Suresh is documenting the results of the formula that he injected himself with - including the strength, stickiness, and sores that he refers to as a rash - when he overhears a couple fighting in another apartment. The way this is depicted, you get the feeling that Suresh shouldn't be able to overhear them, so another effect of the formula may be enhanced hearing. Suresh goes to the apartment to see if everything's okay, the husband/boyfriend effectively tells him to mind his own business and Suresh beats the crap out of him. Later, when Maya comes by to check on Suresh and try to get him to leave the lab for awhile, he yells at her about doing all of this work to find a cure for her powers. After Maya leaves, Suresh records a journal entry about becoming more aggressive and the rash spreading. Later, he makes a journal entry admitting that he can't reverse the powers process, even in himself and that it's now a part of him. There is a knock on the door and it's the man he beat earlier, trying to get revenge. The man gets in one sucker punch, but Suresh jerks him into the lab. All we hear is a scream as the door closes.
Suresh is going from Spider-Man to Venom, y'all!
Dr. Zimmerman tells Tracy that she, Nikki, and "Barbara" were triplets whose parents died. Before they were placed with new families, Dr. Zimmerman and a company (they made him forget what company it was, but it's safe to assume that it was THE Company) modified their DNA to give them powers. He mentions super strength and superspeed, but doesn't mention Tracy's ice powers; I'm not sure whether or not that's significant. Dr. Zimmerman actually mentions a formula, I assume that this is the formula to which Mr. Nakamura and Mrs. Petrelli had the two halves and now belongs to Daphne's employer.
Back at her home, Tracy is guilt-stricken over her murder of the reporter last episode and tries to call the police to give them information, but subconsciously freaks out and freezes the phone, shorting it out before she can tell the police that she killed him.
We come back to Matt's conversation with the African painter about who the woman is in his painting (the more I looked, the more it looked like Girl Flash/Daphne) and subsequent vision at the end of last episode. Matt's eyes go white and we arrive four years in the future at the same time as the two Peters. Future Peter agrees with Present Peter that the world seems the same, but with one big difference. Just as he finishes his sentence, people begin speeding past and flying away. Future Peter begins to explain that people have powers because of a formula created by "someone" *coughSureshcough* in our time and that this will be the cause of the end of the world because people are foolish and selfish and superpowers are now the weapon of choice.
I have to be honest with you, folks. The concept of someone discovering a dystopian future as a result of an apocalyptic event that will happen any day now and spending the rest of the season trying to prevent this future is becoming a very tired cliche. I think Jeph Loeb's crappy writing in comic books is starting to bleed over into Heroes.
Anyway, Future Peter gives Present Peter a speech about being labeled a villain because he's fighting the government's proliferation of superpowers in an attempt to save the world and tells him that Present Peter will have to save the world because Future Peter has already made too many mistakes. FP tells PP to find Sylar and begins to explain that not everyone was born with their abilities, that some of them were made when Claire shoots him in the head and I can FINALLY stop trying to keep track of which Peter we're talking about. From now on, all Peters are present Peter. Claire tries to shoot Present Peter, too, but Peter runs away and knocks the Haitian down during his escape. I really see no purpose to knocking the Haitian down other than to show that he's working with Claire, but there ya go.
In the future morgue, Daphne and Knox (scary strong villain from last week's bank heist - I guess he escaped Sylar) congratulate Claire and gloat over Future Peter's body until Claire shuts them up by saying Past Peter is still there and alive. They decide to use Molly to find Peter. I was wondering if Molly was still alive - I'm glad she is. Daphne's apparently married to Matt in the future, because she goes home to Matt, Molly, and their baby (Matt and Daphne's, not Matt and Molly's - that would be disgusting, like eating brains). Matt and Daphne argue about Daphne risking her life to take down Peter, but Matt finally agrees and calls Molly over to talk to Daphne.
Peter, still in the future, goes to Suresh's lab to ask him about what's happened, but the lab is trashed and seemingly abandoned. Peter digs around for some clues before being confronted by Suresh. Suresh is wearing a hooded sweatshirt, stays in the shadows, and his voice is distorted. He speaks vaguely to Peter about getting the formula wrong and making mistakes. He warns Peter to not repeat his mistakes, but seems to be avoiding telling Peter anything useful. Peter reads Suresh's mind to find out that Sylar now lives in the Bennett house and then warps away.
If you've been reading any of the previews, you already know that, in the future, Sylar has apparently gone soft, has a son named Noah, and not only has the Bennett's house, but also has the Bennett's dog whose name I can't remember. Peter goes into the house expecting a fight, but is greeted by Sylar as, appropriately, a brother. After Sylar (who insists on being called Gabriel now) sets his son up with some waffles, he takes Peter into another room to talk. Sylar almost immediately realizes that this isn't the Peter from his own time and refuses to teach Peter his power, saying that it comes with a hunger that he can barely control and he won't condemn Peter to that same hell. Peter finally convinces Sylar that he needs Sylar's ability to understand how things work to save the world by getting Sylar to paint the future.
Just as Peter gets the hang of Sylar's power, Claire and her fellow villains/heroes/I'm not sure who the good guys are anymore show up and hold Noah hostage to get at Peter. Peter and Claire have a long argument that basically boils down to Claire wanting to kill Peter to keep him from becoming a villain and Peter wanting to save the world. Peter uses Daphne's power to knock Claire out in super-speed and the fight's on. Daphne speeds Peter through a wall and begins punching him in superspeed. Sylar gets his son away from Knox, but Knox uses Noah's fear to power up and knock Sylar across the room... right into Noah, killing the little boy. Enraged, Sylar pounds Knox into unconsciouness. Peter takes advantage of the distraction to telepathically slam Daphne across the room. Peter begins to slice Daphne's head open, evidently already succumbing to "the hunger", but Sylar goes nuclear before Peter can get far. The house and the surrounding area go up in a mushroom cloud.
Nathan, now the President, and Tracy, now his first lady, make a statement about the destruction of Costa Verde. The death toll is apparently in the range of 200,000 and they say that there have been no survivors.
Back in the morgue, future Peter is strapped down to a gurney. Claire comes in with the Haitian to taunt Peter about not being able to teleport away. Claire blames Peter for the deaths in Costa Verde and begins to cut him once for each person killed. Nathan stops her and asks for a moment alone with Peter. Nathan begins to release Peter and tells him that he knows what Peter's trying to do, but Peter is only one man - because of Peter's actions in Costa Verde, Nathan now has authorization to create an army of superpowered individuals. Nathan invites Peter to read his mind. Peter thinks that Nathan believes that he's doing the right thing, but he's wrong. Peter then force chokes Nathan against the wall and cuts his forehead open, though he stops before cutting him all the way open. Nathan's nonetheless dead and Peter warps back to the present, into Sylar's cell in Level 5 and attacks Sylar. When Sylar realizes that Peter has learned his ability and gained his hunger, he points out that Peter is now just like him and calls him "Brother".
In the future, Matt and Molly are watching the reports of Costa Verde and worrying about Daphne. Daphne shows up at the door to the apartment, but says she wasn't fast enough. We see her broiled back as she collapses and dies in Matt's arms.
Matt wakes up from his vision of the future (he's seen all of the future events of the episode) and decides that he has to find Daphne. The African tells Matt to find his spirit animal to guide him on his journey home and Matt follows the tortoise that keeps showing up on his very very slow journey.
Hiro is trying to escape Level 5 and asks Ando for help, but he's still pissed off because Hiro said he didn't need Ando. They have a bit of a lover's quarrel over Hiro still being mad about Future Ando killing Future Hiro. Ando tells Hiro that he would never hurt Hiro, but he's beginning to understand how it might come about because of Hiro's behavior. Eventually they make up and Ando gives Hiro a boost into an air vent, but the Haitian shows up before Hiro can actually get into the shaft.
The Haitian takes Hiro and Ando to Angela Petrelli, who asks where the formula is. She explains that it does the same thing as Suresh's formula - gives powers to those who have none - but most likely more effectively and without the side effects. Angela at first implies that she thinks Hiro is useless, but then agrees with Ando when he sticks up for Hiro and tells him that he actually has the key to unlocking the entire mystery. Hiro realizes (or thinks he realizes) what she means and digs up Adam Monroe.
Nathan is pissy because the only real decision he's made is choosing a desk for his office, which Tracy should be doing if she'd ever show up to the office or answer her phone. Lindemann tries to give Nathan a pep talk, but Nathan doesn't trust Lindemann, both because he thinks Lindemann is only in his head and Lindemann wanted to blow up New York. Lindemann points out that Nathan wanted to blow up New York, too, but Nathan seems unmoved by this argument.
I'm still torn on what's going on with Lindemann; Malcolm McDowell has said in interviews that Lindemann is dead and no one else can see Lindemann, which makes me think that Nathan is just imagining him, but then who did all of this healing? Is it possible that Lindemann somehow fused with Nathan? Or imprinted himself on Nathan's DNA somehow in some kind of Mr. Sinister/X-Men Legacy move? If you're a comics fan, you'll get that reference. If you're not a comics fan, just don't worry about it, it doesn't really matter.
That night, Tracy shows up to Nathan's office to turn in her resignation. She apologizes to Nathan for dragging him into the Senate and then leaves. Nathan somehow realizes that Tracy is going to kill herself and flies up to catch her just as she jumps off of a bridge. At his (or her?) apartment, they talk awkwardly until she shows him her power and starts making out with him. Damn, those two hook up alot.
There's nothing all that new going on here, but I kind of like the implications and turns that they're taking. It looks like the villains will be put in power and the heroes will have to take the roles of villains in order to save the world, or at least try, and several people will be switching sides. Also, there seems to be an implication that many in the current "generation" were manufactured rather than born.
