After a tip from "Rebel", Matt and Peter hurry to rescue Daphne and find evidence that may expose the government's plans to capture those with powers. Sylar uncovers the truth about his mother from past memories on his father, while the Hunter hatches an explosive plan of his own.

I am starting to think "Rebel" is Noah. He has always played both sides.

The dog with the sandwich in his mouth was too cute.

So, who do we think Rebel is? I'm thinking maybe Noah. Or maybe Hannah Gettleman from Season 1. She had the wireless communication thing going on. I just can't remember if she died or not.

Ooh, I think I'm going to like badass Mama Bennett.

Did they give an explanation for Peter's one power at a time thing, or is it just a convenient plot device?

Well I think it is because he had to regain his powers via the drug, which I think sucks. I really miss super powered Peter. I want him back.

Yeah I think Mama Bennett will be better like this.

I love the look Matt gave the camera.

ITA about Matt's look at the camera

Thanks for the reminder about Peter and the drug. I keep forgetting what happened in the "Villains" storyline.

Lori

Agree on Noah as Rebel and Powerful Peter

Mama Bennett! I can't believe you did that
She's not so blah and clueless anymore

Mama Bennett, I love her now. She loves Def Leppard!!

Yeah, I have to like her for that

Aw, little Sylar is so cute!

Yeah what happened to him?

Wow so he has turned out to be like his daddy.

I think "rebel" is Mama P and Noah working together.

That was so tragic. He had to watch his father kill his mother.

BTW, can we be any more obvious about the little moments between Alex and Claire? Ordinarily, I'm all about the shipping, but not on this show.

Aww Big Bro to the rescue, but did he blow his cover? I think Hunter knows Nathan has a power.

I'm pretty sure he knows something, I just don't know what iti is.

What did Mama P tell Nathan? What does she know?

Opps, kid does not learn to not mess with Sylar.

Hunter is BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD MAN!!!!

Poor Matt!

For most of the episode, this was little more than a transitional installment, moving the plot forward incrementally. The final act ramped up the tension a bit and pointed to a more exciting direction for the next episode, which certainly helps, but even that seemed to do little to redeem this hour.

The writers aren't being particularly subtle in their treatment of Danko and his steady takeover of Nathan's little program. His troubling background was covered back in "A Clear and Present Danger", so he's just falling in line with his established characterization. He was always going to be a serious threat to the metahumans, and that threat is certainly growing. His decision to use Matt to prove his point is just an evolution of the tactic he used with Tracy.

All of which continues to demonstrate just how much of an idiot Nathan really is. It's bad enough that he thought a government program, however "black ops" it might be, would somehow be the best way to handle the potential threat posed by metahumans. He failed to see how containment could easily become elimination, especially when bringing in someone with a clear reputation for overkill. Add to that his inability to see why Peter and the rest of his "friends" among the metahumans would want to resist death or imprisonment, and he's living in a very special fantasy world.

It would help tremendously if the "heroes" had an effective leader. Once again, Peter drops the ball in that regard. First, he and Matt lose Mohinder (who is oddly ignored by all sides in this episode). Then, in the process of trying to find Daphne for Matt, Peter manages to let Matt get captured. After negotiating an exchange of stolen information for Matt and Daphne, he walks into one of the most obvious traps ever devised.

This may be overstated a bit, but the “villains” always seem to have a leader, while the “heroes” always seem to fumble and distrust one another. Because of the nature of the series thus far, this is mostly a delaying tactic. The writers know that the heroes, if working together logically, could easily overcome the threats leveled against them. (For that matter, they've had how many chances to incapacitate or kill Danko so far?)

The irony is that "Rebel" (increasingly likely to be Micah, based on the skills on display) has the potential to be that kind of leader. He's certainly guiding the aborning resistance movement well enough, if Claire's subplot is any indication. Alex may say Claire isn't some stop on the Metahuman Underground Railroad, but isn't that exactly what she and Sandra are being asked to create? (That doesn't make her "romance" with Alex any less cloying.)

Sylar's road trip with Luke takes an interesting turn, to say the least. So Sylar's father killed his real mother, and sold him off to his brother? The flashback was a bit goofy at times, and it seems rather convenient that the road trip would just happen to take them past this particular restaurant. It also feels like the writers brought along Luke so they would have someone to talk with Sylar and give the scenes a little more heft. I'm not entirely sold on the notion that Sylar had to keep him alive (despite the hints that the two are related, which has yet to come up directly).

The next episode promises to be a bit more lively, given Sylar's more violent direction and Matt's predicament. The process of getting there, however, was a bit drawn out and tedious. It also doesn't help when the writers assume that the audience is following all the online content. They featured Rachel, one of the government agents watching Claire, as if she was a well-established character, when most of her screen time has been devoted to webisodes. It was incidental in this case, but this isn't the first time the writers have made this mistake.