Heroes Volume 5 Ep 2 - Ink

The hooks are sinking in...

This episode treated us to very few things that annoy me and a whole lot of things that rocked my world. And this comes after watching the far superior House...

For starters, we have Sylar and Parkman in what is easily the coolest damned thing Sylar's ever done. The taunting continued and escalated. We were shown that Sylar can use Parkmans own powers against him to get what he wants out of Parkman. This turn is executed perfectly, and I am giddy with the prospect of what's to come. I hope it takes a good long time before Sylar is reunited with his body.

That is, of course, not to say that all was hunky dory in the land of superheroes. We were treated to more of Gretchen, who I am beginning to seriously dislike. We take an interesting story between Noah and Claire and we throw her into the mix and I just want to turn the damn thing off. Granted, this is the same storyline we saw between Noah and Claire the last 2 seasons, but it actually seems to be moving forward now. Thank god. Noah played the less cool than usual role of father rather than normal guy vs super dudes, so I'm hoping they kick him back into gear next week and we see some more of Tracy (who was oddly completely missing from this episode).

We were introduced to Emma, a deaf woman who suddenly starts seeing noise. She ends up playing a wonderful piece on the cello, and she plays it by seeing colors instead of hearing noise. It seems like that's her only gift (other than making very comical impressions of people's uncaring faces)... so I'm wondering where they're taking her.

As always, best for last. We finally see the true extent of Samuel's powers, as he levels the house he grew up in. No joke. "A sinkhole" they call it. The buildup to this moment was all quite spectacular and was very reminiscent of our beloved Chapter 1. On his way, he introduces himself to Peter, who he thinks could take the place of his brother Joseph at the Carnival. Samuel works some of his ink magic to create a tattoo of a compass on Peter's forearm when they shake hands. He also breaks into Peter's house to make Peter believe that he is who Peter thinks he is - a victim Peter rescued from a crash. We as the audience know this is untrue, but poor Peter does not.

Speaking of Peter, his rescuing ways come back to haunt him in the form of a lawsuit and the rumors around the hospital that he is a "glory seeker" and causes all those accidents himself. I'd go off on some tirade about how people can't just be grateful, but this serves to push Peter out of his rut and start being a person again. I most certainly applaud that. I can now get back into thinking Peter is awesome, just the way I like it.

So, the show ended with Peter seeing he's got a spinning compass on his arm while he and his partner are at the scene where three people were killed by Samuel's sinkhole. Where do we go from here?

I would like to suggest that they clear up a glaring plot hole that has come to light. When does Peter realize he has telekinetic powers? He obviously has them now... he and Samuel shook hands, and physical contact is what allows Peter to absorb powers. Once he realizes he has telekinetic powers, surely he'll realize that the man he met is not who he claims to be. Right?

Anyway, this season is dazzling so far in a way this show hasn't done in a very long time. I can't wait to see what happens next week.