Men of Disrespect

I'm putting it to sleep, I swear. It's not worth bitching about. But I'm just gonna cut and paste some text from SLATE's comment box...

"apark" sez:

When the screen faded to black and the credits rolled, I went through a variety of emotions but mainly confusion and disappointment. The more I thought about the final scene, I started to see it in different ways: Tony getting whacked, "don't see or hear it coming"; another Chase building up of tension then suddenly relieving it; Tonys life going on without the viewer. Thinking about it in this way made me begin to appreciate it more but I was still unsatisfied. I guess the reason I was most disappointed is because it did not match the tone of the series.

The Sopranos was a sophisticated and artistic show, but ultimately had its roots in the low-brow gangster epic. We chuckled at humor among the violence, the tough guys acting out of character. The show spun wonderful riffs on a classic, cliched genre bringing it to a new level. I never felt it lost complete touch with its origins until last night. The ending was too art house for me. Sopranos is not a Merchant-Ivory production and I did not feel it deserved that sort of ending.

"randyg50" sez:

I didn't expect or want a neat finish. I didn't want or expect closure on any particular plot thread or character or theme. What I didn't expect was a cheap and arrogant trick that closed a long and wonderful drama.

The sudden stop was a slap at the audience, a community that was more than capable of dealing with ambiguity, mixed messages and metaphors. The abrupt ending was a final notice from Mr. Chase of who was in control and how bleakly he views life.

He could have achieved the same effect by slowly pulling the camera back from the table, perhaps with the bathroom door just opening. Everything could be left to our imagination, but without the vitriol.

Actually, the episode seemed over when Tony walked away from his babbling uncle. Tony calls out to Junior by alluding to the duties required by “This Thing of Ours”, the last thing Tony holds onto. Yet it is represented by a senile old man who manages to be selfish and resentful in his delirium. Some life, some future. Same point as the Holsten’s scene, but expressed with artistic grace and power. Thanks David.

But it's all right because guess what, kids? The story continues!

(On your shitty PS2.)

Artie Lange looks like his flesh is dripping off his body. He's so fat, he looks like he's wearing a fat-suit. He looks like Eddie Murphy in Rick Baker prosthetics. Little Steven thinks it's adorable.

A nation mourns.

Chase comes out of hiding.