Ink (''Heroes'')

"Ink" is the second episode of the fourth season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes and sixty-first episode overall. The episode aired on September 28, 2009.^[1]

Plot

Hearing about Annie's death, Noah visits Claire to offer his condolences. Gretchen charms him into allowing her to tag along on their lunch outing. Noah is angry to discover that Gretchen knows about Claire's ability. He attempts to have her memory wiped but Claire tells him she does not need him to fight her battles. Noah reluctantly accepts. Claire decides to not be secretive any more and allows Gretchen to ask her anything. She invites her to be her new roommate.

At the carnival, Samuel mixes up a special batch of ink as he prepares to venture out into our world. He remarks to Lydia that he has found someone he believes can fill the place left absent by his late brother Joseph. He reveals that he used to be forced to dress all prim and proper by his parents when he was young, but when he discovered his ability, he felt he was free to be "filthy". Since Joseph's death, he feels as though he is without a sense of direction. As he draws the ink into his hand, Lydia suggests that he visits his old home while he is out. Elsewhere Peter hangs up another newspaper clipping depicting the survival of all the passengers of an MTA bus crash thanks to his heroic efforts. However he soon discovers that no good deed goes unpunished when he discovers he is being sued by a William Hooper for injuring him in the midst of his rescue. Across town, Emma Coolidge reluctantly wakes up and heads out to work, donning a pair of headphones that are not attached to anything. On her way out, she notices a strange light coming out of the sink, but she quickly dismisses it as a reflection of sunlight. Peter visits Emma in the file room to request the file on William Hooper. Emma directs him to a sign stating that all requests must be written. Peter rambles on until he realizes she's not listening and notices her headphones are not attached to anything. As Emma hands him the file she accidentally knocks her coffee mug off the table. As it shatters on the floor, she is flustered to see a stream of colors leap from the shards. Peter goes to find William Hooper in physical therapy where he is actually met by Samuel pretending to be him. Peter does not remember seeing him at the crash site even though he insists he was. Peter leaves deciding to let the lawyers handle it when Samuel suggests that he could be so overworked that the fatigue caused a lapse in his memory. Meanwhile, Emma has her mother check her vision out, only to have Dr. Coolidge not find anything wrong with it and suggest that she has developed synesthesia and that her body is trying to tell her to stop filing and start healing patients. She defends herself saying she likes her job and does not like interaction with people because she cannot stand the look on their faces when they realize she is deaf. Samuel sneaks into Peter's apartment and uses his ink to imprint his image into the photo on the newspaper clipping, which convinces Peter that it is true. Peter meets Samuel and apologizes. He consoles Samuel over his loss and realizing Peter is the kind of person he is looking for, he shakes his hand and drops the charges. Samuel goes to visit his old home, only to be kept away because a party is going on inside, so in his anger, he uses his ability to sink the house and its party guests into the ground. Emma sits in a park and plays a cello, revealing a dazzling array of colors, but after she realizes she drew attention to herself, she shyly leaves.

As Matt gets ready for work, he sees Sylar in the mirror and pulls his gun out, only to find he is not there. Matt and his partner Green go to make a drug bust on a guy named Keppler. While Green takes a call from the District Attorney, Matt argues with Sylar in his head, stating that he is willing to keep Sylar in his head forever if it means keeping people safe from him. When Green returns with news that the warrant is on its way to break into the house to search for Keppler, Sylar continues to toy with Matt, eventually revealing that Keppler is hiding in a nearby closet with a gun. Matt gets out of the way before he fires and then grabs Keppler, wrestling him to the floor. Matt and Green handcuff him to a chair downstairs while they search the house for the drugs. As Matt searches in the bathroom, Sylar asks Matt to look for something that does not belong. He finds a bunny doll stuffed behind the toilet as Sylar tells him Keppler is hiding something, but that it is something worse than drugs. Matt goes downstairs and riffles through some papers until he stumbles upon a ransom note. He grills Keppler about it and then finally pushes his thoughts into Keppler to tell him where the hostage is after he gives into Sylar's taunts. Keppler tells him that she is under the stairs and Matt quickly runs there only to find the little girl dead. Enraged, he begins to beat up Keppler, only to have Green return after finding the drugs in the garage. When Matt goes to show him the girl, they find she is not there and that the ransom note and bunny have also disappeared. Sylar then reveals that he used Matt's power against him. When Green tells Matt he went too far and that he cannot back him up, Matt pushes the thought into Green's mind that he was attacked by Keppler and Matt defended himself. With this new memory in his head, Green goes out to call in the bust and Sylar congratulates Matt on becoming more like him. Sylar gives Matt an ultimatum: either everyday can be like this, or Matt can find Sylar's body.

Critical reception

Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club rated this episode a C+.^[2]

Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode 7.8 out of 10.^[3]

References

External links

• Ink on IMDb