Heroes – Sylar meets his father. The real one.

Tonight was the episode I have been waiting for since the news broke that John Glover had signed on to play Sylar’s father. Based on only that, it was another good episode. Taking everything else into consideration though, it was kind of hit and miss. Some of the promise from the end of last week, with Doyle seeking Claire’s help, and Danko seemingly learning that Nathan could fly, didn’t really pan out.

Starting with the best bit. After a road trip that lasted a little too long, Sylar finally tracked down his father. The broken and dying Samson was not at all what I expected, but it worked very well. His counseling of Sylar as to what the future holds for him made for an interesting conversation, helped all along the way by the obvious tension. As soon as it was revealed that Samson had cancer, Sylar’s healing power had to come into play. I actually bought into Samson turning on Sylar to take his power for a moment before it occurred to me that he was playing possum. The ending of their encounter leaves me looking forward to a return to their story.

Meanwhile, Claire was being sent on an errand that a world full of couriers could have handled. I really was expecting more from Claire and Doyle here. Why did he need her help again? He ended up springing himself from the agents, and how was getting the new identity to Claire easier than just getting it to Doyle, considering that, as Rebel knew, Claire was under surveillance? It worked in the sense that Claire is now firmly part of Rebel’s team, and it is nice to know that the guys from the Buy-More are supplementing their incomes (thanks Dorv), but the return of Doyle was wasted on that.

Also disappointing was the resolution to Matt’s mad bomber adventure. And not just because Matt didn’t blow up. It gets back to just how pointless the whole scene back at Isaac’s apartment was. Did we really need Matt to get out of custody for five minutes to get taken back into custody? Things between Danko and Nathan were going to play out the same way with or without the bomb scare.

I’m still holding out hope that Danko is going to prove to be one of the highlights as the season winds down, but this week felt a bit like running in circles. Last week Nathan flew right in front of him. Just a few feet away. We even saw him rewatching the video this week. Still, here we are again with Danko pondering, “How did he get there so fast?” Come on now. The hunter doesn’t need to be that dumb. Thankfully, he finally got irrefutable proof that Nathan is, in fact, one of them.

With any luck, that combined with his run in with Angela that hinted at his past, will be what finally sets Danko off. The fugitives need a worthy opponent and some real danger. I’m thinking back to season one when the OG Sylar was leaving a trail of bodies, and we actually did fear for the cheerleader. The threat of a tube in the nose just doesn’t garner the same sort of suspense. I want to see Danko go completely off the rails. That will also make Noah’s inside job that much more interesting.

Even with a lot of questionable bits in the story, things took a turn for the better at the end. Hiro and Ando finally return, now in Los Angeles to recreate the end of Jack Jack Attack, and protect the baby Matt Parkman. If nothing else, it’s good to get back to that thread that has been dangling for quite some time.

Of course, the bigger moments were Nathan saving Claire and Sylar lying in wait for Danko. I was sure Claire would be gone, but completely caught off guard by Nathan’s appearance. The Sylar/Danko showdown comes out of left field, but I’m intrigued. Is it Sylar bent on revenge, or could it be that Danko has a power all his own? Angela’s comments wondering how Danko made it out of that mission make the suggestion.

All three of those things signal promise for our next go in two weeks. And the fact that the episode was written by Bryan Fuller brings its own lofty expectations. So, I’ll look forward to it, but I can’t help thinking that these are the same things I was saying coming into this week.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Mar 10, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT