TVSquad

(S03E25) In my early look at this finale, I laid a pretty broad hint as to the major twist at the end of this volume, and I was impressed with some of the deductive abilities of our readers. And the fact that one of you got it exactly right. Now that we've all seen the final cut of the closing chapter of the "Fugitives" volume of Heroes, we can really look back at it and see how we think things have gone.

What was needed was to wipe the slate clean, resolve as many of the dangling plot threads as possible, and establish a tabula rasa for "Volume Five." Or as much of one as we can this far into a series. After all, these last two volumes have left some pretty sour tastes in many mouths. The set up for interesting things to come next year was definitely well done. I'm more interested in what's going to happen in "Redemption" than I was excited about what happened in this finale.

Let's look at where our cast stands:

Danko & Noah
I wonder if dropping Danko into the cell with Noah after he was set up by Sylar was so that we could gain some sympathy for the little creepy dude. If nothing else, we might start to think of him as someone similar to HRG. Remember how we feared and loathed HRG in the first season. I like Danko as a character, I think he adds a sense of reckless danger and menace to the heroes' lives. It would have been such an easy thing to just kill him off, but I'm actually glad they didn't.

Hiro & Ando
As much as I love Hiro and Ando, it seems like they were on the periphery of the major plotlines all season, and that continued here tonight. Hell, even at the end sequence they kind of just decided to wander off on their own. They really need to make better friends with Team Petrelli-Bennett so they can get integrated. They accomplish important tasks helping everyone out, but they're never part of the big plans. They always just act independently and their goals happen to coincide with the main players.

Mohinder
It doesn't seem like they have any idea right now what to do with Suresh. His role tonight was to tell Hiro that if he tries to use his power again, it might kill him. Other than that he's been on a quest to find out more about his father and ... well, nothing for awhile now. Ever since he lost his spider abilities he's just been kind of wandering.

Claire
Three seasons in and Claire is still trying to find her way in the world, grow up and figure out who she is. She's getting pretty good at angry victim. And being left out of the major fights, as we all were tonight. What the hell was the deal with the big battle in the suite being literally behind closed doors? You build to this all season long and then you don't even show it to us? Claire's eyeball and flashing lights doesn't cut it! Did you use up the budget getting Michael Dorn for that cameo?

Peter
Pete's the heart and soul of the series, but he too has been largely underutilized all season. The big question was if he was going to get Sylar's abilities in this final battle. At this point, I want to know if he got all of his abilities or if he was only able to pick-and-choose the shapeshifting one. And if he'll finally get to be important again next season.

Nathan
He's been all over the place since the series began. His goals and motivations have seemed to flip-flop as much as many real politicians. Many times this seems to be an extension of the brotherly rivalry that remains ongoing between him and Peter; he's either with Peter and by extension Peter's stance on a particular issue, or against him. So while it was gratifying to see him firmly on the side of "right" finally, there was no reason to believe he would stay there.

The hint that I gave regarding Marvel's Exiles series was how the villain Proteus' personality was suppressed while he looked like teammate Morph, and he was in fact psychically programmed to believe that he was Morph. He then proceeded to "be" Morph for a long time after that before the Proteus personality inevitably came back out and took over. In essence, Nathan is dead, but it may be awhile before he finally disappears. I can see why it's valuable politically to keep him around after Sylar slit his throat, but it's also incredibly dangerous.

Sylar
While his ambition to shake the President's hand may have been thwarted by Peter, and ultimately Matt, I wonder if they realize that he's still just as close to fulfilling that diabolical goal now as he was before they dollhoused him. Now Sylar is a Junior Senator, as Nathan. He's already been involved with projects very close to the President, so one would assume this will continue.

Can our heroes really be so naive as to not consider the ramifications should Sylar regain his memories? He'll still have all those abilities, including the shapeshifting, and he'll have regular access to the President and anyone else in government that he wants. Not to mention that he could "turn" at any moment and continue lying to the family, as well. Hell, at some point we'll probably have to deal with all of that next season. After all, there's no way they're going to keep Zachary Quinto off the show. Maybe this will just give him time to make another Star Trek movie.

Matt
It seems a little hasty for Matt to be completely over Daphne and ready to re-establish his life with his ex-wife and newly discovered son. But Matt has been consistent in wanting to just lead a normal life. Now he's part of an elite circle of trust with Noah and Angela regarding the decision to morph Sylar "permanently" into Nathan.

Volume Five: "Redemption"
For me, this was the best part of the night. I enjoyed seeing Tracy coming back and going after Building 26 Agents. That's how you can get Danko back on the show, when she's ready to take down the big dog. The other piece, that was inevitable, was the slow realization by Nathan that something isn't right within him.

But other than that, we have a blank slate. No idea what the major storyline will be next season and really endless possibilities. Peter's back to being powerful, Sylar's on the sidelines. They can go anywhere with any of the characters, and they could even write some of them out if they wanted to.