ha, Alex. My brain hurts too.

Another plot thread that's so sickening I hate to even bring it up... Lots of people have mentioned previously the asbestos being dumped in the lake might come back to bite Tony in the ass. Does anyone else think the safe-house on the shore where Carmela and the kids are holed up looks creepily similar to the wetlands environment where those piles of asbestos were illegally dumped?

I think this possibility was pretty clearly confirmed when Tony stops by to see the family and Carmela asks him, "Do you smell that? Meadow smells it too. I hope it's not toxic."

I think this can mean only on thing, no matter what Tony's fate (and it seems almost certain that the abrupt cut to black was "lights out") it also means that Meadow, AJ, and Carmela have been living at "safe-house" drinking asbestos water and inhaling asbestos particles for days... If they somehow survived whatever happened at the diner, the whole family can look forward to a slow painful death by Mesothelioma.

Thanks, Dad. Nice legacy.

You're right Alex, the shift in POV was jarring because the editing went like this:

Tony walks in, scans the room for tables

(POV Tony) Shot of empty table across the room

CLOSE UP Tony's face, considering options

(POV the viewer) Shot of Tony at the table

Both POV shots are the exact same angle and distance from the table, and that's the unusual editing choice. Typically the camera would not jump back in time to a previous position. A normal camera would follow Tony to the table and stay there.

Another plausible explanation might be to show Tony playing chess with his strategy to the very end, always planning one or two steps ahead. This is all part of demonstrating how no matter what his Fate, Tony will never be able to relax, not ever.

The jump cut could signify Tony's planning ahead the best vantage point to sit in the restaurant, and then *poof!* he's there, faster than the camera or viewer can keep up.

It could also signify Tony being able to foretell his own future, albeit not too effectively.

All these alternatives suggest Tony's life permanently screwed out of balance, and I think that's the ultimate point of the entire past few episodes.

On the other hand, we could all just be grasping desperately at any tiny clue of WTF this ending was meant to imply.

Personally, I'm still tripping out wondering what kind of crazy hospital plays "Little Miss Sunshine" to patients in ICU... unless that was meant to be Silvio's own personal Hell :)

alex cutter,

I wasn't being flippant. I would say that such cuts are used when the director wants to give an impression of fragmented space and time. Maybe the most famous example of a character apparently "seeing himself" across the room would be at the end of "2001: A Space Odyssey," in the surreal bedroom with astronaut Bowman "seeing himself" rapidly age.

It's a technique of disorientation, maybe meant to create a feeling of tension or unease. I honestly don't think Tony saw himself (I've double-checked on TiVo and there's no reverse cut BACK to Tony at the doorway.) It's just a quick flash forward, a telescoping of time/space, and it shook me up too.

The entire sequence had my heart pounding in my chest.

"How...

Did the cat get from the Bada Bing to the butcher's shop?"

A better question is how did Adriana's soul get inside that cat?

"When Tony arrives at the restaurant he sees himself sitting at the table, alone."

More than one person has said this. It's not right.

When Tony gets to the restaurant, he spots an empty table with a good view of the door.

CUT TO Tony sitting at that table.

Ever heard of a jump cut?

Maybe they just ran out of film. Like with Deadwood.

Very smart faculty advisor of mine had the same problem. She said after her student loans went unpaid for 12 years the loan company was begging for her to settle -- for any amount. They tossed out all her interest and penalties.

I don't get this sympathy for bankers...

Screw the corrupt student loan system. They can't eat you. Relax.

Am I the only one looking forward to AJ's porn movie about the Private Dick who gets sucked into his data port?

Am I the only one looking forward to AJ's porn movie about the Private Dick who gets sucked into his data port?

I guess we all missed the most obvious prediction:

35 mil opening weekend for The Sopranos movie.

I guess we all missed the most obvious prediction:

35 mil opening weekend for The Sopranos movie.

Virgo writes:

My mother taught me that "pretty is as pretty does"

Hate to be the one to break it to you, Virgo, but that's what mothers say to their ugly kids about somebody else's pretty kids...

vaporland writes:

"...so I went on the P2P networks and downloaded 'A Night In Paris' - you know - THAT video.... and watched it.

"...kinda puts things in perspective."

yeah, perfect perspective. It allows you to feel morally superior at the same time that you openly flaunt breaking the law yourself by downloading a movie.

Very Republican attitude you got there, pal.

"Please enjoy your superior day with your perfectly normal friends. I'll hang out with the freaks and the weirdoes, thank you."

...k, cya.

Are you sure your kids are the reason people drift away from you? I felt like drifting away in the middle of your post.

There's an Iranian film called "The White Balloon" about a little girl whose mother gives her money to buy a goldfish. Could this be the one you remember? The only French film I can think of that prominently features a goldfish is "Amélie".