REVIEW: The Sopranos, Final Episode
Will a Movie Be ‘Made in America?’
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 6/11/2007 4:37:00 AM
(click here for Sopranos Scrapbook photo page)
Oh, that David Chase. The creator of The Sopranos really set up his audience in the mob series’ finale. Let's put in this way: The final installment, Made in America, certainly wasn't made in Hollywood. Or at least not yet.
The man who thumbed his nose at TV conventions -- making a hit series centered on a brutal thug who required psychotherapy to come to grips with his tinges of humanity, as well as maintaining two upper-middle-class families -- did it big-time with the finale.
Chase who always left story lines unfinished -- the fate of Dr. Melfi's rapist, Carmella's and Furio's unrequited lust and the robust Russian still roaming the Pine Barrens, among them -- also largely steered clear of sentiment. After all, the final run of episodes saw Tony's self-pity and self-loathing fester into resentment for most of his longtime crew; his embarrassment quotient over his suicidal son escalate; and a heretofore taste for gambling burst into compulsion. After snuffing the nostrils of Christopher, who had outlived his usefulness, Tony flew west to his inform nephew's mistress about The Cleaver producer's demise before engaging in an interlude of sex and peyote hallucinations.
Indeed, as this season progressed, there weren't many reasons left to like Tony, whose consultations with Dr. Melfi also abruptly ended after research convinced her that her brand of therapy only emboldened the criminal mind.
There was also a rather large target on Tony's back that already claimed his brother-in-law, Bobby Bacala, and left consigliore Silvio Dante on life support. Heading into the 86th and last episode, our antihero had to evacuate his family from the mansion as a precaution, while he was left holed up in a safe house, an automatic weapon his companion in sleep.
But as the final hour unfolded, Chase was seemingly pushing the story to a relatively happy conclusion. Through the cooperation of an old family friend, peace was brokered with New York, as Little Carmine was finally ready to assume the leadership role. Tony's nemesis, Phil Leotardo, got his comeuppance with a slug and a tire over his noggin. (As Frank Vincent added another entry to his beat-downs in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull and Goodfellas, we salute Linda Moss for digging out the dirt on Phil's demise.)
Meanwhile, Tony and Carm were able to move their malleable mope of a son away from an aspiring army career in Afghanistan to fetching coffee as the development executive on Little Carmine's expanding slate of movie projects.
Plans were also being drawn for wedding bells to sound for Meadow, who found her soul mate and perhaps a future partner in a law firm with the progeny of one of Tony's own crew, Patsy Parisi.
Paulie Walnuts -- with a little cajoling, a threat of nepotism and presumably the blessing of a haunting feline -- reluctantly accepted a big promotion from Tony.
The big guy even went to see the estranged Uncle Junior, who showed few moments of lucidity -- a reference to "this thing of ours" sparked only a question of his past participation -- and little chance to emerge from his dementia.
Still, an indictment loomed over Tony's head.
Was Chase going to have the Soprano clan gather at Holsten's soda-fountain shot (spot on again, Linda) at the finish to learn that the protagonist was going states evidence and pull a Henry Hill?
Or would another rampant Internet rumor prove true and shadow the ultimate moment? Would Meadow's inability to parallel park -- oh, for the suburban inadequacy -- leave Tony like Michael Corleone, grieving over a bullet meant for him?
Playing on all the foreboding, the gossip and, for many, the wont of some kind of happy ending for this essentially evil character, Chase played to a bigger fear than Tony Soprano coming after you -- that our TV service would crap out for a big event!
Instead of some resolution, Tony looked up as Meadow presumably opened the Holsten's door to the accompaniment of the words, "don't stop," from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." The screen then went black before the credits rolled.
Do story lines finally play out when the credits open on a theatrical coda to The Sopranos several years from now? No doubt many will look to chase down those answers.
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No no no. it cant end that way. I've been watching with anticipation for all these years, thouroughly enjoying each and every episode, and now this???
Couldn't be more disappointed.
Margo Ford - 6/13/2009 12:05:45 PM EDT -
is carmela somehow involved in what was going to happen?she tells her children they`re going to a particular cafe but tells tony it was a consenses decision.
tony bennett - 6/3/2008 2:25:00 AM EDT -
OOOOOOOO, it's over. the final series was as close to perfection as possible and the final scenes perhaps one of the most tense scenes i have ever seen; i grew up with tony soprano. as much as he is a gangster there is, if we are honest as men, many many qualities that we all respect in him: he commanded total respect and authority over his crew; he was as hard as nails; he slept with an array of beautiful women and he was smart, brave,a protector of his family and very very funny. he was also a murderer and criminal but the series is so good and the characters so illuminative that it desensitized the viewer to their criminal and violent flaws. look, we know deep down that the last scene was clearly indicative that tony got whacked but you just never know with he survived a hit in series one when high on painkillers!
ant m - 10/29/2007 4:12:00 PM EDT -
the ending of the final series of the sopranos at first left me frozen in shock, coz i thought the tv had just died. then confusion and anger when the silent credits rolled, thinking Chase had just whacked the fans. I had sneaked a peek at some of the reviews from when it ended in the u.s. and gathered that it had been a dissapointing ending but that initalliay surpassed my expectations!! yet on reflection what a perfect ending? its been left up to the fans to decide. personally, i think tony finally got whacked, it was such an ordinary scene of a family out for dinner at a diner but we are led to believe that there is a menace in the background which tony seems unaware of.... my boyfriend on the other hand is waiting for the announcement of another season or a movie to answer all the remaining questions. but the biggest question for me is, what the hell was with paulie and the cat??? how did the cat manage to find him for a spot of sunbathing at satralies and what did this mean????
sharonC. - 7/24/2007 11:22:00 AM EDT -
David Chase gave us years of sensational entertainment. The final episode was his closure with the viewer. We were the ones to get whacked in the end. A stray bullet...a bomb? It doesn’t matter. It’s all gone black now. It was a great "Journey". Thanks David.
Epi Calcara - 6/16/2007 4:16:00 PM EDT
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