The Lost finale was quite good, but I don't think they gave enough answers for the old questions before introducing new ones. Whoever voted for Arzt kicking the bucket got their wish, as he managed to explode himself with nitroglycerin while teaching the other survivors how dangerous it is. The Alias finale was partly satisfying and partly disappointing. I will reveal the cliffhanger in this post, so stop reading now if you tape the show to watch later.

Alias has always been a family drama first, which just happens to be set with spies as a backdrop. The element that separated it from other spy shows and movies was the presence of the 15th century prophet, Milo Rambaldi, whose works and prophecies end up involving the Bristow family for various reasons. Over the past two years they transformed the stately mysticism of Rambaldi into a James Bond weapon-of-the-week endgame. Many people hated the whole Rambaldi aspect of the show, but it's figured in since the beginning, and without it you don't have the same show -- you just have a weekly serial with cops and robbers.

With this finale, the writers decided to finally end the Rimbaldi plotline, but the way it played out was much less worthwhile than its dramatic beginnings. However, the fact that all the original threads tied together for his Endgame made for a satisfying episode. It could have been a perfect ending to the Alias run -- the world is saved, the main characters marry, and Irina Derevko gets away.

Instead, the show ends with a stupid cliffhanger -- Sydney Bristow's husband-to-be reveals that he's not really who he says he's been for the past five years. Before he can explain further, they're both hit from the side by a speeding car and the credits roll. Yes, it was shocking and will provide watercooler fodder for the summer, but it seems like something the writers came up with for lack of better ideas. So now we have a new season without Rambaldi, with a character who apparently has been completely rewritten back to day one.

What could the main characters ever face in the next season that could ever match the importance of the Prophecy? Without that unifying thread, we're left with boring self-contained Law & Order style episodes until the writers run out of ideas again and bring back Rambaldi for his Endendgame. There is a fantasy book by Raymond Feist called Shadow of a Dark Queen which starts a four-book series in an existing Feist universe. He completely negates the major plot points of all his previous books, puts the big-baddie-fight in book 3, and then writes a snoozer book 4 about picking up the pieces after the land has been razed. This episode and my expectations of next season are like that, except with much better dialogue and writing.

I guess that's what you get in world of TV where ABC has no idea how to promote a show and continues to move it to different nights and important cast members quit or make babies with Ben Affleck. Season One and Two are still the best writing to ever air on television, so rent those at Blockbuster the next time you're out. Season Three and Four had a few great episodes in a swamp of average ones, but I have a feeling I'll be watching Season Five out of loyalty to the show, and no longer because it's the best show on TV.