Hysterical Blindness (Heroes)
Encyclopedia
"Hysterical Blindness" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the NBC
science fiction
drama
series Heroes
and sixty-third episode overall. The episode aired on October 12, 2009.
crawls from his shallow grave and is picked up by the Baltimore Police after being found wandering. Police psychologist Dr. Madelyn Gibson diagnoses him with amnesia
and possible aphasia
. She begins working with him on his memory but the police soon identify him as murder suspect Gabriel Gray.
Samuel declares to the family that a new member will be joining that day. Lydia cautions him against making promises he may not be able to keep, but Samuel trusts that the feeling in his bones will prove to be correct.
Claire
and Gretchen are invited by Psi Alpha Chi rush chair Becky Taylor to rush the sorority. They make a good impression and are invited back for the mixer that evening. Just before they leave for the dance, Claire discovers information about her, her past, Annie's death and the concept of murder-suicide on Gretchen's computer. At the party, Claire and another girl are almost impaled on a falling flagstaff; only Gretchen appears near enough to have dropped it.
Peter
tries to reconnect with Angela
but is unsuccessful. On his way to work he saves Emma, disoriented by her newly manifesting abilities, from being hit by a bus and inadvertently mimics her ability. He finds her later at the hospital and explains about her ability and the two play a piano duet. He asks her to lunch the next day but she is put off when he jokes about getting her out of the file room.
After the mixer Gretchen returns to her dorm room and assures Claire that she did not drop the flagstaff. Claire confronts her about the information on her computer and Gretchen kisses her, confessing that she has a crush on Claire. Moments later, the sorority sisters arrive and offer them each a bid to join the sorority.
Sylar escapes from custody through an instinctive use of telekinesis and carjacks the psychiatrist. He releases her but the police are on his trail. They shoot him but he heals and flees.
At the carnival Samuel and Lydia try to form a tattoo of the new member but are unsuccessful. Samuel flings a rag which stops in mid-air, leading Samuel to realize that another family member has arrived invisibly. It is Becky Taylor, who has been acting under Samuel's orders to isolate Claire. It was Becky who dropped the flagstaff and she who pushed Annie out of the dorm window. He sends her back to the college as Lydia is now able to reveal the new family member.
At her apartment, Emma plays the cello. As her playing intensifies, the generated light damages the walls. At Peter's apartment, Hiro
teleports in and collapses.
As he runs through the woods, Sylar encounters Samuel and the carnival. With the entire carnival cloaked in the illusion of invisibility, Samuel informs Sylar that he has come home.
between Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere
) and new character Gretchen Berg (Madeline Zima
). Panettiere, who has acknowledged "experimenting" with female friends as a teenager, persuaded the creators to include the storyline: "I kinda threw it out there. The writers put you in relationships and I was like, 'Can I just be with a girl or something? Let's do that.' So they took it and ran with it." Heroes had previously planned a lesbian cheerleader character in 2007, April, but the actress playing April, Lyndsy Fonseca
, took a job on the ABC
series Desperate Housewives
after just one Heroes appearance and the part was not re-cast.
NBC premiered two short films
during the episode. The first, a 60-second film starring Masi Oka
and directed by Milo Ventimiglia
, was made in conjunction with the "Responsibility Project", an initiative of the Liberty Mutual Group to promote personal responsibility. The second advanced an interactive storyline and featured a girl with pyrokinesis
.
The episode itself, however, received several positive reviews. IGN
's Robert Canning gave the episode an 8.5, saying that it was reminiscent of Season 1. Entertainment Weekly
s Marc Bernardin praised Deanne Bray as Emma and said that the episode "had moments of grace that gave [him] hope for Heroes' future".
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
and sixty-third episode overall. The episode aired on October 12, 2009.
Plot
SylarSylar
Gabriel Gray, more commonly known by his assumed name of Sylar , is one of the primary antagonists and antiheroes in the NBC drama Heroes. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a superpowered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers...
crawls from his shallow grave and is picked up by the Baltimore Police after being found wandering. Police psychologist Dr. Madelyn Gibson diagnoses him with amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
and possible aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
. She begins working with him on his memory but the police soon identify him as murder suspect Gabriel Gray.
Samuel declares to the family that a new member will be joining that day. Lydia cautions him against making promises he may not be able to keep, but Samuel trusts that the feeling in his bones will prove to be correct.
Claire
Claire Bennet
Claire Bennet is a fictional character in the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. She is portrayed by Hayden Panettiere and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of the series, "Genesis" on September 25, 2006...
and Gretchen are invited by Psi Alpha Chi rush chair Becky Taylor to rush the sorority. They make a good impression and are invited back for the mixer that evening. Just before they leave for the dance, Claire discovers information about her, her past, Annie's death and the concept of murder-suicide on Gretchen's computer. At the party, Claire and another girl are almost impaled on a falling flagstaff; only Gretchen appears near enough to have dropped it.
Peter
Peter Petrelli
Peter Petrelli, portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. He is a hospice nurse-turned-paramedic in his mid-20s with the power to absorb and mimic the powers of other people with special abilities, or powers...
tries to reconnect with Angela
Angela Petrelli
Angela Petrelli , portrayed by Cristine Rose, is a fictional character featured in the television show Heroes. She is the mother of Nathan and Peter Petrelli. The character is based upon the Angela Lansbury character Mrs. Iselin in the film The Manchurian Candidate...
but is unsuccessful. On his way to work he saves Emma, disoriented by her newly manifesting abilities, from being hit by a bus and inadvertently mimics her ability. He finds her later at the hospital and explains about her ability and the two play a piano duet. He asks her to lunch the next day but she is put off when he jokes about getting her out of the file room.
After the mixer Gretchen returns to her dorm room and assures Claire that she did not drop the flagstaff. Claire confronts her about the information on her computer and Gretchen kisses her, confessing that she has a crush on Claire. Moments later, the sorority sisters arrive and offer them each a bid to join the sorority.
Sylar escapes from custody through an instinctive use of telekinesis and carjacks the psychiatrist. He releases her but the police are on his trail. They shoot him but he heals and flees.
At the carnival Samuel and Lydia try to form a tattoo of the new member but are unsuccessful. Samuel flings a rag which stops in mid-air, leading Samuel to realize that another family member has arrived invisibly. It is Becky Taylor, who has been acting under Samuel's orders to isolate Claire. It was Becky who dropped the flagstaff and she who pushed Annie out of the dorm window. He sends her back to the college as Lydia is now able to reveal the new family member.
At her apartment, Emma plays the cello. As her playing intensifies, the generated light damages the walls. At Peter's apartment, Hiro
Hiro Nakamura
is a fictional character on the NBC fantasy drama Heroes who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation. This means that Hiro is able to alter the flow of time. Previously, his ability allowed him to teleport, stop time, or travel through time, but recent events in the series have prevented...
teleports in and collapses.
As he runs through the woods, Sylar encounters Samuel and the carnival. With the entire carnival cloaked in the illusion of invisibility, Samuel informs Sylar that he has come home.
Production
"Hysterical Blindness" includes a kissLesbian kiss episode
The "lesbian kiss episode" is a sub-genre of the U.S. television media created in the 1990s. Beginning in 1991 with a kiss on L.A. Law episode "He's a Crowd" between C.J...
between Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
) and new character Gretchen Berg (Madeline Zima
Madeline Zima
Madeline Rose Zima is an American actress. She is mostly known for her six years as Grace Sheffield on the TV series The Nanny or more recently as Mia Lewis on the Showtime dramedy Californication and as Gretchen Berg on Heroes.-Early life:Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Marie and...
). Panettiere, who has acknowledged "experimenting" with female friends as a teenager, persuaded the creators to include the storyline: "I kinda threw it out there. The writers put you in relationships and I was like, 'Can I just be with a girl or something? Let's do that.' So they took it and ran with it." Heroes had previously planned a lesbian cheerleader character in 2007, April, but the actress playing April, Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca is an American actress known for playing Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and The Restless, Dylan Mayfair on the ABC series Desperate Housewives, and Ted Mosby's daughter on How I Met Your Mother. She also played Katie Deauxma in the 2010 superhero film...
, took a job on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
after just one Heroes appearance and the part was not re-cast.
NBC premiered two short films
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
during the episode. The first, a 60-second film starring Masi Oka
Masi Oka
Masayori "Masi" Oka is a Japanese-American actor and digital effects artist.He has performed in numerous feature films and TV series, most prominently as Hiro Nakamura in the NBC TV series Heroes from 2006 until its cancellation in May 2010. He resides in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:Oka...
and directed by Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia is an American television actor best known for his role of Peter Petrelli on the TV series Heroes...
, was made in conjunction with the "Responsibility Project", an initiative of the Liberty Mutual Group to promote personal responsibility. The second advanced an interactive storyline and featured a girl with pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
.
Reception
"Hysterical Blindness" was watched by 5.6 million viewers. This represented no increase from its previous week's ratings. The episode finished fourth in its time slot, behind Dancing With the Stars on ABC, House on Fox and the sitcoms How I Met Your Mother and Accidentally On Purpose on CBS.The episode itself, however, received several positive reviews. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Robert Canning gave the episode an 8.5, saying that it was reminiscent of Season 1. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Marc Bernardin praised Deanne Bray as Emma and said that the episode "had moments of grace that gave [him] hope for Heroes' future".