"Heroes" finally returned last night after an interminable three-month hiatus. And while the new episode wasn't a complete retread, it also wasn't as action-packed as the superlative few before it. Still, some revelations:

-Linderman has powers. Duh. They appear to be to bring things back to life. That may be an oversimplification, though --- he waved his hand over a dried-up flower and it was suddenly full of blooms again. So who knows? I don't know how healing things would make someone the Big Bad, but I guess that's kind of the point. I can see how the Lazarus shtick could work on this show, though. A certain bad guy named Sylar is supposed to die in the future. A little Linderman magic, and guess whose team he's on? Alternately, we know he's a fan of Isaac's work. Perhaps he can bring him back to life?

-Because, yes, Isaac finally died last night. Sylar did the ol' brain suck. Notably, though, we never saw his body. It's possible that Isaac somehow lived. But since Sylar was using his powers to paint a ghastly-looking President Nathan, I suspect not. (It's also notable that Isaac's prophecies will live on in the form of his sketchbook --- how Leonardo Da Vinci/Destiny of him --- which he gave to a comic nerd and which apparently contains the secrets to stopping Sylar.

-We got the scoop on Linderman's plan: He WANTS New York to go boom. When/if Peter explodes he'll take out .07 of the human population (that many people live in NYC? Really? Freaky) After the accident Nathan will end up assuming the presidency and provide "hope" in America's darkest hour. Except, of course, he will be Linderman's puppet and will eventually rule through fear. My kinda politician. For X-Men fans, this clearly sets up Linderman as the Magneto (separation and domination), but I don't know who the Xavier is yet. Invisible Claude is the closest we've got, but doesn't seem to be keyed into the big picture enough. Also, he's an ass. It could be Horn-Rimmed Glasses, but I hope it's Mama Petrelli, who seems to know EVERYTHING and is also quickly becoming my favorite character.

-Speaking of, Mama P's meeting with Claire doesn't go well at all. Mama P wants to take her to Paris so that she can grow up outside of this insanity and make better choices than she did. Because Mama P all but says that she has powers too (who doesn't on this show? I mean, really!). She doesn't say what they are (a casual comment to Nate and Pete later that she knew what they could do long before they did suggests maybe she's a super-power locator a la Cerebro --- it would also explain how she recruited Haitian Sensation at such a young age) but she makes it explicit that there have been "heroes" like them for decades. Now that's an interesting wrinkle. You can bet that at some point Linderman and the Petrellis were on the same team but had a difference of opinion (again, X-Men much?). It also makes me wonder if all of the people featured in the paintings in Linderman's gallery weren't "heroes" of their ages. The Japanese guy whose sword Hiro wants certainly sounded pretty powerful. And I think I spotted a Rembrandt back there featuring a doctor and patient, which kind of signals Linderman's abilities. (Could his powers make him functionally immortal?) So many possibilities!

-Oh, the Sylar/Peter fight: There is telekinetic shoving, Pete turns invisible, Sylar sends shards of glass at him, one pierces the back of his skull, "killing" him. As Sylar goes in for the kill Mohinder slams into him with a bulletin board, knocking him out cold. Yeah, Sylar. The guy who has been shot, beaten, drugged, etc. gets knocked out by a billboard. I wonder if he'll have billboard powers now...

-Mohinder takes Peter's "corpse" and dumps it at Casa Petrelli, completing the family reunion. Dead Peter freaks out Mama P and she goes stone cold, telling Nate that they'll "hide it" (IT! She referred to her son's body as an "it") and also refers to Claire as "the girl." Oh, I love her. So many layers. Please let her become a regular!

-Nikki/Jessica is asked by Linderman to loan him Micah. Nikki/Jessica politely declines. So Linderman sends Shape-Changing Girl (I'm sorry, I forget her name) to pose as Nikki/Jessica and convince the boy to go with Big L. When real Nikki/Jessica comes home, Shape-Changing Girl makes a comment about her car and...that's it? Did N/J know what was going on? Did SCG just walk away without a fight? It was a little confusing. Also confusing: DL's continued presence on this show. He is a TERRIBLE actor...

-Claire brings Peter back to life after removing the shard of glass from his head. Duh. So he's fine, of course, and starts thinking that Claire's the key to fixing everything. Nathan disagrees and in yet another heartbreaking Claire scene tells his daughter that he wants to be there for her, "But not right now." He's sending her to France until after the election so the whole illegitimate daughter thing doesn't screw his chances. Poor Claire! But I tend to agree with Pete; the whole "save the cheerleader, save the world" bit seems to be key here, and Claire will play a pivotal role. She's our Kitty Pryde, I guess.

-I almost completely forgot about Matt and Radiation Roy, both still locked up at The Company with Eric Roberts. Fellow prisoner HRG telepathically plans an escape with Matt, and it goes off relatively well thanks to a quick EMP from RR. I should note that the writers played a little fast and loose here, since a) I wasn't aware EMPs were caused by radiation and b) HRG isn't telepathic, Matt is, and yet HRG was the one initiating conversations and seemingly hearing what the super goofs were saying. They all end up in (I think) the same Texas diner where Hiro met Charlie. Run, HRG! Matt's boring touch is already tainting your awesomeness! Seriously, I hate Matt. Also: Mohinder partners with Eric Roberts. Stupid! Never trust Eric Roberts!

-In the end, Hiro and Ando, five years in the future, survey the destruction of New York. They failed their mission. Ando wants to go back in time but Hiro decides he must stay and discover what they did wrong. He goes to Isaac's apartment (it's always that building, isn't it?) and discovers its new tenant: Future Hiro. I really hope next issue is called "Hiros." That would be hilarious.