S01E18: 'Parasite'

Picking up several dangling narratives that were bypassed in last week’s Bennet-centric episode, ‘Parasite’ eases along at a steady pace that is less exciting than recent episodes, but nonetheless builds the intrigue for future pay-offs.

Crucially, we finally are permitted to witness Mr Linderman’s glorious presence, in the form of the legendary actor Malcolm McDowell. His introductory scene is masterful in its subversion of generic conventions associated with screen villains. Marvellously understated, we see Linderman pottering around in the kitchen trying to perfect his pie recipe. As the scene goes on, with Nathan threatening to take his life, we can gradually see the layers of his skin start to peel and his enormous influence and knowledge of events come to the fore. Is he really as malevolent and nasty as he’s built up to be? Or perhaps could he be an ambiguous character in the Mr Bennet vein? We don’t quite know just yet.

Another character rising to the surface is Primatech employee Candice, whose ability to transform herself into the spitting image of other humans is rather unsettling for both viewers and characters alike. We never quite know where we stand now and will have to be on our guard. The shock reappearance of Simone was cleverly woven in, with the slain lass the last person we’d expect to walk into Isaac’s apartment. Alas, it was just Candice in disguise.

As mentioned before, the events ease along, a break from the recent frenetic abut gripping pace. Nonetheless, the climax is truly jaw dropping, with Sylar gruesomely slicing poor Peter’s head open in preparation for another brain bonanza. For a cliffhanger, this pushes the suspense to the limit, but on closer thought the resolution seems pretty obvious. Peter can channel the abilities of other ‘heroes’, so he can surely call up Claire’s self-healing and Sylar’s head-slicing? Or could there be another way out…