Letters to the Editor
walt jabso
Published Letters: 2
-
resolution
[Read the article: "The Sopranos" goes dark]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Tony Soprano's character is resolved in the penultimate scene when he visits Uncle Jun and sees with depressing clarity his future: sitting in a wheelchair, alone, staring into a corner, unaware he was the boss of anything. A big nothing, a fate worse than death. End of story.
The Twilight Zone reference in the safe house means more than meets the eye, perhaps reflected in the final sequence.
-
subject
[Read the article: "The Sopranos" goes dark]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]After watching the rebroadcast a couple times, then ashamedly a third and once more for good measure, I'm sticking to my position: Tony Soprano's fate is obvious.
Knowing the familial history he shares with mental illness and diagnosed Early Onset Alzheimers as Kevin Finnerty, he comes face-to-face with a "fate worse than death" during his visit with Uncle Jun. It doesn't matter if he lives, flips or goes to jail; in spite of power, there will come a day when he doesn't remember his family.
Quick note, chalk this up to AJ's ignorance. It would be pointless for him to learn Arabic if he wants to be an Afghani Liaison. Instead, he should learn Farsi and/or Pashto. And, yes, there's red-white-and-blue in every gas station shot.
In a way the viewer has rarely if ever been slapped by the television, the diner scene - awkward from the start; Americana, not Italian - is an admonishment only if the show is perceived as a series of more narcissistic plot points. "Everybody wants a thrill" covered by a shot of Members Only Jacket Man; Chase is laying it on thick. The appropriate level of suspense is applied according to the viewer. The anxiety ridden final episodes have routinely featured characters asking variations of "is this it?"
Tony's aware that he's slipping when he uncharacteristically grabs AJ's arm in affirmation, having already 'embarrassed' himself in front of his wife when speaking frankly for the first time about his mother to AJ's therapist. Its vaguely reminiscent denizens crosscut with the absurdity of his offspring's parking adventure, Holstens serves simply as a location in Tony Soprano's continuing descent toward the Twilight Zone of dementia. End of story.