Despite several nice segments throughout, I think you ultimately have to deem this episode disappointing, if only because NBC spent way too much time playing up the suggestion that we’d get something approximating resolution this week…and it’s safe to say that we did not. Oh, sure, we finally got the long-awaited scene that Isaac painted, where Claire’s cowering in an arena-like place and looking scared out of her wits…but, ultimately, what we really got was an example of what’s commonly known as “The ‘Lost’ Effect,” where viewers get a bunch more questions without getting much in the way of actual answers.
So Claire wins the title of Homecoming Queen, in no small part because of the freak vote. (Nice “Battlestar: Galactica” shirt on the guy in the front of the freak chorus, by the way.) She celebrates by flattening her bitchy rival with one punch, giving us another opportunity to hope that Chris Tucker would suddenly appear and yell, “You got knocked the fuck out!” No such luck. Damn.
The moment when Mohinder figures out his father’s password and discovers that Daddy had been maintaining a database of each of the world’s super-powered individuals is a nice one, although the whole thing with the kid appearing outside of his dream and in the real world was a bit too “Twin Peaks” for me…and that’s more Season 2 “Twin Peaks” rather than Season 1 “Twin Peaks.” (It’s a crucial distinction, I can assure you.)
I think you have to wonder what poor Ando’s liver must look like, given how much coffee he must have drunk by now, waiting for Hiro to return. That whole subplot offers no resolution whatsoever. How disappointing. And we don’t get much more forward momentum with the whole Niki / Micah / D.L., except to have it end with a cliffhanger as to whether or not Niki’s aim is any good. Nathan only appears long enough to further his reputation as an ostensibly well-meaning asshole, Simone doesn’t get much more screen time, and Matt is totally and utterly MIA.
So, basically, the big story this week belongs to Claire…and, eventually, Peter, of course. The scenes where Sylar is stalking her through the locker room are appropriately disturbing, as is the scene where Jackie really, really gets what’s coming to her…but I was definitely surprised at just how much of a turncoat Eden turned out to be, not to mention how powerful she apparently is. Based on her actions at the end of the episode and the fact that Mental Wipe Guy was by her side, it appears that Claire’s dad has no idea what’s going on behind the scenes of his own operation. Also, the fact that Peter was able to continue his healing process even after Claire was no longer in his immediate presence begs the question, can he continue to access these powers he “borrows” after the person he’s borrowed them from isn’t around anymor, or do they just linger for a certain amount of time before vanishing? Perhaps we’ll find out during the inevitable jail break scene that’s undoubtedly going to occur in a future episode…though it’s hard to say when that’ll happen, since we’re apparently preparing for at least one (and maybe more) episode taking place six months before the events of this week’s episode.
Anyway, not a bad episode…but it’s clear that NBC knowingly and willfully faked out viewers by making them think they were going to get more than they got. That ain’t cool, man. It might not be all that surprising…but it still ain’t cool.
