I also wasn’t too fond of Claire and Noah’s scene…but I think I was mostly just creeped out by how strange it was seeing Hayden back in her cheerleading outfit. I can’t say I made the same observation as Kelly H lol, but her hair has changed and her face is older and she just has a more mature air about her. I’m also not convinced about the idea of Noah wanting to be an English teacher. His character AFTER having raised Claire would be a great English teacher, but from the glimpse we got of him as a young man in Company Man and later in….um, whatever the Cataylst backstory episode was…Noah pre-Claire was generally ruthless, action-oriented, and single-minded. That Noah just doesn’t strike me as the English teacher type. But who knows. Actually, I’d be very interested to learn how Noah got involved in the superpowered world in the first place.

However, I LOVED the Charlie and Hiro scenes and I love your observations about ZQ’s distinctions about this version of Sylar! great review, Otto!

And by the way, I think Claire just really likes chocolate milk and it’s more of a general reference. Brody was the first to mention it, but in a later season 1 episode Noah poured some for her, and she recently drank some again with Gretchen. (Writing this makes me want chocolate milk. I think I need to go get some….ok, I’m back).

Yeah, that was my spin as well. Bennet knows Gabriel Gray, he knows Sylar, but at this point he doesn’t necessary know that Gabriel=Sylar. The paintings are all vague and shadowy, and he may not have made the connection between Sylar’s head-slicing MO and the head-slicing he observed Gabriel perform.

Am I reaching? Yes.

Should the Company, if not Bennet, have made the Gabriel/Sylar connection at this point, especially since Bennet was “training” Sylar at the Company’s request? Yes, but then the Company’s own MO and relationship with its employees as been one of the show’s muddier and still unresolved plot points since day one.

Should this episode have somehow paid lip service to the “Bennet put Sylar on his path” retcon? Yes.

Now, now, aren’t you being a tad harsh? One has to find the darn end of the duct tape before one can start TK-ing it off… _not_ an easy feat by any means. Also, the poor thing probably had to levitate himself in a cramped compartment, while unrolling the duct tape, and by the time he was free, the bus was surely rolling. What’s he gonna do? TK-stop the bus, burst flying out of the compartment… although, hang on, that could look kinda cool!

Well, it took me way too long to get this read and it was a joy, as usual Otto. I really wish I could have seen it as positively as you did and perhaps when I get around to re-watching it, I will. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been time to re-watch it.

It was great to have Jayma back. She was just as wonderful as Charlie this time as she was three years ago. I totally did not see the twist of Samuel being the one to take Charlie away. I really do want to re-watch to appreciate Masi’s anger in that scene. Although seeing Charlie get the “Caitlin” treatment was quite distracting to me. I kept thinking “Really, show? You’re going to send another one lost in time somewhere? And you INSIST we never mention Caitlin again? REALLY?” *shakes head*

How or why is it they can get the Charlie and Hiro romance so right and so many others so wrong?

As for Noah not recognizing Sylar because of the retcon that happened with Elle … Otto, didn’t you know that didn’t happen. Isn’t everything that happened in Volume 2 and 3 being ignored and/or forgotten?

I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get through this and respond. There were a few other things I wanted to mention, but can’t remember them now. Oh well.

So glad the Dumb as Award got named after someone other than Peter.

Well, at least Peter and Emma will be in the next episode and I can’t wait for it … and your review.

On another note, I too wonder how much Lauren knew about Claire’s ability or even if she covered her for Bennet (which would obviously be putting herself in danger). That would be quite a lot of people (with at least The Haitian and Eden) helping Bennet considering how he treated superpowered people like garbage back then.
I hope some background is explored whenever she comes back, if she does.