Just a little nitpick: I think your 5th from last paragraph should have read "Why would Isaac refuse to help HRG", not Claude. Anyhow, definitely a very good episode, especially since we didn't have to suffer through the whole Niki split personality fiasco for a good hour. Just how far can this plotline be developed? - a remorseless sociopath with superhuman strength and a whiny alter-ego is a dead end. Very cool that Hiro can manipulate space & time within a small space instead of all around him. Looks like everything is building to an eventual showdown between Peter and Sylar, what with them both absorbing all kinds of abilities. My fear is that if Peter develops into an uberHero, then it kind of begs the question "why do we need all these other heroes with only single abilities?"

It's Ted Sprague, not Ed.

My enjoyment of this ep was seriously marred by the continuing contrived stupidity of our dull doctor (gee, Dale sensed that his "friend" was shady and then was killed shortly afterward, he started talking freaky about his father being murdered, etc) and the stunt appearance by Stan Lee.

Was anyone else waiting for Peter to heal her? I was waiting for a "Charmed" moment with the laying of hands.

Question about Peter - Does he have to touch someone to absorb their powers, or just be relatively near ot them? Did he actually touch Claire? Sylar? If he doesn't have to touch people to absorb their powers, he may have absorbed the Eraser's powers by being close to him on the roof.

masterspy,

No, I meant to say HRG. It was just a round about way of saying that HRG has been relatively kind to Isaac, and their goals are mostly the same. PEter, on the other hand, is just pissed off.

QueenV,

Yes, I should remember that. Ed Sprague played third base for the Blue Jays in the 90s, Ted Sprague is radioactive.

jr2222,

We are pretty sure he has to touch them. Previously, we had wondered only how long after touching them were his powers active.

Ando can't be gone. Hiro has to have his sidekick.

Mohinder is the definition of oblivious.

(Jojo - hope you are feeling better)

hb

Hate Parkman's wife. She's just...I don't know...bleh. Miss his L-word sidekick.

I've been wondering for weeks why the name Ted Sprague sounded so familiar. Thanks for cracking the code Jojo.

jr2222: Peter definitely touched Sylar. When they leapt off the building at the highschool they were hanging on to one another.

And I think he must have touched Claire while trying to get her to safety, and they might have shaken hands when she visited him in jail.

This is SO nerdy, but Ed Sprague's screenname had 616 in it because in Marvel Comics that is the "main" universe's numerical designation in their multiverse. I'm guessing it was inserted since Stan Lee was in the episode.

Speaking of which, if they HAVE to have a narrator, I'd love it if they had Stan do it!

When Peter was questioned by the FBI, he picked up Matt's mind-reading ability (only time we've seen him mind read). I don't think that he touched Matt. Also, he 'noticed' Claude from a little bit of a distance, without touching, and I think that the implication was that he needed to have absorbed his power to see him. So I don't think that he needs to be touching to absorb a power.

Great power that Isaac has there. OK, he comes out of his trance, sees a painting of Peter standing behind him ... right now! Maybe some actual advanced notice would have been helpful...

JUnit, you rock. Great recap.
I thought for sure Mohinder would catch on to Sylar speaking and sounding just like his dad, but he didn't even get it then! Ugh. (btw, I loved that scene, though-I thought the guy who plays Sylar did a cool job)
I also like the fact that Sylar can't control the hearing power yet, which is an interesting twist--can a Hero be overloaded?

Tell me if I'm alone here but I have a feeling that the season will end with the nuclear explosion. Or at the very least it will happen at some point during the show. The reason I say this is because everything that Isaac has painted has come true, assuming that the dead blond cheerleader he painted wasn't Claire but rather her friend. I can't think of anything he's painted that hasn't come true so maybe the idea of the Heroes actually stopping the explosion is a misconception.

wniffene: Has Isaac actually painted the explosion of NY, or just that picture of the guy blowing up, and we're assuming that's the explosion? I think that everything in his paintings has come true, but a lot of times not in the way that we thought (ex., the debrained cheerleader was actually Jackie, not Claire). We know that the explosion happens in Peter's dream, and when Hiro jumped foward, but we don't know if that's 100% or not. My bet is, someone blows up (Ted? Sylar?), but it happens in the middle of the desert, or it's not really a nuke, or in some way that the city doesn't explode...

Great recap, great episode. Actually this was probably my favourite of the season so far, and next week's looks like a winner as well.

Loved the cameo appearance by Stan Lee. Loved the Hiro/Ando break-up, and can't wait for the inevitable reunion. Btw, I don't think that Hiro reversing time is a new application of his power. If I'm not mistaken our first introduction to Hiro was at his cubicle where he was staring at a clock and he pushed time back for a second or so. But it definitely showed that his 'loss' of power is solely due to a lack of confidence at the moment and that he still has all of his abilities intact.

Is anyone else concerned that they've made the Peter character too powerful now that he can retain powers? I really liked the idea of him having access to all these powers temporarily in the presence of the other heroes. It made him simultaneously the most powerful and the most vulnerable of the heroes, which I thought was really interesting. Btw, I think they've shown that Peter doesn't have to touch someone to absorb their power (e.g. his ability to see Claude across the street, reading Matt's mind without touching him). The most logical explanation would seem to be that Peter has an energy absorbing field around him at all times (say about 20 feet).

Oh, the trio of renegade heroes invading HRG's house looks so awesome. I can't wait for next week's episode.

I thought I would be in a real pickle when I learned that Heroes and 24 would be in the same timeslot. Unfortunately, 24 completely jumped the shark last season when Jack (after facing all the perils of hell to get it) handed over the most important recording ever made to Chloe with no protection, precautions or forethought. I just couldn't suspend my belief that much. Luckily I now have Heroes to fill the void and I'm loving this show even more.

j-unit, i have to disagree with you about killing off simone. she is just way too hot. mrs. jack agrees, however, that the love triangle was dumb, just because any woman of simone's taste and calibre would drop wimpy peter like a hot potato for clean-n-sober isaac, who, let's remember, persisted with his heroin use and blew off simone because he believed at that time that he could only access his powers when under the influence.

i liked the fight scene but agree that it was really juvenile, and made peter look like a twit. i like milo, though, and he's clearly the peter parker figure in the ensemble (i doubt the character name was coincidental, either).

the only real flaw of this show is mohinder, who is pretty f#$%ing clueless for an advanced geneticist. he's out in the middle of nowhere with 'zane,' finds that poor dale's brain has become the latest sylar blue-plate special, 'zane' is acting really weird and doesn't want him to call the cops, and it NEVER OCCURS TO HIM that this zane guy might not be who he says he is? Puh-leeeeze.

i hope we haven't seen the last of claude. dr. who rules.

So obviously things were going to hell in a hand basked (and I never really understood what that means)

Super nit-picking power activate: It's "going to hell in a handbasket."

Does he have to touch someone to absorb their powers, or just be relatively near ot them?

I thought for sure Mohinder would catch on to Sylar speaking and sounding just like his dad, but he didn't even get it then!

Has Isaac actually painted the explosion of NY, or just that picture of the guy blowing up, and we're assuming that's the explosion?

I'm worried that the superhearing ability will harm Peter in a possible confrontation with Sylar. Now that Sylar has this ability he will have time to figure it out and learn to control it. Peter won't be so lucky if he goes up against Sylar in a fight. Peter will be overwhelmed by this new power and Sylar will be able to use it to his advantage.

Great recap J-Unit, as usual!

"And wouldn't such tests require some scientific equipment? Is he planning on buying a "My First Southern Blot" at the Bozeman Toys 'r' Us?"

Well, there is the Discovery DNA Kit

Bonus points for knowing what a Southern Blot is J-Unit. Excellent recap.

Won't be missing Simone at all, but Ando has got to stay with us!

Let's have a rollcall of the powers Peter has:

flight
painting the future
regeneration/healing
invisibility
telepathy
telekinesis

I'm still stumped about the Peter-touching thing (that does sound a bit gross). I'm sure he touched Claire at the police station, but I don't think he touched her before he fell from the roof with Sylar and used the healing abilities. I also don't think he touched Parkman, and yet he has telepathic powers. Did he touch Hiro in that visit from the future, and would he have time-traveling abilities? If physical proximity is the only requirement, then we can assume that he can time-travel and he may have the abilities of the Eraser from the roof before he flew away. He also seems to dream the future. Is this an ability he absorbed, or is it innate? He's had that ability from the beginning. Did he absorb all of Sylar's abilities in their scuffle?

So many Peter questions. Those of you who can solve this puzzle, Quick! To the Tivo!

I've also wondered if Peter absorbed Sylar's powers - considering he seems to have been able to do so with all of the other heroes.

Also (sorry if this has been mentioned before), but when Peter first noticed Claude, I'm not so sure he aborbed his power from that distance, thus allowing him to then see Claude. Maybe Claude had previously been near Peter without him knowing it? If Claude had not been around Peter previously then did Peter have super eyesight in order to have been able to see Claude that first time? And if so, is this a power he got from someone else? Or can all of the heroes see Claude when he is invisible?

J-unit, you shouldn't worry so much about Parkman. If Sylar does catch up with him, don't you think he'll catch wind of Sylar's murderous thoughts? Since Sylar needs Mohinder to find the other heroes, he won't kill Parkman until they are alone. This presumes Parkman won't panic and reveal what Sylar's thinking. (In which case, the Dumbass Doc will finally meet his demise.)

626--good point about the possiblity of superhearing overwhelming Peter. I previously thought Peter would have the advantage over Sylar in a fight, but could you imagine being in NYC and suddenly getting superhearing? That would overwhelm anyone, at least temporarily.

As far as Heroes being too powerful, Sylar already has the power to take on anything or anyone, with the exception of a sneak nuclear attack by Sprague. He has telekenesis and can liquefy metal. That kind of makes him invulnerable to all modern weapons. Now his greatest fear is a Louisville Slugger. Or maybe a taser. But only if he doesn't see it coming.

BTW, J-U, instead of "sequitur," you meant "segue."

Remember, Sylar's original ability is being able to sense other Heroes, so maybe that was the way he knew Claude was around. And it is possible that two heroes have the same ability. Sylar sucked in a bunch of brains, so maybe Peter's telepathy isn't Parkman's telepathy. Peter has been dreaming for a long time. I think it has to do with Simone's dad, or Simone, he just didn't know it yet.

I thought that Peter only became invisible after Claude pushed him up against that electric pole.. but that's just me.

Couldn't Sylar just steal Mohinder's "Heroes List" and continue to eat brains?

Is it possible that Sylar, like Peter, only needs to touch (or perhaps, be in proximity of) another hero to gain their powers, and maybe his killing of random, unattractive, heroes (and as yet unconfirmed "eating" of their brains) is just for fun? 'Cause he's a flipping freak?

And maybe, just maybe, Mohinder's superpower is actually the power of Stupid - which protects him from Sylar's ability to detect his "broken" gears because so many other brain functions are broken as well. Perfect camoflage, don't you think?

i loved the scene when sprague was by his wife's grave and the grass surrounding him died. I was surprised at the balls that peter has...he's never been that agressive before

Here's something I keep wondering about: remember in one of the first episodes, the one in which Matt Parkman harnessed his power, there was a family killed by Sylar, except their little girl lived by hiding in a secret room under the stairs? And then later Sylar broke into the place where she was being held and tried to kill her, only to be shot by Matt? Whatever happened to that little girl? I'm guessing she has some power, as Sylar only kills those with powers (which makes me wonder about Dr. Suresh, incidentally...for some reason I think he's still alive). But I keep waiting for that little girl to come back into the story. Anyone else have thoughts about this?

Remember, Sylar's original ability is being able to sense other Heroes, so maybe that was the way he knew Claude was around.

remember in one of the first episodes, the one in which Matt Parkman harnessed his power, there was a family killed by Sylar, except their little girl lived by hiding in a secret room under the stairs? And then later Sylar broke into the place where she was being held and tried to kill her, only to be shot by Matt?

I'm pretty sure that Peter touched Claire when they bumped into each other in the hall before the game - I always thought that was when he absorbed her powers.

No remember.. when Claire came out of the locker room all bloody, Peter saw her, grabbed her, then told her to run.

If someone can watch that Homecoming episode again, I believe Peter absorbs some telekinesis before he touches Sylar. When Sylar is flinging locker doors at Peter, none hit him because I believe he deflected them.

The Chris Hansen comment was hilarious, J-Unit. Big ups to CleverName (#9) for being GEEKY (not nerdy) enough to know about and recognize the 616; I knew about it, but I didn't make the connection. :-P

Simone's death seemed a bit anti-climactic. I wonder how they're going to go with it and what that would tell Peter about his vision (since Simone was in it).

I agree about Peter and Sylar becoming too powerful. I liked it much better when it seemed like Peter could only use other people's powers when he was around them. I was starting to wonder about whether Sylar can use more than one power at once. If not, that might be why Peter only has telekinesis. So far, we know that Sylar has telekinesis, the ability to freeze things, the ability to liquify things, the ability to remember things (absorb knowledge?), and, now, super-hearing. His original ability was to understand how things work. I believe he examines the brains and alters his to simulate the powers or something.

I don't think Matt's very safe from Sylar even if he has telepathy because, apparently, people can *not* think. Maybe he was concentrating on Malasky's thoughts, but Jessica did manage to sneak up behind him. His spider-sense wasn't tingling. :-/

whome? (#4) I was sort of waiting for some Whitelighter thing, too. lol I've been wondering if Claire's ability will evolve to allow her to heal other people or if there'll be a hero at some hospital who'll have that power (I thought the doctor talking to Claire might, but no).

J-Unit, great recap! You didn't mention my favorite line from this episode:
"Damn!.......................That was my best wrench." :-D

I wonder if the Haitian may be the only person whose powers Peter can't absorb. If one of his powers is to cancel out the powers of others, he might cancel out Peter before he has a chance to absorb.
This would be one way to keep Peter's powers in check, so I do hope the writers have thought of it if they have nothing else in mind.

Peter's temper during that fight seemed really out of character. I thought maybe he absorbed Claude's emotions as well.

I agree: Peter absorbed Claude's power when Claude threw him up against the light post. They were thrashing around and the vendor's table was getting kicked all over but he couldn't see the source.

You missed the most intriguing part of Sylar's confrontation with Dale: she said she didn't hear his footsteps when he entered her garage and Sylar there weren't any footsteps. So how did Sylar get within ten feet of a woman who can hear across 40 miles without making a sound? What ability allows him to do that?

No no no no no. Sylar's power is not sensing other superpowered people. That's just him being psychotic and hyperbolic. His power is the ability to see miniscule variations in any given system - that's why he was a kickass watchmaker/fixer, that's where the ticking comes into it (clockwork as analogy for brain), that's how he figures out how to adopt their powers - pull the brain out, check it over for what's fucked up, viola. And if he could sense other supers, 1) why didn't he kill Hiro at the diner, and 2) why does/did he need the Sureshes as info sources?

"So how did Sylar get within ten feet of a woman who can hear across 40 miles without making a sound? What ability allows him to do that?"
Telekinesis; that could provide a rudimentary flight/levitation ability by using it on himself.