Heroes 3.1 Episode Review the Second Coming

The first episode of the third season of Heroes aired on September 22, 2008. The episode is titled The Second Coming and deals with the aftermath of Nathan getting shot at the press conference from last season. Warning: my episode review contains major plot spoilers.

The episode opens fours years in the future with a visibly scarred Peter running from someone. He runs out of an elevator into a parking garage and runs into Claire. Claire points a gun at him and is about to shoot him as he pleads not to. He says he is going back in time to make sure their secret is never revealed. Apparently the future is terrible for people with special powers. Claire tries to shoot him anyway but of course he is able to avoid the bullet and transports back in time to the news conference from then last episode of last season.

Present time: future Peter is the one who shoots Nathan at the press conference. Future Nathan runs after the shooting and is pursued by Nathan and Matt. Future Peter is in disguise as present day Peter emerges from a supply closed and informs Matt that the shooter got away. Nathan is rushed to the hospital.

Claire watches the news and sees that Nathan was shot. She calls Peter and wants to come to New York since her blood can save Nathan but Peter tells her to stay in California.

Hiro is at Yamagato Industries were he now owns 51% of the company, passed on to him by the death of his father. Hiro is bored with money and wants a new quest. He is ready to save the world again with Ando saying he should just be happy that he is now a millionaire.

Claire packs to head to California but as she is about to leave her room, she is blocked by Sylar. He has tracked her down and wants to take her power. A cat and mouse game ensues with her trying to run from him in the house.

Maya is staying with Mohinder in his loft. He has just got back from dropping Molly off at the airport. He has sent Molly to some undisclosed location for her safety. Mohinder is upset that his research was all for nothing and decides to head back to India. Maya pleads with him to cure her. In her frustration, she starts to infect him (her power is spreading a plague like disease). She is able to control it and stops before hurting him. This display of power gives Mohinder the idea that the powers are not manifested in the blood like his father thought, but actually in the adrenal gland, like a fight or flight response. He has a renewed sense of excitement and him and Maya start researching his new theory.

Hiro and Endo are interrupted by a lawyer who brings Hiro a video from Kaito, Hiro's deceased father. Kaito tells Hiro of his new quest, he must protect a secret hidden in a safe. Hiro is not excited about this quest, sounds too boring to just guard the secret so he decides to open the safe, against Ando's and Kaito's advice. Of course the secret is stolen by a super speed girl as he removes it from the safe. He is able to freeze her for a moment but she frees herself after teasing Hiro for a couple of moments. Hiro decides to go to the future to see how bad it could be if the secret formula revealed and the future looks pretty bleak. Hiro returns to present time with a renewed determination to recover the formula and protect it.

Meanwhile, a distraught Peter is watching over Nathan. The doctor's are unable to save Nathan and he dies. As Peter is visiting the body, Nathan comes back to life. It is never really clear how Nathan is able to come back to life and Peter seemed kind of surprised to me. Nathan is a new man. He thinks God has touched him and God is the only one with a message. He gives a moving speech to a woman in a chapel and a nearby new screw about togetherness and how people need to save themselves and save the world. Nathan no longer plans on telling the world about the heroes.

After some more chasing and taunting, Sylar captures Claire and removes the top of her head. In a particularly gross scene, Sylar pokes around Claire's exposed brain as she lays hopelessly on the coffee table. He talks to her as he pokes around her brain. She asks if he is going to eat her Brain and he says don't be gross. He does remove something from her brain but the audience doesn't see if he eats it or how he absorbs her power. Very frustrating, I still don't know how Sylar is able to steal powers. He puts the top of her head back on and she is stunned that he isn't going to kill her. He informs her that she is different from all the others, that she is special, and that he couldn't kill her even if he wanted to. He said she can't die and now neither can he.

Matt has figured something is up and tracks Peter down. Future Peter somehow banishes Matt to the dessert. After being confronted by his mother Angela, Future Peter reveals that he has hidden Peter somewhere safe. He has hidden Peter in a prisoner's body in Section Five. Angela knew that Future Peter was not her normal son and it is revealed her power is the ability to see the future. Neither Angela nor Future Peter seems to like each other.

Niki Sanders makes a brief appearance as Tracey who is married to the governor. It is unclear whether if the actress is playing Niki with a new personality or if Tracey is an all together new character. I am leaning towards a new personality for Niki because Tracey seems to recognize Nathan when he is shown on TV.

Mohinder has discovered the secret of how the special powers manifest. He now knows the secret to giving anyone powers. Maya is quite upset and wants Mohinder to destroy this new discovery. Mohinder is at first reluctant, then seems to agree with Maya, but then changes his mind at the last moment and injects himself with the new serum. His new power manifests as super strength.

The Second Coming packs a lot into forty minute episode. A lot of new information is given and lots more unanswered questions revealed. Looks like the writers are heading in the right path and this season looks to be very promising. This is a must see episode because there are lots of little bits I had to leave out, otherwise my review would have been five pages long. The episode has left me very excited about Heroes and I can't wait until the next episode.