Chapter 18 “Brave New World”
No Quick n’ Dirty Synopsis (Sans Spoilers) tonight. We’re just going right to the Game, playahs!
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- “The damsel has found her happy ending.”
Hiro, fully healed (in body and in power), is preparing to leave the hospital when a nurse delivers a note that contains an origami crane. And there in room 1106 of the same facility is Charlie…. 65 years older than when Hiro last saw her. Turns out Samuel’s friend dropped her at January 26, 1944. Hiro blames himself, because it was his love for her that forced Samuel to use her as leverage. He decides to return to 1944 to retrieve her, when her granddaughter runs in. One of 7 children, the progeny of 4 children. Hiro recognizes that Charlie has lived a long and happy life, and because he loves her, he will let her go. He and Ando teleport to Central Park where their assistance is needed. - “Just give me a chance to redeem myself.”
Parkman is preparing to fortify himself with a sandwich when Eli and two of his duplicates appear. He tries to “push a thought” but that only works on one of them. When he picks up a knife to defend himself, he’s taken out pretty quickly. As the three take up arms and prepare to julienne Matt, they disappear, and the alpha Eli is dragged across the floor, courtesy of Sylar calmly coming up out of the basement with Peter. Peter scopes Eli to discern Samuel’s plan, and when he turns to go Matt manages to stop Sylar. At his behest Matt looks into Sylar’s mind to see if the “five years” in the nightmare have truly changed him. Well, enough to let them leave to rescue Emma, and to push a last thought on Eli. - “Maybe the world is more ready than you think.”
Noah and Clare are running out the clock in the buried souvenir trailer. Clare thinks part of Samuel’s plan might be feasible, but Noah tries to get her to agree to remain hidden and safe even after he’s gone. As he passes out Clare becomes frantic and starts to dig, when water pours into the trailer, and then takes a familiar shape. Tracy Strauss grabs hold of them and manages to get them to the surface, where Lauren is waiting with a helicopter on hold. They fly to central park where the Carnival has touched down for the Big Show. - “Tonight changes everything.”
Samuel’s laissez faire attitude to the death of thousands convinces Emma she wants no part of his plan early on, but Doyle is called in to win her cooperation. Setting her up in a tent with speakers, Emma literally plays until her fingers bleed as thousands swarm the fairgrounds. When Clare and Noah appear on the scene, Clare heads for the backstage and Edgar intercepts Noah and lowers his knife long enough to make it clear he wants to be part of the plan to take Samuel out. They also recruit Eli, who’s returned to the grounds. Meanwhile, Clare is running into disbelief from the other Carnival-goers backstage. Samuel a killer? She begins to speak about where he draws his power, and what he did to Joseph; he tries to shut her up, but not before Edgar, Noah and Eli enter the backstage to back up her story. They convince the Family to leave, so that Samuel’s power will be drained and the people at the Carnival saved. Samuel watches them go and steps out to start the show. Just as he raises his hands and the ground shakes, and people begin to run in terror, Peter flies in and takes him out, taking his power while he’s at it. Sylar meanwhile has found Emma, but comes up short when Doyle makes himself known. Sylar is hanging helpless in the air while Doyle taunts him, and Emma in turn. She has clearly had enough, and she puts out a sound wave that knocks him off his feet and puts him at Sylar’s mercy.
As Peter distracts Samuel and the others try to put distance between Samuel and the others, they find Hiro and Ando on the outskirts of the fair. With Ando’s supercharging Hiro, he is able to teleport the entire group of Carnies out of the vicinity; almost immediately the fight between Peter and Samuel comes to a halt. Samuel stumbles powerless into the empty mainway as Noah and Peter look on and falls to his knees with the beautiful city skyline behind him. - GAME CHANGER: VOLUME SIX
“Brave new world.”
Peter reunites with Emma, who tells him that his friend is taking care of Doyle. Fearing the worst, Peter goes to the tent and finds Sylar happily tying up Doyle with lights, thankfully all in one piece. They return to the mainway where Noah and Clare are avoiding the television crews, until Clare decides she does have something to say. Demanding that they keep the cameras on her, she climbs to the top of the Ferris wheel as Ando and Hiro, Noah and Lauren, Sylar and Peter all look on, each one asking what she could possibly be doing. Once there, she sees Noah almost imperceptibly shake his head before she falls from the top to the horror of the crews. She lands, stands up and brushes herself off before facing the camera’s glare for a familiar opening: “My name is Clare Bennett…” Brave new world, indeed.
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