Heroes: The Kindness of Strangers

Previously on Heroes, HRG has discovered something very unpleasant — namely his death, as predicted by Isaac Mendez in one of his paintings. But our favorite ex-Company Man has other problems right now. Claire desperately wants to slip the cheerleader uniform back on, flyboy West is getting pushy about dating, and HRG wants to talk about sex. Plus, the entire family is hiding secrets, with the exception of Mister Muggles. Then again, I never did trust that dog.

Meanwhile, Grizzly Adams — er, I mean, Nathan Petrelli — visits his boys at school, and we learn that Nathan’s split from the wife was not kosher, as he’s been barred from visiting the boys. They also tell him that his beard needs to go. Kids, they say the darnedest things, don’t they? Nathan’s beleaguered mom, meanwhile, has confessed to killing Kaito Nakamura to the police, but of course we know she didn’t do it. So why is she confessing? Matt Parkman would like answers, and so would Nathan. Can you say, “Team up”? Now if only Matt can extricate himself from his Two Men and a Little Lady scenario he’s got going on with Mohinder back at home. I swear, these two fight like an old married couple.

Somewhere in Mexico, Maya and Alejandro, aka the Wonder Twins, discover something very unpleasant on the road to America. One guess: Yes, it’s Sylar. Also, they’re driving around in Claire’s stolen car, snatched by Derek the thief, the gringo the Wonder Twins took with them when they escaped from the South American jail in the previous episode. This proves my point: Never, ever trust a gringo in South America. But in any case, what are the chances that Sylar would stumble across someone with powers he could steal? Oh, about 9 out of 10 in the world of Heroes.

In New Orleans, Micah passes his time watching cooking shows with Uhura and stealing premium cable for his bratty cousin. Kids, what will they think of next? We also meet the newest hero, Monica, a chef in a local burger joint. And of course by “chef” I mean she makes sandwiches for fat people too lazy to cook dinner at home. Monica dreams of being more and providing for her Katrina-ravaged family, but she has no idea how to go about making that dream come true. Hey, Monica, maybe you should use your powers? Just a thought.

Back to more important things. We finally see that photograph with all the former heroes, aka the old guard, back when they were still chums. Included in the picture are: Linderman, Deveaux, Kaito, the Petrellis, Bob, and someone who Matt Parkman knows very well. Unfortunately, he’s also someone Dakota Fanning — er, I mean, Molly Walker knows very well, too. Matt, you got some ’splainin’ to do, buddy.

MIA for this episode: Peter, Niki, and Hiro.

There is no doubt there is a lot of progression in “The Kindness of Strangers”, especially in the Matt and Nathan areas. The rest are still treading water, in particular the Wonder Twins, who, it seems, will never make it to America — at least not in our lifetime. Claire and her teen problems continue to clumsily rumble on, unperturbed by any semblance of original writing. I won’t go so far as to say that the entire Bennet In California storyline is going downhill fast, but I will say it’s really stinking up the joint.

But cheer up, kids. Next week’s episode promises a nice dose of fresh air: Kristen Bell makes her appearance as Elle, the hero with an “electrifying” power!