Great building block episode. It dropped the storylines that were starting to suck (Parkman in Africa, Hiro being a killer, Peter and his "I HAVE TO CONTROL IT" angst, etc.) and set up Pinehearst nicely. They also combined the garbage that is Muhinder and Nathan/Tracy, so less time spent on that. Still not buying Claire as a badass though, and a little disappointed at the end of the Sylar/HRG pairing.
It seems like this season should be subtitled "Everyone's in a coma."