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Heroes episode 3.13 “Duel“
Airdate: December 15, 2008
Sylar becomes ‘Joker’. All traces of hope and the chance of a new life disappeared when Sylar learned that the Petrellis were not his real parents. Being a “hero” sounded too good to be true, and it was. And yet for Sylar, it wasn’t enough to accept that he is a monstrous killer; he wanted to prove that everyone else is the same as he is. Didn’t the Joker did the same? At the Company headquarters, Sylar baited and trapped Angela, Claire, HRG and Meredith along with the remaining Level 5 villains, testing their vulnerabilities and limits of humanity. Sylar taunted Claire about Noah and Angela’s scheming lies. Why should Claire save either one? Sylar injected Meredith with an adrenalin that jacked her system so much that she could not control her fire. And then he locked HRG in a cell with her to test how far Noah would go to save his own skin. But Noah would not shoot her. 
Claire came just in time to save Noah, but Meredith could not be saved. It was only unfortunate that the farewell between mother and daughter was hurried and forced. Sylar confronted Angela with the truth, and she could no longer hide her schemes from this villain. And yet though the matriarch was afraid for her life, she seemed to just wait for events to play out. And play it did, in her favor. Claire stabbed a piece of glass into Sylar’s nape, and the killer dropped dead. Was Sylar able to prove the kind of people Claire, Meredith, Noah and Angela were? Oh, I think so, although the evening’s surprise was Claire. She had it in her all along.
Who’s got the coolest powers now? Saving a powerful Hiro from the past took more than just speed and brains, but this was one of the cool surprises of the season. Daphne turned from villain to hero because someone cared enough to believe in her goodness. Matt didn’t get to use his powers to its full potential, but he was more heroic than ever, at least in the eyes of his new love interest. Ando proved how far he’s willing to go to save his friend. Daphne took Mohinder’s vial right out of his hands and offered it to Ando, and the coolest surprise happened. Ando acquired the powers of a super-charger – touching him can amp someone else’s powers. And that’s how they saved Hiro from his own father’s blade: Holding onto Ando, Daphne juiced her speed faster than the speed of light and went back into time and back again to the present.
Nathan is dark. I wasn’t too surprise that Nathan turned out like the way he did. He has always been weak and dark and he hasn’t completely changed since season 1. He was still easily manipulated by those he considered important. But because his own driving force is self-ambition, one can not predict his next move or alliance. And that’s what makes this character pivotal in the series. He’s not a good guy, but he will do good things to the point that it serves his purpose.
Nathan took the chance at fame when his father and Tracy suggested that the formula would right the world at the hands of a capable leader. Nothing was going to stand in his way, not even his own brother. A powerless Peter destroyed the formula with the help of unlikely heroes – the last villains of Level 5. Nathan tried to kill Peter when an uncontrolled fire trapped him. Peter didn’t hesitate to inject himself back with powers to save his brother. Unfortunately, Nathan confessed that he wouldn’t have done the same.
The next volume is even more intriguing. Nathan talks to the US President and proposes to round up everyone with superhuman abilities, to his own exclusion of course. But I don’t think the President knows that. It will be interesting to see how Nathan plays his cards in the next volume, as the mastermind of this new operation.
In the final take, “Heroes volume 3: Villains” proved that the series still has what it takes to be the great show that it was conceived to be. The opening scene of “Heroes Fugitives” only serves to whet that anticipation. It’s time to go back to the formula of season 1.
“Heroes” comes back on February 2, 2009.
Images: NBC / Adam Taylor
[...] months after saving the world from another destructive future, the heroes breathe a sigh of relief. The formula is destroyed, [...]
I was watching first two seasons breathlessly. I haven’t seen something so interesting for a while. I couldn’t wait for a next episode. But when the third season started I was so disappointing. I couldn’t believe that they can make such a big turn to worse. Pity.