“Cautionary Tales” is a phenomenal joyride. It’s really the story of a growing desperation of families, masquerading as a slam bang fast paced thrill ride towards the end of the season.

We open with Bennet arguing with Claire. He wants to leave this instance but Claire stands up to him like she’s never stood up to anyone, to the point where Sandra has to intervene, allowing Claire to go to school to say goodbye to her friends and they will leave that night.

Claire looks at her father and meaningfully says, “I hate you.” The look on Bennet’s face is perfect as it all is slipping away and he won’t let it.

Claire lays out a message for West with rocks that from the sky reads “SORRY”. He flies down to her and listens to her briefly before lashing out at her. He says he can’t believe that she doesn’t work for her father. He flies off again, leaving Claire heartbroken.

Bob and Mohinder begin discussing kidnapping Claire. Mohinder tries to hold strong to his moralistic principles even though he believes that Claire could not only help Niki but the whole world. Bob admires his morality compass always pointing north, or so he claims but decides that he needs a partner that can work in that ‘north by northwest’ sector. With that in mind, he gives him Elle.

Becoming desperate, Noah feels he needs to find West in order to convince Claire to leave. He calls Mohinder so that he can use Molly to track West down. Mohinder agrees, but in reality just wants to use this so he can take him down. Bennet won’t sit around and wait for results anyways so he walks out the door, preparing to look for him himself, but doesn’t have to go far for as soon as he takes a step, West swoops down and picks him up.

While flying higher, West demands to know if Claire ever had feelings for him or was it all a ruse. Bennet tells West that he hadn’t even heard of West, and that since she lied to her father, she must truly love West. (Yeah…cause she’s never lied to her father…I mean it seems like it’s at least once an epsiode…but I digress).

He is able to convince West to help him convince Claire to leave town for her sake. Is it a little bit of a stretch that West would help his abductor so quickly…maybe, but young love would make someone override their sensibility.

Mohinder uses the call as an excuse to get the jump on Bennet without killing him. Bob isn’t too excited, but Mohinder stands his ground and threatens to blow the whistle on the whole operation unless they go his route. Bob backs down. Mohinder calls Bennet, telling him that Molly had located West. He gives him a fake location.

Being with West, he knows that Mohinder is lying, but he agrees so he can ambush the ambush.

At the location given, Mohinder jumps into his car and at gunpoint he forces Bennet to drive at a rendezvous point. They get out of the car and Elle reveals herself to Bennet. They aren’t expecting West though who swoops in and knocks Elle unconscious. Bennet then disarms Mohinder and is about to kill him in a rage for putting his family in danger, but West is able to stop him. Instead, they take Elle as a hostage.

While Claire is at school, Bob shows up in the guise of a federal agent who has come to talk to her about the Debbie incident. He screws up though by calling her Miss Bennet. She runs as fast as she can. Bob follows her home and takes Claire prisoner after tying up Sandra.

After Bennet makes it home, West follows with Elle over his shoulder in a humorous exchange with Sandra. He ties Elle into a chair and ties her bare feet together in a tub full of water. He then calls Bob from Elle’s cel phone and threatens Bob. They quickly agree to a hostage exchange. Bob takes some of Claire’s blood as she begs for her father’s life.

West comes as Bennet’s second of a sort. Claire and Elle pass each other, and as ordered West grabs Claire and flies off with her. Unfortunately, Elle is now freed and she turns firign a bolt off at Claire and West, knocking the two to the ground. Bennet reacts by shooting Elle in the arm. He then moves to kill Bob, saying that the company will die with him, but Mohinder fulfills the Isaac painting by shooting him in the eye. West flies Claire out of there against her wishes and she is forced to inform Sandra of Bennet’s death.

It’s a truly sad sequence, that is only somewhat cheapened by the ending sequence that we’ll get to.

Meanwhile I’ll jump to Hiro’s tale. Hiro refuses to let his father die. Against Ando’s wishes, he jumps back to the night of his father’s death and tells him what is about to happen. Kaito accepts that as his fate, but Hiro will not. Hiro instead brings him to his mother’s funeral where to try to convince Kaito that he can’t go, but instead, he ends up convincing himself, by confronting a young Hiro and telling him exactly what he needs to hear. That you can’t change the past, that they are not gods. Kaito smiles as he sees the man his son has become.

With that Hiro brings Kaito back and the two share a goodbye. But Hiro does not go back, he waits in the shadow, at least wanting to know who it was that killed his father so he can avenge him.

He is shocked and horrified to learn that it is Kensei who killed Kaito.
Parkman and Molly are eating breakfast as Matt begins wondering about his abilities and when Molly walks away, he tests a theory out. He implants the suggestion for Molly to come back and eat her cereal which she does without quesiton. He further tests it later after his boss demands he give up the Kaito case and back to “real world” He suggests that his boss give him 24 more hours…and he does.

On a high he goes interrogate Angela again who becomes frightened as she discovers that Matt’s powers are increasing. She pleads with him not to make her give up the name of one of the women in the picture. She says the woman wants to be left alone. She tells Matt that if he rips this from her mind than he isn’t like his father…he is his father. And in subtle fashion, the scene ends without knowing what Matt does.

We find out later on as Matt looks on the picture of the company and the woman in question has a sticky over the top of her and the sticky holds a name. Victoria Pratt.

We end showing an IV of blood being pumped into Bennet who awakens in the bed alive. Cheap? A little. But I just don’t care because he really is the most interesting part of the show. It works well and while not perfect, continues the race towards the climax.

A-

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