Am I the only one whose mind was blown by tonight’s episode of ‘Heroes’? Time travel is a tricky device in novels, movies and television shows. In some works of fiction, time cannot be altered. What is meant to be is meant to be. In others, the time traveler can make changes to un-write one destiny and create another. We can only hope that this is the case in ‘Heroes’ because otherwise the future is looking seriously grim for these people. The episode, titled “Five Years Gone” (or “String Theory” as it was listed in Tvguide.com and on my TiVo), Hiro and Ando witness the future of our nation if the explosion that destroys most of New York takes place.
Hiro and Ando arrive at Isaac’s loft. They speak with future-Hiro, who has arranged a timeline of events using old newspaper clippings and Isaac’s artwork. He explains to them that he figured out the exact moment in time that he had to visit to change the course of the future. It is the day Mohinder and Peter were on the subway (October 4th). Hiro quickly recognizes this time as the moment the words “Save the cheerleader, save the world” were first spoken. The phrase itself carries a lot more weight as we see more of this future version of America but we’ll get to that in a bit. Future-Hiro asks Hiro if Peter saved Claire. He goes on to show Hiro a picture of himself drawn in the 9th Wonders comic book (still not colored in) stabbing Sylar. He explains that Sylar was the bomb that blew up the city and that he couldn’t be killed because he had acquired Claire’s regenerative powers. This is why he believed saving Claire would stop the bomb and the events that followed. Hiro tells him that Claire is alive but that he didn’t kill Sylar. That point in “history” hasn’t occurred yet but since the future hasn’t been changed, it looks like saving the cheerleader wasn’t enough to save the world.
When we see Nathan, he’s President of the U.S. and kind of a jerk to say the least. He’s administered the “Linderman Act” which apparently involves tracking the “special” people of the world and banning them from breeding. This isn’t enough though. In order to truly protect the people from the next potential Sylar, Nathan suggests to Mohinder (who has been working with him since the bomb went off) that they need to start some kind of hero holocaust. Mohinder is disturbed that the president is suggesting that mass genocide is the only solution but since he doesn’t believe its possible to alter the heroes’ DNA to reverse their abilities, he says he will go along with it.
Matt is now head of Homeland Security. Finally he has the power and respect he’s always wanted. The price for this was betraying his own kind and accepting the president’s orders to track down the heroes who are attempting to stop what the president is doing. This includes Future-Hiro. Hiro and Ando are spotted by Matt and his men. Future-Hiro and Ando get away but Matt and the Haitian capture Hiro. They attempt to interrogate him but Matt soon learns that Hiro’s memory doesn’t seem to include anything that’s taken place in the last five years. Mohinder arrives and deduces that if Hiro can bend space, perhaps he can also bend time. They realize that the Hiro they have in custody is from five years ago and that both Hiro’s are trying to change the past. Mohinder finds the 9th Wonder issue and holds on to it, determined to figure out what Hiros’ plan is and whether or not it can help make things better. A conversation with Hiro gives him even more hope that things can be different.
Future-Hiro and Ando go to Vegas to find Peter. They know that with the Haitian near Hiro, they wont be able to stop time to rescue him. They show up at a strip club where Niki is dancing. She’s introduced on stage as Jessica but later on we learn that she really is Niki. She speaks of Jessica in the past tense. Niki and Peter are dating and apparently trying to distance themselves from the war between the heroes and the government. Hiro asks where Peter is but she refuses to tell him. Instead she tells them where Bennet is. After they leave, Peter reappears at the bar. He has a long scar across his face but the real difference in future-Peter goes beyond physical appearance. He seems weathered by what’s happened in the last five years. He’s tougher but tired looking, as though he’s almost given up any hope that things will get better. He asks Niki what Hiro and Ando wanted. She explains and he expresses an interest but Niki is done with that battle and wants Peter to give up on it as well. Apparently, after the explosion, Peter fought alongside Hiro for a time.
On Niki’s mild suggestion, Future-Hiro and Ando go to find Bennet who is now working to help harmless-heroes hide from the government by providing them with clean blood samples and new identities. Hiro asks Bennet for the whereabouts of the heroes he brought to him which include DL, Candice and Molly Walker. DL, we learn later, is dead. Candice is also dead. Molly Walker is an unknown to us right now but based on the previews, it appears she’s got a pretty big role to play. Ando gets Bennet to consent by explaining that it was Hiro who helped save Claire. Rather than going to get the people on Future-Hiro’s list, he goes to the diner where Claire is working and tells her that she’s got to leave because people know where she is. She says she cant because she’s getting married to some adorable clueless guy.
Matt and his men find Future-Hiro and Ando at Bennet’s house while he’s off warning Claire. Bennet ratted Future-Hiro and Ando out to Matt. We learn later that the two have a deal. Bennet reports the dangerous refugees and in return, Matt lets him help the harmless ones. Matt tazers Hiro, knocking him out and they grab Ando. Time stops and Peter walks in. He gives Matt a nasty look but doesn’t touch him. He grabs Hiro’s sword and gets Future-Hiro and Ando out of there before time resumes. Bennet returns to find his partner dead and his house a mess. Matt brings up Claire and refers to her as the president’s daughter. He asks Bennet how Janice is doing. Unbeknownst to the president, Bennet not only hid Claire, he also hid Matt’s wife and son (who apparently has powers). Bennet is kind to Matt but it does no good. Matt demands that Bennet tell him where Claire is. He refuses so Matt invades his mind, gets the information then kills him.
He finds Claire and delivers her to Nathan back at the Petrelli mansion in New York. By this time though, we’ve learned that Nathan isn’t Nathan. At some point in the future after the explosion, Sylar killed Candice and took her ability to mimic people. He’s been posing as Nathan for who knows how long. This explains his desire to wipe out all of the other heroes, essentially making himself all the more rare and powerful. What it doesn’t explain is how Matt never caught wind of this, considering he’s been working directly under the president for years now and should be able to read his mind. Sylar-Nathan approaches Claire and tries to appeal to her but she isn’t going for it. He goes on to say that he made everyone aware of what they are and that makes them powerful. He talks about how being president and being “special” makes him more powerful than everyone else. By this point, his voice is low and creepy and Claire has heard enough. She tries to leave but he turns back into Sylar and proceeds to slice open her head.
Peter sits with an unconscious Future-Hiro and Ando and goes on to tell Ando that he (Ando) died in the explosion in New York. He said he thinks that is why Hiro is so determined to change things and that the sweet Hiro that was once so full of hope was lost when Ando died. Niki returns and she and Peter go off to talk. When Future-Hiro wakes up, he and Ando have a heart to heart. There is a glimpse of the old Hiro in this conversation but time has taken its toll on Hiro.
Niki begs Peter to walk away from this. She doesn’t understand why he has to fix things. Peter ends up explaining that the bomb was really him. He was responsible for Micah’s death as well as the death of the millions of others who died in the blast. Peter said Nathan (whom he obviously doesn’t realize is really Sylar) lied to everyone and said it was Sylar to protect him. He turns his back on Niki and leaves with Future-Hiro and Ando.
President Sylar-Petrelli is giving a memorial speech at the ruins in New York City. He announces that a cure has been found to reverse the hero-DNA. He pads this speech with words of hope, saying that by putting everyone back to normal, people could go on living their lives without being policed and treated as outcasts. In truth, this “cure” is really a method of killing the heroes but, as he explained to Mohinder earlier, when the heroes start dying, they’ll say it was a big mistake and the world will be united in grief once again..
On fake-Nathan’s orders, Mohinder and the Haitian plan to give past-Hiro the fatal drug that will eventually be administered to all of the heroes. By killing past-Hiro they will also rid the future of the current Hiro, whom they consider to be a terrorist. While Peter and Future-Hiro plan to storm the Department of Homeland Security, the Haitian and Mohinder prepare the shot. Hiro begs him to spare his life. Mohinder says he’s sorry and then proceeds to plunge the syringe into the Haitian’s neck. He then shows Hiro the 9th Wonder comic book, which has a picture of himself doing what he just did. Mohinder believes in the possibility of an altered past and thus, a brighter future.
With the Haitian dead, Peter and Future-Hiro are able to storm the building, knocking down secret-service agents as though they were made of paper. They find Mohinder and Hiro (Ando is with them at this point). Just as Future-Hiro is about to take Ando and Hiro back to the past, Matt comes in and shoots him. Peter blocks off the door before anyone else gets hurt. Matt calls the President and tells him that Peter is there and that he needs reinforcements. Nathan/Sylar immediately flies off, shocking the crowd (no one knew the president had powers). He reaches through the door to the room where Peter, Hiro, Mohinder and Ando are hiding. He grabs Peter through the door and pulls him out of the room. Peter realizes that this is not his brother. Sylar reveals himself and the two fire up their powers. It looked a lot like when Pyro and Iceman faced off in the third X-men movie. We don’t get to see the battle but from the other side of door, in the room where Hiro is, a lot of light is shining through the cracks, and there are some loud noises.. Mohinder urges them to go back to the past. Hiro is doubtful that he can but Ando tells him that he believes in him. He says he’s seen the man he becomes and knows he can do this.
Hiro blinks himself and Ando back to an undamaged New York City. The two celebrate, and vow to change things. Lets hope they can because this version of the future seriously sucked.
What did you think of the episode? Comment below or post in our ‘Heroes’ forum here!
