Heroes Recap: “Homecoming”

I have something to confess. I am WEEKS behind with Heroes. I had planned on catching up this weekend, but I just didn’t have the time. A few episodes were accidentally deleted from my TiVo when it ran out of space, so I’ve been waiting for the right time to catch up via iTunes but it just hasn’t happened yet. I hang my head in shame….bad TV blogger….bad!!

Lucky for you, Julie is right on top of her ‘Hero’ worship, and as always she’s back with a recap of last night’s episode. Wanna show Julie the love? Forget about leaving a comment here on GMMR, do me (and yourself) a favor and head over to Julie’s own site TV and Sympathy. It’s a must read for TV addicts like us!!
“Homecoming”
Original Air Date – 11/20/2006

My grade: A-. A great episode, right? I figured out what would happen with both Claire and Peter’s storylines about five minutes before they took place onscreen, but was still completely drawn in by them. It’s nice to see Peter becoming more heroic, and accepting his destiny the way Hiro did, even though it might put him in personal peril. I like him more when he has a purpose other than whining.

Still, the episode doesn’t get a full A grade because there were some issues with the plot, I think. Wouldn’t Peter take on Sylar’s powers as well, or is it that he didn’t know how to use them at the time, whereas Claire’s powers just sort of happened naturally? If Hiro went to the past, how is Ando still in Midland in the future? And when will Micah stop being annoying? All important questions, to be sure.

Students cluster on the steps of the outdoor amphitheater of Union Wells High School in Odessa, Texas. Cheerleaders give Claire the stink-eye as she walks in, since it seems she hospitalized the MVP (Brady, sitting pretty in a wheelchair — heh). The principal enters to post the homecoming queen announcement, which despite the hatred of the popular set, it seems that Claire won. The cheerleaders are peeved, but the unwashed masses applaud her. (One in a BSG t-shirt — hee.)

Simone and Nathan look at one of Isaac’s paintings. Simone explains Peter’s “save the cheerleader, save the world” hypothesis. Eyeing the painting, Nathan asks if it’s the only copy. He muses on Peter’s delusions of grandeur, then covers the canvas with paint, obscuring its message of the future. It’s for Peter’s own good, or so he thinks.

Jessica (we can tell by the tattoo), does some shooting with a high-powered military-grade rifle. With plans to kill DL, she picks up the gun for a cool two grand. In a side-view mirror, her reflection looks at her anxiously. “We’re going hunting,” she tells Niki with a grin.

DL and Micah, on the highway in Utah, quarrel about going back to Niki. DL says he loves Micah’s mom, but she’s changed. When DL heads to the head, Micah’s gone.

Mohinder tells a friend about his dreams. The friend would explain it away by the subconscious, but Mo argues that the boy’s file says he is a spirit guide who can enter dreams and lead them. I dub him…Sandboy.

Simone brings Peter to the picture, and explains Nathan did it to “protect him”. After verifying that Peter still believes the theory, she hands him a digital copy of the picture showing him dead under a Homecoming banner. She breaks the news that if it’s him in the pic, then he’s going to die at 8:12 tonight. He says he has to go, and she tells him Union Wells HS is in Odessa, and their homecoming is tonight. Way to research beforehand, Simone! You keep this up, and you’ll be off my shit list. They smooch, and he departs.

Ando’s bag rings. It’s Peter calling for Hiro, telling them they need to get to Odessa. Ando agrees, saying he’s in Midland already, and Peter can meet him there. We see that there’s a memorial for Charlie, so she’s still dead, and we’re reminded again of the birthday photo with Hiro and Charlie.

Apparently, Isaac’s drug-induced painting wasn’t good enough. Mr. Bennett wants to try again, but Eden resists using Isaac that way. “Your emotions are impairing your judgment.” He shows her pics of Sylar’s victims, but she isn’t swayed. She thinks it was a mistake. He says go to Homecoming, wait for Sylar, then “when the time is right, neutralize him.”

Claire’s a BWOC, but feeling a bit off-kilter since she “rocked the freak vote”. Her buddy campaigned for her. She’s a bit charmed by it. Even better, he found Suresh’s book on the internet and got it for her. He’s being so nice…how come? It’s weirding her out. Jackie chooses that moment to get her bitch on up in Claire’s face. “Is the gay boy your date? You should tell him only one of you gets to wear the tiara.” Claire gets a gritty look on her face, and Jackie gets a right hook to the jaw.

At home, Mr. Bennett tells Claire her punishment: she can’t go to Homecoming. Claire’s incredulous. Does he have any idea what it means for her to miss that game? “You’ll survive.” He says she’s not leaving the house. His wife tells him “She’s going to hate you for a long time.” “I hope so,” he replies. (I’d just like to point out, that for a show that sometimes has fairly low-quality dialogue, this scene really stood out to me as smart and well-written, full of double meanings. A welcome change!)

Micah’s waiting at a bus stop. DL tracks him down, relieved but upset. Micah explains about Jessica. “Sometimes, she’d show up instead of Mom.” Micah says his mom is sick, she got worse when his dad left. DL finally relents and agrees to head back to Las Vegas for Niki.

Mohinder walks around a “dangerous neighborhood” with his friend, showing people a picture of the dream kid, doing his best Robert Patrick expression (“Have you seen this boy?”). After ponying up some cash, he locates Sandboy playing soccer in the street nearby. Mo heads over, asking why the kid visits people. ‘They come to me…They have questions that need answers.” Mo asks Sandboy some hoo-doo about destiny, and the kid gives him a fortune cookie-like answer: “You already have the answer you seek.”

Ando grabs some sugar, noticing Hiro and Charlie’s photo on the memorial wall. He finds out from another waitress that the photo was taken 6 months ago. “He and Charlie were tight.”

Claire reads up on “Activating Evolution.” Zach texts messages her: “Clack. Clack-clack.” He’s textually throwing pebbles at her window, there to rescue her. She’s resistant at first, but he tells her “you deserve this.” They have a nice bonding conversation where he educates her about embracing her inner freak. “The only thing you’ll regret is denying who you really are.”

Peter meets Ando at the diner in Midland. He explains what happened with Hiro. Peter tells him he knows when and where the cheerleader gets attacked, and he has to stop it. Peter explains he can take on the powers of others when he’s close to them. It’s 7:20 – he’s got less than an hour. Ando says maybe he should wait, because, you know, he goes, he DIES, but Peter’s resolute, leaving in his trench coat. (Here’s a thought: don’t wear the clothes you’re pictured dying in. Eh? What would happen then? What do you think, readers?)

Mr. Bennett tells his wife he checked on Claire, and she’s gone. The mom knows; she saw her leave, but let her go because she thought her hubby was being too harsh. He grabs his keys and heads out.

Mohinder’s having a conversation with his friend, when Sandboy appears. Mo follows boy to same friend having conversation with Papa Suresh. As he did with Mo, the friend is trying to tell him to let go or risk losing his job and his credibility. Mo then follows himself into a past conversation with father. Mo then follows himself into a past conversation with father. He read an early copy of his father’s book and loved it, wanted to help but his father rejected him and left. The two Mohinders stare after their father, and Sandboy tells Mo he has his answer. Mo awakens, understanding his father was trying to protect him. No longer wanting to quit, he tries the password to his father’s computer. When he hits upon the right word, Shanti, the result is a list of names, among them, a few we recognize: Hiro, Niki, Peter, and many more.

At Union Wells, Peter looks at a display of “hero” Jackie Wilcox, deducing that she’s the cheerleader he seeks. A moment later he bumps into Claire, and asks her where Jackie might be. She answers him, a move I wouldn’t make considering how creepy he’s looking. Seriously, with his smirky face, in his trench coat, looking for a cheerleader, could he BE any more of a child molester? They have a nice moment, then he walks off to the field in search of her. Exiting a door, he sees that he’s in the spot where he dies in the picture. It’s 8 PM; in 12 minutes he’ll be dead.

Sylar looks at the display of Jackie’s heroism. In the locker room, Jackie and Claire have a verbal tussle when suddenly the lights suddenly go out. Jackie blames the public school system, but Claire thinks she hears something. “Something’s not right.” From behind, Sylar grabs Jackie and holds her by her neck up to the locker. Claire jumps on him, but he tosses her away like a feather. Pointing a finger at Jackie’s head, he mentally opens her forehead, and blood starts gushing out.

As he’s performing unlicensed brain surgery on Jackie (McDreamy would SO disapprove), he looks over at Claire to see her face heal. Realizing he has the wrong cheerleader, he drops Jackie. Claire sprints out, bumping into Peter on the way. He urges her to run, standing before Sylar, who mentally hurls things at him. In his wake, we see Jackie is dead.

Claire screams, running out into the amphitheater with Peter hot on her heels. As Sylar approaches, Peter tells her to go to stadium, find people, find lights, figuring Sylar doesn’t want to be seen. As soon as she runs off, suddenly, Sylar’s there. He grabs Peter and they both fall off the top of the amphitheater seats, plummeting to the ground below. A pool of blood spreads out beneath Peter’s body.

It’s 8:12, and Peter’s dead as expected, but when Claire arrives, Sylar’s gone. She runs over to Peter and when she gets close he chokingly begins to fix his bones and heal everywhere. Claire goes to get help and her dad spots her, calls her name, rushes to hug her. She tries to insist they go help Peter, but Bennett says the police will take care of it. “You’re lucky to be alive,” he tells her. “It’s not luck, Dad. I have something I have to tell you.”

In the woods near the stadium, Eden waits for Sylar. When she greets him he raises his hand to end her life, but she suggests: “You don’t want to hurt me.” It stills his hand. “We just need to talk. But first you need to sleep.” Crazy silent dude shows up and gives her a hand.

The police arrive, and they pick up Peter, presumably arresting him for Jackie’s murder. He wonders why Hiro left out the “get fingered for murder” part of his “save the cheerleader, save the world” message. Maybe even human answering machines cut off messages?

Mohinder’s mom asks him if he’s going back to New York. He is, because he discovered his dad’s theory was right. He has new faith in his father’s path, and is going to go find the people on his father’s list and tell them, warn them.

DL’s thinking “viva Las Vegas”, but Micah says there’s no need to head back. He already called his mom and she’s on her way. This spooks DL, and he heads for the car, as we see Niki is already waiting in the distance, her rifle trained on him.

At the diner, six months earlier, Charlie pours Hiro a cup of joe. He tells her, “My name is Hiro Nakamura and I am here to save your life,” just as she gets a birthday surprise.

Julie is a firm believer in “all things in moderation” — except when it comes to TV, writing, Logan Echolls, and carbonated beverages. When she’s not debating TV Boyfriends with GMMR, she’s writing for her site, TV & Sympathy, or kicking ass and taking names.