Heroes Reborn 1.09: “Sundae, Bloody Sundae”

Last week, I wished for more character development from the mustache-twirling villain of Heroes Reborn, Erica. I’m not sure viewers got that, but we sure got something.

In a scene straight out of Game of Thrones, Erica shot and killed a deer and was later seen butchering it.

I guess this was meant to show the depths of her commitment to letting the worldwide disaster take place and thus ensure the survival of a hand-picked number of the human race but it was so weirdly out of place that it colored what was mostly a fine episode.

Why did a deer decide to wander in front of Erica’s home? Why did she happen to have a rifle handy? Isn’t there a law against weapons discharge in a public place? And what the heck was the overall point of the scene, save to inspire me to a possible Erica/Tywin Lannister fanfic in my head? (They bond about irresponsible children and the joys of killing and butchering one’s own food.)

While Erica was teaching viewers the joys of forest to table, others were on the move. Perhaps the most intriguing development came from the revelation that the underground “truthers” that Erica’s daughter, Taylor, contacted were led by the Haitian.

Or perhaps it was the reveal of the director of Sunstone Manor. Or maybe it was the loss of one of our cast.

Nah, it was reappearance of a cast member thought lost, in some sort of barren future landscape.

In any case, butchering aside, this episode offered a lot of crunchy plot development.

So, the Haitian is alive. Given how he can affect memories, I shouldn’t have been surprised. His hidden group of Evos wants Taylor’s help to rescue their leader, Micah, who’s been captured by Renautus. Micah, of course, is the boy who can control electronics from the original series.

Wow, Renautus has been collecting all the Evos. Micah is apparently at Sunstone Manor. So that’s where they’re headed.

Meanwhile, the rest of our cast has a reunion.

Tommy/Nathan, Noah, and his mother meet at her bedside in the hospital. Noah finally fills the boy who needs to save the world in on his true origin. Complicated, Tommy says, pointing out that he’s basically a year old. For some reason, Noah lets him wander the hospital to process all this. Given that Quentin is with Noah, and Quentin is working for Erica, this is a very bad idea.

Luke and Malina bond about perhaps having a destiny together, especially since Luke fortuitously know where Tommy lives, having shown up before at the ice cream parlor to kill him. Unfortunately, Joanna also decides to return to the ice cream parlor to kill Tommy.

That means Luke, Malina, Casper, Joanna, Emily and then Tommy all converge on the ice cream parlor. You scream, we scream, we all scream for ice cream. (Couldn’t resist.)

It’s a standoff until Joanna kills Casper, and fires on Emily at the same moment that Luke sends a trail of fire at Joanna.

Tommy chooses this moment to realize that he can freeze time, as Hiro did. Neat.

He redirects the bullet meant for Emily and Luke’s flaming tendrils, notices Malina sneaking in the back but doesn’t realize she’s his twin, and escapes with Emily.

Boom! Luke’s flames takes out the ice cream, Joanna runs away, Luke runs in the opposite direction, and Noah eventually shows up to comfort Malina, who has no idea what just happened.  She’s about to get more confused as Noah tells the full tale of her lineage and destiny.

At least Malina is in good hands. Joanna ends up with Harris, our Multiple Man. I still don’t care. Yes, Joanna had a sliver of remorse before she murdered Casper but she remains almost as mustache-twirlingly evil as Erica.

But the biggest takeaway from the confrontation in the ice cream parlor?

Tommy has lost Hiro’s powers, which results in him being captured by Quentin and taken to Erica. Erica serves Tommy that delicious dinner that she killed herself in an attempt to…convert Tommy somehow?

This scene is weird in a few ways. Erica needs Tommy’s teleporting powers for her plan to survive in the future. But as far as she knows, Tommy can transport away at any time. He should be sedated and plugged in already, not eating.

But Erica’s real shock may come when Tommy’s new power manifests. Which one did he absorb from the Evos at the ice cream parlor? Casper’s ability to wipe memory or Luke’s ability with fire? Either would come in useful though mind-wiping might offer the best way to escape.

Originally, I thought Tommy had Malina’s “force” ability but she’s shown in previews using it, so that can’t be the case.

Meanwhile, my guess about Sunstone Manor, that it was run by Angela Petrelli, was dead wrong. Instead, the mysterious director of the place is revealed to be our original Heroes telepath, Matt Parkman.

In a very California-like twist, Matt’s “enlightened” all the Evos under his care, which means he’s altered their minds so it projects their fondest desires. Carlos’s nephew talks to his dead father, for instance. No word on what Micah might see.

But if you’re a bad guy, Matt pulls out your worst fears, and makes you relive them. This is the fate of Captain Dearing, the crooked cop who was capturing Evos for cash, and it’s the fate of Carlos, too, as he’s stuck in a memory loop of his failure to save his fellow soldiers.

Since Carlos’ memory also includes Farah, Malina’s mentor, Matt takes notice. “Interesting,” he says.

But that’s not the biggest reveal. In the final minutes, Miko shows up alive and well almost eight thousand years in the future. How did she get there? Is she truly alive and instead of being a video game character? Is she something else entirely?

I have no idea but that’s quite a curve to toss at us with only four more episodes left.

Interesting, indeed.


Corrina Lawson is a writer, mom, geek and superhero, though not always all four on the same day. She is a senior editor of the GeekMom blog at Wired and the author of a superhero romance series and an alternate history series featuring Romans and Vikings in ancient North America. She has been a comic book geek all her life and often dreamed of growing up to be Lois Lane.

Read all posts by Corrina Lawson for Criminal Element.