I've been holding back from posting about Lost, mostly because the picture keeps changing from week to week. But last night's Heroes, which was awesome (the episodes that are one long story, rather than snippets of each character, are the best, in my opinion; the other great one was the one with Claire's family, where the whole episode was one story), requires some comment. There were some real holes in the whole future/alternate time lines thing that I'm having a lot of trouble with; if anyone can offer some explanations, I'd be much obliged.
OK. Future Hiro tells Geeky Hiro that, in his version of history, Sylar got to Claire and learned her power of regeneration. Geeky Hiro says that, in his past, Peter actually did "save the cheerleader," and as such, in Geeky Hiro's timeline, Sylar would not be invincible. Thus, if Geeky Hiro can get back to his own time, and kill Sylar, the bleak future portrayed in this episode would never come to pass. This all makes sense, except for one thing: Claire wasn't dead! Bennett was hiding her in Texas (how conspicuous). If Claire is still alive, Sylar doesn't have her power of regeneration, which means that when Future Hiro killed him, he should have been dead. Sylar confirms this as well, when he finally gets to kill Claire, saying, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
I'd have no problem with this if the show were adhering to a strict alternate time line structure; but they weren't. What sets everything in motion is Geeky Hiro telling Future Hiro that Peter actually did save Claire, which meant that Claire was still alive. There's a co-mingling of Future Hiro's present with Geeky Hiro's past. It doesn't make sense to me. The whole comic book thing was also a little strange, for the same reason.
I do think the writers have one way in which they can make this all make sense, but it would require two things: 1) Candice being killed by Sylar before the bomb goes off and 2) there being no such thing as an alternate time line...which means that all of Future Hiro's plans are/were/will be for naught.
Don't get me wrong, I like the whole idea that everything that's happened this season is as a result of a Future Hiro from an alternate time line going back and trying to set things right. But to do it right, Claire should have been dead in last night's episode. Otherwise, it makes no sense.
Also: I was trying to figure out how Peter had a scar; shouldn't he also have Claire's powers of regeneration? But if he never saved Claire, he might not have her powers...still it seems a bit odd that he never came in contact with her.
A final note: there still seems to be some confusion as to how Sylar learns new powers; I've seen speculation that he eats the brains of his victims, and other crazy ideas. I thought it was obvious from the beginning. Sylar used to fix watches, he had a knack for seeing how complex systems fit together. When he brained his first victim, he got a glimpse of how his mind did whatever special thing it did. Again using his ability to manipulate complex systems of even the smallest size, he is able to modify his brain to do the same thing. I like that Sylar and Peter basically have the same capabilities (learning and copying other's powers) but the manner in which they learn them is different. Sylar's requires him to murder the subject, while Peter's require him to empathize with them. It's that difference that makes one a villain, and the other a hero.