Sopranos 6/10 -- THE END

Guys who shot Tony were there? Why are they still alive?

 

I knew people would think the two black guys coming in were the guys that tried to clip Tony and just got him on the ear. If I'm not mistaken, Christopher killed those guys, didn't he?

Also, I don't think that kid was Leotardo's nephew. I have read it was a friend of David Chase's who he put in the scene.

 

And Tony would be oblivious to all of this?

 

I think it's more that they resembled people that Tony had crossed paths with in the past.

 

I didn't recognize them, just passing along what others were thinking/saying.

 

Overheard six months ago:

Chase's wife: "What's wrong, dear?"

Chase: "It's this final episode. I just can't find a way to end it that won't piss off a segment of the fan base and leave an opening for a movie. Every spectacular ending I come up with runs into a problem."

Wife: "Then don't end it."

Chase: "Say what?"

Wife: "Don't end it. Just have everybody doing their thing. You don't have to do anything. Everybody expects a real ending, so the final minutes will automatically raise the tension to an unbearable level. Then cut the picture. Just cut it. The fans will be so relieved when they see the credits roll and know that their cable didn't go out and they didn't "miss" anything that they will completely forgive you for not ending the series properly."

Chase: "You're crazy. They will never fall for it."

Wife: "Sure they will. Nobody wants to admit that they invested eight years of their life in a series that didn't end. The human defense mechanism is a marvel to watch. They will invent all kinds of metaphors and hidden meanings to explain an ending that doesn't exist, and some may even go so far as to call it "brilliant." "

Overheard today:

Chase: "You're right, honey. They fell for it."

 

Over Janice?

That bit where she's talking about all the good she tries to do, and then complains about not getting anything in return could have been a line for Livia in the early seasons. Janice has become her mother.

 

I don't have AOL, but I'd love to read that (hint, hint) ...

 

I disagree on your characterization of Meadow. While spoiled, she's still heading out on a path Carm did not even begin to consider until she got her real estate license late in life. Furthermore, as was clear in the family get together in this episode, her boyfriend/fiancee seemed a lot more interested in her as a woman with a sense of independent value & identity than Tony every did for Carm.

I agree on this; however, I think it was the most effective Chase had ever been in getting us to get the sense of danger lurking behind every corner in Tony's daily life. That's part of the background noise of daily life for Tony. We viewers ate up learning about his day-to-day life throughout the show, but never fully absorbed what it might feel like to live with that constant threat until that moment.

 

Christopher killed the two black guys under a bridge, I believe.

 

Overheard this morning inside the brain of several SportsJournalists.com members:

Whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa! The series didn't end the way I wanted it to! I wanted a fucking shootout, man! All this stupid psychobabble just made my head hurt! This was a fucking gangster show, godammit! I invested so much in it! The losers talking about existentialism and deconstructing Yeats are the kids I beat up in high school. I feel robbed, and since I know this was show about killing, getting pussy, kicking ass, and Tony's coolness, I hate this stupid ending. If there is a movie, and there will be, I know, I will be first in line because I know that The Russian and Furio are going to jump out of the broom closet in the last scene and blow Tony away, because anything else will not live up to what I KNOW the series was about. Afterward, I will high five all my friends and say, "I knew the Russian would come back! I fucking knew it!" Then I will go out and buy a Sopranos t-shirt, and all the DVDs, and some hand soap, and maybe a BMW, and an iPod, and I'll sign up for a credit card, and right now I'm off to download Don't Stop Believing because the only thing that wasn't gay about that nothing episode was I was reminded how awesome that song is. Symbolism and metaphors are for for jerkoffs who can never get laid.

 

Monster overreaction, DD ... at least for the people at this site.