Letters to the Editor
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Our disappointment exposes our deep-down indifference about many of the characters
Quite a few things HAVE happened during this season. But since many of these things have to do with characters that we don't care about, it makes it seem like nothing has happened. Maybe this exposes a shortcoming of the show that few of us have been willing to acknowledge.
Like AJ, for example. He is extremely annoying, but not in a love-to-hate kind of way. We just hate him. I personally don't want to see him at all, except as background. I don't care that he has a girlfriend, or that he is becoming responsible. Maybe if there was a feeling that AJ will play prominently in the final episodes, perhaps through his death in a Godfather III shooting-on-the-opera-house-steps-type scenario, he would be more compelling to watch. But I just don't think that's how it will end. It would be "too Godfather," after all.
Compare it to Six Feet Under. I have come to appreciate how good the show is, for some of the same reasons that The Sopranos is lacking. Each character is compelling, and their storylines are crucial, whether it is the David and Keith husband/wife dynamic, or Ruth's marriage to crazy George, or Nate the whiner's inability to have a good life, or Rico and Vanessa's problems, or annoying Claire's art-world failures.
At this point I almost expect the "each day is a gift" theme to continue. I would not be surprised if Tony and Phil L spend the last 6 or 7 episodes finding a way to ease out of the lifestyle, and run off together to fish and play with their grandkids. All the bloodthirsty fans will feel cheated, and David Chase will pull off his final F-You to the fans.