Ups and downs, ups and downs: that’s “Heroes: Season 2″ in a nutshell. While this week’s episode wasn’t bad, it definitely didn’t consistently reach the heights of last week’s.

It started off looking like the “Heroes” equivalent of “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” with Peter and Adam on a road trip to see the elusive Victoria. Peter’s initial scenes with Victoria had a rather sentimental tone, but they certainly turned dark once Adam came on the scene; I’d actually hoped she’d live through the episode, but no such luck…and no real surprise, either. God love the youngest Petrelli son, but he’s so freaking naive that I just wanted to knock him upside his head; with both Victoria and Hiro assuring him that Adam’s shady, you’d think he’d at least consider the possibility that it might be true, but nooooooo…!

The Bennett family saga was really only interesting whenever it didn’t involve Claire. Hot or not, I’m sorry, but Hayden Panetierre just isn’t doing anything for me as an actress in her supposedly dramatic scenes - that cliche-ridden “but this hurts more than any of that” speech made me groan out loud - and sharing scenes with Kristen Bell only emphasizes Panetierre’s shortcomings. I mean, I want Elle to win! In fact, as much as I love Jack Coleman as HRG, I love Steven Tobolowsky more, and each passing week finds me progressively more interested in watching a show starring the father-daughter characters of Bob and Elle. Spin-off, anyone…?

Nikki and Micah reunited, but for better or worse, Nikki didn’t really get to do a whole lot this episode. It was way more Micah-heavy, focusing on the theft of his backpack, which contained comic books and - more importantly - the medal D.L. received for saving a woman from a burning building. Yes, it gave Monica another chance to work on her abilities, but if it hadn’t been for her being kidnapped at the end, it would’ve been relatively ho-hum, and as it is, it feels completely superfluous to everything else going on in the show right now. (Must be the connection to Nikki.)

We did, at least, get a few minutes with the Hiro-Ando team, though it was less time than Ando would’ve preferred…and, I’m guessing, less time than most viewers would’ve liked, too. It’s magic when those guys share the screen; I miss their camaraderie, and seeing them interact made me realized just how little fun this season has had in it compared to the last. Still, Hiro’s trip into the past was cool (though I couldn’t help but think that they could’ve used George Takei to play Hiro’s dad in the flashbacks, too, so little has he changed over the years), and, of course, the last scene of the episode was awesome.

The Maya / Alejandro / Sylar triangle is now one man short, making for the most enjoyable sequences of the entire episode. Zachary Quinto is just so perfectly slimy as Sylar; it’s almost a shame that he’s embarking on a side career as the new Spock, as he could play villains for the rest of his life and always have a steady paycheck. Alejandro’s death was pretty harsh…though not as harsh, perhaps, as Sylar getting his groove back with Maya while her brother’s dead body lay only a half-closed door away. That’s just low, man. In fact, about the only thing lower would be to sneak into Mohinder’s house and threaten Molly’s life…

Okay, so here’s my question: where the hell’s Matt Parkman?