Now that we're a few episodes in, I'd like to take a bit of a dive into the characters. We're starting to see some of their strengths and weaknesses now. This episode did show a tiny glimpse of Sylar as he tried to finish the job by kidnapping the girl whose parents he had killed (likely she has a power as well, since Sylar only goes after people whose powers he wants to steal).
This episode shone a spotlight on several problematic elements of each person's story. Niki finished burying the bodies but took a ring she found on one of the old corpses to (I'm not sure her purpose in doing this) her husband D.L.'s mom. It is only in this episode we find out that she's still married because they use the mother a sort of an exposition tool of their relationship. It is clear that the mom likes her grandson and greatly dislikes her daughter-in-law. D.L.'s mom suggests she would do better raising Micah, since Niki seems ill-prepared for the task, but Niki refuses and even goes as far as to say she wants the woman out of her son's life. It seems her only reason for bringing Micah there in the first place was to try and convince a man's mother of his guilt or maybe convince herself. Niki's dual personality protects her from the guilt of what she has obviously done. This is shown in the previous episode with the blackout after trying to view the tape as well as the fact she doesn't remember the attack that resulted in two mobsters being torn apart in her garage. Another thing we learn about D.L. is that he is on the run because he is a suspect in a murder/robbery. He and a gang tried to rob the big mobster (Mr. Linderman) who Niki borrowed the money from later and then his crew ended up missing (proven dead now that Niki has found the ring belonging to one of them on a corpse) to avoid a murder charge, D.L. fled and has been on the run ever since. This explains why he is not in the picture when the story opens. It is clear from the conversation between Niki and D.L.'s mother that Niki believes D.L. is the one responsible for the death of Linderman's crony's as well even though she doesn't explicitly say this since her mother-in-law doesn't know about those men's deaths. While I do enjoy a story about a woman who is strong and capable of defending herself, I'm not sure yet if I like Niki's story. She keeps making questionable decisions and it's not evident why (with a house that doesn't appear to be a rental and a vehicle at her disposal) she is not able to have a better job than online stripper. Perhaps it has something to do with her husband's involvement with Linderman since he seems to run the town (a policeman stops her while she's driving down the road and tells her that Linderman wants a word). I think they could have done a better job to showcase this if the story line is that she is being blocked out of gainful employment because of Linderman (although you'd think he'd want her working so he could get his money back).
Hiro's journey this episode is mainly just trying to convince his friend Ando to come with him to America so they can save New York from the nuclear explosion that is set to happen in five weeks' time. He starts by showing Ando the comic book which even has their exact conversation word for word (albeit in English rather than Japanese). Ando is still creeping on Niki and when he learns they'll be driving through Vegas he grins (obviously planning to do a bit of in person stalking of the woman he was paying to take her clothes off for him). I really dislike Ando and he really only serves the purpose of letting Hiro have someone to speak with without using butchered English. I guess Hiro probably brought him along as a translator since he doesn't speak much English, although he seems to be able to read the comic book just fine.
Another character I loathe showed his true colors in this episode. I have to admit Claire's story with the attempted rape (and what would have been a murder if she hadn't been impervious to harm) at the hands of the popular boy quarterback is one I was dreading. Ever since the introduction of his character, I have been dreading this episode even though I didn't know how far into the story it was. I understand that Claire's story is the darkest one, with her father being the enemy of people with powers and having a power that will not let her die no matter what, and I understand that some stories will include elements like rape or attempted rape, but something about this one is really offputting for me, personally. Claire's story this episode ends with her on an autopsy table, the branch her attempted rapist threw her onto during his attack finally removed (after her chest has been cut open for some reason) allowed the regenerative powers to kick back in (don't ask me how her heart is still pumping to get the blood to her brain or whatever the removal of the stick actually did). I understand they used this episode to showcase that it might not be possible for Claire to die but the most likely to work is to remove her head from her body, cutting off the circulation which then stops regeneration. I still think they could have done it without the attempted rape. I really hate that part. I do remember that Claire eventually gets some vindication against her attacker later in the show (perhaps in the very next episode, I don't remember).
Matt's story starts with him being recruited to help the FBI woman who originally arrested him for suspected murder. He shoots Sylar as he's trying to mind control the FBI woman into shooting herself but Sylar seems unharmed and ends up getting away. After this, he goes home where his wife is pissed that he missed their therapy session but refuses to talk with him because she thinks it will end in a fight. She tells him she feels like he blames her for his own failure since she made partner and then thinks that she wishes he'd just leave, so he does. He goes to a bar where he playfully reads minds until he finds one man whose mind is unreadable. The man wears a necklace with the same symbol that keeps showing up in the credits, so you know he's important. One other thing that I noticed was a hint at subtle homophobia in the bar scene when Matt hears another man thinking about his "shrew" of a wife who he doesn't want to go home to and Matt raises his beer (probably in solidarity since he's also having troubles at home) the man thinks "barking up the wrong tree" and glowers at him. This is the first reference to homosexuality in the show that I could tell. I don't remember what kind of representation the show has. I think most if not all the canon couples are hetero so that's a little disappointing, but it is a show that aired on TV in the mid 2000's (if I'm remembering correctly) so that much is not surprising.
Mohinder finds Sylar's apartment where there is a ton of evidence of his misdeeds. During this discovery he is accompanied by the friendly neighbor who claimed to have known his father (I still don't think the show has named her). When he returns with reinforcements, the place has been cleaned out which casts suspicion on the neighbor since it would have taken more than one person to do such a thorough job so quickly.
In Peter's story, his relationship with his brother Nathan takes a nosedive after Nathan publicly accuses him of attempting suicide (effectively telling Peter to stop trying to develop his power and to leave Nathan out of it). Nathan is the biggest scumbag in these first few episodes. I do believe his character undergoes a bit of growth before the show ends, but it is still really difficult to watch how dismissive and abusive he is towards Peter despite his younger brother worshipping him. One thing I will say about the actor who portrays Peter is that he has a way with expressive acting. He later played in another of my favorite shows "This is Us". If I can find a place to watch, I'll definitely start blogging about that one by the episode as well.
Issac and his girlfriend break up over his heroin addiction. Hiro keeps trying to warn Issac that he is in danger (I'm not sure why he doesn't try getting Ando to call him since Ando can speak English) but Issac thinks he's being pranked since Hiro is just talking in Japanese very quickly.
Those are my thoughts on Episode 3. I rate this episode 7/10. I liked most of it and thought it was a solid episode but took off a few extra points because of the one scene I absolutely detest.
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