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'Heroes' managed to kill off a character this week, Too bad he was already dead

This review may contain spoilers.

Rebounding from an uneventful Thanksgiving themed episode, this week’s offering was much more significant and worthwhile. With a very compelling storyline focused on Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and the Petrelli brothers, “Heroes” managed to go into the holiday hiatus on a relatively positive note.

Now that all of the Petrelli’s know that Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) is, indeed, dead, the story really didn’t have anywhere else to go. The writers finally cut loose an original cast member by having Nathan say his final goodbye in a pretty exciting and emotional scene that carried the episode. Of course Sylar has his own body back now, even though it would have been more meaningful and dramatic if both had died. Still, I was touched by the farewell scene between Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Nathan.

The rest of the episode was average at best. Claire (Hayden Panettiere) and Gretchen (Madeline Zima) travel to the Sullivan Brothers” Carnival, which happens to be in Ohio, to see how the Carnies live. This part of the episode was largely uneventful and unnecessary, with Claire deciding to remain with the carnival folk for a couple more days while Gretchen returns to school. An equally pointless related story involving Noah and Lauren (Elisabeth Rohm) does little to improve this particular story arc.

To add an air of mystery, Samuel (Robert Knepper) indicates that it is not Claire that he wants, but it is implied that she is key to bringing in that person he actually seeks. In one of the other interesting moments of the episode, Samuel sends a “multiplier” to steal Noah’s files. This character creates duplicates of himself, making it impossible to figure out which one is real.

Unfortunately, that’s all that happened. A character who died at the end of last season was killed off once and for all, and Claire remained at the carnival. Heroes managed to deliver about twenty-five minutes of excellent storytelling. Unfortunately, it’s a sixty minute program. Still, resolving the Sylar/Nathan identity crisis is a step in the right direction.

What Worked

In addition to Nathan’s farewell scene, Peter’s vengeful attack on Sylar in the hospital was another highlight of the episode. While I am not terribly fond of gratuitous violence, Peter’s anger and subsequent actions actually make sense in this context.

I liked the title of this episode, “The Fifth Stage”, which is a reference to the fifth stage of grief: acceptance. Unfortunately, I think the writers themselves have been the ones struggling with this issue far worse than Peter ever did.

What Didn’t Work

Noah Bennett has become pointless this season, and providing him with a gorgeous girlfriend does not make his presence any more tolerable. The entire Bennett story this year has been awful and as a fan, I wish the story would focus more on Hiro (Masi Oka), Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy), and the Petrelli’s instead.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Heroes" stars Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Masi Oka, and Milo Ventimiglia. “The Fifth Stage” was written Tim Kring. It was directed by Kevin Dowling.

"Heroes" airs Mondays at 9pm ET on NBC.