"You never see it coming''
WARNING: SOPRANOS FINALE SPOILERS AHEAD
So, the Sopranos ended.
I wasn't looking for Yeats, despite A.J's having stumbled onto that poem with its 'the center will not hold..'' and its "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity'' and its "rough beast, its hour come round at last''
What I thought we'd get is some T.S. Eliot, with the world ending with a "bang'' or a "whimper.''
What David Chase gave us, in a fascinating hour of television, was a look into the world of Tony Soprano, a world that was never going to change: A.J - the screw-up, bailed out and trying one more thing; Carm, the dutiful and willfully blind wife; the law forever hunting him; Janice, the grasping black hole of need; Paulie, the perennial disappointment; murder and murder and murder all around; and the man himself, still rehashing childhood resentments.
The only character who was going to change was Junior and his way into madness and death was etched in his brain.
The last scene took place in some retro diner, with one of those old-fashioned table top juke boxes. And Tony in a shirt straight out of the fifties, playing "Don't Stop Believing'' and waiting for his wife and children to join him. First Carm, then AJ. In some ways, it's the past as it might have been: a simple meal with the people that matter most. The closest he'll get to redemption.
But it's the future Tony sees as his daughter comes running into the diner. Meadow, the apple of his eye, the one who might get free (although her taste in men would suggest otherwise)
There's a moment there where Tony might be happy.
An instant really, before it all goes silent and black.
"You never see it coming, do you?'' Bobby asked earlier this season.
Tony never did.
And neither did we.
Not that way, not from that angle.
Anthony Soprano, RIP
So, the Sopranos ended.
I wasn't looking for Yeats, despite A.J's having stumbled onto that poem with its 'the center will not hold..'' and its "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity'' and its "rough beast, its hour come round at last''
What I thought we'd get is some T.S. Eliot, with the world ending with a "bang'' or a "whimper.''
What David Chase gave us, in a fascinating hour of television, was a look into the world of Tony Soprano, a world that was never going to change: A.J - the screw-up, bailed out and trying one more thing; Carm, the dutiful and willfully blind wife; the law forever hunting him; Janice, the grasping black hole of need; Paulie, the perennial disappointment; murder and murder and murder all around; and the man himself, still rehashing childhood resentments.
The only character who was going to change was Junior and his way into madness and death was etched in his brain.
The last scene took place in some retro diner, with one of those old-fashioned table top juke boxes. And Tony in a shirt straight out of the fifties, playing "Don't Stop Believing'' and waiting for his wife and children to join him. First Carm, then AJ. In some ways, it's the past as it might have been: a simple meal with the people that matter most. The closest he'll get to redemption.
But it's the future Tony sees as his daughter comes running into the diner. Meadow, the apple of his eye, the one who might get free (although her taste in men would suggest otherwise)
There's a moment there where Tony might be happy.
An instant really, before it all goes silent and black.
"You never see it coming, do you?'' Bobby asked earlier this season.
Tony never did.
And neither did we.
Not that way, not from that angle.
Anthony Soprano, RIP
posted by Michael Riley at 10:09 PM
2 Comments:
"What David Chase gave us, in a fascinating hour of television, was a look into the world of Tony Soprano, a world that was never going to change ..." -- Reverend Riley
What David Chase gave us was a prequel, pure and simple. Last night's episode, far from being "fascinating," was utterly devoid of the -- Gosh, I really dislike using this word! -- "closure" that fans were expecting. In short, Chase, Gandolfini, et al sold out. What we saw last night was little more than a one hour commercial for The Sopranos: The Movie (in theaters near you in the Summer of 2011).
Hi, Mike.
I don't think Tony got whacked, but I understand why you came to that interpretation.
I was looking for a little 'Being and Nothingness,' myself, and I think that's what we got.
I loved the entire episode, despite being jolted at the end. I think too many people are focusing on that last scene, neglecting the great stuff that preceded it.
Your reader Pat disliked the lack of "closure" - yes, we all cringe at that word -- but that didn't bother me at all. I would've been more annoyed if everything were wrapped up neatly, sit-com style.
Anyway, see ya.
-- Kelly-Jane Cotter
Post a Comment
<< Home