Sylar: "When I killed Nathan, he had already turned against his own kind."
Peter: "Liar."

This one was so cool that I almost didn't want it to end. It was like the outstanding Buffy episode, "The Wish", with a frightening alternate universe, intriguing changes in our characters, and way too many deaths.

Sexy, scarred, powerful Peter Petrelli just blew me away. Wow, and double wow. Remember when he was a gentle male nurse? It wasn't just that amazing scar, or that he was hooked up with Niki (which I thought worked; maybe being Peter's girlfriend made her cooler), it was his powers, and the way he was using them. That ten second Sylar/Peter death match in the hallway was so frustrating because I wanted to see Peter paint the floor with Sylar. Maybe we'll get to see him do it in the present, instead.

How could Peter get a scar like that when he can heal? Dan has a theory that Peter can only use one power at a time; that would explain why Sylar's glass attack worked. Sylar, though, can use more than one at a time, so maybe not. Speaking of which, it made total sense that Sylar absorbed Candace's power and masqueraded as Nathan, all the way to the White House. And it explained the dual paintings of Nathan and Sylar in the Oval Office.

Lots and lots of interesting changes. Way too many characters were already dead: Micah, D.L., Ando, Nathan. Most of my favorite characters died in this episode: Bennet, Claire, Hiro, Hannah. What I hated nearly as much as the deaths was seeing Matt Parkman as a brownshirt thug, turning on his own people. And Nathan as a genocidal president. Except, of course, it wasn't really him.

But I did like Bennet and Hannah working for the Mutant Underground Railroad. And Mohinder saving the day by knocking out the Haitian. What I still don't get is how Peter managed to explode and destroy New York. Did he reassemble? Did he absorb D.L.'s powers, allowing the city to explode through him? Peter did save Claire, but saving the cheerleader *didn't* save the world. It wasn't enough.

Bits and pieces:

-- My cable guide gave "String theory" as the title. It certainly fit. I can understand why they changed it at the last minute, though. Which is what I'm assuming they did.

-- The "Linderman Act" apparently tasked Homeland Security on rounding up and controlling the lives of mutants.

-- Undercover, brunette, and engaged to a guy named Andy, Claire was using her mother's name (Sandra) while waitressing at the Burnt Toast Cafe.

-- Jessica was gone, but Niki wouldn't leave her in the past.

-- A mutant named Molly Walker was mentioned, along with D.L. and Candace, whom I assumed were both dead.

-- Peter had fire hands (he must have met Meredith) and Sylar had ice hands (from whom?). And Sylar put his hand through a wall to grab Peter, so he must have killed D.L.

-- In this week's hair report, Niki's grew down to her butt. Peter and Mohinder acquired stubble. Matt was going grey. HRG no longer had horn-rimmed glasses. Can I mention again how much I loved Peter's scar?

Quotes:

Hiro: "I look upset."
Ando: "Go. Talk to yourself."
Hiro: "No way. I scare me. You do it."

Matt: "Go after his friends. The Haitian stays with me." Even five years from now, the Haitian doesn't have a frickin' name. Will someone please give him a name? Fred, Bob, Poindexter, anything will do.

Only three more episodes until the end of the season. I can only hope that they're all as good as this one. Four out of four stars,

Billie Doux
Billie Doux's Review Site