Sunday, June 10, 2007

Now What?

"That was fucking weird." At the very end of the read-through for the final episode of The Sopranos, that was supposedly all James Gandolfini could say while Edie Falco started to cry. Now that the series has finally ended, the sentiment makes much more sense.

At the same time, as far as great television show finales go, this one was in many appropriate. We couldn't get enough of New Jersey's mob family and as such we are left dying for more. And while much remains unresolved, several plotlines have been concluded: Tony has finally made peace with Uncle Junior, who will spend his dying days in a decrepit mental institution (Tony is all the more sad when he reminds his senile uncle that their family "once" ran New Jersey). Paulie Walnuts was, is, and always will be the good soldier, leaving us where he's always been, in front of Satriale's, catching some rays (though soon to be heading the cursed Cifaretto crew). Anthony Jr. will continue to struggle while seeing his therapist, sounding more and more like his father (including his last line about remembering the good times--a touching reference to the end of Season One). Phil Leotardo's reign finally came to an end--thanks to an FBI tip--getting shot and inadvertently having his head crushed by his own tire (and thereby no open casket, the ultimate insult). As I long suspected, Butchie Deconcini would play a crucial role til the end, though I didn't think as a peacemaker. We can assume he rises in the ranks as well, maybe even heading that family.

Or maybe not. Could an ambush have been in the works? Fans will be talking about the final scene at the diner for a long time. It could easily have been family coming together, just like the end of the first season, but there was barely a second you actually felt comfortable watching. Was Tony going to be arrested? (We know he was probably going to be indicted. What did the FBI agent say? "We're gonna win this thing.") What was the deal with the guy at the counter who goes to use the bathroom? (Notice as Tony flips through the jukebox selections, the first song we see is "This Magic Moment," played in the first episode of this season.) Who were the two African Americans who walk in at the very end? Why did we have to watch Meadow make several attempts to parallel park, then run across the street looking frazzled? Tony looks up and ... The End?

The darkness on my screen, lasting for maybe ten seconds or more, made me think the set went out (there would have been riots at Comcast). But instead, that was how David Chase wanted to leave it: Their lives and their stories will continue to go on--it was just our stop and we had to get off (forced off, really).

No doubt Chase will have lots of explaining to do. Will there ever be a followup? How about a Christmas Special? One thing I do know is I am passing on "John From Cincinnati," canceling my Platinum Package with Comcast (yes, I know, that means goodbye to "Passion Cove," "Hotel Erotica," and "Sex Games Cancun") and getting on with my life. Who knows, I might actually get something done.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"But instead, that was how David Chase wanted to leave it: Their lives and their stories will continue to go on"

The other explanation - one I think is more explanatory, actually - is that Tony got whacked, and never saw it coming. From his perspective, getting whacked would be just what we saw - sudden blackout.

If Chase merely wanted to to show that life goes on, he would have used a normal fade to black, not the sudden blackout we actually got.

Anonymous said...

The great thing about this ending: Every prediction was right.

"It'll end like a normal episode, everything will be the same." Family around a table, getting ready for dinner, hey, that's right! Just like any number of episodes!

"Tony got whacked." Sudden blackout, no music in the credits...oh my god, Tony got whacked!

"Tony's gonna get picked up by the FBI, obviously." Sketchy guys looking around the cafeteria, the camera acting like a tightening noose...and hey, if someone was going to whack Tony, they would have just come in and done it. There was a lot of sitting around doing nothing for that to have been a whacking.

We'll never know and we'll know everything, all at the same time. It's pretty much a perfect ending if you want people to continue talking about the show for a long time after it goes off the air. Initially unsatisfying, it'll grow on more and more folks with time.

Also: John From Cincinatti has shoes too big to fill. It was a solid first episode, and I'll keep watching, but yeah...it's no Sopranos (or even Deadwood, by the look of it--though I may revise this quote by the end of the season).

SB

Anonymous said...

We'll always have Rome on DVD.

Unknown said...

Did anyone notice that the last show began with Tony looking like he was in a coffin? And there was funeral home music playing? Those should have been our first clues that we were being played in this episode.

Anonymous said...

The Sopranos ending was perfect. The series never had any real direction, with muddled subplots and unconnected nonsense dominating many of the episodes. It is only appropriate, then, that it didn't really have an ending.

Sopranos is the most overhyped, overblown TV series ever.

jon said...

A friend of mine IM'd me that the man at the counter in the diner was the same actor that played Phil's cousin a few episodes ago.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite comments about the episode (that I got in an email today) pointed out that Tony got shot in the episode entitled "Member's Only." The guy who went into the bathroom in the last scene was listed in the credits as Member's Only Jacket.

However, in his chat today, ESPN's Sports Guy says that Member's Only Jacket wasn't Phil's cousin. He was just some guy who worked in a nearby restaurant that they picked up for this one scene because he happened to look the part. He'd never even acted before, let alone been in a prior episode of the Sopranos.

And for what it's worth, nearly every song in that jukebox had death implications.

I think he died. If life just went on, there wouldn't be any reason to cut so suddenly, and there wouldn't be any reason to hold black screen so long unless there was some point to it.

-- Comish