This week's episode was...okay. The central plot moved forward quite a bit, but I'm left feeling like they've squandered Sylar, their most interesting characters, in a pointless storyline hunting for his father that has gone absolutely nowhere. That said, it seems like the stage has been set for things to get kicked up a notch next week with pretty much everyone on the run and Sylar either killing or teaming up with The Hunter.
Sylar finally arrives at his father's house and goes into confront him. When he finds his father, though, he discovers that the man is already dying of cancer and claims to not really care whether he dies from cancer or his son. Papa Gray reveals that he has the same ability to acquire powers that Sylar does and then spins some BS about them both being hunters and the same and killing being a waste of time. I didn't really pay too close attention because I knew it was BS.
Papa Gray seems to really have made peace with his impending death until he sees Sylar's ability to heal and thus become essentially immortal. As soon as Sylar's guard seems to be down, his father attacks him by telekinetically impaling Sylar with arrows. He then uses some kind of ability to paralyze Sylar or put him to sleep while he prepares to cut his head open to steal his powers, but Sylar reveals that he was "playing possum", frees himself, and disables his father. His father pleads with Sylar, saying that he needs Sylar's healing ability and SYlar would heal from it - he'd be fine. Sylar smirks and tells his father that the problem is that so would his father. Papa Gray then begs Sylar to kill him, but Sylar declines and tells his father that he wants him to die slowly and painfully.
If that's the end of the Papa Gray storyline, it really feels like a waste of time. That's just too much screentime to give Sylar closure.
Last week, I forgot to mention that, after capturing Matt, The Hunter strapped a dynamite vest onto him and left him in the middle of Washington DC. This week, The Hunter is planning to blow the vest up remotely, making Matt look like a suicide bomber and giving a face to what The Hunter sees as a terrorist threat. A bit cliche, but whatever.
Nathan discovers the plan and flies to Matt's location to help him disarm the bomb. The Hunter's team is hesitant to blow the vest with Nathan present, but The Hunter is more than willing to make him a martyr. Just when he's about to oress the button, "Rebel" takes down their network to buy Matt and Nathan more time. This gives Matt enough time to shake off the drugs and read a nearby bomb tech's mind to learn how to defuse the bomb. A split second before The Hunter's crew brings the network back up and he pushes the button, Matt pulls the correct wire and disarms the bomb. Nathan then knocks Matt out before he can fully regain his powers.
Back at Building 26, Nathan and The Hunter have a face-off. Nathan wants to have The Hunter removed from command, but The Hunter tells him that he'll need evidence to get the President agree to that. Meanwhile, The Hunter has begun to suspect that Nathan has powers, compromising their mission from the beginning and is trying to build a case against Nathan.
The Hunter first questions Tracy, but Tracy refuses to give him any information. The Hunter begins to question HRG, who points him in the direction of Angela and then quickly warns her. The Hunter tries to question and intimidate Angela, but she begins talking about an operation where many people were killed and The Hunter was the only survivor, revealing that she has dirt on him as well. The Hunter just walks away.
When he gets back, Nathan reveals that he has the President's approval to remove The Hunter from command and invites anyone who wants to leave with the Hunter to leave now. Nobody does. While Nathan is taking HRG to meet the President as the new Operational Commander, The Hunter attacks him and knocks him out of a high window. Nathan, of course, uses his powers to stop the fall and flies away.
When the Hunter arrives at his apartment that night, we see Sylar waiting in the shadows.
At the Bennett house, Doyle is still begging for help from Claire and insisting that he's changed and just wants to go back to his quiet life of being a puppeteer. Claire is unmoved, though, and tells Doyle to get out. Later, though, Claire has second thoughts. She decides that she's been given this free pass for a reason and should be healping others with abilities. Her mom doesn't want anymore unexpected guests, though, so Claire decides to start working at the comic shop so that Rebel can send people to her there.
At this point, we get the expected joke of Claire getting hired because she's a girl and socially awkward geeks will come into the shop just to look at her and hopefully buy some comics while they're in the shop. I would like to say that this is a totally inaccurate representation of my people, but it's not. Any smart comic shop owner should hire at leat one cute girl.
After her first day at work, Rebel sends her a text saying that the agents have found Doyle and he needs her help. Doyle is able to disarm one agent and only knocks her out instead of making her shoot herself. The other agent is just about to shoot Doyle when Claire shows up and disables him, as well. Later, Claire meets Doyle at a park bench and gives him a set of false identity documents that Rebel forged. Doyle thanks her and goes on the run, though he declines to answer Claire's question of whether or not he really has changed.
That night, Claire gets a warning from Rebel that her free pass has been revoked and Agents are on their way to take her into custody. The team of agents bust in all SWAT-style, but Claire is already gone. Outside of the window, we see Nathan hovering with Claire in his arms.
Hiro and Ando get their five minutes (literally) of screen time when they sneak into a house to save Matt Parkman. A harried young woman mistakes them as being from a babysitting service and leads them to Matt Parkman - a baby - and leaves. Is this Matt's kid? I don't remember him having a son.
I guess we'll find out next week, along with what's going to happen to HRG, Nathan, et al, where the heck Peter is, and whether Sylar and The Hunter will team up, try to kill each-other, or both.
