I liked the redemption angle, but I have to admit that I'm not fully satisfied with the season finale. It was cool seeing all the heroes working together, but the final showdown between Peter and Sylar was anti-climactic. The Peter vs. Sylar showdown from ~5 episodes ago was more interesting with them using different powers, one after another, against each other. Any battle between Sylar and Peter should be like a game of chess with powers and counter-powers with the winner being the one who uses all of his accumulated powers the most intelligently. It should have been the Ali/Frazier rematch; instead, Peter basically just stood there and didn't do much of anything except punch Sylar after being released from Sylar's Vader-like choke-hold. WTF? Was he supposed to be using Nikki's power to punch Sylar there? If so, he didn't even knock him out. He should have gone invisible or teleported or froze time using Hiro's power (which he has surely assimilated by now, I hope).
I'm a big fan of Peter's, so I was even more disappointed Peter wussed out at the end and couldn't control his powers, even after all his training with the invisible guy. Assuming Peter can't use multiple powers simultaneously, all he had to do was switch to a different power! And if he can use multiple powers simultaneously, then he should have just flown off all by himself or teleport to the moon or something.
This post is sounding more negative than I actually feel. I still really liked the episode as a whole; I just would have preferred a slightly different ending. Nathan's character arc (now over, presumably he has sacrificed himself) was inspiring. Simone's father told Peter that his capacity to love unconditionally would be the key to saving the world, and I think it was Peter's unconditional love for Nathan which inspired Nathan to sacrifice himself for Peter and for the city/world. An interesting resolution, but not quite the one I wanted really. I would have preferred it if Peter was, I don't know, a little more heroic!
I expect Peter will be back eventually, after licking his wounds, emotional and physical, just as Sylar will be. Sylar is the Joker to Peter's Batman, two sides of the same coin. Presumably, there will be a rematch someday. I just hope Peter (i.e. the writing staff) does better next time.
And Hiro really should know better that you should always go for the decapitation with an opponent of Sylar's abilities. How Sylar could survive a sword thrust to the chest is unknown, but I presume it will involve one of the powers he's stolen at some point.
