[evollove]

First of all, I can't believe this subject hasn't recieved its own thread yet. I remember when Seinfeld went off the air; I remember it was such a big deal I got to home from work early. Guess our collective priorities have shifted.

Anyhow, like everyone, I was instantly dissapointed. Furious even. Then I thought about it. (Sopranos in general rewards deep thinking) The two things I liked best about the series was its honesty and its uniqueness. The finale thus satisfied what I'd come to expect. Everything you need to know, you know. Tony's damned and that's it--do we really need the gruesome details? Haven't we had enough? Haven't we learned everything we need to know about Tony?

It didn't end in blood (although Phil Leotardo's death more than satisfied the audience's blood-lust), but with honesty. Yeah, our quick thrill was denied, but we were given something much richer instead, even if it takes awhile for us to realize it.

[gmku]

I had the same reaction. And yeah, I'm a little surprised there hasn't been more web chat about it, since the ending is so unconventional.

I was stunned at first. Like, no, that can't be it. What happened? Did Meadow just walk in and that's all Tony was looking up for? Or is it a gun man, the guy returning from the restroom who kept glancing at Tony? Does the sudden blackout suggest Tony's sudden loss of consciousness as the bullet hits his brain? Then I realized, it doesn't matter. Like the whole series, it's open-ended, uncertain, ambiguous. It feels now like there was no other way to end it.

[king_buzzo]

I need to watch that bitch!!!

[gmku]

I really want to watch it again. I hope it's repeated this week. I think there were some inside jokes I didn't catch the first time around. Chase has a great way of poking fun of his audience's expecations.

[Lethrneck4]

the sopranos finale did what the sopranos has done to us every season since season 3.....DISAPPOINT!! sopranos is done and they cancelled my favorite show, Rome, so now i cancell HBO...good job chase, you just cost hbo million of subscribers

[gmku]

The more I think about, the more brilliant it seems!

Very unconventional but at the same time, very "Sopranos"--open-ended, gray. The last sequence I think is probably the most suspenseful scene I've ever sat through, especially for television. Allowing the audience to decide for themselves the fate of Tony? But one spin on it that I've heard, that I think fits the mood perfectly of that last scene, is that the audience ourselves gets whacked at the end. That's why we suddenly can't see or hear any more of the scene. It's like the creepy gangster guy came out of the restroom and blew us away in the back of the head.

Personally I like the lack of closure, since, the Sopranos have always existed in such a wonderfully (and human) gray-area, it wouldn’t seem right to have everything come to an end wrapped a nice little bow.

But there was still some payoff. Phil gets killed, Tony and his guys reach out and negotiate peace between NJ and NY, Tony visits Junior and seemingly come to terms with him (not forgiving, but at very least accepting), Tony visits Janice and seems come to terms with her, too, et cetera.

Chase is brilliant at poking fun at audience expectations. I think that not giving us a big bloody typical shootemup gangster ending was fitting, not to mention genius on Chase's part.

[Rob Instigator]

Tony got whacked.
his daughter saw him get whacked as she entered the shop.
There were dead people in the diner. re-watch it.
also, check the credits as to how they list the people in the restaurant at the final scene.
Tomny himself has said it, when you get whacked, it is out of nowhere, you don;t see it coming, just like [phil leotardo did not see it coming either.

the cat thing with paulie walnuts was hilarious.

[gmku]

Dead people in the diner? What are you talking about, Rob?!

So, getting whacked, coming out of nowhere, could still mean the audience getting whacked, not Tony. Tony looks up, sees "us," the viewer, get whacked by the creepy gangster guy who came back out of the restroom. We're over, we're the ones who are dead now. The Soprano family go on without us.

[gmku]

The cat could be Chris, reincarnated.

[Rob Instigator]

that cat is too old for that

the cat is probably adrianna

[evollove]

gmku's got the right idea. keep thinking about the seemingly simple ending and it unfolds like a chinese box.

if it's true that chase filmed three seperate endings, think they'll be on the dvd? a year from now, maybe we can have the (now) boring endings everyone predicted.

The last shot: Tony's face. Depressed. Far more dramatic than a bullet in the brain.

[gmku]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

that cat is too old for that

the cat is probably adrianna

Ah, yeah... That's why it's a pussy cat...

[gmku]

Another theory: All the "suspicious" characters in the diner are the FBI. Tony and his family are meeting to go into witness protection. That's why Tony looks depressed in the last shot. An agent has come to the table to initiate the switch, and thus ends this chapter of Tony's life.

[Rob Instigator]

No way man, in the 2nd to last episode Tony had aflashback to a convo he had with Bobby, about being whacked, and how it is probably quick and silent and then everything goes black.
In this episode, shady charcters are all around,a dn since tony has trained huimlf to be on guard all his life he focuses on the suspicious people, and then he hears the bell signaling his daughters' entry into the restauranta nd all goes black o the words "don;t stop" in the Journey song he played.
black and silent and quick.

Tony Soprano is dead.

also, in the credits, the guy in the member;s only jacket that was at the bar and went to bathroom before the big "fade to black" is listed as last name LEOTARDO, which is Phil, NYC boss, who just got whacked's last name.

[LifeDistortion]

Originally Posted by gmku

Another theory: All the "suspicious" characters in the diner are the FBI. Tony and his family are meeting to go into witness protection. That's why Tony looks depressed in the last shot. An agent has come to the table to initiate the switch, and thus ends this chapter of Tony's life.

I can't say for sure but does the FBI give clemancy to mob bosses? Tony was a boss, they don't want to give witness protection to a mob boss, they want to indict and imprision them.

[gmku]

I hate to admit it, Rob... but what you say makes sense. Dammit.

[Lethrneck4]

ehhh, i think after watching and waiting all thsi time (how many seasons did we have to wait over a year for it to return?) chase owed the fans a better ending. im sure he cost HBO a ton of subscribers, but those people were gonna get rid fo HBO anyway after sopranos, unless they watch any of the lame shos left on that channel. try to break it down all ya want, it wasnt right not to show us how it all ends after all this time. since the last 3 seasons have been so bad compared to the first 3 seasons, i shouldnt be disappointed, ive been disappointed with sopranos since the beginning of season 4 thru last nights episode, so i shouldnt be surprised, but i still am

but its not just Sopranos, most if not all seasons finales and series finales i have seen almost always disappoint, and this was no different. so tony get killed when the screen went to black, fine, but show it for fucks sake, i think we as fans deserve as much

[gmku]

I rewatched it tonight, and now I think you're wrong, Rob. I didn't see anything in the credits about Leotardo associated with the man in the member's club jacket. Tonight it just seemed very ordinary. Tony didn't look surprised, depressed, or anything when he looked up. He simply looked like he recognized someone familiar, in this case, Meadow. Nothing happens. Tony and family live. However, I still suspect they were getting ready to go somewhere. The Journey song--"ready to take a midnight ride into anywhere..." Carmella's look on her face and her voice, when she tells Tony in the yard that the diner is the consensus, and when she meets Tony in the diner. She just looks resigned, like she doesn't like what's happening, but has given up. And AJ mentions focusing on the good times. I don't know. I just still get the vibe.

[Richard Pryor on Fire]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

No way man, in the 2nd to last episode Tony had aflashback to a convo he had with Bobby, about being whacked, and how it is probably quick and silent and then everything goes black.
In this episode, shady charcters are all around,a dn since tony has trained huimlf to be on guard all his life he focuses on the suspicious people, and then he hears the bell signaling his daughters' entry into the restauranta nd all goes black o the words "don;t stop" in the Journey song he played.
black and silent and quick.

Tony Soprano is dead.

also, in the credits, the guy in the member;s only jacket that was at the bar and went to bathroom before the big "fade to black" is listed as last name LEOTARDO, which is Phil, NYC boss, who just got whacked's last name.

The guy who went to the bathroom was Phil Leotards nephew, the trucker with the america hat, was a guy Tony and chris hijacked in the first or second season, the two black guys are the guys who tried to kill tony in the second season. Meadow's shitty parking was a metaphor for her trying to find her place in life, and yeah the whole sound going out thing was a reference to death being silent and quick, Rob was right for the most part except those people weren't dead, they were just people who would want Tony dead.

[atsonicpark]

hmm... i thought it was predictable...