Continuity mistake: When Sylar comes for Isaac the painting of Hiro and the dinosaur is visible in the studio in several shots, even though Hiro took this painting to Linderman several episodes ago. The episode director even comments on it during the audio commentaries.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Mr. Bennet, Matt Parkman and Ted Sprague are at the used car lot, Ted is using his powers to defrost a blue station wagon. As the frost is melting you see "Automatic" written on the windshield. The shot cuts to Bennet and Matt talking by the pay phone. When the Shot returns to Ted, he's finished defrosting, but you see "Low Mileage! 1 Owner" written on the windshield instead. Ted didn't switch cars during the conversation because written on the used car beside the blue wagon is "Like New" for both shots.
Continuity mistake: This mistake is repeated in the next episode too. After D.L kills Linderman he is lying face down, his face is flat against the floor and we can see right into the hole in is head, he has already stopped moving. Then after the camera starts to pan around, Linderman's head is now facing right, and we get a good look at his face.
How to Stop an Exploding Man - S1-E23
Continuity mistake: When Parkman is shooting at Sylar in Kirby Plaza, he fires four shots. But when we see the bullets hovering in the air before Sylar's hand, just before he flings the bullets back toward Parkman, there are five of them. (00:35:30)
How to Stop an Exploding Man - S1-E23
Continuity mistake: Hiro's sword changes position between the shot in which Hiro arrives to the scene and the shot when he is about to kill Sylar.
Chosen answer: It's not been made 100% clear. It was originally assumed that he actually consumed part of the brain, but this has turned out not to be the case. Sylar has been shown all along to have an instinctive knowledge of how things work and how to fix them - this is his actual original power and the ability that made him an exceptional watchmaker and repairer. It appears that he uses a similar process when acquiring new powers - he exposes the brain of the target, allowing him to examine it and determine how their power functions. He can then apply that knowledge to his own brain, allowing him to replicate the ability in question.
Tailkinker ★