Definitely, I only meant it mattered to Nathan.

Just re-watched the episode and noticed something in HRG’s storage locker, one of the boxes has “1984″ on it. Big Brother is watching, right?

Also, when Nathan and HRG show up at Building 26, Danko pretty much ignores Nathan and goes right to HRG.

I still can’t make out the reflection in HRG’s HRGs.

- It makes a lot of sense, but I think the writers of the show are trying to forget that they introduced that plot device after all the complaints about it. If hasn’t even been mentioned since the ‘The Second Coming’. To be frank I didn’t really like it as a plot device either, but it brought HRG back so…fine.

When you consider the medical properties Claire’s ability could provide, though, I’m almost surprised Nathan doesn’t betray HRG and make Claire the first target. A supply of regenerative blood bags would certainly help to minimize the number of analysts and commandos Nathan’s losing.

Great point about Nathan’s actions being motivated by Peter. I’d say Peter demonstrated how destructive people with abilities can be — even when they don’t intend to be destructive — but perhaps Nathan’s also partly motivated by what he’s seen of Angela and the rest of the ElderSupers. He’s seen a cult group of people with abilities taking the law into their hands, and he’s seen the effects of a society that independently makes decisions about nuking cities and developing lethal viruses. The counterargument is that a cult group like the ElderSupers would inevitably come up with crazy ideas like that even if they didn’t have abilities, but from Nathan’s perspective, removing those abilities limits their capacity to realize their plans.

Here’s a question which came to mind after this episode: where is the government’s intel coming from? Does the Wall of Fugitives really just consist of Nathan’s circle of acquaintances and HRG’s files from the storage unit, or are they using The Company’s approach and following media reports of bizarre occurrences? It struck me as relevant, because we don’t know the extent of Danko’s knowledge: does he know, for example, that Angela has an ability? If not, is that because Nathan’s controlling the amount of information Danko has access to?

And here’s hoping they’ll have a different spin on this whole explosion thing.

Ahh…

I think Nathan’s resolve wavers a lot. There’s that moment at the hangar in 3.14 when he sees Claire and barely blinks, and it’s as if his heart’s made of stone. Then there’s a scene like the one at the Bennet house this week, and it sounds like he really does want to help the people he cares about by doing something right. And then you get a scene like the one with Mohinder at Building 26, when Nathan says everyone they know will die if Mohinder doesn’t help him, and again it’s as if he’s back to not giving a crap. We know he does give a crap, but it seems like he’s trying really hard to bury his feelings and sustain his steely resolve. And that’s compounded with the fact that he’s power-hungry and very, very self-serving. I think it’s very possible he will have Claire locked away, because the only real “exception” in his eyes is himself.

Very well said and scary to a point, about Nathan I mean. I do think Nathan’s Achilles heal is his ambition and it will be something he fights with most of his life - it’s in his DNA. And I just want to say - what he’s doing runs in the family - and maybe Nathan has to push in his feelings, something his mother does. What makes Nathan so complex and sad to me is he is like his father so much, but that part of his mother inside of him that fights with the other half that does care - but just like his mother he pushes it down. Of course I like to think she learned that from Arthur. & I’m really just writing as I free think here, but I need to see more, but I can’t see Nathan as fully cold, nor do I see him as a saint. BUT there is also the fact that he can make himself feel removed from Claire - while he was there for his sons all their life.

“Oh, about the writer and being three of them, many times more than one writer of record is given, but sorry to burst your bubble, but Heroes is completely team written.”

My bubble remains intact, but I found it curious that three writers were credited. I can’t remember that ever being the case on this show, and I wonder what made this episode different. Given the current report circulating about Zatta’s forced departure, I’d like to think he had a larger part in crafting this episode than the rest of the show’s writers.

I’m pretty sure we have a few, not a lot, but a few -especially with a lower level writer like Chris.

I think Claire is pretty safe from being locked away, especially if she stops interfering (which, admittedly, is not likely to happen). Powers-wise, Claire’s ability is pretty harmless to others. In fact, it could be very useful.

It seems to me that a lot of what Nathan has said about people with abilities, he learned, unfortunately, because of Peter. As a result, I very much believe that Nathan believes Peter is the most dangerous.

As for Peter’s new twist on his power, I think he can control it. Having said that, I believe taking Tracy’s power was an accident. He was in a fight and had let his guard down, so to speak. Otherwise, it does seem like he can decide which power to take. I’d go along with the skin-to-skin contact theory, except for when he took Nathan’s power this last time. We didn’t see the effect until just before he took off and he wasn’t touching Nathan’s skin at that point. Of course, that could have been a mistake with the special effects (Peter initially touched Nathan’s neck) or done deliberately for dramatic effect, probably the latter.

Everyone online has been saying how horrible this episode was, and I felt like the only one in the world not taking crazy pills. DON’T DRINK THE PUNCH YOU MORONS! I thought this was a brilliantly written and acted episode, and part of it may be because I’m a huge Matt fan, but I thought Grunberg did some great stuff here. Ventimiglia and Sendhil were awesome too, but again, Matt-focused.

The big thing, about the explosion, is that I feel it’s only the same in a thematic sense. We’ve obviously seen that Matt is going to make himself a martyr bomb, and the one to blow up DC, which is totally different from the original explosion. That was an evil plot by Linderman to “heal the world,” whereas this bomb is just going to be an example of both how dangerous people with abilities are, and also how over the edge this program has driven Matt, a guy who despite his faults, could never be accused of killing humdreds if not thousands of people.

Overall, I feel like if people didn’t like this episode, then they don’t know what they want. Now it’s just gotten to the point where people are having more fun complaining about the show than watching it, and actually WANT it to fail. Good review, because you were actually fair about it. Bravo. I’m now ten times more inclined to read these reviews.

If Rebel is precognitive, it’s one more reason for Rebel to be Angela.

“At this point, I’m seriously worried about the speculation about cancellation. The show barely broke 7 million.”

I share your concern. If the show gets a fourth season, it sounds like it’ll be with a smaller budget, a tighter schedule and a reduced cast and crew.

Pas, thank you. Sylar’s watch would indeed have been a cool gift from Angela. I guess it could still happen — there must have been something that persuaded Sylar to name his kid after HRG in 3.04, so maybe Sylar will end up giving HRG his watch in person.

Kevin, great post. This made me think:

“… it would have been disastrous if [Peter] actually killed the Hunter.”

I know what you mean — that it would have given Nathan’s anonymous superior(s) a justification to exterminate everyone with an ability — but in a way, killing Danko would have improved everyone’s chances of survival. Nathan and HRG would have been left to run the operation, and without Danko you can bet they’d second-guess every decision because of conflicted loyalties.

Re: Peter: “I still don’t think he’d kill Nathan. Yet. I wonder if they are heading in that direction, though.”

It would give the season a morbid symmetry if it started with Future-Peter shooting Nathan and ended with Present-Peter shooting him (and this time actually killing him).

With Mohinder choosing not to tell Matt about the cab ride with HRG, I saw it as Mohinder’s fear of driving Matt even further away. Mohinder said he wasn’t talking to anyone, but he was probably hoping he could mend his friendship with Matt. Telling Matt about a visit from the most treacherous person they know wouldn’t do anything to fix the broken bridges from the previous volume, and since Mohinder apparently decided HRG was lying anyway, he must have thought it was best to not mention it at all.

Great point about Matt’s telepathy. You’d think he could have used it as a homing beacon in the parking lot.

Brett Hatfield, cool theory about Danko being the one to level D.C. If he does turn out to have an ability, he’ll hate himself for it, hence the dark and explosive irony. I like it.

Sergio, thanks. I’m still on the fence about the latest exploding city plot; mostly, I think it’ll depend on the way it’s executed. But I like your point, and Will H’s and John’s; it could be a neat way to tie everything back to “FYG” and to show that although the location and circumstances have changed, the bomb is still set to go off.

Leigh, I really like this point you made:

“Arthur’s dead, Nathan’s gone coo-koo for Cocoa Puffs, Peter’s well…Peter, and she was never really close to Claire in the first place.”

It’s interesting that from what we saw in 3.14, Angela’s effort to cobble her family back together started with Claire. Maybe she figured Claire was the one who had the least reason to hate her, or maybe she thought Claire was the one who needed her support the most.

ThePandoraRose,

“I’m back!”

Always a pleasure to have you back.

“I see it as a man who has to put his family member away in an institution - they love them , but they Think they are too much of a danger to themselves and others. It is hard to believe Nathan would REALLY put Claire away…”

I think Nathan’s resolve wavers a lot. There’s that moment at the hangar in 3.14 when he sees Claire and barely blinks, and it’s as if his heart’s made of stone. Then there’s a scene like the one at the Bennet house this week, and it sounds like he really does want to help the people he cares about by doing something right. And then you get a scene like the one with Mohinder at Building 26, when Nathan says everyone they know will die if Mohinder doesn’t help him, and again it’s as if he’s back to not giving a crap. We know he does give a crap, but it seems like he’s trying really hard to bury his feelings and sustain his steely resolve. And that’s compounded with the fact that he’s power-hungry and very, very self-serving. I think it’s very possible he will have Claire locked away, because the only real “exception” in his eyes is himself.

“Oh, about the writer and being three of them, many times more than one writer of record is given, but sorry to burst your bubble, but Heroes is completely team written.”

My bubble remains intact, but I found it curious that three writers were credited. I can’t remember that ever being the case on this show, and I wonder what made this episode different. Given the current report circulating about Zatta’s forced departure, I’d like to think he had a larger part in crafting this episode than the rest of the show’s writers.

John, I love the scapegoat theory. Very clever, and very Danko-esque. I agree, “choose a side” seems even more apt for this volume than it did for Volume Three, especially if it turns out that Matt became a suicide bomber of his own free will.

Susan, thanks so much. For me, the little details are a big part of what make the show; they’re what give the episodes their depth and the characters their dimension.

“I was kind of disappointed in the episode. Mainly, it didn’t have the emotional punch that “Company Man” had.”

I hear you. There was no “HRG takes a bullet and loses his memories for Claire” scene. To me, there’s so much other stuff that rocks in other ways, some of which you mention, but I do get why fans thought the episode was slower-paced or unengaging.

B., this:

“What failed for me was the lack of… anything. I tried to ignore the hype, and I wasn’t expecting Company Man 2, but the truth is, there was nothing revealed or said that the viewers didn’t already know.”

… is such a valid point, and I think you’re voicing what a lot of people thought was the problem with this one. For me, it wasn’t so much about the reveals or the plot as it was about the characters. There was no big twist like HRG turning on Claude or Kaito working for The Company, but there was so much exploration of the characters and their predicaments: HRG wondering what he was living for, Angela trying to walk away from the organization she’d been involved with for 30 years, Mohinder sacrificing himself to assuage his guilt, Danko basically telling HRG to stuff his human values up his butt. Everyone’s mileage will vary, but to me, that was character-driven material that absolutely made the episode. I agree that it didn’t propel the plot forward or involve any huge dramatic reveals (besides the apocalyptic painting, which loses impact because it’s been done before), but when it came to its characters, I thought the show achieved a lot during this hour.

Re: Noah: “he likes what he does. It’s not just because of his family, or that it’s all he’s ever known, but he knows he’s good at capturing these people, and deep down, he doesn’t want to do anything else.” < < That’s exactly how I saw it. Nicely put.

Dean Gibb, word on Daphne’s caterwauling. It was kinda torturous. She was in a lot of pain, though, so I give her a pass.

Avaserenity, welcome, and thanks so much for reading. I agree, this was an example of a really strong character-driven episode.