Claire, HRG and West
Sandra returns to the Bennets' house after taking a power walk with Mr Muggles. HRG, who had been looking at the picture of him dead, asks Sandra if she knows whether Claire's met someone, like a boy.
Claire comes downstairs, and HRG takes the opportunity to ask her, telling her that an outsider could be a threat to the family. Claire tells him not to worry, as there is no boy.
At school, one of the cheerleaders gives Claire a parental release form for cheerleading, saying that the other cheerleaders admired how she stood up to Debbie on her first day. Claire takes the form and says that she'll think about it.
West comes up to her, and Claire tries to break things off with him, claiming that her parents are really over-protective. West wonders if the real reason is the marks on his neck, and says that he wasn't abducted by aliens, just by a man with horn-rimmed glasses.
Claire's response to that is, “It's my dad”, but after a pause goes on to say that her dad is really over-protective when it comes to dating. I've criticised Claire in previous recaps, but I have to admit that she did a good job of covering there. West pushes her, and gets her to agree to just one date that night, and after that he'll back off if that's what Claire really wants.
That evening, Claire tells her parents that she needs to go to the library to work on a research paper. Now you'd expect that it would be fairly easy to make a lie like that believable. All you'd have to do is leave the house carrying books and writing material. Failing that, it could just be a bag so that it looks like you're carrying all the necessary items.
But since we've seen that Claire is no mastermind, it should come as no surprise that she can't even pull this off. In fact, she leaves home without carrying anything at all. I'm finding a little difficult to believe that someone could be this incompetent without actually trying.
HRG, knowing something about suspicious behaviour, follows her as she leaves. Claire turns a corner, where she meets West, and by the time HRG catches up the two of them have flown off.
Claire and West end up sitting on top of the Hollywood sign. She tells him about the tower in Texas that she used to climb up and jump off.
Claire tells West that she wants to trust him, and he tells her to jump off the sign. She's reluctant to do so, saying that she'll look terrible, but eventually she jumps.
She falls, but West catches her before she hits the ground. She seems a little surprised at this, but it was pretty obvious that he was going to catch her. He tells her that while he knows she can heal, he never wants to see her hurt, and the two of them kiss.
Much later, the two of them return to Claire's house. Claire realises that it's too late in the evening for her library story to hold up, and gets worried. West asks her if there's anything else HRG doesn't want her to do, and she gets an idea.
Claire tries to sneak back into the house, but HRG is waiting. He accuses her of being out with a boy, but she denies it.
She tells him that she had tried out for cheerleading, forging his signature on the release form, and the other girls had taken her out to celebrate her making the squad. She takes out release form out of her pocket to show him.
However, for Claire to have the form to show him means that she had to have taken it with her on the date. I suppose it could be argued that Claire had the form as a backup in case the library lie failed, but that would require more foresight than we've seen from her so far. Besides, she only seemed to get the cheerleading idea while talking to West.
Anyway, HRG isn’t pleased as he had told her no cheerleading, but Claire manages to talk him into it, saying that she wants just one thing that’s normal. HRG gives in, but on condition that she doesn’t date, which she agrees to.
After Claire has left, the wind chimes hanging outside chime, which means it’s time for a visit from the Haitian. He tells HRG that he has a lead on the paintings, and that they need to go to the Ukraine.
Maya, Alejandro and Sylar
Maya, Alejandro and Derek talk as they drive along. Or at least Maya and Derek talk, with Maya translating for Alejandro every so often.
I find it a bit unbelievable that Maya can seemingly be completely fluent in English while Alejandro doesn't understand a word. I could understand one having a better command of the language that the other, but two have them represent two extremes is a bit too much.
Derek, who is currently driving, suddenly brakes as he's spotted someone lying in the road. They all get out to investigate, and discover that the person is Sylar.
They help Sylar into the car and continue on their way. Sylar tells them that he was robbed and has been walking for three days. In response, Maya tells him that they're going to New York to look for Chandra Suresh.
Sylar tells Maya that he happens to know Chandra, although he naturally leaves out the part where he killed him. He offers to take Maya and Alejandro to Chandra, and Maya sees this as a sign from God. Her view is reinforced when she asks Sylar his name and he tells her his real name – Gabriel, and she comments that it's like the angel.
They stop in a small town for a break, and Derek buys a newspaper. On the front is the wanted posted of Maya and Alejandro, and Derek recognises them.
Derek shows the paper to Sylar, who says that he'll distract the twins while Derek phones the police. Derek heads inside a nearby building and Sylar follows, carrying the brick which was holding down the newspapers. The woman selling the newspapers doesn't seem to object to Sylar doing this, but she probably realises that it'll be extremely beneficial to her health if she lets him take it.
Maya and Alejandro are waiting in the car, with Alejandro getting a little nervous at the length of time Sylar and Derek are taking. Sylar opens the front door and gets into the car.
He tells Maya that he's going to ask her a question, and he wants the truth. After she agrees, he shows her the newspaper and asks if it's them. Maya says that it is, but they didn't mean to hurt anyone.
Sylat tells them that Derek is calling the police, which has the effect of setting off Maya's power. Sylar's eyes turn black, and he doubles over in pain.
It doesn't reach the bleeding stage, as Alejandro is able to calm Maya down and stop it. Sylar realises that they both have a power and he says that he'll help them find Dr Suresh.
They drive away, and we see a shot of Derek lying next to the payphone, his head smashed in with the brick, which now has a cockroach crawling along it. It must be trained cockroach, as it doesn't try to run away, unlike pretty much every cockroach I've ever encountered.
Micah and Monica
Micah gets woken up by his cousin, Damon, who splashes water on Micah's face. So it appears that Micah hasn't quite been accepted by everyone in the household.
Damon and Micah enter the main room of the house, where they're greeting by the woman who answer the door in the last episode. Damon calls her “Nana”, indicating that she's his grandmother. It's still not made clear how she's related to Micah, so I went looking online, and it turns out that she's Micah's great-aunt (i.e. his grandmother's sister).
Monica, Damon's sister, joins them, and she's in a good mood. She tells them that it's the day that the test results are being posted for the regional manager training programme of the fast food chain where she works, and she is confident that she aced the test.
Damon says then in that case she can afford the $65 dollars he asked her for. She refuses and tells Nana not to give him the money either, as Damon just wants it for a wrestling match on pay-per-view.
Admittedly, I've not very little idea as to what things cost in America, but $65 for a pay-per-view wrestling match seems a bit steep to me. If my suspicions are correct, then it's just further evidence of that wrestling on TV is one of the greatest evils ever devised by man.
Nana comments that Damon should be watching something educational and points to the cooking show that's currently showing. On screen, the presenter demonstrates how to cut a tomato to resemble a rose. She leaves, and Micah mentions to Damon that he may have a way of getting pay-per-view.
In the Burger Bonanza where Monica works, she talks to her colleague Camille as they prepare food, Monica being busy cutting tomatoes. Monica tells Camille that she took the management test, and Camille replies that she shouldn't get her hopes up.
Monica tells her that the position would enable her to make enough money to go back to college, which had been interrupted when Katrina came to New Orleans, killing her mother. Camille looks down at the tomato Monica had been cutting, and is amazed at what she sees – Monica has cut it into a rose in a similar way to the demonstration on the cooking show.
Mr Lamont, Monica's boss, asks if he can talk to her. The two of them sit at a table and he tells her that she didn't make the management programme.
He says that she passed the test, but she didn't make it due to her family situation. A management position means she needs to be available for a position anywhere in the state, and Monica being the sole breadwinner for herself, her grandmother and brother is problematic.
By the time Monica returns home, Micah has used his ability and rigged the TV to show the pay-per-view wrestling match. Monica isn't too happy about this, and tells Micah that while it may be tough living with them, he needs to obey the rules.
I'm not quite sure what rule Micah broke, as they surely wouldn't have had one covering using his power to get par-per-view. Although the rule could be that watching wrestling is prohibited, which is one I would be in full agreement with.
Micah realises that Monica didn't have a good day, and he gives her a hug. He puts his hand flat on her back and closes his eyes, his expression the same as when he was working on the TV. He's clearly trying to fix her, but it does look a little like he's trying to feel her up, but he's a little too young for that and besides, she's his cousin.
Monica tells Micah to go and tell Damon that supper's ready, which he does. Unfortunately, this scene is made a little silly by the fact that Damon is sitting about two metres away from where Monica is standing, so she could have easily told him herself. I'm assuming that the episode's writer wasn't aware of the living room's dimensions when this scene was written.
On the TV a wrestler runs across the ring, grabs hold of the ropes, and swings around parallel to the ground, kicking his opponent in the head in the process. The incident is replayed, and we see a close-up of Monica's eyes where a reflection of the wrestling move appears.
Later that evening, Monica has returned to the restaurant. Business is quiet, so Mr Lamont tells her that they can close up early.
As Monica’s about to lock the front door, a man pushes his way into the restaurant, first saying that he’s hungry and then pulling out a gun and demanding all the money from the till. He forces her to sit down, while he goes through the till.
Once his back is turned on her, Monica gets up, grabs a pole, and repeats the wrestling move, sending the thief flying. Mr Lamont asks where Monica learnt to do that, and she replies “On TV”. So it would seem that Monica has the ability to copy things that she sees done on TV.
Matt, Nathan, Angela, Mohinder and Molly
Molly wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. Matt and Mohinder try to calm her down, and Matt tells Mohinder that he nightmares are getting worse. He's been trying to listen in to the nightmares, but keeps getting thrown back.
The next day, Nathan waits outside a school. As a group of children are being led into a building, he calls out to two of them and they come running towards him, pleased to see their father.
They express displeasure about his beard, and he asks them if they want him to shave it, which they do. He goes on to tell them that Angela is in the hospital, and that they should call her. He also apologises for not being around, and promises that he'll come home.
A teacher comes up and asks if she can help Nathan. When he says that he's their father, she tells him that he knows he's not allowed to be there.
I'm not sure whether she's talking about Nathan specifically, or she's assuming that he's just another of the strange bearded men who hang around children's playgrounds. Either way, it means
the conversation with his sons is over.
Matt questions Angela at the hospital, and she confesses to killing Kaito. Matt's partner appears to believe her, but Matt is more sceptical.
Matt asks her why she's doing this, and she tells him telepathically to let it go. She goes on to “say” to him that if the police keep digging then they'll find out about all of them and what they can do. Angela appears to be including herself in that group, meaning that she also has an ability, although she doesn't appear to have demonstrated one to date.
A clean-shaven Nathan arrives at the hospital, and is upset about the police coercing a confession in a hospital. Matt tells him that while the police believe Angela's story, he knows that she's innocent, and explains to Nathan that he can read minds, which is how he also knows that Nathan can fly.
Matt shows Nathan the photos of Kaito and Angela, and Nathan says that he knows both the symbol and the photograph. Matt asks for Nathan's help, which he agrees to, provided that he can first speak to Angela alone.
Nathan asks Angela why she's confessing to a crime she didn't commit, and Angela tells him that she doesn't deserve to be saved. He offers to help her, and she says that he'll just get killed and she can't bear to lose another son. Matt and his partner enter Angela's room and handcuff her and wheel her out.
Nathan and Matt go to Peter's apartment, where they start looking for the photograph. As they look, Matt decides to unburden himself on Nathan, telling him that his ex-wife cheated on him and ended up pregnant with the other man's baby. That explains why Matt got divorced, although regular readers will know that I have another theory around it, which has to do with Mohinder.
Nathan finds the photo and shows it to Matt. He identifies the people he knows – Nathan's parents, Charles Deveaux, Linderman, Kaito and Bob, which is the first time his name is given, although Nathan doesn't know Bob's last name. Unfortunately, I've watched a little too much Blackadder and it's difficult for me to take someone with just the name “Bob” seriously.
Nathan doesn't know the rest of the people in the photo, but Matt does, saying that one of the men is his father. I don't know if the writers are deliberately trying to make the characters on this show more interconnected than those of Lost, but they seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.
Back at Mohinder's love-nest apartment, Matt is looking at the photograph when Mohinder and Molly come in. Matt tells them that he needs to find his father, who walked out on him when he was 13. Matt shows Molly the photo, pointing out his father, but Molly pushes it away, saying that Matt's father is the man from her nightmares.
In Peter's apartment, Nathan looks at some photographs of Peter, and says to them that he's going to make things right. He looks into the mirror and she's the scarred reflection of himself that he's seen previously.
Nathan tells the reflection to get away from him, and he punches the mirror, cracking the mirror and injuring himself. I suppose he doesn't have to worry too much about seven years of bad luck, as things don't appear that they could get much worse for him than they already are.
Mohinder and Matt argue about whether Molly should look for Matt’s father, with Mohinder against it. The argument comes to an end when Molly decides that she’ll help Matt find his father.
Molly takes a map book and starts the search for Matt’s father. She is able to determine that he’s in an apartment in Philadelphia.
Matt asks her for the apartment number, and she says that “he” knows she’s there. She gives Matt the apartment number and then screams for an unknown assailant to let her go.
She struggles as Matt and Mohinder try to hold her down, but then she collapses. Mohinder examines her and says that she’s in shock.
Matt tries to rouse her but his attempts are unsuccessful. He switches to his telepathy, and he can “hear” Molly shouting out his name over and over again.