Sopranos 6/10 -- THE END

Holy shit, you didn't get it, like Tony got it?[/pardon the sarcasm] In the eyes of a mobster, everything can be normal, go crazy, and then return to some normalcy, but the thought of being gunned down or picked up by the Feds, is still inside of him. He continues to be paranoid because at any second, hell would break loose and he'll lose everything he has (family, his crime family, livelihood, and life). He can't afford to relax. He's a "man on the run", theoretically, and he can't stop running.

That's what I think HB is alluding to.

It's amazing to me on how much instant gratification we expect...no, demanded out of Chase and this show, it's childish and laughable to me. From Mike and Mike to JT the Brick on sports radio all day long bitching about the ending. One theory is why people are pissed off about the ending is because we wanted to see what happens to Tony and Tony only. Chase started the series with the family and it ended with the family. In the mobster's eyes, he just like all of the Joe Blows in America, except that his situation is much more dangerous and any missteps he takes, it's gone real quick. To add to JD's post, when you really think about it, there were no winners and no losers. You're back to square one as the lyrics pointed out.

The more analogies and things we picked up on this episode, the more we uncovered the possible layers of what Tony's two families (real and crime) has gone through, in his eyes.

I just watched the final clip again. I'm sorry, but I am staying in the minority. Nothing was going to happen to them. Who in the hell knows, looking up to see who came in and notices Meadow, the sumbitch may have cracked a smile.

The ending was intended for us to answer what happened next for ourselves. No Gandolfini, no movie. Even if he changes his mind in the next few years, how can you pick up from that scene and make a movie out of it? They can't top this. No way in hell.

It's time for Entourage and The Wire to pick it up a notch.

 

I always thought the "Pine Barrens" episode revealed a lot about Chris and Paulie, and in that way alone was worth it. I never gave much thought to whether we'd seen the Russian again, even though it made for fun speculation. The point of the episode, I'm sure, was contained within the episode, not in some payoff that never came.

I look forward to seeing it again, even if it's the A&E version.

 

Of course he didn't get it. He's simple Simon Cowshit.

 

Why is it different?

Saying it has to be "dealt with" is trying to read something into the text that doesn't exist.

There's no more reason for the Russian to come back than the guy Tony & Christopher beat up over a gambling debt in the first half hour of the very first episode. Why didn't he come back and shoot Tony?

There are all sorts of characters that could conceivably come back --but they didn't. That's what makes it such a great piece of drama.

 

Don't know if anyone answered this yet but I'm 99 percent sure it's the same shirt. I actually stopped it and rewound it on Tivo as I watched it last night because my first thought it was a Kevin Finnerty moment ... for a second he looked like he was watching himself ..

 

Yeah, we talked more about that. I was fairly certain it was the same shirt, but I wanted another opinion because of something someone posted on another site. That person, like you, thought it looked like Tony either was watching himself, or that there was a total shift in time and space, or something like that.

 

He didn't hang up the jacket. Carmela walks in and as he grabs the menus next to the jukebox you see the jacket lying next to him. It's the same shirt.

Oops. Just saw your above post. I'll shut up now.

 

Good catch. Thanks.

 

So meeting a girl 30 years ago and attempting to whack a mobster is no different? OK.

You make a good point though, why didn't more come back? It really seems implausible that they never caught any heat for all of the murders they committed, many of which weren't covered up very well (an aside what's the deal with everyone dropping the gun right at the crime scene after almost every hit, at least lately?). My belief that the Russian storyline should have been bigger is because of the reputation of the Russian mob's ruthlessness; they just don't seem the type to let something go and not seek any revenge.

You say all of those things never coming back make this such a great drama -- not sure how between gaps in the story lines makes the story better -- and that's your opinion. I tend to think it takes something away. Maybe it's just The Wire fan in me.

 

Interesting article recently in Slate that addressed why hit men supposedly drop their guns at the scene:

http://www.slate.com/id/2167566?nav=tap3

 

Good stuff. That pretty much raises and answers my questions about that practice. At first I thought it was just a nod to the Godfather, but obviously when it kept happening I figured there was more to it.

 

I read that too. There is a lot of good stuff on slate.com about the show and related topics.