HEROES – How to Stop an Exploding Man, Chapter 23

TELEVISION The big explosion in the sky was not a bird or a plane, but was the effort of a newly elected politician saving the world – or at least New York City. It was very cool to see big brother Nathan show up in the nick of time to scoop up Peter, taking him into the sky to explode while also restoring faith in his brother that he can do the right thing. Though Peter should be able to regenerate and survive the blast, we don’t really know if Nathan died or escaped. And this was all done in spite of Mama Petrelli, who didn’t mind sacrificing one of her sons for the other’s political success.

Peter not only used Parkman’s hearing power for the first time but learned he could envision the past, courtesy of Simone’s wheelchair-bound father, Charles, who was vague about the extent of his powers. Peter must have inadvertently absorbed his power while caring for him. Charles points out that Peter will succeed because he has a good heart and loves unconditionally.

Claire used her heart and quick thinking when jumping out the window to escape Mama Petrelli. A nice moment when she ends up with her father, who we learn has the first name of Noah.

Niki walks in on Candice and thinks it’s Jessica. But Niki needed the broken pieces of the mirror to see it was not herself. After kicking Candice’s butt, Niki hugs Micah, again looks into the mirror and sees only one image of them. And how cute was it to see the Micah and Molly meet up, as the next generation of heroes!

Ando was trying to be a hero, when he goes to slice up Sylar, but Hiro had to become a real hero by saving his buddy and transporting him back home. My favorite line of the night was when Ando says to Hiro: “You are bad ass!”

When we first see Sylar, he is painting an image and controlling his visions in a way that Isaac could not. I regretted seeing Parkman get shot with his own bullets - stopped, then reversed toward him - by Sylar, but if Peter has Parkman’s power, do we need him anymore? Parkman looked as if he was still breathing when taken away in the ambulance, so he’ll probably still be around. Hiro shows up with his mighty sword and stabs Sylar, who propels Hiro backwards only to have Hiro teleport himself away while in mid-air! A bloody Sylar falls to the ground and appears dead. But in a final moment, like Keyser Soze disappearing into the scenery, he was gone! There were many possible-deaths in this episode, but nothing concrete.

As we end Volume 1 of our story, the ever-present cockroach climbs out of a manhole, and then Hiro is back in 1671 Japan!

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