Heroes, Season 4 – Episode 16: Pass/Fail

I guess this episode’s title says it all, but if you ask me, this season has pretty much FAILED. Anyway, recap time….

Gretchen tries to get Claire to talk about the death of Nathan, or her time with the carnies, but Claire shrugs her off.  Literally.  And who should appear but Sylar and his eyebrows.  He’s in Claire’s classroom when she gets there.  She explains how much she’d love to kill him, and he says he needs a friend.  And just to drive home that he’s being sincere, he kidnapped Gretchen.  Because nothing says “I don’t want to be alone and I need your help” like kidnapping your college experiment in sexuality.

Sylar makes a list of things he and Claire have in common.  Claire tells him their difference is that he’s a psychopath and she goes to let herself out, but Sylar knocks her down with his ability.  He leans over her and kisses her and oh God, this is the most vomit inducing thing I’ve ever witnessed on this show, and that includes when Sylar was poking around in Claire’s brain.  He goes on for way too long about Claire and her sexual subtext with Gretchen, and is anyone else getting secondhand awkwardness?  Claire stabs Sylar in the eye, which is what I’d love to do to myself right now after that kissing scene.

Running back to the dorm, she unties Gretchen but Sylar is pissed now and blows out the windows.  Gretchen decides the best way to run and hide is to yell, “Someone’s coming!” as she ducks into a closet with Claire.  Claire explains that she’s afraid of being hurt, so she can’t put herself in this relationship with Gretchen.  Gretchen then suggests that maybe for Sylar to become human again, he has to get rid of all his powers.  And then she turns into Sylar and he peaces out.

Claire runs to find Gretchen in the cafeteria and tells her she wants to hold her hand and doesn’t care who stares or talks.  Sylar sits back and takes the credit for bringing the little love birds together before going to find Matt.

Hiro, Ando, and Mohinder are still hanging out at Noah’s place.  Mohinder makes a compass from scratch and leaves just before Hiro blacks out.  He wakes up in a room with Adam Monroe.  He says it’s up to the judge to decide whether or not he’s living or dying.  It’s the world versus Hiro, and his dad is the judge.  Adam says to a jury that Hiro used his abilities selfishly.  Hiro pleads not guilty and suddenly Ando appears to be his lawyer.  Hiro’s sister and Ando come in as children and testify that Hiro altered time during the slushy incident.  Ando objects and Hiro says that as long as no one gets hurt, it’s okay to alter time.

The next witness:  Sylar.  He says that he’s killed hundreds of people because of his agreement with Hiro.  Hiro asked for Sylar to spare Charlie, so in turn Sylar killed a bunch of innocent people.  Hiro says that he stands by his decision to save Charlie, because the world is a better place with her in it.  Adam then calls Charlie to the stand, but she can’t testify because she’s lost in time and space thanks to Hiro and his deal with Samuel.

Ando calls his own client to the stand, which Hiro questions but Ando works his magic and gets Hiro a not guilty verdict.  Just kidding, calling your own client as a witness never works, and Hiro is found guilty.  Back in real life, Hiro is flatlining.  Just as he makes his way to that white light, he changes his plea to guilty, because he wants to die with honor.  Then, that one sword from season one shows up, and he has to fight Adam for his honor.  Hiro kills Adam, and then his mother appears to tell him it’s not his time yet because he still has a destiny.  She heals him and that’s that.  Hiro is no longer dying.

Vanessa is still being kept at the carnival and Samuel remembers a time back in the day where he broke her record player.  He asks her to at least stay for breakfast and then she can go.  She agrees, because she really believes Samuel will take her home after.  He takes her out for a strawberry milkshake…for breakfast?  And he tries to reminisce with her.  Vanessa tries to bring him back down to reality even as she admits there are times she thinks of their past relationship fondly.

Back at the carnival, Samuel keeps trying to persuade Vanessa that she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.  They describe their dream house, and he reveals that he’s drawn it out for her.  They make eyes at each other, and I bet that she’ll be dead within the next three episodes which will be fuel for Samuel’s predictable season ending rage.  He leads her to the oasis in the desert where the cabin has already been built.  She tells him that she can’t actually live with him.  Okay, so maybe he’ll be killing her in rage.  She tells him that this is his fantasy but not hers anymore.

Samuel ends the date and tells her he should take her home.  He’s upset, and she kisses him because that will make everything better but he takes off.  He goes off to have a milkshake alone and then gets up in all up in the face of some waitress talking about how she’s looking at him all weird and judging.  Vanessa scorning him was the last straw, and he causes a massive earthquake.  But Vanessa is free, and she goes home.

End of episode.