'Heroes Reborn' Introduces The Mysterious Evernow

Buckle up everyone, there was a lot going on in the Heroes Reborn premiere, which reintroduced us to the wide world of Heroes. Perhaps the biggest change comes from a terrorist attack in Odessa, Texas that killed an untold amount of humans and Evos, and was attributed to an Evo (Mohinder Suresh in what has to be a frame-up). Yes, evolved people with powers are called Evos now. It's a whole thing. Because of that tragedy, the premiere focused on all of the Evos on the run, being hunted down, and persecuted, with one noticeable exception. Over in Japan, Miko Otomo is just minding her own business, waiting for her father to get home from work, when professional gamer Ren Shimosawa bursts in the door and informs her that her address is revealed in the video game Evernow, once you reach a very high level. What is Evernow, and more importantly, how does it fit into the larger story of Heroes Reborn?

It turns out that Miko is somehow the video game protagonist — she looks like her, she's dressed like her, even her apartment resembles the game. After following the clues from the playbook she discovers her father's sword, and once she opens it, Miko is transported into Evernow and left battling her way through thugs trying to reach her father, with Ren as her online backup.

If that sounds a little goofy, it is. It's also the most fun and unexpected plot of the series and while it is currently operating in isolation, I suspect it will end up intersecting with the main mystery in a big way. Who is Miko really, and how will her video game play out? It's currently unclear, but it seems like a prime place for Hiro Nakamura to show back up. He's also from Japan, used to travel in and out of other environments (and time) with ease, and even has some experience with swords, so perhaps he'll appear to help her out. He may even be familiar with Evermore as a game if it's as popular as the "famous" Ren made it sound.

On the surface, there is nothing connecting Miko or Ren to the tragedy in Texas, but I think Heroes is setting us up for a much bigger conspiracy, perhaps one that extends to video games.

Images: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC