During the first season Nathan went from a busy politican who was also a bad older brother, unfiathful husband, to a tool being controled by his mother, to a hero redeemed. Well now it looks like Nathan is starting to fall into that same role, being controled and manipulated by Linderman, or whoever he really is. We've seen his future self, and instead of letting a Nuclear disaster happen, he leads the world into ability chaos, if thats even a word only this time he's married to a Nikki look-a-like, the girl he was seduced by in the first season. AND the nuclear bomb STILL went off. not mention the ripping of the world in half.

Maybe I'm ranting, raving, and venting a little bit, but will Nathan ever learn? Or is he doomed to a perpetual cycle of being the puppet of the true villains of every season?

I think it different in this time line. I think he really thinks that what he is doing will keep the world from plunging into chaos, he just happens to be wrong.

I may be a bit biased here, but I don't exactly know how much control he has over whether or not the ability formula gets out.

I think somewhere in the beginning of Season 2, Heidi might've left him after he became an alcoholic.

I personally think he's trying really hard not to be controlled by Linderman. In season 1, he didn't exactly find out until about halfway through the season that someone else was trying to control his future and then, seeing where it lead him, he accepted it for a short while. Now, he knows someone's manipulating him and he's trying to resist.

It may be the same thing happening over again, but I think Nathan is starting to get a sense of what is to come and is trying to do the right thing this time.

Like Hopper, I am quite biased, but I agree that there are a lot of similarities between Nathan's situation in Season 1 and Season 3. It's how he now approaches it that makes it different. Nathan seems to be fighting Linderman's manipulation, as demonstrated in this episode with the desk (don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure Linderman didn't want the Kennedy desk, correct?).

On a side note, don't read the HeroesWiki Nathan article. If you haven't seen the trailer for next week, it will spoil you beyond belief.

Yep. Linderman wanted Nathan to get the other one ("It sends the RIGHT message"), so he asked the aid which one he would go with and he picked the Kennedy. Tracy seemed to approve of it.

Do you think people read Nathan as a character who is easily baited? Its good to see him trying to stay on what he thinks is the right track, an evolution for his character from season 1. I think somehow he needs to break free from these puppet strings that everyone around him seem to think Nathan has attached to himself.

This time around he's not being manipulated by Linderman, and as Peter said, he knows what he has to do next. I actually like Nathan's storyline this season as it reminds me of his political career from season 1. And, who knows, maybe he'll turn out to be a president for once.

We already saw him as president in the future.

I actually liked the fact that Nathan was in the same position as in 5YG or maybe rather near the end of season 1, but in completely different circumstances. It seemed to me that he was in control, and I loved the little episode with the Kennedy desk, going against Linderman's advice even in totally inconsequential things, just to make a point of not listening to him.

What I keep wondering is why Nathan ended up in office in the future we just saw - in the present timeline, he's appointed senator to fill a vacant seat after his religious outburst after miraculously recovering from two gunshot wounds. That's how he met Tracy, etc. In the future, all of that must have worked completely differently, but still in exactly the same direction. Interesting.

I meant as a president in the show's main timeline, not an alternate future.

Well, right now that isn't the alternate future. Remeber if things were left as they are, thats the future that would develop. Thats why the Spirit Walker's painting was changed. So Nathan will be president, unless Peter's actions, and/or Parkman's actions change the future so much that it changes Nathan's future as well.

Not much you can say until we get to that point. And it is an alternate future, because last I heard, the formula hasn't come out yet + all the other stuff you mentioned.

Actually, now that Peter has returned to his proper time, it is an alternate future.

I just wish bad things would stop happening to Peter and Nathan T_T and yea I saw the similarities... it seems like season 1 again except like.. idk

When met with a person who has a strong personality, Nathan has difficulties overcoming them, especially when said person is a member of his family, or extended family. But this time he is at least trying to resist Linderman. It just doesn't help that Linderman is much better at manipulation than Nathan is.

If Nathan gets back to Peter, things will work better for the both of them. Their personality extremes create a balance for the both of them. And, plus, I think Nathan could quell any of Peter's attacks (intentional or not).

I think Nathan just works like this. For reasons he thinks are right, he wants to be in control, and the more control he has, the better. What better way to have control than to be a politician? Power is his biggest temptation, and just because he's overcome it once doesn't mean he will never fall for it again. I think his storyline is very consistent.

Nope. It's an alternate future once Peter changes his proper time.

You just blew my mind.

I see what you mean by the brothers as polar opposites balance each other. Nathan is more of a extravert, while Peter is more of a introvert. I guess we should also keep in mind that this figment of Lindreman may not be Linderman at all, ("Nothing that simple,")

No.

Timeline 1: This is F_Peter's proper timeline. The one we first see where he's running from Claire.
Timeline 2: This is the one he returns with P_Peter to.

The changes are miniscule, but definite. (For instance: According to F_Peter and Angela, Sylar didn't get Claire's ability in his original future. Also, Nathan was on a different path because of the assassination.)

The future changed as soon as Peter shot Nathan. From that point on, no matter how identical it was, the future was altered.

Nathan sure is the impressionable one, isn't he? I really hope he doesn't start listening to Linderman.

I think he technically listened to him only once so far (since he came back) - when Tracy was going to jump the bridge.

Could this be sign of what is to come? With this action is he beginning to listen to and/or trust Invisible-Linderman.

That worries me, that Nathan might think that Lindermen has a point because he is the reason Nathan saved Tracy.

I like Tracy, but I think she is going to become villian. Lindermen said Nathan and Tracy "could do great things together" and we all know what Lindermen's definition of greatness is.

Don't worry - I can't imagine Nathan will end up trusting Linderman. That would just be season one all over again, and repetitive. I think you may have a point, that Nathan thinks Linderman is more trustworthy now because he was the key to saving Tracy, but I really don't think he'll walk that road to catastrophe again. It would be even worse this time, as he is aware of the danger and has told Linderman in the face, and I'd be really disappointed if he'd fall again.

Otoh, it's called "Villains"... Nathan may yet be dragged into whatever Linderman wants, just by telling himself, I still have this in hand, I'm in control, I can stop this anytime... blam.

Nathan is an awesome character, and his roles in first season and second season were very entertaining (especially his companionship with Matt - those two fed off each others presence like leeches!).

However, Nathan was coming back from one death just last season. Now he's coming back from another? I don't know, but I think Nathan's time is spent. He probably shouldn't have been back this season, and the show should have focused on some of the newer characters.

There comes a time when certain characters have to die to propel a story along. Heroes seems to have become stagnant because important characters have stopped dying.

Sounds like some drug-users I know.

I see your point. I'm just hoping Nathan will second guess Linderman as much as he can. I think if it comes to lives being at stake though, he might just fall for it.

Come to think of it, he's a bit like Peter that way.

He certainly wasn't any villain-puppet in the second season. In this season, it's a bit different from the first season, as he presumably doesn't realize what's going to happen, but has been deceived.

AND is extremely wary of Linderman. I think he'll be tricked into getting close to letting some disaster happen, but will realise what's going on at the last minute.

Nathan still has a lot of story to go, especially where his family is concerned. Not even considering the fact that Sylar has now been thrown into the Petrelli mix but his relationship and history with Claire has yet to be fully explored. Look at the importance of the Petrellis and the Bennets in the Heroes universe and that relationship becomes very important.

As to character development and death Nathan's come a long way since season 1, he obviously was in control season 2 and the fact he finally told his mom to "go to hell" is a huge step. He is moving forward and waste far less time than other characters on the show. As for his always dying it's almost a writers gag at this point. Each finale, every possible future, he's always dead, it's part of the fabric of the show

Explosion Timeline - Darth Sylar kills him for his ability
Outbreak Timeline - Shanti Virus strain 138 kills him (and over 90% of earth's population)
Exposed Timeline - Killed by a past version of Peter (from his perspective) who had activated IA


Peter was right, Nathan would side with Arthur as he did in the previous timeline, oh no...in this timeline, he might be killed a lot sooner with kinetic projectile weapons, if Nathan becomes a threat.

I suppose that Nathan and Peter both represent the two different approaches to heroism.

Peter is the selfless altruist, running into danger without thinking of the consequences, because he wants to help anyone in danger.

Nathan is the flip-side of altruism, he anticipates danger and thinks of the consequences first, and he too wants to help people, but the most amount possible and for the greater good...

While Nathan doesn't appear to have learnt in this episode, he does act in character from what we've seen so far... he doesn't want to always save people, he wants people to save themselves.

Although Nathan is confirming Peter's worst fears, he is following their father's path, just as he followed Daniel Linderman's path, both paths lead to destruction, one where their kind were heading for execution thanks to Peter, the other is Nathan's doing which results in worldwide devastation, he might need to be locked in Level 5 as he is too dangerous to be left outside or as a last resort...best wait until next week for that,

Peter is not just charging into situations now, without abilities, he is taking much less unnessesary risks, how he got Claire away from Knox and her idiot uncle from her mother's side of the biological familyis evidence of that.

Unfortunately, his actions will not get people to save themselves, but bring their own destruction, something that Arthur appears to be counting on, he needs Nathan to take over from him in case something should happen to him. The formula on the paper needs to be taken away (and all electronic copies of it erased) to stop Mohinder from making more of it to derail their plans. Then again some events might take place a few years early...