SEASON 1 : CHAPTER TEN: “SIX MONTHS AGO”

Air Date
Monday, November 27th, 2006 7/8c

NBC Press Release

THE CLOCK TURNS BACK SIX MONTHS AS "HEROES'" SECRETS ARE REVEALED -- As the clock turns back six months for all of the "Heroes," Mohinder's father Chandra Suresh arrives in New York to begin his quest to find individuals with extraordinary abilities, and meets someone all to eager to be special. Peter celebrates his graduation from nursing school, and learns that Nathan plans to prosecute a case that could mean trouble for the entire Petrelli family. A surprise visit from her father brings out the worst in Niki. Hiro attempts to be a hero and change the future for someone important. Claire joins the cheerleading squad and makes a curious discovery. H.R.G. and the Haitian meet someone special.

Re-cap of Episode Chapter : “Six Months Ago”

Intro – Mohinder narrates: “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose. The earth spins at a thousand miles an hour as we desperately try to keep from being thrown off. Like the first blush of winter that signals the great migration. Is there any warning of their arrival? A sign? A single event that’s set the chain into motion? Was it a whisper in god’s ear? Survive, adapt, escape… And if we could mark that single moment in time, that first hint of prophecy of approaching danger, would we have done anything differently? Could it have been stopped? Or was the die long ago cast? And if we could go back and alter its course, stop it from happening, would we?”

Hiro arrives in Midland, Texas at the Burnt Toast Café six months ago. It is Charlie’s birthday.

In Brooklyn, New York Gabriel Gray works on an old German watch as Chandra Suresh enters his watchmaker’s shop. Gabriel tells him that his watch is running 2 seconds slow (?) and fixes his watch in moments. Chandra tells him about the genetic research he is doing and that he suspects that Gabriel has special abilities. He gives him a copy of “Activating Evolution” and tells him to call him after reading it.

In Los Angeles, Matt Parkman pulls over a car for a traffic violation. The driver is Eden McCain. Using her voice of suggestion she tells Matt to get back into his car and to eat some doughnuts. After a few moments of confusion Matt drives away. When Eden begins to drive away she is confronted by the Haitian.

In Odessa, Texas Claire has made the cheerleading squad. Jackie and Claire fight over the uniform and Claire’s hand gets get when it goes through a plate glass door. Chandra Suresh calls H.R.G. and wants to learn more about Claire.

Hiro finds out that he has teleported six months into the past and has arrived on Charlie’s birthday in April. Hiro realizes that he is having trouble controlling his ability and feels that he has made a mistake.

In Las Vegas Niki attends an A.A. meeting and we discover that she has been sober one year. We find that Niki’s father is at the meeting and he tells her that he wants back into her life.

In Manhattan Peter is throwing a graduation party in which Nathan, Heidi, and Angela Petrelli attend. Nathan tells Peter that the District Attorney wants him to prosecute Mr. Linderman (who is now in Atlantic City). He tells him that Linderman has mob ties that are so deep that if they take him out an empire will fall. This includes their father.

Gabriel Gray visits Chandra Suresh at his apartment and tells him that he has always felt different, like he did not belong to his family. Chandra tells him that they’ll begin testing on his brain to see if any abilities are present. Chandra says, “If the soul exists, scientifically speaking, it exists in the brain.”

H.R.G. covers Eden’s list of criminal activities and she tries to use her power to convince him to let her go. But she begins to become aware that the Haitian can counter her power.

Hiro calls Japan from the past and asks for Ando but the Hiro from the past answers! Hiro immediately hangs up. “Great-a Scott!” he exclaims.

Matt Parkman is met by Tom McHenry who calls him a walking cliché for eating doughnuts. Matt is only an hour away from taking the detective test.

Hiro gives Charlie a Japanese language book and tells her that she has a “big memory” and that it will get “stronger in the future.” Charlie still doubts Hiro’s ability so he stops time and goes and gets her flowers and then delivers food to one of her tables. Then he offers up the prophetic, “Tomorrow the swallow will slay the dragon.”

Niki and D.L. visit Jessica’s gravesite and Niki tells D.L. that it’s important not to forget.

As Nathan and Heidi are driving home from Peter’s party a truck tries to run them off the road. Nathan’s ability kicks him to protect him and as he rises away from the car it crashes into some barrels on the off ramp of the freeway.

Peter wakes up from a dream when the phone rings. It is Nathan calling to tell him about the accident but Peter already saw in his dream that they were run off the road. At the hospital the doctor tells Nathan that Heidi’s injuries will put her in a wheelchair.

Back at the Burnt Toast Café Hiro shows Charlie in a Japanese newspaper that the Swallows defeated the Dragons in baseball, which should have confirmed his prediction from the day before. When Charlie still refuses to believe he stops time enough to show her the one thousand origami cranes that he had folded.

Chandra Suresh is testing Gabriel Gray when he comes to the conclusion that Gray may not have powers after all. Gabriel gets angry and storms out but not before taking a post it note with the address of Brian Davis, a man who Chandra suspects has telekinetic powers. As gray leaves H.R.G. arrives by taxi.

Micah receives a new laptop computer from his grandfather as a gift and immediately starts to take it apart. Hal tells Niki, “You are only as sick as your secrets.” Niki responds with “What did you do that was so bad?” When Hall sees that Micah has taken apart the computer he gets angry and leaves.

Chandra Suresh tells H.R.G. that mutations are cancers and diseases and that his daughter had a genetic anomaly which is how he got started in genetics in the first place.

Jessica comes to Hal’s hotel room, roughs him up a bit and tells him to go away and never come back.

Claire is practicing her cheerleading when her father (Mr.Bennet aka H.R.G.) comes home with a gift for her. During their discussion he tells Claire that, “your actions make you good or bad.” When they go to check on Claire’s cut hand they find that the wound has already healed.

Matt tells Janice that he has failed the detectives test once again.

Peter believes that he is going to give a deposition against Mr. Linderman but when Nathan arrives he tells him that there won’t be one because their father had just died from a heart attack.

Charlie tells Hiro that she has a blood clot in her brain that is inches away from an aneurism and that she is dying. She tells Hiro that she loves him and when they go to kiss… Hiro is teleported back to the exercise yard on the top of the Yamagoto Industries building where he and Ando work. After a few tries Hiro realizes that he cannot teleport back.

Brian Davis enters Gabriel Gray’s watchmaker shop and shows him his ability to move things by mind control. When he asks his name Gabriel looks at the watch he is working on and tells him that his name is Sylar. As they discuss Davis’ power Sylar strikes him in the head with a crystal paper weight and kills him.
Eden asks H.R.G. what he wants her to do and he replies, “get Claire’s name off Suresh’s list!”

Gabriel Gray (now Sylar) comes back to Chandra Suresh’s apartment and shows him that he can now use his mind to move a glass. Sylar tells Chandra that he can start over and that the people with abilities on his map need to be told that they are different and that they will find them together.

Hiro returns to the Burnt Toast Café in the present through mundane means and tells Ando that he could not save Charlie, that the power was too big for him and that he had failed.

Outro – Mohinder narrates: “This list, these people, their future is written in their DNA. Just as the past, it seems, is written in stone. Was the die cast from the very beginning? Or is it in our own hands to alter the course of destiny? Of all our abilities, it is free will that truly makes us unique. With it, we have a tiny but potent chance to deny fate. And only with it can we find our way back to being human again.”

Trivia

* Gabriel Gray’s watch shop is called “Gray and Sons.” Assuming that sons means more than one then perhaps there are two Sylar’s running around loose on the planet.

* Gabriel tells Chandra Suresh that the watch he is working on (a Sylar) was a 1917 German watch and that he had been working on it for seven years.

* Matt’s police car number is 82388.

* The bottle of alcohol that Eden has on the front seat of the stolen car is “Wild Goose” brand “Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 101 proof and 8 years old.”

* The stolen car is a 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Spider (Hand made in Saint Agata in Northern Italy and a work of art!)

* Lori Trammel turned in her cheerleading uniform and that is how Claire got on the squad.

* Charlie’s birthday is April 24th.

* Peter’s apartment number is 1407.

* Peter has graduated from college and is now a nurse. His specialty is Hospice Care.

* One of the songs playing in the background during Peter’s party is “Avalon” by Roxy Music.

* Another is "Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sisters.

* Eden’s list of criminal activities include: Grand Theft Auto, Larceny, Robbery and Arson and that she is suspected of murder in Oklahoma (probably her step mom – see graphic novel # 9 “Life Before Eden”

* Matt Parkman and Tom McHenry meet outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

* Matt has a box of doughnuts in the car with him.

* The book that Hiro gives to Charlie is entitled, “Japanese Language Studies.”

* The truck that runs Nathan off the road is a GMC with New Jersey plates “TFH-63C8.”

* The accident happens at the off ramp exit to “New Dock Street.”

* When Nathan is told about his wife’s condition the eclipse can be seen in the glass window. (Note: Granted this looks like a trick of light from the lights inside the hospital but there is no doubt that it was the eclipse, whether by accident or on purpose it added a new dimension to the story and more trivia to post for yours truly.)

* A Japanese wedding tradition is that if you construct one thousand origami cranes then you will have good fortune. Some traditions say you are entitled to one free wish.

* The crane is a symbol of honor and loyalty.

* The street number at the Burnt Toast Café is 143. (Street name however is unknown.)

* Brian Davis’ address is: 14 Berman Street # 3, N.Y., N.Y. 10003 (Note: Rick Berman is a producer and writer who has done work on many of the Star Trek incarnations. Rick took over as head of the Star Trek franchise after its creator, Gene Roddenberry, died in the early 90s. He is still, to this day, the head of the franchise. This may be a shout-out to him.)

* Hal is reading “The Sirens of the Titans” by Kurt Vonegut Jr. in his hotel room when Jessica pays a visit. This book is highly insightful and Vonegut shows us that life is governed by accidents rather than the will of divinity; that the concept of "hell" is hideous and wrong; that humans are capable both of great kindness and great depravity; that irony seems to rule the universe with an iron fist.

* Hal’s check to Niki and D.L. was a blank check!

* Matt has worked 11 years on the Los Angeles police force and all as a traffic cop.

* Hiro wants to take Charlie to a 24 hour Samurai Film Festival at the draft House in Austin, Texas. The movies that are playing: 1) Yojimbo, 2) The Seven Samurai and 3) The Hidden Fortress (all of which were written and directed by Akira Kurosawa).

* When Hiro and Charlie are talking about the Samurai Film Festival there is a Greyhound bus in the background. This company is a recurring theme in the show (viral marketing anyone?)

* The advertisement clock in the window of Gray & Sons watch shop is set to seven minutes to midnight.

* A portion of the folder on which Brian Davis' address was written on a sticky note has the words "Psychic Powers" and"Drug Induced Hallucination" hand written on it.

Connections

Episode 10
1) Chandra Suresh visits Gabriel Gray (Sylar) at his watch shop in Brooklyn.
2) Matt Parkman pulls over Eden McCain fro a traffic violation.
3) The Haitian abducts Eden McCain and takes her to H.R.G.
4) Niki’s father Hal attends an A.A. meeting in which Niki and Tina are also in attendance.
5) Chandra Suresh calls and talks to H.R.G. about Claire.
6) Past Hiro calls and talks to present Hiro at Yamagoto Industries.
7) Gabriel Gray and H.R.G. pass each other in the street in front of Chandra Suresh’s apartment.
8) H.R.G. visits Chandra Suresh moments after Gabriel Gray (Sylar) leaves.
9) Brian Davis comes to Gabriel Gray’s watch shop.

Nathan Petrelli

Episode 10
1) Nathan is a lawyer that the D.A. asks to go after Linderman.
2) Nathan protects himself involuntarily by flying just before his car crashes into water barrels after being forced off the road by another vehicle.
3) Nathan tells Peter that Linderman’s guys caused the accident.

Peter Petrelli

Episode 10
1) Peter has a dream in which he sees Nathan’s accident. (Telepathy or Precognition?)

Claire Bennett

Episode 10
1) Makes the cheerleading squad at the expense of Lori Trammel. Jackie is at fault.
2) Claire’s hand heals very rapidly and HRG knows about her power.

Claire’s “accidents”

Episode 10
1) Claire puts her hand through a plate glass door accidentally. First recognition of her power.

Mr. Bennett (Horn Rimmed Glasses or HRG)

Episode 10
1) Abducts Eden with the help of the Haitian.
2) Visits Chandra Suresh.

Isaac Mendez:

Episode 10
Not in this episode.

Hiro Nakamura

Hiro’s “events”

Episode 10
1) Hiro teleports six months into the past and ends up at the Burnt Toast Café on April 24th, 2006.
2) Stops time and delivers flowers to Charlie.
3) Stops time and finishes delivering one of Charlie’s food orders to the table.
4) Stops time and fold 1000 origami cranes.
5) Inadvertently teleports back to Japan just prior to kissing Charlie.

Mohinder Suresh

Episode 10
1) Is still contemplating the list of “heroes” that his father has compiled.
2) Narrates the intro and outro.

Chandra Suresh

Episode 10
1) Finds Patient Zero (Gabriel Gray aka Sylar) in New York.
2) Began working in genetics because his daughter had a mutation. Does not tell what that mutation is.
3) Defines the “evolutionary imperative” as “that which we are destined to do!”
4) Meets with H.R.G. regarding Claire and her abilities.

Niki Sanders / Jessica

Episode 10
1) We find out that Niki was an alcoholic and seems to have worked for a casino (the vest and name tag appeared to be from a casino.)
2) Jessica / Niki seem to exhibit the classic signs of a split personality (rather than a special ability.) During physical or mental pain one stronger personality will come out to protect the other(s).

Micah Sanders

Episode 10
1) Takes apart an entire laptop computer in about ten minutes.

D.L. Hawkins

Episode 10
1) Is a felon prior to when the story began.

Eden McCain

Episode 10
1) Uses her power of suggestion on Matt Parkman to get out of a traffic violation / stolen car arrest.
2) Tries to use her powers against H.R.G. to no avail.
3) Seems to be in a lot of trouble with the law.

Matt Parkman

Episode 10
1) Matt is dyslexic and has trouble reading as the words get twisted around. He has failed the detective test at work.
2) Matt hears his wife think that he is “her hero!” This is his first sign of an ability.

Paul E. Sylar / Gabriel Gray

Episode 10
1) Meets with Chandra Suresh and is tested by him.
2) Takes his name from a German watch.
3) Kills Brian Davis by hitting him in the head with a crystal paper weight. Brian’s head is broken open and his brains are leaking out. Sylar knows that Brian was “broken.”

Charlie

Episode 10
1) Tells Hiro that she has a blood clot that is inches a way from an aneurism and that she is dying. Could this have caused her remarkable feats of memory?

The Symbol

The symbol appears to be a shadow (or an eclipse) of the human DNA helix. The intersecting horizontal lines seem to be markers where the DNA has mutated. This is possibly the super-genome or a “new” or “mutated” protein that identifies the Heroes. It can be found in too many locations (see below) to be a mere coincidence. Is it a calling card to those with special powers? And will they rally around it?

Episode 10
1) Chandra gives Gabriel Gray his book “Activating Evolution.” The symbol is on the cover.
2) The book “Activating Evolution” is seen on the desk of Chandra when Gabriel Gray returns his book. The symbol is on the cover.
3) The Haitian is wearing a necklace which has the symbol on it.
4) Gabriel Gray gives the book “Activating Evolution” to Brian Davis. As he is looking over the book Gabriel (Sylar) kills him. The book is seen on the floor in the pool of blood. The symbol is on the cover.

The Mark (The Partial Symbol?)

Episode 10
Not seen in this episode.

Brains

There has been some discussion concerning mutated and/or manipulated DNA as the reason behind our Heroes powers. But why would someone go through the trouble of sawing the top of someone’s head off and scraping out the brains if it wasn’t important. I can’t think of a psychological reason why this might be done but for research purposes it makes sense. Einstein had his brain removed and studied after his death. Perhaps the powers we are seeing are not genetic manipulations at all but rather from evolution and the power of the brain. Why then the double helix symbol? Mohinder Suresh began the series with the question, “"People only use 10% of their brains, what if they used more?” Could this then be the real reason behind their powers? Have our Heroes somehow found a way to tap into additional brainpower? And, is Sylar being controlled by Mr. Bennett (HRG)? And the question that I keep asking myself, “What is Sylar’s power?” Can he assimilate others abilities?

Episode 10
1) It seems that Brian Davis was Sylar’s first victim and that his powers are obtained somehow via the brains of his victims. How has not yet been determined.