Sorry I didn't blog about last week's premiere. I was on vacation. And while "Top Model" and "Project Runway" might inspire me to blog on my days off, "Heroes" does not.

Not to say the premiere episodes (two hours, back to back) weren't good. I thought they were a huge improvement from the crapfest that was Season 2. Alas, I'm afraid the damage might be done, since the ratings last week were dreadful. Can this once-promising show pull itself out of its nosedive?

I think the answer is yes. At least, the writers and producers are doing everything in their power to make it so. We're now three installments into Season 3 and I already feel like more has happened than in the entirety of Season 2. Things are moving fast, y'all, and I think that's a good thing. This show loses its way quickly when it starts to slow down (see: Hiro's endless side trip to feudal Japan; anything with Maya and Alejandro). And this season, I feel like someone has cut the brake lines.

My thoughts, divided by story arc:

Noah Bennet/Sylar/Mama Petrelli: We picked back up after last week's shocking reveal that Mama Petrelli is Sylar's bio mom, making him a half-brother (at least) to Peter and Nathan. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole set up. For one, I'm not convinced that Mama's telling the truth; note that she dodged most of Sylar's questions and was exceedingly vague about the details behind his adoption. She could be just telling him what he needs to hear so he'll listen to her. Second, it's AWFULLY close to the recent X-Men plot that revealed the new Big Bad - Vulcan - was the long-lost brother of two of the main heroes. Anyway, Mama Peterelli somehow convinces Sylar that he needs to work WITH the Company as a field agent, and after casually feeding him another no-name super, she partners him up with Noah Bennet, who wants no part of it. The two make a VERY uneasy alliance and track down the Level 5 Four, and things get more complicated from there.

Future Peter/Peter/Level 5 Baddies: Future Pete interrupts the Level 5 Four's bank heist and quickly frees Peter from his "prison" inside murderous Jesse. (I am still waiting for an explanation for how Peter's body was able to inhabit the same space as Jesse's without one or both of them exploding, although I'm sure I won't get it.) Future Pete then takes Now Pete into, well, the future to show him...whatever. This show REALLY needs to lose the plot point of Character X going into the future and seeing how everything's messed up, then going back in time to change it. They've used it at least three times now, with different futures each time, and if you actually start to think about how it all works, you quickly realize that it doesn't. Meanwhile, the Level 5 Four quickly become the Level 5 One, as sonic-powered Jesse is killed and eaten by Sylar - right in front of Bennet! - that flame guy is taken into custody, and the magnetic German (Magneto rip-off much?) is killed by fear-powered Knox, who makes his escape. Out of ALL those characters, I don't understand why they decided to let Knox run free. The character concept is cool, but the actor is beyond terrible. Yeesh.

Claire/Hot Mama: After suffering through Sylar's attack last episode, Claire has decided that she's no longer interested in being normal. Every time she tries, someone tries to kill her. A fair, logical evaluation. Instead she wants to track down bad guys with Noah. Mom Mom explains that she has to go to school, but Hot Mama (Claire's fire-wielding bio mom, who is staying with them as protection at Noah's behest) agrees to teach Claire how to defend herself. Unless there's something about Hot Mama's past we don't know - like that she's an agent for the Company or something - I don't know how Claire thinks Hot Mama knows how to fight. Incinerate things, yes, but that's not really in Claire's repertoire. But whatever; it leads to an awesome scene where Hot Mama essentially tortures Claire into admitting that she doesn't really want to help people, she wants revenge on Sylar. After a heart-to-heart Claire agrees to try living like a normal teenager, but then steals a box of Noah's files and hits the road. Oh, Claire Bear. I miss your extensions, btw.

Hiro/Ando/Speed Girl: Once again I find myself liking Hiro but hating his storyline. This would be the second season in a row. Hiro and Ando are tracking obnoxious speedster Daphne (seriously, WHY does this show insist on introducing deliberately unlikable characters?), who has already stolen Hiro's father's half of some world-destroying formula, and is on her way to steal the other half from some German movie theater. Daphne is the worst thief ever, and totally spills this info to Hiro and Ando, and then the three discover they've got trouble when none of their powers work - because Haitian Sensation is there! He's come to get the other half of the formula, presumably for Mama Petrelli. But of course Hiro and his accompanying Honking Bassoons of Idiocy screw it up in an extremely labored Buster Keaton homage, in which Ando knocks out Haitian and Daphne steals the case. The good news: in the end Hiro and Ando are arrested and imprisoned in Level 5. Maybe now Hiro will stop acting like an asshole.

Tracy/Nikki/Micah: Ice-powered Tracy starts investigating her weird link to Nikki, and ends up somehow in New Orleans. There she finds Nikki's coffin, including her corpse (awfully well-preserved for someone who died in a fire), and Micah. (Absolutely no sign of Grams OR that awesome Taskmaster-like girl, which I assume means we'll never see her again. Dammit, show!) Micah knows that Tracy isn't his mom, and uses his computer voodoo to discover that Tracy and Nikki were born at the same time in the same hospital and delivered by the same doctor. Tracy goes to visit this Dr. Zimmerman, who calls her by ANOTHER name, and then explains that he "created" her. So...Tracy/Nikki/Jessica - all clones? Are we talking a multi-powered Madrox here?

Parkman: Parkman continues his lame "spirit walk" in Africa with Nu Isaac. He discovers Nu Isaac has been painting scenes from Parkman's life since he was a boy (boy, isn't that a crappy power?). In the end he says Parkman's future has changed, and shows him a painting of Parkman holding the body of the woman who was supposed to bear him his child. Doesn't Parkman already have a kid we never talk about? Whatever; I hope he dies. I can't stand that character.