Unexpected

Wow...sorry this week's recap is so late. It's been a busy week, and all I can say is that TiVO may have more powerful time-bending abilities than Hiro. So on to the episode...

Somebody flies, somebody dies.
I think we knew who would fly. I mean, really: would it be tagline-worthy if Nathan took flight? Who else would fly? Granted, if Sylar killed Nathan, we could get both in one fell swoop.

Speaking of the Flying Petrelli Brothers, I have to say that I sorta like Darth Peter. I'm curious to see how they mesh the explosion with his newfound mastery of powers. Give in to your hatred, let it feed you. Feel the power of the Dark Side. Peter's still an emo kid (then again, so was Luke), but at least he's not just listening to Linkin Park now; he's kicking some butt. And getting his girlfriend killed. And maybe driving off one of the more interesting characters in the show. Will we have any more of Claude? Clearly, there's some history between HRG and Claude, with all the unexplored storyline that goes with that.

Off to Nevada now with Hiro and Ando. A quick trivia bit for those of you who might not know: Gunderson, the Gaming Commission heavy, is the same actor who played Dobler on Coach, and also provides the voice of Patrick on Spongebob Squarepants. Maybe next time they can get Scarlett Johanssen too.

So Hiro has decided to ditch the sidekick and go solo, after regaining his powers (not that he knows that yet). I'm in favor of this move, as there seems to be a very gradual shift in storyline going on. It seems as though our heroes are developing their powers and leaving their innocence behind. I like this move, as it allows the story to grow into more traditional superhero stories, while still remaining flexible enough to allow for new heroes, new powers, and new development arcs.

Did I mention something about "lost innocence?" How about poor Claire? She's seen her already-ditzy mom fall victim to the oldest trick in the book, the Hatian Mind Wipe. So we've learned that the Hatian's powers don't come without drawbacks. There's obviously no more hiding Claire's state of memory from her dad anymore, as she's come clean on what she knows. I do find it interesting how Claire has learned how alone she really is, since her biological mother is a conniving piece of trailer trash keeping Nathan away from his daughter to wring more money from him, and her adoptive father is obviously not what he appears to be.

So where now? Do we discover that HRG and Primatech Paper are on the side of the good guys, helping those who are powered to gain control over themselves, or are they more of the sort of group that X-Men fans have grown to know and hate (yet another government/secret group out to suppress the heroes). Certainly, Ted and Matt (wondering where Hana went? Read the online comic) would like to know.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions. We all do...