Broken Frontier

Thanksgiving can be a tense holiday for all of us, but for the families on Heroes, it’s downright painful. In “Thanksgiving,” the Petrellis, the Bennets and even the carnies each come together to give thanks—and give each other headaches in the process. 

Unfortunately, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday, this episode of Heroes serves up plenty of stuffing. Save for Nathan Petrelli’s transformation into Sylar and the revelation that Samuel Sullivan is his brother’s murderer, much of this episode is excessively talky. Having said that, the filler is pretty amusing in its own right.

Let’s start with the carnival folk. Lydia, the carnival’s resident tattooed chick, approaches Hiro Nakamura about what really happened eight weeks earlier concerning Samuel Sullivan’s brother, Joseph. She transports him eight weeks into the past, and we learn that Samuel killed his brother by launching a rock into his throat using his earth manipulation power. The reason? Joseph was trying to keep Chandra Suresh’s film about the nature of his brother’s ability a secret. During Thanksgiving dinner, Samuel accuses his knife-wielding henchman Edgar of killing Joseph, but Hiro freezes time to allow Edgar to escape. Sure, Edgar could easily kill Samuel, but then Hiro would never learn where and when his beloved waitress Charlie is hidden. The truth behind Joseph’s murder not only further cements Samuel as a downright evil guy, but it also shows what a manipulator he is. He doesn’t really care about his “family” at all.

Meanwhile, Noah Bennet has decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner for Claire, his ex-wife Sandra and her dog-breeding boyfriend Doug. While doing some last-minute grocery shopping, Noah oh-so-conveniently bumps into Lauren Shapiro, his former Primatech partner with whom he almost had an affair in “Once Upon a Time in Texas.” She’s since relocated to Washington, DC, and Noah’s been keeping tabs on her to orchestrate this unlikely run-in. After a bit of flirtation, Noah invites Lauren to Thanksgiving dinner, acknowledging that he’s lacking in the culinary arts and could use her help. He later explains to Claire that Lauren isn’t his date, but we know better.

Things get appropriately awkward when Sandra and Doug show up, complete with Mr. Muggles and fellow show dog Miss Lovegood in tow. But the dinner comes to a head when Claire is asked what she’s thankful for. She explains that she’s thinking about dropping out of school, she’s still considering joining up with Samuel and that she’s still set on living a normal life despite everything that keeps happening to her. When Doug tries to reassure her, saying that he went through the same thing when he learned he had a thing for dog grooming (snicker), she shuts him down by slicing her arm open in a gory display of her healing ability. Doug faints, laughter ensues.

These scenes with the Bennets are pretty fun, but we’ve seen it all before. We’ve witnessed the tension in the Bennet household, we’ve seen Claire gruesomely reveal her power to people and we’ve been hearing about Claire’s nagging desire to be normal for about four years now. Gretchen’s late arrival spices things up a bit as she rekindles her friendship with Claire, but nothing all that major happens between the family. But, we do learn that Noah still has a thing for Lauren, and has apparently developed a taste for candied yams.

Heroes’ other resident dysfunctional family, the Petrellis, has its own Thanksgiving dinner at Peter’s apartment. Angela urges her sons to enjoy the meal and the company but, as Nathan explains, it’s hard to enjoy anything when you’re already dead and living a lie in a borrowed body. In last week’s episode, “Brother’s Keeper,” both Peter and Nathan found out that the real Nathan was killed by Sylar, and that Sylar had been brainwashed to think he’s Nathan and assumed his form. During dinner, Nathan finally turns into Sylar in body and mind, paralyzing Peter and Angela with his thoughts while hungrily gulping down pie. Having your body and mind forcibly separated builds quite an appetite, after all.

“You have raised the evil incarnate bar to an entirely new level,” Sylar says, referring to Angela’s hand in forcing Matt Parkman to brainwash him.”Thank you for giving me something to strive for.”

He then kisses the Petrelli matriarch—on the mouth—before attempting to slice open her skull. Fortunately, he morphs  back into Nathan just in time and runs off. Nathan still has some fight in him.

While a bit on the slow side, “Thanksgiving” does leave these characters in fascinating places at its conclusion. Hiro’s mind gets wiped when he confronts Samuel about what happened, Nathan is missing and Claire—with Gretchen alongside her—is seeking out the carnival behind her father’s back. It might not be reaching the same audience that it used to, but Heroes continues to entertain despite its narrative stumbles throughout the past two seasons. And that’s plenty to be thankful for.