Broken Frontier

So, do you like twists? What would you say if Heroes’ perennial bad guy Sylar (Zachary Quinto) was brother to Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) and Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) Petrelli. And what if Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) was forced to team up with said baddie to track down a dozen very dangerous super-powered criminals who have recently escaped from Level 5 of the Primatech Facility (also known as “Super Guantanamo”)? Shocking, eh?

This third episode, titled “One of Us, One of Them” continues the heroes/villains motif established in the first two chapters of this season. Heroes become villains, villains become heroes and some unlikely characters start to show shades of gray. For example, Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is driven to vengeance after Sylar attacked her and sapped her powers, seeking the guidance of her flammable biological mother Meredith (Jessalyn Gilsig). She’s tired of using her powers for defense, and wants to get back at Sylar for attacking her. To make matters worse, following that fateful encounter, Claire can no longer feel physical pain and feels less human or “normal” than ever before. As if cheerleaders didn’t already have problems.

Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee) are still hot on the speedy heels of Daphne (Brea Grant)—who has stolen one half of a mysterious (and valuable) formula handed down to Hiro from his father—but she’s beginning to rattle their already-fragile friendship by referring to Ando as Hiro’s “sidekick,” saying that he’s “like Robin to his Batman.” Ouch. Hiro counters that her divisive mind games are merely “villainy 101,” but the damage is done. The rift between the two best friends is already widening. 

With so many dark storylines at play this season, Hiro and Ando’s comical globe-spanning quest to retrieve a piece of paper from a downright adorable thief balances things out nicely. It will be interesting to see if the writers follow through with the Batman comparisons and have Hiro hook up with Daphne, whom he often describes as his Catwoman. I doubt Ando would approve.

Last week, Niki/Jessica (Ali Larter) revealed what seemed to be a third personality—gubernatorial adviser Tracy Strauss. However, this week, she comes face-to-face with Niki’s corpse in a funeral home in New Orleans. So there goes that theory. There she runs into Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) who, after some cyber sleuthing (he can “talk” to computers), learns that both Niki and Tracy were born on the same date in the same hospital and were delivered by the same doctor. Coincidence? Twins? Clones? Stay tuned!

The episode builds up to a showdown between the Level 5 escapees and the shaky team of Sylar and Noah. During the super-powered skirmish, Future Peter frees Present Peter from the body of Jesse (Francis Capra), where he had stashed his former self following his assassination attempt on his brother. He frees him just in time, too. Sylar, unable to resist his hungry tendencies, slices open Jesse’s skull and steals his powers. Don’t worry though, he’s still under control. For now.

As for Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), he’s still in Africa undergoing a “spirit walk” with his newfound guide Usutu (Ntare Mwine), who has a power not dissimilar to Isaac Mendes from Season One—he has the power to paint the future. For some reason, however, he’s been painting Parkman’s future specifically. But what does it all mean? All in due time, I suppose.

This season is shaping up quite well so far. There are a lot of characters and storylines to keep track of, but none of the episodes thus far have suffered from it. If you’ve been avoiding Heroes after its lukewarm second season, now’s a good time to reacquaint yourself with one of the best shows on television. Believe the hype. It’s that good.