(S03E19) The hunter storyline reached a pivotal climax tonight, and there were lots of twists and turns along the way. The bottom line: Heroes produced another excellent chapter in this volume, and I'm sure we'll be reading soon about how horrible the ratings are and how the show is on the bubble for renewal. Honestly, I'm not sure if the sour taste of two bad volumes in a row has rendered the improvements irrelevant. Perhaps the show is doomed.

I'd hate to think so because it really is as sharp and exciting as it was during its inaugural season. The problem is figuring out how to lure those viewers back who've given up on the show. A guest appearance by John Glover, above, would be nice but it didn't seem to be too highly promoted. I get that it was an important plot twist, but still. NBC renewing and heavily promoting the fact of that renewal could help. We all know how quick people are to jump off of a dying show. If NBC shows some real faith in the show, it at least couldn't hurt it. Maybe, too, they should consider moving it from the Monday night logjam.

John Glover was fantastic tonight as Sylar's father. Dying of cancer, the make-up artists did a masterful job because he absolutely looked like shit. The entire sequence where Sylar cut himself, which you know he did on purpose to goad his dad into attacking, through his walking out on his dad who was begging his son to murder him was just beautiful to watch. I loved that Papa Sylar had the exact same ability as his son, thus giving Sylar a peek at what the future could hold.

Really, if you think about it, what else is there. He desires more abilities so he kills and steals them. And on and on. Where does it end? Obviously in the nastiest run-down shack imaginable dying of cancer. Upon leaving, Sylar told his father that he now knew what he had to do. But I don't know. Do you?

This episode saw lots of dramatic changes. I guess this might be the end of the first act of this volume. The Hunter was fired, and looked in a bad spot there at the end. Nathan was outed when the Hunter shoved him out a window. Claire's free pass expired and the agents came after her, and more importantly we saw just how vast Rebel's reach is. I really am hoping it's Micah because I loved that little kid. Great actor, great character.

I am curious as to what went down when Nathan was outed. Is the Hunter still fired from the squad? I should think so because if Nathan revealed how he'd set Matt up as the bomber there really wouldn't be any other choice. But Nathan may be out, too. That would leave Bennett in charge of the task force, which makes so much sense. And then we're back to Claire's free pass expiring. Would Noah really allow that, or does he not have a choice? Or maybe he thinks she's resourceful enough to get away, or is also somehow aware of Rebel.

It's all very confusing right now, but I like that. What makes Lost great is the mysterious motives of people and all the questions it leaves lingering even as it reveals something new. Heroes used to be great at this and seems to be getting back there. They also remembered, somewhere along the way, that they had cast these two Japanese characters that fans liked. Remember them?

Hiro and Ando tracked Matt Parkman to a house somewhere, and he was there when they got there. And we learned that the writers didn't forget, after all, that Matt had a pregnant wife back in the day. Because now there's a little Matt Parkman hanging around. Maybe we'll follow up on Nathan's family at some point, too.

The highlight of the episode, for me, was that Claire was actually somewhat useful, though I'm not sure how she toppled that guy over the rail and rendered him unconscious. She's literally the size of a Barbie doll. I was glad to see her help the Puppetmaster because I love that character. I hope we're not done with him. But now that she's in Nathan's arms, where do we go from here?