There are five shows I follow but one of them, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, got put on indefinite hiatus mid-season. It’s coming back tomorrow although the season has ended for almost everyone else.
So which of the remaining four had the best finale?
Lost, Heroes, Jericho or Smallville?
First at #4…
(Also read my alternative Heroes season finale.)
WARNING: SPOILER HEAVY
#4 – Smallville (6th season)
The thing about Smallville is that it can wrap up a season in such a good way no matter how bad it has been. The finale answered a lot of the lingering issues such as the marriage of Lex and Lana (Lana leaves Lex for Clark), the experiments being done by Lex (a superhuman army), and the allegiance of Lionel Luthor (he is Jor-El’s emissary).
It would have been nice though to see some payoff with regards to Green Arrow and the other “Justice League” characters. Perhaps they can come in next season to help against Bizzaro? Here’s me crossing my fingers.
What I also love about a Smallville season finale is how well it fucks up (sorry, no other word really) all their characters. The way they left things hanging this season, three characters — Lana, Chloe, Lionel — are possibly “dead” or fatally wounded but that is always hardly the case.
And what I hate about a Smallville season premiere is how lamely they explain the survival of these characters. Sigh. Oh well. Four or five months to go!
The only reason I still watch this show is to witness how they tie this up with the DC Universe. I give this thing until season 7 at the most. My original vision was only up to 4. They’re really stretching it now.
#3 – Heroes (1st season)
This comes in third because of two reasons: (1) I predicted the ending — Nathan saves the day! – and (2) the finale (all 3 episodes of it) wasn’t as strong as the rest of the season.
Heroes was really fantastic, especially during the mid-season when all the characters started to collide in big ways. I also admire Heroes over Lost in that it pays off its mysteries quickly before introducing new, epic mythologies.
The reason the finale wasn’t that good for me was that it felt contrived. Yes, even after a full season of build up, it still felt contrived. A lot of the characters felt force fed into the final scenes, and I would’ve wanted a leaner final showdown that centered on a few characters only. The following is just my take of what a lean and mean season finale would be like.
In those last moments at Kirby plaza, the only people I felt necessary there were Peter, Sylar, Claire and Nathan. Actually a big question I have is why did Sylar even make his way to Kirby plaza? To fulfill the painting? Please…
The Hiro/Sylar showdown should have happened earlier while they were still in Isaac’s loft. After getting stabbed by Hiro, Sylar would be so motivated by the threat of death to just “end it” by blowing himself up. But before so, he would make his way to a place where he could make the most damage. Somehow he ends up at Kirby Plaza (for all we know, it’s just a block away from the loft or something).
Peter and Claire race to stop him and this forces a showdown. At one point, Sylar has Peter pinned and threatens to kill Claire and steal her powers so that he could heal himself after blowing up. Then just before Claire loses her head, Peter hits Sylar with a telekinetic blast, sending him spiraling high and away. Sylar lands with a crushing thud, leading everyone to think that he’s dead. But then Peter overloads with power, and is unable to control his radioactive energy… leading to the ending we know now but without the cheezy love crap.
But if we really need the other characters there (as the writers apparently felt), then I’d rather have Parkman read Sylar’s mind and shout out a warning to Peter or Claire. Sylar can then kick Parkman’s ass by force pushing him to a wall. As for Nikki/Jessica, perhaps she could have caught a flying car or something that Sylar would throw at her family. Since family comes first for her, that will be more natural to her character than what they actually did in the show. This would also be cooler since we can see how strong she actually is.
Hiro is already gone, since right after he stabbed Sylar in Isaac’s loft, he and Ando time-traveled to wherever they are now. But given Hiro’s popularity, the writers clearly wouldn’t write him out of the final battle even if he did end up with a crap role eventually.
#2 – Jericho (1st season)
If I had a lot to revise with Heroes, there is none I would touch with the ending of Jericho.
The only injustice with this show is that the geniuses at CBS just canceled the show. That’s right. My favorite show that nobody else I know loves is gone. (We all have that show right? What’s yours?)
I am pretty sad with the death of Johnston Green, but I can’t also wait to see how Jake steps up to the plate. He’s really such a strong character and I hope we see more of him.
There is also a great close to the character of Hawkins, though I can see that he is even more central to the upcoming seasons. If any.
I am really hoping for a resolution to this show since that ending really demanded more. I hope it gets picked up by another station.
To CBS, all I have to say is,
“NUTS.”
#1 – Lost (3rd season)
All I can say after watching the season finale of Lost is, “Oh, it’s on. It’s on.”
This, my friends, is how you write a season finale. This is a season finale that CHANGES EVERYTHING.
It also closes a lot of the threads introduced in the season, but none of the superthemes running through all the seasons so far. That’s fair. We have three more to go.
When the show began, the question on a lot of people’s minds is, “Will they ever get off the island?”
Well, this finale gives a definite YES to that question, but then raises a whole new set of questions. Damn it!
While I did give a HEAVY SPOILER warning above, I refuse to say anything beyond that single compound word in my next line. I don’t want to spoil the episode for me when I watch it again (hahaha!), but this, my friends, flips the entire show over. So what is that single compound word in the next line? Here you go:
FLASHFORWARD.
Hot damn.
