For those interested, here's a synopsis of Eps 1 ("Genesis" and 2 ("Don't Look Back").


SPOILERS
















Mohinder Suresh’s father is a geneticist who has moved to NYC believing that his theory of genetics predicts the occurrence of “special” individuals who have unusual abilities. He’s in NYC mapping out various occurrences when he is ostensibly murdered. His son, Mohinder, also a professor, comes from India to NYC to try to find out why his father was murdered and what extent his father’s death has to do with his theory of genetics. He finds that his father’s rooms have been visited by others, and he believes they want his research and to find the people his father may have mapped. So far, Mohinder has not exhibited any powers. Mohinder has also befriended a young female neighbor of his father. Uncertain if she is as she appears.

Concurrent to this, we are introduced to Claire Bennett, a cheerleader who’s discovered her own powers (limited invulnerability, extremely fast cellular regeneration) and has her (possibly gay) guy friend videotape her tests of her abilities (she jumps off a barn, goes into a burning train wreck to rescue someone, etc.). She also gets her hand caught in the garbage disposal, but her hand heals itself. Clair’s father, we have discovered, is one of the agents who has been investigating Professor Suresh in NYC. By the end of ep 2, we’re strongly led to believe that Mr. Bennett has nefarious plans for Suresh’s research and we are shown onscreen that he has found Claire’s videotape diary of her tests. While he says to himself that his discovery of her powers “breaks his heart,” we are clearly led to believe that his feelings are malevolent rather than sympathetic. Also, worth noting is that Claire is adopted and has expressed interest in meeting her birth parents. She is clearly not a “typical” cheerleader.

We have also met the Petrelli brothers. Peter is a hospice nurse living in NYC. Peter is a nice guy, feels he’s destined to be something special, that he has a contribution to make. He also feels extraordinarily connected to his brother, Nathan, who has political aspirations. Nathan simply wants life to go smoothly so that he can get elected. One of Peter’s patients has a daughter, Simone. Simone’s boyfriend is heroin-addicted Isaac Mendez, a portrait and comic book artist. While coming to Simone’s aid after she finds Isaac OD’d, Peter finds Isaac’s paintings wherein Isaac has painted events before they occurred. And in one of his paintings, he’s depicted Peter, flying alone (and in another, he’s depicted the train crash that Claire intercedes on and an atomic bomb exploding in Manhattan). It is at this point that Peter realizes that he is indeed special. Peter goes to the top of a fifteen story building in Manhattan and calls to have his brother waiting for him outside at the bottom of the building. Convinced of his own ability, Peter jumps, only to be caught in mid-air by Nathan. At the end of ep 2, Nathan and Peter are atop another building discussing what transpired between them. Nathan at first tried to convince Peter that he had attempted suicide and landed on a fire escape and that that’s why he survived. But Peter again threatens to jump, so Nathan acquiesces and reveals that yes, Nathan flew up to catch him. And then Peter discovers, at least for that moment, that he can fly on his own (there is some talk that Peter may have power-absorption abilities and that he absored Nathan’s ability to fly, at least briefly).

In Japan, we have met Hiro Nakamura, a young “salaryman” who lives in Tokyo. Hiro is an ardent fan of STAR TREK and dreams of a life where he does not just fit in. He criticizes his friend who only wants to be one of among many in Japan. Hiro begins to discover that he can affect the space-time continuum and thus teleport himself, “like in Star Trek.” <smile> His friend tells him if he wants to be cool with his “power,” he should use it to get laid and that he should teleport himself into the women’s lavatory. And so he does. And promptly gets thrown into the streets. While on the train in Japan, he “beams” himself to Times Square and promptly, triumphantly exhorts, “Hello, New York!” While walking through NYC, Hiro finds a comic book depicting Hiro’s own arrival in NYC. He’s stunned. So he goes looking for the comic artist, Isaac Mendez. While hunting for Isaac in NYC, he’s implicated in Isaac’s grisly murder. Isaac appears to have been frozen and the top of his head sawed off. It’s during interrogation that he discovers he’s moved not only in space, but in time. He’s not in October, 2006, but rather November, 2006. And during his interrogation, an atomic bomb is detonated in NYC. As it explodes, Hiro “beams” himself out of NYC. To where, we don’t know.

The most mysterious character we’ve met thus far (who’s had a good deal of screen time) is Niki Sanders. She’s a single mom whose kid is a prodigy. To make ends meet, Niki strips online for money. We discover that she’s borrowed from a loan shark in order to afford a good private school for her son, Micah. The loan shark has come looking for his payback. He and his cohort smack Niki around a bit and want her to strip for them to “work off some of her debt,” then Niki blacks out. When she awakens, her tormenters are dead, brutally murdered. Niki looks into a mirror and sees her reflection smiling back at her, signaling her to “shhh.” While going to pick up her son from a friend’s care, Niki blacks out again and wakes up to discover that she’s now the owner of a late model Cadillac convertible. And she discovers that the rightful owner is dead in the trunk. It appears her “guardian self” has left a note for Niki to go out into the desert and bury the bodies. Once in the desert, Niki discovers that other bodies are also buried there, presumably her tormenters. Niki starts to bury the latest set of bodies…

The last character we saw onscreen was Officer Matt Parkman, a wannabe detective who has 3x failed the Detective Exam. We meet Matt while he’s guarding the perimeter of a grisly crime scene wherein a man has been frozen and the top of his head sawed off. The man’s wife has been stabbed by forks and is stuck in the wall and their daughter is missing. While on the scene, Matt telepathically "hears” the little girl beg not to be hurt. And he locates her hiding, but unharmed, in a hidden room in the house. Matt assumed everyone else heard her, too. Then he mentions the name “Sylar,” to one of the investigating detectives. Only 6 people knew about the serial killer, Sylar, and Matt wasn’t one of them. So he’s arrested on suspicion of being Sylar (after all, he knew where the little girl was hiding…).

At this point, we’re led to believe that Sylar is another “special” person, presumably with freezing powers.

We all wear a green carnation.