Heroes Recap:”Godsend”

Title: “Godsend”
Original Air Date: 1/22/2007

Two weeks later, Peter is still dreaming of his exploding self in a Manhattan hospital, his family around. Niki’s in prison. From the way the guards are treating her, looks like she’s been acting up. Claire’s watching the news of Jackie’s death and the school’s reopening. She worries to her father about how she’ll deal with questions from her classmates. Why doesn’t she remember anything? Her dad blames it on PTSD, but Claire knows better.

HRG talks to a doc as they observe Sylar. They’ve been testing, but can’t figure out why he has powers other than telekinesis. If they keep testing, they’ll kill him, but they’ve been instructed to keep him alive.

Matt and Audrey watch as a team raids the paper company. They don’t turn up anything, no shocker.

Hiro’s at the Natural History museum, trying to learn more about his future (past?) foe, the T-Rex. The bomb’s going off in three weeks. What are they doing? Ando’s impatient. Hiro explains that he needs to find the sword that will help him gain his powers. And lucky day, they spot it in an exhibit. Takezo Kensai is the owner.

Simone visits a feverish Peter, as Nathan and Mrs. Petrelli observe. Simone and Nathan have a disagreement about Peter’s obsession with his powers.

DL and Micah commiserate over missing their psycho killer mom/wife. A lawyerly looking man pops up at the door to explain how, based on Niki’s confession, DL has been cleared of all charges. With that, and the $2 million returned, shouldn’t he be off the hook with Linderman? Not so much, the lawyer informs him.

Hiro waxes rhapsodic about the sword’s history and power. Ando notices a symbol on the sword, a combination of two symbols: “great talent” and “godsend”. Hiro’s psyched. It’s talking about him! So what do they do? “We take it.”

Mohinder talks to a cop, explaining his father’s list and the deaths of some of the people. Since he has an alibi, and since the list is turning up lots of homicides, they’re looking into it. They tell Mohinder about Sara Ellis (aka Eden), who was found dead. Mohinder gets all emo.

Matt keeps harping on the “Sylar is here” theory in the paper company. Audrey’s boss gets upset that Matt’s “crazy idea” didn’t pan out. Frustrated, Matt threatens Mr. Bennett, saying he doesn’t know how he’s pulling it off, but he’s going to do something about it.

Claire tries to make friendly with Zach at school. He’s surprised she’s talking to him in public, and definitely finds her motives suspect. “Do you feel like we could be friends?” She asks him, but he shuts her down.

Niki insists to her lawyer that she just wants to do her time in peace. But based on some of the circumstances, he says, they’re going to seek the death penalty. Then she gets all Sybil. “You’re going psych on me? Multiple personality disorder is a real hard sell.” Doesn’t he know it’s called dissociative identity disorder now? Be PC, lawyer dude! He’s too busy running away from the very obviously disturbed Niki/Jessica.

Hiro and Ando very conspicuously case the museum, trying to figure out how to steal the sword. Hiro’s powers haven’t been working well for him since Charlie died, so he can’t just stop time and swipe it. What to do? He tries really hard, but only manages to slow down time, not stop it. He grabs the sword and runs out as the alarm goes off. He briefly does his best Star Wars kid impression, then runs out. “With this sword, there’s nothing I can’t accomplish!” He goes to unsheathe it, but it’s just a replica, “courtesy of the Linderman Group”.

Nathan and Simone arrive at Isaac’s to see the paintings. He’s back! And not wearing much clothing! He says he’s clean, doesn’t need the drugs anymore, not to paint. Nathan spotted a picture of an exploding man. Hiro turns up, reporting to Isaac that the sword wasn’t there. It belongs to a man named Linderman. “Linderman?” Nathan says, poking his head out into view. Hiro’s ecstatic: “Flying man!” I cannot accurate describe the glee his smile communicates.

Claire meets with the Haitian in secret. She wants answers to this “save the cheerleader, save the world” thing. He says she’s safe for the time being. She wants to talk to Peter, but he says that’s not possible. Her father will know. Claire asks for something. Anything. Her whole life has been a lie. Tears spilling over, she pleads with him to give Zach back his memories. “I don’t want to be alone.” He tries to say they have gifts, from God, that they need to respect.

Hiro explains to Nathan how the bomb works, and what he’s doing there, how he learned English. They have a really cute exchange, partially centered around Hiro’s mispronunciation of the word villain. Hiro thinks the exploding man is a bad guy, and he thinks Nathan can help stop him.

Meanwhile, in the Nevada desert, Ted has secluded himself in a cabin. He’s trying to control his powers, experimenting with fire blasts from his hands, one at a time.

Claire brings Zach to the oil area, trying to jog his memory. He makes a joke about ANTM. She keeps explaining how everything happened before, and how she needs his help. The first time she taped it, she wanted to show her real parents. This time, she’s doing it for her. And just like before, she jumps off. This time she shoves her clavicle back in her shirt. The wounds fade, as expected. But what about her cute outfit? It’s totally jacked. Girlfriend needs to buy some uglier, more disposable wardrobe for her attempts.

DL and Micah have a visit with Niki. (Okay, who is having flashbacks of Ali Larter back in Legally Blonde?) She explains how she’s going to be sent to the psych ward because Jessica is acting up. He reaches through the glass to hold her hand. Micah stares mournfully at her. He wants her to come home. She starts to get upset, wanting to give Micah a hug. She threatens a cop for a minute, morphs into Jessica for long enough to break his nightstick, then turns back into Niki, with new knowledge of her strength.

Mohinder debates what to feed the lizard when Mr. Bennett turns up. He wants to talk about Eden. Mr. Bennett wants to join forces, but Mo doesn’t trust him. Mr. Bennett wants the list: “who is on that list is a matter of grave importance.” Mo wants to warn them. Bennett wants to collaborate, but Mo just isn’t interested. Giving up rather easily, Bennett just leaves his card for Primatech Paper.

Matt arrives home. His wife, whose name I can’t remember, tries to kiss and make up. Ah, Janice. He comes out and tells her he can hear people’s thoughts. She gives him the obligatory crazy face. So he demonstrates with the “pick a number between one and a million” game.

Peter, still in the hospital, dreams of the city deserted again. He walks through the silent streets, this time hearing the laughter of one mangy bearded man. Who is this guy? Nathan walks over. “I took his power, Nathan. I can’t control it.” He explodes, just as before, watching everyone blow up. He wakes up, shocked. Then he’s gone, before Nathan and Peter can do anything.

Simone marvels at Hiro Nakamura, from Isaac’s comic book, in the flesh. She’s impressed with the whole future thing, and wants to connect him with Linderman in Vegas. Peter, meanwhile, is trying to separate himself from people. He calls to buy a flight to the desert. To Vegas. He’s on the phone when he spots the mangy man from his dream. Peter follows him, gets his attention, and Mr. Mange flips out. “You can see me! Nobody sees me; I’m invisible!” He grabs Peter by the neck and thrusts him up against a lamppost, screaming at him. Well, to be accurate, they’re both invisible.

Mr. Bennett watches Sylar. Hiro’s on a sword quest. Zach and Claire are BFFs again. Niki’s in the psych ward. She prays: “God, please help me” but the only response is from Jessica. “Who needs God when you’ve got me?”
Next Week: Peter joins forces with Mr. Invisible. Micah reveals his secret to his dad. Claire gets a call from her real mom. Looks GOOD. Welcome back, show!

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.