Review: 'Heroes' – The Second Coming / The Butterfly Effect

Monday’s double dose of "Heroes" proved to be powerful medicine. Like any drug, it had both good results and a few unwanted side-effects. I'm happy to say, though, that "Heroes" is back, and it's a welcome return.

So, what did we learn in the two jam-packed episodes that begin "Villains," the third volume of "Heroes?" There was so much information it's difficult to sort it all out, so let me see if I can simplify it a bit.

Four years in the future, a leather-clad, dark-haired Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is poised to kill Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) to stop him from changing history. The future is disastrous for our heroes because now people with special abilities are being rounded up, imprisoned, and experimented on by people who fear them. Future Peter, however, escapes Claire's bullet, goes back into the past to stop Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) from coming out of the closet, and shoots him.

Shortly after that Present Peter somehow disappears and is trapped in the body of imprisoned super-villain Jesse (Francis Capra III).

In the present, Claire learns that Nathan has been shot and wants to help him, but Peter tells her not to come for him. Claire packs to go anyway, but then Sylar (Zachary Quinto) shows up gunning for Claire's power and there's nobody there to help her.

Sylar eventually overcomes Claire, opens up her skull, and takes what he needs from her brain without killing her. In this encounter, Sylar tells Claire that her brain Is "not like the others" and she "can never die." Now that Sylar has her power, neither can he.

Later, in part of the effort to protect his indestructible daughter, Noah Bennet enlists the help of Claire's fire starter birth mother (Jessalyn Gilsig).

In the meantime, Nathan is declared dead, but not for long. He inexplicably comes back to life, and now believes he's an angel or a messenger from God. He is also visited by Linderman, (Malcolm McDowell) who was last seen dead, and whom nobody else can see.

Is Nathan hallucinating or can he now speak to the dead? Is Linderman a ghost?

In Tokyo, Hiro (Masi Oka), now the CEO of Yamagato Industries, is bored and restless in his job. He wants to continue being a hero with a mission. Then, destiny knocks at his door, and Hiro is given his mission: a DVD with a recording of Kaito Nakamura (George Takei) on it.

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