Letters to the Editor
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Who's right
Heather says Tony concludes the episode by bellowing "I get it!" (thus permitting an interesting expedition into Samuel Beckett territory). However AP (see story link to the right) reports that he said, "I did it!". And gives a rather convincing explication that retrofits a coherent psychological profile of Tony's character extending from the first year, ie. to a perfectly Shakespearean tragic resolution.
As it affects how I view everything that's ever happened or WILL happen - in the Sopranos and, well, just life in general (let alone shake my last remaining shred of faith in mainstream media and its ability to see the objective truth and help us maintain western democracy) - what the hell did he say?
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TONY IS NOT HAPPY, FOOLS
I've been reading on some of these posts and on Slate that Tony is now happy because he likes drugs and is rid of Christopher. No, fools. Saying to the flashing sunset "I get it" is Tony saying, 'yeah, I know' my time is coming for the paybacks of axing so many people, for getting older and less physically strong, for leading such a wasted, immoral life. As cliche as it might be, the light at the end (and in the bathroom when he is puking) is a sign that his Maker is coming soon. He's on a self-destructive path and will be d-e-d in the final episode. Guaranteed to be standing (though not with bloody hands, that will most likely be Phil or Janice) - Paulie Walnuts.
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The casino scene
When Tony looks at the roulette wheel and says in his dumb New Jersey voice, "Oh, yeah. It's just like the way da solar system works" it was totally hysterical.
Every stoner in the world can relate to the mind-bendingly stupid but seemingly profound things people will say when tripping on psychedelics.
Go Tony!
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could've made it
"Others have expressed surprise at Tony's killing [Christopher] instead of letting him die naturally"
Carm tells Tony that the doctors said that Christopher's ribs punctured his lungs but that he "could have made it."
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ONCE AND FOR ALL
This is taken from HBO's website about last night's episode:
"One of Stefano's trucks pulls up to a marsh and dumps a load of asbestos. Meanwhile, Tony and Sonya have driven out to park overlooking a stunning desert canyon. Standing at the edge of the world Tony shouts out: "I get it!" "
Can we can all the theories about Tony exclaiming "I did it!" now? And you trust the AP to get it right? The AP is still looking for WMDs.
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Was anyone else startled/concerned early on when Chrissy urged Tony to take Phil Leotardo's offer?
I was very startled again in the car ... right before the crash, when C. again urged Tony ...
Regardless of the pro's and con's of the offer, Tony had already explained why TACTICALLY he wasn't about to HAND Leotardo a victory so early, so easily.
It was Tony's apparent lack of reaction that bothered me ... and Chrissy's obliviousness at how not-okay it was for him to be quite so outspoken in being to diametrically opposed to Tony's expressed intention.
When did Tony begin to suspect Chrissy was "under the influence" ...
By the way, I do agree that the carseat represented Chrissy failure to (and inability to ever) grow into the position of sub-boss.
After years of trying to be the "good dad" he'd never had, Tony was disgusted by Chris.
I think Chris would have survived the accident, if ....
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"I get it"
I thought Tony meant that he got it that the universe is morally neutral.
This means that Tony can win (for a change) after murdering Christopher, can f*ck one of Christopher's pals, take Christopher style drugs, and, after all this, there is no God saying 'Tony UR BAD'.
This means (from Tony's POV) that murdering Christopher was neither right nor wrong. It just happened. He'll accept it and move on, with one layer of fear of moral judgement removed.
Of course, Tony has made (another) mistake.
Re: AJ. Whining to his shrink was pure replay of Tony. The wimpy boy grows up to be a whining gangsta.
And Christopher: now that he's gone, the show won't be so grueling for me. He was the one I cared about. He was too dumb and too weak to take his shot at redemption, but he had one.
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Different Take
I haven't read nearly all the letters on Heather's column, so perhaps what I'm about to say isn't original.
Maybe it's because I still really want to like Tony, but I didn't assume he actually murdered Christopher. It seemed as if Tony thought, or at least justified, his actions as a mercy killing. His reactions for the remainder of the episode are his way of dealing with a horrible decision--horrible because it was misplaced, not because it was wrong or immoral.
Much of the more gruesome violence on the Sopranos has been punctuated by short cuts, closeups, and odd camera angles of the carnage. There was a short cut that indicated to me Christopher's wounds looked mortal, or that was how Tony saw them. In this light, and in the context of Christopher's apparent losing battle with chemical dependency, Tony acted out of a sense of decency and honor, as he sees those concepts.
There is a scene later in the episode when someone laments that Christopher's injuries weren't necessarily mortal, and it was a shame he couldn't have held on. Tony's look could have meant that he felt an inner horror about his actions, that maybe he acted impulsively and unnecessarily. Shortly after this scene Tony darts out to Vegas.
Of course, the writing and Gandofini's acting brilliantly leave many possible interpretations. Was Tony's facial reaction in that scene mentioned above expressing guilt that he acted impulsively, or a reminder that he was, in fact, responsible for Christopher's death, guilty of his murder? More than likely, Tony's actions in the car were a mixture of mercy, vengeance, and business as usual.
Does anybody else think Tony's actions don't amount to murder, or that there is some ambiguity there? I'll watch again and reevaluate my interpretation.
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One Evil Bastard Gone, How Many to Follow?
It is impossible to mourn the death of Christopher Moltosanti because the fictional world of the Sopranos is much better off without that cold blooded pyschopath and his wife and child will lead better lives without the drug addicted domestic abuser who killed easily with and without malice of forethought.
Next in my pantheon of evil is Paulie who killed an old lady for a few bucks and is a miserable excuse for a human being. In fact there are few members of the extended Soprano and Phil Leotardo families who would qualify as losses to humanity if they died. Meadow Soprano is one of the few.