TVSquad

(S02E03) Back by popular demand, we're sticking with the format that Varun put to such good use in his most recent reviewcap of Heroes.

I'm actually thrilled he came up with it as my fingers were on the verge of falling off after pecking out the gargantuan review of the first episode. Since we happen to lack Claire's immaculate regenerative qualities, Varun and I would have been fingerless by season end had we kept up with the old format.

So without further ado, let's get to this content packed episode that saw the return of Nikki and Micah, confirmed the death of D.L. Hawkins, and brought about the death of yet another hero.

Which reminds me, should I be calling the characters that are deemed bad "heroes"? I'm talking characters like Candice/Michelle and Sylar. Should I maybe be referring to them as anti-heroes? I digress.

Peter Petrelli

Last week we learned about a mysterious black box that could lead to Peter gaining some clues to his identity. Blackie promised to give Peter the box if he'd help his crew during a high dollar heist.

During the planning of the robbery, Peter was able to read the mind of one of Blackie's goons as he thought about taking the money all for himself. It's pretty interesting watching Peter make use of powers that he isn't even aware he has. It was just as interesting watching a newly buffed up Peter (did Milo Ventimiglia work out this summer?) try to summon the lightning bolt as Blackie's sister watched intrigued in a doorway.

Peter ended up helping Blackie's crew steal a bang load of money from armed security guards and instinctively utilized his psychokinetic powers to move an armored truck in front of a stream of incoming bullets. Yet another instance of him remembering what and who he is.

As Peter predicted, the goon did attempt to turn on Blackie and when Peter pointed out the fact that his prediction was correct the goon put two bullets in Peter chest - which Peter's chest promptly spit out like a watermelon seed. Peter once again made use of his psychokinesis to Jedi choke the goon.



Peter almost looked like he was enjoying choking the guy until Caitlin brought him back to reality by saying his name. Watching the fire in Peter's eyes was pretty riveting. Could he be on the verge of flirting with the dark side? I promise, no more Star Wars parallels moving forward.

A few last note on Peter during this episode. He got a tattoo that officially made him a part of Blackie's gang, but the tattoo promptly faded away thanks to Peter's healing abilities. He also made out with Caitlin which is only going to lead to trouble.

I can't wait for this amnesia storyline to finally be done. Peter possesses so much butt kicking potential it's absolutely frustrating having to watch him fumble around with his talents.

Maya & Alejandro

Let me start out by saying, Maya is a total hottie. I'd be all about taking her out for some ice cream if the threat of crying black gold from my tear ducts wasn't a constant part of the equation.

As interesting as the twin's powers are, I can't help but think the two of them got shortchanged in the evolution lottery. We've got characters that can fly, regenerate, shoot lighting, freeze things, read minds, and manipulate time. Killing people inexplicably? That's more of a curse than a power, but I'm sure at some point we'll be enlightened on how this power will be used for good. My early guess is Sylar will kill someone, Maya will kill Sylar, then Alejandro will bring the character Sylar killed back to life. Just a hunch.

Maya made use of her power once again tonight, only she did it completely voluntarily. It appears that her power is activated when she's in a state of duress. It seems like she intentionally pointed out the fact that she is a wanted criminal knowing that the policemen would forcefully arrest her.

She ended up killing everyone in the police station, including the American guy holed up in the cell next to Alejandro. When Alejandro sucked the darkness out of Maya, the American guy was the recipient of life, and the three of them hightailed it out of the prison in the American dudes vehicle. Viva la Conquistadors!

Nikki & Micah Sanders

I'm not a big fan of the Nikki/Jessica storyline that dragged on for a good portion of season one which is why I was pained to see Nikki and Micah make an appearance on tonight's episode. Nikki pawned Micah off on some relatives in New Orleans, then called DGG (dorky glasses guy) in the hopes that he would "cure" her from her abilities.

For anyone still wondering, D.L. is officially dead as indicated by a prominent shot of his headstone.

Sylar

We found Sylar on an idyllic beach in the company of the illusionist, Michelle - formerly known as Candice.

When Sylar realized who he was sitting with, I got a kick out of him casually glancing at Michelle's chest area and saying, "So none of this is real?" before slowly bringing his gaze up to her eyes. Priceless.

In a nutshell, Sylar is holed up in the middle of nowhere attempting to heal from the sword wound Hiro inflicted in the finale of season one. Sylar is completely powerless and doesn't appear to be any closer to regaining the use of his abilities until Michelle (and some entity she alludes to) helps nurse him back to health.

Sylar was completely impatient and killed Michelle with a swift coffee cup to the dome in the hopes that he could steal her powers of illusion. He did this right after Michelle basically promised him trips to any destination and sex of any variety he desired.

I don't think Sylar thought this one through completely, and that fact was all the more apparent when he realized he hadn't absorbed Michelle's power. Strangely, he didn't even seem to cut open her scalp to learn her abilities. He simply killed her and started yelling random destinations to no avail.

Claire and West

This West character was really starting to get on my nerves, so it was a relief to finally have him reveal his secret to Claire. Now he can stop being annoying and just be in a relationship with her, which I hope won't end up being more annoying.

After making a big scene in biology class which upset Claire and caused her to storm out of the classroom, West went after her and tried to make her admit that she's "different". When Claire finally confessed, West picked her up and flew her around the city in spectacular fashion.

The two of them eventually found themselves arguing over whose power is cooler. In my opinion, it's a close one, but I'd have to go with flying over regeneration. I'd much rather fly from one place to another than regenerate, particularly because Claire still feels pain. Plus, bypassing the need for airports would be completely worth it.

After Claire and West shared a sloppy kiss we discovered that West had the mysterious equal sign symbol on his neck. Apparently, when he lived in St. Louis he remembered a guy stepping out of the bushes and abducting him. He described the guy as having, "horn rimmed glasses," which caused Claire to remember how sketchy her dad used to be.

Mohinder, Parkman, and Molly

Tonight on My Two Dads, Mohinder returned to New York where he scared the living crap out of Parkman and gave Molly a giant hug.

Mohinder's new office space ended up being in Isaac Mednez's former residence. DGG also told Mohinder that the company is going to be keeping a close eye on him which is going to wreak havoc on his plan to be the downfall of the company.

Despite this, Mohinder found an opportunity to search for more of the paintings in Isacc's series. The paintings started with the death of Hiro's father...



... and ended with HRG taking a bullet in the eye while someone (possibly West, Peter, or Nathan) hugs Claire in the background. I'm pretty bummed about this. All of Isaac's paintings have come to fruition. Being that I've grown fond of HRG, I would love for this painting to be the exception to the rule. Chances are that won't be the case, and I can only hope he doesn't die until a few more seasons have elapsed.

Hiro, Kensei, and Ando

I'm confused as to how Kensei has made it this far into life, and never realized that he had the power to regenerate. I guess it's not completely outside the realm of possibility, but I find it hard to believe the guy has never cut himself shaving, broken an appendage, or burned himself.

Anyhow, Hiro communicated with Ando via a bunch of mini scrolls he planted in the base of Kensei's sword. He told Ando the story of Takeo Kensei, explained that he's developed a crush on the most beautiful woman in Japan, then tells Ando that he's not coming back yet.

Hiro is very obviously enamored with the princess, but I'm not entirely surely why he intends to stay in the past. I can't figure out what he still needs to accomplish if anything. I'm about ready for him to get back to the present and hunting down the party responsible for killing his dad.

No mention of Nathan this episode but from the previews, he'll be making an appearance next week sans beard. All in all, it wasn't an action packed episode, but it did a good job of pushing the story a little further along. Of all the stories going on right now, I'm most eager to learn about HRG's fate.