Ode to A Great Show - Part 2 of the Epitaph 6.10.07
OK. We’re all a bit pissed about the ending. I suppose nothing ever ends well. I for one have never had a good break-up. But alas, all good things must come to an end. And this show was truly a classic!
I will say this…I’m not crying. In fact, I think David Chase gave us an ending that avoided “high sentimentality.” He went for the ambiguous close, as I knew he would. I was right about Holsten’s and Phil dying. Who knows if Tony will flip? We didn’t get that far. We were interrupted by what we thought to be a power outage of our cable provider. [How many millions of Americans said "WTF - The Cable went down!"]
Since I’m obsessed with spreadsheets, I’ll share this Soprano’s Matrix with you. I know it’s late, but it’s still cool.
Well - I don’t have a lot to say in close. There were some really good shots in this last episode (directed by Mr. Chase himself). We didn’t have time for a classic Sopranos sex scene; there was a good bit of build up though. And ending with the family, all together, eating onion rings…well, that made me happy. Like Meadow, I have my issues with parking (ask anyone!). I guess, it could’ve been worse.
Here are a few shots of my favorite scenes from Episode #86:
Alright friends - Sopranos RIP! Keep your eyes open for a blog re-launch. I’ve appreciated getting my sea legs with this topic. 
And as always, I appreciate your support. Forgetaboutit!!
xoxo
Stephanie, aka InternetGeekGirl
Now this is coming from a Mick, so maybe I don’t have the pedigree for it, but I think it’s “fuhgeddaboudit”.
After thinking more about it, I think I like the ending. It keeps it open and has me guessing.
If it was a setup for a movie, that’s lame. But if it was a final ending, well it’s working for me.
Though I didn’t want to see AJ make it this far.
Hi Shawn. This seems to be the general consensus. Waking up this morning… I think the ending does grow on ya a bit. But like you said, that’s assuming there is not a movie. That would be a bad idea, but I suppose they want to keep their options open and keep us guessing (IE - keep the buzz going enough to sell the DVDs).
Ciao!!!
As a born and bred “Jersey Boy” I’m offended. Two years ago they fired the writers in Jersey and hired writers in sunny CA – it all went wrong from there. Christopher in Hollywood, Johnny Cakes and AJ’s mood swings – what’s next Tony eating at Papa Johns!
The show should have ended like it started – shot out of a cannon! I think this is a prime example of not knowing your customer / audience. Why so most watch this show? Because it is the other side of life that most will never know.
We crave the drama, the excitement and yes, the violence. The Sopranos has always been a “don’t make me think” show. It was everything we all wanted. The ending was poor at best. The writers left us with metaphors, they left us thinking, pondering, speculating which may have been their goal but they also left us disappointed and that is a shame.
Well Larry - you are not alone. I’ve talk to a lot of people who felt it was a huge cop out. I will say that I watched the last 10 minutes again last night, and this time I laughed a lot. It was a classic Bloomfield moment at Holsten’s . If only it wasn’t the last shot for the whole series. I can only quote my favorite Carmella line: Whatyagonnado?
Thanks,
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
You probably already saw the Bob Harris highly detailed run down on the final episode by a screen writer. It’s refreshing and a good lesson on how much detail is commonly overlooked by someone who might at best come up with “I liked that movie.”
I can’t believe how accurate your predictions were prior to seeing the last episode! I do differ in the general opine of disappointment had in the final episode, I thought it was a brilliant ending to the best entertainment to hit the planet. Tony in a pool of blood wouldn’t have brought more satisfaction, and Anthony’s “remember the times when they were good” lends nostalgia and the possibility of a positive ending.
The only thing I’d add to to the Bob Harris interview is that in the Solozzo murder, Michael had to go to the bathroom in order to retrieve the gun that had been placed there. Why would the former pizza man turned shinging star in the final episode need to go to the bathroom before potentially opening fire on Tony? If the intention was to kill Tony, in classic Soprano style it would be a direct hit, not a heavily contemplated and drawn out drama scene leading up to it.
Who was really left in New York that would benefit by taking out Tony? The vacuum of leadership would mean everyone would be losing money. Certainly not Carmine, who at best would have stumbled out some complicated words that he hadn’t quite mastered.
As an aside, I love that your blog covers both geekdom and life, belying the commonly held belief that a tech geek blog should only cover geek stuff. Not to say I like hearing about someone walking their dog either, but you’ve gone deep on the Sopranos and I love it.
cool links, thanks!,