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"Pass/Fail" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes, the seventy-fourth episode overall. The episode aired on January 18, 2010.
http://heroeswiki.com/Pass/Fail
http://heroeswiki.com/Pass/Fail
Synopsis
At Arlington University, Claire is having breakfast in the cafeteria with Gretchen. Gretchen suggests that her friend might want to talk, but Claire says she needs to figure it out on her own. Gretchen takes her hand, but Claire pulls away then leaves to go to her next class. Sylar comes up and asks Gretchen if the seat across from her is taken.
At Noah's apartment, Ando worries that Hiro isn't looking well. As he drinks a glass of water, Hiro watches as Mohinder builds a new compass and warns Noah that it only will work in the hands of a special. Noah asks if he'll help, but Mohinder says that he broke a promise to a girl and needs to make amends. He bows to Hiro and leaves. Hiro then collapses.
When Hiro wakes up, he finds himself sitting in the Burnt Toast Diner. He is surprised to see his nemesis Takeo Kensei/Adam Monroe dressed in a business suit, seated at a table. When Hiro wonders if he's dead, Adam says that's up to the judge to decide. Hiro looks to the judge's bench and sees his father Kaito Nakamura being seated there. Adam announces that the case is the World vs. Hiro Nakamura, and Kaito informs him that if he's found guilty, the penalty is Death.
Claire goes to her class and finds Sylar waiting for her. He's written her name on the board and says that he's there to learn.
At the Sullivan Bros. Carnival, Samuel is shaving outside as Vanessa wakes up in his trailer. When she comes out and accuses him of kidnapping her, Samuel apologizes and reminds her of a time when he broke her record player when they were children. When he invites her to breakfast and then say she can leave, Vanessa points out that it always starts that way and then things go on, and Samuel says that he ends up fixing things. Vanessa agrees to eat something and then tells Samuel to take her home.
Ando takes Hiro to the hospital and explain he has a brain tumor.
In Hiro's imaginary courtroom, Adam says that Hiro violated the laws of Time and Space for his own personal gain and with no regard for the consequences. Kaito asks Hiro how he pleads but Hiro initially refuses. He finally pleads not guilty and asks for a lawyer. Ando appears at Hiro's table and warns that it doesn't look good. Meanwhile, Adam calls a young Kimiko and Ando as his first witnesses.
Sylar admits that Claire must hate him, but claims that he's off his game. He warns Claire to help him. He reveals the tattoo of her on his arm and insists that it's destiny. Sylar explains that they told him he needs a friend so he can make a connection and not be alone any more. Somehow, Claire is supposed to help him. When Claire says she wouldn’t help him if her life depended on it, he says that it's not her life she has to worry about. Claire notices Gretchen's backpack nearby and she tells him to get it over with. Sylar promises that Gretchen will be reunited with Claire once Claire answers his questions. He begins writing on the blackboard a comparison chart of him and her, noting that they were both adopted and raised by parents who didn't understand them. As Sylar notes that neither of them can be killed, and both of their fathers are cold-blooded killers, Claire slips a pencil up her sleeve. Sylar explains that despite their equal formative experiences, they somehow ended up different. Claire gets up and tells him he's a psychopath. When she tries to walk away, Sylar telekinetically slams her down and says if she doesn't help, he'll slice Gretchen apart. He tells Claire that he'll use Lydia's duplicated power of intimacy to see in the depths of her soul and get the answers he needs. Sylar touches her head and then kisses her.
Samuel takes Vanessa to O'Mallory's Ice Cream Parlor for breakfast and orders her a strawberry milkshake: her favorite. Vanessa says it's been a long time ago, and Samuel mentions the time he crashed in her dorm room. He describes how she once described her dream home, a cottage of quiet surrounded by nature. Vanessa says that she admires him for being a romantic, but they'll never have that cottage. When Samuel wonders if she ever thinks back about their time together with fondness, she admits she does just a little. He takes a sip through the first straw, then she takes a slip through her straw, sharing the milkshake as they did when they were younger.
Ando stands outside as the doctors examine the unconscious Hiro.
In the trial, Adam questions Ando and Kimiko about the slushy incident. They identify Hiro as the person who interfered with the timeline and brought them together. Ando objects, insisting that Hiro helped two people fall in love was a harmless act, and no one was harmed. Hiro agrees, but Adam asks if he considers it okay as long as no one gets hurt. Hiro agrees, and Adam summons his next witness: Sylar.
When he's finished exploring her mind, Sylar notes that Claire does the same thing he does: use her gift to build walls and refuse to connect with other people - people like Gretchen. He talks about reading Gretchen's memories when he tied her up in the dorm room, now realizing that all the pauses between her and Claire were significant. Claire insists he doesn't know what he's talking about, but Sylar describes her as the invulnerable girl who won't leave herself vulnerable to someone else. Claire replies that their linkup has revealed what he did with Gretchen. She slips the pencil from her sleeve, then drives it into Sylar's eye. He shrieks in pain and collapses to the floor. Claire then leaves to find Gretchen.
In Hiro's imagination, Sylar boasts that he's killed hundreds of people, and Hiro let him do it in return for saving Charlie. Hiro objects, insisting he tried to save Charlie without changing the timeline. Jackie Wilcox, the cheerleader who Sylar killed by slicing her head open, appears in court to demonstrate how Hiro's actions got her killed. Sylar recites all of names of the people he's killed, but Hiro insists that Charlie was a good person and the world was better off with her alive. Adam then announces that he calls Charlie as the next witness, but then notes that she's lost in time and asks Hiro how it happened. Hiro admits that Samuel double-crossed him, and Adam rests his case.
Back at the carnival, Samuel recites the cottage that Vanessa described as her dream home. He notes that she described it in such detail that she made it seem real. Vanessa starts reciting her dream and Samuel shows her a drawing he made of it. She wonders how he manages to get past her defenses every time, and then leans forward to kiss him. They then go into the valley, now covered in plant life, and shows her the dream cottage he's built for her. Samuel invites her to stay with him there, away from everything. Vanessa admits that she can't live there, and never believed he would do it. Samuel says he did it all for her, but Vanessa says it's his fantasy, not her's. Samuel realizes he's gone too far and pulls away as she tries to kiss him.
Claire runs to the dorm and frees Gretchen. The lights flicker and Claire warns that it's not over. The windows shatter inward and Claire figures that Sylar is trying to flush them out. They take refuge in a closet and Claire apologizes for pulling away from her at breakfast. She admits that she's afraid of being hurt and has built walls around her. Gretchen says it's okay, but Claire admits that Sylar was right about how they both want to avoid being alone, and neither one knows how to fix it. She describes how she hides behind one attribute her power, and closes herself off to everything else. Gretchen suggests that for Sylar to become human again, he might have to get rid of his powers. "Gretchen" then transforms into Sylar. He explains that Gretchen is back at the cafeteria, and Claire realizes he never took her. He gets up and leaves. Claire runs to the cafeteria and finds Gretchen. She embraces her friend and says she's lucky to have her, and apologizes for pulling away in the morning. Claire says she wants to be more impulsive like Gretchen and then takes her hand. When Gretchen says people will start talking, Claire tells them to talk and asks Gretchen to talk with her. As they go, Sylar watches them from a table.
Kaito tells Ando to call his first defense witness. Ando finally calls Hiro to the stand, admitting there's nobody else to testify. Hiro testifies that he has always wanted to be a hero, and that he used his powers only for good. So far he has saved the world without breaking his code, and refused to save his father. Ando asks what has changed, and Hiro explains that he wanted to create a meaningful legacy, and strove to put right what was wrong. He admits he made poor decisions, but it was to make the world a better place. For family, friendship, and love. Hiro admits that he may very well be guilty. Kaito declares him guilty…
In the operating room, the doctors try to revive Hiro who is flatlining.
In his imagination, Hiro gets off the operating room table as Ando, Kaito, and the others come in. Hiro bows to them and then walks past them down a long white corridor ending in a bright light of the Afterlife. Hiro turns and says he wishes to change his plea to guilty so that he can go out with honor, as a hero. Kaito tells him to go, and the family katana appears in Hiro's hand. Kaito tells him to fight for honor, but Adam steps forward, similarly armed. The two men fight.
In the operating room, Hiro's life signs fluctuate as he fights for his life.
Adam tries to back Hiro back into the light. Hiro finally drives forward and kills Adam. His mother Ishi appears in the light and says that she's proud of him for what he's learned. Hiro admits that he couldn't fight the tumor, and he's ready to go to the Afterlife. He steps forward, but she tells him that some things are more powerful than science, and he has a destiny to fulfill. She steps forward and kisses him on the brow, and uses her power to heal him.
In the operating room, Hiro comes back to life as Ando looks on in satisfaction.
At O'Mallory's, Samuel plays Vanessa's song on the jukebox and shoves the milkshake away. When the waitress comes over, Samuel asks if he looks scary. He advances on her and wonders if she holds him in contempt, and says that he will no longer try to fit into the world and play by its rules. He concentrates and the entire diner shakes from the earthquake that he is generating.
The earthquake shakes the carnival as well. Everyone knows this is Samuel's doing, so they go to the valley. They watch helplessly as the paradise that they helped to build sinks into the fissure in the ground.
Samuel returns to the carnival, walking past everyone to his trailer and going inside.
Vanessa rides home, smelling the flower that Samuel gave her.
Claire and Gretchen talk.
Ando sits at Hiro's bedside.
At their home, Janice tends to Matt Jr. and then hears a knock on the door. She answers it and finds Sylar there. He introduces himself as Gabriel, a friend of Matt's from the precinct, and asks where he can find Matt. Janice wonders if they've met before.
