Letters to the Editor
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Mercy Killing
I don't want to wade through 121 letters to see if I am the only one to see Tony's act as a mercy killing. This scene showed a dying man, Christopher, who didn't stand a chance of breathing much longer. I don't know who the technical advisor was for this scene, but believe me it was accurately done.
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He gets it
My guess: There's a double meaning at work in the last scene. As Tony looks at the setting sun, he sees the light about his true nature — he "gets it." But Tony doesn't just utter the words: He shouts them out at the edge of an abyss, watching a setting sun that represents finality. The scene signals to viewers that he's on the brink and that he "gets it" in the end — he will be killed.
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Entering . . .
One thing I agree with about Sunday's episode: the tension around Tony jumped to an amazingly sustained level - wherever he was, whoever he was talking with, seemed a potential set-up for an explosion. Anything might set him off.
I'm still unsure if I believe his motivation for offing Christopher; it seemed a little left-field. Tony doesn't usually kill people just out of aggravation. Everybody aggravates him, pretty much. Although, it may clear up something from the season's first episode, when T. mentions to someone on the phone about a certain person he'd been positioning to insulate himself, but who may turn out to have his own agenda - I wasn't entirely sure whom he meant, but it would now appear to have been his nephew, which would seem to be clearer motivation.
I also appreciated the Dreiserian nature of the murder. It was a crime of opportunity, un-thought out until fate presented an unexpected choice: dial that last "1" and hit send for the ambulance, or close someone's nostrils for a few seconds (and didn't T's cell-phone screen weirdly match up with the thing Christopher kept messing with - maybe a code-entering device to keep drug abusers from operating a vehicle under the influence?), with no one to see or know what really happened.
I'm not quite giving up on my Raskolnikov ending idea, though it would seem more improbable considering the depths to which Tony has descended. But, those Middle East guys are still out there, they must figure into the finale somehow.
Did anyone else get a "Kevin Finnerty" feel about this episode, at least the Vegas part of it?
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You got it wrong
Unless you and I were watching two different episodes, I don't think you got the majority of what was going on. Tony wasn't in denial over what he had done, nor was he sad. He was happy he killed him, lately Chris had been nothing but trouble for him, and scene after scene shows how happy he is that this giant problem in his life was finally dealt with.
The problem he wrestled with in much of the episode was his frustration in not being able to tell people that he was happy, that he was glad Chris was dead. He wants to tell his shrink, and does (although not in the direct way he'd like to). He tries to tell his wife, but has to change course due to her hostile reaction when he even suggests she could be relieved that Chris is dead. He practically screams it when he tells anyone in earshot about the destruction of the car seat.
But it's more then just that part of your analysis. I think the part of your review that stuck me as being completely off base, was your description of Tony at the casino and at the end of the episode. You state that he falls down, unable to be happy with winning. Wrong. He is laughing out loud so hard that he can't stand any longer, having realized that Chris was what was weighing him down, cursing him with his bad luck. Now that he's eliminated him, he's a winner again. However, even worse then your re imagining of that scene is how you describe the ending. He yelled "I did it", not "I get it", you didn't even get the sentence right. And in not knowing what he said, you have no way of understanding the ending. "I did it", is his way of shouting at the world that he killed Chris, the constant weight on his shoulders. He freed himself from all that was dragging him down, robbing him of his luck. He had freed himself, and he was proud of it. It the final culmination of his efforts to really say what he felt about Chris.
By not understanding these points, misunderstanding several scenes, and even getting the dialog wrong, I think you really need to take a step back and look at what your writing on these pages. I don't know if the Sopranos is just not your kind of show, or if you really just didn't pay attention to the episode. I suggest you watch it again and decide which it is for yourself.
Oh, and when you do, I suggest you let us know which it was, as judging by all the responses to your review, I think most of your readers would like to know.
-Warbreed@aol.com
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For the umpteenth f'in time
He said, "I get it!" Go to this website:
http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/episode/index.shtml
Madonn'!
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James Gandolfini
How brilliant is he?
The fact that there are hundreds of post about his subtle nuances and tiniest of gestures shows his absolute brilliance.
He makes Tony real, memorable, palpable even likable.
Fantastic discussion.
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"This works on the same principles of the universe"
crushedheart, you wrote:
"This works on the same principles of the universe".
Those are not Tony's words. He said "this works on the same principle as the SOLAR SYSTEM". Another circle.
Meanwhile, when he was out in the desert -- a place of oppressive heat and death -- his consciousness altered by peyote, he seems to have said "I get it."
The sun is rising when Tony speaks that line. But I think it's a play on words. A pun. The SON is rising and Tony says "I get it." Tony has seen the future. His son is going to get him.