I have GOT to learn to keep my expectations down.

Don’t get me wrong, last night’s episode was a great ‘Heroes’ episode, and an excellent hour of programming by regular television standards.  There were several moments where I couldn’t help but laugh out loud - and not a “ha-ha” laugh, but a “holy crap, that was awesome” laugh.  It was a great close to a fantastic season, but it didn’t leave me just clamoring for the next season to start right now like, say, the finale of the first season of ‘Lost’.

One thing that the finale did well…that the entire series has done well…was to present the numerous storylines in such a way that they all weave together to create a beautiful tapestry of a story.  Far too many serialized dramas have fallen into the trap of trying to tell so many stories that they eventually become disconnected from each other.  ‘Heroes’, it seems, has managed to avoid this pitfall, with each storyline directly feeding back into the broader saga.  This was never clearer than in last night’s episode.

Everything about Hiro in this episode was wonderful.  The showdown between him and Sylar in the apartment had a great old-western showdown at high noon quick-draw feel to it.  When he and Ando teleported back to Japan, I think that resulted in the best scene between them, and brought about my favorite line from the show…”Hiro, you look bad ass.”  I’ve got to learn how to say that in Japanese.

Our heroes paths have all finally led them to their destiny in Kirby Plaza.  While the scene turned out to be somewhat anticlimactic, I thought it did serve as a great showdown, and every hero contributed something to the fight.  We have been promised that we would find out why, in Peter’s vision of the future, all of our other heroes were running away from Peter while Nathan was running toward him, and the answer took me completely by surprise.  In some of the series’ best visual effects to date, with Peter unable to hold back his nuclear powers, Nathan flies in at the last minute, scoops him up, and flies away to a save distance so that he can detonate.

But fear not, Heroes fans.  Rumor has it that Peter and Nathan will indeed return in some capacity for next season.  The original script had Nathan dropping Peter into the ocean to detonate, but I think that the way it was handled was much more pleasing.

Let’s also look briefly at the “preview” for next season.  I can not wait to see more of Hiro in feudal Japan.  There have been many people who have speculated that Hiro may actually be a decendant of Kensei, the warrior that has been referenced repeatedly throughout the season.  Here’s a wild bit of speculation…what if Hiro is actually Kensei?  I’m just saying.

All in all, I think it was a great, if somewhat underwhelming, finale for an incredible opening season.