Chris Haston/NBCIf you haven't seen tonight's Heroes finale, for the love of the Petrelli brothers, avert your eyes!
'Cause we have much to discuss now that you've finally seen what happened at the end of Volume One, which was such a bone-chillingly good conclusion to a season-long thrill ride, I personally don't know how I'll wait till fall for the next chapter. (Especially when the lives of four Heroes hang in the balance.) Hiro, can you teleport me to September?! Please, oh please?
Let's assess...
What We Learned
Peter Was the Bomb: And Nathan has a heart after all! Now that you've seen the finale, hopefully it's clear what I've been hinting at since the start of the season, that it was important in Peter's vision that Nathan was running toward Peter while the others were running away. See, fly boy had a little trick up his sleeve and flew away with flaming Pete. As for whether the Petrelli Bros. survive, we'll get to that below.
Sylar Is Alive: His crimson snail trail to the manhole made that perfectly clear, and I also have it on high authority that Zachary Quinto (Sylar) is a series regular next season. Makes sense, since the guy pretty much stole every single scene he was in tonight, did he not? So creeptastic!
Niki Won! Personally, I'll miss Jessica. Ali Larter is way hotter when she's mad.
HRG's First Name Is Noah: Huh.
A Parking Meter Makes a Perfectly Good Weapon: Next time Miss Scarlet is in the Conservatory, she should grab it instead of the rope or revolver.
Sylar Is Not the Only Baddie: Molly said that there is someone "worse" than "the boogeyman" (Sylar) who can see her when she's thinking of him. I hear we meet that special someone next season.
Hiro Is Stuck in the 17th Century! This is the reveal of another tease I gave you long ago, that Hiro is not with the rest of the Heroes at the beginning of season two. He is in 17th-century Japan in the midst of a war, and it takes him a few good episodes to get back to present-day NYC. And by the way, those last few minutes of tonight's finale are the first few minutes of season two's premiere.
What Lies Ahead
Spoiler Alert! I have it on good authority that both Milo Ventimiglia (Peter) and Adrian Pasdar (Nathan) are back next season. I'm also 99 percent certain Greg Grunberg (Matt) is back, but not so sure about D.L. (Leonard Roberts). I have a sneaking suspicion Linderman's blood or heart may heal him, but that could just be my wishful thinking, for I love Leonard so.
Glug! Glug! The script called for Nathan to drop Peter into the ocean after he exploded, which should explain my "swim" reference in today's chat. We'll see next season if that is indeed where P.P. landed.
Spoiler Alert Part Deux! I'm told next season begins four months into the future, and two of the main characters are in deep despair—one having completely lost his memory (bring on the Bourne Identity storyline!) and the other having developed a major drinking problem. Told ya Sylar wasn't this show's only demon.
Did I Mention Hiro Will Be in 17th-Freaking-Century Japan? That's just awesome! I'm hearing it could be as many as six episodes that he spends there. Sans Ando.
So, what did you all think of the finale? Did it live up to your expectations? How do you think next season is looking? Who will live or die? What are we going to do now on Monday nights?! Post your opinions and theories below.