After all the hype and spoilers about the big dramatic conclusion for ABC's 'Brothers & Sisters,' the season finale was hardly the stunner I expected it to be for one simple reason: casting.

For anyone who's been keeping up with the comings and goings for the ABC drama -- and there's been quite a few changes -- the supposed shocker finale had very few possible candidates for meeting their maker.

The Final Moments. It was a relief that the producers didn't show the big car crash, but as soon as you saw all the Walkers piling into their cars to head back home, you knew something bad was going to happen. Who would survive and who would perish? Well, the fact that Rob Lowe has already been cast on NBC's 'Parks & Recreation' -- he was on last week's episode -- and ABC's head Steve McPherson had given Rob a pat on the back about departing, was a tip off that Senator Robert McCallister was doomed.

Further adding to indication that it was that character was the fact that in the same episode he had a health scare -- his heart -- and had just checked out of the hospital. Why was he even driving the car? Yes, it's true he could have been fatally injured as a passenger, but the sight of him behind the wheel was a big red flag for viewers that something bad was going to occur.

The Mystery Revealed. After all the angst for most of the season about Ojai Foods going out of business, Dennis York's machinations, what the mystery of Narrow Lake really was ... and what was William Walker's ultimate legacy for this family, the answer was remarkably ho-hum.

There wasn't a 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'/'National Treasure' trick to figure out what it all meant. It wasn't in the song or the map or the memories. It was simply drill, baby, drill and Narrow Lake turned out to be the next Poland Springs. That's right, the Walkers, when they come back next season, will be in the water business. That's not as sexy as wine, or even fresh fruit, but at least the family won't have to have garage sales to keep them afloat.

Uncle Saul's Secret. This came out of left field. Seemingly happy Uncle Saul, who was looking forward to opening a restaurant with Scotty, suddenly realized that he had not been tested for HIV. Kevin and Scotty were matter-of-fact about the procedure, but Saul acted like he never considered the possibility that his homosexual activities over the years -- always done in secret -- might have made him vulnerable.

How could a brilliant man like Saul have been so out of touch? With no build up for this plot turn in previous episodes, it really came out of nowhere. Was it shocking that he lied to Nora about the phone call to the doctor revealing he was fine only to then warn everyone in the crash scene not to touch him because he was bleeding? Yes. But it was a cheat.

It should be interesting, but how much better might it all have been without all the pre-show indicators.