It’s prevalent in comic stories that the secrets held by our beloved heroes must be kept. The reasons are varied, but often boil down to either keeping the family safe or keeping the hero out of a government lab. Of course, in most comic book stories something as mundane as the government couldn’t hold any hero (or villain) for long. But in the world of NBC’s ‘Heroes,’ where people are “given” extraordinary powers during a time of great crisis, it is a very real threat. This week the future saviors of mankind waver perilously on the edge of discovery.
Nathan is trying to win his election, he seems single minded in this endeavor. Appearances can be deceiving, because while he tries to stay the course and forget about what he can do there’s obviously some turmoil within him. He tells his brother Peter, “Flying around, how is that going to help any body?” He’s concerned that helping people using his powers won’t pan out. Working as an elected official is something he understands, it’s making a difference in the only way that’s possible for the elder Petrelli (at least for right now). It’s not a fear of flying that petrifies Nathan, it’s a fear of not knowing what to do with it.
When a reporter from The Journal is invited to family brunch, Nathan is understandably nervous. There have been some shady dealings as of late, including a brief tryst with Niki’s alter ego Jessica. We’re also introduced to Nathan’s wife Heidi, who is in a wheelchair due to a car accident. Nathan was driving, but the details of what happened are yet to be told. Not to worry, as ‘Heroes’ has a fairly quick pace in revealing information about the characters. I’m sure by the December 4 Fall Finale we’ll have all or some of the answers. To add to the trouble, Peter shows up asking for a favor. He wants the missing Isaac painting that an alleged mob boss, who has a connection to the Petrelli’s, is in possession of. Nathan desperately tries to keep Peter from revealing the brotherly secret. Obviously he has none of his brothers empathic abilities as any fool could see that Peter was not intending to do anything as ridiculous as “fly off the terrace” in front of the press.
During the family brunch the journalist asks some pointed questions about what happened to Nathan during the Vegas trip, including a calculated mention of the blond. Super power secrets aren’t the only ones these people have. Heidi shows some power of her own when she asks Nathan to tell her that the lie Peter told about him checking out a clinic for his mentally unstable brother is true. Knowing that her husband cheated on her will not give her stability, which is something she needs right now. Maybe it’s naïve, but there’s strength in the decision.
D.L. and Micah are on a road trip; you know, just a father and his kidnapped son cruising down the highway. This episode actually further establishes D.L. as a caring individual, who might be a bit misguided. He did steal $2 million to help his family after all (most people would have invested in a mutual fund or some other banality). During their trip they come across a burning vehicle in the road. Rather than keep putting miles between Micah and Jessica, D.L. stops to help a trapped woman. Using his phasing powers he gets her out, but not before a snaking trail of gasoline lights on fire. This is where Hiro both enters and leaves the episode, which is disappointing if you’re a Nakamura fan.
Hiro and Ando happened to be on the same road and stop at the fire. As they watch D.L. rescuing the woman Hiro notices the fire is spreading. He looks down at Micah and says, “Don’t worry, I’ll save him,” and smiling, makes his constipated time-stop face. With childlike wonderment Hiro wanders over to D.L. and the woman. Begrudgingly stating, “why couldn’t I have super strength,” he goes to pull the two of them to safety. Don’t worry Hiro, you may not have super strength but the people you just met know someone who can help in that department.
D.L. and Micah end up at a roadside motel where Micah reveals his heroic powers (to us). Looking at an out-of-order payphone, Micah puts his hand on it and calls home. So his power seems to be using broken payphones…without a quarter! Or maybe it’s the power to fix (or even control) electronics. While trying to call his mother only Jessica is there to answer. Micah has just enough time to tell her (whom he seems to recognize is his mother's alter-ego) where he and D.L. are before D.L. comes out the phone is once again out of order. This raises the question of whether Micah’s powers are temporary, work only when he’s touching the object, or if he re-broke the phone when his dad showed up.
Meanwhile Niki is trying to find the strength to go after her son. Something you’d think would just happen, but Jessica needs a purpose so let this be it. Niki’s sister doesn’t believe her when she reveals her alter ego, saying that it’s always been Niki. This façade is quickly evaporated when Jessica appears and tells Niki’s sister, “She doesn’t need you anymore.” The look on her face is priceless, and genuine as well. If your sister looked at you as a different person, I doubt you’d mistake the new personality as the sibling you’ve always known. When Micah calls her from the motel he insists on talking with his mother, thus proving beyond what we knew from last week that he knows about Jessica. When she won’t do it, he does finally tell her where they’re staying.
Matt, who was absent last week, is asked by the FBI to help out with a new Sylar killing. It seems that they found a burn victim with a thumbprint on a bone. OK, that’s probably not normal. They go to the killers’ house and find burn spots throughout the dwelling and a high level of radiation comes from the bedroom. When the victim turns out to be an oncologist Matt figures out that the guy isn’t Sylar. They find the gentleman at the hospital with his dying wife. Using some mind reading trickery Matt calms the man down and gets him to surrender. Now if there’s a list to be made of powers that are not wanted, I think being highly radioactive would make the top 10 at least.
Due to his help with the Sylar case, Audrey pulls some FBI strings and gets Matt another chance at becoming a detective. Unfortunately his “friend” at work has some covetous thoughts about Matt’s wife, which result in Matt punching him and Mpossibly jeopardizing his opportunity to make detective. His reaction is understandable, especially in light of finding out that his wife has been unfaithful. Matt really needs to get control of his power before he goes insane.
Claire is having trouble of an epic scale. When she finally gets the tape of her attempted deaths back (it magically re-appeared in her friend's room and both she and her friend are too relieved to really question it) it is taken by her brother Lyle. As the chase down the street and the lockdown in the family SUV occurs we’re reminded of an important aspect to ‘Heroes.’ Far more than cool super powers, this show is about the people. Knowing boys as most of us do (I was one once) you’d think he’d find his sisters power “totally awesome.” But what if you watched a tape of your sister getting ploughed by a car and then immediately standing up unhurt? Would you think it was awesome, or would you completely freak out? The best moment of the epidode was Lyle screaming, “I’m going to upload this to YouTube and make millions! Then everyone will know my sister’s a freak!” This was a small segment of the episode, but it went the furthest in getting the message across.
There are many secrets we hold, and the greatest fear we have is not public humiliation but personal disappointment if they are revealed. When Lyle says he’ll tell mom and dad Claire desperately pleads, “No, no no no. You cannot tell them…if they found out, they’d think it was a mistake to ever adopt me. We wouldn’t be a family anymore.” She is more afraid of disappointing her parents and them not wanting her than she is of being ostracized by her peers or tested in a lab. Her brother relents and gives her back the tape. Even though he doesn’t share her burden, he understands the secret. We all do.
There wasn’t a whole lot going on this week on the hero front, but it was a solid character-building episode. As we enter November sweeps things are expected to heat up exponentially on the NBC hit. So what is Mohinder up to since we last saw him, and what new secrets has he found? Where did Jessica come from? Is Micah a super hero or a future telephone repairman?
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