This had to be the best season finale ever. Okay maybe I'm a bit bias, but this finale blew me away. I was racking my brain for weeks trying to figure out how they could do this to me. They killed Zack!! And Logan thinks Max is dead. Of course, we also have clones now too. WOW!! I love BUFFY and loved the finale of BUFFY, but this finale surpassed BUFFY's finale and is on par with the season two finale of BUFFY, 'Becoming Part II'. And if you haven't seen that episode, it is a must. FX is showing BUFFY from the beginning starting September 24th and I, for one, cannot wait!! Okay, back to DARK ANGEL…this episode had everything you could ever want out of a season finale, including a cliffhanger that would even a first time viewer want more. Scribes Rene Echevarria and Charles H. Eglee proved to me yet again that they are amazing storytellers with '…And Jesus Bought a Casserole'.

The story picks up where 'Meow' left off. Max holding Tinga and surrounded by Manticore thugs and Lydecker. Logan is calling to her trying to warn her that Manticore troops were en route and that she needed to get out of there. Lydecker, who was left completely in the dark with regards to the facility and Renfro's treatment of Tinga, is completely dumbfounded. He thought he had bested Renfro by killing Sandoval, but she was up to something more. We still don't exactly what she is up to. John Savage did a great job portraying a confused and beaten down Lydecker. I think Lydecker developed as a character more in this one episode than he did in all the rest of the episodes combined.

Lydecker's first reaction is to take Max and run. Get away fast so he can think and figure things out. Of course when he does get time to think, he realizes that he's been beat. Renfro is up to something and he has no idea what. He knows her well enough to know that she's not going to let him live to figure out exactly what is happening. So there is no way he can go back to Manticore. This is where we see Lydecker loose it. After years of sobriety, Lydecker drinks and contemplates not only killing himself, but also killing Max to keep her from returning to Manticore. He sees no other way out. Max, of course, is not about to give up so easily. It's in her blood and she has a lot to live for, if she ever did get out from under the thumb of Manticore. She tells Lydecker what's what and proceeds to force him to help her out. We meet two more X-5's in this episode Syl, played by Nicki Lynn Aycox, and Krit, played by Jessica Alba's brother Josh Alba. Did you see the family resemblance?

So with Zack, Max, Syl, and Krit, Lydecker has a small army of perfect soldiers ready and willing to take out Manticore. They plan an assault. Logan helps relieved that Max is okay and Max finally takes Logan to the top of the Seattle Space Needle, despite his being terrified of heights. We all are hoping the siege goes as planned, so Max and Logan can pick up where they left off. Of course, this is Manticore they have to deal with and it being the season finale, there's not much chance that things will go as planned.

But Zack, Max and the others have to go back to Manticore, face their demons, and take it down if they can. Otherwise, they'll never be able to quit looking over their shoulders.

At first it looks like they might be able to get out alive, mission accomplished, but then we are introduced to the X-7's. They are stronger and smarter than the X-5's and were created with a 'hive' mind. When I hear 'hive' mind, I think Borg, like every other sci-fi fan out there, and that thought is terrifying. They aren't individuals, they function as a unit. They lack of self-identity means they are not likely to be sympathetic in any way, their no longer human. The X-5's were trained to act individually even though they developed a strong sense of family, but this is nothing like what the X-7's do. Max goes back to save Brin from being killed in the explosion of the lab because Brin is family. I imagine if an X-7 went down, the other X-7's would just continue to function without him or her and not care.

Both Max and Zack get out of the compound, but then they run into the X-7's. One important thing is that these X-7's just happen to clones of the X-5's. Max runs into her clone with a gun and this is when the writers play a HUGE trick on us! Who will admit they fell for it? I did, at least mostly. I had my doubts when Zack was laughing and he told Max that "...Logan's okay by me." Of course, when we saw the shadow of a raven, I knew it just couldn't be. Raven's are traditionally a symbol of death and was used as such here.

We are ripped out of Max's vision to see that her clone had shot her. Max would never use guns, because of what happened to her as a child. This clone was not at all like Max, and despite Max's attempt to talk to her, she shot Max. Logan finds Max and she tries to tell him something, knowing she is dying. She does die and Lydecker has to knock Logan out in order to get him to leave Max behind. Lydecker knew Max wouldn't want to be taken back to Manticore, even if it saved her life, but Logan would do anything to save max. We also see that Zack was shot and captured, so only Syl and Krit made it out alive.

So this is when things really went crazy. Manticore has taken both Max and Zack back to the compound. They are breathing for Max, because she's dead and there is no way to save her without a heart transplant. I know I was freaking out at this point. Max can't die. They have to do something! But nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. Zack loved Max beyond reason and he also believed in her. He believed she could fight Renfro, that she could win. I don't think Renfro could have predicted what Zack would do for Max, but she would take advantage of it. Max was saved, because of what Zack did. I am very sorry to Zack die, I keep hoping they can bring him back, but somehow I doubt it. William Gregory Lee could be back though, now that we have the introduction of clones, but another WGL character could not replace Zack. He was Max's big brother and would do absolutely anything for her and did.

So the first incredible season of DARK ANGEL ends with Max being told by Madame X that Zack died for her, leaving her with the sound of Zack's heart reverberating around the room and Logan sitting on top of the Seattle Space Needle alone, not knowing if Max was alive or dead.

The dream sequence was a cruel joke on the part of the writer's, but it got its point across. Max wants to live that normal life with Logan and her friends and family, but it always seems to be just out of her reach. Something keeps getting in the way, but that doesn't mean she'll ever give up trying.

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I want to apologize for neglecting these for so long, real life kept getting in the way of doing fun stuff like this. I will be continuing the reviews for next season and wish me luck for keeping up with them!! If I don't, I know Yoss will be very disappointed in me. Now I'm going to do a short season wrap-up just to point out some thoughts I had.

I've had lots of time to reflect on this series finale and I haven't watched many of the summer reruns, but I am as excited as ever about the next season. DARK ANGEL has everything it needs to be a big hit, even on Friday nights. The writers are extraordinary. They really seem to know the importance of continuity when it comes to writing Sci-fi. FARSCAPE and BUFFY have that continuity too, but ROSWELL is definitely lacking in that department. DARK ANGEL has a stellar cast. Jessica Alba is amazing. She's earned the right to be the star, no doubt. She IS Max! I could not see anyone else in that role.

The season started phenomenally, there were some rough patches along the way, but the last few episodes more than made up for those rough patches. The writers dropped the sometimes comical secondary storyline with regards to the Jam Pony crew a little more than halfway through the season. I wasn't that sorry to see it go. It's not that I didn't find it entertaining, it just seemed to me that the writer's were being lazy and not wanting to develops Max's storyline to it's full potential. The episodes I liked best were focused on Max, her work with Logan, and Manticore. I hope they keep mostly to that next season and avoid informing why Herbal thinks 'it's all good all the time.'. I wouldn't want to loose all of Jam Pony however. It is needed comic relief and Original Cindy just has to stick around. She's my favorite character.

One thing I didn't particularly like was the disappearance of Kendra. Jennifer Blanc is great and I liked Kendra, although I never thought she added much to the show. Then they wrote her off by having her fall in love with Walter the crooked cop? Just a bit ridiculous I think. Now I hear rumors she's coming back next season…no offense to Jennifer Blanc, but I hope she doesn't come back. If she does however, they better give her a storyline much more interesting than the one she had last season with Mr. Multiples.

I am anxious to learn more about Manticore and the kids they created, but feel I should be patient. The DARK ANGEL writers are creating this world with each episode, slowly revealing to us the history of Manticore and showing us post-pulse America. It's all about being patient and absorbing the story. It's their story so we have to let them tell it. They've proven to me that they are more than capable of doing it well. The world they created is so diverse and intriguing, something that we don't see a lot on television nowadays. It's exciting to watch.

There are some things I hope they explore, like who is Max's mother? In 'Heat' Max learned that her mother was different, that her mother wanted to keep her. Why is that and where is Max's mother? Lots more questions come to mind as season two approaches. Will Max be able to resist Manticore reprogramming? How will Logan continue his crusade without Max and financial freedom? When are we going to learn WHO started Manticore and exactly WHO do they answer to? These are just some question I have, I'm sure you all have more. Some will probably be answered in season two, but I imagine once those questions are answered, I'll just have more questions that need to be answered. But that's what quality TV is all about and I, for one, am looking forward to September 21st.