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I've been excited for this one for a while. And way back at the start of the hiatus, just after Peter's vision, I predicted the ending, but then forgot all about it when the show threw us all the curveballs - my prediction seemed pretty far-fetched.

So where to start? So much going on. First off, we know Mr. Bennett's first name. You can still call him HRG if you like, but we know know that his first name is Noah. It actually seems really fitting.

A few thoughts: at one point in the episode, Nikki finds Candace and an apparently injured Micah. During the fight, Nikki learns that her superstrength isn't only usable by Jessica - she can use it too. I'm sure we'll see more of that next season. The interesting thing about all this to me is that when the Candace that looked like Jessica was knocked unconscious, she reverted to skinny Candace. As we know from the most recent episode, Candace is overweight in her true form and only looks attractive via her power. So why would she have not reverted to fat Candace? I guess you could argue that skinny-Candace was her resident self-image, and that her unconscious mind shows her in that form.

Candace's illusion ability could actually be overwhelmingly powerful if used correctly. Just imagine if Sylar had gotten it as he did in the alternate future. Remember what Candace did to keep Micah from escaping? She can make anyone see anything she wants. Ground where there's a cliff, dozens of attackers where there are none, invisibility... there really doesn't seem to be much of a limit.

And that brings me to another thought - the way in which Heroes makes creative new uses of generic superpowers. Of course the first one that comes to mind is Sylar's telekinesis. Early on, he learned to use it for cutting by focusing the power in a tiny area. Despite all the places I've seen telekinesis in science fiction, I can't say I've seen that before. And did you see in the finale how he used his telekinesis to move the paint on the canvas? That was incredible. Other powers, such as Nikki/Jessica's split personality superstrength and Isaac's foresight only via painting, are also really creative. The closest thing to Nathan's badass flight I'd ever seen was Neo in the Matrix sequels. And I hope we see more of Hana next season. Remember her? The girl who showed up to talk to Ted Sprague? She can communicate wirelessly, essentially talking to the internet. I'm sure Heroes will come up with some creative new characters in their spinoff, Origins, but how likable they are remains to be seen.

The final showdown between Peter and Sylar wasn't bad. I almost wish it could've been better, but the truth is that while Peter can take nearly unlimited punishment, Sylar cannot. He can stop bullets, but when Peter absorbed Nikki's superstrength and started beating on him, that had to hurt. And speaking of stopping the bullets, Sylar's reversal of Matt's gunshots was pretty damn cool. We'll see whether or not Matt lives. Bah - you know he will. As will DL and Mr. Bennett, who were also shot.

In the end, it looks like Nathan was redeemed. I'd really started to think that he and his mother would be major bad guys next season. But it seems that while Nathan had been claiming that no one could stop The Bomb, he was primarily trying to convince himself. And in the end, he wasn't convinced. I've heard claims that they both could have survived - Nathan could've dropped Peter and flown to a safe distance, and Peter could have healed - but I very much doubt it. As soon as Peter had the vision of himself as a hospice nurse giving the speech about death, I knew that he would die.

Hiro had some great moments - his blink-in-blink-out encounter with Sylar in Isaac's loft, his midair teleport to escape being crushed, and his time with Ando when Ando told him "You look badass". But I've got to say, the way he stabbed Sylar was lame. Does anyone else think they gave Sylar a Darth Maul death? Let me explain.

Darth Maul was the most badass villain in Star Wars history, despite how horrible the movie he appeared in was. He took on two experienced Jedi as if it were nothing and looked good doing it. But then, when it really counted, he stood there and watched while Obi-Wan cut him in two, and didn't make a move to stop it. Ditto with Sylar. He can force-choke the uber-powerful Peter while stopping multiple incoming bullets that were fired behind him. What kind of reaction time does that take? And then he stands there and watches while a wimpy little Japanese guy charges him and runs him through. This is my only real complaint about the episode. Why could Hiro not have stopped time and done it? It would've been way more believable.

And now Hiro is in ancient feudal Japan. Kyoto in 1671. Generations. I can't wait for next season. I still want to see Hiro slow time down to a crawl and get into a massive swordfight. The eclipse upon his arrival was obviously significant, but why? Will there be superpowered individuals in the past? Will he meet his sword saint hero?

I'm looking forward to watching season two and learning who this guy is who's "even worse than the boogie man". Someone who can see Molly when she thinks about him. Obviously not someone we've seen before. I've got to get on the Heroes site soon and catch up on the graphic novels.

With all the characters they killed off at the end, there's certainly space for a lot of new characters next season, and they'll certainly need a new plot. But who are the villains? This new boogieman likely isn't the only one. Candace could certainly make a return. Mrs. Petrelli hasn't yet shown her power. And maybe the OWI isn't entirely defunct - it couldn't have had only three members. We shall see.