Distractions (Heroes)

"Distractions" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes.

Plot

Claude and Peter walk invisibly through a busy New York street, where Claude tells Peter that he absorbs other powers as a reflex and that he is going to help him gain some control over it. With Claude's mentoring, Peter begins to question those people closest to him. Claude is convinced that Peter needs to put his loved ones out of his mind because they are distracting him from releasing his full potential. At Claude's suggestion, the two men follow Simone.

Niki's psychological counselor tells Niki she wants to speak with Jessica. She assures Niki the cuffs on her wrists could contain an elephant, and she is able to use a taser. After a mild sense of hypnosis, Niki starts to talk about how Jessica was talented at playing the piano and how her sister said that she could "turn Mozart into a monkey." Then Jessica comes out and confirms she said this. She breaks free of the cuffs and grabs the psychologist before she can subdue Jessica with the taser. The guards later discover Niki lying on the ground and the psychological counselor lying unconscious, a hand bent unnaturally, with several taser burns on her jacket. Later, Aron Malsky visits Niki in her room. He tells her that all charges against her have been dropped, thanks to the help of Linderman. Niki returns home to reunite with D.L and Micah, but unbeknownst to the two, Jessica is in control.

Sylar, his powers restored, attacks Mr. Bennet and locks him up in the glass cell. He rifles through Mr. Bennet's wallet and takes out his licence, which reveals his home address. Sylar goes after Claire while Mr. Bennet helplessly pounds his fists against the window as Sylar leaves him trapped inside. At the Bennets' home, Sylar goes under the guise of a worker at Primatech Paper and tells Mrs. Bennet he found Mr. Muggles in the street while making a delivery. She invites him to stay for dinner, and he accepts. They begin to talk, but his heightened interest in Claire makes Mrs. Bennet suspicious. When she picks up the phone to call her husband, Sylar uses his telekinetic power to knock the phone out of her hand. He tells her that he will kill Claire, and maybe kill her first. Mrs. Bennet dashes towards the front door, but Sylar uses his telekinetic power to slam her against a glass cabinet. It is then that Mr. Bennet and the Haitian burst through the door and shoot Sylar, though Sylar quickly escapes. The Haitian erases Mrs. Bennet's memory - yet again.

Simone visits Isaac and tells him she isn't going to be using his home key anymore. Before Simone could ask where Peter is, Isaac tells her he's been trying to find him unsuccessfully - he's been repeatedly painting blank landscapes. Isaac says that he knows what Peter can do and that he wants to stop him; he warns Simone to stay away from him. As Simone is leaving, Isaac tells her to keep the key. When Simone later returns to Isaac's place, she views a painting of her and Isaac on the roof of her father's penthouse. She later goes to the roof, where the two of them finally talk about themselves and Isaac's power. Eventually, the painting's vision comes true. As Claude and Peter spy on them, they watch Simone share an intimate embrace with Isaac.

Claire and Zach head out to meet Meredith in Kermit, Texas. After tearfully reuniting, Claire reveals her power by slicing open her arm with a knife. Her mother tearfully says, "Some family" and reveals her own power of pyrokinesis. Before Claire leaves, her mother gives her a necklace she bought in Mexico.

At Port Washington Harbor in Long Island, Hiro explains his new path in life to his ambitious older sister, Kimiko, and father, Kaito. Hiro's father offers to make him Executive Vice President of Yamagato, his company, and put him on his way to becoming CEO. He says that it is Hiro's destiny, as his only son and heir. Hiro ultimately refuses, explaining his mission to his father in further detail. Enraged, his father rips up the painting and demands that Hiro come home. Kimiko tries to persuade her brother to change his mind, but Hiro shrugs her off, even when she states that he is bringing shame to the family. Hiro finally realizes something, and concocts a plan. He accepts the position of Executive Vice President, and immediately declares several company plans that Kimiko says would be a disaster. Kimiko reveals the full extent of her intelligence, and Mr. Nakamura is impressed. He realizes she is better suited for the job, and the Nakamuras part ways. As Hiro's father and sister enter their car to leave, the car's number plate is revealed as NCC-1701. This is an easter egg reference to the perhaps best known role of George Takei who plays Hiro's father as the pilot Hikaru Sulu of the starship USS Enterprise which had the registration number NCC-1701 in the Star Trek franchise.

After Peter angrily yells at Claude for showing Simone and Isaac together, Claude pushes Peter off the thirty-story building, in an attempt to make him fly. Peter slams into a parked taxi, then uses the regeneration ability that he received from Claire. Peter realizes that he does not need to push people out of his mind; he just needs to remember how those people made him feel to regain use of their abilities. Suddenly, Peter begins to use powers at random, presumably because he is overcome with emotion while thinking of each hero he has met. He becomes overloaded with powers, and his mind flashes to a vision of him exploding. Peter cries, "I'm losing it!" Claude punches Peter, knocking him out and halting his overload.

Isaac works on another painting. The painting shows Peter slumped against a broken taxi, his leg becoming invisible. He then tells Mr. Bennet on the phone that he has found Peter and a way to stop him. Isaac says that Peter is invisible and asks him what it means. "It means an old friend isn't quite as dead as we thought he was," Mr. Bennet responds.

Claire and Zach return to the house. Mrs. Bennet angrily informs Claire that the school informed her that she had skipped. Claire realizes that her mother's mind has been wiped as she picks up a shard of glass lying on the couch from the aftermath of Sylar's attack. She gazes at Mr. Bennet, who is in another room.

At the end of the episode, Meredith makes a mysterious phone call to Claire's biological father. When he picks up, Meredith nervously tells him that their daughter is alive. On the other end is Meredith's contact: Nathan Petrelli.

Cultural references

Kaito Nakamura's limousine bears the license plate tag "NCC-1701", matching the registry number of the USS Enterprise in the original Star Trek series. George Takei, who plays Mr. Nakamura, also played the role of the Enterprise's helmsman Hikaru Sulu.

Ratings

The total viewership for this episode was 14.61 million. It earned an 8.6/12 share for the week.

External links

• Watch "Distractions" at NBC.com (Link may be expired or suspended.)
• Distractions at the Internet Movie Database
• "Distractions" at TV.com
• Beaming Beeman: Episode 14: Distractions Director's blog on the filming of this episode.