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Heroes Season 3 Episode 16

Building 26

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AIRED: Feb 16, 2009

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7.7

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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As the President sends a representative to investigate Nathan's activities, Sylar continues his quest to find his father. Hiro and Ando travel to India to fulfill the destiny shown by Matt's drawing, and Claire risks her father's wrath to protect a new friend.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (46)

Some change within structure!

9.5

By LivingLost, Feb 04, 2011

Finally they are sliming down the content of the show. The show has always been an excellent, superb and dramatically pleasing series, however the began to delve too deep into the plot with way too many characters. In essence, this resulted in confusion with the audience. They were confused about which characters had powers, which didn't, who was good and who was bad. Now they are focusing the conflict and simplifying the main character make up. Now the content is easier to comprehend and the show is even greater than before. Nothing beats sitting down and marveling over the unique qualities of such an amazing show! Congrats!moreless
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The episode was a fantastic one that had much feeling to it :)

9.5

By tRuEhErOeSfAn, Jun 25, 2010

I loved the episode , and thought it was great!!! I love the mystery behind who Rebel is ? Its really sad that Noah is leaving his family kinda :( I wanna see where Hiro and Ando go next.

Sylar had the greatest scenes for me . I don't know why he went back for the kid though ? I hope Tracey becomes free :).................... I want them to go more into the new charactr alex's power :) It would be a great thing to explore. The ending scene with HRG , was a nice thing to see because it reminded me of matts scene from season 1 :)moreless
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Noah gets kinapped by the very people the hunter is trying to capture.

9.0

By ionee24, Jun 25, 2010

Heroes strike back trying to protect their own as the President does his best trying to protect the rest and Sylar to protect young Luke. Much like everything on this volume alliances born out of fear, revenge or plain need set Sylar to find his father, Matt to India and Claire to a new friend.

Ando & Hiro's conflict trying to reinvent themselves reaches its peak once Ando reveals that Hiro's real problem is that he's now the sidekick even though is a sidekick like Luke the one who somehow brings out best out of Sylar.

As the secret of their existance is bound to be exposed with every step they take trying to regain their rightful place in the world, Tracy proves Nathan's point: they are more powerful. A fact the rest of them might have to deal with just like Bennet himself is about to deal with the ones who captures him by the end of the episode.moreless
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awesome

9.5

By feraflower, Jun 25, 2010

Heroes undergoes another turnaround from really good to iffy to pretty good again. Now, I get the sense that Heroes really wants to turn itself around. A Clear and Present Danger started it, now Building 26 is gathering the momentum. I can't comment on how it corresponds to Season One, and I don't think I should, but if Heroes continues this track, it will be in pretty good shape. The episode is less involved than Trust and Blood and in here, it's a good thing, because Heroes cranks up the intensity and suspense from last episode to an edge-of-your-seater. Nathan, Hunter, and government crew hole up in their lair Building 26, keeping tabs on their progress for the hunt of heroes. The heroes' credit cards are frozen, cities are being monitored, yet through all that, things aren't going too well for Nathan. He only has Tracey so far, Peter slipped almost literally from his grasp, Sylar is still elusive, and all heroes from around the world are picking up the hint that something is wrong and doing their best to stay hidden. Once again, Nathan can't make up his mind over if the heroes should be caged or experimented on or tortured or all of the above. All I know is Nathan just wants them locked away from society. Yeah, great plan. Pinehearst was way more organized than this. However, Nathan is much more dangerous. He is blindly hunting everyone good or bad and doesn't care over whoever will get hurt. At Costa Verde, Claire is moping around, ashamed at hiding away like a scared little girl. Sandra is still under the impression Claire and Noah have taken the two-month break scouring colleges and asks Claire about it. Claire storms to her room like a punk and Noah comes to reprimend her. Claire's sick and tired of lying to her mother, that's reasonable, but she doesn't understand what Noah's trying to do. Hunter has put Claire on a short leash. She can be home but if Hunter sees any sign of her aiding or being involved with stopping the hunt, he will round her up. Noah tries to explain this to Claire but it falls on deaf ears. I see where Claire is coming from but she has to stop being such a brat and understand how Noah feels. Noah storms out and Claire gets a text message from the mysterious Rebel telling her to find someone named Alex. She finds Alex work at a comic store and convinces him, showing her powers, that they need to leave for Noah is coming for him. Claire pulls some sneaky manipulation and Alex and her sneak off. Meanwhile Sylar and Luke are on a trip to find his father. I've warmed to Luke since last time but he is still extremely annoying. He views his journey as a roadtrip. I don't blame Sylar too much on being aggrivated. Sylar is quick to inform that this is not a trip but a mission and if Luke wasn't useful, he'd be dead. Luke just doesn't get the hint that Sylar very well means what he says. There is some witty banter over Luke reinforcing that yes, Sylar is a serial killer. He has a motive, a pattern. Serial killer. Something we've known since, ever, but still nice to hear. Hiro and Ando land in India, puzzling through Matt's painting of them, and somehow it involves stopping a wedding to a bride that is being forced to marry someone she depises. Ando convinces her to call it off to Hiro's protest. Hiro feels it is his destiny to stop it, not Ando. Claire and Alex manage to avoid Noah and Claire informs him on the hunt. Alex admits his power: he can breathe underwater like a fish. And I thought Luke's power was stupid. At least Luke can do some sort of damage with it. I like this episode but the Heroes writers have got to be more creative than gill-guy. Claire realizes Alex and her escaped on his car and they flee just before the brigade closes in. They might not have wanted to park near a survellience camera anyway. Hunter realizes Claire's involvement with their prey and corners Noah on the find. Sylar at last stops at a diner to Luke's happiness. Anything to please the unwanted sidekick. More great Sylar "lessons" showing Luke how to control his powers. At least Sylar understands the whole power-responsibility. Luke informs Sylar more abou his father: his father likes to observes birds and took Luke out often. This leads to a Sylar flashing to a time where he was on a wagon near a tree. Sylar rediscovering his humanity. It continues when Luke asks why Sylar wants to find his father. Sylar wants to know where he came from, who he is, and why he is why he is. He's been lost since Heroes day one. Luke knows Father sold Sylar for money. Sylar wonders what kind of person could do that. Luke only knows that Father liked him because maybe Luke reminded him of Sylar. Luke gives Sylar some leeway and writes down Father's address. Sylar asks why Luke trusts him not to kill him. Luke believes it. The brigade busts into the diner out for Sylar and Luke. Luke thinks on his feet and rats Sylar out while Sylar causes some damage to the diner. Luke catches up, grinning, not realizing Sylar's through with him. Sylar leaves him behind to the brigade. I know Luke is a pain-in-the-butt but he didn't deserve that. Hiro mopes that he's not the hero anymore, which Ando calls him on. He's upset that Hiro can't stand that he is Ando's sidekick. Considering the turmoil Hiro inflicted on him throughout the years, Ando isn't undeserving of that credit. The fiance threatens his bride and Ando steps in only to be kidnapped. The bride decides to marry him to save Ando but Hiro calls the wedding off at last minute, assuring her it is her choice. The fiance gets violent and Hiro fends him off, the vision. Fiance decides to call everything off and Ando is returned. Hiro realizes he came here to discover that he can be a hero without powers. Great but how about letting Ando be a hero? The true mission is revealed later when Bride tells them Rebel left them a fax, informing them to go after Matt. A voice of reason storms into Nathan's mission looking to pull funding. She doesn't believe in heroes and reads him the riot act and he shows her Tracey only to find she is an old friend of Tracey's, strengthing her resolve. Nathan tries to convince her that heroes are dangerous but he needn't have bothered. Tracey busts out and freeze-cuts a man. Tracey just lost any support the heroes had. Tracey feels Nathan intentionally let her go but that wasn't Nathan's plan. Hunter set that up so Tracey could prove that she is a monster, knowing she could kill someone. Nathan finally gets the idea that Hunter is ruthless. Noah chews out Claire to stay out of his way or she'll get hurt but Claire yanks on her leash by informing her dad that he can't control the heroes or her. She'll do what she pleases, thank you. Sandra acts sweet to Claire so Claire spills just what Noah has been doing and Sandra has had enough. She's through with Noah's lies. Noah walks in to Claire's room to tell her Sandra kicked him out. Claire feels bad and she should, she caused the mess. Noah doesn't blame her and realizes he should take time to sort out his priorities. He leaves while Claire gives a hiding Alex a blanket. Ouch. Sylar returns for Luke, spleening the brigade. Sylar informs Luke that he only came back to stop the tracking but Luke knows otherwise. Sylar is progressing. Still killing but at least he's progressing. Noah checks in to a hotel and asks for a drink and is drugged by who else?: Matt, Mohinder, and Peter looking for answers. An honestly interesting episode that proves that Heroes still has it and is showing more steps to get to perfection. The storylines are manageable and followable, even though the Ando-Hiro storyline was kind of boring, and by cutting screentime, it adds to the suspense. Claire is showing some iniative and Sylar is becoming more and more human and relateable as his father search finally gets intense. Next week, Matt will probe Noah's mind to see what's in there. Sounds promising. Heroes rocks once more.moreless
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I stood behind this series after all the lows in the past, but this one was plane disappointment

1.0

By gordan_hk, Jun 25, 2010

Oh come on, I can write better then this, I can direct better then this. Not only nothing happened, but the story is extremely dull. So is there someone who can give me 3 good reasons why should I give this show another chance? The characters are dull, it really insults my intelligence,the storyline is stupid, parallel timelines so they always have an exit strategy and what is worse - people traveling through them, the writing reminds me of Digimon "I know why I was supposed to be here, to learn that I can be a hero without powers" my ass!!! Ok, so this show has one ex-faithful and supporting viewer less from this week on :(moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Greg Grunberg	Matt Parkman
Jack Coleman	Noah Bennet/HRG
Hayden Panettiere	Claire Bennet
James Kyson Lee	Ando Masahashi
Masi Oka	Hiro Nakamura
Ali Larter	Tracy Strauss

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Dan Byrd	Luke Campbell	Guest Star
Justin Baldoni	Alex Woolsley	Guest Star
Amrapali Ambegaokar	Annapoora	Guest Star
Zeljko Ivanek	Emile Danko	Recurring Role
Ashley Crow	Sandra Bennet	Recurring Role
Randall Bentley	Lyle Bennet	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Adrian Pasdar as Nathan Petrelli in Hero...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.
Moira Kelly as Abby Collins in Heroes' '...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.
Ali Larter as Tracy Strauss in Heroes' '...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.
Ali Larter as Tracy Strauss in Heroes' '...

© 2009 NBC Universal, Inc.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- The song playing on the radio when Sylar turns it on and Luke smiles at it is "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads. The song playing at the beginning as Sylar drives is "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf.
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QUOTES (12)
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- Ando: Hiro. You were right. I should have never interrupted the course of destiny.
  Hiro: No apologies, my friend... I realize why I was sent to India, and it wasn't to get my abilities back. It was to learn that I do not need powers to be a hero!
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- Danko: I'm sorry that a man had to die.
  Nathan: Why don't you apologize to his bloodstain? It's still warm.
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- Annapoora: I finally figured out why your names are so familiar. A fax came in addressed to Hiro and Ando. See?
  Hiro: It's from someone named Rebel.
  Ando: Who?
  Hiro: Just an address in Los Angeles. And the words, "Save Matt Parkman." It's a message from Destiny!
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- (in Japanese)
  Ando: I saw a way to help that girl, so I did!
  Hiro: Well you did it wrong!
  Ando: No, I did it my way. And that's what really bothers you. That I have powers, and you don't! You can't stand the fact that now you're my sidekick!
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- Sylar: (to Luke) Stop. I can tell when people are lying because I saw open their skulls and rip their abilities out from their brains.
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- Sandra: Noah, I can't take it anymore. I just can't.
  Noah: What are you talking about?
  (talking over each other)
  Sandra: I know what you're doing. Hunting people down.
  Noah: You don't know what I've been doing.
  Sandra: Don't lie to me, Noah!
  Noah: You have no idea how big this is!
  Sandra: I really wanted to believe that you could change, that you could be someone different from who you really are!
  Noah: Do you have any idea how difficult this is? Maybe I don't have a choice!
  Sandra: There is always a choice!
  Noah: The government is putting together a list of people they are rounding up, and they have made it very clear to me that if I am not on board, then Claire will be on that list!
  Sandra: Don't make this about Claire!
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- Sandra: (about Claire's supposed college trip) Did you guys have any fun at all? Take in a Broadway show?
  Claire: Dad was a little busy... abducting innocent people. (Sandra stares, shocked) He's not been honest with you, Mom. He's not a consultant. He's working for a secret program imprisoning people with powers.
  Sandra: (shocked) The Company?
  Claire: No. The Company's gone. This is something else.
  Sandra: Honey, are you sure? I mean, maybe he was --
  Claire: I was there. I saw it. They were loading prisoners onto a transport plane, they had them all hooded, they were drugged. It was horrible.
  Sandra: (half-whispering) Oh my god. It's starting all over again.
  Claire: No, this is worse. They're taking everyone. Not just dangerous people. Anyone with an ability. Matt Parkman, Dr. Suresh, Peter... I'm sorry, but I just can't lie to you anymore.
  (Noah enters the kitchen; Claire and Sandra glare at him)
  Noah: Indian food?
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- Luke: Wow. So you're like a serial killer.
  Sylar: I'm not a serial killer.
  Luke: But you've got a pattern. You go after specific victims. You collect mementos.
  Sylar: Okay, technically, I'm a serial killer. Now that we've established that, give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear open your head right here.
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- (in Japanese)
  Hiro: If there is one thing I've learned it's that when destiny calls, you answer the phone!
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- Sylar: Luke. You really got to stop trying to be my friend, or I'm going to have to kill you.
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- Luke: So, what, you always use your powers for a reason?
  Sylar: Usually. Sometimes I disappoint myself.
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- Noah: Do you have any idea what happens if they think I can't control you anymore?
  Claire: That's the thing, Dad. You can't.
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NOTES (2)
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- International Airdates:
  Latin America: April 25, 2009 on Universal Channel
  Australia: May 7, 2009 on Channel 7
  Germany: December 16, 2009 on RTL II
  Finland: May 22, 2010 on Sub
  Czech Republic: September 17, 2010 on Prima COOL
  Slovakia: August 7, 2012 on Markiza
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- Powers Update:
  Alex Woolsley: Alex can breathe underwater.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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- ADD ALLUSIONS from this episode.