'Heroes' Remains Relative with "Brother's Keeper"

Death, deceit and dismembered limbs brought Monday night's ‘Heroes' episode to another dramatic impasse as Sylar escaped captivity. But unless he gets to Samuel before it's too late, Sylar and the other heroes are likely to be at his mercy.

Thanks to his father's tireless research, Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) reemerges onto the scene with a frightening find. Eight weeks ago, Mohinder dusted off his film projector to reanalyze his father's reels. Yet what Chandra discovered at the Coyote Sands Ranch more than 50 years ago about newborn Samuel Sullivan spells trouble today.

Chandra's research already confirmed that "specials" create a measurable force when concentrated together. Yet while the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis) stifles others abilities, Samuel's ability amplifies the more "specials" he surrounds himself with. So if the cult-minded, carnival ringleader amasses a large enough family, Samuel could be capable of ripping Earth apart at its tectonic seams.

To halt this, Mohinder abandons his girlfriend and begins blindly questing for Samuel. Even though he finds the carnival, he also unwittingly reveals to Samuel the magnitude of his ability; putting everybody's lives at risk.

Thanks, Mohinder.

But at least Hiro still cares enough to save your life from Samuel before he steals your father's research.

Meanwhile, Nathan turns to Peter after a weeklong bender that the New York senator cannot remember. Prepared with the answers, the Haitian disobeys Angela and directs the Petrelli brothers to a storage facility outside Washington D.C. Unsure of what awaits them, the brothers begin poking around until Nathan makes the discovery of a lifetime - his death.

Flabbergasted, Nathan grabs the corpse and flashbacks to the moment before his demise. He doesn't develop a clear image, but sees enough to blame Sylar for it, and possibly Parkman. Now the Petrelli brothers must don their sleuth caps and locate Parkman before any other nasty surprises reveal themselves.

Elsewhere, Claire saunters through the District of Columbia's streets in tight, neon-pink hot pants to do laundry at her Dad's place. But before she bursts uninvited into her father's apartment, it turns out somebody already beat her. Lucky for Claire, it's only Tracy – and her ability is on the fritz. So, Claire decides to help, and starts a bath for her icy friend.

It's obviously apparent that Claire fails to realize putting a hypothermia victim into a piping-hot bath is a surefire recipe for shock. Yet in another strange ‘Heroes' twist that defies natural law, Tracy freezes the water, and Claire, as she reaches out for help. From then on, a comedic struggle ensues as Tracy snaps off Popsicle Claire's foot while attempting to shift her into the tub. Oddly enough, Claire then uses that moment to heal herself in time for the two of them to gossip.

There's no time though for idle chit-chat with the brothers Petrelli. Once they learn about Parkman's attempted suicide-by-cop, they pay him a visit at the hospital to ask him a couple questions. But just as Peter administers his healing touch, Sylar seizes the opportunity to reconnect with his actual body.

While Sylar did escape after Nathan's brushed against Parkman's hand, much remains to be determined. Either Sylar stayed with his original body, or decided to infect Peter instead after the younger Petrelli absorbed Nathan's ability to escape from Midland's finest.

Whatever the case may be, let's just hope these final episodes aren't too overwhelmed by weird science.