The Sopranos, Season Finale

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

Don't stop believin
Hold on to the feelin
Streetlight people."

Don't Stop Believing by Journey

Last night, after watching the series finale of The Sopranos, I was absolutely furious with David Chase for crapping out on the hardcore fans of Tony and family. I've had some time since then to sleep on it, and I realize now that I was dead wrong in my initial response to Chase's ending.

*Spoiler Alert! If you don't want to know more about how the Series Finale of The Sopranos was done, don't read any further.*

As anyone who has been watching The Sopranos knows, last week's episode left Tony in a very precarious position. I don't know if this is the correct application of the term, but to me, it appeared that Tony and both his families had "gone to the mattresses". Tony, thanks to an FBI informant, knew Phil Leotardo was out to destroy him and his family. Unless Tony could get to Phil first, things weren't looking good for The Sopranos.

Immediately after sitting through the hour and five minutes it took to air the final episode of Tony and his tortured families, my reaction was that David Chase had held true to his word and got even with all those who seemed to have missed his earlier brilliance in a few season's past. I felt as though he'd flipped us all a giant bird and left the door wide open to revisit The Sopranos whenever he chose. But after giving it more thought, I think my knee jerk reaction was way off. The final episode, which I'd accused of giving us absolutely nothing, had indeed given us quite a bit, and viewed from this different perspective, the final episode was quite logical -- and exactly what it should have been. The theme throughout the whole hour and five minutes was "life goes on".

1. Tony sets up a meeting with Leotardo's henchmen and comes to an agreement with them that they will merge with what's left of Tony's family. Seems that Phil's boys don't like Phil's attitude or plans any better than Tony does. In addition, Tony gets the promise of something to compensate Janice for the loss of Bobby who got blown to bits among toy trains last week. So that takes care of the worry that any more of Tony's people will get annihilated.




2. Tony makes contact with his FBI connection to see if he can find out where Leotardo is hiding. The FBI agent comes through, and Tony's guns now know where to look for Phil. They find him, and that's the end of Phil. Tony's family has survived this test, and they can now move on to continue raking in bucks just like before.




3. Paulie is offered a job he does not want and declines. But when Tony tells Paulie who will get the job in his stead, Paulie's ego is dented and he takes the job -- just like Tony knew he would all along. Paulie doesn't like it, but he is nothing if not a macho kinda guy. Now he's got something else about which he can endlessly whine.




4. Meadow has decided to marry Patsy Parisi's son, and she's given up all intentions of becoming a doctor so she can be a lawyer instead. For being a college grad and all, Meadow has a decidedly dim bulb when she cannot figure out on her own that she is putting herself right smack in the pathway of conflict of interests when the cases she may have to deal with are not compatible with her father's livelihood. But, for now, Meadow's life is settled. Tony and Carmela have resigned themselves to whatever comes next.




5. AJ remains a loose cannon who has now decided he wants to go fight terrorists in Afghanistan. Tony and Carmela manage to talk him out of that, give him a job developing movies, and provide a vague promise that if he proves himself, Tony will give him a club to operate. The Bada-Bing could use some fresh ideas. So, AJ will remain the whiny coddled little brat he's always been under Tony's thumb and securely tied to Carmela's apron strings.




6. Tony goes to see Junior and finally has to face the fact that Junior has no idea who Tony is, what he and Tony's father did for a living, nor that he ever shot and nearly killed Tony. Another matter neatly laid to rest.




7. Tony and the family decide to meet at a diner to have dinner together. It's the last few minutes of the show, so if something "big" is going to happen, this is the moment for it. While the scene unfolds, there is as much tension in it as there is a sense of family enjoying a meal together. Meadow has trouble parallel parking her car, and the tension mounts as inside the restaurant strange looking characters glance at Tony, Carmela, and AJ. The expectation is that the Sopranos are about to meet their end with their faces stuffed full of onion rings. Meadow finally gets the car parked and runs across the street to meet her family. Seconds after she enters the restaurant and we get to see more customers any one of whom could blast the Sopranos to kingdom come, the screen goes black.

We'll never know for sure what happens next. In an interview after the show aired, Chase said this was a definite ending and that everything we needed to know to draw the correct conclusions was right there in the last episode. So, if we take a look at all the clues that have been lobbed at us throughout this episode, there's a logic which says Life Goes On. At Bobby's funeral, sad as it was for all concerned, the feast afterward made the point that this chapter is closed, and the family will move on. All of Tony's associations and meetings during this final hour and five minutes leave us with the feeling that loose ends are being tied up so that business and family can continue as usual. Yes, it's been rough these past few weeks, but the Sopranos survived it as they have survived so much during their numerous seasons. And then they move on to whatever comes next. We know that there will be trouble for Tony because of that almost forgotten gun charge that's been hanging over his head since this season's opener. And we can safely assume that each of the characters we've followed so religiously will continue to do what they've always done because they don't know how to do anything else.

And as for someone whacking all the Sopranos as they sat around that restaurant table talking amongst themselves? There's no one left to do that. With the death of Phil and a handshake in a cold garage, there's no one in Tony's immediate world that wants or has the resources to blow him away. Once families have agreed to merge, and they've done it in good faith (even in a cold garage), loyalty kicks in and all's well with the world.

Tony's took the position after he was shot by Junior that, "Every day's a gift," so to that end, he'll never Stop Believing.