The Sopranos

So I just saw the series finale of The Sopranos, everybody's favourite mob family from New Jersey. If you haven't seen it (and if you haven't, you're most likely not a fan of the show, so you won't care for the rest of this anyway) I won't give away anything important like who got whacked and things like that, but I am going to spoil the ending a bit by saying the show ended much like the ending of last season. I was disappointed. That's it, figure it out from there yourself. Jut one question, though...what was with the cat?

Oh wait. Maybe you should see this first. It might catch you up a bit on what's been going on since Season One, if you can follow it.



Got it now? Ok, moving on...

Besides the last episode, I was surprised that Paulie Walnuts wasn't killed by Tony a few episodes back when they were on that fishing boat, especially when Paulie had flashbacks about he and Tony whacking Big Pussy in the same fashion. And did anybody and I mean anybody see Christopher's demise come in that way? And such non-chalantly (sp?) on Tony's part.
I think there's only one scene that still sticks with me. That's the episode a couple of seasons back entitled, "Long Term Parking" in which Sil whacks Adriana in the woods. I liked the character, plus she was kind of hot.

So, there goes the arguably the best drama that television has created in...well, ever. I do believe, however that there is still a lot of loose ends to tie up and the rumor is there might just be a movie in the offing. Although this is just a rumor and will remain one, because of James Gandolfini's getting away from the character and being type-cast. Although, honestly when you see Gandolfini in any role, do you think of any other character other than Tony Soprano? I mean everything from the hit man in "The Mexican" with Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt to the Colonel in "The Last Fortress" with Robert Redford, all I can think of when I see him is Tony Soprano. Sorry James. The same can be said about Carmella (Edie Falco)

Where do the actors go from here? Well, Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow) is young enough to find and get involved in other roles and characters, as in the Broadway or other stage roles she has done. Robert Iler (A.J.) may not be as lucky. I mean, he has had a couple of roles since the shows inception, but even after all the critical success of the show since 1999, he's still getting "unnamed" roles, such as in 2003's "Daredevil" with the unforgettable Ben Affleck in which he played "Bully #1". Good luck Rob.

It may another 10-15 years before we see a show of this calibre, so try and enjoy what you get.

UPDATE:
Well, I've been around the net for a couple of hours now and since everybody else has let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I shall do the same.
Phil Leatardo (the NY boss) is killed and his head run over by his run away SUV while his wife looks on as do witnesses that begin to vomit seeing Phil's head popped like a pimple.
That's about all that happens that is of any interest, except for the non-ending ending (I'll get to that in a second) and Paulie refusing, then eventually accepting a promotion from Tony based on the fact everyone that headed the job, died "prematurely". Plus the strange fascination/hatred of Paulie's towards a orange tabby-cat that Tony takes an instant liking to. The weird part is that the cat is always staring at a picture of the departed Christopher.

As for the ending itself, well some may say it was perfect in it's ambiguity that has become the show's trademark of originality. Others will no doubt (like myself) will throw their hands up in disbelief, thinking this is the absolute worst time for the cable to go out. It didn't, creator David Chase decided to actually be quite artistic and original, yet again. In short, I believe Tony Soprano is dead.

If you have seen the episode, you'll know that the family met at a diner in the final scene. At first, it's Tony by himself, waiting for the others to arrive. Then Carmella arrives, shortly after that, A.J. shows up. In the meantime, other patrons of the restaurant appear to be ominous themselves, wherein Chase allows our imaginations to go wild in theorizing who is the hitman? Although we don't actually see Tony die, as I've said, I believe he does. Others agree with this scenario. I believe the very last shot or view, is from Tony's perspective. You see, before his family arrives, Tony is mulling over the table-top jukebox and looking up at the door to see who is entering every time the bell above the door jingles. When it does, we are shown Tony's perspective of what he sees. This is done about four or five times before a nefarious-looking man is seen coming in just before A.J. and sits at the counter, every once in a while peering over at Tony and his family seated in their booth. The man (that some may have recognized as Journey front-man, Steve Perry (as it was that band's song, "Don't Stop Believing" that was playing on the jukebox) goes to the bathroom before some very tense moments.

When Meadow finally walks in the diner after several failed attempts at parallel parking, once again we see Tony look up, and the perspective is once again his. At this exact moment, the screen goes black and totally silent. After about five or six seconds (at which point half the countries of both the U.S. and Canada did pretty much what I did-sitting in silence and disbelief at this crappy ending) the credits role (with no music for the first time) This is where I believe Tony is shot by the guy coming back from the bathroom-in the head. The end.

UPDATE: Since I've had a few hours to think about it, this may be one of the greatest finishes to a television series ever. I know, I know, that's a pretty radical change of opinion. But if you really think about my theory of perspective, the ending is pretty cool. Does Carmella and A.J. buy it too? Maybe. That we will never know. Does Meadow witness the slaughter of her entire family? Who knows? But I'm betting she at least saw her father perish.
One last thing. Did anybody else notice the other people in the diner? I mean really notice? Well, if you have been paying attention the last couple of seasons, you may have noticed that, as with the aforementioned "guy at the counter" there were a few other cameos. The boy scouts were in the store when Bobby got whacked, the two black guys that came in looking at what I assumed was the dessert case, were the same two guys that tried to whack Tony, clipping his ear and the truck driver, I believe was the brother of a guy that Christopher had killed.
Bet you didn't see that did you?


Then again, maybe Chase didn't want us to see the REAL ending for a reason. Maybe there was something a bit more nefarious going on...