Letters to the Editor
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"What next?"
Every episode this season seems to have a point. Their sole reason for existing is to tie up those last loose ends. Havrilesky is right- the baked ziti is gone. The odd ettiquette that made this life possible for Tony for so long is gone. He can't separate his work from his family, or his family from his work. He's weathered worse, but the cumulative effects have taken their toll. I think it's pretty clear we're headed for something here... a bloodbath. Tony Soprano has been given more chances than any fair and rightous universe could ever offer. Maybe the truth he suddenly grasped out there in the desert is, it's all random chance. The universe is amoral, after all. In the end, the only thing to decide is if you will live for yourself, or live for your children. Tony has always affected the stance that everything he does, he does for his family. And yet, in the next breath, he expresses such contempt for his genes, his family heritage... is there a curse? If he's so cursed, should he hate himself as much as he hates his mother? Does he believe he deserves to be loathed by his children? Intellectually, I believe he believes he believes this. Emotionally, I'm not so sure... it's not all an act, Tony at times has a pretty high opinion of himself. And yet... the benefits of the life don't seem to captivate him like they might have, once. The big house, the lavish dinners at Vesuvio, the adrenaline rush of playing the odds with your life, and emergine alive. Last night was the first time I ever believed, even for a moment, that Tony could flip. Not all sociopaths are serial killers, after all... Tony has explored various codes of honor, of right and wrong, since that first visit in Dr. Melfi's office. Perhaps, after one of his own (Phil) is prepared to betray him, he reaches a point where he's ready to sever his ties. It won't be to get back at Phil- he'd as soon kill Phil as look at him, were he not a fellow made man. Tony's Personality isn't going to allow that. As for Tony- I don't think the FBI would take him, to be honest. His hands are too dirty, they'd never take him under their protection when Tony has never made the slightest overtures... I mean, they courted Adriana for years. On the other hand... what other options are there? Tony dies, and has a final moment of clarity just before his soul winks from existance? He chooses to protect what's left of his family, but too late? There's a war, Phil dies, Tony prevails, and mob life goes back to "normal" with the boss stronger, surer, and more ruthless than ever? I'll be honest... I am not convinced AJ dies. Although clearly, someone's gonna take a good crack at it. And maybe AJ witnesses Tony rise, and fight for the only decent thing left in him- his loyalty to his children. There's only a set number of ways, with two episodes to go, that these last threads can be tied. I think the interesting thing will not be watching what happens, but how.