'Heroes': Deanne Bray as new hero Emma

Now THIS is a "Heroes" episode I can get behind. Welcome to the show, Deanne Bray as Emma.

This episode was so great that I hardly know where to start. I like to put the segments in order of least to most interesting, top to bottom, but tonight they were all interesting. Let's get to it, shall we?

Claire & Gretchen
After witnessing Claire hurl herself out a window and put herself back together without even needing all the King's horse and all the King's men, Gretchen wants to be on the inside. She gets herself invited to lunch with Claire and Noah and drops not-so-subtle hints that she's onto Claire. Eventually Claire just decides to tell her, after Gretchen reveals that her classmates used to call her Wretchin' Gretchen due to her bulimia. The girls bond and Claire invites Gretchen to be her roommate. I would love to see Claire get an actual gal pal, so I'm bummed for what I think are the inevitable "Gretchen is evil" and/or "college lesbianism" plot devices looming on the horizon.

Peter & Samuel & Emma
Samuel sets off from the Carnival to revisit where he and Joseph (the dead brother) grew up. While there, he manages to manipulate a bus crash roster and a newspaper clipping to make it appear as though he was in the crash and Peter dislocated his shoulder by pulling him out of the wreckage so quickly. He uses the threat of a lawsuit to get close to Peter, whom he wants to "collect," essentially, though we don't yet know exactly how or why. He does get Peter to shake his hand, though, and puts a Magic Compass tattoo on Peter's arm.

We are also introduced to a new character tonight: Emma, a deaf woman who starts to see sounds as colors, which is awesome. She's understandably freaked but does do a little impromptu cello playing in the park and the music and lights and colors are gorgeous, it's a great scene. Peter spies her and she runs off like a cello-playing Cinderella. They also had a brief encounter at the hospital because she works there. I smell love interest, which is good because maybe he can stop all the HoYay with Adrian Pasdar and accidental chemistry with his on-screen niece.

Matt & Sylar
LOVED THIS WEEK.  Sylar is in Matt's head but it's not just hallucinations on Matt's part. Sylar's essence appears to be camping out since his body is inhabited by Nathan Petrelli. So Sylar  decides to have a little "fun" with Matt, making him think that a captured drug dealer is also a kidnapper/murderer. It makes Matt look so crazypants in front of Captain Lubbock that Matt just eshews "sobriety" altogether and makes his captain think nothing happened.

It doesn't sound very interesting here, but watching it play out was awesome. Sylar totally had me. I thought he was helping Matt bring a child molester/murderer to justice, which despite Sylar's psychoses seems like something he would do, and as it slowly dawned on me that Sylar was just manipulating Matt, I was like, "Bravo, Zachary Quinto." Seriously, why does Sylar never get killed off on this show? Because Zach Quinto makes him FAR too interesting and compelling.

Karn Evil 9
When he tries to visit his childhood home, the rich woman who lives there won't let Samuel in. So he levels the place with the dinner party inside. Back at the Karn Evil, we find out via a Sprint commercial that Lydia the Tattooed Lady has a daughter. Is anyone following this little bit of product placement/side story? I'd love to hear about it, drop me an email.

Thoughts & Tidbits

• Did you catch Louis Fletcher as the nurse Emma talks to? That's right, Nurse Ratched in the flesh. Excellent bit of casting there.
  
  
• Glad to have a break from Nathan, Angela, Hiro and Ando. I can only take them about every other week or so.
  
  
• Robert Knepper is so great as Samuel, I loved the juxtaposition of Eeeeevil Samuel and Heartbroken at his Old House Samuel.
  
  
• I desperately want the season arc to get the Heroes to the Karn Evil. Carnivals are such inherently creepy places.