Sopranos 6/10 -- THE END

I was waiting for someone to tell the two lugs that you hold the bottle at a 45 degree angle and tap firmly on the little 57s on the neck of the bottle.

 

That's the idea. It is the point of the entire series. I'm not sure what you're looking for here. You seem to understand that is the point of the entire series, yet you want Chase to change the point of the series at the end so you can get a tightly wrapped package?

 

Maybe I'll end up changing my mind again. It just seems like Chase is beating us over the head with the "life goes on" storyline. After 85 episodes, we get it.

The ending felt contrived. Kind of a "watch me make you think something's going to happen." As someone posted (Simon?), Tony was no different in that final scene than your or I would have been, IMO. He wasn't casing the place. He was just noticing the surroundings. The only reason for any sense of dread was the way it was filmed and the viewer knowing it was the final scene of the series.

Perhaps I'd have liked it better without the cut to black making me think my cable was fucked up.

 

Fair enough. I definitely agree after watching it again that there is no real fear on Tony's face in that final episode other than what might always be the case. I think this was Chase's way of putting the viewer in his shoes. In other words, for those two minutes we were supposed to have the feeling of dread (because we didn't know what would happen and we knew the show was almost over) that he pretty much feels every day of his life.

 

I think Chase left it open so he can make some more money, most likely with a movie.
Since I had the show on Tivo, I watched it again last night and on the second viewing, you realize that the ending was a spectacular piece of crap.
No suspense, no drama, just the show's creator having a laugh at the fans' expense and a tease that more might be coming.
I really feel sorry for people who have invested their lives in this show and especially those who drank the Greatest. Show. Ever. kool-aid.

 

But here's my two questions on that:

1. Does Tony *really* live his life with any sense of dread?
2. Shouldn't Tony feel more secure about life now, more than ever? The war with N.Y. is won. Things are good with Carmella. Meadow is closing in on a possibly lucrative career. A.J. might have finally straightened out. The only bug in the ointment is the looming federal indictment. And he's beaten that/those time after time already.

I don't think the final five minutes, while brilliantly shot, jibe with the final two episodes. It feels, to me, like this was the ending Chase wanted all along, and he was going to slap it on the series finale regardless of where he was in the story arc.

 

The show is over, the episodes are over, but within the charcters universe this wasn't the end. They keep going on, doing their thing, living their lives. AJ's a fuckup, a spoiled brat. Meadow's a spoiled bitch about to become her mother, Carm's a shallow spoiled shrew, Tony's a sociopath who wants to love his family but will never come to the realization that in order to love and protect them he must get out of the criminal life. He must become what he hates, Finnerty, to give his family love. Melfi was a bad shrink because she never really broached the subject with Tony. She needed to tell Tony that his real disporder was being a sociopath. Stop being in the mafia, go straight, and you can be a real family man.

Tony's been a hood his whole life, he can spot a setup as obvious as the one Chase set up. Tony wasn't set up for a hit, the audience was.

The Sopranos have dinner and go on with their lives, as they have for the past 10 years. Meadow drops out of law school to have her own kids & AJ becomes a flunky mobster. Tony get indicted, has the witnesses killed yadda yadda yadda...

 

This was Chase poking fun at John Kerry. The whole scene was a metaphor for 2004 Kerry campaign never making it out of the bottle. Chase was big Kerry supporter early on but jumped ship upon being upset at how campaign was being run.

 

Cowhered said two folks in the diner - inclduign the guy who went to the bathroom - were either connected to Phil and/or were previously victimized by the Jersey crew. Really?

 

Cowherd doesn't know anything about anything. If he told me the Spurs won last night, I'd still look it up myself.

 

While I'd never listen to Cowherd, this was posted somewhere else:

 

Tony has said on more than one occasion that he lives his life with constant dread. I would assume nothing has changed because there is always something else around the corner. In this case, he might have won the war to save his life, but it doesn't mean he will beat the indictment and not go to jail. It's always something else.