[Sashimister]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

Speaking of which, could a native clarify for me the difference between 最後 and 最終? I have some inkling, but I can't really place my finger on the difference, even when reading things like this: 「最後」と｢最終」の違いを教えてください。辞書で調 べても、どちらも「いちばん終... - Yahoo!知恵袋

The difference is a subtle one yet the two are rarely interchangeable.

最後 means plain "last", the very "end" of a thing.　
「君はボクの最後の恋人だ。」= You are my last lover.
「田中は最後のサムライだ。」= Tanaka is the last samurai.
「今日が君に会える最後の日だ。」= Today is the last day I'll ever see you.

最終 signifies the "last something within a time frame".
「最終列車は00：20に大阪を出る。」= The last train leaves Osaka at 00:20.
「今日が今回のハワイ旅行の最終日である。」= Today is the last day of my Hawaii trip.
「好きなドラマの最終回は明日です。」= Tomorrow is the last episode of my favorite drama.

You can directly attach a noun to 最終.

With 最後, only very limited nouns can be directly attached (in fact, all I can think of now is 通告. 最後通告 means "ultimatum"), and with other nouns, you need to insert の in between.