Landslide

Holy cow...I'm nearly speechless. Without a doubt, this is not only the most exciting episode so far of Heroes, it's one of the most relentlessly thrilling hours of television I've ever seen, period. But here's the trouble I'm having: we're so close to the finale, the storyline is focusing in quite narrowly, and they're answering questions at such a rapid clip that it's getting hard to write and speculate. But let's give it a shot...

I'll get my obligatory Candice rant out of the way first: thank goodness the writers made her a little less cartoony. It was good to see some backstory for her to put her ability and personality into perspective. Mind you, I still can't stand the character as a person or as a plot device, but I understand her a little better.

I loved seeing Mr. Nakamura teach Hiro to put his shields up. It was interesting to hear him talk about some people who have lost their way; it's the same thing Linderman said, but they're obviously on different sides now, if Mr. N is trying to stop the bomb. What happened in the sixteen or so years since he handed Claire to HRG? Was Linderman on the same side at the time, or has the Company become a tool of his using, whereas it was once allied with Nakamura-san? I'm especially confused, since Thompson spoke of Kaito Nakamura with near-reverence when reminding HRG who it was that handed him Claire. Thompson is clearly on the side of Linderman and the bomb, so why is Mr. Nakamura trying to stop it now?

Did anybody see this one coming? According to Linderman, it was Papa Petrelli who had powers. Granted, that doesn't mean that Mama can't have them, too, but it doesn't quite jibe with the online comic. In that, Mr. Petrelli was dumbfounded that anyone could have a power. I suppose he could have manifested later on, which prompted Linderman to contact him.

Is Mr. Linderman dead? I'd be amazed that his character would be killed off so quickly, before his plan came to fruition. Still, he did take a phased fist to the brain, and as we all know, it's all about the brain for these guys. Icky.

I've gotta give a nod to my girl...it looks like Niki has finally won the tug-of-war between her and Jessica. To see Jessica willingly cede to Niki's compassionate side--for the sake of Micah--has to be the turning point in reintegrating Niki's personalities. But what of DL? I'm sure I saw him in the trailer, so I'm guessing he's not quite dead. But with the bomb just around the corner and a possible future encounter with Sylar, his future doesn't look too rosy.

Maybe I've forgotten it, but did either Matt or Molly react to seeing each other during the standoff? She knew he was nearby, but I don't recall anything beyond that. I had my doubts that HRG could kill a kid, and it looks like I was right. Everything seems to be pointing towards Molly surviving both this siege and the bomb. Now that Thompson's dead (and how cool was Bennet's kill line, by the way?), I can imagine that Mohinder would join them in protecting and saving her.

Nice to see our other cop, Audrey Hanson, back. If only the poor gal knew that both of her big-headache cases (pardon the pun) were involved. That, of course, brings us to the biggie...Peter, Sylar, and the bomb. Let's run this down quickly:

• Ted is now out of the picture, so there's only two choices for the explosion.
  
• Claire is with Peter, and had darn sure better stay safe.
• Sylar is tracking them both, and he and Peter will face off in the finale (per the trailer)

Sylar is clearly ready to embrace what he percieves as his nuclear destiny. Peter is desperately trying to avoid his. I'm going to reverse my previous stance--despite what I've heard about Sylar being on Season Two--and say that Sylar is the one who explodes...and he won't survive. I wish I could tell you that I've carefully analyzed all the clues that the writers have given us and come to the best possible conclusion, logically and dramatically. Instead, all I can say is I have a hunch.

So stay tuned sidekicks! In fact, just go ahead and bolt yourself to the sofa right now, so that you won't miss the two-hour finale. Whose side is Nathan really on, anyway (I say he'll help Peter)? Will Hiro kill Sylar? Will Peter? Will Sylar kill them all? Will we discover How to Stop an Exploding Man?