Television: The Sopranos Finale

I will start with the most recent finale considering that it is on the minds of people who love or hate it. And from what I have been reading, most people hated the Sunday's finale. I convinced myself that there would be multiple whackings for the finale, because the second to last episode set this possible ending.

To be honest, I didn't see how it ended until the morning after because my TiVo cut out 5 minutes early. After screaming "NOOO!!" before what I thought would be the whacking of Tony and/or his family, I recorded the encore presentation of the finale. When I finally saw it, I got worried that my TiVo crapped out again when the screen faded to black ... but then were credits. And, the end. At first I didn't know what to think, but after some thought I feel that the show ended perfectly.


I am still reeling from the murder (assisted suicide?) of Chris Moltisonti. But I will eventually get over it.

I wish I were more eloquent, but I noticed how everyone seemed to evolve and devolve back to their normal selves by the end of the finale:


Carmela: to crying over a defective house she built with her dad might collapse and kill a young family, to feeling content to continue her real estate endeavors with house that might be toxic and has a funny smell.


AJ: from a bratty, spoiled kid ... to all emo after the breakup of Latina girlfriend Blanca (which was funny because no one really liked that he was dating a non-Italian, yet her name was literally 'white') ... back to a more grown-up spoiled, (slightly less) bratty kid with an underage girlfriend. I guess the cures to depression are statutory rape and a new BMW.


Tony: To a man who found enlightenment twice about his life in "sanitation" (while in a coma and then while high on peyote) is now back to looking over his shoulder to see who might be a threat to him or the family.


After all his years in therapy with Dr. Melfi he has finally realized how messed up he actually is and starts to how he and Janice are so much alike. Which he hates. Even more so after Carmela told him that the "Soprano curse" is the reason why AJ is so messed up, because no one in her family has mental issues.

Meadow: Who? She was barely in this season. All I remember of her is that she can't parallel park. And I can related because I can't either.

I have seen worse season finales -- the finales for Friends, Queer As Folk, Will and Grace, and The Practice come to mind -- and I feel this one was top notch. It didn't neatly wrap everything up with a bow and it allowed the characters to continue to live on like it was any other day. There was no big event that altered their lives, thereby changing the core of who they are.

I think the sudden fade to black was meant to cause panic among the viewers and to have them have a moment to reflect on how caught up in the life of characters on a TV show. The easy way out was to have an all out battle and see who would be the last Boss left to rule the families. There are more things to life than blood and violence. For example: onion rings.


Onion rings ... some people love them, and some hate them.

Onion Rings = The Sopranos Finale