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The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the "Patriots and Tyrants" episode of the CBS series, "Jericho."

Since it had to end, I am glad "Jericho" was able to go out in grand style. I can?t imagine anyone can find fault with this episode. Even though a ton of major events took place, this episode, strangely enough did not seem rushed. Perhaps it?s just sentiment, but everything just seemed perfect.

This episode sported more heroes than "Heroes." Instead of super powers, these heroes possessed something much more valuable: free will and the innate sense of right and wrong. Everyone seemed to act heroically, but in different ways. Hawkins and Jake raced from Cheyenne to Texas to intercept and deliver the bomb to proper authorities. Eric resisted temptation to join up with the corrupt and morally bankrupt Constantino (bearing an eerie resemblance to Fidel Castro). Stanley decided to bury his sister and accept his fate. Beck rejected the morally reprehensible orders he received from Cheyenne and concluded that people who order evil actions must be, well, evil.

Even minor characters showed resolve. Heather admitted to stealing an incriminating page from Beck?s office because she felt it was the right thing to do. The soldiers allowed Stanley to bury his sister despite their orders. The governor of Texas granted asylum to Jake and Hawkins despite having armed Cheyenne military personnel outside his gate. Independent action was clearly the theme of this episode, and many characters had the chance to show their true mettle.

It?s hard to complain about this season of "Jericho." Sure, the pace was rapid, and there were minor breakdowns in logic here and there, but overall any complaints were trivial. The fans who fought for its return were rewarded with a very satisfying seven-week experience.

Quite simply, it was the best program on television this year. The writing was superb, the acting was excellent, and the story was an intricate thrill ride, the likes of which we may not see again for some time.

Certainly, "Jericho" was exciting, but it was also thought provoking. It regularly presented troubling questions and scenarios and forced us to deal with them. How would we like it if the government took over our city? What would we do if a neighboring town attacked us? Sometimes I didn?t like the answers, but that just meant the writers were doing their job well.

At times, ?Jericho? examined the ugliest, most destructive possibilities of human ambition and power, but its main attraction was the humanity of its everyday citizens who became heroes just for being true Americans.

While I certainly hope that the SciFi Channel does something obvious and smart and picks up this wonderful series, I must operate under the assumption that this was the series finale. Michael Hinman wrote an accurate and excellent eulogy in A Post-Mortem On Jericho,' but it falls on me, the reviewer of the series this season, to write its epitaph:

"Jericho:" The series that dared to ask, "What if?"

What Worked.

Everything, but to be more specific, I really liked the flight scenes with the military fighters. It?s hard to believe "Jericho" operated on a reduced budget.

Gray Anderson finally completed his heroic journey from a whiny sycophant to what appears at the end: a strong leader. It?s too bad that the shortened season did not allow us to see the specific events leading to this change. It was also nice to see the spirit of Johnston Green lives on.

What Didn?t Work

This is the last episode of "Jericho," and that is a crying shame.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

"Jericho" starred Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, and Ashley Scott. ?Patriots and Tyrants? was written by Dan Shotz and Jonathan E. Steinberg and was directed by Seith Mann.

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