And wearing a fucking Ramones shirt, no less! Yeah, baby…!!!
So things started with that incredibly awkward phone call from Claire’s birth mom to Nathan, a.k.a. Claire’s birth dad; it was surprising to discover that Mommy Dearest was actually calling to bilk some money out of Nathan, but she’s clearly not a professional at it, given her reaction to Nathan’s first cash offer. As the episode progressed, Mommy got shadier and shadier, making it harder to believe that she really felt anything for Claire…which, frankly, was more than a little depressing.
After that, I should’ve known from the quick cuts between Matt and Nikica (that’s my new amalgam nickname for Niki / Jessica) that they were in the process of setting up a meeting between the bunch of them, but, in truth, I didn’t realize it until I saw who Matt was picking up at the airport. I liked the shot of Niki’s reflection in the flower vase toward the beginning of the episode, but is it just me, or did Matt’s wife suddenly jump to, like, the 8th month of her pregnancy…? She looked reeeeeeeeeeeeally heavy lying in bed. But I digress. The sequence with Nikica and Matt bobbing and weaving through the hallways and stairwell was very well filmed, though her escape from the handcuffs is a little inexplicable. I guess we’re supposed to presume that she just ripped them off. Anyway, long story short, I’m guessing Matt won’t be getting much more personal security work…not that he’ll need to, given that he pocketed the bag on the way out.
I’m still not sure if Claire’s adopted dad…oh, hell, I’ll call him HRG Dude like everyone else does…if HRG Dude knows that she’s still got her memories, but it doesn’t seem like it. Clearly, however, I was on the money with my theory about Claire’s adopted mother’s synapses unraveling from Brother Voodoo’s repeated mindwiping.
Ando finds a princess who needs saving…named Hope. The whole segment started out like a bad Scooby-Doo episode, with Ando dressing up as a waiter to sneak into a hotel room, then devolved into a farce, with him hiding under the bed when the resident of the room came out of the shower. No real shock that Hope turned out to be pulling a fast one. “Thanks for the help, Sulu.” An easy joke, but a funny one nonetheless. It was, however, pretty ridiculous that Ando was so quickly turned by an ostensibly pretty face…although Hiro’s Vulcan salute and last line were great.
Mohinder’s having some trouble keeping folks on the line when he calls them, but when he got that message from the guy who wanted help…well, I’m sure he was grasping at straws, but most viewers surely knew it was a trap. And, yet, it wasn’t…although the poor bastard still ended up getting a visit from Sylar before Mohinder arrived. How fucking creepy was it that, when Sylar opened the door to greet Mohinder, he was wearing the Ramones shirt? Like taking dude’s brain wasn’t enough, he’s gotta take his shirt, too…? DAMN! I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who got a chill when Sylar showed off his new power. I can’t blame Mohinder for falling for Sylar’s rap, but it’s still damned depressing to watch…
