"The Butterfly Effect" is the second episode of the third season of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

series ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'' and thirty-sixth episode overall. It was written by series creator/executive producer

Tim Kring Richard Timothy Kring (born July 9, 1957) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the drama series '' Strange World'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Heroes'', and ''Touch''. Early life Kring was born in El D ...

and directed by

Greg Beeman Greg Beeman (born 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American film and television director and producer and winner of the Directors Guild of America award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. He is well known for his work on the television ser ...

. The episode aired on September 22, 2008 immediately after " The Second Coming" as part of the three-hour premiere event.

Plot

Elle Bishop Elle Bishop is a fictional character who appeared on the American psychological thriller superhero series ''Heroes'', which aired on NBC from 2006 to 2010. The character was created by series creator Tim Kring and portrayed by actress Kristen Bel ...

lets

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

out of his cell on Level 5, giving him a gun and telling him that Sylar is in the building. Sylar regenerates and attempts to take Elle's power by cutting her head open. Elle screams and releases a large electrical discharge that knocks Sylar out and allows the Level 5 prisoners to escape their cells. Hiro and Ando travel to Daphne's apartment in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, looking for the formula that she stole. Hiro notices an award of Daphne's for a track meet from when she was young. Hiro slips a tracking device into the award and offers to return it in exchange for the formula. Daphne gets away with both the award and the formula. With Bob's death, Angela becomes the new head of the Company, and her first act is to fire Elle. Noah returns to his home and finds Claire alive. Noah and Sandra enlist

Meredith Gordon This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes'', the ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In its inaugural season, ''Heroes'' featured an ensemble cast o ...

, Claire's biological mother, to protect the family in Noah's absence. Future Peter teleports to Level 5, where Angela angrily informs him that the villains have escaped. Angela berates him about the Butterfly Effect and blames him for the deviations he has caused from the future she has seen.

Angela Petrelli ''Heroes'' is an American superhero drama television series created by Tim Kring that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover that they have supe ...

ends the episode by going into the cell Sylar occupies and tells him that she can offer the comforts that a mother should provide for her child. When Sylar denies that Angela is his mother, Angela replies, “But I am dear, I am”.

Production

Actor

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters as ...

had been thrown off of a horse in Iceland and broke his neck in five places between filming for seasons two and three of ''Heroes''. Although he will make a full recovery, due to his injury he was only able to play his role as Bob Bishop in two brief scenes, confined to Bob's office chair and with severely limited levels of movement.

Critical reception

Sean O'Neal of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' rated this episode, together with the previous episode, a B+. Robert Canning of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

gave the episode 6.7 out of 10.

Music

* " He's Frank" by

Brighton Port Authority Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

, featuring

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterfly Effect Heroes (season 3) episodes 2008 American television episodes