Ah, tradition. Pop culture usually isn't very big on long-standing customs. No, it's more interested in the next big thing, leaving all those old stand-by rituals by the wayside. That's why I've become a bit nostalgic around this time every year. Why? Because this is the time when we all sit around the glow of our televisions and say those sacred words, "Well, that sucked. Maybe next year it'll be better." That's right, kids. It's another Heroes season finale. And just like every season finale before it, it did indeed suck and it also implicitly promised that next season will be better. That is, if NBC even grants the series another season.

So, let's talk about the myriad dangling plot threads and how "Brave New World" attempted to tie them all up. Behold, a bullet point list!

• Hiro discovers that Charlie was sent back to the 1940's and has lived a full life. He decides not to rescue her from the past and thus negate the existence of her big, red-headed family. Jayma Mays gets to pray for Glee Season 2.
• Bennet almost dies from being in a buried trailer but gets rescued by Tracy Strauss in a way that isn't properly explained.
• Sylar and Peter are now bestest buddies in the whole wide world because of Parkman's immensely stupid mind game. They've teamed up to do jack squat as always.
• Samuel follows the famous South Park Underwear Gnome business model. Gather loads of people to Central Park/ Kill load/ Profit.
• Claire, Bennet, Peter and Darth Maul defeat Samuel by taking away his friends :-(
• Claire reveals super powers to the world by calling back to the promo clips from before Season 1.
• Tim Kring pretends he has a whole season to make Heroes good somehow.

Here's the silly part, folks. I really, really want Heroes to be good. Just like everyone else who still watches this show, I truly wish that Kring and company will come back in late 2010 with the most awesome TV series ever. And hey, if NBC decides to renew Heroes in spite of all reason, it could actually be interesting.

So, instead of ripping apart tonight's finale any further, I will now take part in the time-honored tradition of explaining just how Heroes could manage to be good next season. Now that super powers have been revealed to the world, there's absolutely no reason why we need to focus on the same group of characters anymore. Instead, Heroes can become a purely episodic adventure show about various people around the world being forced to come to terms with their abilities in public. Some will be good, some will be bad, some will live and some will die. The important thing is that none of them will be obligated to carry an entire show.

Because, after all, plot arc is really what has killed Heroes. There have been too many characters, too few decent actors and not a single capable writer in this mess of a series. It would be all too easy to ignore the entire cast from now on because, honestly, there's not a single character who is essential for the plot or to bring the viewers back. So, let's move away from this irrevocably wrecked experiment and make a damn show about people with super powers.

I'm not giving "Brave New World" any episode rating or highlighting any best moment. I'd like to think we've moved beyond that. I don't know if Heroes is getting another season and I can't say I have much faith that show runner Tim Kring will rescue his tragic project from the ashes of its own awfulness, but I see a glimmer of hope. For this viewer, that's got to be enough.