Episode 15 – Close to You
While going over his collection of clippings on Samuel and the carnival, Noah wonders if he can rebuild his relationship with his daughter. Lauren is there at his apartment with him and warns him that he’s starting to obsess. When she suggests they bring in Claire because she has a compass, Noah snaps at her briefly and then tries to apologize. Lauren confirms that the house Samuel sunk into a sinkhole in New York belongs to the Wheelers, and finds security camera footage showing that their daughter Vanessa meeting with Samuel. They find Vanessa is now living in California and call her, but she denies knowing anyone named Samuel. When Noah notes that he was the sons of the servants at her house, she hangs up on him. Noah heads for California but Lauren chooses to leave on her own and let him go on his own.
At the carnival, Samuel is writing a letter to Vanessa while studying one of his sketches of her. Lydia comes in and he admits that she’s worried over the recent issues between them. He asks her to be patient and assures her that they’ll soon have achieved their dreams. Lydia wonders if those dreams are everyone’s dreams, or just his, but Samuel avoids the issue and says that he’ll be soon bring Vanessa to the carnival.
Outside, Lydia talks to her daughter Amanda, who doesn’t understand why her mother is trying to cause trouble. Lydia suggests that they need a new leader, and the man they need may be the one Samuel described as the next Joseph due to his compassion. When Amanda suggests that Lydia find the man, Lydia concentrates…
In New York, Peter is sleeping at his apartment when he has a dream of Lydia. He wakes up and discovers that the compass tattoo on his arm is spinning on its own.
In Los Angeles, Matt is making breakfast for his family when Janice comes in and says that her brother wants to hire him as a computer salesman. Matt isn’t interested and insists that he just wants to stay at home and take care of his family. She leaves for work and Noah steps in past their security system. When Matt points out that he didn’t handle the Noah situation well, Noah admits that none of them handled it well but he needs Matt to deal with Samuel, who plans to recruit Claire. Matt tells Noah that he should deal with his family issues instead of attacking Samuel, but Noah warns that Samuel will continue recruiting, and may come after Matt Jr. next.
Hiro and Ando travel to Florida to the asylum where Mohinder is confined. They get Hiro in by Ando registering him as a patient. As Hiro is taken down the corridor, he spots the room containing Mohinder and starts yelling. Ando realizes they are there for the patient in the room and waits until the orderly takes Hiro away. He then uses his energy powers to blast open the security lock and get to Mohinder, and realizes who Hiro has been talking about all along.
Noah and Matt go to the concert hall where Vanessa performs the cello. They spot her and Noah tries to convince her to talk to him about Samuel. When she refuses, Noah has Matt telepathically influence her to meet with them.
In the streets of New York, Peter calls Noah on his cell phone and leaves a message informing him that the compass tattoo is active. Suddenly he feels a strange compulsion and walks down the street to Emma’s apartment. She lets him in and Emma explains that she used her power to draw him there. He sees the compass symbol on the cello and realizes that Samuel gave it to her, and shows her the tattoo on his arm.
Vanessa explains that Samuel used to write love letters to her when he was a child. Then his family left and she lost contact with him for a while. However, later he returned and slipped into her bedroom, and asked her to come with him to the carnival and marry him. When she refused, he left. Noah warns that Samuel has become far more dangerous since then and Vanessa admits that Samuel has been stalking her recently. He is obsessed with her and wants them to be together. Noah figures they can use Vanessa as bait and asks her to call him when Samuel contacts her.
Peter takes Emma back to his apartment and shows him the news clipping where Samuel was posing as William Hooper. When Emma shows Peter the compass he gave her, Peter warns her that someone almost killed Noah to get his. Angela arrives and Peter tries to introduce her to Emma, but Angela reacts in shock and anger as Emma goes.
At the asylum’s common room, Ando visits Hiro and apologizes for thinking he was insane. Hiro explains that Mohinder can’t use his strength because he’s been drugged, and Ando says he’ll handle it. He tries to switch Mohinder’s medication for aspirin, but the orderly notices he’s doing something and approaches him. Ando holds the pill in his hand and pretends to sneeze when the orderly offers to shake hands. However, when the orderly slaps him in the back in welcome, Ando swallows the pill and Hiro realizes they’re in trouble.
Vanessa calls Noah when Samuel contacts her, and Noah hides in her house. As he waits for Samuel to arrive, he calls Matt, who is waiting out front monitoring the tracking device they’ve put on Vanessa. Samuel comes in through the back and takes Vanessa. One of Eli’s clones attacks Noah as a distraction. Noah stuns him with a taser and he dissipates, while Matt runs inside. Another clone tries to stop him and Noah disposes of it, and they separate to go after Samuel. He catches up to Samuel, who uses his terrakinesis to split the pavement and send up a gout of dirt to cover his escape. Matt arrives in the SUV and they drive after Samuel, following the tracker.
Angela finally explains that she had a dream revealing that Emma is doomed and Peter can’t save her. Angela tries to leave it at that, but Peter warns that they’ve lost half their family and he needs her to tell the truth. Angela finally explains that in her precognitive dream, Emma slaughters thousands of people using her power in combination with the cello. Peter realizes that Angela isn’t telling him everything and she knows who can save Emma. When she refuses to tell him, Peter grabs her arm and mimics her power. As he leaves, Angela warns that her power isn’t a gift, but a curse.
After Ando passes out, Hiro goes to Mohinder’s cell and manages to wake him up. Once he recovers consciousness, Hiro convinces Mohinder to use his strength to break free and break down the cell door. Mohinder remembers who put him there, but Hiro says that they’ll have to deal with it later. He leads Mohinder to the closet in the common room where he stored the dazed and hallucinating Ando. The orderlies discover that Mohinder has escaped and sound the alarm. Mohinder and Hiro get Ando into a wheelchair and head for the exit. The orderlies close in and Hiro convinces him to blast the door open. Mohinder uses his strength to knock out the orderlies and they escape out into the swamps.
Noah and Matt follow Vanessa’s signal out into the countryside and find nothing but an empty field with a carnival poster. Noah explains to Matt that one can only find the carnival with a compass, and Matt suggests they get it from Claire. Noah refuses, but admits he doesn’t have any other ideas. They return to Matt’s house and Matt insists that they’re done, and that he needs to take care of his family rather than worry about saving the world. Noah insists that Matt can’t avoid his responsibilities but Matt believes they both need to deal with their personal issues, and tells Noah to find Claire and give her a hug.
As Peter sleeps, he has Angela’s dream of Emma inside the carnival’s mirror maze, playing her cello. Desperate, she continues to play as people die… and finally Sylar comes to her, smiling, and says he can save her. Upon waking, Peter goes to Emma’s apartment and immediately grabs the cello and smashes it. He tries to explain about his dream but she doesn’t know what he means and tells him to leave.
As the trio escape from the asylum into the swamps, Mohinder is ready to abandon Hiro for what he did to him. Ando explains that Hiro is dying from a brain tumor and deserves a little consideration. As the police track them down, Mohinder wonders why they don’t teleport and Ando explains that Hiro’s brain was scrambled and he can’t use his powers. Mohinder suggests that Ando use his power to jumpstart Hiro’s brain. Ando is reluctant to do so, given the future Hiro described where Ando kills him with his red lightning. Mohinder convinces Ando to do so and he shocks Hiro back to normal. Hiro teleports his friends away just in time as the police arrive.
Noah goes to see Claire and tells her that he came from California. She asks why he’s there and Noah admits that he has burned most of his bridges behind him, but he doesn’t want to lose her. Claire needs to go but says that she’ll talk to him later.
As Matt has supper with Janice and his son, she compliments him on the meal and asks what he did all day. He wonders if he’s a coward and notes that he didn’t do anything to stop Sylar once he freed his mind of him, and he hasn’t done anything to solve the problems he caused by altering Sylar’s mind. Janice insists that he has to put his family first, and Matt reluctantly agrees.
At the carnival, Samuel brings Vanessa some tea, but refuses to take her home as she requests. He had hoped their reunion would be perfect, but believes that Noah has turned her against him. Vanessa points out that Samuel is the one holding her against his will, and he apologizes for upsetting her. He asks her to see something beautiful that he has prepared, and if she still wants to go after that, he’ll let her.
As Noah adds the photo of Vanessa to his board, Lauren comes back and says that she saw he was home and decided to visit. He explains that he failed in his trip to California, and then says that he cares deeply about her. They start to kiss, but suddenly Hiro, Ando, and Mohinder teleport in. Noah greets them with a smile.
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