How to Stop an Exploding Man

THERE ARE HEROES SPOILERS BELOW. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

So it's not the big exciting, explosion-filled ending you were expecting. There was a final battle, but it was rather dull, huh? Not to mention seemingly underserved by the mere hour it was provided.

That hasn't been what Heroes is about, though. Yes, it's very cool and sometimes action packed, but it's more about these people and their destinies and their relationships. You want it to be about the action... heck I want it to be about the action, too. But they're not there yet. It's more about the goosebumpy retrospective at the opening of the finale. It's more about the interactions between Peter and Nathan or Hiro and Ando. This is just the end of Volume One.

It fit the finale pattern: Revelations and changes are brought about, questions are answered, new doors are opened and a few old doors are left open.

Among the revelations: Bennett really IS a good guy. He pleads his case to Mohinder directly and proves the last few episodes weren't flukes. Until this week I still had a hard time trusting him. Bigger revelation? Peter's charge (the old man who died... Simone's father) had something to do with the grand scheme of this story. He'll factor in big to Volume Two, as the backstories become more and more important.

What may have hurt the most was the setup given to this final battle. There's no way it could have been made to expectations... Sylar wasn't strong enough anyway. What ends up happening is what happens in many comic bookish stories: The odds stack up, good guys find their resolve, good guys win, bad guys slips away. Too many characters in one place obviously made them

The thing that irked me the most, though was Nathan. So sure the past few weeks about the importance of the bomb... there's no real reason why, other than a big power grab. But that's pretty hard to swallow. He makes the ultimate sacrifice (or at least we're left to believe so) simply on the chiding of his daughter -- who until now has shown a greater bunch of guts than he has. Yes, he loves Peter and yes he's human, but there seemed to be something much deeper over the course of the season that would point him in the other direction. He's the most undramatic actor ever, by the way.

A few other notes: It was nice to find DL still alive, though barely so and reasonably useless throughout the finale; ballsy Parkman going after Sylar earns no respect from me for that seeing as how obviously outgunned he would have been -- it is a nice change for him though; Hiro's quick standoff with Sylar in Issac's shop was even more exciting than the actual battle -- you gotta love the quick thinking; can't wait to see what new powers Sylar pops up with; also can't wait to see who this guy Molly was afraid of is -- "He can see me"... *shudder.*

Predictable? Yeah, the show was, a little. But that's OK. So are most shows. Bad? No way. This was weak for Heroes, but among the best finales of the season.

There are questions remaining, too. Are Peter and/or Nathan OK? How about Parkman? Who's Molly afraid of? What did Hiro get himself into? Why does another Fantastic Four movie sound even more lame than another Kathy Griffin TV show? Is Nikki whole now... or at least less annoying? Ugh. No telling till September. Will Sylar no longer be on the list of guest stars next season (sheesh, he should be top bill)?

Discussion topic: What question most needs to be answered? (If it's something I didn't mention, please add it to the list.)