The New Hiro in Heroes

Time travel is problematic for an episodic timeline. There is no doubting it's usefulness, but there's also danger. Most people are frustrated when they find out that an entire episode has only been a bad dream, or an undone timeline. That is, unless there is some important information or artifact gleaned from the now dormant timeline.

There are a number of uses for Hiro's gift (and therefore Peter's) that they are either too distracted to think of, or are afraid to use. One is that artifact thingie I mentioned a minute ago. For all intents and purposes Hiro could "borrow" anything he wanted from the future and then simply change something about that timeline's past (future to us) and never have to give the artifact back. He also has the power of the unlimited do-over. If something doesn't work out right all he has to do is go back before it happened and explain to himself what courses of action are unacceptable. He doesn't even have to waste daylight to do it. He's already talked to Peter (and I think even himself) in a single moment. Hiro has the potential to become a match for nearly anyone. All that would be required for him is preparation. He needs to prepare for every encounter. He can research what he will do in the future and map out the best course of action for each day. For the audience this would be less interesting to watch. We'd only really like to see the end result. That's all we'd really need to see. I'd buy that he had done the research if they simply said "I've gone there. I've seen which course works best." He has prophesy, it's about time he used it. (Pun intended.)