I loved the ending because it fit Sam’s character perfectly. He’s essentially told (by god or whoever) that the only one who controls when Sam goes home is Sam himself. That when Sam truly, deep inside feels that his job is done, he’ll go home. The fact that he never returned home means that He never truly felt his job was done. And Sam wouldn’t. The essence of the heroic journey…always one more person to help.

It made the ending bitter-sweet, sad, heroic and tragic all at once. Just like Sam’s character.

I thought it was brilliantly done for something designed to also be a season finale “just in case”