Run!

"Run!" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. Regular cast members Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) and Santiago Cabrera (Isaac Mendez) do not appear in this episode.

Plot

Meredith calls and informs Nathan that their daughter Claire is still alive. Aware that the scandal could ruin his political future, Nathan gives Meredith $100,000 for her silence. Elsewhere, Mrs. Bennet's health deteriorates, causing the rift between Claire and Mr. Bennet, since she blames him for her mother's condition. He grounds her after learning she skipped school, prompting Claire to be more outraged. Claire later shows up at Meredith's trailer, hoping that her biological father could help Mrs. Bennet. Meredith tells Claire that he will only disappoint her, and Meredith herself is going back to Mexico. She takes a picture of Claire as remembrance, which she later shows to a visiting Nathan. Meredith offers to introduce them, but Nathan refuses - this crushes an eavesdropping Claire. Visibly upset, Nathan gets inside his limo and leaves. Claire hurls a stone at his rear window in anger.

Matt Parkman, suspended from the police, gets a job in private security. He is assigned to protect Aron Malsky, who is visiting Los Angeles to buy diamonds with $2 million stolen from his former employer, Mr. Linderman (apparently, the same $2 million that Jessica previously stole and D.L. Hawkins returned to Malsky). Linderman has employed Jessica as an assassin assigned to kill Malsky. With Matt's power, he manages to take Malsky through a chase through the Diamond District building. Matt overhears Niki and Jessica arguing and thinks that two women are involved. He traps Jessica in a stairwell and asks of Niki's whereabouts. Jessica, surprised that he knows about Niki, says that she is off killing Malsky. Matt leaves her handcuffed to a railing and searches for Malsky; just as Matt finds Malsky, who has hidden the diamonds, Jessica shows up and throws Matt through a high-level window. He lands on a large sign outside - after an indeterminate time he goes back inside, only to find the grisly remains of Malsky, torn in half. Matt remembers Malsky's thoughts earlier, follows them to the diamonds and, upon hearing an officer's scornful thoughts about how he will never be allowed back on the police force, decides to keep them.

Mohinder Suresh has been telephoning people on The List, leaving messages for some but being hung up on by most. Zane Taylor of Virginia Beach returns Suresh's call. Frightened by his ability, he has contacted Suresh to ask him to come to his house. Sylar gets to Zane first and he kills him after seeing his ability, and as Mohinder arrives to the door, poses as him. Mohinder is surprised to see "Zane" much calmer than he expected, and is also impressed that he can control his ability to liquefy objects so well. Sylar gives Mohinder a DNA sample, extracted from Zane's mouth (who was killed by Sylar), and offers to accompany him in his search for other people on The List.

Hiro Nakamura and Ando Masahashi arrive back at Linderman's hotel in Las Vegas and argue about the mission. After Ando states that he will find hope, he comes upon a sobbing woman named Hope. Hope says that she will introduce the men to Linderman if they retrieve her bag, which she left inside the room of her ex-boyfriend. Ando and Hiro manage to sneak in, but Hiro leaves when he finds a gun in the closet. He tries to get Ando to come with him, but his friend refuses. Hiro returns to Hope and overhears a telephone conversation in which she tells how she manipulated "two Chinese guys." Hiro confronts Hope who punches him, knocking him out. Hiro ends up locked inside a closet. Ando retrieves her bag, and Hope convinces him to give her a ride. Hiro is finally let out of the closet by the very man whose room he and Ando had broken into: Steve R. Gustavson, a member of the State Gaming Commission.

Claire returns home, to find that Mrs. Bennet does not recognize her or even Mr. Muggles. Meanwhile, Jessica receives a photograph of her next target: Nathan Petrelli.

Narration

At the end

To survive in this world, we hold close to those people on whom we depend. We trust in them our hopes, our fears. But what happens when trust is lost? Where do we run when things we believe in vanish before our eyes? When all seems lost, the future unknowable, our very existence in peril... all we can do is run.

Ratings

The episode earned an 8.7/13 rating. In the 18-49 demographic, it earned a 6.3/14 rating. It was watched by 14.68 million viewers.

Cultural references

• Hiro tells Hope that he is Japanese, not Chinese, to which she responds "Whatever. Thanks for your help, Sulu." This is a reference to Mr. Sulu from the original Star Trek, played by George Takei - he also plays Hiro's father in the series.
• This episode is directed by Roxann Dawson, best known for her portrayal of B'Elanna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager.

External links

• Watch "Run!" at NBC.com
• Beaming Beeman: Episode 15: Run! - Director's blog on the filming of this episode.
• Run! on IMDb

Notes