First order of business: PHWOOAR. IT'S HEROES TIME.

All right, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can coherently organize this. I'm going to go character by character. And I'm going to go back to previous Season Three episodes, just for funsies.

PETER: I hereby retract everything negative I ever said about his character during the duration of Season Two. He's back on track, character development-wise. The line between good and evil always had flashes of being blurred in this one, and now it's gotten even fuzzier. I'm thrilled to see which one of his beloved family members he's going to try to kill next, aren't you?

NATHAN: Adrian Pasdar is, without a doubt, one of the best actors on the show. His blow-up at Angela in the library legitimately moved me. How delightful. Not sure what to think about his God kick, though. It seems weirdly... un-Nathan. At first I thought it was just a political ploy of some sort, but now that it's looking like he Really Means It... Must just be the brainwashing.

ANGELA and ARTHUR: Finally. Not only do we find out her power, but we're going to meet Him. Yesss.

SYLAR: All right, it's rant time.
Am I the only one who liked Sylar better when the reasoning behind his being a serial killer was mental illness and not some "hunger" brought about as a side effect of his power?
Maybe it's just me. But he meant more when he wasn't being victimized by something he can't control. A character who knowingly kills others with only slight remorse is far more interesting and dimensional than one who just does it because his brain tells him to.
Also, his focus on "rehabilitation": Every cell in my body is screaming, "Out of character! Out of character!" When did he become legitimately interested in becoming a good guy? If it's not an act, I'll be sorely surprised. There was no turning point. It's as if he randomly decided to switch gears.

MOHINDER: Since when did he become the creepy one?
All right, Kringy boy, it's time for some damn explanations.
Why are Mohinder's morals so freaking elastic? How can he condemn one man for murdering his father and in the next minute go all Shelob on our asses and cocoon people to his wall? Did the formula addle his mind, or are you just pissing in the wind and letting consistent characterization go to hell?
Also, ew. It's like Satan's bacne.

MAYA: Actually not bothering me this season. She seems to actually have a brain. (Though she does seem strangely lacking of post-Sylar traumatic fallout. Whatever.)

DAPHNE: I like her already.

LINDERMAN: Was I the only one who was totally disappointed to find out that he's a Maury-induced hallucination and not actually alive? Ah, well. At least he's sort of "back".

HIRO and ANDO: I really don't know what to say about this one other than WHAT THE LIVING LIZARDS JUST HAPPENED.
We had a hint at the end of Season Two that all was not well with everyone's favorite hero. The moment when he told Ando about burying Adam alive- "he will never hurt anyone again"- was sinister, but it was believably so. He had an in-character motivation: Adam killed his father. But stabbing Ando? Not only is it heartbreaking (I couldn't talk for about two minute afterward), it's bizarrely inconsistent with his character. Hiro would never, despite anything he might have seen future!Ando do to him, kill his best friend to prove his world-saving capabilities. It's dishonorable. He wouldn't even kill Sylar when Sylar didn't know he was there.
Unless our good Mr. Kring explains himself- and fast- something is seriously wrong with the writing here.

ADAM: Iiiii could not be happier. Thank goodness he's back. "Japanese Nazi," ha.

MEREDITH: It might just be me, but she seems like a totally different character. She lost the accent, the character quirks, and everything that made her interesting. Now she's just... Claire's trainer. Lame.
That puppeteer guy seems cool, though.

CLAIRE and H.R.G.: Mr. Bennet's still awesome. I was worried for a few moments that with all this other character weirdness he might try to buddy up to Sylar, but no. He's completely antagonistic. How Noah of him.
Claire needs to stop fucking around, though. And I liked that new guy, even though he was only on for an episode. How sad.