Heroes Recap: Better Halves

Title: “Better Halves”
Original Airdate: 10/30/2006

Peter and Hiro play telephone. What message did Peter have for Hiro? “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” Hiro’s intrigued, but confused. Join the club, buddy. When Peter mentions he spoke to Future-Hiro, who had a sword, current-Hiro is sold. He’ll come to New York, and Peter will explain the rest.

Back in NYC, Isaac and Peter piece together the canvases into comic book form, trying to understand the thread of the story. It seems there’s one panel missing, and Simone the hussy has it.

Claire and her mom are making cupcakes for the bake sale when her father comes in, saying he’s made contact with her biological parents. Is she ready to meet them tomorrow? “I’m ready.”

Niki wakes up with a gasp in the middle of the night. The house is dark, the police are outside. As she peers out the window, a voice behind her rumbles: “You look beautiful, Nik.” I’m all for surprising your woman, but more the “rooftop dinner escape from London” rather than the “dead of night escape from prison.” DL embraces Niki from behind, but she says he needs to leave. Still, when the police come a knockin’, she doesn’t give him up. She waits to hear him say that he was set up and someone else killed his crew – a woman.

Claire chats with Zach, trying to figure out how to ask her bio parents if they can do what she does. Zach suggests impaling them to see if they survive. I’m sure a typical teenager would consider it, but I doubt if it would go over well. He also asks whether she plans on “coming out” to her adoptive. She doesn’t. Her dad would flip, and then chop out her brain. (The latter is just implied.)

Hiro and Ando confer in the car. I think Ando’s feeling left out of the superhero club, but Hiro tells him, “You don’t have to have superpowers to be a hero.” (Just ask Xander.) After his pep talk, the two are about to drive away when they’re stopped by the cowboy high roller who wants a little payback.

DL tries to reconnect with his woman, but she says he was gone for six months, and “when you left, I became another person.” Literally. She’ll let him stay the night, but he’s got to leave in the morning. As they prepare to bunk separately, they both stare at their wedding rings until Niki gives in and invites him to bed.

Ando’s playing poker with some special assistance from Hiro. As he ducks under the table for a moment, he notices one of the other players has a gun. The two of them high tail it to the bathroom, to the table’s confusion. (“You guys going to the bathroom together?” “Yes. It is how we roll.”) Once they’re in the other room, talking about how to get out of there, they hear noises and voices: “Hey, who invited her?” The sounds escalate into gunshots and banging. Something strikes and rends the door to the bathroom, blood seeping through. The two get the frak out of there through a back window.

Niki wakes up and snuggles with her man. All is right with the world…or it would be if he hadn’t heard her get up last night. Niki doesn’t remember leaving, but her reflection seems to know something she doesn’t. I think we need to call Niki’s alter ego Noki, just like Loki, because she is always up to some mischief.

Back in NYC, Mohinder packs up his things while telling Eden about his visit with Peter. He’s suddenly so glib about all the hero stuff, so ready to head back to India. She tries to convince him to stay, but not even some sugar from a good lookin’ woman will keep Mo around.

Micah and DL bond over comic books. Micah asks how he got out of prison. “I walked out. Ain’t no jail can hold your old man.” DL, your last name wouldn’t happen to be Scofield, would it? When Niki comes his way, he tries to convince her to trust him that he didn’t set up or kill his crew. How about they head to talk to some people he used to know, who will have more info about the woman who supposedly did those horrible things? Niki reluctantly agrees, and they head to – where else? – the club where the poker game was held, and where some fools have been wrecked and slaughtered, blood and gore all up in the hizzy. Niki’s particularly horrified, because the scene is strikingly familiar. Yeah, I guess it would be awkward knowing you murdered a bunch of people earlier in that morning. But just think of what Noki accomplished, murdering five-ish people. That’s more than some people do all day! She’s a real go-getter.

Also awkward? Meeting your socially inept birth parents. “What can we tell you about ourselves?” they ask Claire. She pauses while trying to determine if shooting one of them with a crossbow will be considered bad form, eventually settling for the vague “anything I should know medically?” Nothing, just diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Big Bad Dad has been eavesdropping, but stops when he gets a phone call about work.

“Work” turns out to be Eden, who turns out to be on the dark side. She tells him Suresh left for India, there’s a painter who can draw the future, and there might be someone who can time travel. “Really? That’s cool.” Yes, BBD, it is cool. And it won’t be cool when you take it away by being evil and thieving his mind. BBD is unsettled by Eden’s report from Mo that they must “save the cheerleader,” and tells her to bring in the “pre-cog.”

Back at Niki’s house, DL tells her he’s never seen anything like the scene back at the club. Niki says she has, in the garage, and explains to him what happened. She tells DL she thinks she was responsible, but he insists she’s being played. Actually, DL, someone is being played here, and it ain’t Niki.

Walking away, Niki spots Noki in the mirror with a glint in her eye, and suddenly two minutes have passed like nothing. Noki’s toying with her, stealing time. She heads to her room, shuts the door, and slumps against the mirror, feeling out of control. Then things go a little Green Goblin on us, as Noki and Niki have a conversation. Noki tries to tell her what’s what: “You need to pull yourself together. We’re a lot of things, Niki, but we’re not crazy.” Noki informs herself that she framed DL, killed the crew, and more. “We’ve been very busy.” Niki’s shocked and dismayed, but Noki paints a picture for her in which DL will find out and take Micah away. She’d better take him – and the money – away first. Niki’s doubtful, but finally asks where the money is. “Good choice,” Noki smiles at her. Like she even had a choice. Everything she does, she does for her son. I’m not exactly sure why. He’s kind of annoying.

As Hiro and Ando arrive back at their car, Hiro’s having a crisis of confidence. He feels bad because he didn’t save people. Don’t feel bad, Hiro! You’re doing a lot better with your powers than some of the other superfriends. You still haven’t killed anyone yet, right? Gold star for you.

BBD shows the bio-parents out to the car, and it becomes clear that they’re not really Claire’s parents. They’re people with connections to BBD who were doing him a solid. BBD just keeps living up to his name. Inside the house, Claire’s mom mentions to her that they tried to contact her bio-parents before, years ago, related to some chromosomal disease they thought she might have, but couldn’t get a hold of them. Funny it happened so easily this time. Real funny, thinks Claire, as her BBD heads back in. The two share a hug filled with seeeecrets.

Up in the rafters of her house, Niki looks for the money, and finds it, plus a gun, in a metal suitcase. She tosses it down and then drops from the attic. But it looks like Niki could learn a lot about stealth from Noki, since DL spots her and the cash as they make their descent. It also looks like these two are about to have an altercation.

And altercate they do. DL announces he’s taking Micah and the dough, which of course incites Niki to morph into Noki, who swings the suitcase into DL’s face, hurling him across the room. Micah comes in, and she shuts the door on him, but when she turns back, DL’s gone. Gone into the wall, that is. No wonder no prison can hold him. He passes through the wall behind Noki, grabs her, and they come to blows till she’s astride him on the bed, hands around his neck. DL counters that by sticking his hand straight into his chest, putting the choke hold on her heart. Noki collapses to the floor. Micah comes in, trying to run to her aid, but DL drags him out as she falls unconscious.

Isaac paints Noki’s shoulder tattoo when he’s interrupted by someone at the door. It’s Eden, and here I’m going to surmise that the two of them jumped on a rainbow unicorn and flew away to an idyllic paradise full of honey lagoons and glittery lemurs, because my Tivo cut off. Booo. Anyone want to fill me in?

Julie is a GMMR recapper extraordinaire, but she also has her own fabulous TV website. Head over to TV and Sympathy to read more from Julie.