so. Upon a second attempt he merely slows time down. “Good enough,” Hiro remarks as he takes the sword. He then leaves Ando standing in front of the case with the missing sword. On his way out he brandishes the sword in front of a T-Rex, fulfilling Isaac’s prophecy of Hiro vs. Dinosaur. When he meets up with Ando outside, Hiro goes to pull out the sword only to find it’s a replica, courtesy of the infamous Linderman.
Peter is in a feverish coma at a hospital. Nathan explains to Simone that Peter commented he might be absorbing too many powers, and he can’t control it. Nathan demands to be taken to the artist, “I want to see what could be worth all this.” Simone takes Nathan to Isaac’s loft in NYC. To her surprise, Isaac is there and looking healthy. He tells her he was in a clinic, and now he’s clean.
Nathan asks Isaac about the painting of someone exploding. He can’t believe a man can paint the future, “The world doesn’t work like that,” the man who can fly exclaims. As they’re debating, Hiro and Ando show up. Hiro mentions that the sword is a Linderman replica, to which Nathan inquires, “Did he say Linderman?” The appearance of Nathan causes Hiro to shout with unbridled joy, “Flying man!” Hiro is such a passionate fan of the world he’s been thrust into, it’s refreshing to have that after the soberness of Nathan.
Hiro and Nathan discuss what could cause such an explosion. Hiro believes it could be a “billin” and that the “flying man” can help to save the world. Hiro then speaks with Simone about him being in Isaac’s comic book. She offers to take him to Linderman, who’s a client of hers, and help him get his sword.
Mohinder is explaining to a man about the list and his attempts to track down his father’s killer, Sylar. The man shows Mohinder a picture of a woman named Rachel Ellis. He informs Suresh that Eden is dead. Later on Horned Rimmed Glasses shows up and lets Mohinder know that Eden had powers. Suresh realizes that HRG needs him and his list. Mohinder is not interested in dealing with Mr. Bennett and tells him that the first thing he’ll do is warn the heroes on the list about him.
While D.L. and Micah are at home, Aaron Molski shows up at the door and D.L. lets him in. He says that Nikki has confessed and Hawkins is a free man. Aaron tells D.L. that the return of the money does not exonerate him for stealing from Mr. Linderman. “You took something of his, and he reserves the right to let you make that up to him. Believe me, you’ll be the first to find out when he chooses to call in that debt.”
Nikki’s lawyer informs her that the DA is seeking the death penalty. He tells her that if she confesses where the money is, a deal may be made. Jessica takes control for a moment and says that the lawyer knows where the money is. Jessica and Nikki go back and forth, with Jessica demanding she be brought a shrink. Looks like the crazy girl is pleading insanity.
Micah and D.L. visit Nikki in prison. She explains that Jessica has made an appearance, and that it’s not a manifestation from her mind…Jessica is real. Nikii desperately wants D.L. to believe her. As she seemingly says goodbye Nikki wants to give her son a hug, but the guard won’t let her. As she approaches the man, he swings a club at her and Nikki breaks it in half. This surprises her as much as, if not more than, the guard. OK, so it looks like Nikki either has strength as well or the two are coming together.
Peter is still having the same dream from the fall finale, but with some important changes. We see a man laughing who we glimpsed for a moment earlier in the episode sitting in his living room making energy balls come from his hands. Peter realizes he took the man’s power and can’t control it. As he explodes again, Peter wakes up screaming.
While on the phone, Peter sees the laughing man from his dream. When the man notices Peter looking at him he freaks out. The man grabs Peter and begins choking him, “No one sees me! I’m invisible!” We have met the latest hero.
“Godsend” packed a lot of information and character building into a single hour. It also raises a lot of questions, which seem to be the focus of this next section of the story. While I doubt we’ve heard the last of Sylar, it appears that his story may only be a fraction of the main event the season is leading up to. The bringing together of Hiro, Nathan, and Isaac was a great payoff moment. Hopefully stuff like this happens at a more frequent pace as we enter the second half of the season.
So, what did you think of the episode? Are Nikki and Jessica coming together to form a whole new person, or is Jessica just trying to use insanity to get out of prison? Is Claire’s desperate need to convince Zack to be her friend again going to backfire? Will Suresh turn to Mr. Bennett for assistance? And what role will the new hero play?
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