I haven't exactly watched Heroes as faithfully as I could've, but circumstances have compelled me to check it out again. I admit it bogged me down to look back on the previous season and catch up with everything - from new villains to the Carnies. Then again, who can say if those categories aren't similar?
Anyway, I was reminded of Ray Bradbury's story about "The Illustrated Man" when I caught a glimpse of Heroes' "Ink." If you aren't familiar with that sci-fi short, it's about a guy who was inked by a woman from the future, and whose tattoos change every time a new tale is spun. So translating all this to the show, basically it's series-newbies Samuel (Robert Knepper) and Lydia (Dawn Olivieri).
Other than being a recycled bit of literature, "Ink" focused more on Claire Bennet and her college life struggle. Well, it was a pretty slow-paced episode, to say the least.
She's confronted by her friend Gretchen in the bathroom about witnessing her superhuman powers. Noah wants the girl's memory erased by the Haitian, but Wretched Gretchen was so open and honest to Claire that she merits the truth.
Gretchen gets some answers at last when Claire reveals her powers to her. She eventually becomes Claire's roommate and the two bond over her healing ability. Gretchen even cuts off Claire's hand. Symbolic of a blood pact perhaps? Or a future slice-and-dice session?
Meanwhile, Matt still has Sylar on the brain (hopefully he won't slice it open from the inside). On the trail of a drug-dealer, Matt can't focus with Sylar taunting him and prodding him to use his powers. With visions of a kid in danger, it's no surprise the officer was tricked into beating the dealer to a pulp.
To sum that scene up, Sylar says "I used your own power against you" and it dawns on us all. Heh, this part of the episode wouldn't be that important if it wasn't for Sylar anyway.
Moving on, we're also introduced to a new character - a blonde woman named Emma (Deanne Bray). She has the really awesome power of a literary device: synesthesia. Okay, maybe not a literary tool. It's a condition in which the senses get their signals mixed up.
Later in the episode though, we find out that Emma is deaf and able to see sounds as light. She's also a walking advertisement for iPod, but I'm definitely interested to see how her story plays out.
Now for the main event: why the chapter was titled "Ink." Peter encounters the Carnie Samuel Sullivan, introduced last week. He claims his name is William Hooper, the man who's suing Peter for "injuring" him. After taking Peter for a ride on the Guilt-a-whirl, Samuel/William further proves just how much of a villain he is.
Peter's already dealing with rumors of causing accidents himself, and here comes Samuel inking in his face on a newspaper clipping to show that he was indeed a victim on the bus crash. Soon the two come to better terms when Peter offers his help and the lawsuit is dropped.
The story doesn't end there, since Samuel visits his childhood home as per Peter's suggestion. This lady in the house refuses to let him in, so in the end she suffers the power of Samuel via sinkhole. As revealed earlier, the guy's ability isn't just ink and telekinesis, it's terrakinesis - moving the earth and its minerals with the mind.
With Samuel smirking malevolently as he holds on to Peter's arm and the compass tattoo transfers and swirls, this seals it. We have another suspicious fellow on our hands. Way to go, Robert Knepper.
-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist(Image Courtesy of NBC)