CHAPTER ELEVEN “THE ECLIPSE – PART 2”

Air Date
Monday, December 1st, 2008 7/8c

BEST. DAY. EVER.

As the Solar Eclipse wanes our Heroes and Villains struggle with the loss of their abilities…

Synopsis:

After Nathan’s capture by Samdi, Peter and the Haitian escape through the jungle of Haiti. Peter reflects that since they are all powerless it might be a good time to make Samdi bleed. The Haitian agrees and the head back to Samdi’s compound.

Claire is brought to the hospital as she bleeds out from the gunshot wound inflicted by Elle. The nurse is suspicious of when the wound occurred. She believes that Claire was either shot well before they claim or that she has never been sick a day in her life. Infection races through her “powerless” body.

Sylar and Elle form a bond (again and again) on the floor of the Canfied House in California. As they writhe in ecstasy a laser target point appears on Sylar’s head and Elle rolls them away as three shots penetrate the window. Noah Bennett breaks through the front door guns blazing and Sylar and Elle run out the back door returning fire. As they exit Noah hits Elle with a shot to the thigh and she limps away bleeding badly. Noah follows the blood trail out the door and down the alley. When he looses them near a junk yard he bellows, “This ends today!” And damn it, he MEANS it!

Nathan has been imprisoned by the Haitian’s brother, Samdi and shares a cell with two captured Haitian sisters. Enter, the Living God Samdi, who tells Nathan that giving the girls his name was a mistake. Names, he says, can be used to posses someone or to carry great strength.

Mohinder continues to study the effects of the eclipse but seems to be getting nowhere. And, his mind is still on Maya and her dilemma of wanting her abilities to disappear. Arthur, who has Flint watching Mohinder’s every move, tells the scientist that he wants answers to why all the abilities are gone. Mohinder calls him scared and vulnerable and Arthur agrees. To show he means business, Arthur allows Flint to burn Mohinder’s hand.
The warning to work harder has been given!

As Noah Bennett searches for Sylar and Elle he gets a call from Sandra in the hospital telling him that Claire is in the hospital and that she doesn’t know what to do. He tells her to do what he would do! “You mean lie?” she responds. Noah finds the blood trail and continues his search for Elle and Sylar.

In Lawrence, Kansas Matt and Daphne are in a discussion about their powers and their relationship. Daphne tells Matt that she has Cerebral Palsy and that up until the first eclipse had to walk with braces and crutches. “But you are the fastest person in the world!” he responds.

Back at Mohinder’s laboratory Flint continues to antagonize Mohinder but he has had enough. Using, what looks like a very expensive microscope, Mohinder bashes Flint in the head. After a short struggle, Mohinder beats the living tar out of Flint.

At Sam’s Comics in Lawrence Hiro and Ando try to convince the Comic Store Guys to help them get Hiro’s powers back. Hiro starts to go through boxes of back issues of 9th Wonders Comics and the clerk tells him he can’t just take them Hiro whips out his Credit Card to buy them all. “This is awesome!” he says as he peruses the stack.

Sylar and Elle have made their way to a local grocery store where Sylar attempts first aid on Elle’s wound. The blood trail is very evident and Sylar knows that Noah Bennett will soon catch up to them. Sylar suggests that they split up but Elle wants to let him follow and set a trap. She certainly is more devious then we thought, isn’t she?

Back in Haiti, Peter and the Haitian sneak up on Samdi and the Haitian hits him in the head with a gunstock. Samdi is surprised by the fact that he is bleeding. (Remember his skin is impervious to bullets, knives, etc. but his powers too are negated by the Eclipse.)

Back at Sam’s Comics the Comic Store Guys tell Hiro, Ando and Matt that they think the powers will return when the Eclipse ends. The ten year old Hiro, after searching through the comics, declares that he never wants to grow up! Ando flips through the pages and sees the past images that made Hiro upset. Hiro’s stabbing of Ando, Charlie’s death, the sword fight with Adam have all affected the pre-adolescent Hiro.

Peter and the Haitian free Nathan and the girls from the cell in Samdi’s compound. Peter decides that he is expendable and tells Nathan that he will hold off the Haitian troops (with a machine gun) until they can escape.

In the hospital Claire is told by Sandra that she is fighting off an infection and that her dad will soon be there. A policeman, who calls Sandra Mrs. Butler, enters and we see that Sandra has taken her cue from Noah. She has lied to the police! But before they can question her Claire, who is in obvious pain, has a seizure.

Sylar and Elle continue to run from Noah who has followed them to the grocery store. In the back of the store Sylar throws Elle into a service elevator and slams the doors shut sending her down and out of danger. Noah finds Sylar and a fist-fight ensues. Noah gets the advantage and, just as Elle rises up in the elevator, slits Sylar’s throat with a box cutter. As the scene ends Sylar lays dead in a pool of spreading blood.

Back at the hospital, Claire, who has had her chest cracked, dies just as the Eclipse comes to an end. When the Eclipse finishes she gasps for air and is revived. Welcome back abilities!

In Lawrence, Kansas Matt returns to Daphne’s house but is told that she has gone. While he discusses this with Daphne’s dad his power returns and he hears Daphne talking out in the cornfield.

In Haiti, Peter holds off the Haitian troops but surrenders to the larger force after a gunfight. Nathan and the Haitian return to rescue Peter. Samdi is pissed! Before he can act Nathan flies full speed at him and throws him into a truck but he is not affected by the collision. The Haitian steps in and empties Samdi’s brain using his ability. (That’s gonna leave a mark!)

Mohinder goes to see Maya but as he stands waiting for her to answer the door discovers that his “ability” (Snake skin? Lizard hand? Goo-man? Cacoon guy? Whatever!) has returned and he cannot face her. When she opens the door he is gone but he has left a Pinehurst business card behind.

At Sam’s Comics the Comic Store Guys try to convince Hiro to come out of the bathroom. They tell him that that being a Hero means that saving the world comes before anything and that Heroes give people hope! They also discover a back issue of 9th Wonders that show Claire and Hiro together in New York but they both know that Claire and Hiro have never met (it helps to be an obsessive comic reader I guess because all of this was in the fine details buried in the comic and evidently could only be seed using a magnifying glass!) Hiro teleports from the store and the Comic Store Guy repeats Hiro’s sentiment… “BEST. DAY. EVER.”

Claire and Sandra return home (Is Claire now legally dead?) and when Noah comes home Claire tells him that he will never change. She needed him and he wasn’t there, again! Sylar and Elle appear at the Bennett home and have Sandra captive. Sylar tells them that they are taking Claire and when Noah raises his gun Sylar dispatches him against the wall. Bennett tells Sylar that Arthur and Angela are not his real parents and that they are manipulating him. He also tells him that Elle helped create him. It’s apparent that he believes at least some of what Noah tells him. Sylar, his inner devil released once again with his powers restored, begins to cut Noah’s throat using his finger-in-the-air-buzz-kill- maneuver. Before he can kill Noah, however, Hiro suddenly teleports in, taps Sylar on the shoulder, calls him “Bad Man” and winks out. Seconds later the same thing happens to Elle. Hiro reappears, declares “Save the Cheerleader” and he and Claire teleport out of the house.

Back at Sam’s Comics Matt, Daphne, and Ando are trying to figure out what to do after Hiro’s disappearance. The Comic Store Guy tells them that he heard from a friend, who heard it from a friend who heard it at a Comic Convention that one more 9th Wonders story exists. He tells them that before Isaac Mendez died he bequeathed his sketchbook to a bike messenger in New York. Find the messenger and you’ll find the last story!

Nathan makes amends with Peter but begins to see the logic of his father’s interference with people and their abilities. Nathan hopes to work toward giving the “right” people abilities so that they can work to change the world. One person with good intentions can make important changes, he posits, so think what many could do! Peter is not convinced.

At Pinehurst Arthur Petrelli tells a dejected Mohinder, who has returned with his tail between his legs, that the Eclipse showed them who they really were – desperate, angry and weak! Arthur tells Mohinder that together they will find a cure!

Sylar and Elle have been deposited on the beach together by Hiro. Sylar wants to know what Elle knows about his parents (I guess he’s still convinced he’s a Petrelli) but Elle tells him that Bennett was lying to him. He does not believe her, however, and the scene ends as Sylar begins to buzz-cut into Elle’s head.

Manhattan – 16 Years Ago

Hiro takes Claire back to the time when she was a baby. On the infamous rooftop Hiro’s father gives Claire to Bennett who admits that he knows nothing about being a father. Hiro’s dad tells him that it is not a request!

The Alternative Takes Note:

1. Does anyone need proof that Sylar really is EVIL when he has his powers?
There was no reason to buzz-kill Elle, he already had her powers. The only reason, that I can see, for this murder is shear pleasure. Welcome back Sylar! There was just something wrong with Gabriel in an apron cooking waffles.

2. And, what I wouldn’t give to visit Sam’s Comics and peruse through their back issues of 9th Wonders Comics! And again Seth Green and Brecken Myers steal the show! Dude! Obviously, Comic Stores ARE where wise men gather!

3. When Isaac Mendez died he bequeathed his sketchbook to a mysterious bike messenger (according to the guys at Sam’s). So, who is this unknown messenger and why did Isaac trust him/her with his sketchbook?

4. So, Hiro who has never met Claire Bennett was finally able to, “Save the Cheerleader!” and at the same time removed Sylar and Elle from the picture. I don’t know about you but I wish he would have put them back in time. Say, the Jurassic Period, for instance. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Sylar fighting Veloceraptors and T-Rex with his powers?

5. Along with the 9th Wonders Comics Hiro also purchases a copy of Ultimatum “Ultimate” Comic. I could not find the cover that Hiro displays at Sam’s on the net but there is a real Ultimatum Comic. Here is a re-cap of the comic (sound familiar?):
ULTIMATE ULTIMATUM
ULTIMATUM #1 (OF 5); JEPH LOEB & DAVID FINCH - MARVEL COMICS
Following up from Bendis' Ultimate Origins where 'it's all connected' comes Jeph Loeb and David Finch's Ultimatum! A five-part series that features the Fantastic Four, Namor, the Ultimates 3 line-up and Spider-man, just to name a few.

An organic but massive disaster happens to the Ultimate Universe and every ultimate character will play a part, as they go up against mother nature at her worse! What will happen to the Ultimate Universe after the Ultimatum events? A new beginning for some?

The end is here! Or, is it a new beginning? Massive climatic disturbances are wreaking havoc with the planet — underwater volcanic eruptions, tidal waves crashing over whole cities and snowstorms burying entire countries—and even the assemblage of the Ultimate U’s mightiest is no match for this worldwide destruction! Featuring Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Ultimates, the Hulk and more, find out whose lives are at stake in this defining moment of truth for the Ultimate Universe.

From: http://www.thecomicshop.net/box/ultimatum-comic-440.php

7. Arthur Petrelli and the quest for the cure – Why is Arthur so determined to find a cure to eliminate people’s abilities? He pushes Mohinder to work harder to come up with a cure every time he sees him. This has always been something I’ve always thought odd. Why would the man who can take anyone’s ability want a cure? Here’s my theory – Arthur intends to take as many different powers, from as many different people as he can (this includes Mohinder, Flint, Sylar, Tracy, Elle, Nathan, the Haitian, Angela, Hiro, Claire and Matt) and then spread the cure across the planet. He would then be the most powerful and near-immortal person on the planet! He could set himself up as king and never have to worry about being deposed. (Evil laughter) Mu-ha-ha-ha!!