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This review may contain spoilers.

After one of the best episodes in quite some time, last week’s “Once Upon a Time in Texas”, “Heroes” proved, once again, that following up a solid episode with another one simply is beyond the capabilities of this creative team. It’s not that the episode paled in comparison to the previous one: this one was just plain bad. It was plagued by the same problems that have killed “Heroes” the last two years: a sluggish plot and a dearth of action.

Every week I am amazed by the CW’s “Smallville” - certainly the series has its share of faults, and they have reused storylines so many times that watching the series feels like I am in a perpetual state of déjà vu, yet every week the show manages to include a fair amount of action to justify the fact that it is a show about a superhero. Why can’t “Heroes” manage to do the same? With some effort, I can remember a few meaningful uses of power in this episode, but healing, seeing sounds as colors, and playing mind games is not exciting.

As far as the plot goes, this episode focused on Claire (Hayden Panettiere) in the aftermath of her kidnapping. Gretchen (Madeline Zima) freaks out and leaves. Hopefully, this is a permanent exit for a useless character. Zima is not a bad actress, but the Claire’s story this year is just plain terrible. When will television writers accept the fact that transitions to college just don’t seem to work?

One story featured Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Emma (Deanne Bray), but frankly, it seemed pointless. Peter keeps saving people, using his newly acquired power, but the process drains him. Emma is forced into duty helping people, so it appears that she may be headed off to medical school again. Honestly, that’s all I got from this. It really was a waste of time. The same can be said of the Samuel Sullivan (Robert Knepper) story this week; he’s trying to recruit people to his circus freak show, alright ... we get it already.

Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) continues his mental sparring with Sylar (Zachary Quinto), which brings them back to the "Burnt Toast Diner”. After Sylar kills a good Samaritan just to prove that he is in control, Parkman uses his powers of influence to get Sylar to scrawl a disturbing message to a waitress. As they leave the diner, police swarm the area and Parkman forces his body to reach into his pocket, causing the officers to shoot him.

While this story wasn’t bad, the previews for next week indicate that Parkman/Sylar is not dead. Matt’s heroic act would have been a positive way to wrap up a disappointing storyline. Instead, it appears that it was simply a tease. And that is the major problem with “Heroes”. Too many people have seeming died, just to come back later. Nikki (Ali Larter) died, but she had a clone somewhere else named Tracy. Noah (Jack Coleman) died, but Claire’s blood revived him. Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) died, but a new Nathan was created out of Sylar.

My optimism that “Heroes” was getting better was short lived. While the show is not terrible, it is disappointing that it can’t balance action and storytelling better than it does.

What Worked

For a moment there, I thought that the writers had mercifully ended the inane Matt Parkman/Sylar storyline. Both characters have been played out and I was hopeful that we might be done with at least one of them. But alas, the preview for next week indicates that they will both still be around at least a little while longer.

What Didn’t Work

At this point, I have to conclude that the carnival storyline is a convoluted mess that simply cannot be saved. Nine episodes into the season and this story arc just hasn’t grown any legs. If this was supposed to save “Heroes” and return it to its former glory, well, it has failed: badly. As much as I like Ohio native Robert Knepper, he’s much more creepy than villainous. This series has had a difficult time creating a suitable villain since Sylar in the first season.

After moving the Hiro story along very nicely, he wasn’t featured at all this week.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Heroes" stars Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Masi Oka, and Milo Ventimiglia. It airs Mondays on NBC. “Shadowboxing” was written by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski. It was directed by Jim Chory.

"Heroes" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.