That's at least twice now that Hiro has bent the rules to suit his own purposes; first he helped his friend cheat at the casinos and now he's moving up to outright theft. Sure, he has his rationalizations and excuses for it, but while he might have been a bit naive in Vegas there's no sugar-coating what he was trying to do at the museum.

I don't think Hiro needs the sword, he just believes he needs it. The truth is something I think Ando was trying to hint at: it isn't Hiro's powers that are weakening, it's his self-confidence.

Does the sword have actual power? Maybe, maybe not. I'm pretty sure it doesn't justify what he was trying to do, though.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to condemn him for it or anything, but I do think it opens up some very interesting possibilities for the character.

So far most people seem to be assuming that Nathan will be the one to go darkside or that "Jessica" will be the one to betray them, but I'm thinking that Hiro would be a fabulous- and very daring- choice. He already has a few shadows to his name (as mentioned above) and as a wise man once said, "If once you start down the Dark Path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

Hiro is one of my favorite characters on the show; it's hard not to love his enthusiasm and sheer child-like glee with the world around him and it's obvious how very much he wants to try and save the world... but exactly what is he willing to do and how much is he willing to sacrifice in order to accomplish his goal? What other "wrong" steps will he be willing to make under the auspice of "the Greater Good?"

And just think... if Hiro does go darkside how does that affect FutureHiro's encounter with Peter? Did saving the cheerleader really save the world or has it started off an entirely different series of unfortunate events?

*shrug* I doubt the producers are going in that direction. It's hard- if not impossible- to take a cult figure adored by fans and turn him into a bad guy. At least not without a hope of redemption. Even if this doesn't happen, though, it's still interesting to think about. Don't you agree?

I also wouldn't stand around staring at the sword and fogging up the glass. And leaving Ando to stand alone in front of an open case? VERY bad manners. I'm astounded he wasn't nabbed for questioning- either on suspicion of having been involved or at least maybe seeing something. That wary guard was right there, too, and I know one of my questions would have been, "Where's your friend?"

Scout something out, walk out of the museum and then make sure everything is frozen before you go back in to take it. If everyone is in slow motion that means security cameras are still rolling. That may come back to haunt them and then Linderman will have something to use on Hiro: "Do what I say or you're going to jail for a long, long time."