Soprano's 5th Season Finale (6/4) (Spoilers)

"You know what else was last seen in New Jersey? The Hindenburg. Maybe you oughta look into that too."

 

I've had it with the drug shit, though. Just like I'd had it with the drug shit with Charlie on "LOST." It's a tired plot line.

At least he addressed the shotgun wedding last night by telling his new mistress that it was a mistake. I mean, maybe he was just trying to get her in the sheets, but it felt pretty sincere.

 

Are you crazy? Killing Chris would've been great. I'm still in mourning over Stringer Bell's death on the Wire. Lem was killed on The Shield. That's what makes these shows great. Chase drags everything out. And this season everything just wrapped up too easily. Two FBI informants died, one suicide, one stroke/heart attack and now Phil has a heart attack. Tony had a lot of good fortune this year.

 

Snort.

And yeah, helluva year for Tony. He gets shot by his uncle, goes into a coma, his pancreas is destroyed, he knows Christopher is fucked up again (loved the line "Are you going to take ALL the ice?"), his kid is still a fuckup and one of his top henchmen is not only dead but gay as well. Great year!!

I'm sure it's been said, but the FBI agent giving Tony the tip that Phil's out to whack one of his guys leads me to believe Tony will eventually sing.

 

Are there any known informants right now? Usually there always was at least one. This may be the first time in the show's history that nobody's a rat.

 

I took two things from agent Harris's tip to Tony:

There is a rat somewhere either in NY or NJ
and Harris has never worked terrorism, he's been working OC all along.

 

Or Harris is working terrorism and the two random Arab dudes will figure in the final eight shows.

 

You gotta figure there's something to their continually random appearances.

That, or Chase is mocking what Sara calls the LCD.

BTW, you don't have to be among the LCD to be disappointed by last night's finale. Not everyone who is disappointed wants to see Saw-esque levels of blood and guts, Murphy.

 

They could have at least thrown them a superficial head wound. Those things bleed like a motherfucker.

 

Are you saying you wanted an appearance from Massive Headwound Harry?



  ;D 

 

If you thought this season finale was going to be a cliffhanger, you havent been watching for very long. That's not Chase's style.

A few thoughts and responses:

*NO WAY Christopher was going to get whacked with a season still to go. After Carmella and Tony, he's one of the show's most compelling characters. If he's gonna go, it will be in the last episode, and even then, I dont think it will happen. Besides, the drug use was a clear indicator that he's going to have some problems ahead of him. That told me -- despite the tension Chase created, which was good -- that he's not going anywhere.

*Chase never wraps up all his storylines. He just leaves them dangling. I thought for sure this would be Junior's last season. I mean, what more can they do with him in a medical-prison facility? But he's still there, his situation unresolved. Where they go with that, I have no idea. Maybe he just dies in lock-up, who knows.

*There are several other unresolved issues. (Who would've guessed Fin would still be around?) But I've learned this is just what Chase does to round out his characters. AJ's maturation, Meadow and Fin, Paulie's cancer, Paulie's mother, Johnny Sac's imprisonment, these are all minor issues that most likely never will reach resolution. They're just used to show how Tony reacts to them. This show is and has always been about Tony and how he struggles with who he is (thus the therapy sessions) and the consequences because of it (keeping his family together.) Even the Vito thing was just one big character test for Tony -- does he let him live, does he look the other way, how does he counter his killing? ...

*And in that sense, I'll give Chase credit. He goes a great distance to try and keep this show based in reality. And the reality is .. there arent many mob wars these days. So to trigger a feud between the New York and New Jersey mafia, while entertaining, just isnt realisitic. He keeps the killing to a minimum (ie, one or two characters per season max) because he's staying true to the story.

*That's why I think you should expect a lot of Tony-Carmella tension in the final season. This season really was about their marriage. Carmella rediscovered her love for Tony in the hospital. Tony finally OK'd her spec house ambitions. But the spec house thing wont last. Carmella has shown that she just cant be a sit-home mob-boss wife. She wants a career. She wants to travel. She wants more. Tony only consents only when it beneifts him. That's coming to a head (again.) ... By the way, (wasnt Adrianna (sp) buried on the same lot of land as Carmella's spec house? Sure looked that way last season. I've always wondered about that ...)

*All that said ... what's up with the Arab guys always hanging around? It wasnt an accident that they showed up in the season finale. Nor was it an accident that Tony paused after they said hello to him.

 

Anyone else think the Arab guys are undercover FBI?