Heroes: Kindred

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 9PM ON NBC

While not the best ever, this was definitely the best episode for the second season of "Heroes." I think for the most part though this show has lost steam since around the middle of last season. I can't quite put my finger on it but the suspense just isn't the same. Including some fight scenes and a greater use of their powers might keep the audience more intrigued. Unfortunately, the storylines alone are just not cutting it. We need a little more to watch or else I think "Heroes" is going to start to see a big drop in viewership. In reality this is actually starting to take place as the show saw a significant drop in viewers last week.

The best part of the first three episodes has been Peter. They've showed his powers a lot more than the others and the mystery surrounding his disappearance and reappearance have created great suspense. We know the boc contains his identity, too bad love is keeping him from opening it. It was obvious that he would fall for her but not wanting to know who he is, is a dumb move. The guy clearly has a lot to work out so how could ignoring his past make any of it better? I have a feeling his past will catch up with him sooner rather than later and he'll be forced to remember who he was.

Nothing new to report on the Maya and Alejandro front. They're still trying to get to America and still can't manage to stay together for more than a couple hours. Really though, how hard is it for two people to stay together? Every episode they find new and ridiculous ways to be separated and each time she ends up killing or almost killing more people. It's getting a little old, the writers need to move on with some new stuff or no one is going to care what they're doing.

Finally, Niki is back with Micah. I was wondering when they would finally show up. Again, not much to report here but clearly there's going to be a lot to talk about with Niki since she decided to work with the company so she could be cured. They never do anything out of the goodness of their hearts so their consideration in return will be interesting.

Sylar is alive! Well, I'm not actually that surprised since they told us in last week's scenes from the next episode. They have to stop doing that; it would have been much better for us to find out on our own this week. What exactly is wrong with him though? He got stabbed in the chest but how could this get rid of his powers and prevent him from getting new ones? There's a lot of questions about Sylar, the biggest of which is who performed eight surgeries on him and why would they want him alive? It's nice to see him powerless for a change. The same old story with him attacking and killing others is old now. We need something new to keep us interested.

Meanwhile, Claire seems to be enjoying herself now that she found out West has a secret of his own - he can fly! Nice to see her happy for a change. But man does she move fast...she finds out his secret and just a few minutes later they're making out on the beach. Too bad the happiness won't last too long. As it turns out her father, Noah, tagged West a couple years back and he remembers who did it to him. She won't be able to keep her father a secret and eventually it could bring down everything they set up in California.

As for Parkman and Suresh, they're basically just still taking care of Molly and surveilling the Company from the inside. The one big thing that happened with them tonight was Suresh's discovery of the eighth painting. It shows Noah dead after being shot through the eye and some man holding Claire. Who he is and how this future comes about is still a mystery though and it appears finding out what comes in between will be the theme of this season.

Lastly, we find out more about Hiro's trip to Feudal Japan from a note he left Ando in the Kensei sword. Hiro has done everything right as he tried to get Kensei back on the path of a hero, that is until he fell in love with Kensei's future wife. It was a big mistake for him to stay in Feudal Japan for her when doing so could change every one's future's; it was selfish and shows that Hiro is still very immature. I'm still not sure how much I like the Hiro in Feudal Japan stuff but if he changes the past, and in turn the future, it could get interesting. Until next week...