Hey, welcome back, Heroes. We’ve missed you, what with all the sucking and being generally terrible for the last year and a half. This week’s ep wasn’t a home run by any stretch of the imagination, unless you compare it to its recent predecessor, in which case this was like The Godfather knocking up Star Wars and producing the awesomest baby evah. But I don’t hate on you simply to hate on you, Heroes: I just want some of that Season 1 magic back in my life. And tonight, you came as close as you ever have.

First off: Arthur Petrelli’s power of absorption makes total sense, in that two of his sons express versions of that themselves. But where as Sylar has to cut open skulls and Peter has to listen to some Jimmy Eat World in order to take other people’s powers, Arthur has to touch them. Gotta love how the show had Arthur’s first victim be a man who supposedly can’t die: THAT is how you establish a major villain.

That being said, I can’t say I wasn’t rooting for Peter to get taken down approximately 18 pegs. “I’m the most special”??? Are you kidding me? Daddy spanked ya, son, and not a moment too soon. But before that, we got a pretty decent Sylar/Peter fight. A helluva lot better than the travesty in Kriby Park, let me tell you. Since the show’s going with Sylar’s redemption arc and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it, let me say by this point I’ve thrown up my hands, let continuity and common sense fly out the door, and now look forward to Sylar single-handedly taking down Pinehurst himself.

Speaking of Pinehurst, gotta love that logo: Season 1’s recurring symbol reflected back on itself, top and bottom, indicating the way in which Sylar and Peter are mirror images of itself, while at the same time of course calling to mind the two halves of the split formula, while at the same time showing the dichotomy between hero and villain. (That’s a busy freakin’ symbol.) Of course, part of that symbol also sits nicely in the schism as the world splits in the recurring visual spread throughout the world. In that image, it’s the world itself reflected back on itself, demonstrating just how fractured the world will be when Papa Petrelli has his way.

Things that normally bug simply didn’t annoy me that much this week. Claire brings along her mother to fight the Puppet Master? Awful in terms of tactical skill, but the Puppet Master was an absolutely creepy character, and Claire showed great smarts under pressure. The Hiro/Ando schtick generally grates to the point of slack-jawed anger, but Hiro’s line reading of “Seriously!” had me on the floor laughing. Same thing for Parkman’s “hHgh five, turtle!” upon seeing Daphne in the airport. Future events almost always show Parkman as a twisted soul: I’m rooting for he and Daphne to step away from the dark together.

About the only thing that truly didn’t work was all-things Mohinder. The Jeckyll-and-Schmuck routine’s wearing thin; why couldn’t he have attacked Pinehurst tonight instead of Peter? Then again, if Arthur came across Mohinder, he might say, “Um, know what? Let’s not shake hands, if it’s all the same to you. Keep that power, big guy. It’s ALL you.” The question is when, exactly, Mohinder turns back from his Santana-esque evil ways: before or after the sides are chosen? And NBC: if you’re planning a superpowered showdown at the end of the season between two groups of powered human, save up some budget between now and then. Put it in a piggy bank or something, PLEASE.

But hey, at least I’m looking forward to the act of this volume. I couldn’t say the same last week. Nice job, Heroes. I’ll be watching you, at least for a little while longer.