1. Parkman, Nathan and Peter are all still alive after the showdown in the season finale. And, judging from the previews of coming weeks, so is Sylar. Hey, don't want to kill off too many characters in the first season.
2. Parkman and Nathan have destroyed their marriages, but at least Parkman has managed to forge a new family. He and Mohinder have taken in little Molly -- sort of like "My Two Dads" with superpowers. You decide whether Mohinder or Parkman is Paul Reiser.
3. Molly is having nightmares -- bad ones, about mysterious presence who can see her.
4. Hiro is still in ancient Japan. He meets his hero Kensei -- only to find out that he's a drunken Englishman and a rather obnoxious one at that (yes, that was David Anders, aka Sark on "Alias," as Kensei. Good to see him again).
5. Meanwhile Papa Nakamura continues to wait for Hiro. And wait. And wait. And wait. Ando waits with him. And waits. And waits. And waits.
6. Nathan is an emotional mess after saving Peter in the finale. We can tell he is a mess because he's grown a beard, just like the one Jack Bauer grew in the second season of "24." Apparently, everyone is sure Peter's dad. Nathan seems unconvinced, but he's still drinking and covered in facial hair. So he definitely has issues.
7. The Bennett family is now the Butler family. Noah (aka HRG, aka Mr. Bennett, aka Mr. Butler) urges Claire not to draw attention to herself. She does her best, but still manages to attract the notice of a boy who turns out to have superpowers as well. Hmm. I guess it's hard to blend in when you're a gorgeous blonde with perfect skin. Poor Claire. Meanwhile, her dad (who now actually DOES work for a paper company) breaks his own rule -- and probably the fingers of his new boss.
8. Mohinder and Noah are setting up a trap for the Company, and someone has finally taken the bait.
9. Speaking of the Company, someone is gunning for Mama Petrelli and Papa Nakamura and, near the episode's end, Papa N. seems to die.
10. Somewhere along the line, we met two new characters, Maya and Alejandro. Maya apparently has some sort of power that kills people by making them bleed out their eyeballs. She can control it only when her brother Alejandro is around. Looking for answers, the two read Mohinder's book about superheroes and think that he can help them.
11. In a warehouse in Ireland, a bunch of guys looking for stolen merchandise open a shipping crate. Inside, they find no merchandise. Instead it's....Peter! (come on, you saw that one coming a mile away). Peter, in a shocking twist, is chained up and has no idea who he is. On the upside, he appears to have a much better haircut than he did last season.
Overall, it was a strong first ep, setting up some pretty interesting story lines. And there were some great scenes, particularly Papa Bennett snapping the paper jockey's fingers, and Hiro doggedly trying to convince his hero Kensei to fulfill his destiny.
Lots of promise and lots of fun.