Episode 11 – Powerless
“Powerless” is the eleventh episode of the second season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes and thirty-fourth episode overall. It was written by co-executive producer Jeph Loeb and directed by executive producer Allan Arkush. The episode aired on December 3, 2007 as the conclusion of the “Volume 2: Generations” storyline. It is also the final episode of Heroes that was ready for broadcast prior to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, and acted as the season finale pending the resolution of the dispute.
The episode’s main storylines revolve around Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) and Hiro Nakamura’s (Masi Oka) quest to stop the release of the Shanti virus, and Sylar’s (Zachary Quinto) attempt to regain his powers. The end of the episode features a brief prologue of the third volume, “Villains”, which features Sylar regaining his powers. Originally, the virus was going to be released, and Tim Kring said that it was to play a big role in Volume 3. Kring stated that the ending had to be rewritten because they did not know when the show would return to air, and they wanted to make sure that they tied up all the loose ends. “Powerless” was watched by eleven million Americans and received mainly positive reviews from critics, with many saying that it was a positive end to a lacklustre season.
Peter Petrelli and Adam Monroe (David Anders) break into the Primatech compound in Odessa to destroy the Shanti virus. The virus, a life-threatening disease that attacks the blood cells of the body, prevents evolved humans from using their abilities and ultimately ends in their death. Hiro tries to warn Peter that Adam cannot be trusted, but Peter does not believe him and renders him unconscious. Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) learn the virus’s location from Angela Petrelli (Cristine Rose), who tells them that Adam can be killed by a gunshot to the head if he cannot be stopped. Peter uses his powers to pry the vault open by force, and is confronted by Hiro and Matt. Nathan stops Peter and is able to convince him that Adam is trying to release the virus, not destroy it. Adam, already in possession of the virus, lets it fall just before Hiro teleports them away. Peter enters the vault just in time to telekinetically grab the virus and vaporize it in his hands, which becomes a Helix Symbol as dust in his hand. Once Hiro returns to the Yamagato building in Tokyo, Ando asks him if he was able to avenge his father’s death. Hiro says that Adam “can never hurt anyone ever again”, and Adam is shown screaming for help in a casket buried in a Japanese cemetery.
After Monica Dawson (Dana Davis) is captured by a street gang, Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey) turns to his mother Niki (Ali Larter) for help. Despite the fact that Niki no longer has her powers due to the virus, she agrees to help. They follow a GPS signal emitted by Monica’s cell phone to find her location: an abandoned warehouse. The member of the gang that kidnapped Monica has tied her up and intends to kill her by burning down the warehouse around her. Niki beats up the gang member and enters the burning warehouse. With Niki’s help, Monica is able to escape from the building with Micah’s backpack, but Niki is unable to escape herself. The building explodes, presumably with Niki inside.
Bob Bishop confronts Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman), telling him that Claire is trying to expose The Company, and asks if she has any dangerous information. Bennet only smiles. Bob says that they will have to take drastic measures. While Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) is packing up her father’s files to expose The Company, West Rosen arrives and tries to stop her from revealing his secret. Angered, she gives him his file and breaks up with him. Afterward, Noah returns home, revealing to his family that he is still alive. He tells Claire not to expose The Company, and informs her that he has made a deal, and will again be working for them. In exchange, his family, including Claire, will be left alone to lead normal lives.
Maya Herrera (Dania Ramirez) learns Sylar’s true nature when he kidnaps Molly Walker (Adair Tishler) and Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). While searching her father’s office, Elle (Kristen Bell) discovers a video surveillance feed showing Sylar in Mohinder’s lab. She decides to play the hero in order to get back into her father’s good graces. When Sylar forces Mohinder to restore his powers, Maya learns from Molly that her brother was killed by Sylar himself. When Maya confronts him about this, he shoots her in the chest. Sylar has Mohinder test Claire’s restorative blood by reviving Maya. As she returns to life, Elle enters the laboratory and attacks Sylar. He escapes, but takes the blood with him. Elle is upset that she let Sylar get away, but Mohinder tells her that she saved their lives, and insists that she is a hero, a statement which she seems genuinely pleased about. With Matt’s assistance, Nathan calls a press meeting. He has decided to expose the nature of the heroes and The Company. As he is about to announce his ability to fly, he is abruptly shot in the chest by an unknown assailant. Angela Petrelli watches a television news report about her son’s attack as she speaks to an unidentified person on the phone. She calmly and firmly states that she understands the reason for the attack on Nathan, but that the assassination attempt has “opened Pandora’s box”.
