Letters to the Editor
ResNovae
Published Letters: 30
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i get it
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: Uncomfortably numb]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Remember the walk in through the casino? A close up of a devil's face... a slot machine game called Pompei, an Italian city of great wealth and indulgence that suffered a nearly apocalyptic, Sodom and Gomorrah-like fate? What Tony "gets" is that he has sold his soul to the devil for a pile of gold. The price of redemption, at this point, is higher than he can pay... so God is going to let him enjoy his earthly riches... Tony will get everything he wished for, but he will lose everything that would have allowed him to enjoy it.
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My take on how it will all end....
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: Uncomfortably numb]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Random, but it just occured to me. The end won't be a full circle, but a downward spiral. I think Tony kills A.J. Possibly in a fit of rage, possibly by accident, maybe not directly (maybe he orders someone else to do it, and A.J. is caught in the crossfire)- but I think that is the form that the divine retribution for this morality tale will take. He is going to kill A.J., and then he is going to lie to Carmela and Meadow about it, and he is going to have to live with thge lie for the rest of his life... either that, or he kills himself.. but I think Tony is just enough of a monster to live on....
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"What next?"
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: The blood-dimmed tide]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Every episode this season seems to have a point. Their sole reason for existing is to tie up those last loose ends. Havrilesky is right- the baked ziti is gone. The odd ettiquette that made this life possible for Tony for so long is gone. He can't separate his work from his family, or his family from his work. He's weathered worse, but the cumulative effects have taken their toll. I think it's pretty clear we're headed for something here... a bloodbath. Tony Soprano has been given more chances than any fair and rightous universe could ever offer. Maybe the truth he suddenly grasped out there in the desert is, it's all random chance. The universe is amoral, after all. In the end, the only thing to decide is if you will live for yourself, or live for your children. Tony has always affected the stance that everything he does, he does for his family. And yet, in the next breath, he expresses such contempt for his genes, his family heritage... is there a curse? If he's so cursed, should he hate himself as much as he hates his mother? Does he believe he deserves to be loathed by his children? Intellectually, I believe he believes he believes this. Emotionally, I'm not so sure... it's not all an act, Tony at times has a pretty high opinion of himself. And yet... the benefits of the life don't seem to captivate him like they might have, once. The big house, the lavish dinners at Vesuvio, the adrenaline rush of playing the odds with your life, and emergine alive. Last night was the first time I ever believed, even for a moment, that Tony could flip. Not all sociopaths are serial killers, after all... Tony has explored various codes of honor, of right and wrong, since that first visit in Dr. Melfi's office. Perhaps, after one of his own (Phil) is prepared to betray him, he reaches a point where he's ready to sever his ties. It won't be to get back at Phil- he'd as soon kill Phil as look at him, were he not a fellow made man. Tony's Personality isn't going to allow that. As for Tony- I don't think the FBI would take him, to be honest. His hands are too dirty, they'd never take him under their protection when Tony has never made the slightest overtures... I mean, they courted Adriana for years. On the other hand... what other options are there? Tony dies, and has a final moment of clarity just before his soul winks from existance? He chooses to protect what's left of his family, but too late? There's a war, Phil dies, Tony prevails, and mob life goes back to "normal" with the boss stronger, surer, and more ruthless than ever? I'll be honest... I am not convinced AJ dies. Although clearly, someone's gonna take a good crack at it. And maybe AJ witnesses Tony rise, and fight for the only decent thing left in him- his loyalty to his children. There's only a set number of ways, with two episodes to go, that these last threads can be tied. I think the interesting thing will not be watching what happens, but how.