We pick up where we left off, fourscore and two episodes ago, with Hiro back at the Burnt Toast Diner. He's standing at the window in his hospital gown looking in for Charlie as an older waitress walks by and tells him he has a nice butt. This makes Hiro realize that maybe he should find some real clothes, so he looks all over town for a clothesline that has a shirt geeky enough for him. A Knight Rider shirt. Not the crappy remake from this decade, either. Is this three years ago or thirty? A kid in a cowboy getup stops him. Because they never miss an opportunity to relive the glory that was Season 1, Hiro tells the kid the whole Charlie story in old "boy meets girl boy loses girl boy goes back to the past to save her only to see her whacked by a supervillain" style. Complete with flashbacks. The kid is so sympathetic that he gives Hiro the clothes and his white hat to top off the ensemble, because the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black. They're back at the diner door when Sylar (who Hiro calls "the brain man") walks in past them. Wearing a black hat.
Sans digital shadow over the face.
In case you still haven't caught the Quantum Leap refs in this plotline, Hiro looks around him and says "Oh boy."
Back in the present, Samuel's time traveler Arnold is dying and Samuel looks pretty tore up about it. I kinda like how T-Sam started out tough and confident and has slowly come apart over 8 episodes. T-Sam gets out his Blackberry, which is to say his magic ink stick, to check his email from the future. Lydia is conveniently wearing a sleeveless top which leaves large parts of her back exposed. Good thinking. A picture of Charlie appears there. Sam figures out that Hiro is in love with this picture of a woman he's never seen before, because he's that guy in the genre story whose wild guesses are always right. Like Harry Potter. Lydia knows all about the people in the tattoos, like how they're all three years in the past. Which leaves me at a loss as to why she needs tattoos in the first place. I mean, especially since she's not going to be taking her top off every five minutes anymore. More tats appear after the Charlie one. HRG, and Sylar, and some chick I don't think we've seen before. Although these are all actual photos turned into black and white drawings by someone with the power of Photoshop. Anyway. T-Sam needs old dying Arnold to do One Last Job, namely send him back in time and fetch Hiro.
Lydia's back is like one of those Charles Schwab commercials, but hurts your eyes less.
Burnt Toast Diner
Hiro sits at a table hiding behind a newspaper, drinking a Pepsi Free and waiting for Biff to come over and knock on his head. The Homecoming is splashed across the front page of the paper for good measure. Biff, played by Sylar in tonight's Back To The Future remake, is sitting across the diner hitting on Lorraine, I mean Charlie. She notices his watch and spews some trivia about how it's based on a Russian design that some general brought back and yawn, now I remember why they killed off this character. It's kind of a cute act the first couple of times, but since she can't kill anyone with this power, what good does it do the show really? See also: Emma. Sylar, using the power he was born with for once, sees the problem in her brain, asks her about it and creeps her out. T-Sam pops in to chat with Hiro. Just when you thought they couldn't wreck this cool Season 1 scene any further, the camera pans across the room and oh yeah, there's HRG sitting and eating breakfast. Sigh. It looks like it's time for another...
Comic Book Lecture
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Comments (7)
YOU! Why aren't you doing House anymore? I've been dying to read your recaps on the new season. Come back! I miss your recaps like a puppy misses its owner. =(
1 of 7 | Posted by kissmymanolos | Posted on November 7, 2009 1:51 PM
Wow, this episode sucked. And worse than that, it was boring.
What was the point of HRG and his partner? To use up screen time?
I wondered way back in Season 1 if Charlie had a power at all and if Sylar even killed her. I still think her eidetic memory was from the blood clot, but somehow this episode managed to not clear this up.
Claire's eyes were brown in this episode but they were blue in the commercial for next week's episode. Is this new or have I been missing it for months?
Last question: Since when does killing Mohinder off count as a mistake?
2 of 7 | Posted by Zeem | Posted on November 7, 2009 4:05 PM
Copyhacker, I just wanted to say that I'm very glad we have a bona fide scifi nerd recapping this show. And I mean that in the best possible way.
3 of 7 | Posted by deliciousminds | Posted on November 8, 2009 10:32 AM
Copyhacker, I am so glad you're recapping this season - not only do you make crack up, but you always add scifi and comic references - some of which I got while watching, others that I didn't even think of until you mention them!
This show drives me crazy! For each good episode, they give us something like this. I cannot even explain how much I hated this episode - probably because I also hate retcon.
I agree with Zeem that killing off Mohinder is definitely NOT a mistake. I haven't missed him at all this season!!
Thanks for another great recap!!
SWAK, PottyMouth
4 of 7 | Posted by PottyMouth | Posted on November 9, 2009 6:38 AM
@kissmymanolos: I miss House, I really do. But one plotty hour-long drama a week is all I can possibly recap, especially since they air on the same night. If I ever get caught up on this season of House, I'll come hang out in the forum.
@Zeem: The 10th Wonder guys came up with the idea that Lauren will probably turn up in the present now that HRG's available, so they decided to introduce her now.
They also pointed out a couple more plot holes:
1) Since HRG sicced Elle on Sylar in a flashback last season, he really should have recognized him sitting across the diner, ya know?
2) Three years ago? Aren't there only like 6 weeks between seasons? There's no way Season 1 happened three whole years ago.
OK, enough stalling, time to get started on this week's episode!
5 of 7 | Posted by copyhacker | Posted on November 9, 2009 8:30 PM
I know what you're thinking, Copyhacker . . . where's Molly!?
You are too good with all the fact chasing, no wonder your head is a spinnin'
for myself, I kinda liked this, coz it reminded me of Hero's when I liked it and before it was so goddamn lame . . .
I think Charlie's sweet too.
and I can't help but hate the carnival, I hate Tsam, I hate them all, WTF, let's go live in the circus in the clouds of time . . . ooo scary, ooo suspense . . . and ya know, who is Sylar anyway, is he still Nathan, but he came back to life? Argh, I would think being killed would be enough to get your head back, and wouldn't Sylar have a golden string to his consciousness, that would pull him back home, you know, like astral projection . . .
Sigh, well, I'm stuck at work, and that's one way to make me look forward to getting home and watching the next wreck!!!
Heart, Copy!
6 of 7 | Posted by juddfan | Posted on November 9, 2009 8:46 PM
What a great recap of a not-so-great episode! I just want you to know all the research you do is definitely appreciated. Can you recap Lost when it comes back?
I don't watch House so I am delighted you chose to recap Heroes instead! YAY!
Can't wait to see what you have to say about last night's episode.
And I'm with anyone who hates the carnival - that whole thing can just vanish and I wouldn't give a hoot.
7 of 7 | Posted by TinkerbellAPixie | Posted on November 10, 2009 11:25 AM