Letters to the Editor
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I liked the kitty
but I do hope that Chase wasn't trying to put us, the audience, in our place or something, for actually liking his show, or wanting to think and talk about it. I'd want to write him a nasty letter, or maybe demand some money back.
One unresolved observation - what was that business with Tony's lawyer checking out the security monitor? Was he worried about a hit, or a raid? Were we just being prepped for the paranoid, fill-in-the-blank ending?
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Tony the Corrupter, and the perfect ending
I thought this episode was masterful. Tony corrupts his children:
1) AJ - Remember AJ jogging along the road, and Tony entices him into the car? Tony lightly mocks AJ's efforts, and gets him to take the easy way home. Later, of course, he and Carmella bribe him into a life where he will be firmly under their control. His clear, hard purpose to make a difference in the world has been corrupted into a venal, M3-driving climb up the entertainment world's ladder.
2) Meadow - By far the best line of the episode, and maybe even the series, was Meadow explaining her decision to become a lawyer: "I saw you taken out in handcuffs... if it could happen to Italians, think about newcomers to this country!" And it is true; the State can and does crush people. And with this moralizing, Meadow rationalizes her inevitable position as a wealthy attorney defending "white collar" criminals.
How can anyone who has followed this series be disappointed? But there is more...
3) Agent Harris - Far from taking down Tony, he's managed to adopt his values: "He's going to win!" Brilliant.
So, what more could anyone want? Oh right, there is Phil getting crushed, Paulie living his life according to his "liege's" wishes, mafiosos betraying their own for money, mafiosos flipping to save their children, a silent Bada Bing, that wonderfully impentratable new therapist, the cat spooking Paulie, a deflated Silvio, Janice dieting to get a new man, and my all-time favorite exchange: Tony - "Remember your brother, Johnny Boy? You ran North Jersey?" Uncle Jun - "We did? That's nice."
The movie of their lives goes on and on, but the series has come to a stop.
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Perfect, edge of your seat ending
That was awesome. It was over before we even knew it. There we were, staring at a blank screen, wondering what happened to our cable. That was a beautiful ending to a fantastic show. Too bad for those of you that can't let yourself enjoy it. I suspect that nothing would have satisfied you if that didn't. I felt very good about that ending and I didn't expect to. I loved every agonizing second. I even watched it 3 times. So damned good. There were alot more laughs than I expected. It was funny seeing Tony get worked by Meadow and AJ about careers.
My biggest question is about the chick that was getting dressed at Agent Harris's place. She was hot. I figured she was his wife. Boy did she ever look pissed when she realized what he was up to. Someone said they thought he was sleeping with a coworker, but his wife is probably a coworker, just like the one that set Ade up was married to another agent.
Tony will now live forever. He didn't get whacked. Does anyone even have a plausible reason that he would get whacked? Everyone that wanted him whacked is dead. Don't tell me you think the people in the restaurant killed him just because you thought they looked suspicious. Everything was supposed to look suspicious, to keep you in suspense. Admit it, you got fooled...just like me. Even for a little while...after it was already over. Best show ever!
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Not Buying It
I don't buy the various claims here that Chase is a genius. It's clear to me that he took the easy way out. And why shouldn't he? What are we going to do, stop watching?
Writing an ending that involves Tony dying - or getting clipped in the dinner in front of his family, which some people are claiming is the case - would have been very difficult.
Claims about how it's not a cliche, is being written for a "different audience", etc, are equally absurd. It may feel good to say "I get this/you're too stupid to get it", but the fact is that non-cathartic resolutions are nothing new.
While I appreciate the various meaningful symbols embedded in this non-finale - and Paulie and the cat were great non-twists - I would have enjoyed it if Chase took a little more risk and let the tension he built so carefully for the past few episodes go somewhere - for better or for worse - and not just a 'debate'.
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Three Words
Emperor's new clothes.
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Lunch with Mink
One unresolved observation - what was that business with Tony's lawyer checking out the security monitor? Was he worried about a hit, or a raid? Were we just being prepped for the paranoid, fill-in-the-blank ending?
he was just titty-watching.
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to anon, you're probably right
...about the black guys in the diner. The clown on TV was from Entertainment Weakly or some such rag, so I should have known better, but it was before 6AM, so gimme a break.
Another note I haven't seen commented upon: The line about remembering the good times, was that not from the last scene of season 1, when Tony et al take refuge in the new Vesuvius during a heavy storm (the scene where Paulie confesses to Sil that he'd been in counseling; "I had issues")? That was a parallel (closing restaurant scene, closing restaurant scene) that I thought I picked up. I think there were quite a few season 1 references.
Someone explain the Twilight Zone reference, please? The episode is the one where (who is that actor? I want to say James Coco, but that's not right, and I'm too lazy to look it up) that guy we see is a TV writer that gets to use Shakespeare as a ghost writer. Maybe it was just a "TV writing is literature?" joke. There were a few of those as well...
And kudos to those working the Schroedinger's Cat analysis.
One (probably) last note. Anyone else there always think that "The Sopranos" was basically a (really, really dark) comedy?