The late night war of 2010 may be over, but as the dust settles, more questions than answers are being found among the multi-million dollar rubble.

The goofy, self-deprecating Conan O’Brien is walking away from NBC with a total of $45 million dollars and Jay Leno — low-browed and big-chinned as ever — will be returning to host “The Tonight Show” in March.

Yet this war was more than a titanic clash between money-fisted comedians and their short-sighted executives.

Leno is 59. Conan is 46. Since when does the older guy replace his replacement?

NBC is a punch line because of its recent history of poor ratings and terrible network moves, but this sudden reinvestment is not just another misstep. It serves as an interesting reflection of our social identity. It’s a social identity that continues to be dominated by those stubborn, demanding baby boomers who, like Frank Sinatra, do things their way or no way at all.

Jay Leno is a grinning spokesman for the baby boomer generation that just won’t go away. Growing up on excess, entitlement and television, these folks should be gracefully entering into retirement and their twilight years. Instead they’re sticking around proudly (either by choice or need), controlling everything from health care to late-night programming.

Leno, with millions in his coffers and too many cars to count, isn’t nearing retirement but is likely preparing to hang around for another decade, his show feasting on the eyeballs of his fellow boomers who tune in to hear his take on the day’s platter of news.

Seeing Leno win the war is another frustrating reminder to younger generations that, as much fuss as we make, it’s going to be awhile still until the boomers in their power and number don’t control just about everything.

It’s our fault, too. Who watches actual television anymore to get their fix of news and their favorite shows? Young people — the main contingency of the self-named “Team Coco” of Conan supporters — have other avenues to acquire news and humor, and we use them. Social media and sites like Hulu and YouTube make staying up late and scheduling an evening around a show seem superfluous and antiquated.

Conan, in his teary-eyed farewell Friday night, seemed to acknowledge his audience’s frustration with the way boomers still get the final say in everything, from politics to business to entertainment.

“All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism — for the record, it’s my least favorite quality. It doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”

Conan’s last words are inspiring and, hopefully, prophetic. Our time to change the world and control late night will come. It just might take awhile.

Dustin is a member of Team Coco. Reach him at dustin.volz@asu.edu