Posted on 06/11/2007 4:33:46 AM PDT by Mobile Vulgus
I have been perusing the message boards tonight to see the reaction to the series ending episode of The Sopranos and it seems the natives are restless. Many seem to feel it is a cop out and that all the creators of the show did was set it up for a possible feature film or a "to be continued" at some other time. They say they are disappointed with this "non-ending."
I can't disagree more.
In fact, I think it is a brilliant ending that befits the entire series.
What made this series is that there was always a sense of foreboding, a sense that violent death could occur at any time. It pervaded the series through and through. At the end of some episodes, when nothing bad happened, you never felt a sense of relief. Maybe a tad bit of disappointment, but never relief. No relief was ever in the offing because there was more to come and the violence and shock was always just around the corner. The tension never let up.
Tony seemed like the lovable rake until he snapped and strangled someone with his bare hands his friends were never safe from either his ire or the ire of those he crossed. This is one of the few series where major characters died in every season. From Big Pussy, to Chris' girlfriend Adriana, to Christopher himself, among so many others, major character's lives were never safe during the run of this show. Just like that of real gangsters who's lives dangle by a thread because of their unsettled and dangerous avocation.
(Warning, spoilers are here. If you have not seen the episode do not read further)
The whole last show was replete with warnings of death. Talismans of death and harbingers float in and out of frame. It swirls around Tony like a whirlwind. Yet, as the show progresses, we come to think he and the surviving members of his crew might be out of the woods.
We maybe even get the haunting feeling that doomed Uncle Junior is still on his game as Tony confronts him at long last in the mental ward. Joon gives a slight, sardonic smile during Tony's questioning. Is he still in there? Playing at the mental case to escape his fate? Maybe, maybe not. We never get a full answer, but doubt remains. Hope remains that he isn't lost to the mists of mental degradation.
AJ seems back on track, Meadow, Tony's daughter is doing well, Sil is not, but at least he's alive. Things might be OK at long last?
The family has all come out of hiding sure that they have made nice with the bosses in New York. It all went too far, they say. It's done. Even the Fed that has occasionally slipped Tony intel over the years accidentally let's his relief over come him in front of another agent. "We WON!", he yelps, only to become self-conscious by the outburst.
Still, as Tony sits down with his family to eat in a highly public, family styled restaurant, we aren't sure it's over. There's that tension still. Something still seems unresolved, something unsettling is still hanging over us. Tony sits with his back to the doors to the bathrooms. A goomba looking man has been staring at Tony from the counter since he entered. What is this guy's problem? Why does he keep glancing at Tony. He seems smooth, not worried. What gives him this sense of resolve? Is he not aware that Jersey and New York have made up? What is his deal?
The goomba lurches past the booth where Tony sits and disappears into the darkness of the doorway that is situated at Tony's back. We see him no more in these waning seconds of the episode.
Meadow is having trouble parallel parking, but finally gets the chore done. She runs across the street to join her family at the booth inside the restaurant. Will she get hit by a car as she hurriedly crosses the street? What seems so uncomfortable? We hear the bell of the restaurant door opening.
Tony looks up with that affable expression.
Then...
The screen goes black.
No music plays as the credits roll.
End series.
WHAT??? THAT'S IT??? Scream these disgruntled fans on the message boards. "This is ALL there is to the ending?", they carp.
Yes, that's it. And I'll tell you why it is brilliant.
This series wasn't really "The Sopranos", this series was Tony Soprano. It is and was all about him. From the therapist's office to the Bada Bing to the kitchen getting coffee to the occasional bloody murder, this show was all about Tony Soprano.
Now, remember a few episodes back when Tony and his doomed brother in Law, Bobby, were talking in that boat on the lake? Remember how they were saying that no one hears or sees the one that ends up getting you in the end? Bobby sure didn't. He turned around in a toy store and two full magazines of 9MM bullets from two New York thugs snuffed him out. He didn't even have a chance to say a word. One minute admiring a toy train the next split second cast into the great here after.
Boom, boom, boom. Over. There was no indication he even realized what was happening.
So, here we have that last scene of the series. A goomba looking man enters a black doorway behind Tony. Tony looks up to see Meadow enter the restaurant at the tingling of the door bell.
Then blackness.
You see, Tony neither heard nor saw the "one that got him".
And, since the show was all about Tony Soprano, when he ceased to be... so did the show.
Blackness.
No more music.
Into the great here after.
Brilliant.
And at long last, the tension is over. And we all get our just rewards in the end.
It’s Bush’s fault!
People would be moaning no matter what the ending was. Kudos to Chase for ending it without some gimmicky finale.
The "total blackness signifying Tony's death" angle is not particularly convincing, since the show is not shot solely from Tony's POV.
I liked the ending as well, but the author of this piece makes a number of narrative assumptions that he fails to prove.
Women and children were impacted the hardest.
Yeah right, Todd. They left the door open for any possible future for the Sopranos.
The other could also be the ultimate blackout caused by those suppossed terrorists Tony did business with, the
danger need not be confined to the establishment he was sitting in, but all around.
At least it’s over. That’s a plus.
One could say that your just saying so “fails to prove” anything, too! But, you could be right. After all, the ending was entirely vague. Maybe it was just a trick ending leaving it open for a sequel?
Awful. Just awful. ANY ending would have been better than no ending at all. Heck even the god awful ending of the Matrix trilogy was better than that cheap stunt Chase pulled last night.
You could be right.
I hated the ending at first, but like it now for its ambiguity. Life doesn't always end wrapped up neatly wrapped in a box with a pretty bow.
I am proud to say that I have never seen one episode of that show. With that said I think the creator ended it the way he did in order to make a huge motion picture to be released in theaters and make millions of dollars
So if you’ve never seen one episode, why bother posting on a thread about the finale? I’m guessing that if a movie comes out you aren’t going to see it either.
Well, there has been talk of a Sopranos movie....
Bush lied, Tony died!
Big Oil and Haliburton strike again!
I tend to agree. I thought it was a great way to end, and leave some hope for the future. We will see The Sopranos again...
I never watched an episode of the show but I read an analysis that points out the other patrons in the diner were each characters from past seasons who had a score to settle with Soprano, and apparently did since Tony’s lights go out:
The guy at the bar is also credited as Nikki Leotardo. The same actor played him in the first part of season 6 during a brief sit down concerning the future of Vito. That wasn’t that long ago. Apparently, he is the nephew of Phil. Phil’s brother Nikki Senior was killed in 1976 in a car accident. David Chase is truly rewarding the true fans who pay attention to detail.
The trucker was the brother of the guy who was robbed by Christopher in Season 2. Remember the DVD players? The trucker had to identify the body. The boy scouts were in the train store and the brothas at the end were the ones who tried to kill Tony and only clipped him in the ear (was that season 2 or 3?).
There were three people in the restaurant who had reason to kill Tony and then it just ends.”
fwiw
That's why I could never get into the show, it was nothing but fantasy.
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