Live Blogging of Episode # 81 - Chasing Tony! 4.29.07
I am fan of live blogging (I think). This is my first time, but perhaps this is the way to write more frequently. 
I’m working on that by the way. Stay tuned for big changes with InternetGeekGirl. She’s in the process of getting re-vamped. I do like being in front of the TV with my Laptop. (One of my favorite positions in fact). Not sure I’ll get the logistics right on this, but here goes.
I can’t take it. Seeing Tony lose is causing unbearable stress. They have me right where they want me. Mr. Chase wants me to beg for the end. Well, only 5 episodes left after tonight. I know I’ll regret saying it… but please put me out of my misery. I don’t like it when Tony and Carm fight like this. Tony needs The Secret. It’s all about the Law of Attraction my friend. Unfortunately - the negativity is threw the roof.
As for A.J. - All I can say is: Love hurts dude. I could go on here, but I won’t. Curious to see how this is going to play out! I don’t think A.J is going to take this well. I forsee “off_the_deep_end_text_messages.”
I’m gonna take a pass on the shower scene.
So I get it. We are building up. The suspense is mounting. How’s it all gonna end? What do you think? PLEASE SUBMIT A COMMENT WITH YOUR PREDICTION OF HOW THE SOPRANOS IS GOING TO END! Will Tony end up in Gambler’s Anonymous? Will he meet his demise among the tomato plants? (Would they even dare?) From the looks of it, he’s heading for a breakdown. Last week was dark. This week is ugly.
Vito Jr. is acting out. Dude - the lipstick isn’t flattering. Uncle Phil wasn’t exactly supportive. Tony used one of his classics: “You go about in pity for yourself.” Wondering whether the guys who picked up Vito Jr. were really from Utah!!
Tony is taking stock and going on the attack, and no one is immune. The season kicked off with his fight with Bobby; last week it was Pauly. Now it’s Hesh. (Christopher and Sil watch out). I gotta tell Tony - giving out “Cleaver” hats only goes so far. Dr. Melfi gets at the heart of the matter. What are you chasing? What are we all chasing? Therapy is an oasis for Tony. As Dr. Melfi reminds him, there are protocols that need to be followed. I believe in protocols.
As Nancy Sinatra says, “These boots are made for walking” and Tony is preparing us for the great big walk. Life without live Soprano’s.
Well - Entourage is on. That’s not ending this year is it? I’ll get to Vince and his “issues” soon.
Ciao ragazzi!!
Well, it’s tough to say what will become of Tony. I suppose that’s what makes the show great.
My guess is that things will end more ambiguously than people suspect. David Chase originally committed to five seasons (I hope I have my numbers right). At the end of Season 5, which was about Tony on Johnny Sack coming to blows, the two reconcile — only to have the Feds storm in and arrest Sack. Tony takes to his heels in a tragicomic escape, learning later that he wasn’t the subject of the raid.
So Tony walks home. The scene closes as he passes the pool and walks in the back door to Carmella. I think this was the originally planned end of the series. What has happened since was interesting, but not essential to the major plot arcs resolved at the end of Season 5.
My guess is that this final coda doesn’t provide us with the “closure” of Tony’s death or arrest. I could be wrong.
Ah — a major character has just been killed on the show. That leaves three more episodes with only one major question to sort out: who escapes this awful karmic wheel? Will the kids get away clean, or is the cycle repeated?
c.
Hey Chris. Awesome response, thanks. I concur that we will be presented with an equivocal ending. Chase likes it that way, and he also knows that deep down, we like it that way too. The bear, the ducks, suburbia…the juxtaposition of the obvious and the ambiguous.
But as I twittered tonight (http://www.twitter.com/stephagresta), the high drama has begun. And that means the high-sentimentality is not far behind.
Tony screams at the end tonight, “I get it.” What did his peyote vision tell him?
Ok - I’ll go on record here. He realizes while playing roulette, “he’s dead.” It’s dead. The cycle stops with Tony. He’ll do what he has to do to ensure that AJ does not proceed down the violent path he seems to be on now. He gets it that it’s over. He used to think that Christopher was the hier to his throne. But then he realized that was his biggest “error.”
Looking around his bed at his “colleagues” - I think Tony is ready to bring it all to an end. Maybe Phil ends up with everything. Dunno. But let me watch this episode a few more times, and I’ll try to articluate an actual prediction!
Keep it comin!
Thx…Stephanie!
Was that the worst ass-beating you’ve ever seen on TV?! OMG… last night’s Tony beat-down was bruuuuuuutal.