S03E01: 'The Second Coming'

Has the Heroes creator Tim Kring been on the Red Bull? An audacious antidote to last season's ponderous beginning (and middle), 'The Second Coming' kicks off the 'Villains' chapter with more pulsating action and shocks than ever before.

The bleak atmosphere was immediately established with the face-off between Claire and Peter four years in the future, with the clever structure then enabling the scar-faced hero to jump back in time and shoot his own brother and thus solve a key mystery. If that had been a Prison Break plot they'd have strung the shooter's identity out for at least one whole season!

More importantly, the line between light and dark, heroes and villains was very much blurred. Wasn't it great when we never knew whether Mr Bennet was a goodie or baddie back in the first season? Ambiguity rules. This looks set to dominate proceedings in the coming weeks, especially with Mohinder's sudden descent into superpower territory. As we all know, power can corrupt.

Sylar's stalking of Claire also appeared to emerge from a classic horror movie, especially with the cheerleader's decision to hide in the closet. Still, the sequence was highly effective and surprisingly gory once Sylar removed the top of her head. Amidst the butchery came an inspired moment of hilarity too, when Sylar stated that he found the whole idea of eating brains to be "disgusting" – thus confounding our expectations. Perhaps Jamie Oliver has paid him a visit and informed him about all the cholesterol lurking in the cerebral cortex?

The posthumous video message from Mr Sulu, aka Hiro's dad, provided plenty of laughs with the 'don't look in the safe' order. Yet the laughs were nicely juxtaposed with the anguish Hiro soon discovered when he witnessed his trusted wingman Ando attack him in the future.

The 'Speedster' was given a fittingly quick introduction and Maya and Niki/Jessica/Tracy/Whoever were given fittingly skimpy outfits, but the supposedly shock return of Mr Linderman wasn't helped by having Malcolm McDowell's name appear in the opening credits. When will these American shows learn?

Overall though, this episode was an absolute corker that quickly managed to balance all the characters' narratives and propel them forward in truly gripping style. In many ways, 'The Second Coming' is a very apt title for an episode that restores both the show and Sylar back to full power.


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