I also think it's a good opportunity for the show to not only shake up the status quo, which DEAR LORD kneeds shaking, but also to reassert the central dynamics of the show. Claire may be the catalyst (Eek! That word!) for change, but Peter has been squandered from becoming the show's "Superman" -- asmittedly, partly becuase the producer's lost their nerve and didn't know what to do with him when he was ultra-powerful -- and while HRG functions pretty well as the show's Batman, the contrast would serve him well.

They seem to have refixed Hiro, their other hyper-powered threat (eta:threat to the writers, not anyone else, really) with a heart of gold.

I don't know about Batman exactly. HRG is darker than Bats (although more sane) and less likely to work to the same ends. Peter and Hiro, at least, were always both on the same page as to ultimate motivation. Everyone else (okay, maybe Micah?) demonstrated varying levels of just trying to get by.

I'm not so much talking exact parallels to the characters, so much as I am the archetypes: the bright, supremely powerful force that's extremely human beneath the abilities, and the dark, purely human force that's more menacing than anything super-powered that's thrown at it.

But I think the idea that HRG works counter to the goals of the group is fundamentally different from the relationship Batman has with his peers. For them it's a means and an end sort of a thing. Part of the issue with HRG and with Heroes in general is the lack of a general end.

HRG is menacing not just because of how he does things (like Batman) but because of the things he wants to do.

If Batman were randomly trying to kill/contain Superman, then I could see it more.

If Batman were randomly trying to kill/contain Superman, then I could see it more.

Again, it's not an exact analogy, but it bears out my point. One of the weaknesses with the show has been its tendency to revert relationships back to the status quo, often to the point of building artificial barriers to the relationships deepening. But in the times where they have worked together -- and really, Claire aside, Noah's probably got the best personal relationship with Peter of all of them -- it's come down to MegaPowerful Peter wanting to do what's right, and HRG wanting to do what's necessary. And as they consistently end up on the same side, I think it's natural to let that dynamic evolve to be one of the centerpieces of the show. ETA: I think back to the end of the first season, where Peter and Noah first really bond. I think that link, while it's been present, hasn't really been explored to its fullest. But then, the show tends to run rampant with relationships by keeping characters separate or in small groups for too long.

Of course, the show still has problems keeping all its principals in the same story, or indeed, on screen. So there's that.

And back to Claire for a moment, it's hard not to draw a parallel between Claire's Maybe-Gay-Probably-Until-Graduation storyline and the "wanting to live in the open" stunt. I see it as kind of anvilicious, but oddly, I haven't seen anyone draw the line between the two story lines.

Apparently, it's going to take a while for me to get over Clare all BIG HUG! when she saw Doyle. That was Peter stupid, and I don't say that lightly.

I think I've become inured to the fact that the specials have powers in lieu of brains.

Apparently, it's going to take a while for me to get over Clare all BIG HUG! when she saw Doyle. That was Peter stupid, and I don't say that lightly.

Yeah, the writers were on the high-grade monkey-crack with that moment. Serious WTF?

Although, it is kind of weird to think of HRG and Claire swimming through Tracy more or less.

I was a bit confused about what Tracy's ulitimate fate was since she didn't reappear out of the pool she created. I know HRG and ER had some exchange there, but I missed exactly what was said (and deleted the ep before I remembered I wanted to go back and check).

I do remember thinking when HRG was coughing after coming up for air (and watching the "water" dripping off both him and Claire) "Ugh - that's NOT water!"

I was a bit confused about what Tracy's ulitimate fate was since she didn't reappear out of the pool she created.

I think that she just went back to wherever she came. I also choose to believe that she used groundwater to augment her powers so that the stuff dripping off of Noah and Claire was water and not Tracy.

Good call on Lauren's part to get Tracy involved.