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You Can't Play God
Episode Recap: "Cautionary Tales"
This episode lived up to everything Heroes means to its’ fans. It was the best of the season. I’m going to write this by character, instead of scene for scene. We’ll save the best for last.
Claire: Now we know exactly how the power of cellular regeneration works. Angela Petrelli explained if the “cells continually regenerate, they stop growing old”. I think many of us knew that or at least had the right thought process. We don’t know how many times Adam or Claire have died. Adam has a 400 year head-start, but I’m glad to see Claire will continue to age. I think she would choose a mortal life over Adam’s.
Hiro: “To eulogize him is to admit he is gone.“ Masi Oka was wonderful tonight! He had me in tears. His attempt at saving his father explained so much. We’ve all been wondering “why didn’t Hiro just go back…” for so many instances throughout the series. Tonight we got our answer. Mr. Nakamura (so nice to see George Takei again!) was a proud and noble man. It took him a lifetime to learn that although he and his fellow heroes have the power of gods it does not mean they can play God. Whether we possess super-hero powers or not, we can’t change destiny. I’m a firm believer that we choose the paths we take and life doesn’t always go as planned, but we cannot change the past. We can only learn from it and hope for a better future. Hiro's future holds revenge.
Elle: I think Kristen Bell is great. She makes you cringe and smile at the same time. You can’t hate her, but you can’t like her and feel good about it. Especially, after Noah reminisced with her. We all knew she was screwed up, but why? Bob really is her father (apparently her mother had very strong genes in the looks department). Elle was most likely one of the first to be taken in by The Company. I’m sure her father had no idea what type of damage was being inflicted upon her, but now we know that a hero can be affected, and harmed, by their own abilities. The result may only be temporary, but the memories remain. We’ve seen the Haitian take memories, but they can still be brought back (Peter in the future with his mother). I think Elle’s memories lie within her subconscious mind. I don’t think she would be strong enough to face the memories if they resurfaced. It would destroy her. She believed Noah. Deep down she knows her father stood and watched as she played the lab rat. Crazy is as crazy does.
West: Could this episode have happened without him? No. Claire has defied her father before, but this was different. I know it seemed all puppy-lovey-dovey, but Noah caused real fear within West and Claire saw that. In the end, West put his vengeance aside to do what was right. Hiro said it best: To know the difference between right and wrong is to be a true hero. West proved that. I also noticed how much he wanted to be apart of the Bennet family. Or any family. I want to know more about him and his past. Does he have parents or did he run away? Does he have a home or does he live in his beat up SUV? By the way, was that Noah’s attempt to have small talk with his daughter’s boyfriend? “So, what kind of car do you drive?” I rolled my eyes with Elle.
Parkman: Worst. Power. Ever. I know so many people will disagree with me, but I would never want it. Reading someone’s mind is such an invasion of privacy. Furthermore, to control someone has only been seen as evil in this series. I know Eden had the power of persuasion and she used it for good and bad, but she worked for The Company. I don’t think it will ever be clear that The Company is good or bad. I think they fall into the “gray” area. I’ve always enjoyed the color gray, because it’s so compromising. There’s no white or black. That’s how The Company works. They don’t follow rules or laws. They compromise. Parkman had to make that same choice with Mrs. Petrelli. Obviously, Angela and Victoria Pratt (the red head in the picture) were once good friends. Angela told Matt that if he made her tell the truth he had become his father. He would never want to be his father, but he had to do it. He had to compromise right and wrong. Which brings me back to disliking his power. I would never want to be in his position or anyone around him. Poor Molly.
Noah Bennet: He lives, he dies, he lives! Don’t ever do that to me again Heroes!!! I have always loved Noah. Even when he seemed evil. I always knew he was doing what he thought was best for his family. He made the ultimate sacrifice tonight. The man went through so much. He lost his entire family at one point! His daughter said, “I hate you” and his wife pulled away in disbelief. I thought Claire was a bit dramatic, but Sandra has been a really good sport and finally had enough. I loved when Bob appeared and she said she knew him. “He was the Regional Salesman for Prima Tech Paper.” Luckily, she witnessed Noah and Elle’s confrontation and realized what was at stake. Noah has always put Claire first. “You’d be surprised what a father will do for his daughter.” It’s true. She is the reason he left The Company. I wonder if he always knew he’d never give them Claire. Noah did his job for The Company; but was it a young Elle who made him realize how important Claire’s safety was?
The painting came true. Again, Suresh did what he thought was right. Of course, again, he was wrong. Thankfully, we know something else about cellular regeneration. It can bring a person back from the dead. Or perhaps, Noah wasn’t entirely dead. He may have had severe damage to the brain through his cornea (Am I making any sense?) and Claire’s blood healed him. I think Claire and Adam’s blood type can change and manipulate itself to heal whoever it is injected into. So, HRG is alive - for those viewers who’s DVR may have stopped short - and possibly has 20/20 vision!
There were so many other great moments: Hiro’s eulogy about what it takes to be a true hero and the Japanese funeral were beautiful. Bob fumbling when he first meets Claire and calls her Miss Bennet. Claire spelling SORRY, as if she was stranded on an island, for West to see on his "route" to school. Hiro finding out that Kensei/Adam lived long enough for revenge and assassinated his father. Elle (driving after being shot) pulling away from her father. Finally, the look between Claire and Elle as the exchange was made (in real life they are as tight as Batman and Robin).
Two episodes left  The WGA and networks are meeting after the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe a Chriskwanukah miracle will occur and December 3rd won’t be the finale! I’ll put a call in to the north pole. The rest of you - do what you have to do.
For clips and full episodes of Heroes check out our Online Video Guide.
Also, check out our interview with BFF's Hayden Panettierre and Kristen Bell here.
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Nov 19, 2007 11:45 PM
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The ending of the episode when Mr. Bennet wakes up directly parallels the scene last season in Grey's Anatomy where Meredith wakes up in hospital purgatory. It's a direct copy; down to the delayed waking-up, to the far-out camera view, to the incomplete "Holy s---!"
An odd easter egg, considering the shows are on different networks.
This episode was definately better than last week's (probably due to the lack of Maya and Alejandro)
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Nov 20, 2007 12:33 AM
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No offense, but Grey's? Seriously? There have been a billion TV shows and movies made. Of course scenes, storylines and characters will be similar.
The fight scene between Claire and her father could be compared to FNL's episode where Julie tells her mom "I hate you". Our any other show/movie where a parent and child have words. Same fight over the people a daughter was hanging out with, same final words. It's going to happen.
I thought the ending was very well done. I was shocked. I knew Meredith Grey would survive - it's called Grey's Anatomy. But to see Bennet wake up after having his eye blown in??? Nah, didn't see that coming.
For the record, I was so disappointed in last week's episode. I thought tonight was a hundred times better. It felt like last season.
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Nov 20, 2007 12:44 AM
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There's a fine line between "similar" and "so-close-that-a-lawsuit-might-be-imminent," Casey.
It's no coincidence that both Meredith and Mr. Bennet would use same the cut-off "Holy s---" in the exact same context; waking up from the dead.
Heroes is a nerd show. Embrace the conspiracy theories. 
(On that note, what's up with the license plate on Bob's truck?)
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Nov 20, 2007 12:50 AM
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Great recap as usual Casey. The Hayden and Kristen interview was hilarious, especially the part where Sendhil pops in.
Hate the new Matt. We all know the saying about absolute power. I'm sure Maury started down the same slippery slope.
The special effects were amazing, especially the flying sequences and Elle electrocuting herself. Considering that she was "dosing" Peter, it was funny to see that she can't handle her own juice. Also, I was shocked at the reveal that Bob is Elle's bio dad. Everyone just assumed that he adopted her. Kind of makes the situation more sinister.
I loved the scene where Mohinder is in the backseat holding the gun on Noah. It was a great callback to the first episode when HRG ambushed Mohinder in his cab. Who would've thought that a year later Mohinder would become the predator, and Noah would become his prey?
I think it says a lot about HRG that Bob was afraid to let Elle get too close to him. Noah has no powers, but the people that do are afraid of him. Guess The Company taught him too well. It was a nice surprise to see West stop Noah from killing Mohinder. Perhaps West didn't chop his parents into bits and fly their body parts to places unknown. I still think he's hiding something though.
So Bob knew Noah would die, so he retrieved Claire's blood beforehand. I still say that injecting Adam's blood into people is going to have consequences that are more dangerous than the Shanti virus.
I was ready for Kaito to reveal his power when he started his "We have the power of Gods" speech. I'm glad we got closure on his death. I always wondered why Kaito would be hanging out at the Deveaux building if he knew he was a target. Now we know he did that because he had already made peace with his son, and he accepted his fate.
Kaito's death raises some interesting points. First is the fact that The Twelve apparently knew that Adam was Kensei. That's how Linderman knew that the Kensei sword was real when he got it thirty years ago. He probably stole it from Adam. Or maybe Adam gave it to him because Linderman had healing powers. This reveal also means that Kaito told Hiro those stories as a child, knowing full well that the hero of legend was really a monster. Second, Kaito said he never expected his assassin to be Adam. But if Adam was dangerous enough to be locked up, why didn't Kaito think he was capable of murder?
I can't wait to learn more about Joanna Cassidy's character, and hopefully the other murdered people too.
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Nov 20, 2007 12:54 AM
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I don't think that Elle will be able to remember what happened to her. Peter was able to regain his memories because of his power to regenerate. Adam said something to that effect in last week's episode- he could heal his brain.
As for tonight's episode. I completely agree. It rocked. And I was in denial that Bennett was dead. I was like, no that did just not happen. It has to be fake. So much better for them to bring him back to life like that. But that goes to the theme about playing god. the company had no problem changing the past.
I didn't see the last scene as a replica to Grey's Anatomy as more as a parallel to last season's episode when Claire woke up on the medical examiner's table.
Anyway, Loved this episode!
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Nov 20, 2007 12:56 AM
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I definitely think that Noah witnessing what happened to Elle is what makes him decide to protect Claire no matter what the cost. Elle is obviously a few years older than Claire. It makes sense.
Ah...Mohinder. Often-Wrong Mohinder (a Star Trek reference). I'm embarrassed for him. I chucked when Elle said (one of the best lines of the night): What is your superpower? A human punching bag?
I feel torn about the ending. I knew there was a big death coming in this episode, and as the episode went on, I knew it would be Noah, especially after Claire wasn't there when he almost got shot. I didn't really expect him to regenerate but after he was shot, I did think to myself that maybe Claire should cut herself open and bleed into his wound a little and see what would happen. A part of me wonders if Bob planned this. He did have possession of the paintings, and Claire's blood conveniently went to her father. A part of me felt a little mislead about the ending. I heard many places about a huge, heartbreaking death, and Noah doesn't actually appear to be dead. Not that I'm complaining. He's been my absolutely favorite character since the first episode, and even in the beginning I never believed he was evil, but I just think the "death" was misrepresented" and would have been better if I hadn't heard anything. In fact, I thought the most touching part was the second death of Kaito Nakamura and Hiro's touching words at his funeral in Japan. That made me start tearing up. Especially when they were at Hiro's mother's funeral, showing past Kaito crying, and having him want to stop for a moment and pay their respects before going home.
When Hiro and Kaito go back to NY it made me think: do we see what Kaito is doing this whole time on the rooftop? Is he sitting there for hours waiting for Ando to come back with a sword (since it's night when he dies), or is it because of Hiro's trip to the past with him?
Also, a sidenote: in a more personal, small scale way, Hiro's power is very cool. He can go back in time and see and visit with people who are gone now.
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Nov 20, 2007 1:00 AM
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Oh and why is it that Claire will grow older? I thought that her cells will continually regenerate whether she dies or not? Plus, she'd constantly get cuts, etc, and for her blood to be able to have constant healing properties. Maybe I missed something?
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Nov 20, 2007 1:03 AM
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I said it before. Holy freaking crap that was good.
Im gonna make a prediction. I might be wrong....but I think Adam Monroe is the Petrellis father.
So in fact...he is Claires grandfather.
And when Hiro was making that speech and we saw the blood, I KNEW Noah was alive. Fans love him too much. You've come a long way from Dynasty Jack Coleman! You ROCK!
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Nov 20, 2007 1:06 AM
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well now we know that Bob is Elle's father, but is he her real father or a company assigned adoption? (and I still have that same question about Lyle)
Wild Wild West was on his game tonight - I loved iy when he swooped in a knoecked Elle down. The scene with her feet in the water was great -- reminds me of the old saying "The easiest way to find a live circuit is by becoming a part of it." (Not the best way, just the easiest)
I'm disappointed that we never found out what power Mr Nakamura had.
The reveal that Kensei/Adam killed him would have been a big shocker if we hadn't qorked it out weeks ago
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Nov 20, 2007 1:12 AM
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You know what if I was Adam and I had lived for 400 years and watched people I loved/liked die, then a group of people lock me in a cell with a twin bed, no windows, no television, nothing! for 30 YEARS!!!! I'd feel pretty murderous as well!!
Best episode this season! Filled with characters I actually care about (except for Molly)! If Peter would have been in this episode it would have been icing on the cake!
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Nov 20, 2007 1:13 AM
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"Stings like a bitch, doesn't it?" Best...line...ever...
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Nov 20, 2007 3:45 AM
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Question: Didn't Bennett have the Haitian take all his Claire-related memories last season, to keep her safe? Either I missed something or that is a consistent plothole. His memories of Elle would be pretty closely linked to his Claire nodes, considering she represents Bennett's worst nightmare. So you'd think his memories of Elle would be foggy at best, right?
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Nov 20, 2007 5:44 AM
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The haitian may have selectively taken memories from him.
I agree the line about the Sting was the best of the night. Loved the look on Noah's face when he said it. When I saw how he had her set up, I thought that would be interesting.
How long will it take Claire to hook back up with Peter and Nathan?
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Nov 20, 2007 5:49 AM
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The Haitian only took memories related to where Claire was hiding. When Candace and Thompson came to question Noah about her disappearance, he still knew who Claire was.
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Nov 20, 2007 7:22 AM
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