Letters to the Editor

• Gathering my dream theory from a prior thread

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  He goes to bed in a barren room and wakes up on a bed with sheets, which might be understandable, but it is also newly decorated including paint.

  All of the music was Tony to a T, 70's and early 80's radio rock, with three exceptions: when an old guy is in a scene, when T is with Paulie at the airport, and then Phil getting whacked, we get the 60's Motown of Tony's father. In the scene with AJ and his girlfriend, we get Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan would arguably be the only kind of music Tony would be able to associate with the things AJ has been saying.

  In the episodes leading up to the finale, AJ is seen to be developing a radical leftist political philosophy. Tony knows power and how to use it, but he doesn't know how to interpret what AJ has been saying. In the finale, AJ is all over the place and then decides to join the Army!

  At Bobby's funeral dinner, AJ says to his table companions "you people are all living in a dream!"

  AJ suddenly has a new therapist who echoes Melfi, with her coifffed hair, shapely legs, and neutral attitude.

  Carmela says something totally nonsensical, as people are wont to do in dreams, when she and Tony are blessing out AJ for allowing the SUV to blow up. "If there were children playing in those leaves, you would have run over them". Huh? But it does fit in with Tony's preoccupation with children dying.

  Everything in the ep works out beautifully for Tony with hardly any effort. The whole thing is very, very happy and fortuitous. Butchie turns on his boss with ease,(do whatcha gotta do) despite being a top guy in the organization. This smacks not only of a dream, but a pipe dream. Agent Harris not only gives away Phils's location, but cheers when he gets whacked. Janice is devoid of bitchiness. He is at peace with Uncle June. His family, instead of drifting away from him as they have been doing in "reality", are all returning to the fold. Despite his disappointment with Meadows decision not to become a doctor, he is perfectly content with her not only becoming a Mob lawyer, but marrying into it, thus keeping her close to him. AJ has a girlfriend and a mob related job. Carm is perfectly happy with this and even encourages it; again, wishful thinking on T's part.

  Sils condition not only echoes Tony's own previous comatose state,(an important aside: when Sil was shot, the camera deliberately focuses on the bullets hitting Sil. He is only hit in the leg and shoulder) but represents being asleep.

  Tony goes to bed in fear of his life. By the end, he only fears an indictment. He can live with that.

  To Tony, the cat represents "9 lives" and "always landing on your feet".

  Everyone who comes into the diner is representative of people Tony knows,has seen, or are American archetypes. A young healthy "Janice" breezes in. Two African American guys reminding him of the ones who tried to whack him. A man who looks like Phil is not only seen *behind* Tony, but we only see the back of his head. A patriotic working class fellow. A boy Scout troop. The Members Only guy looks like his dad, Johnny Boy! Ala Godfather, which Tony would be acutely aware of, he goes into a bathroom. His dad was whacked in a restaurant, it would be perfectly natural for Tony to conflate this bit of mob lore with his father's death within his dream. Notice no Livia representative? She doesn't belong in a happy dream.

  Meadow has had some trouble "paralleling" Tony and Carmela's life, but in the end she comes on in.

  A dream sequence would explain the strange editing which seems to show Tony "seeing himself" when he walks into the diner.Yes I KNOW it's a jump cut, but you still get that impression. You see Tony sitting at the table from Tony's exact perspective at the door. There is a reason for everything Chase does, and this odd tableau was no accident. It represents Tony "observing" a happy life second hand, a dream. Much odd editing and backing and forthing which is very indicative of a dream.

  Tony and children again-Phils grandbabies "bump off" Phil. Poetic justice in Tony's mind.

  Did you notice the sound of the *oncoming train* that can be heard during the sit-down with NY suddenly ceased when things get settled? Only in a dream.

  Did you notice the frank conversation Tony has with his attorney about "interstate fraud" and homicide? That lawyer has always been careful NOT to hear the truth about what Tony has done, and the scence echoes Tony's dream in which he confesses murder to Dr. Melfi.

  Cut to black. Did he wake up? Or did someone come through that ominous bedroom door and whack him with a silenced weapon? Was it Paulie, or did the NY crew find him because Paulie had left his easily recognizable Cadillac out in front of the safe house?

  The debate goes on.

  There is one detail that possibly puts the kibosh on the whole theory. During AJ's rant at the funeral dinner, he quotes The Second Coming and says "Yeets". Someone corrects him and says "Yates". Tony wouldn't know the difference. He would be unable to quote the poem. Or would he? Was the poem mentioned to him by AJ? Am I wrong, or was there a long ago scene wherin Melfi or someone corrects his pronunciation of Yeats?

  The thing to keep in mind is that the dream gave us a truly deep insight into who Tony really was.If you watch the ep with a view towards discerning Tony's true nature, it all comes clear.

  Chase gave us a great gift. He is saying he loves Tony and that it's perfectly understandable and permissble if we do as well.

  Permalink Friday, June 15, 2007 07:05 AM