One more episode before the season finale! Very exciting. Although last night's episode started off fairly anticlimactically it picked up considerable speed, putting all the pieces into place for the literally explosive end to Season 1. Things to note:

-It had totally escaped me that the "Walker system" that Bennett was trying to shut down along with Parkman and Radioactive Ted was in fact the girl, Molly Walker. So when he showed up to blow her brains out...yikes. I just don't think Bennett can pull that off. Not that it matters; the episode ended with a Mexican standoff involving Bennett, Molly, Mohinder, and a knocked-out Parkman (can he do anything right?). Also important: Bennett shot and killed Eric Roberts. Cold! (Am I the only one kind of underwhelmed by Roberts' role in this show? Was he really just the lackey?)

-The cliffhanger involving Peter ready to blow up after absorbing Ted's powers was resolved way too simply, with Pete just sucking it up before Claire had to shoot him. It does suggest, however, that something would have to be really wrong for Pete to lose control like he's supposed to. I can't imagine what that is. Anyway, he, Claire, and Ted try to get the hell out of the city before one of the two men goes boom, but that's screwed up when clever Sylar follows them, tricks the cops into nabbing Ted - who is a suspected terrorist - and then promptly ambushes the motorcade and eats Ted's brain. So now Sylar has explosive powers too (duh) and the actor that plays Ted is free to resume his role on the "Cavemen" TV show ABC picked up for fall. May god save us all.

-Hiro's story got hella awesome, as Ando located a metalsmith in the phone book who specializes in fixing ancient samurai swords (and whose ad, conveniently, featured the hero symbol). When they go to visit "Mr. Claremont" (cute, writers) they find George Takei as Hiro's dad. He tells Hiro that he's finally ready to assume the Nakamura mantle (this suggests that there have been others he's tried to work with in the past, hmm...), teaches Hiro how to use the sword properly, and generally kicks large amounts of ass. Hiro's dad is superpowered too, although we never quite figure out what his abilities are. BUT! We do know that he was part of the Linderman/Petrelli parents' group that I also suspect Simone's dad was a part of. This stuff has more twists than the original "Star Wars" trilogy...

-Illusion caster Candice (I finally remembered her name) takes Micah to a polling precinct and instructs him to use his machine-talking powers to give Nathan a landslide victory in his Congressional run. He does, but not before they have a nice chat in which Candice reveals that the form she regularly wears is most likely not her actual form - she alludes to being a very big girl - and that she believes the world is sick, and that Linderman wants to heal it. Micah sees right through that BS, but helps after he's promised that he'll be reunited with his parents and given a huge wad of cash. Oh, Micah...

-And Micah's parents are on their way to rescue him, as Nikki and DL break into Nathan's office, and then Linderman's pad. Ali Larter was great last night, and I love when she plays bad girl Jessica. (Upon running into Parkman, whom she fought several episodes ago, she says: "Didn't I throw you through a window?" Ha!) The two of them have a tense standoff with Linderman in which he admits that the two of them were all a science project in order to produce Micah, and then he bribes Jessica to kill DL. Jessica's ready to do the deed, but Nikki takes over in time and when Linderman goes to shoot her DL takes the bullet. Good. I hope he's dead. However, he does something right by then phasing behind Linderman, reaching into his skull, and taking out a considerable chunk of his brain. So Linderman is "dead." Uh huh. I mean, he could very well be snuffed, but given that his power is healing-related, it's not a stretch that he could be immortal or whatever. If Malcolm McDowell deigns it worth his time to return that shit could totally happen.

-But before he died Linderman gave Nate a little gift: He healed his wife's paralyzed legs. Saw that coming, and I'm sure it'll come into play much later.

So, we have DL and Linderman probably both dead, Nikki with a good reason to leave the show (I keep hearing rumors that she's gone before next season), Sylar ready to blow him up, misguided Ando racing to kill him, Hiro trying to save his friend (not going to happen; Ando's going to die, y'all), Peter and Claire gearing up for the final battle with Sylar, Bennet and Mohinder and Parkman and Molly all pointing guns at one another, and Nathan left in a very complicated, very precarious position. How will it all go down? I don't know, but if they kill off Adrian Pasdar I'd better at least get a couple more shirtless scenes in the finale...