So much to ponder...

I'm with you - Hiro has to be the real Kensei. Kaito "Sulu" Nakamura keeps alluding to some sort of destiny, and he obviously kept feeding Hiro those stories for a reason. It seems like a given.

It sounds like we're in for a lot more backstory on this cabal that includes Angela and [husband] Petrelli, Charles Deveaux, Kaito Nakamura and Linderman. My money is that the hooded man is part of their group. Angela believes as much, and both instantly recognized the significance of the marks on the pictures. Apparently their hands are pretty dirty from past deeds and someone wasn't happy with their "failure" in New York. It must still be someone we know (otherwise why the hood?) but someone we wouldn't expect to be associated with that group.

What exactly was Deveaux's ability anyway? Watching the first episode of Season 1 again it seems like he has some sort of dream or divination related ability... this is what Peter borrows that allow him to see his "fantastic dreams" whenever he closes his eyes. What about Angela or Kaito? At the end of last season I was convinced we'd be seeing Hiro's dad in feudal Japan - maybe he resisted aging? - but now I'm not so sure.

Adair Tishler gives another powerhouse performance as Molly Walker - I like the intensity of that story, not to mention the charm of Parkman as loving-but-inept foster dad.

Nathan has apparently abandoned politics, but has he disappeared from his wife and kids too? Is he hiding out to be presumed dead? I can appreciate that he's mourning but something just doesn't jive there.

This episode was jam-packed, but there was a distinct lack of Sylar. We know he's not the "bogeyman" that Molly fears, but what role is he going to play? I feel compelled to watch again before bed, so I might be back with another stream-of-consciousness.

It's possible that Nathan is the guy handing out the Black Spots. After all, Ando bumped into him on the street, immediately after which they found Kaito Nakamura's picture with the helix symbol scrawled on it in the newspaper he'd been carrying. Angela Petrelli found hers pinned to the wall outside Peter's apartment, and Nathan had just come in. Also, Kaito brought his attacker off the building with him, but only one corpse was seen on the ground below - nicely explained by flight. This theory seems a little unlikely to me, because I'm not sure Nathan's so far gone as to actually start killing people - including his own mother! - but then again, it has been four months since Peter exploded, and the groundwork is already laid for Nathan wanting to take down the group that orchestrated that.

Things to confuse me:
1) What happened to Nathan's face? Why is he seeing radiation burns on his face in the mirror? He's not an illusion caster, so there's something else going on here.
2) The guy in the hood? Linderman is my guess. I don't think he's really dead.
3) Why doesn't Claire's new toyboy go back to Smallville where he belongs?! Damn crossover slashers...
4) Was Richard Chamberlain unavailable for the Shogun shoutout?
5) Mr. Muggles will have his revenge, oh yes.

ibroketuesday - That's a very interesting theory! The fact that Kaito recognizes (and is not surprised to see) the hooded man makes me think it's someone from the old club, though. Didn't he say there were nine of them left? That little reveal leads me to believe we'll be meeting all of them throughout the course of this season. I do think Nathan's going vigilante again - maybe he's in cahoots with this hooded man.

PaulW - Watching the episode again it looks like that could be Peter's face he sees in the mirror (look at the hair), so maybe he's just having a psychological break? Also, yes, back to Smallville with the "alien"!

Hiro brings it home: "I broke the future! No cars, no Ando, no me! Greatu Scottu!" Fantastic.

It's actually Nathan's face in the mirror. It's very clear here.

I do think Nathan's going vigilante again - maybe he's in cahoots with this hooded man.

I definitely think Nathan either is in cahoots with somebody, at least. I'm getting the sense that a lot has happened to him in the intervening four months, and we know almost nothing about it.

I personally think the hooded man isn't someone we know.

They said there were nine of them left. If we assume Linderman is dead (and seriously, he had his brain punched out of his head--Claire couldn't survive that), that means there are seven "old, powerful" people we don't know (Mrs. Petrelli and Mr. Makamura being the two we know).

Plus, Mr. Nakamura says that "of all of them", he didn't expect it to be the person who showed up.

I'm not sure if anyone has acknowledged the theory that Mr Petrelli is still alive. His death was shrouded with so much mystery that I find it a major possibility. Whether he has anything to do with the killings, is another issue entirely …