Am I right in saying this last nine episodes will wrap up the series? I'm really hoping for a good satisfying conclusion to this uniformly excellent series. It's always a nervous time when you're coming to the end of something like this. Will they "jump the shark"? Will there be loose ends? Will it be a fittingly Shakespearean tragedy? I watched the first few and I'm not sure what to think. There seems to be a lot of padding for a show this close to the finishing line with a whole episode devoted to another new tick in Tony's habits. The character seems to be learning nothing and repeating past mistakes despite the show's emphasis on therapy and growth. The Johnny Sack storyline was a real disappointment after the long build-up. I was sure he'd be instrumental in the wrap up.

Victor

I'm watching them and last week's episode (May 6th) was a doozy - looks to me that all hell is breaking loose within Tony's mafia family. Anthony, Jr. (AJ) looks to be following in his father's footsteps in the last episode in more ways than one: I thought it was great showing AJ in his therapist's office.

The father/son dynamics of this season has been very interesting - especially after watching the David Chase scripted GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (which I really disliked).

I also think Christopher's character arc is going to be fascinating in the final couple of episodes - especially when in reference to conversation with Tony about his father ("He was little more than a junkie...") and everything that happened in this week's episode.

Looks like the show will go out with a bang1

Maybe SPOILERS...

Last Sunday's episode, with its shocking, punch-in-the-gut conclusion, was one of the series' best. For all its therapy scenes the show isn't about growth; it's about pretending to grow, and stasis, and degradation, which is particularly dire for the younger generation. It's Tony's complete inability to change that is its driving force, which makes it terribly frustrating at times (that, and my inability to make sense of most of the mob machinations, which are often just sort of thrown away in the plotting).

It really upends expectations. Characters we think will be key go to the slammer, contract cancer, and die without further mention. A once-major character is basically brain-dead in a clinic, or at least seemingly gone, mentally and emotionally; will we ever see him again? Tony seems to have arranged for himself a get-out-of-jail-free card with the feds--will he use it? How will he use it? Will it ever come up again in the plotting? (I almost wish there were two parallel SOPRANOS universes; the one we have, and the one that follows consistent, familiar, straight-and-narrow arcs, which when I grow impatient I sometimes wish we had instead.)

The House Next Door website has consistently good episode-to-episode coverage. Always worth a read.

Good point, I hadn't looked at it that way and you're absolutely right. I've thoroughly enjoyed THE SOPRANOS and I'm a little frustrated that Tony is treading water this series but I see what you mean. I always loved the way Tony would find a way to regurgitate a phrase or line of thinking that he picked up in his earlier session. It was always amusing to see him use these nuggets to make him feel superior or learned even though they are invariably used inappropriately. I haven't seen the May 6th episode but it sounds promising. I'll reserve judgement until the show bows out. Again, fingers crossed they wrap everything up satisfactorily. The DVD boxes have already paid for themselves in terms of rewatchability and I'm hoping the last act doesn't sour the overall saga.

At least it'll get a proper shot at completion unlike the equally interesting
DEADWOOD.


Victor

For dramatic impact, fictional characters have to be in a story for a reason and there's an audience to be considered. In real life any hero may overcome an obstacle or achieve their goal and then get hit by a bus but that's only good in a story if you want to tell the audience that there's no point in doing anything because you might get hit by a bus. The JS story does remind us that no matter how powerful we are, we are at the mercy of human frailty. JS was a good foil for Tony and he was sidelined and I kinda feel cheated.

Victor

***** SPOILERS *****
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Tony takes the opportunity to kill Chris because of:

• Chris' "weaknesses" as they relate to mob life ("each day is a gift"; capitulating to Phil; drug addiction)

• Potential for betrayal (look how close to spilling his guts to the writer; Adrianna/FBI thing)

• Chris' pulling away from him because of sobriety/wife/kid/different interests (movie)

• Lack of responsibility towards his child (child-seat; echoing Tony's relationship with his mother); towards Tony (the character in the movie based on Tony; driving Tony while on drugs, paying too much attention to the car stereo).

Torn with conflicting feelings, Tony feels that he did the "smart thing" by ridding himself of Christopher-related headaches/heartaches. But he also feels bad that he could be so heartless (he's repressing his grief), and in an attempt to justify his actions to himself, tries to egg other mourners into verbally validating the murder by continually bringing Chris' flaws, especially the destroyed child's seat in Chris' car.

And, in an act that either shows some jealousy of Chris -- or an attempt at paying tribute to him -- Tony follows in Chris' footsteps to Vegas/hooker/peyote trip. A situation which immediately reminded me of PERFORMANCE. I feel that Tony either consciously or unconsciously was going there for the peyote -- looking for some spiritual answers that he wasn't getting from Melfi.

Tony interprets his newfound gambling success as being affirmation from the universe/god for doing the smart thing regarding Christopher. He's being reward for his actions, and he falls to the floor of the casino with glee and relief from guilt. And watching the sun rise -- still tripping -- Tony lets the universe know that he's picked up their signals, by yelling out "I get it!"

Regarding the remaining episodes -- I think that Carmela and the kids find out about Adrianna and/or Christopher. AJ kills himself, not wanting to become Tony. Carmela and Meadow disown Tony, as his "empire" crumbles due to warring with Phil.

OR

The above happens, but AJ ends up killing Tony -- perhaps with encouragement from Tony.

I know this is all over the place. Just wanted to get the ball rolling.

I think it's the greatest dramatic series television has ever had. I read some of the SOPRANOS stuff online and it seems to me that everybody's trying to be the person who correctly anticipates where the show's storylines will conclude. I'm not interested in guessing; I just want to enjoy the ride while I still can. The show has occupied a big piece of my life since I discovered it early in the second season; I've seen every episode several times with my wife, and we discuss them afterwards. We've spent much of the past decade looking forward to the next season. We're going to miss the show, and every damned character.

I've never seen THE SOPRANOS but Tim's remark echoes thoughts I've had for a while now about the direction in which film/TV appreciation has gone in the last quarter century. When I watch a show, I really tap into my inner 12-year-old and my disbelief is suspended sky-high. Guessing what happens is so little a part of the experience for me and yet I've seen so many movies written off because the viewer "saw it coming in the first 10 minutes." I guess people who boast that want to be congratulated (like getting the high score at Centipede) but I always think "Oh, I'm so sorry."

:o

One of the reasons I subscribed to HBO was that I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with this show; I came on board when they re-ran the entire first season over five or six nights shortly before the second season began. The first episode hooked me.

And the last couple of episodes have nearly shattered me. I'm susceptible as it is to being caught up emotionally with filmed entertainment but very few have caught me to this extent.

To echo what someone wrote on another board, 'Sheesh, I can't believe I'm letting myself be so affected by what happens to fictional characters,' but such is the power of the show for me. As Tim wrote, I'm going to miss "every damned character."

Well, I saw that coming ... :P

Seriously, my wife and I picked up on the series when the first two seasons were out on DVD. Jill was hooked immediately on the show, but it slowly grew on me. I remember cringing a little in watching each new episode on the DVDs because the tension built to such a height that I couldn't find the relief I had come to expect from most episodic television. That frustrated me somewhat, even though it proves that the creators went beyond my expectations for such a show.

I love watching the show and probably will go back over the entire run once the finale airs during the rest of the year, but I'm also looking forward to seeing how they wrap up things in the finale. I hope for some type of definitive ending for Tony, whatever that may be, as I would love to look back at the show as one huge classic without being muddled by additional stories somewhere down the line.

Besides all the obvious, one of the reasons I've loved the show was that it was shot on location in rust belt cities that looked just like the ones I've lived in, with the aged decay of its layered neighborhoods. After a lifetime of most TV shows subbing the scrubby hills and clean streets of southern California for everything from Southwest Asia to a tough Northeast city, it's been refreshing to say the least.

Does James Gandolfini hold the record for most simulated on-screen orgasms of anyone outside of softcore porn? Cuz I think maybe he does. Certainly for the male side of things.

I'm watching more out of a sense of obligation that anything else. Who would have thought they would make the final season just as boring as the last two or three? I can't tell you how sick I am of the "Tony gradually poisons his relations with Carmela/Paulie/Heche/Christopher/Gumby" plots. They even managed to make the death of Christopher dull.

The first season had what every season since has lacked: momentum.

THE SOPRANOS is the ONLY reason I have HBO. I'm calling the Monday after the finale airs to have it disconnected. For me, TV's greatest series are still TWIN PEAKS and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, but SOPRANOS is definitely the most excited I've ever been about tuning in every week to become severely depressed for an hour. It takes a seat in the Council of the Immortals for sure.