Heroes Season 3 Episode 19

For all there are some significant game changing moments in 'Shades of Gray', they essentially act as window-dressing to the episode's real feature: giving Zachary Quinto a chance to remind us all exactly why he's the coolest villain on network television. The interplay between Sylar and his long lost father is definitely the highlight here. John Glover is excellent foil for Quinto, capturing the sad, lonely callousness of this most wretched of men with great ease. It's a shame that the encounter, while superbly written, ultimately amounts to very little other than Sylar returning to his former self (with a possible minor variation in his potential assisting of Danko), and therefore comes as a bit of a predictable waste of time. Still, for a good thirty minutes, this is riveting stuff. The supporting stories are a slightly mixed bag: while Nathan's fall from grace is executed quite well (even if that shove through the window is completely telegraphed), the Claire/Puppeteer narrative just feels like another exercise in water-treading. The same beats are reiterated here as last week: should young Bennet save the day and risk her life or stand aside and let the big boys do their thing? Oh sure, David H. Lawrence XVII is a joy to watch but was his return really necessary? It seems utterly superfluous and, in any case, didn't he die, like, six episodes ago?! Oh yeah and, writing staff, unnecessarily lascivious comic book store scene where everyone lusts after Claire? Yawn.