I’ll always be the first to admit when I’m surprised and Heroes managed to shock me a little tonight. Instead of the usual holding pattern is actually made an attempt to moving shit along! Now seeing as there are seven episodes left this season it’s not unexpected, still it’s nice to see progress for any reason. And for the first time in a long time the show delivered on its chosen tagline, in this case someone flies (Peter) while someone dies (Simone and some bitch that can hear really, really good). Isaac is responsibly for Simone getting capped, Sylar did the honors for the other chick. I was personally hoping Peter got killed but someone knew deep inside that wouldn’t happen as even emo folk need a role model on the television.

This week we are thankfully, thankfully without Niki’s presence. Her storyline is older than bald Britney jokes and staler than this meatloaf I just ate. Peter emo’s his way around after he and Groundskeeper Willy get discovered by Bennet and his Haitian life partner, wandering back to Isaac’s shop where he beats the snot out of him for schtooping his girl Simone. The very same schtoopee comes into the shop herself just in time for Isaac to shoot her by mistake. Oops!

We do get some retarded Matt Parkman action with him giving his wife a ring from the stash he stole from the late Malsky (aka fat white man) and having that blow up in his face when she discovers it’s stolen. It’s about to be on between ‘em when he gets a call from Ted “Mr. Nuclear” Sprague who with our newfound wireless intarwebs hero Hana has decided Bennet is going to pay for kidnapping heroes and fucking with ‘em. So the three of them go down to Texas to set up next week’s episode.

Claire continues to elude quality writing by transforming from a high school student to a 30 year old mother of two. The decisions and dialogue that have emerged from the last few episodes go against everything she did before. Now she’s hell-bent on exposing her father’s treacherous ways (and Haitian life partner) at any cost. Who knows how this will turn out. Badly, I have to assume by next week’s previews.

That leaves us with my favorite and the only really bearable character, Hiro! I’m sorry to say this week Hiro makes very little progress and in fact ends up confusing me more than anything. Along with the Nevada gaming commission agent from last week, he tracks Ando and “Hope” down and in the ensuing gunfight Ando is shot in the arm by Hope. She corners them in a bus’ luggage compartment and is about to kill Hiro when he uses his powers while the gun is in mid-fire, sending the bullet back into the chamber and causing it to misfire.

But wait a minute. Is that really his power? He can slow, stop - even reverse time but time moves very specifically in whatever direction he’s moving it. A bullet fired from a gun would simply “unfire” itself if he moved time backwards. He didn’t even open his eyes while the bullet was going back so it wasn’t a stopped time situation where he pushed the bullet back into the chamber. Instead the show kinda bent the rules of Hiro’s power to effect the change they wanted. That’s just cheap and retarded, worthy of jeering and my unending disrespect. Fuck off, writers. Hiro has it hard enough as it is holding this show on his shoulders, give the guy his ability and don’t fuck with it. Unless they explain it later as Ando having a power, when in that case double fuck you writers for making me look stupid.

All in all Heroes didn’t totally suck tonight. I’m hoping they continue this trend of not sucking and perhaps even venture into the territory of being good. I doubt it, tho, as they’ve proven their ability to fuck things up to be strong and I can’t imagine they’d screw around with that ability.