Reviewed by maroon5gurl88 on Tue October 16, 2007

Heroes is slowly coming back to where it once was in terms of story and direction. While things haven’t improved to Season One status, with many returning characters and some rather interesting storylines it’s getting back into the swing of things. Be prepared for me to go postal next week when Kristen Bell joins the show.

This week Claire tries to hide her new boyfriend West from her father. Mohinder and Matt try to find the reason behind Molly’s violent nightmares only to believe that Matt’s absentee father might be behind it all. Nathan joins forces with Matt to solve Kaito Nakamura’s murder and clear his mother’s name. He also has to fight to maintain decorum so he can return home to his boys. Micah starts life off with his grandmother and cousins. He tries to make his one cousin Dawson happy by getting him Pay-Per-View while the older one, Monica tries to become a manager at her job. Monica, we learn, lost her mother in Hurricane Katrina and is the sole breadwinner of the family; we also see she has the power to imitate anything she sees on television. Maya and Alejandro continue their trek to find Dr. Suresh in New York. In their journey they come across Sylar…or as he tells them “Gabriel Gray” his real name.

I have to admit this episode made the last one pale in comparison. I think we’re finally returning to what made season one great, and that’s compelling stories. I also enjoyed the returning characters. Finally, Nathan has something to do this time around. We still don’t know why every time he looks in the mirror his face is scarred to hell but you learn that he’s changed a lot since the finale. He misses his boys and is becoming closer to his family. I adored Monica and the story about her family. While Micah didn’t really add or subtract from the overall plot I loved how we learn about Monica and her family straight off. She’s been through this huge tragedy and is trying to take care of a family. It was also amazing to see her powers in action, first making a tomato rose and then wrestling with a robber. I definitely didn’t see Matt coming out of nowhere with the revelation that his father might be Molly’s subconscious attacker. While I’m not a fan of the character this season has been good with all the inside conversations he’s had while reading others thoughts. Listening to Molly scream in her head for Matt and him unable to help was heartbreaking. I can’t wait to see how they pull off this whole “father” angle in subsequent episodes and his involvement with the original group of heroes. Maya and Alejandro…I still don’t particularly like them but pairing them up with Sylar is genius. He acts so sweet and innocent and them having no clue is genius. I can’t wait to see what happens when he shows his true colors.

The only low point I found this week was with Claire’s storyline. Before that we’ll mention there’s no Niki, Peter, or Hiro/Kensei in this episode which made me sad. I was a bit tired of Peter and Hiro but to be this far in with no reference of Niki is ridiculous. I mean she pretty much has missed out on so much. She better come back with a vengeance. Looking at Claire’s story it seems incredibly cliché. So she’s hiding her boyfriend from her dad, and sure her boyfriend was attacked by her dad thus the reason for hiding him, but she’s still hiding her boyfriend. I just feel this storyline is a way for her to have a boyfriend and the problems that ensue from having powers and being in love. Overall that’s the weak link so far.

If I had to pick who gave 100% this episode I would have to say either Greg Grunberg or Adrian Pasdar. While I do enjoy Monica’s character and the actress who plays her, I think we need to see some more of her before I gauge her acting qualities. Grunberg delivers this episode as the tormented father figure to Molly and you can see the pain in his eyes. Likewise, Pasdar is amazing in playing the absentee father. Compared to last season where he was a prototypical Congressman he really shows some range and depth.

I would give this episode 4 out of 5. Heroes is slowly progressing and returning to greatness but it needs some help. We need to return to some of our old characters and trim the fat. Maya and Alejandro still suck, end of story. I’ll be back next week blabbering silly about the awesome Kristen Bell.