Letters to the Editor
captainlarab
Published Letters: 541 Editor's Choice: 41
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Hey, I got one more teeny-tiny prediction right!
[Read the article: "The Sopranos" goes dark]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Just occurred to me: I also predicted that Paulie would face a key decision in the last episode that would test his loyalty to Tony and could have life or death consequences for either him or Tony. Well, he did, didn't he? I just wasn't expecting this decision to come at a moment when he was quietly sunning himself in front of Satriale's pork store or that the life-and-death consequences would likely not manifest themselves by the end of the last episode.
You know, we also talked last week about whether those of us on Salon who adhere to the same basic political worldview have a different take on the Sopranos than, say, someone who rabidly supports the Bush presidency. I wondered aloud how pro-Bush Americans view the Sopranos, whether they pick up the same "messages" that we do or whether we have been projecting onto Chase. Last week, no one seemed to have an answer and most people said they didn't care what pro-Bush Americans think. However, I'm going to posit a theory and I'd love to hear what you think: I think that the Salon crowd largely reacted with wide-eyed wonder and/or humor at the ending and is now parsing through the symbolism, small touches, and broad themes from the show. By contrast, I think the pro-Bush crowd is the same crowd that is now threatening to cancel HBO and whining about how Chase "robbed" them of the ending they really wanted, which would have involved a lot more people getting whacked. I laughed at the black-out when I realized I'd been royally had, just because Chase had done such a good job of it. I suspect that the pro-Bushies would be less amenable to enjoying being the butt of a practical joke.
Incidentally, as someone who is guilty of inferring all sorts of human motives to my cats on a daily basis, I have to say I loved the cat. I love how the cat scenes continue to mess with people's heads on this board today. Cats are just wonderfully weird that way. The show couldn't have achieved the same effect with, say, an abandoned bassett hound.
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Thoughts on a second viewing
[Read the article: "The Sopranos" goes dark]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My partner and I watched the final scene again last night. It's an interesting experience, to watch it knowing how it "ends," because you can put your feelings of mounting anxiety aside and just enjoy it. And it's really quite enjoyable. When Edie Falco strides in, you begin to understand that what this scene really is, is a curtain call. There's a certain wistfulness and joy about it. I will warn you, though--you watch this thing two nights in a row, and that Journey song will be stuck in your head but good.
Tony does not "see himself" in the diner; the film is just edited to look that way. We're 99% sure he's wearing the same shirt (although the shirt was obviously designed to make the viewer doubt). In the scene with Junior and in the shot where Tony walks into the diner, he is wearing a black leather jacket over what appears to be a grey shirt. Once seated at the diner, the shirt is revealed to have a black collar and some white on the sleeves, but it is grey right down the middle, on the parts that would have been visible while he had the jacket over it. The black leather jacket is right next to him. It's the same outfit.
I think part of the reason Chase is toying with us about Tony's ultimate fate is that he's trying to tell us we're missing the point. About a week ago, there was so much obsession about "What's going to happen to Tony, what's going to happen to Tony?" that I started focusing more on the other characters, like Phil and Paulie. Once I did that, I was better able to appreciate what the final episode had to offer, and less enraged than some people were that we were "robbed" by the final scene. So now, rather than continue to obsess over whether Tony got whacked by the guy in the Members Only jacket, I find myself enjoying the many other aspects of that last show that were so richly nuanced and filled with wisdom and humor.
Other miscellaneous observation from our second viewing of the final scene: That is the WORST job of parallel parking I have ever seen!! Meadow has five feet of space on either side!! Jesus Christ, let's hope she never has to park in Manhattan...