The Art of Deception

Season 4, Episode 16, Aired
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Episode Summary

The new and different Sylar pays Matt a visit, while Peter tries to warn Emma that Samuel isn't what he seems. Meanwhile, Noah begins his plan to infiltrate the carnival and capture Samuel.
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Fan Episode Reviews (16)

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  • The art of SUCK

    1.5
    "Abysmal"
    By ashanda1, May 29, 2011 Report Abuse
    Ok. Let me give the writers a bit of advice.

    "You're Syler, the strongest person I have seen who has killed countless people. You are sitting here in my house with my wife whom you can kill with a flick of the wrist. I'm not afraid of you! I'll never help you!"

    "help me our I kill your family."

    "ok. I'll help you. but you gotta let them go."

    do you see how unintentionally comical this has become? And it happens now in every episode. If you wanted to be interesting, you would let Samuel go with Benet then go from there. I donno. Matt locks Syler off from the world, 5 minutes later, Peter comes to get him. um, why?

    the timing on this show is just so ... goofy.moreless

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    15 11

  • Claire ruins a lot of things (caution: spoilers)...

    10
    "Perfect"
    By mmmshuddup, May 04, 2011 Report Abuse
    But I suppose getting rid of her wouldn't be the answer... After all, we all saw what become of the O.C. after Mischa Barton left.

    Anyways, even though Claire tends to ruin everything by being a self-absorbed brat, Heroes came through with another fantastic episode! My faith in Heroes has been officially restored as of last night. I have no idea what's gonna happen next and yet I can't stop thinking about it! An interesting twist with Peter at the end, that was cool. Plus, Matt was clearly not thinking because obviously his power has backfired on him before when using it on Sylar.

    Plus I still don't know what's up with Hiro, I can't wait until the next episode!!!moreless

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    13 1

  • Another fantastic episode, (caution spoilers)heading towards a great season finale. Things heat up at the Carnival when one of the carnies gets shot.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Spencer1981, Apr 08, 2011 Report Abuse
    Samuel, the evil puppet master turns a bad situation back in his favour. Everyone at the Carnival is terrified of Samuel after he destroys a whole city with his bad temper. He then frames HRG with the murder of Lydia to get everyone back on his side.
    Sylar seeks Parkmans help in turning over a new leaf but gets more than he bargained for. Parkman traps Sylar in his worst nightmare, Alone forever. Peter thinks Sylar is the only one who can help Emma and will stop at nothing to get his help.
    Can Tracey stop Samuel, tune in next week to find out as Lauren calls her as HRG's backup plan.moreless

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    6 5

  • Very interesting Samuel episode.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By whiteraven2005, Apr 08, 2011 Report Abuse
    How sweet! Sylar wants to be good we know how that ended the first time around. Then again, both Peter and Angela had a vision of Sylar trying to help Emma. Sylar's darkness comes from his primary power the need to consume power, remove his powers and he might stop. Matt didn't take that chance he used that trick he learned from his father. Bricking an immortal Sylar up in a wall is very Poe.

    I like the symmetry of Peter saving Sylar I always liked the brief time when we thought Peter and Sylar were brothers. They'd make a formidable team, much like Peter and Nathan at their best.

    Samuel's plan is brilliant make it look like Noah went back on his word, making himself a martyr (giving them something new to be afraid of), make his people even more afraid of persecution and getting rid of Lydia. He can feed their anger and make them an army.moreless

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    4 5

  • 'The Art of Deception' benefits greatly from its distinct concentration on the Carnival storyline.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By screenagedkicks, Apr 08, 2011 Report Abuse
    'The Art of Deception' benefits greatly from its distinct concentration on the Carnival storyline. Finally, the writers offer some substantial progression and hint towards our final destination as the season draws to a close. The sequences involving Claire, Samuel and HRG are all very well executed, exhibiting just the right level of tension to keep everyone on the edge of their seat. The scenes are well structured too, with the decision to counterpoint father and daughter proving decidedly interesting. It's certainly refreshing to see Claire taking charge and actually doing something with the information she's been given; it's never exactly clear how all of this will play out, and the level of uncertainty ensures that intrigue levels remain high. Furthermore, Lydia's death comes as a genuine surprise, the first that Heroes has really managed in a long time. Thankfully, we don't spend an entire episode learning about her past just so that we can 'care' when she's murdered. Instead, she becomes an unfortunate victim which, frankly, is far more believable. This all feels like the right pay-off for her character and it works well to cement Samuel's new-found sinisterness. Robert Knepper is clearly having the time of his life with his duplicitous role, relishing every twist and turn in the dialogue and out-performing just about everyone in his goodbye scene with Tattoo Girl. Of course, it is rather questionable whether the whole Carnival would rather believe the mass-murdering lunatic who'd just laid waste to an entire town than the sane college gal, but what the hey, we get some nice gore to help us forget about these pesky details.

    Elsewhere, Emma's storyline continues to intrigue. This really is a great place to go with the character, and the question mark that now hangs over her allegiances and future role gives the story an extra shot of pizazz. The Matt/Sylar narrative is at least remotely interesting too, Grunberg and Quinto reminding us all that they were the reason that we all tuned in during the early days of season four. It's a shame that Matt's bold moves seem a little sudden and extreme, even for this poor tortured soul. And what's more, any metaphorical closure or development that may have been granted to Sylar is rendered moot by Peter showing up ten minutes later to reverse pretty much everything that the story's worked towards in the past forty minutes. Heroes hasn't been quite as guilty of wheeling out the old 'bait and switch' this season but sadly, this is exactly the sort of thing that hindered the show last year. Still, on the whole, this is certainly one of the better offerings of the season, feeling far better paced and much more coherent than a great many episodes.moreless

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    0 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Among the flashbacks Sylar sees when Matt manipulates his mind is the one with Charlie being killed, despite the fact that Hiro went back in time and undid this particular event earlier this season. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Airdate: Australia: March 18, 2010 on 7TWO UK: April 24, 2010 on BBC2 Latin America: May 4, 2010 on Universal Channel Germany: December 9, 2010 on RTL II Czech Republic: March 18, 2011 on Prima COOL Finland: May 11, 2011 on Sub Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Sylar: You did it. My powers are gone. Matt: No, they're not gone. They're just buried. Somewhere that you can never get to them. You've threatened my family for the last time. Sylar: What did you do? Matt: I know exactly what scares you, Gabriel. And it is being alone with your immortality. Sylar: What did you do to me? Matt: I have trapped you inside your twisted mind. You're gonna be alone, Sylar... very much alone... in this nightmare that will last forever. And the best part of that is when I leave here, you're not gonna remember what I did. You're gonna live every empty day like it's real. Sylar: You said you would help me. Matt: Yeah, well, I guess there's still a little of you left inside me... because I lied. Enjoy hell. Edit
    • Sylar: All I know is that once I'm free from the temptation of my ability... Matt: Mm-mm? You're going to be normal? I'm sorry, that ship sailed 50 murders ago. Edit

  • Allusions

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