This review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for "The Eclipse, Part 1," the tenth episode from the third season of "Heroes."

Last week it was coming. This week, it's here. "The Eclipse" arrived with some sobering developments for our "Heroes" and villains, stripping their powers and making them just like the rest of us.

Arthur Petrelli's (Robert Forster) pre-cog drawing spree has yielded a series of sketches predicting possible doom for Claire (Hayden Panettiere); Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) trapped in his own sticky web; Elle (Kristen Bell) and Sylar (Zachary Quinto) in lip-lock; Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) and Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) in freefall; and Hiro (Masi Oka), Ando (James Kyson lee) and Matt (Greg Grunberg) in a cornfield. All of these provide a framework for events as the episodes unfold.

Angela (Cristine Rose) sends Matt and Daphne (Brea Grant) to seek out Hiro, to get his help in the brewing war against Arthur. She also sends Peter and Nathan to find The Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis) , who is the only person who can render Arthur powerless. Finally, she sends Claire away with HRG, to protect her, since she is the "catalyst" Arthur is out to get to create the formula that will fulfill his plan for world domination.

Hiro is still stuck in ten-year-old mode, but shows up at Matt's apartment, thanks to the comic book. He is able and willing to help Matt, with translation by Ando, follow their destiny and find Daphne, who had a major meltdown and left when she knew what would happen to her is Arthur found out what she was up to. The three follow her to Kansas, as foretold by Hiro's "9th Wonders" comic book.

The eclipse begins just after the three arrive in Kansas. Matt tries to use his mind-control power to persuade Daphne's father to let him in, which prompts the questions from said dad, "Why are you turning your head sideways? What's your problem, son?" It quickly becomes apparent that he and Hiro have lost their powers. Matt soon learns why Daphne is hiding from him. It turns out that without her speedster powers, she has to walk in leg braces with crutches.

Hiro's comic book comes to an end, leaving them unsure of what to do next. Hiro leads them to a comic book store (a place where wise men gather) where they meet two comic geeks (Seth Green and Breckin Meyer), who, in what has to be the episode's best moment, realize that they are all in the scene on the cover of the new "9th Wonders" issue.

When Mohinder sees Arthur's drawings, he realizes that if Claire dies, there is no hope for a cure for his own condition. Mohinder knows that the eclipse has something to do with the onset of the powers people have, and before it happens, he closes himself up in a cocoon on the wall. Later, he awakens and slides out of his cocoon like a newborn. Gone are the awful skin eruptions. He has returned to normal, human form, and appears to be in complete remission. Apparently cured of his affliction, Mohinder is ready to seek out Maya, but he's stopped by Arthur and Flint. Even without his powers, Arthur forces Mohinder to work on a way to get their abilities back. Mohinder refuses, but Flint uses brute force to keep Mohinder in line and make him continue his research.

Nathan and Peter plan to find the Haitian. They figure that they can use him to stop their father from fulfilling his evil scheme. They fly of to Haiti, and just as they arrive, the eclipse starts, causing Nathan to lose his power, and both of them to crash land in Haiti. There, they encounter The Haitian, but also his scary, brutal warrior brother, Baron, who has impenetrable skin and has started up an army. In no time, the Petrelli brothers and the Haitian are under siege, and Nathan is captured as the other two look on in hiding. When Nathan tries to explain who he is, Baron's response is: "Your father told us you would come," and that he "told me to be myself." Then he slugs Nathan.

Elle and Sylar are sent on a mission by Arthur to capture Claire and bring her to him. Sylar is ready and willing to comply, until Elle persuades him that they are free to do as they please with their powers. Clearly, while he is trying to be "good," Sylar is easily corruptible.

HRG sets out to train an angry and defiant Claire to defend herself. They go to Stephen Canfield's house, where Claire gets out all her aggression and anger at her father, asking him "Why did you always leave?" and hitting him with a large board. Just as she appeared to "defeat" him and starts to walk out, Elle appears, ready to attack, but her power won't work.

Sylar approaches the two from behind and finds his powers don't work, either. HRG sees that Sylar is thrown by this, and takes advantage of it to overcome Sylar and dislocate his shoulder. As this is going on, Elle gets hold of HRG's gun, and aims it at him. Claire jumps in front of him to take the bullet, as HRG slugs Elle with the large wooden board.

Elle and Sylar are left behind in the house. Elle resets Sylar's dislocated shoulder, and they ponder their loss of powers. Sylar is actually relieved to have lost the hunger for power, but Elle, bemoans not being able to take whatever she wants anymore. "Says who?" asks Sylar as he pulls Elle in for a kiss.

HRG brings wounded Claire home. She's not healing, but in spite of Sandra pleading with him to take Claire to an emergency room, he insists on treating her at home to keep the police from investigating them. When he thinks she's stable, he leaves again, in spite of his wife's admonition. The next time we see him, he has a gun focusing in on the lip-locked Elle and Sylar.

What Worked

The scene in the comic book shop was priceless! It's possibly my favorite scene so far this entire season. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Seth Green and Breckin Meyer.

The moments when Matt, Elle, and Sylar tried to use their powers and realized they were gone had me laughing out loud. In fact, much of the humor in this episode was well done, and I was glad to see that much of it was also character-driven. Nathan's and Peter's bickering in Haiti was both serious and funny at the same time. They argued like real brothers might. They got on each other's nerves, and didn't hesitate to seize upon the "I told you so" moments.

I was glad to see Sandra Bennet finally getting on HRG's case for endangering Claire and running off during a time of crisis.

The chemistry between Elle and Sylar as the "Heroes" Bonnie and Clyde works very well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something goes wrong with HRG's aim, because I would like to see the two continue on for a bit longer.

What Didn?t Work

The show itself seems to be suffering from some of the same duality -- meandering between good and evil, or at least good and bad -- in its storytelling.

For example, while the chemistry between Elle and Sylar is great, it doesn't quite overcome some of the bad dialogue that peppered the episode. In a scene at a car rental place where Elle surprises Sylar by telling the clerk that he was a serial killer and was holding her prisoner, the clerk comes out with a gun and tells Sylar, "She filled me in pretty good, you serial killin' scum of the earth ... I should kill you right now. Say it was self-defense. I'll be famous. A bona fide hero." Sylar's response, after being assaulted by the guy, was "I hate heroes." I could hear many former fans of the show saying "So do I!" at that moment.

I also find myself conflicted about the direction of Hiro's story. If Hiro is to be used for comic relief, couldn't he still progress as a character, instead of being turned into a ten-year-old? While I found many of the moments, such as the scene where he keeps throwing corn at Matt, funny, I felt that it was doing his character an injustice to have him essentially starting at the beginning again. While Masi Oka is clearly capable of making all his scenes engaging, my fear is that Hiro is becoming a new Asian stereotype, which is the last thing anyone needs.

One thing that I do wonder is if it's possible for people in Haiti, California, New York, and Kansas to all see a total eclipse of the sun at the same time.

Still, I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead as a consequence of the eclipse. Does this mean the powers of all the current characters are gone for good? Will there be a new wave of other people with special abilities that takes over? Will someone kill Arthur Petrelli? Pretty please?

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"The Eclipse, Part 1" was written by Aron Eli Coleite and Joe Pokaski and directed by Greg Beeman. "Heroes" airs on NBC, Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.

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