With the constant character derailment (Peter/Sylar I can buy, Mohinder/Hiro I can't at all), rezzing of characters and/or actors for somewhat spurious reasons, dubious retcons and questionable acting I'm still interested in where it's going but it keeps making me wince or go all the time.

You don't think Hiro really killed Ando, do you? Mohinder suddenly wanting powers was a little surprising at the beginning of the season, but since then, he's been doing just about what I'd expect from someone who's experimented on themselves. It always drives you crazy when you do that cause something always goes wrong. Didn't he watch The Fly? Silly Mohinder! I'm kinda interested to find out if there's any sort of difference between natural powers and created powers. Cause there doesn't seem to be, but you'd think there would be.

And yeah, Claire's obviously related to Peter cause she's just about as clueless. I can't believe she trusted her dad of all people with that guy's safety. Hopefully though, Sylar's right and she's opened her eyes now. I do wonder though, cause it looked like in the future, Sylar names his kid Noah and why would he do that if he and Noah are getting along so badly? Maybe something's supposed to happen to change that. Oh! Or maybe Claire's dad gets deaged by some random freak power and Sylar adopts him!

I was waiting for him to teleport him somewhere and tell them he put him in the sun or some crap, and then he goes ahead and actually stabs him, and leaves him bleeding on the floor.

But this is a guy who can go back in time at any point. I bet later on that night, after he and his new 'friends' wandered off, he popped back in time and took Ando to the hospital. I really don't think he's actually left Ando to die. However, this might be the final wedge that pits Ando against Hiro and leads to that future Hiro saw where he and Ando are enemies. Cause, even for a good cause, it's kinda hard getting over someone stabbing you.

My actual guess was that he was going to justify it by going back in time after he finished whatever and just not killing Ando the second time around, which is still definitely an arsehole move. He should just have stfuppercuted the guy telling him to kill Ando! He's normally all justice-y. There's a limit to "darker and edgier." Tch.

That wouldn't work because then he wouldn't get to finish whatever at all. You can't change the past and have the same outcome in the future. Paradox. And Hiro knows this. He's already tried and failed to do it before. No, now that he's stabbed Ando, Ando is stabbed. But that doesn't mean he can't go back and save him when no one's looking.

And he's trying to 'get in' with the bad guys so he can find out what they know about the forumla. He's doing it in a bit of a bumbling manner, sure, but what doesn't Hiro do in a bumbling manner? But he was willing to stab his friend cause he knew he could come back and save him, I think. Cause, yeah, it's bad, but it's for the greater good and all and no one actually has to die, those folks just had to think he died. Though, I really doubt Ando will see it that way!

Plus... really, I can't see Hiro stfuppercting anyone.

He doesn't have to have it remain the same. Example: he finds out where the formula is, goes back in time, teleports, steals the formula, teleports back, stfuppercuts dude. No Ando stabbing. No paradox.

Anyway, I still think it's character derailment at work. You can justify anything if you try hard enough, but it's kind of questionable writing when it's done how it was there.

But then he'd run into the same problem that Future Peter did, stepping on butterflies. Maybe him not stabbing Ando causes some minor shift in events that accumulates and leads to the formula not being where it was when he found it. No, really, once an event has happened, changing it will almost always change the outcome of the future.

And I don't know, I don't think it's really character derailment at all. Remember when way future Hiro was in the past and he was the dark brooding assassin with the ninja sword guy? Well, Hiro has to get from sweet guy to that guy somehow. I think this is a step along the path.

Well...yes...that's the point of the time travelling. I mean, he does it all the time. That's what it's for. Unless you're saying that the future will be "changed" if he stops the formula being spread, which is exactly what he's trying to do anyway. Actually now that I think of it he probably doesn't want the future turning out that way either...so it's win-win.

The step is more like a giant four-mile hop/skip/jump 80% of the way there from 20%. What makes it worse is that it's Hiro-induced, not brought on by some kind of unexpected trauma (and Ando killing him doesn't really count, they made up recently and Ando helped him get out of the cell thing and everything so that clearly isn't it.)

Yes, he does it all the time, but whenever he's tried to actually go back and alter the past, something bad has happened... like, say, winding up in feudal Japan? Besides, unless I'm remembering wrong, he's never stolen something from the future then gone back and altered the past. I think if he tried, he'd find he didn't have the thing from the future anymore because altering the past meant that it wasn't in the place it was when he stole it. Paradox!

Not if you consider the idea that Hiro never planned on leaving Ando to die, only to convince those guys that he'd killed him. That he's only stabbed Ando and not murdered him. It's still bad, of course, but justifable - at least to Hiro.

also thought the Ando killing was totally "wtf?", but they should resolve that in the next episode... or it's just total lame!
I also couldn't help but notice the characters using "monster" like 5 or 6 times. Is that usual? O_o

Regardless of whether or not Hiro killed Ando--If someone stabbed me, I wouldn't be easily forgiving. Also, am I the only one who is a little bit of a fan of Maya, and wants her to escape Mohinder?

I don't like either of them, so I'm indifferent to Mohinder losing that one, if it helps?

I like Maya and I do want her to escape! Poor girl. Goes to all that trouble to find help, finds it, learns how to control herself somewhat, and then her help turns on her! I bet Mohinder eats her or something though. Maya is just that unlucky.

It is getting a little ridiculous, they're juggling characters like crazy. Everyone has been both good and evil at least one time. Then there are future or past versions, clones... It's totally chaotic. And there's just too many characters. Many of which are lame.
Some things they do make little sense, like Mohinder suddenly having no problem with hurting random people. He doesn't seem to have changed mentally at all, yet he does that with absolutely no remorse, Maya or not. Maybe he's planning to use them and release them later, I dunno.
Hiro stabbing Ando makes no sense. Actually everything those two ever do doesn't make sense, but this one deserves a special 'wtf'.

Sylar seems to be the most interesting character atm.

Wouldn't that indicate a mental change?

But there are no other changes in his personality (that I noticed), so it's kind of weird. He seems to care for Maya just like he did before he went mutant, but one bad comment from her and she ends up on the wall, no second thoughts.
There seems to be no real character development, they just switch. What made Mohinder a villain? He used to care about human life just a moment ago. Must be biological cause there's like no other explanation.
Unless he's just keeping them for blood or something and planning to release them, I guess we'll see.

He shot himself up with an experimental serum. Of course it's biological. Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde.

And why exactly did Peter take Sylar's ability if he absorbs the powers automagically anyway? He never seemed like a murderer type and he's been warned about the price. Knowing how exactly the ability works from the start sure is an advantage, but still. Killing people now?