Nice dignified response to an unnecessarily harsh attack.

Okay, Tony walks into the restaurant, looks around and then there's this odd edit that takes us to him in the booth. The perspective of him in the booth is from the front door. I feel this was done to make us understand Tony's death from Meadows point of view. When she comes through the door, say ten minutes later she will have a clear line on where her Dad sits. That's right, Meadow doesn't miss a thing.

Now, at the dinner table there's a bit of freewheeling, hopeful banter. Things seems on the upswing for this family. But ah, there's debt to be paid and we all feel it. A few suspicious patrons are scattered about, all doing there thing while Meadow figures out her parking situation.

Okay, now the finale, which most definitely plays off of Bobby's line about how you probably never see it coming. Meadow comes walking through the door, Tony looks up, sees Meadow. It is the last thing he ever sees, his beautiful Meadow. A jarring edit with a contrary rhythm delivers us to dark silence, a black/absence/nothing. Tony has been shot in the head. But why not show that then, you might ask. Here's why -- Even though Chase finds Tony contemptible, he does not find his family contemptible. I think he perhaps pities them in many ways. And they are after all his onscreen creation. He spares them the onscreen agony, and in doing so, spares us as well.

Penway

I would like to see a spin off show featuring the orange cat and Paulie Walnuts.

...Paulie takes the cat home on Tony's orders (because Tony or Charm is alergic to cats..), but the two just don't seem to get along...

I am going to miss Paulie. One of the funniest TV show characters I have ever seen, but in a "dark comedy" sense.

Shotsie,

No worries, go watch the episode and it will click into place for you. The $170K is the actual figure discussed during the show. It is very clear from the episode that this is the path Meadow will take; it's not guesswork at all. To fill you in, Meadow is involved with a lawyer at the firm (who's dad works for Tony) and the skids will definitely be greased. I get irritated when Salon letter writers post, "I don't watch the show, but here's what I think...." This is actually in black and white and not really debatable.

Just FYI, big firm lawyers really are making that or close to it IN THEIR FIRST YEAR in NY, Chicago, San Franciso, etc. I know it's disgusting but I have first hand knowledge that it's real. The firms sync up their first-year salaries, so it is a rising tide that lifts all boats. Crazy....but real.

When all the hype started in '99, I decided to tune in to "The Sopranos." What I found was a thorough rip-off of GOODFELLAS. Though I stopped watching after about three episodes that first season, I have followed the progress of the show on various Internet forums, like this one. I did watch the ending last night, and am confused by those who insist that Tony was "whacked." The last two things we see are:

1. Meadow walking into the diner

2. Tony looking up and reacting as she walks in.

That's it. Yes, Chase deliberately made it feel like something terrible was about to happen, but they were all red-herrings. And I've had to chuckle at those who keep insisting that Tony was shot in the back of the head. If that's true, then it was by the world's first invisible hitman with the world's first invisible gun, because there was no one standing behind Tony in that last moment.

Those who argue that we were meant to experience Tony's world/life as he does are forgetting who wrote and directed the show. David Chase has flatly stated in a number of interviews that he despises the character Tony Soprano, and is somewhat appalled by people's admiration of and fandom for what is essentially a sociopathic killer. I seriously doubt that Chase would, at this late stage, try and have us empathize with poor Tony Soprano.

The people here who have gotten it right are those who have stated that Chase was essentially giving his audience the finger. Of that there can be no doubt. It's one thing not to offer "closure", to refuse the temptation to tie everything up in a nice pretty bow. It's another thing entirely to yank the narrative rug out from under your audience and leave them on the floor, rubbing their aching heads.

Simply put, "The Sopranos" started out as an over-hyped but mediocre show, and ended as an over-hyped but awful show. Nothing more needs to be said...or written.

At first, all this conjecture and deep analysis about Chase's last episode, especially the ending, reminded me of "Being There," the Peter Sellers film where every word of a gardener's meaningless pronouncements were taken by a needy world as profound wisdom. But then it all became clear. It's the onion rings, stupid: They're round, see... symbolizing the law of karma and the infinite. What's more, they're ONIONS... with their endless layers-- peel one back and there's another and another. So it's all about life's Journey-- get it? Why am I always the one who has to explain everything?

Since we continue to be plagued here by people like Rob, who write with a straight face that "Though I stopped watching after about three episodes that first season, here are my opinions on the 96.5% of the show that I have not seen," I will post a summary of the Sopranos for you.

The series starts with mafioso Tony having a panic attack about his ducks (his family) leaving him.

The series ends with mafioso Tony (and the audience) realizing that the ducks aren't going anywhere. Problem solved, series over.

In between there was compelling drama with many unforgettable characters. It was a hell of a lot of fun and I'm sorry to see that you missed it.