What aunt_zelda Thinks: 'Turn and Face the Strange'
'Turn and Face the Strange':
People are strange, when you're a stranger, faces look ugly, when you're alone ... women seem wicked, when you’re unwanted, streets are uneven, when you’re alone …
That song has been stuck in my head since last Friday. I'm not complaining, and besides, it's an apt song for this episode. So apt, in fact, that I'm surprised (given the certain musical obsession with the show) that it didn't play sometime during the episode.
Previously on Heroes: (huzzah! Finally, the online one has previouslies!) Daphne died; it was sad. HRG let Angela and Peter go free; it was sweet. Angela had a nap; it created a montage. Hiro was re-gifted his time-stop powers by Matt's child, also named Matt; I named him 'Oswald.' Sylar flirted with Danko; Danko liked the attention so much that he helped fulfill Sylar's autassassinophilia yearnings. (I can haz big words? Hee. It's not one you get to use much, you know ...)
Once again, the title card is on a body bag being unzipped. (Nice try, show, you've done that before ... don't loose your creativity NOW!)
HRG paws at the fake Sylar corpse (not like THAT) which apparently has stolen Sylar's theme music. Hee. Danko, strangely enough, is the one to provide the explanation as to how Sylar survived the end of the last Volume: the glass melted in the Primatech Fire. Huh ... I'll ... buy that, because I'm feeling generous right now.
Danko and HRG flirt, and Danko insinuates Foe-Yay between HRG and Sylar. Uh ... ew ... *flees to bleach brains*
Hey, Sandra's stormed the He-Men-Mutant-Haters Club! Oooooooo ... government posse's goin' DOWN, girls!
Hiro (DRIVING THE CAR WTF CONTINUITY?!) thinks that he and Ando are on a mission to "unite the two Matt Parkmans." I translate that in my head as "unite Matt Parkman with his son, Oswald," because I will not be letting this go any time soon, naming your son after yourself and not even shortening it to 'Mattie' or something (Redwall knew how to do this, show) is damned confuzzleing, and I have to keep all the seasons of Lost and two Shakespeare plays straight in my head right now, so the kid's name is 'Oswald,' ok?!
After some banter, and Hiro saying that they'll take car of Oswald's father first, then find Janice (good plan!) Oswald blows it all to hell by first starting to cry, and then STOPPING THE FRAKING CAR. Just when you thought Hiro's plots couldn't move any slower! (If they have to get out and push, I'm writing Tim Kring with lengthy rants and refuse to stop until he puts an out-and-proud gay character on the show.)
Matt, unaware of the outrage his son is causing amongst the fans (or even of the son himself) wants to kill Danko. I hope he really does, and succeeds, because like three people have tried and failed to kill the guy in this season, and it'd be nice to see someone (especially someone who has a pretty bad track record) succeed. Not that I hate Danko (ok, sometimes I do) but I want Matt to do something good and get back on the right track. Killing is bad, and Matt used to uphold the law, but these are dangerous times, and Matt should be the one to make the first serious strike against the He-Men-Mutant-Haters-Club.
Mohinder is making plans to head back to India (how the hell are the Heroes moving around airports? Could we see some explanation to that, please?) and begs Matt to accompany him. Is Molly in India? Please? Can Matt pop out, kill Danko, and head to India and live the Mottwalker life again? PLEASE?!
Mohinder wants to talk about this 'revenge' thing (possibly to give some tips on What Not to Do When You Want to Kill the Man Who Killed Your Beard Girlfriend) but Matt brushes him off, says he's been "a good friend" then GIVES HIM A MAN-HUG. Ouch. *huggles Mohinder* It's ok, baby, Sylar's certain to get bored with Danko soon, then he'll come crawling back to you, you'll see!
Sandra is mad. HRG should be running far, far away, behind the Great Wall of China, perhaps, but instead he insists that he returned all of her phone-calls (hee) and that Claire is safe and the less Sandra knows, the better. Sandra is mad. HRG tries to steer the conversation away to Sylar, but Sandra ain't part of no SARMY, she wants to know where her little girl is! (Sandra, methinks, would get along very well with Charity Carpenter. Someone please write that crossover fic. Or I could. I've already deduced that Molly Walker would get along with Ivy the Archive. Anyhoodle, tangent completed.) Danko shakes Sandra's hand. Sandra lets on that she knows about the cameras watching her house, and his expression gets darker and he says it was nice to meet her. Heh heh. Danko is scared of strong women. And women in general. He storms off to find his boyfriend. HRG tells Sandra to go home, and Sandra says she's staying at the Regency Hotel until HRG finds Claire. But ... what about Lyle? Mr. Muggles is probably holding raves at the house right now, and poor Lyle's all drugged-out in the corner being eyed at by some gay boy. Or conducting meetings with the Resistance and Lyle's handing tea to Heidi, Claude, and Monica. Actually ... on second though, Sandra, you stay in D.C. Lyle might actually get a plotline of his own!
Sylar was Danko for all of the previous scenes! WOW! Still in Danko's body, he makes lascivious remarks about a mole Danko has and finally turns back into himself (yum ... Zachary Quinto is hot, and the shapeshifting effects are fantastic) and says he's not going to kill HRG, he's "going to destroy him." Utto ... this is going to end very, very badly. SANDRA IF YOU DIE I WILL KILL ... THINGS! LOTS OF THEM!
Heroeclipse!
Angela calls HRG. They exchange info: HRG about the supposed-Sylar body, and Angela about her, Peter, Nathan, and Claire meeting up at someplace called "Cyote Sands." She wants him to come with, because everyone should "know the truth" or whatever. Angela tells HRG to get out while he still can and not pursue the legitimacy of the SyCorpse, even going so far as to yell "NOAH!" Somehow, I don't think HRG's going to listen to her.
Silly Mohinder (wearing a nice hat) is going back to his apartment. He busts the lock, and finds his apartment cleaned out. The Landlord from the pilot (YAY, continuity! *cheers*) arrives and bitches and tells Mohinder that Homeland Security took his stuff and told him to call should Mohinder or "the big guy" show up. Mohinder cautions the Landlord against calling "or I might have to implicate you." Hee. Mohinder got smart. The Landlord has some of Chandra's stuff in storage, and wants Mohinder to take it. Mohinder's down with that. Yay!
The camera zooms away from a hand making the hitchhiker's sign. Hiro and Ando and Oswald are hitchhiking. HEE! Ando thinks this is never going to work "Who's going to pick up two Japanese guys and a baby?" I really can't wait to see the answer to that question.
I'm rewarded within seconds, as a trucker pulls over, driven by ... and Asian Hick. Wo de ma he ta de fen kuang de wai sheng dou!!! *falls at Brian Fuller's feet and sings his praises* (Do you think this trucker knows Wilfred Woodruff? Wouldn't that be awesome?) For some reason, he thinks that Hiro and Ando are Spanish-Japanese and thus sprinkles his dialogue with Espanol. Hee. Hiro recounts their mission to find Oswald's father, and it looks like everything's going to work out ... and Oswald starts crying again. They moved maybe five feet. This isn't funny, Mr. Fuller, not funny at all.
Matt stalks Danko and infuses paranoia into him.
HRG pulls what looks like a wooden stake out of the SyCorpse's head, first urging the agents to draw their guns, but nothing happens. He orders DNA tests and stuff on the corpse to be made priority. Sadly, HRG comes off looking like a big of a nutcase, which is sad, because a vicious serial-killer is still out there and alive, and in cahoots with Danko, and for HRG at least, that's a very very bad thing.
Danko appears to have a hot blond wife. Eeeeew. Matt grabs the gun and heads out.
HRG brought Sandra to his apartment, meaning to talk about Claire, but she says that Claire called an hour ago. She hands over some papers, asking HRG to sign. It's divorce papers. A corner of my heart starts to rip. Sandra is angry. HRG is desperate. He pleads that they owe it to Lyle and Claire to keep the family together, they'll go to counseling ... and Sandra yells that she doesn't love him. She doesn't trust him or respect him. Then she leaves. We get a great HRG-camera-shot, and it would have been nice if he took off the HRGs to cry and be Noah for a while, but he doesn't. Then Sandra walks out onto the street and confirms my fears by turning into a smirking Sylar and stalking away in a woman's coat. HEE.
Wilfred Woodruff's Cousin (shut up, he totally is!) is sorry, but he wants Ando and Hiro to move their "magic baby" away from his truck, as he's got a schedule to keep. Ando thanks him for the ride. Hiro and Ando make hilarious faces and noises until they hit one that works: Ando looking like a cartoon moose. I sporfle, giggle, laugh, and roll down onto the floor. Ando complains that he can't make the Moose-face all the way to New York, and Hiro gets a fierce look on his face and trills "Sure you can!" Good lord. You know what calmed me down as a child? Being driven up and down the street and listening to Carmen. Couldn't Oswald want that? I wouldn't mind Hiro and Ando blasting opera down the highway ...
Danko (whose ... wife? girlfriend? mail-order-bride? calls 'Jakob') is actually affectionate with his ... female love interest, says that she's moving to Chicago, reminds her to practice her English more, and says goodbye after kissing her. What really creeps me out is that he was completely believable as a husband/boyfriend/caring significant other. Wow. Zeljko Ivanek should seriously consider branching out from 'Creepy Evil Man of Power.'
Matt tries and fails to shoot Danko's girl. Turns out she used to be part of an Escort Service. Huh. I'm not even gonna touch that one. Up close, she's got funny eyes, but nice hair.
HRG figures out that Sandra's signature on the divorce papers doesn't match the one on file (YAY! ... uh, wait a second ... I'm happy that Sandra didn't put those things in the divorce settlement, but I'm not sure I'm happy that she didn't really file for a divorce. What Sandra-Sylar said was true, and though I truly believe Noah wants what's best for his family, he isn't all that great at showing it.) and gets the DNA test back that it's Caucasian-Steve from last week. He mutters "Sylar's a shapeshifter" and really, HRG, you should stop talking to yourself. Take it from me.
Matt learns that Girl and Danko have been together for about a year, and she thinks he sells schoolbooks worldwide. (Thanks, show. First paper, now this. I'm never going to trust my date when they tell me what they do for a living.) Girl says that Danko has a wife and kids in Chicago, and when the kids are grown up she and 'Jakob' are going to get together. She says that he loves her, and after all she's been through, finding a man like him is a miracle. Matt says that Danko probably does love her, but he doesn't deserve her. She should leave him, because Danko's dangerous. Elena is freaked out, and Matt says he'll show her what Danko does.
As Ando washes the windows and they fill up the tank, Hiro calls Mohinder. Why can't Hiro go through what Jin did and suddenly be speaking perfect English? Mohinder says that his "very angry landlord" told him that Hiro's been calling all day. HEE. Remember when Hiro was calling Isaac in S1? Good times. Mohinder says that he tried to dissuade Matt from his present course, but couldn't, and gives Hiro the address where Matt last was, adding that it's difficult to stop a man who thinks he has nothing to live for. I don't know why Hiro didn't tell Mohinder about his boyfriend's child, but maybe the show is taking a hint from Lost. Ando leaps into the car and Oswald starts wailing. "Ando, make the face!" Hiro yelps in Japanese. Hee. Hee hee. They drive away in their BLATANT PRODUCT-PLACEMENT CAR BUY A BLATANT PRODUCT-PLACEMENT CAR USEFUL TO ALL JAPANESE BUSINESSMEN and we see Nathan and Claire examining a map. Nathan is wearing a tie and sunglasses. Yum. They head out for Cyote Sands which is apparently "a million miles from nowhere." We see Hiro and Ando and Oswald driving down the highway, and in the background, Nathan's sonic-boom flight path. *squees*
Oh dear god. Mohinder has unearthed yet another plotline of the past. Remember when we were just concerned with where the hell Primatech came from? I kinda miss those days. Mohinder is talking into the recording device about a government project in the 60s (not the Dharma Initiative ... please ... NO MORE!) that his dad was researching ... except, hang on, his dad was there! Yipes! There's a project called 'Icarus' that might be important, or might not be. I like Greek myths though, so it's in the recap.
Then ... there is the best scene in this entire episode. HRG pulls a gun on Sandra, thinking she's Sylar. She yelps personal information, but he thinks Sylar can read minds now and killed Matt Parkman. She yells and cries and then LYLE SAVES THE DAY OH MY GOD LYLE I LOVE YOU by calling about Mr. Muggle's pills, and HRG gets the pill-info from Sandra, and it's confirmed that Sandra is Sandra, and HRG hangs up. He puts the safety on his gun and half-strokes Sandra's shoulder to heart-breaking music, tells her about Sylar being a shapeshifter and how he came and filed for divorce and she yells at him to get out, and calms down and says, though she believes the Sylar thing, she still wants him to leave. HRG leaves, hears the lock click behind him, and walks away. My heart shatters into several unequal pieces, and I am now in dire need of a hug. I didn't recap that scene well at all. Go watch it. I don't care if you already watched it, you need to watch it again. *huggles self* Ulp. I need to go watch some Eddie Izzard clips after this ...
Matt forces Elena and Danko into Danko's house at gunpoint, gets Danko to spill about his lies to Elena, what he really does for a living, and what he did to Daphne. Elena asks why he lied to her, and he says it's because "you could never love someone who did these things." Wow. Matt realizes that Danko actually cares about Elena, and prepares to shoot her. He comes really damn close, crying and saying that Danko's reduced the heroes to this, and that there's no room for mercy in this world ... then he drops the gun. Danko grabs his own gun, and Matt tells him to go ahead and "end this." I yelp in horror, and the gun goes off ... and time stops. YES! *punches the air*
Hiro pauses, noting the bullet, with appropriate solemness, and puts Matt (still standing up) into a wheeled office chair. Time un-stops, and Danko looks up and down the hallway for Matt, who's nowhere to be seen. Elena calls Danko a monster, and leaves. Danko ... actually looks sad. *is slightly floored*
Ok, it's freaky how much like Sylar Jack Coleman can act. I mean, I had him pegged as Sylar when he was halfway across the floor. He got the voice, the eyebrow-and-smirk combo, even the walk down pat. It's easily on the list of 'most disturbing and freaky things ever shown on Heroes.' Sylar-as-HRG hands Danko HRG's Primatech files, proving that HRG has been "holding out" on them. Am I the only one who wants there to be morally gray black-and-white photos of HRG and Claude in their youth? Then he whips out a gun and asks "Are you surprised now?" and says "If I were Sylar, I wouldn't need this." OMG! OMG! *passes out from the sheer badassery of that move* HRG, it's been said before, but you are THE MAN! Patron Saint of Badass Normals, you are! *cheers from the sidelines* HRG demands Danko's gun, and says he wants Sylar "on a platter" and then maybe he'll overlook Danko's "cry for help." HEE. HEE HEE! These two men have been through a lot in this episode, and they're so alike ... yet so different. Danko says that Sylar's pretending to be the leader of Team 6 (which, according to HRG, is bringing in a lot of wins lately) and they're out on a mission but should be back in an hour. HRG says he'll wait, pulls out his HRGs and puts them on, and says "and so will you." *SQUEE*
Matt says he knows Hiro meant well, but he didn't want to be rescued. Hiro says that 'Doctor Suresh' told them about Matt's plan, and starts in on a hero-lecture/lesson/anecdote about knowing the difference between retribution and self-defense, or something like that. I dunno, but it makes me happy again. Hiro should be the Cuckoolander Teacher, not the whiny annoying sidequest. He says that they have to save Matt, and points out to Ando, who's sitting out on some grass with Oswald in his arms. Matt is dumbfounded, Hiro looses and regains his accent, and Ando cannot make the moose-face anymore. More's the pity. Matt picks up Oswald, Hiro says that Oswald is why he should keep going, and Matt breaks out into full-blown Grunny-mode, which is basically 'kill us with his cute and make us forgive the writers for everything they ever did to poor Matt Parkman.' Matt holds up Oswald, grinning, Hiro and Ando beam, and toy cars whirl around them. SQUEE!
HRG accosts the guy Sylar supposedly is. Danko pretends not to know what's going on. HRG shoots the guy ... and the guy doesn't heal. He's dead. HRG pulls his gun on Danko to escape, and DAYUM can he run fast! HRG escapes into the night, with yet another death to weigh on him. Poor man.
After the commercial break, the guy turns out to really be Sylar ... he just held off on healing. I wasn't aware that you could do that, but whatever. Sylar spits out the bullet. They get into a bit of a bicker, but there's no wall-slamming, so no sex for a while.
HRG calls Sandra to tell her that he loves her, and misses his family. He'll call her again when it's safe, he says. *sniffles* He's toting a great backpack as he leaves this message.
Mohinder is making yet another map with strings. Yay. Maybe he can chuck it at Sylar before they have hot makeup sex.
Hiro beams and gets groceries while Matt is adorable with Oswald.
Danko calls Elena. She leaves in disgust, and his message confirms that she symbolizes his humanity. *sniffle* Ah well, it was nice to see that he isn't a complete monster ... just mostly.
And, in footage they took for the promos, Angela tells the Petrelli gang (Peter still hates Nathan, Claire still likes touching Peter, Nathan still has those spiffy shades on) that if they want answers, they'll have to dig. The camera pulls back to reveal some old shacks, like barracks.
Mohinder Voice Over ... *sighs* He talks about nature and generations and 'cautionary tales' and the legend of Icarus (THANK YOU! Finally, something in the voiceovers that’s USEFUL!) and Nathan unearths a skull with a bullet hole in it. Angela shudders, Peter catches her, and asks if she knew that person. She says "I knew all of them." A chill runs down my spine. Nathan asks "exactly how many people are here, Ma?" She tells him to keep digging. HRG drives up, and Claire looks torn. Nathan and Peter unearth more bodies to the Sad Angela Music.
TBC ...
(DAYUM, what a great episode! About five different plots going at once, and all were pretty dang good! *head reels*)
Next Week! A dust-storm! Only three episodes left! Angela's creepy sister! Mohinder! Dust! Angela's sister's name was 'Alice' and she asks, in a creepy voice "Is Doctor Suresh gonna come for me?" Somehow, I think that Chandra was one helluva a creepy dude back then.